Oceana
1980-1997

Oceana was Cedar Point's Marine Life Complex. 

In 1970, Cedar Point was celebrating its 100th anniversary! The park added the Million Dollar Midway as part of the celebration!. Guests were able to stroll down the Frontier Trail for the first time in 1971.  Giant Wheel, Matterhorn, and Jumbo Jet opened at Cedar Point in 1972. In 1975 the Cedar Point Cinema opened, at that time the theatre featured the world's largest IMax screen! Riders were turned upside down in 1976 on Corkscrew. In 1977 the Corkscrew Midway was expanded. Riders raced on Gemini in 1978. In 1979 Cedar Point expanded the Gemini Midway with the expansion of  Gemini Children's Area. 

On September 17, 1978 Cedar Point closed the original Wildcat roller coaster. It was sent to ValleyFair. A new wildcat opened in 1979 further down the beach where it replaced the Jumbo Jet. 

The site that had previously housed the Wildcat was under construction all through the 1979 season. The park temporarily moved the Super Himalaya out of storage and moved the Matterhorn near the former roller coaster site. 

Cedar Point announced that the Oceana complex would open for the 1980 season. 

The construction of the Oceana Stadium was massive! The building was made out of concrete and steel! 

Oceana opened on May 17, 1980. The complex cost 3 million to build. 

Oceana was located at the end of the beach midway. The attraction was located between Ocean Motion (Currently WindSeeker is in that location) and Sealand.

Oceana was home to a dolphin show. The dolphins: Cocoa, Misty, Striker, and Breeze would call this stadium home. The dolphins would do tricks to entertain their guests. The dolphins were highly trained and very friendly. 

Oceana Facts: 
Opened: May 17, 1980
Location: Beach Midway 
Type: Marine Lift Complex
Cost: $3 Million
Performers: Misty, Coca, Sticker, Breeze
​Closed: 1997

Over the years Oceana was home to many shows including: 

Year	Show
1980	Dolphin Show ​Sealion Show
1981	Dolphin Show
1982	Battle of the Underwater Stars
1983	Oceana Olympic Trials Dolfunatomy and Trainer Q&A
1984	Knights of the Deep ​Dolfunatomy and Trainer Q&A
1985	Dolphin Show
1986	​Dolfunatomy  Summer Sea Monster
1987	​Dolfunatomy  ​Oceana's Wet World of Sports
1988	​Dolfunatomy  ​Sea-Election of 88
1989	Oceana: Ten Years Together DolFUNatomy
1990	Oceana Now! ​DolFUNatomy
1991	DolFUNatomy ​DolFUNatics
1992	DolFUNatomy ​DolFUNatics
1993	DolFUNatomy ​DolFUNatics
1994	DolFUNatomy ​DolFUNatics
1995	The Dolphin Show
1996	The Dolphin Show (Striker died in July 1996. The show was canceled for the rest of the summer.)
1997	Flippers, Fins & Fun

Oceana was a great form of entertainment for the entire family! 

After adding Oceana in 1980 Cedar Point  would go on to  add:  Ocean Motion (1981), Kid Arthur’s Court (1982-2005), White Water Landing (1982-2005), Demon Drop (1983-2009), Avalanche Run (1985-1989), Berenstain Bear Country (1985-1998), Thunder Canyon (1986), Iron Dragon (1987), Soak City Water Park (1988-2016), Magnum XL-200 (1989), Disaster Transport (1990-2012), Mean Streak (1991-2016), Challenge Park (1992-2016), Snake River Falls (1993-2024), Kiddy Kingdom (1993), Raptor (1994), Cedar Point’s 125th Anniversary Celebration (1995), RipCord (1996-2016), Mantis (1996-2014), Chaos (1997-2011), and Swan Boats (1997-2003). All of these new attractions gave Cedar Point guests experiences they had never had before! 

On July 22, 1996, Striker the dolphin died after a brief respiratory illness. A week later Coca also died of the same illness.  At that point, Cedar Point canceled the dolphin shows for the rest of the summer. 

On February 20, 1998, Misty had died, leaving Breeze the only remaining dolphin. 

On March 31, 1998, Breeze was moved to a dolphin retirement facility in Florida. She died on June 28, 1998.

Oceana closed in 1997. At that time Cedar Fair L.P. decided as a company that they no longer wanted to be in the animal business. 

Oceana remained vacant for the 1998 season. 

In 1999 Oceania was replaced with  Cedar Point Aquatic Stadium. The Cedar Point Aquatic Stadium was home to a dive show. 

The dive featured a series of diving platforms. The highest platform was 90 feet in the air. The show lasted until it closed in 2006. 

The stadium was once again closed for the 2007 season. 

On January 10, 2008, Cedar Point announced Planet Snoopy was coming for the 2008 season. As part of that addition, Cedar Point announced a new bike show would open. 

In 2008 the theatre was redone as Extreme Sports Stadium. 

The Extreme Sports Stadium was home to a bike show. 

On October 25, 2017, Cedar Point announced they were removing the Extreme Spots Stadium for future park expansion.

The Extreme Sports Stadium was torn down after Cedar Point closed for the 2017 season.

In 2018 the site of the Extreme Sports Stadium became home to the all-new Lakeside Stage. The new stage housed a nighttime show with a dance area. It would remain until the end of the 2021 season. 

On August 11, 2022 Cedar Point announced it was building The Boardwalk for the 2023 season. 

Cedar Point's The Boardwalk opened in May 2023.  It featured a new roller coaster named The Wild Mouse. Matterhorn and Scrambler would be relocated to the area as well. All of these attractions would be built where the Extreme Sports Stadium was.

Last Updated: 05/01/2025

Photo Credit: Andrew Borgen, Cedar Point, Ron Hintze, Russ Haudan, Jake Hamons, and Ted Peterson.