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2018 Ohio coaster trip


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I'm planning on visiting Cedar Point and Kings Island for the first time next season. When is the best time to go to avoid crowds? I'm a uni student, so my trip will have to be sometime between late May and late August.

I'm not a "credit whore" and want to take my time to enjoy both parks, but I want to ride each of the non-kiddie coasters at least once, and check out any notable flat rides; are 2 days enough to cover everything at CP? What about Kings Island?

Are there relatively good, cheap places to stay near these parks? I signed up for the Choice Hotels Visa earlier this year and have racked up some free hotel nights, so I'd prefer their places.

Since I'm halfway across the country, I figured on either: (1) flying into Cleveland/Sandusky Airport, visiting Cedar Point, taking the Greyhound/Amtrak to Mason, visiting Kings Island, and then flying home from Cincinatti, or (2) the reverse - depending on which is cheaper.

Is there anything else within a reasonable distance where y'all would recommend going while I'm up there?

Any other advice that frequent park-goers can offer is much appreciated.

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Uh...just looked up that trip on Google maps, and uh... OK, I'm a fan of public transit, and I've taken some trips that others would have balked at, but I would never attempt this. It's 27 hours total.

 

Screenshot_20171123-023451.thumb.png.66ef654cb43b7a5ccc9ad7261093f6d6.png

 

You should rent a car. You said you're in college, but rental car companies typically don't turn people down under 25 like they used to, they just have a few more requirements. Call rental car companies before you do anything else to get pricing info and make sure you understand what you need to do. They may require you to drop off in the same location you picked up and/or drop off within business hours, and that will likely determine how you need to schedule this trip.

 

Both parks will need 1.5 days if it's not busy, i.e. late May/early June. You go later in the year, you're going to need a Fast Lane. There is a combo ticket that gets you one day at each, but when you add in the cost of parking and the fact that you're going to want more time than that, especially coming from that far away, it's worthwhile to get the Platinum Pass; you'll save money if you go for at least 3 days. Since you're in LA, I'd recommend getting it from Knott's Berry Farm and go there all year long too!

 

Ride Beast at night.

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^ I agree completely about the rental car.

 

As for good, cheap Choice Hotels, I highly recommend Econo Lodge North on Cleveland Road. You can probably get it for 7,000 points a night. Don't stay at Econo Lodge south. It's f*cking weird. This hotel is unimstakably an Econo Lodge but it's clean and it's located pretty much right across the street from the park entrance road.

 

For Kings Island, personally I'd treat myself and stay at Comfort Suites on Kings Center drive. You'll totally have the points by then and the location is hard to beat. There's a nearby Quality Inn and Comfort Inn which I haven't personally stayed in, but they look fine too and they'll be less points. I f*cking love Comfort Suites.

 

Seriously though, get the rental car. If you do that you also have the option to fly into Cleveland, Cincinnati or even Columbus which will be cheaper. Also, Frontier and Allegiant fly to Cincinatti and Cleveland and generally have amazing fares so maybe you can save on airfare to help offseat the cost of the rental car.

 

PS: You get early entry to both parks with a Platinum Pass. Take advantage!

 

PS: If you really want to save an assload of money, drive to Las Vegas and fly Frontier to Cleveland. Check Frontier's website EVERY DAY and wait. I promise you can find a flight from LAS to CLE for like $35 if you're patient and have flexible dates. That route always has amazing fares pop up. Even if you have to pay to join Discount Den, you'll be glad you did and it's still a ridiculous fare. Don't bring bags though.

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I think the only advice I can give on this one that hasn't been mentioned yet is.... Do Kings Island before Cedar Point. I know it sounds dumb, but trust me, KI before CP!! Also, I'd plan to spend 1 full day at KI and 2 full days at CP! You're going to have a great time! Enjoy the trip!

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If you're a AAA member, Hertz waives the under 25 fee. Otherwise, that's the only issue you'll run into renting a car at a young age.

 

I've been to Kings Island once and it was packed to the gills. I'd be prepared to splurge on a Fast Lane if needed. If you tour Cedar Point starting at the back and head towards the front, you should avoid major lines outside of the big 3 Intamins and Valravn.

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The earlier you can go, the better so late May!

Sounds good to me! This'll give me something to look forward to as soon as I finish next semester.

 

Uh...just looked up that trip on Google maps, and uh... OK, I'm a fan of public transit, and I've taken some trips that others would have balked at, but I would never attempt this. It's 27 hours total.

 

You should rent a car. You said you're in college, but rental car companies typically don't turn people down under 25 like they used to, they just have a few more requirements. Call rental car companies before you do anything else to get pricing info and make sure you understand what you need to do. They may require you to drop off in the same location you picked up and/or drop off within business hours, and that will likely determine how you need to schedule this trip.

 

Both parks will need 1.5 days if it's not busy, i.e. late May/early June. You go later in the year, you're going to need a Fast Lane. There is a combo ticket that gets you one day at each, but when you add in the cost of parking and the fact that you're going to want more time than that, especially coming from that far away, it's worthwhile to get the Platinum Pass; you'll save money if you go for at least 3 days. Since you're in LA, I'd recommend getting it from Knott's Berry Farm and go there all year long too!

 

Ride Beast at night.

