General manager gives update on Cedar Point for 2018.

General manager offers update

Cedar Point on April 25 unveiled Steel Vengeance, its latest thrill ride with new steel tracks set on the structure of the former Mean Streak ride.

It is 205 feet tall and 74 mph – and far from the only thing going on at Cedar Point, said park Vice President and General Manager Jason McClure.

As Cedar Point approaches its 150th anniversary in 2020, park staff look back at the history what has drawn people to the park over the years, McClure said.

Cedar Point remains the roller coaster capital of the world, but “we’re way more than that,” McClure said.

This month, McClure spoke to The Morning Journal about where to eat, where to stay and where to work on a suntan.

On the boardwalk

For 2018, the Cedar Point Boardwalk will be extended to connect to the main parking lot. The new boardwalk gives more access to the beach; resort guests can walk the entire stretch of the beach, McClure said.

“If people want to come and hang out on the beach and play at Lake Erie, it’s just a lot more convenient,” he said. “And it’s what makes Cedar Point different from other amusement parks. To have the type of park that we have on the Cedar Point beach, it’s just a real differentiator for us.”

Hotel Breakers’ new tower with 158 new rooms will open as the park opens, McClure said.

Its renovation of 2015 was well received by guests.

“They love the look and the feel of the rooms. They love being right on the beach but steps away from the park,” he said. “So we wanted to add onto Hotel Breakers with this new wing. It’s going to be a great place for our guests to stay. Great views. That wing, you either have a view of the lake or a view of the park, so all the rooms in that wing are going to have wonderful views.”

Ultimate RV Sites

The Sandcastle Suites hotel was taken down, and in its place will be 25 new “Ultimate RV Sites.”

“There’s a lot of demand for the RV sites that we have at the park and more and more folks use that as a way to vacation,” McClure said.

“These new ultimate sites

are going to be great,” with an outdoor grill and fire pit on the point where Sandusky Bay and Lake Erie meet, McClure said.

“That business continues to grow for us and we thought this was an opportunity to not just put more

spaces like we have, more sites like we already have, but to give something a little upgraded that people are looking for,” McClure said.

Feeling hungry

In 2017, Melt Bar & Grilled restaurant, which has become established as a Northeast Ohio must-eat, debuted at Cedar Point.

McClure said one of his favorite dishes there is the sandwich known as “The Dude Abides,” named for the movie “The Big Lebowski.”

Among his other favorite dishes are the grilled chicken sandwich at Famous Dave’s BBQ Shack; the pizza or buffalo chicken salad at Chickie’s & Pete’s; and breakfast for breakfast, lunch or anytime in Perkins Family Restaurant in the Hotel Breakers.

“I eat about everywhere,” McClure said. “I like the funnel cake, too.”

McClure said when the operations workers see him hunkering down in the evening with a funnel cake, they know it’s been a long day.

On his own credit card statement, McClure said the single largest expenditure last year was Cedar Point.

“I eat in the park a lot,” he said.

“They love being right on the beach but steps away from the park.”

ERIC BONZAR — THE MORNING JOURNAL Media members got first cracks at riding Cedar Point’s new hyper-hybrid roller coaster Steel Vengeance on April 25. Coaster enthusiasts will get their chance to experience the world-record-breaking thrill ride when the park opens for the 2018 season...