Cedar Point Shores 07/11/18

Spent the day in Sandusky yesterday, with several early-afternoon hours in the water park. I really like what they've done with it.

The new slide tower (two tube slides, four aqua-drop chambers) are nice additions. I'm not sure if it is because the capacity is good, or it's a bit too "extreme" for too many guests, but the line at the drop slides looked to be a bit shorter than that at other nearby towers. I hadn't done an aqua-drop before, and really liked it.

The real investment was in infrastructure and services. The park has a very different look-and-feel and it is a solid improvement over the concrete-jungle vibe that the place had before. Still not much in the way of landscaping that I recall, but the seaside-ish architecture of the new construction really changes the atmosphere for the better.

Crystal Rock Cafe, the new food service venue, is set up a bit like a single station at Carowinds' Harmony Hall or Kings Island's Festhaus. It has two serving sides, but only one was open the day I was there. Service is quite a bit faster than the typical CP joint (which, admittedly, is a low bar). It was also possible to eat reasonably healthily: I had rotisserie chicken and a side salad. The chicken was a little heavy on the salt, but in a good way.

The new bar area looked inviting, and included some live music: a nice touch.

The park had a healthy crowd, but a shout-out for the 21+ pool/bar area. At least a handful of loungers were available the whole time I was there (about 12-3:30 or so), including a few in the shade. It's a calm respite from the chaos that is the rest of the park, without the need to pay cabana prices.

The new restaurant at Kings Island for this year is identical copy of Crystal Rock Cafe. I really like the chicken and brisket at CRC. I just wish they would add more multi-person tube slides at CPS.

Did you (or someone who went recently) have any problems parking in the back CPS lot? Were they checking for CPS tickets?

Not on the 11th, but on CPS' opening day, they didn't open it until 9:30. I suspect that was b/c they knew they'd be slammed with people actually wanting to go to the water park for opening day/weekend, and they were trying to keep the folks just wanting to use Resort Gate from filling the lot unnecessarily. And yes, they were SLAMMED on CPS' opening day, so much so that when I tried to pop over at 12:30 it looked so busy that I didn't even bother.

We parked back their in May with no issues.

That visit was my first visit to the water park. I liked it a lot.