DILinator Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 ^ I would agree, except there's a problem. For me personally, and I believe many others, my school system is in session during those times. And an even bigger problem, if you miss a day unexcused (a trip to CP) you can't exempt any of your finals. I'm sure it'd be worth it but it's a risk I'd rather not take. I wouldn't hesitate to take my kids out of school (and have done so) for a trip to Cedar Point! I obviously can't speak to how it works in every school district, but a parent should have the ability to get an excused absence for their kid whenever they want, for whatever reason. If finals are an issue, plan accordingly I guess... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tykunkel1031 Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 ^ I would agree, except there's a problem. For me personally, and I believe many others, my school system is in session during those times. And an even bigger problem, if you miss a day unexcused (a trip to CP) you can't exempt any of your finals. I'm sure it'd be worth it but it's a risk I'd rather not take. I wouldn't hesitate to take my kids out of school (and have done so) for a trip to Cedar Point! I obviously can't speak to how it works in every school district, but a parent should have the ability to get an excused absence for their kid whenever they want, for whatever reason. If finals are an issue, plan accordingly I guess... My problem is that the way our district describes it is extremely vague. Sometimes they act like you can be ok by going on vacation, and others not. It's about as questionable as the CP rain/wind policy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DILinator Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 ^ I would agree, except there's a problem. For me personally, and I believe many others, my school system is in session during those times. And an even bigger problem, if you miss a day unexcused (a trip to CP) you can't exempt any of your finals. I'm sure it'd be worth it but it's a risk I'd rather not take. I wouldn't hesitate to take my kids out of school (and have done so) for a trip to Cedar Point! I obviously can't speak to how it works in every school district, but a parent should have the ability to get an excused absence for their kid whenever they want, for whatever reason. If finals are an issue, plan accordingly I guess... My problem is that the way our district describes it is extremely vague. Sometimes they act like you can be ok by going on vacation, and others not. It's about as questionable as the CP rain/wind policy Yeah, I know they (schools) can try to play the heavy sometimes regarding attendance, but as a parent, I've always played the heavier! When it comes to my kids' education, I am the person (along with my wife) who is ultimately in charge of determining what's best for them, regardless of what the school prefers. But I do know about some of that kickback you're talking about... My suggestion is simply to try it next year, and see if you can't make it out in May! I think you'll really enjoy yourself, and save some money doing it as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coneyislandchris Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 For CP though, I still recommend, even for overseas guests, if you can plan in advance for a May trip as opposed to a July or August trip, you'll be better off for it! Uuuuuuunless the May weekday you plan for ends up being a Physics Day and the crowds become completely unmanageable. I get where you're coming from -- yes, FL+ is definitely price gouging -- BUT... if you visit on a day with crowds, expected or unexpected, AND you don't anticipate being able to make it back any time in the near future, then by all means, do what you have to. When I visited mid-May on a Monday as the last day of a four day trip, the crowds were the worst out of any park I visited simply due to the aforementioned Physics Day unexpectedness. I'd much rather drop the extra $80 on a single FL+ instead of waiting in 1-3 hour lines and getting a total of five rides in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DILinator Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 ^I've been on Physics Days a number of times before, and it hasn't been remotely that bad... What you experienced was indeed atypical for a May weekday - though I will add, Tuesday through Thursday are your best bets for non-existent crowds. I've noticed that Valravn has really brought out higher crowds this year, which was part of what led to higher than normal crowds. Assuming they only get a Soak City expansion next year, I would expect weekday crowds in May to more like what they have been most years I've been there. Again though, if you're only going once every few years or more, I can understand it being worth it to you to get the FL+... I just think it's a shame people eat the system up, because that only means it'll get expanded, not go away, which is the direction I'd like to see all such systems that charge extra do! (They used to have a limited (2x use), free FL system at CP, and that was a much better way to go, and much more equitable...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKI Jizzman Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 I literally just got nauseous reading all of the glowing recommendations of the abomination that is FL-anything... I'm going to be the voice for dissent, and a different perspective... For future reference, to all of those who are non-regular CP attenders, who may plan to go in the future, I recommend a better option.... Do whatever you can to get to the park on a weekday in May, or even the last week of August, rather than taking it up the rear by getting FL+. I walked onto just about every ride all day one of the times I went to CP earlier this year during that time (including 3 Valravn rides, 2 of which were 10 minutes or less in the standby line), and only had one wait (our third time on Maverick) over 30 minutes all day. While that level of awesomeness may not be every weekday's experience, I've been going to CP virtually every year since the late 90's, and always get to ride whatever I want, however many times I want, without any ridiculously gratuitous extra costs whenever I go during this