Tag Archives: August 2011

Dinosaurs Alive! on Adventure Island Opens Next Summer

Dinosaurs Alive on Adventure Island

Cedar Point Press Release

SANDUSKY, Ohio – Cedar Point has some pretty big plans for next summer.

The Sandusky, Ohio, amusement park/resort earlier today announced plans to introduce Dinosaurs Alive! on Adventure Island, a prehistoric themed attraction, for next summer. The new attraction will be located on four acres on the wooded island that is located in the lagoons toward the back of the park.

In addition to Dinosaurs Alive!, Cedar Point will also add a mat-racer slide complex to the Soak City waterpark located adjacent to the park. Dinosaurs Alive! will cost approximately $1 million to build.

The journey into Dinosaurs Alive! will be multi-sensory and interactive. Guests will be able to see approximately 50 life-size animatronic dinosaurs that will roar and move. Each will be handcrafted and covered with skin-like materials that will replicate almost every feature. Four of the dinosaurs will have interactive consoles that will allow guests to guide their movement to create an up-close look at how these dinosaurs moved their arms, tail, eyes and mouth.

“We are extremely excited about introducing Dinosaurs Alive! to our guests next summer,” said John Hildebrandt, vice president and general manager of Cedar Point. “Our guests will have the opportunity to visit the Jurassic Age up close and see some of the amazing creatures that called it home. Dinosaurs Alive! will be educational but fun, too.”

Dinosaurs Alive

Overall, Dinosaurs Alive! will feature approximately three dozen types of dinosaurs. The dinosaurs will range in size and height. The largest will be the Ruyangosaurus that will stand nearly 40 feet tall and 72 feet long. The smallest will be an Angustinaripterus that will only be two feet tall and eight feet long.

Other dinosaurs in Dinosaurs Alive! will include the vicious Tyrannosaurus Rex, Irratator, Baryonyx and Spinosaurus, the largest of all known carnivorous dinosaurs. A plated Stegosaurus and three-horned Triceratops will also inhabit the island. The half-mile-long path will feature more than a dozen themed exhibits and displays and will veer underneath several of the larger dinosaurs providing a very intimate encounter with the prehistoric beasts.

Guests will enter Dinosaurs Alive! by crossing a bridge near Camp Snoopy. In addition to the dinosaurs, explorers will also encounter an excavation site and paleontological dig. There will also be informational signs for each exhibit and guides and fossil displays that will make Dinosaurs Alive! an entertaining three-dimensional educational tool for school groups as the discovery and identification of new species of dinosaurs increases annually. At the conclusion of the journey, there will be a prehistoric-themed gift shop.

Admission to Dinosaurs Alive! will be $5 per person. Special rates for groups and schools will also be available.

With the addition of Dinosaurs Alive!, the Paddlewheel Excursions boat cruise will be retired from the park. The pioneer-themed boat ride will be in daily operation through Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 5.

Cedar Point’s newest attraction will be created and produced by Dinosaurs Unearthed, an innovative traveling exhibition company that creates dynamic, multi-sensory experiences about the world of dinosaurs. Since 2005, the Richmond, British Columbia, Canada,-based company has provided multi-faceted exhibitions to museums, science centers and zoos throughout the world.

Next to Cedar Point, the Soak City waterpark will also have a new look for 2012. Next summer it will add a new mat-racer complex that will offer racers a speedy ride through a series of dips and plateaus. Additional information will be available later this year.

For more information about Dinosaurs Alive! on Adventure Island and Cedar Point’s plans for 2012, please visit the park’s website at: cedarpoint.com.

Cedar Point haunted attractions getting new names after complaints

From the Chronicle Online

Dr. D. Mented's Asylum for the Criminally Insane

SANDUSKY — An Ohio amusement park says it will have new names this year for two Halloween attractions that drew complaints from mental health advocates.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI, said Cedar Point promoted false stereotypes last Halloween by calling a haunted house “Dr. D. Menteds Asylum for the Criminally Insane” and a musical show “The Edge of Madness: Still Crazy.”

The Sandusky Register quotes CEO Dick Kinzel of parent company Cedar Fair as saying the haunted house will keep the hospital theme but be renamed. He says Cedar Point doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.

A park spokesman says the show will change to “The Edge of Madness: Six Feet Under.”

NAMI Ohio chapter executive director Terry Russell says Cedar Point is moving in the right direction.

Wheels of Thunder IV returns to Cedar Point

Cedar Point Press Release

SANDUSKY, Ohio, Aug. 12, 2011 – Trucks, cars, interactive displays and special appearances by drivers await race fans as Wheels of Thunder returns to Cedar Point for the fourth consecutive year from Tuesday through Thursday, Aug. 16-18 at the Sandusky, Ohio, amusement park/resort.

Different drivers will be visiting the park every day with public appearances planned for each day of the three-day event. Guests may also be able to win a special ride with their favorite driver. There will also be vehicles and exhibits on display all three days near the Dodgem bumper cars on the park’s main midway.

The event opens with ThorSport Racing Day on Tuesday, Aug. 16 when drivers from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be at the park. Visiting the park that day will be Johnny Sauter, who is in second place in Driver Championship Points, two-time winner Matt Crafton and another recent winner, Dakoda Armstrong, who won the Winchester 200 in Winchester, Va., earlier this summer.

In addition to the driver appearances, there will also be three ThorSport trucks and the Michigan International Speedway’s (MIS) interactive racing-themed trailer that features simulators, race video, helmets and driver suits.

