we've returned, quite tired, from a whirlwind trip to the family-friendly Cedar Point where we stayed at the even more family-friendly Castaway Bay. the trip was chock full of twists and turns from our original plans, but it wasn't void of fun, activities and thrills for the boys. it was their favorite vacation yet.

Cedar Point was a popular park when i was a teenager, and that is the last time i was there. the park was fortunately full of activities and rides for the little kids to ride...except for kids adam's age/size. he was stuck with the space ship round-about and the merry-go-round.

the hotel we stayed in had an indoor water park attached to it which was perfect for our kids' ages. they all found a favorite part of the park and eventually got over some small fears of deeper water, or waterfalls and just had fun. our hotel had a private balcony that was completely screened in (with a gate to support the screen), so it was a great place for the boys to eat snacks or lunches (pictured below). it was also nice to have a place to drink our coffee when we woke up earlier than the boys did both mornings.

Pros and Cons of the Trip.
Cedar Point is definitely a great place to take a family for a short vacation. Even for kids ages 5 and under. I think it will be the perfect location in 5-10 years for boys who can swim on their own. I was mildly neurotic about all the water and way too many people at the outdoor water park attached to Cedar Point we visited the second day. If our kids were older, couldn't wander away, and could swim on their own, I'd have been able to let my guard down a little.

Pros

• the boys were never bored.
• the boys had a BLAST.
• they loved the rides and the lines were relatively short inside Camp Snoopy.
• TGI Fridays (attached to our hotel) was really good. Their menu has improved and their prices weren't high like the rest of the hotel.
• the awesome indoor water park

Cons

• even though it was a family-friendly resort, it was more expensive than it should have been.
• we love the beach, and the beach at Cedar Point wasn't all that great. We spent only 15 minutes there.
• we lost Rowan for 10 minutes inside the outdoor water park at Cedar Point. I have bad memories of that outdoor waterpark because of it. it was horrifying.
• no family picture on the beach coast during a gorgeous sunset.
  

Lessons Learned

• always take more cash than you originally planned to take.
• if a public pool looks and feels too crowded, it's not a good place for a family with three young kids.
• Snoopy is so much less frightening than Charlie Brown. It must be that big, round, bald head.
• apply your own sunscreen in the hotel room and not in the parking lot or near the outdoor pool/gate to the amusement park where the kids can wander and you have no time to apply it properly. kenny and i both got burned because we were slapping it on while the kids were way too excited to sit still until we were done!