operative_me

^^^ congrats dude. Let us know what ride you'll be working so I can harass, I mean say hi! In other news, a new blog post gives some more clues about Forbidden Frontier: https://www.cedarpoint.com/blog/lets-explore-forbidden-frontier-on-adventure-island

^^^Heck the next time I get to Knoebels I might just have to dedicate a day to playing Fascination... That is addictive.

Heh that does look a little like me after going to Kalahari last week when the temps dropped below zero. The hot tub was lukewarm at best.

It's pretty interesting what Cedar Point is doing in the area. The Sports Force Park and it's soon to open indoor addition, their collaboration with BGSU in opening a campus focused on Resort Management in downtown (lol) Sandusky, and these purchases along Cleveland Rd are huge investments in the community. I have no idea what the grand plan is, but I wouldn't be surprised to see some of these properties used to create a year-round destination.

Italian food at Cedar Point would consist of someone opening up an instutional sized can of Chef Boyardee. I do not want this to happen. I'm thinking Midway Market isn't going to change all that much. Maybe they are updating the decor. I would appreciate update in the quality of the food, but I'm betting it will stay at it's current Golden Corral levels.

Personally, I'd go with the Sunday and Monday. That Monday (6/10) is also the first Monday the park is open until 10pm, so you won't feel like you are missing out on 2 hours. I am at the park almost every Monday and Tuesday in May/early June and love it.

Lol if you have to shower after a dump you might want to change your diet. That Monday will be dead. Especially with FL+ you'll pretty much be able to ride what you want whenever, with the possible exceptions of SV, Maverick, and MF (since the merge point isn't at the station).

1. Name 3 of your favorite roller coasters, but not your top 3. Twister (Knoebels), Mystic Timbers, Raptor 2. About how many different parks did you visit in 2018? 6 (Conneaut Lake, Waldameer, Knoebels, Dorney, Kings Island, CP) 3. Which 2018 park visit was your favorite? Excluding CP because I am there so much, Waldameer and Knoebels both exceeded my expectations, which were high since I had wanted to visit for a long time. 4. Your favorite 2018 park addition (ride, food, show, etc)? Gotta be Steel Vengeance. Easy answer. 5. What ride exceeded your expectations the most in 2018? Ravine Flyer II. After watching POV's for years, I was worried maybe it wouldn't impress me. I had a lot of fun. 6. Best meal/food at a park in 2018? Anything at Knoebels 7. What was your favorite new coaster of 2018 NOT made by RMC or Larson? Sadly n/a 8. Name one park you will definitely visit in 2019. Darien Lake for the first time. 9. Best ride themed to a bird? Gatekeeper (yeah go on and hate) 10. Lamest ride/coaster you rode in 2018? Cedar Creek Mine Ride. 11. What roller coaster currently sits at the top of your bucketlist? (degree of difficulty: NOT a new-for-2019 ride) Lightning Rod 12. What new-for-2019 ride or coaster are you most looking forward to? The unannounced 500ft AquaTrax that the Lemon Chill guy at Cedar Point told me is 100% going to happen. 13. Name the first totally middle-of-the-road (not bad/not great) park that comes to mind. Dorney 14. You're in Orlando and magically have a 1-hour ERT session on 1 coaster of your choice at any park in the city. You choose... Haven't had the chance yet, but White Lightning at Fun Spot 15. Holiday In The Park vs. Winterfest. Who reigns supreme? I have only been to Winterfest, although I think I would like the fact that HITP has more coasters open. 16. Mystic Timbers mystery shed or Wicker Man fire infusion? Only have been on the former. 17. Which Six Flags have you been to most recently? I haven't! That will change this year. 18. Intamin or Schwarzkopf? You may only choose one. Intamin. I have been on a handful of Schwarzkopf, and they were fun, but most Intamin rides I've been on are amazing (when running). And my first roller coaster was an Intamin almost 40 years ago at CP. 19. Battle of Kings Coasters: Island or Dominion? Pick one. Kings Island 20. What was the longest you waited for a ride/coaster in 2018? Probably about 45 minutes for SV 21. What roller coaster have you ridden more than any other? Magnum. 22. Best drop tower under 150 feet? XScream @ Waldameer 23. Maverick or Millennium Force? (If you haven't been to CP, pick what you want to ride more) Millennium Force. I have had great marathon sessions on that ride. 24. Log flumes or sky rides? You can only choose one. Really dude? This is like picking between parents during a divorce! Flumes. 25. What are 3 things you enjoying doing at your home park other than riding rides? Chilling on the beach, hanging out at the Surf Bar, playing the games to win cheap a$$ prizes. 26. What is your second favorite Cedar Fair park and why? Kings Island. Fairly short drive, good collection of coasters, and I get in for free with Platinum Pass 27. What is your home park and give us two good reasons why we should pay it a visit. Cedar Point 1)because 2) see #1 28. Launch or Lift? Lift. Launches are cool but I like taking in the view going up the lift hill. 29. Did you buy fast pass at all in 2018? Nope 30. What is your least favorite wooden coaster? Thunderhawk @ Dorney 31. Disney fanboys: cool or cult? They are a cult. 32. Best Batman themed ride? n/a 33. Name something that tend to take home from parks that you didn't bring with you. A buzz. 34. Best wooden coaster over 110 feet tall? (rcdb will help you) Twister @ Knoebels 35. Have you ever been hit with something (loose change/a tree/vomit/etc) while riding something? Just bugs at CP 36. Skywarps: credits or no? State your case. Nah. But I won't judge. 37. Turkey legs: nah or yaaaaassssss? Hell yes. 38. What is the most recent B&M that you rode? Valravn 39. You can eat nothing but corn dogs, churros or funnel cake for the next 48 hours, which do you choose? Corndog FTW! 40. Post a great on-ride shot of you from 2018. (DO IT!) Stuck at the top of Demon Drop @ Dorney

