Another Big Amusement Park Trip!

Next week I will be heading up to Cedar Point, and later on to Carowinds again. This will mean that there may be limited posts throughout those days (Well, with finals for school there have already been limited posts), but I will try my best to keep the blog up-to-date. I will be away from the 9th through the 18th, so it's a long time, but I will make posts using an iPhone app whenever I can! I'll see some more of Starlight Experience and Carowinds, so I'll have some exciting stuff!

Also, I do plan on typing up more trip reports from Carowinds and Cedar Point, but I have a habit of making them very long, so I will type them as soon as I can!

Thanks!

Brad

Cedar Central Update

Okay, so it's been a while since I last updated what's been going on here at Cedar Central. Well, things are going well, and the complete network should be completed soon. At the blog, there has been a lack of posts due to a lot of travel and school throughout May. I think I am back on track now. The website is getting pretty far, and could be uploaded to the server anytime soon, so I'll notify you on the blog. The widget is still being reviewed, and so I don't know when I'll release it. Pretty soon though. If you would like the widget, Version 1.0 is still available. I will have a post outlining the new features pretty soon.

So, May was a slow month, but with a lot of time opening up in June, next month should be pretty big.

Thanks!

Brad

Saturday, May 16

This Saturday, as many of our readers probably expected, I will be visiting Cedar Point for opening weekend. I will have a full trip report when I get back, and I will make sure to tell you about everything, but please take note that there will be no new updates on Saturday or Sunday.

Thanks!
Brad

I'll Be Back Shortly!

Sorry for the lack of updates, but a lot has been going on over the past few days and my blog downtime has been extended a little bit. But remember, I will not be here tomorrow through Sunday, so there will not be any updates over this time. But I will keep you posted on the last five days before opening weekend when I return!

Thanks!
Brad

Blog Downtime

As I recently mentioned in our May outlook, there will be a period of blog downtime next week. Blog downtime means that you will still be able to access the blog, but I will be unable to make any posts during this time period. I will be away from Thursday, May 7 to Sunday, May 10, 2009. I will be heading down to Tennessee, but after I return, I will make sure that I catch up on all of the news and features that I missed while I was gone.

Thanks!

Brad

An Outlook on May

Like I've already said, I am very organized, and I like to lay out what will be happening for the rest of the month on the blog. This is what May 2009 will look like for us:

Friday, May 1, 2009

May Poll Begins

Thursday, May 7 - Sunday, May 10, 2009

Blog Downtime*

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Cedar Point Opening Day 2009!

Blog Downtime*

Thursday, May 21, 2009

"20 Years of Magnum" Will Begin

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Website Opening**

Widget V 1.2 Release***

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*There will be several days of blog downtime this month. This doesn't man that you will not be able to access the blog; it just means that there will not be any posts made during these few days. All news and features will be made up for whenever I return. I will be making note of these dates in later posts, too.

**May 30, 2009 is a hopeful day to open the website. I have been testing out parts of the website on my server, but there are still a lot of pages to get done. As of now, May 30 is when I am expecting it to open. I will keep you up-to-date though.

***The widget is almost ready to go, but I plan on releasing it with the website. Our last widget did not ever get on Apple's website, so V 1.2 will be our second update, but we will release it as soon as Apple approves it. I actually plan on submitting it today, so it will be about two weeks hopefully. Once again, I'll keep you updated though!

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Even though it doesn't seem like a lot will be going on in May, I think that this will be a very busy month on the blog, so stay tuned!

Thanks!

Brad

Contact Us!

I've set up a Cedar Central e-mail address that you can use to ask us questions, send us comments, send in pictures, etc. You can e-mail us here.

Thanks!

Brad

I'm Back!

Hello everyone!

I just got back from a great trip to Carowinds, which is a very nice Cedar Fair park. I will have trip reports coming soon. In the mean time, I will start posting again, so the blog is back in business!

Thanks!

Brad

Another Quick Widget Update...

Well, after a rough takeoff with the server, I finally managed to get the widget download to work. For a little while, if you clicked on the link, it would give you a message stating that you weren't allowed to download it (???), but I got it all cleared up. If you click on the link, it takes you to a webpage that is basically an exact copy of the blog post. And also, very observant people may notice that I'm using a server called "Amusement Park Madness". Don't get too excited... the reason why I did this was because I didn't want to post it on the website that I'm developing and let you guys get a sneak peak before it opens! So, to keep everything secure, you will be using a temporary server. But, don't worry, because I own and manage it, so it's secure. Here's the story.

