Get to the Point - Part 1

Growing up in Northwest Ohio, the start of summer was always marked by the seasonal opening of Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio.

And, as a child, we always spent one hot and humid day at Cedar Point - riding the rides, eating the world famous french fries and ending the night with a purchase of saltwater taffy (which would never really get eaten!).

Last summer, we decided to introduce our kids to Cedar Point and, of course, they loved it! We went again last fall for the "Halloweekends" - where the park is decorated for Halloween and there is "fun scary" and "scary scary" stuff for kids of all ages.

Well, this summer we decided to make a mini "staycation" out of our trip to CP - and so, the "party of 10" [from our Disney adventure] headed east toward Sandusky a few weeks ago.

We had reservations at the Hotel Breakers - which is the 'flagship' resort for Cedar Point. It was built in 1905 and well, let's just say it's showing its age. My husband and I had stayed at the Breakers last summer - but obviously we had a room in the "newer" section in 2008 because our room this year was nothing to brag about. It was old. That's all I can say about it.

(The hallway of the Bon Air section of the hotel - where we stayed this year - reminded me of the hallway from The Shining. All that was missing were ghostly children on tricycles calling out "Redrum! Redrum!")

OK, sorry...I digress. All in all, the Hotel Breakers is NOT that bad. It's old, yes, But that gives it a little bit of charm too. The lobby is nice and it IS right on the beach....so it has that going for it. My recommendation if you are going to stay at the Breakers would be to REQUEST a room in the newer sections of the hotel and stay OUT of the older sections.

For the price they charge (a one night stay with park tickets for 4 people in a non-lakeview room with 2 queen beds = $403, according to the CP reservation site) you need to be in a MODERN room. (That price quoted IS in the Breakers tower or the Breakers East section - both of which I believe are newer and include a dorm size refrigerator). [As it was, our rooms were NOT in the newer section and they still cost about $220 a night! That being said, my parents have vowed to NEVER return to the Hotel Breakers.]

A few positives of staying 'on site' at the Breakers -- we were able to get into Cedar Point an hour before the park opened (this is more of a 'good' thing if you're one of the avid coaster riders that swarm to the park every summer). For us, it just meant we could take the kids to 'Planet Snoopy' an hour early. We were also able to buy our two-day "Ride and Slide" tickets at a discounted price as resort guests.

Another 'plus' to staying on site was this -- we could go back to our hotel for a while and rest. This was a saving grace for us on this trip because it RAINED. A lot. I'm talking epic rain here people. My dad spent about $70 on ponchos for the group because it was the ONLY way we could even walk through the park to get to the few attractions that were open during the deluge.

Finally, by 2 p.m. we were tired of being rained on and so we headed back to the hotel to dry off and watch The Weather Channel. Thankfully, by 4 p.m. the rain was gone and the sun was out and we were back in the park!

[As an aside, when it rains at Disney World you can just put on your ponchos and still have enough to do to make the rain seem not so bad. This is NOT the case at Cedar Point.]

Coming up....what to do and what not to do on your trip to Cedar Point.