Top Thrill Dragster is the tallest and fastest roller coaster on earth. -Cedar Point photo

Cedar Point's 135th season, and its fourth consecutive season of being voted Park of the Year by the Coaster's Choice Awards by CoasterBuzz.com, will start Saturday.

The park has 16 award-winning roller coasters, more than anywhere else, plus 52 other rides for the daring, as well as wonderful shows, resorts, food and games for the not so adventurous.

The park has added more places to stay and more restaurants to make visits more enjoyable. Make reservations early. The cottages, cabins and hotel rooms fill very fast.

The three best scream machines
There is good news for all roller coaster riders out there: Public relations coordinator Bryan Edwards assures me the Top Thrill Dragster will be running fine this year.

"There were problems last year because Cedar Point doesn't usually build a prototype ride. We usually take a ride already in operation at another park and make it better. They work through the problems and we can open flawlessly.

"This time, we were the first to build something like this, and it took a while to work out all the bugs," Edwards said.

Cedar Point has 16 award-winning roller coasters, more than anywhere else in the world. -Cedar Point photo

Top Thrill Dragster breaks all records. This is Cedar Point's 16th coaster, topping its own record. It is the first to break the 400-foot-tall barrier, at 420 feet, and is dubbed the "strata coaster."

The fuel dragster-style train moves to a starting line position, the lights and sounds escalate to launch with everyone sitting in stadium type seats while the excitement builds.

Then it fires out of the gate at 120 miles per hour after just four seconds (record speed), shoots up 420 feet at a 90-degree angle, twisting like a corkscrew, flies over the top and again reaches this speed on the vertical 270 degree twisted descent. This ride lasts less than a minute, but the memory lasts a long time.

Millennium Force, which opened in 2000, is a great "giga-coaster" and is still winning awards.

When you sit in the car waiting to go, you stare at a track going almost straight up. You figure it will take a year to crank you up to the top of the first hill. Wrong! It uses an elevator cable lift system to launch riders up the 310-foot first hill and down 80 degrees to the bottom. And that's just the first hill!

Magnum XL-200 is a fantastic ride, and who can argue with 29 million riders in 14 seasons. The speed, tunnels, smooth riding and airtime all are great. It is even possible to pose for a photo if you know where the camera is.

Honorable mention goes to the wood coaster Mean Streak. Yes, it has a mean streak, especially after dark with a little dew on the rails when it screams around the corners.

It also is hard to ride for many people. If you don't know the abrupt turns, it can throw you against the sides. Ouch.

New for 2004
Lighthouse Point will now have a total of 64 cottages, 40 cabins and 97 luxury RV campsites (complete with cable).

The cedar-shingle, single-story cottages on the lake feature small decks and sleep up to six people. The log exterior cabins sleep eight and surround two man-made ponds.

Splash Zone has been added to Soak City,

Splash Zone, a multistory interactive play area with more than 100 different water gadgets, has been added to Soak City, already one of the largest water parks in the country. -Cedar Point photo

already one of the largest waterparks in the country. It is a multistory interactive play area with more than 100 water gadgets that spray, squirt and drench guests. Fun water slides, chutes, spewing geysers, pools and cascading water will entertain anyone who likes to play in water. Every 10 minutes, there is a huge bucket that pours 1,000 gallons of water onto the guests below.

Castaway Bay is scheduled to open in November. This resort and waterpark complex will be open year-round and will feature the renovated Radisson Harbour Inn with 237 rooms and suites, elaborate multistory waterpark, restaurants, pool, day spa and arcade.

There will be three new restaurants, according to Edwards. Donut Time will offer treats at the park's 9 a.m. opening time. Game Day Grille will present a sports bar atmosphere with TVs and typical sports fare, such as nachos, wings, pizza and hot dogs. Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que will be at the marina with ribs, chicken and pulled pork with Dave's famous sauce.

Live Shows
The award-winning shows have gotten better, and there is a lot to choose from, especially if you like Snoopy. Most shows last about 25 minutes and are available during the core summer months.

Check out the Aquatic Stadium for its Extreme Splash Divers (gone are the dolphins). The Centennial Theatre on Main Street and a Big E award-winner have song and dance superstars of the past and present. It is a popular show, but the theater is larger than it looks.

Snoopy Rocks at the old Imax, now called the Good Time Theater.

In Frontier Town, you will find the Palace Theatre with a fun '60s rock show and the Red Garter Saloon with a rock and country music show.

Camp Snoopy has a show and you can eat breakfast at TGI Friday's on the beach with your favorite characters.

At 10 each night between June 6 and August 23, there is a laser light show on the main midway with a huge screen presentation, music and fireworks. Or you can sneak off and ride the rides while everyone watches.

How to visit
If you stay at a resort or belong to the Joe Cool Club, you can enter the park at 9 a.m., where two specified rides are opened early each day. This year, Top Thrill Dragster and Millennium Force are both supposed to be open for Joe Cool Club members.

The best bet is to plan on staying at least two days. It is almost impossible to do everything you want in one day. It is nice to rest up or change clothes if they have gotten wet on one of the water rides.

A great benefit to roller coaster riders is FreeWay. When the six most popular coasters reach more than an hour's waiting time, the park opens a kiosk by the ride where you can get your hand stamped with a time to ride. Show up later, at the appointed time, and you are walked to the front of the line. Most of the time it works; sometimes you wait almost as long for the stamp and it is annoying when you are in the regular line for the ride and the FreeWay riders walk by.

The Parent Swap is great for families with small children that can't ride.

A boarding pass can be obtained at several locations in the park. The rider with the child waits at the exit to the ride. One parent waits in the regular line and rides the ride. When they exit, the other parent enters and rides the ride.

Enjoy Cedar Point's 135th season and hold on to your hats (glasses, bags and stomachs)!

(Sandie Parrott is a freelance writer living and working in Clarkston with her husband, Rick, and zany Cairn Terrier, Abbey.)