By Sonya Hollins, editor
Someone said that things are better the second time around. Well, I can attest to that after my family’s recent weekend excursion to Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio.
My first experience with amusement parks was in 1980. At 5 a.m. my father loaded my brother and I into the car for the four-hour drive to Cedar Point from Kalamazoo. We would get there when the gates opened and unleashed with snack and game money, promises to stay together, and a return meeting time and point—this was before cell phones.
My brother had tunnel-vision and only wanted to ride roller coasters. He felt the “two-hours from this point,” a sign meant, “must ride.” I on the other hand could be content playing the carnival-style games.
But, not before I was taunted as a chicken for not wanting to ride the Gemini. So, after bowing to sibling pressure, I was pulled toward the slowly snaking Gemini line. After waiting for what seemed an eternity, we were finally ready to launch. Then we were off like a rocket into space.
Immediately my life seemed to flash before my eyes, and I thought, “What if we jump off the track and we fall out and die?” As my screams blurred into the dozens of others being whirled silly, I wanted to cry. But, my head was bobbling so much I couldn’t get it out.
Before I could finish telling God I would never do anything wrong if He got me out of this alive, the ride was over. “Whoa, let’s go again,” my brother said as the lifts released us from recent terror. It was there, I left my brother, in line for another “two-hour wait at this point,” and headed to safer grounds in the carnival game area.
Today, 30-years after “the ride,” I returned to the park, an older, wiser parent with my husband and children. As we placed them up to the measuring rods to see which rides they could go on, my oldest two hit the middle mark to ride what I thought were some pretty fast coasters. Our youngest, only 4, qualified for the ‘baby rides’ laughed our 6, and 8-year olds.
The rides seemed much bigger and faster than I remembered, and I was glad to have my 4-year-old to ‘chaperone.’ However, after riding the Magnum XL 200, which topped a speed of 72-mph, the baby rides didn’t seem such a bad idea to the others; they were sticking with the baby. As my husband headed off along to venture the deaf-defying rides such as the Top Thrill Dragster, Millennium Force and Maverick, we headed toward Camp Snoopy.
That sounded like a cute, safe place until my daughter wanted to ride the Jr. Gemini. Flashbacks rushed through my head of my first Gemini experience. Then I pulled it together. “O.K., this is a kid’s ride, how bad can it be?”
Well, it was no twirl around a carousel. As we sat in the first seat my kids couldn’t wait to throw their hands up as they saw others do. When the ride began, whoa, it moved. I felt like George Jetson, “Jane, stop this crazy thing!” But I had to be strong for my kids.
After the adventures in Camp Snoopy and Kiddy Kingdom, places I didn’t know existed when I was a teenager, we met back with my husband. To escape the heat we visited an ice 
skating show, “Everyone Loves Snoopy,” in the Good Time Theater. The show was a great mix of the traditional Peanuts gang antics, groovin’ music and talented ice skaters who kept the crowd in awe of their stunts.
After the show we grabbed a bit to eat at Johnny Rockets, The Original Hamburger. Not only did we have great burgers and hot dogs, but the waiters and waitresses periodically came out into the plaza and grooved a choreographed dance to the Jackson 5’s version of, “Rockin’ Robin.”
There was more adventure ahead as the kids played games and won cool stuffed animals. We then headed to the All Wheels Extreme show where bikers and skateboarders performed insane flips and dives in Extreme Sports Stadium.
As we began to loose steam, we visited gift shows and purchased Cedar Point gear for the memories, took photos and relaxed a bit. Our adventures at Cedar Point would conclude with a July 4th Firework extravaganza.
I must admit, I had more fun at Cedar Point this time around as a parent. Seeing the expressions on my kids’ face and the excitement of my husband as he described the rush of Raptor was priceless. Visiting Cedar Point again was a chance to relive the past and create new memories for my children to share when they are parents…a long time from now.
