Yes/No Detroit on the Road: Cedar Point and Hotel Breakers (Sandusky, OH) #LakeErieLove

*Disclosure: I was provided with a hotel stay and park tickets in exchange for this post, as well as African Safari Wildlife Park tickets. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.

I am a huge fan of Cedar Point, so I was very excited when I was invited back to the park this summer and also found out that I would be staying the night at its revamped hotel, Hotel Breakers. I had never stayed on-site at the park before, so that was definitely an extra perk.

My friend Alex and I headed to Sandusky on Saturday afternoon - it's about a 2 to 2.5 hour drive from the Detroit area - and after a quick lunch, the first thing we did was the African Safari Wildlife Park, in Port Clinton. I had been here a few years ago, but Alex had never been, so I wanted him to be able to experience it.

You will make a lot of new friends during the safari, and as you can see here, some friendly alpacas came right up to the car to grab some food from us. I will say that you have to hold on to that cup firmly, though, as another (friendly, but insistent) bison that came up to the car later on in the safari grabbed the cup right out of my hands!

The wildlife park also has a "walk-through safari" area, where we saw this swan and her swan babies, as well as a plethora of other cute animals. They also do pig races and have camel rides for kids.

Sandusky and the "Shores and Islands" area has a ton to offer, but since we were on a time crunch this was the only non-park activity we did that day - you can check out its website for more trip ideas, though.

Next, it was onwards to Hotel Breakers!

I was amazed by how gorgeous this hotel was. I had never stayed there in its previous incarnation, but I know that the building itself has been standing for a long time. The rooms were completely new - the hotel had opened the day before - and the beds themselves were very comfortable, too. 

The room has a few extra amenities that you might not have thought it would have, like a fridge and microwave (see picture) plus an in-room safe. The bathrooms have wood floors and the beds have very colorful comforters, as you can see, plus the headboards are pictures of rides at the park, which was awesome. The photo in the bottom right of the collage above was a photo in the bathroom, which made me laugh - the rooms and the hallways in the hotel have tons of vintage photos up, which was great.

Our room view - not too shabby! We could also see Magnum on the right. (not pictured)

Our room was also right by the 3rd floor elevator, so I was expecting it to be noisy, but it was actually pretty quiet, which was very nice.

Vintage Gemini photo in the hotel lobby, 2nd floor

The hotel lobby itself was also very warm and inviting. We ate at the TGI Fridays in the hotel for dinner on Saturday, since it was pouring out and we didn't want to have to brave the weather, and the service was very good, as was the food. The hotel also has a TOMO's (hibachi grill), a Perkins (diner food), and a few quick-serve stands, including a Starbucks. (I may have grabbed a slice of pie at Perkins later that night as well ... so good!)

We decided to forgo the park on Saturday due to the weather, but Sunday arrived bright and sunny, and it was time to go to Cedar Point! (hurray!)

As hotel guests, we were allowed into the park an hour earlier than the general public, so of course the first ride we hit up was Rougarou, the newest ride in the park. Cedar Point has taken the old Mantis's track and painted it, and completely changed the cars - it's now a "floorless" coaster, similar to Raptor but with the cars on a bottom track rather than a hanging (top) one. We also got Rougarou First Rider pins from the park for being among the first to ride it, which was unexpected, but very cool!

New Rougarou roller coaster

My favorite rides in the park have changed over the years - in middle school, it was the Raptor; in high school, Mean Streak; and in the past few years, Millennium Force - but I think my new official current favorite ride is the Gatekeeper. We were extremely lucky and didn't wait more than fifteen minutes for any ride in the park on Sunday (maybe because it was Mother's day? not sure) and we rode Gatekeeper twice ... and were contemplating riding it a third time too, actually! It's a super smooth ride, yet also very thrilling.

Raptor

Overall, we lucked out on both the weather and the line situations, and had a fantastic day in the park - though I'd expect nothing less from Cedar Point. :)

Things to know before you go:

• There are major benefits to staying at a Cedar Point hotel (Breakers or Breakers Express) - not only do you get to enter the park an hour before it actually opens, you can also purchase discounted park tickets at the check-in desk. 
• Hotel Breakers is like a completely new hotel. We stayed in a 2 double beds room, and the room could have comfortably fit four people. The hotel also offers suites if you have a larger party.
• From looking at their sites, it seems like Breakers' rooms start at about $200-250/night for a king or two doubles rooms, and Breakers Express start at about $150-170/night. 
• It's about a three minute walk (literally) from Hotel Breakers to the closest park entrance, and there are a few entrances to choose from. Breakers Express is located at the beginning of the Causeway, and guests still receive the same benefits as Breakers guests do (early hours and discounted park tickets).
• Kind of random, but: the Starbucks in the hotel do not accept Starbucks cards, since they're technically owned by Cedar Point. 
• Cedar Point is open until the end of October. September and October feature its Halloweekends, which has many haunted house and other spooky attractions available on-site.

Have you ever been to Cedar Point and/or Sandusky? If so, what's your favorite ride or attraction there?