 |
| Vintage postcard of Cedar Point Millrace |
Cedar Point may not be the top-ranked amusement park today when it comes to attendance or public polls, but it will always be No. 1 in the hearts of those who visited it during the 1960s and 70s. It was during that time period that the park introduced many beloved rides that helped transform Cedar Point from the rundown resort of the 1950s to the popular thrill center it is today.
The 1964 season was a big one for Cedar Point, as noted in the article below, which appeared in the Journal back on April 9, 1964.
 |
| Vintage postcard of Millrace with Blue Streak in background |
"Heading the list will be a $200,000 roller coaster named the "Blue Streak" which will be 2,400 feet in length and starts out with an 80-foot climb. It replaces the Cyclone which was dismantled 12 years ago.
"Other new rides are the Calypso, a circulating and tilting sensation, the Broadway Trip, which takes passengers on a ride through a three-level dark enclosure, and a French Frolic a swinging ride, which is also being installed at the New York World's Fair.
"Among the rides which has proved a favorite and installed 10 days prior to last year's closing was the Millrace.
The article also notes that "a number of new animated features have been added to the route of the narrow-gauge Cedar Point & Lake Erie Railroad which operates two trains with four cars each, including a caboose added for the new season."
In case you're wondering what the Calypso was like, here's a nice YouTube video to dizzily remind you.
It's hard not to get overwhelmed with nostalgia thinking about the Cedar Point of the 1960s and 70s. I have many memories about our visits to the park as a family: going to the Millrace first (and getting wet to start the day, much to Mom's annoyance); visiting Jungle Larry's Safari Island; the (long-gone) Pirate and Earthquake Rides; dinner at the Silver Dollar; riding in the Cadillac Cars (a decade before getting a real driver's license); an evening ride on the Cedar Point & Lake Erie Railroad; and a nighttime view of the park from the Space Spiral.
It was a pretty long drive from Pennsyltucky to Cedar Point, but we were there for the first full summer of "the log ride."
ReplyDeleteMuch to us kids' surprise, our gramma rode it with us (and she never rode anything). She was a big woman and sat up front. Needless to say, we were soaked!
The thing I remember most, beside my typically reserved Dad hawking a loogie from up high in the cable cars, was how clean everything was.
Cedar Point definitely isn’t family friendly as it used to be. They are always going for bigger and better. Gone are the days of MillRace, Pirate Ride, Earthquake, The theater where you could enjoy AC, and my favorite White Water Landing.
ReplyDeleteCedar Point definitely has changed over the years. Basically it just plain S#@ks.Won't go there ever again.
ReplyDeleteI am more of a Euclid Beach fanatic, having grown up near it, but we did go to Cedar Point at least yearly and I remember it going back to the 50s. My favorite place was the Wax Museum, which had apparently not been updated since the 1930s and looked it. It was strange.
ReplyDeleteCedar Point is dangerous.Remember a lady was struck in the head with a piece of the roller coaster a few years back.Now she is pretty much brain dead.You can duck and you can wear a helmet but a heavy piece of steel flying at 100 mph will impale your head faster than the magic bullet that killed JFK.
ReplyDelete