As Cedar Point prepares to observe its 150th anniversary season, the park has unveiled the biggest new attractions, features and special additions for the upcoming year.
A Ticket in Perpetuity
Cedar Point will award tickets that pays the legacy of fun and thrills of Cedar Point forward for generations to come. Beginning in February, guests can enter for a chance to win a Ticket of a Lifetime, a ticket that affords them free admission to Cedar Point beginning with the 150th anniversary season and lasting the rest of their lives.
150 winners will be chosen throughout 2020 and each winner can enjoy the ride with three select family or friends for a total of four Tickets of a Lifetime per winner. Guests will have the chance to win online, outside the park, and at Cedar Point. Ticket of a Lifetime access includes unlimited admission to Cedar Point, Cedar Point Shores Waterpark, free parking and more. The promotion not open to residents of New York and Florida.
Snake River Expedition
Guests can become part of the story aboard Snake River Expedition, a nod to the park’s former Western Cruise and Paddlewheel Excursions boat rides. They can embark on riverboats scientifically designed for exploration and adventure and travel along the winding Snake River that surrounds Forbidden Frontier on Adventure Island and the world’s first 300 foot tall coaster, Millennium Force.
Led by a member of Trapper Dan’s crew, they’ll be asked to help complete a secret mission that has them smuggling valuable bounty to safer waters. Live actors, special effects and exciting twists and turns will meet passengers around every bend.
Live Entertainment
What better way to commemorate the 150th anniversary than with a multi-sensory, nighttime celebration? The Celebrate 150 Spectacular begins with a dozen illuminating floats that pay tribute to the iconic turning points, innovations, and celebrations in Cedar Point history. Over 100 talented performers, ranging from sailors and acrobatic beach bathers to whimsical dancing hotel associates will interact with guests along the parade route, dancing to an original score that inspires a new family tradition.
The Celebrate 150 Spectacular parade travels down the Main Midway and culminates into an epic street party at the park’s Celebration Plaza near Iron Dragon, where performances, dancing, pyrotechnics, and music continue in an event fit for a sesquicentennial birthday bash. The Celebrate 150 Spectacular steps off nightly from June 12 through August 16.
The Celebrate 150 Spectacular is just the beginning. The best bands from across the region and the nation have the chance to be a part of the park’s 150th anniversary with the new Bands in Residence program. Chosen artists and bands will showcase their instrumental and vocal talents with millions of guests as they perform at one of Cedar Point’s live entertainment venues.
Frontier Town’s Palace Theatre commemorates Cedar Point’s historic year with “Lusty Lil Celebrates the 150th.” Lusty Lil has been a staple at the Palace Theatre for years, and in 2020, she’ll pay tribute to classic moments and favourite performances throughout the Palace’s history. Her crew will join a live band and keep guests entertained while they set the tone for the future of Lusty Lil’s Palace Theatre.
Foods on a Stick
Powdered sugar, fresh-made fudge, cotton candy, waffles, funnel cakes, and a cascading chocolate fountain come together just inside the park’s main entrance at the new French Quarter Confections. Visitors will find more than ten sweet customisable toppings for the park’s famous funnel cakes, elephant ears, and a new sweet addition, waffle-on-a-stick.
Food personalisation continues at the new Mac Shack, located near Toft’s Ice Cream Parlor, where guests can create your ultimate macaroni and cheese bowl. The Mac Shack turns up the heat when fresh, hot macaroni noodles are tossed into a massive cheese block and the hot noodles delicately melt the cheese around them. Fresh cream is added and the ingredients are folded in together for the grand finale of a hearty and decadent treat. Optional toppings for each bowl include brisket, pulled pork, bacon and more.
Cedar Point’s classic fruit-shaped orange, grape, lemon and apple juice bottles return at C.P. Juice Co., located next to Scrambler. The modern take on these memorable drink vessels includes a slushie type drink with choices of orange, grape, lemon and apple. The C.P. Juice Co. will also serve fresh strawberry, banana, pineapple and kiwi strawberry fruit smoothies.