I stumbled across a blog called "Amusement Park Madness" a few months ago when it was new. In fact, I'm a follower, just under a different username. Anyway, later on I was asked by the administrator to create some type of way to get his information onto the desktops of his readers. Well, since I'm a Mac guy, I told him I would develop a widget for him. Unfortunately, he can't use it, because he's a PC guy, but I tested it and made it work, and eventually released it to the public. But, I wanted it to be listed in Apple's list of Dashboard Widgets, and to do that, the widget had to have a webpage. So, I created one, which is where I'm secretly storing our widget, since I can't put it on our website since it's still under development.

So, now anyone that was confused is up-to-date on what's been going on with that weird website I've been using. And also, don't worry, I'm not cheating on Cedar Central either! I occasionally post things on Amusement Park Madness and update the widget, because they're a "friend blog". Don't worry, you guys get the eye candy on the widget!

Have a nice evening,

Brad

The Cedar Central Widget

Hello everyone!

Today I will be releasing the Cedar Central Widget. Until the website opens to the public, this post will be the source for all information regarding the widget, and I will have a link to the right of the blog linking here for easy access. Anyway, on to the widget!

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The Cedar Central Widget is your newest way to keep up-to-date all the time on the whereabouts of the greatest amusement park on Earth, Cedar Point! Get news and information delivered right to your Dashboard with no hassle, directly from the Cedar Central Blog! With a simple, clean, compact design, and fast and reliable news updates, the Cedar Central widget is the perfect way for Cedar Point fans to stay in the know!

Release Notes:

Name: Cedar Central Widget

Version: 1.0

Size (Compressed): 1204 Kb

Operating System: Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) and later.

Downloads:

Download from our server (.zip): Cedar Central Widget

Link to our widget's page on Apple's website will be coming soon.

---Our downloads are safe and secure, and tested for any malware.

Installation Instructions:

#1) After you download the widget as a compressed (zipped) file, it should automatically prompt you with a message asking you whether you would like to install the widget. Click "Install".

#2) Next, you will be taken to your Dashboard, where you should see the widget in a box. Click "Keep", and it should appear normally on your Dashboard.

#3) Drag it around and place it wherever you like. If you are connected to the internet, it will update all of the posts automatically. If the widget is updating, you should see a "Loading..." text field at the bottom.

If you would like to change how long the articles displayed are, click in the information icon that appears in the lower, right corner when your cursor is hovered over the widget to flip it over. Use the slider to adjust the the length of the articles. When you are finished, click the "Done" button to flip it back over.

The first time that you use the widget, you may notice that some images may take a second to appear. This is not a performance issue, and the images will show up after they initially load.

Screenshots:

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I am very excited that the widget is finally being released, and I am looking forward to seeing what new features we can implement into future releases!

Thanks!

Brad

A Quick Widget Update

Hello everyone!

The Cedar Central Widget for all Mac users running Tiger or Leopard (or soon Snow Leopard) is ready to go. But, if you recall one of my previous posts, I said that I would not release it to the public until it was on Apple's website. Well, I've decided that I will put up a direct download link today, and I will later update it to show the Apple link after it's been reviewed. Until the website is open to the public, this post will be the main "source" of the widget, and I will have a direct link to that post for easy access in the future. Enjoy (In a few minutes!)!

Thanks!

Brad

New Stuff!

Hey everyone!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately! I've been really busy with the blog, website and widget. As you can see, I have added more "stuff" around the blog to give it a little more meat. I will continue adding things on to make sure everything stays fresh. Also, you may have noticed that I finally got a banner up at the top of the page. I featured Magnum to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Happy anniversary Magnum! Anyway, more to come regarding Magnum's anniversary later.

Also, sorry for the lack of news lately. I know that most of the posts have been about the blog, but right now, there's not much stuff confirmed, so there's no new news! But as soon as things start going on, I'll keep you posted!

Thanks!

Brad

Blog Downtime

From Thursday, March 26, 2009 through Sunday, March 29, 2009, there will be some downtime with the blog. This also includes development of the website, forums, and widget. But, I'll update any Cedar Point news that I missed out on as soon as I'm back on Monday, so stay tuned!

Also, I'll still post any features that I missed, so I won't miss anything!

