Category Archives: Haunted Houses

HalloWeekends at Cedar Point closes this weekend

Cedar Point Press Release

SANDUSKY, Ohio, Oct. 24, 2011 — Summertime fun will officially end on Sunday (Oct. 30) when HalloWeekends at Cedar Point will close for the season.

This will be the last weekend to enjoy the park’s roller coasters and the fun and frights of HalloWeekends.

During HalloWeekends, the park combines its vast assortment of rides with dozens of Halloween attractions that range from scary fright zones and haunted houses to live entertainment and children’s attractions that include the Monster Midway Invasion Celebration parade (4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday afternoon), the Magical House on Boo Hill, the Hay Bale Maze and a sleeping ogre.

Screamworks Master Skull

With two new fright zones, Blood on the Bayou, featuring zombies and a self-taught butcher, and Screamworks that is inhabited by creatures donning gas masks and goggles, HalloWeekends has more haunted attractions than ever before!

Guests interested in frights can find their fill all weekend long. All of the haunted attractions are ready to scare each night. Plus, the park’s rides and roller coasters will be in operation from open to close. (On Friday night, there will be a reduced ride offering.)

There are also several ways to save money on a visit to the park. A four-pack of tickets can be purchased online for only $156, a savings of nearly $11 per ticket. Seecedarpoint.com for all of the details. (Tickets must be purchased in advance online.)

Plus, Sunday (Oct. 30) is also the last day of the park’s Climbing to a Million contest when current and new Facebook fans of Cedar Point will be able to receive a $10 discount on admission to the park ($39.99 per person) by downloading and printing a special voucher from Facebook and redeeming it at Cedar Point.

There is also still time to save money on summer fun for next year. Cedar Point Season Passes and Cedar Fair Platinum Passes for 2012 are now on sale for the lowest rate available through the end of the weekend. See cedarpoint.com for great ways to save!

On Friday, Cedar Point will be open from 6 p.m. to midnight; noon to midnight on Saturday; and noon to 9 p.m. on Sunday.

For more information about HalloWeekends at Cedar Point, please visithalloweekends.com or call the park’s General Information Line at 419.627.2350.

HalloWeekends 15, PointFest and Boat Show return to Cedar Point

Halloweekends Hearse

Cedar Point Press Release

SANDUSKY, Ohio, – Cedar Point will offer a wide array of family entertainment this week when three popular special events return to the Sandusky, Ohio, amusement park/resort.

HalloWeekends
On Friday, HalloWeekends, Cedar Point’s fall festival of fun and frights, will return for its 15th season. For seven weekends, HalloWeekends will provide an unmatched mix of rides and roller coasters, haunted houses and fright zones, live shows and special attractions such as the Monster Midway Invasion Celebration parade that will feature four new floats.

This year HalloWeekends will also add two new fright zones (Screamworks along the Frontier Trail and Blood on the Bayou that will lead guests along the lagoon) and two new shows (The Edge of Madness – Six Feet Under in the Red Slaughter Saloon and Dr. Cleaver in the Clink in The Palace Theatre).

For an additional fee, the new Zombie Tour will provide front-of-the-line privileges at the park’s four haunted houses and the Blood on the Bayou and CornStalkers fright zones. Visit cedarpoint.com for all of the details.

HalloWeekends at Cedar Point will be held Friday nights, Saturdays and Sundays, Sept. 16 through Oct. 30. Cedar Point will be open 6 p.m. to midnight on Friday nights (only a portion of the park is open); noon to midnight on Saturdays; and noon to 9 p.m. Sundays. (On Sunday, Oct. 9, the park will be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.)

For more information, including attractions, entertainment and hours of operation, please visit halloweekends.com or call the park’s General Information Line at 419.627.2350.

PointFest
Presenting some of today’s most popular Christian artists, PointFest will return to Cedar Point for its third year on Saturday, Sept. 17. It will feature nearly six hours of music and entertainment.

Headlining this year’s show will be Skillet whose performance will be highlighted by a lively pyrotechnics show and Christian music icon TobyMac, who returns for his second appearance at PointFest. Other entertainers include Manic Drive, Disciple and comedian Bone Hampton.

The concert will begin at approximately 5 p.m. with performances continuing until 11 p.m. The event will be held in the Soak City parking lot. Combo tickets to Cedar Point and the concert are available online and at Cedar Point. Concert-only tickets for season pass-holders and deals for groups of 15 or more are also available. Admission to Cedar Point is required. For more information and a link to purchase tickets, please visit cedarpoint.com.

North American In-Water Boat Show
For the 39th consecutive year, the Cedar Point Marina will host The North American In-Water Boat Show from Wednesday through Sunday, Sept. 14-18.

The largest in-water boat show on the Great Lakes, the Cedar Point Boat Show will feature many of the newest power and sail boats, equipment and accessories. A 69-foot-long Marquis 690, displayed by SkipperBud’s, is this year’s Queen of the Fleet. Visitors will also be able to enjoy the Boats Under $15,000 and Boats $15,000-$25,000 pavilions, the Brokerage Pier and the Demo Dock and Sail Pier.