On Wednesday, Aug. 17, NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya will be at the park to meet fans and sign autographs. Afterward, 34 lucky contest-winners will be able to take a ride on the Millennium Force roller coaster with him. Currently, he ranks 17th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings and finished sixth in the Daytona 500. Besides the MIS trailer, a Jeff Gordon Pepsi Show Car, a Pepsi transport truck, racing simulator and interactive tire changer will be on display.

That morning the park will also host a scavenger hunt with winners earning a seat for a 30-minute ride on the Goodyear Blimp later that afternoon. The Goodyear Blimp will cruise nearly 1,000 feet above the ground and will offer picturesque views of Cedar Point and Sandusky Bay. Just “Like” Cedar Point and the Goodyear Blimp on Facebook to watch for clues in the days before the event.

Other prizes include front-of-the-line access to the ride of your choice, an opportunity to meet Montoya and other great prizes from Goodyear. Wheels of Thunder will conclude on Thursday, Aug. 18 when Matt Kenseth will make two special appearances at the park to meet fans and sign autographs. Afterward, 20 contest-winners will be able to ride the Dodgems with him. Kenseth has already notched two wins this summer and is in sixth place in the points standings. The Jeff Gordon Pepsi Show Car, Pepsi transport truck, racing simulator and interactive tire changer will also be on display.

For more information about Wheels of Thunder, please visit cedarpoint.com or call the park’s general information line at 419-627-2350.

Cedar Point game warehouse, restaurant building catch fire

From the Sandusky Register

Cedar Point Johnny Rocket's Fire

SANDUSKY

(UPDATED) A Cedar Point building that houses a restaurant and game storage area caught fire early Friday morning, prompting Sandusky firefighters to call in additional manpower to handle the blaze.

A Cedar Point security officer noticed the blaze at about 12:30 a.m.

Cedar Point’s firefighters went to the scene, but the park’s dispatcher quickly asked Sandusky fire to help fight the blaze.

The building, which houses Johnny Rockets restaurant and a game warehouse, is located on the east side of the midway near the park’s entrance.

Sandusky firefighters arrived and immediately called in additional crews from other shifts, a Sandusky fire dispatcher said. All told, about 15 Sandusky firefighters fought the fire.

At about 1:20 a.m. police scanner traffic indicated firefighters had knocked down the brunt of the blaze, but some flames and smoke still lingered.

At least three fire trucks and one ladder truck responded, as well as one ambulance. Sandusky fire didn’t call any other fire departments to provide mututal aid.

Cedar Point spokesman Robin Innes, who arrived at the park at about 1:30 a.m., said no one was injured and the building was empty when the fire started.

The park had also cleared of guests by 11 p.m., so the fire had no impact on visitors.

The fire itself wasn’t large, Innes said, and the flames were limited mostly to the warehouse area. Johnny Rockets sustained some water and smoke damage.

“Everybody’s safe, no injuries,” Innes said. “Tomorrow it’ll be business as usual.”

The park still plans to open at 9 a.m. Friday for early-entry guests and 10 a.m. for the general public.

***(UPDATE)***

Sandusky fire officials say the fire was likely ignighted by a fluorescent sign in a hallway of the building. The blaze is currently being considered accidental.

Cedar Point Johnny Rocket's Fire

 

Cedar Point launches new mobile website and app

Cedar Point Press Release

SANDUSKY, Ohio – A trip to Cedar Point just got a whole lot easier as the Sandusky, Ohio, amusement park/resort has two new ways to help guests with a need to know. Cedar Point has recently launched a new and improved mobile website and an iPhone and Android app.

The Cedar Point MyPark™ App, available as a free download on iPhone- and Android-powered mobile phones, is the ideal tool to plan a trip and save time during a visit to the park. Users will be able to immediately find live shows and food outlets, plus restrooms, ATMs and lockers. The app will feature a map of the park and will designate the user’s location. As the guest moves, their location will change on the park map, taking advantage of the smartphones’ GPS location technology.

Mobile App Homescreen Mobile App Millennium Force

The new mobile website, found at mypark.cedarpoint.com, streamlines information on the full version of the website and caters to guests’ information needs whether they are inside or outside the park. Guests can easily find directions to the park, pricing information or check the day’s special activities and more.

“As mobile technologies have improved, more and more of our guests are using their phones to access information about the park. It was important to make sure they had a convenient and effective way to find the information they need, said Rebecca Baker, Cedar Point’s interactive marketing coordinator. “With the new mobile website and smartphone app, we have made it easier to find information, save time and make their visit to the park more enjoyable.”

Other features of the new app include a “Friend Finder” that will help guests locate other members of their party. There is also a listing of food menus and live show schedules. Users will also be able to purchase tickets and/or season passes or make reservations for overnight accommodations at a Cedar Point Resort Property.

The app will be useful to guests even after the park closes for the night. They can use the app to mark their car when they arrive and then can easily locate it at the end of the day.

Both the app and the new mobile website will also allow users to interact with Cedar Point through social media. They can connect to the user’s Facebook and/or Twitter accounts to send instant posts or photos and “like” Cedar Point rides. Guests can also instantly read Cedar Point’s posts tweets and blogs directly.

Information and photographs of the park’s rides are also available on both the app and mobile website.

For more information about the Cedar Point MyPark App, please visit cedarpoint.com or www.facebook.com/cedarpoint.