Cedar Point 2009

I visited Cedar Point for Opening Day 2009, and I made a few observations, some of which have already been noted of and some that haven't. Here are some interesting things I saw at the park. (My trip report will be coming soon as well.)

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New Causeway Sign

This has been talked about a lot by Cedar Point fans over the winter, and I have to say it looks great, especially at night. It is nice and colorful and the LED is bright and crystal clear. Very attractive!

New Entrance LED Signs

This too was very popular discussion in the Cedar Point community. Cedar Point now has many LED displays in the main entrance. Once again, they are very bright and colorful, and look great.

New Garbage Cans

I know that we all love Cedar Point's famous garbage cans, so it was cool to see a new style of garbage cans in the park! There are a few new bins around the park that are grey and have a much thicker looking plastic. They are very similar to the old ones, but the top part with the four openings sticks out and is wider than before. It's hard to explain, but I like them!

New Hand Dryers

One of the coolest things I saw in the park was actually in the bathrooms! Cedar Point got new Dyson AirBlade hand dryers. You put your hands in this area, and then a stream of fast moving air moves across the opening. When you pull your hands out, the water gets pushed off and drained. They called them the "Fastest, most hygienic hand dryers available.", and I must agree with that statement. These dryers are fast. Even faster than the Xelerator dryers that pushed your skin away from your hand! Well, luckily, these aren't as powerful, but they still perform better. Unfortunately, I didn't see these at every restroom yet though.

New Midway Fountain

This was really nice. The area looked nice around the fountain, and the water was very refreshing. It actually squirts out at anytime or in patterns, so you never really know when you'll get wet if you're running through. It's pretty fun to watch, too.

Brick Pavers

Throughout the front of the park, there are a lot of new brick paver midways. These are around the fountain, along the main midway, and at the entrance. They look really nice and durable, and it's a nice alternative to concrete.

Train Crossing Areas

The areas where the CP&LE Railroad passes through the midways just got a little facelift. Instead of concrete, there is now asphalt around the tracks.

Family Dryer

A more recent announcement from the park was that there was going to be a new "family dryer" near Snake River Falls. This dryer, also called a Haystack Dryer, can dry a total of five people for five dollars. It's going to be nice not having to walk around wet all day after riding Snake River Falls or Thunder Canyon! I didn't get to try it out yet, but I will soon!

Maverick Screen Gone

The LCD screen in Maverick's queue line is now gone. I am not quite sure why it was removed, but it was probably prone to vandalism.

Park Banners

The new banners hanging around the park look great. This year, there are "Magnum XL-200 20th Anniversary", "Ride On", "Ride Warriors", and several banners with just rides on them. Also, there are some banners with Cedar Point logos on them near the midway fountain, and they look really nice.

Magnum Sign

There is a new sign right outside of the entrance to Magnum XL-200's queue. It looks really cool, and fits the ride really well.

Magnum's Tunnels

I'm not sure if this is true, but in the tunnel on Magnum, I thought I could smell fog, an effect that hasn't been used on the ride permanently for a while now. This could mean that it might be restored.

New Energy Drink Stand

There is now an Energy Station near Gemini. It sells energy drinks and soft drinks.

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If I forgot anything, I will make sure that I post it in this post later on. I saw a lot of new stuff at the park, and the park looks great. It looks like 2009 will be a great season.

Thanks!

Brad