Regular admission is $9 for adults and $7 for seniors (age 60 and older), while children, age 12 and younger, are free. Hours for the boat show will be noon to 7 p.m., Wednesday through Friday, Sept. 14-16; 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 17; and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 18. Admission to Cedar Point is not required.

For more information about these events, please log onto to cedarpoint.com or call Cedar Point’s General Information Line at 419.627.2350.

Cedar Point to rename 2 attractions after protests

From the toledoBlade

Dr. D. Mented's Asylum for the Criminally Insane

SANDUSKY — Criticized last year by a group that advocates on behalf of the mentally ill, Cedar Point says it will rename two attractions for its upcoming HalloWeekends operations to ones that are less offensive.

At issue was a haunted house called “Dr. D Mented’s Asylum for the Criminally Insane” and an indoor show called “The Edge of Madness — Still Crazy.”

Members of the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Ohio last year complained that the Sandusky amusement park stereotyped those with mental illness by giving two Halloween attractions names that the advocacy group said were offensive to the mentally ill and their families and inspired fear and misunderstanding by the general public.

Cedar Point spokesman Robin Innes said Thursday the park decided to address the criticism this year.

“We knew they were upset with some of the names,” he said. “We didn’t change them last year but we have changed them for this year.”

“Dr. D Mented’s Asylum” has been renamed the “Eternity Infirmary,” while “The Edge of Madness” has been changed to “The Edge of Madness — Six Feet Under,” Mr. Innes said.

Eternity Infirmary

The renamed attractions will make their debut when Cedar Point’s HalloWeekends opens on Sept. 16. The park’s Halloween-themed makeover will run each Friday-Sunday until Oct. 30.

The man who spearheaded the criticism last year, Terry Russell, interim executive director of the advocacy group, said he was pleased with Cedar Point’s decision. “NAMI Ohio is extremely thankful to them for doing that and our organization now fully supports their Halloween activities,” he said.

Cedar Point haunted attractions getting new names after complaints

From the Chronicle Online

Dr. D. Mented's Asylum for the Criminally Insane

SANDUSKY — An Ohio amusement park says it will have new names this year for two Halloween attractions that drew complaints from mental health advocates.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI, said Cedar Point promoted false stereotypes last Halloween by calling a haunted house “Dr. D. Menteds Asylum for the Criminally Insane” and a musical show “The Edge of Madness: Still Crazy.”

The Sandusky Register quotes CEO Dick Kinzel of parent company Cedar Fair as saying the haunted house will keep the hospital theme but be renamed. He says Cedar Point doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.

A park spokesman says the show will change to “The Edge of Madness: Six Feet Under.”

NAMI Ohio chapter executive director Terry Russell says Cedar Point is moving in the right direction.

Cedar Point responds to mental health advocates: No changes to haunted houses

From the Sandusky Register

SANDUSKY

Call ’em crazy, but Cedar Point won’t alter or remove any of its attractions, despite a request from mental health advocates to do so.

A Cedar Point spokesman said “changes are not required.”

On Thursday, the National Alliance on Mental Illness asked the amusement park to immediately remove two offerings focusing on fictional mental health patients: Dr. D. Mented’s Asylum for the Criminally Insane, and The Edge of Madness: Still Crazy.

One is a haunted house, the other is a separate show.The attractions promote the false stereotype that the public should fear mental health patients, the alliance said.

But Cedar Point officials feel the attractions do no such thing, park spokesman Robin Innes said.

“The attractions at HalloWeekends are not the real world and our guests know that,” Innes said. “Our attractions are not designed to depict reality.”

The alliance’s Ohio chapter described Cedar Point’s inaction as potentially harmful and called Cedar Point a “callous organization.”

But it will not continue to ask the park to make changes, said Terry Russell, the alliance’s execute director.

“NAMI Ohio is sad that Cedar Point has rejected our plea,” Russell said. “(But) we will not take any further action in regards to Cedar Point. Our energies must be expended in advocating for treatment services that are currently not available.”

One of the alliance’s goals is to improve public awareness and increase education about mental health problems.

Friday marked the end to Mental Health Awareness Week, which prompted the alliance to ask Cedar Point for the change.

In a letter to Cedar Point officials, the alliance said attractions like Cedar Point’s reinforce stigmas about mental health patients.

Like other diseases, however, mental health patients who receive treatment can function with few symptoms, the alliance said.

“Mental illnesses are biological brain disorders, they are diseases,” the letter said. “Would Cedar Point ever even consider developing a display or attraction that used cancer patients as a means of instilling fear in their guests? We think not. And why is this? Because cancer is a serious disease.

“We would never want to paint individuals with this terrible disease in an unfavorable light. Why then do you feel that it is acceptable to paint individuals suffering from biological brain disorders in an unfavorable light?”

Innes said despite their disagreement, Cedar Point appreciates “the valuable services” the alliance provides for local families.

Russell said the alliance doesn’t oppose haunted houses or Halloween festivals, but wished Cedar Point wouldn’t make light of such a serious disease.