Yikes! I'm definitely renting a car, then. This'll give me more flexibility, anyway, in terms of when I want to leave/arrive. I just turned 25, so that won't be an issue. Thanks for that advice. I'll start researching car rental companies. Maybe this way, I can throw in one more park - Kentucky Kingdom. I've seen others post about the ridiculously good deal they have for out-of-towners, and it looks like a nice park. It's only a 2-2.5 hour drive from Kings Island.

 

I already bought a Platinum Pass for next year, with this trip in mind. I'm planning on spending a decent amount of time at Knott's next year, anyway. My backup plan, if my Ohio trip falls through, is to drive up north to SFDK and CGA, so my Platinum Pass definitely won't go to waste.

 

And I'm definitely riding Beast at night.

 

^ I agree completely about the rental car.

 

As for good, cheap Choice Hotels, I highly recommend Econo Lodge North on Cleveland Road. You can probably get it for 7,000 points a night. Don't stay at Econo Lodge south. It's f*cking weird. This hotel is unimstakably an Econo Lodge but it's clean and it's located pretty much right across the street from the park entrance road.

 

For Kings Island, personally I'd treat myself and stay at Comfort Suites on Kings Center drive. You'll totally have the points by then and the location is hard to beat. There's a nearby Quality Inn and Comfort Inn which I haven't personally stayed in, but they look fine too and they'll be less points. I f*cking love Comfort Suites.

 

Seriously though, get the rental car. If you do that you also have the option to fly into Cleveland, Cincinnati or even Columbus which will be cheaper. Also, Frontier and Allegiant fly to Cincinatti and Cleveland and generally have amazing fares so maybe you can save on airfare to help offseat the cost of the rental car.

 

PS: You get early entry to both parks with a Platinum Pass. Take advantage!

 

PS: If you really want to save an assload of money, drive to Las Vegas and fly Frontier to Cleveland. Check Frontier's website EVERY DAY and wait. I promise you can find a flight from LAS to CLE for like $35 if you're patient and have flexible dates. That route always has amazing fares pop up. Even if you have to pay to join Discount Den, you'll be glad you did and it's still a ridiculous fare. Don't bring bags though.

Thanks, Bill! I'm not picky on hotels; I'd rather save a few bucks than pay for unnecessary luxury, but I'll check out Comfort Suites.

I saw your post in another thread about Frontier's cheap flights, so I've been keeping an eye on them. I definitely wouldn't mind driving over to NV or AZ to get a cheaper flight.

 

I think the only advice I can give on this one that hasn't been mentioned yet is.... Do Kings Island before Cedar Point. I know it sounds dumb, but trust me, KI before CP!! Also, I'd plan to spend 1 full day at KI and 2 full days at CP! You're going to have a great time! Enjoy the trip!

I'll keep that in mind. Is this to keep myself from being disappointed in KI if I go there after CP?

 

If you're a AAA member, Hertz waives the under 25 fee. Otherwise, that's the only issue you'll run into renting a car at a young age.

 

I've been to Kings Island once and it was packed to the gills. I'd be prepared to splurge on a Fast Lane if needed. If you tour Cedar Point starting at the back and head towards the front, you should avoid major lines outside of the big 3 Intamins and Valravn.

I do have AAA, but I'm 25 now, so that won't be an issue.

Thanks for the CP game plan and the pro tip on crowds. I'll see how they are before I buy Fast Lane.

 

Thank you all for the advice. I'm looking forward to next year.

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if you plan to get fast lane passes, i'd go during the week, and when the hours are longer. coming from california, i wouldn't do either without fast lane. last few trips to cedar point i do three days. because of the weather, you always have some down time. or at least i have every trip. so, extra hours, and fast lane has helped minimize the time lost.

 

i myself enjoy kings island almost as much as cedar point. i also can ride intimdator after fury 325 and still enjoy it.

 

definitely rent a car like has been suggested. last trip i did to ohio, the airfare was cheaper to actually pit stop in chicago, so i stayed a day there and went to SFGam. just a side note you might want to check out in case the flight may be cheaper. i've tried in the past to land and leave in different areas of ohio and it never was very cheap. always much more. so i've done cleveland and drove directly to kings island from there. it sucks, but it saved hundreds. the car was way cheaper too.

 

anyway, just some of my 2 cents.

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Ok cool, so since you're 25, then renting a car will be no problem. You'll need a major credit card--debit cards will not work--and you'll be good. One way rentals are much more than round trip, like about $200 per week more. So you may want to fly out of the same airport you arrived in just for that. I've flown to CVG, but no experience with CLE or CMH, but those can be viable options for you. Play around with rental car costs and flight costs between the three Ohio airports. Prices will be lowest earlier in the summer, since flights and hotels are busiest in late July/early August.

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Keep in mind the weekday operating hours for both parks and how much you want night rides. Cedar Point closes at 8pm Monday-Thursday until the second week of June. That week, crowds are still very reasonable - there seems to be a tipping point sometime in mid/late June where weekday crowds at Cedar Point increase exponentially. That first week of 10pm closings is usually before that point though, and is a great time to visit if you want to ride Millennium Force, Maverick, or Steel Vengeance at night.

 

https://www.cedarpoint.com/explore/cedar-point-calendar-and-hours

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