Some of Cedar Point’s favourite foods, like cheese-on-a-stick, chicken fingers and hot dog-on-a-stick have always had their home at The Corral. In 2020, it’s undergoing an extensive transformation, along with upgrades to its famous treats. New hand-breaded chicken tenders, gourmet pizza with a focaccia crust, cheddar cheese, jalapeno or classic hot-dog-on-a-stick, and the famous mozzarella cheese-on-a-stick will be the featured items at The Corral. The Corral will be rebuilt from the ground up, creating a new walk-in experience with serving lines designed to deliver food quickly and efficiently.
Cedar Point is known for taste bud-tickling treats that are special to the park. Now, visitors can guarantee that they’ve tried them all, along with some new additions, with the Taste of The Point food tour. Receive a special dining passport that will take you on a journey through 15 of the park’s food locations to sample some of the park’s old favourites and new creations. Stops on the Taste of The Point tour include Happy Friar for Cedar Point’s famous fresh-cut French fries, The Corral for the one and only hot-dog-on-a-stick, French Quarter Confections for a special anniversary funnel cake and Toft’s Ice Cream Parlor for one of three new signature milkshakes or a scoop of the signature anniversary ice cream flavour. Upon completing the Taste of The Point, they will receive a free t-shirt to commemorate the accomplishment. The Taste of The Point can be completed over multiple visits in 2020.
Town Hall Reborn
The centrepiece of Frontier Town, Town Hall will welcome guests to a fun and modern take on the 150-year history of America’s Roller Coast. Town Hall will feature an interactive timeline that spans Cedar Point’s humble beginnings as a bathing beach and bathhouse to the multi-day family destination that it is today. Planned exhibits include recreated displays of infamous Cedar Point icons, like Jungle Larry’s African Safari, the Earthquake and Rotor rides, Fascination and Hotel Breakers. Guests will have the opportunity to see rotating artifacts and displays that feature ride logo development and blueprints, concept renderings, scale models, breathtaking photography, and more.
Cedar Point’s history is rich with successes, failures, challenges, and innovation. Two new history tours will guide participants through these feats, highlighting major points of interest in the park and moments of evolution. On new self-guided tours, they can download a special mobile app that will lead them to special locations inside the park. The tour will tell the stories of significant park additions and changes on the peninsula’s landscape. More information about the tour can be found at Town Hall in Frontier Town.
In addition, new guided Segway tours will give guests the chance to climb onto their own Segway mobility device and be led by a park tour guide. The tour concentrates on the famous beach and boardwalk, Cedar Point Lighthouse and special highlights around the park’s perimeter. They can grab tickets and join the tour at Cedar Point’s Lakeside Gate, located near WindSeeker.
Celebration Central
Being a part of the park’s biggest moment in history requires some major commemorative souvenirs to take home. The Pagoda Gift Shop becomes Celebration Central for the summer of 2020, featuring commemorative and limited-edition park merchandise, 150th anniversary logo items, such as t-shirts, mugs, hats, and collectable pins, plus retro logo and attraction t-shirts. A coffee table-style park photo book, produced with partners at Cleveland’s Great Lakes Publishing, will also be available.
Also new at Celebration Central, visitors can share your park memories by choosing one of three signature postcard designs and sending it to loved ones or friends – for free. Digital postcards can also be emailed from Celebration Central for free. Other postcard designs will be available for purchase.
Right next to Celebration Central, the former Hat Rack becomes the Button Stop, the hub of the new Cedar Point button trading program. Hundreds of designs, featuring current and former attractions, logos, phrases, and more, will be available for purchase. Each operating day, park guests are encouraged to trade their buttons with each other or with select park associates. Limited edition buttons not available for purchase will also be placed into circulation. All guests are invited to customise and receive a special “first year” button for free. The button features a space to inscribe the year a guest made their first visit.
In another nod to experiences of the park’s past, guests who have their photos taken by designated park photographers will have the option of a keyhole photo keychain. The keychain features the 150th anniversary logo and is available at FunPix Photos near the Jack Aldrich Theatre.