Bluestreak is correct, the big rides will be staffed, the smaller rides have the chance of being down due to staffing. The big rides will only be down due to mechanical or weather related issues. I didn't know if you were flexible with your schedule, but if you can take your trip in early to mid June you'll avoid a lot of the staffing issues as most colleges are done by then. (And the weather should be markedly better!)

Crowds are pretty light in May, aside from opening day. I'm usually there Mondays or Tuesdays and it's pretty chill. The weekends predictably will see more people, but it's usually not too bad. Look at the calendar and check their hours because in May the weekdays usually close at 8pm, I think the weekend is a little later. I have had some great days riding in May, e.g. riding Millennium Force 15 times in a row to close out the night. Two things to keep in mind: 1) Even though the calendar says it's spring, pack some warm clothes. The weather off of the lake is not always the warmest in May. The lake is still cold at that time and if there is wind coming off of it, you're definitely going to know it. 2) Staffing is notoriously bad in May. Not all of the food places will be open, and sadly some of the rides. If you are going for 2 days that will lessen the chance of you missing out on a marquee ride, but be prepared for the possibility.

If price is a major factor, and this is mainly for a place to crash, Motel 6 Huron isn't bad at all. It's cheap, clean, even has an indoor pool and hot tub if that's your thing. It's about 15 minutes from the motel to the parking lot. Definitely a legit low cost option.

I'm sorry... but what!?

100% agreed. The lament I see on Facebook right now is kind of hilarious. "OMG we aren't getting a coaster!!11!!" I'm interested to see what "retro" things they do to mark the occasion.

I know the park doesn't care about anniversaries, but it seems like the park will do some fun things in 2020 for their 150th. (Queue people crying that we're not getting an 800 ft roller coaster lol) Cedar Point planning 150th anniversary with retro ideas for 2020: What we know so far

Cool, thanks for the response. I typically plan my trips for Mon-Wed and hope for smaller crowds, but I know it's not a guarantee. I just don't want to drive down from Cleveland and it's like a CP Halloweekends Saturday. As for the weather, can't control that, I just hope for the best.

Great timing with the calendar coming out. I have a "milestone" birthday in April and was looking for something to do. (Hint: It's between 30 and 50.) I noticed that they are open a full week in April that just so happens to coincide with my birthday. How convenient! Maybe too convenient. I can only assume that the reason is that is spring break in the area. So without asking for an accurate prediction, in the past has that spring break week an "OMG stay the F away" type week, or is it decent crowd but typically been manageable? (Asking for a friend)

Was looking thru Reddit today and saw that, after years of speculation, the former Hotel Cedars is coming down. It will be interesting to see what they do with the area, but I wouldn't be surprised to see some sort of expanded services for the marina and eliminating the blind curves on that part of the perimeter road.

Yeah this one has got me stumped as well.

Depending on how far you are coming from, and if this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to go to CP, you really want 1.5-2 days. Which leads me to ask... what are you spending a day in Cleveland for? I live in Cleveland, it's ok I guess. I guess some people come here for the rock hall. Um... that's it? Spend a half day in Cleveland and the drive down to Mason! (This is sort of tongue-in-cheek, I know you are travelling with family and may not get to call all of the shots.)

Here in the great State of Ohio ("The Buckeye State™", "The Heart of it All™") we only have one amusement park that does a holiday event, Kings Island. Since I work weekends my only real opportunity to try to get to the park was Monday 12/17 or Tuesday 12/18, since the park will be open the full week. Edit because of tl:dr. Best Western by the park was cool, Winterfest was fun, I love Mystic Timbers.

I'm going to guess Lusty Lils or whatever that saloon in Frontier town is called.

I'm not into ranking coasters, but here would be my 10: Phoenix Magnum XL 200 Phantom's Revenge Cyclone (Coney Island) Twister (Knoebels) Beast Flying Turns (yeah Knoebels has 3 on this list) Desperado (I only rode it in 1996 - I heard it sucks now but back then it was unique and fun) Blue Streak (CP) Thunderhawk (KW)

^ That website also says that Desperado is ranking in the Top 10 in the country... what? In 1995?

I don't know what my first ride will be next year... Wicks Twister, Reptar, or Drag Queen Race Coaster? Decisions, decisions.

Well Mine Ride isn't going anywhere. Not that I personally thought it was. https://www.cedarpoint.com/blog/a-mine-r-enhancement