I'm on my way down to Cedar Point's sister park, Carowinds, so I'll see their new ride, Carolina Cobra, and be staying for opening day was well that Saturday. I'll be heading back late Sunday night, so I probably won't post anything until Monday. But, I'll have a nice trip report for you when I get back, and I'll talk about their new ride too!(Hey, this may be a Cedar Point blog, but Carowinds is still Cedar Point's sister!)

Thanks!

Brad

A Cedar Central Update

Now, I'd like for it to be known that we didn't just have a blog planned at Cedar Central. You already know about the widget, now get ready for a lot more. Soon, we will be opening an all new website and forums. These will both add to your Cedar Central experience and help you find information and enjoy the benefits of our network to the fullest. While these have begun the development stage, we will be fully working on these projects after the blog is finished. We still have a lot of design and functionality things to complete on the blog within the next few days, but we will keep you updated on the development of the website as soon as it begins!

Thanks!

Brad

Cedar Central Blog: 2009 Calendar

One thing that you will notice about me is that I like to be extremely organized. For this reason, I will be making a calendar for the events coming up for the blog this year. And I wouldn't be surprised if I make a post outlining each month's events at the beginning of each month as well. Well, you can't be too organized! Anyway, looking ahead to 2009!

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Sunday, March 15, 2009: Cedar Central Blog Opening Day.

Sunday, March 15, 2009: March Poll (What is your favorite roller coaster at Cedar Point?) begins.

Sunday, March 15, 2009: Do you remember...? begins.

Monday, March 16, 2009: Cedar Point Fact of the Day begins.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009: Ride of the Day begins.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009: Cedar Fair Day begins.

Thursday, March 19, 2009: Cedar Point Picture of the Day begins.

Friday, March 20, 2009: Cedar Point Person of the Day begins.

Saturday, March 21, 2009: Cedar Point-A Week in Review begins.

Thursday, March 26 - Sunday, March 29, 2009: Downtime.

Thursday, April 30, 2009: March poll ends (11:59p).

Friday, May 1, 2009: May poll begins.

Saturday, May 16, 2009: Cedar Point Opening Day, 2009.

Sunday, May 31, 2009: May poll ends (11:59p).

Monday, June 1, 2009: June poll begins.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009: June poll ends (11:59p).

Wednesday, July 1, 2009: July poll begins.

Friday, July 31, 2009: July poll ends (11:59p).

Saturday, August 1, 2009: August poll begins.

Saturday, August 1, 2009: Scream Coverage '09 begins.

Monday, August 31, 2009: August poll ends (11:59p).

Tuesday, September 1, 2009: September HalloWeekends poll begins.

Friday, September 18, 2009: HalloWeekends 13 begins.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009: September HalloWeekends poll ends (11:59p).

Thursday, October 1, 2009: October HalloWeekends poll begins.

Saturday, October 31, 2009: October HalloWeekends poll ends (11:59p).

Sunday, November 1, 2009: November poll begins.

Sunday, November 1, 2009: Cedar Point and HalloWeekends 13 final day 2009.

Monday, November 2, 2009: Scream Coverage '09 concludes.

Monday, November 2, 2009: 2009-A Look Back begins.

Monday, November 30, 2009: November poll ends (11:59p).

Tuesday, December 1, 2009: December poll begins.

Thursday, December 31, 2009: 2009-A Look Back ends.

Thursday, December 31, 2009: December poll ends (11:59p).

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As you can see, there aren't many new things listed to be added in the summer months, but please be assured that that really isn't true. New fun and informative posts will constantly added over time as they come about, so we don't know all of them yet. But, we'll keep this page updated as time goes on, so just check it out by clicking "2009 Calendar" or "Cedar Central" on the blogs right pane.

Thanks!

Brad

News Updates

Please be aware that over the next few days I will be updating the news on the blog with some recent news from the park (starting with say, around October). I will clearly mark these posts, but I just want to make sure that everyone knows. I feel that recent news should be posted to inform readers that may not be aware of these recent events, and also for future reference.

This may also apply with other articles, such as trip reports.

Thanks!

Brad

Welcome to the Cedar Central Blog!

Hello, and welcome to the Cedar Central Blog! In this website I will keep you informed on the latest and greatest Cedar Point news and information! Cedar Point's opening day for 2009 is quickly approaching, with less than 62 days left to go, and during this time there's a lot going on around in the park! So stay tuned for plenty of exciting news and updates now and throughout the season! And we have plenty more in store for our readers in the future, so feel free to enjoy and follow the blog!

Thanks!

Brad