time. Rather than forcing yourself to "budget" more money to essentially get exploited by CP, plan ahead, and do what you can to "budget" your time so you can go when the park isn't going to be so crazy crowded, and as an added bonus the weather will be a lot more pleasant as well! I'd say for most adults it costs far more to take 2+ days off work during the week rather than spending a weekend there and buy a FP for 100 bucks. But yes, if you can make it there during May or August, it's pretty surreal how dead it is. Personally, I like it when parks are full and lively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigcwd2000 Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 Uuuuuuunless the May weekday you plan for ends up being a Physics Day and the crowds become completely unmanageable. This. I was there for Physics day this year, on Thursday and Friday, and the park was slammed. Valravn had 1.5-2 hour waits, Millennium Force was over an hour, Maverick was over an hour, and Top Thrill was around an hour. Even Raptor had hour waits throughout the day. I did purchase Fast Lane passes and the line for Valravn was a walk-on, and Maverick was a walk-on. Raptor was a few minutes with Fast Lane. It was a good purchase for me but only because I usually only visit the park once a year and I wanted to ride and re-ride coasters. I would think the week before Memorial day weekend would be a good time to visit the park in May. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoinItForTheFame Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 I literally just got nauseous reading all of the glowing recommendations of the abomination that is FL-anything... I mean, it could be worse. . . We could be promoting the VIP Tours, which my partner and I do at the park every year!! But I learned quickly how much people complain and get hurt when I talk about those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidwestThemeParks Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 I literally just got nauseous reading all of the glowing recommendations of the abomination that is FL-anything... I'm going to be the voice for dissent, and a different perspective... For future reference, to all of those who are non-regular CP attenders, who may plan to go in the future, I recommend a better option.... Do whatever you can to get to the park on a weekday in May, or even the last week of August, rather than taking it up the rear by getting FL+. I walked onto just about every ride all day one of the times I went to CP earlier this year during that time (including 3 Valravn rides, 2 of which were 10 minutes or less in the standby line), and only had one wait (our third time on Maverick) over 30 minutes all day. While that level of awesomeness may not be every weekday's experience, I've been going to CP virtually every year since the late 90's, and always get to ride whatever I want, however many times I want, without any ridiculously gratuitous extra costs whenever I go during this time. Rather than forcing yourself to "budget" more money to essentially get exploited by CP, plan ahead, and do what you can to "budget" your time so you can go when the park isn't going to be so crazy crowded, and as an added bonus the weather will be a lot more pleasant as well! ^this For all those who say that can't go in May because of school or whatever, it's also pretty dead on weekdays in June. The park really doesn't start to get packed until July. I would highly recommend doing what we did and going weekdays in June. We missed no school and still got re-rides on everything without ever buying FL passes. Like I said earlier, I would never invest in FL passes before seeing what the crowds are like for the day I would need them, unless maybe it's a Saturday in July or August. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philrad71 Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 It is all hit or miss regarding crowds during those times (May/June/late August). We went during a weekend in mid-June (the weekend of the 10th to be exact) and this is how it played out... Friday evening - park was dead with the exception of Valravn (90 minutes) and Maverick (1 hour). Everything else had short waits or no wait at all. Saturday - we knew the park would be dead, but because it was 90 degrees, the Soak City lot was completely full. They were moving people to Sandcastle to park it was so mobbed. We left and went back to the hotel and returned to the front of the park around 5:30. Wicked Twister had about a 15 minute wait, Gatekeeper about 15, but Valravn and Raptor had 2 hour and 1 hour waits. We never went to the back of the park. Sunday - I thought that the park would be fairly dead, but it took us about 30 minutes to get across the causeway...and this was around noon! Given that, we splurged the $73 for FL+ and walked on Valravn all day (1.5 hour wait when we were there), 13 minutes for Maverick (1.5 hour) and 20 minutes for MF (1 hour). I am like others in that I would wait until you get there to see if FL+ is worth your time/money or not. If you are stuck in CP traffic on Rt. 2 or 250, you will probably want to run to the FL+ booth as soon as you get in the parking lot - the park will most likely be mobbed. Two years ago, we went the very same June weekend and most of the rides were walk-on's on a Saturday...and the weather was 75 and sunny!!! Like someone else posted, predicting the crowds at CP during those times of the year is almost as impossible as predicting what the weather will be like on those same weekends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiftThrill Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 I went on June weekdays and it was dead enough that it probably would have been fine to not use FL+, but we got FL+ the second day and it was awesome. Saved us the 90 minute wait for Valravn (according to the app) and the 30-45 minute line for Maverick. Even on less busy days it's nice to walk on to lower capacity rides, especially Maverick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zack44 Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 Hi everyone. I'm going to be visiting Cedar Point on Saturday, August 13; 5 years since my previous (and first) visit to the park. Last time, I was only able to ride 7 of the coasters that were there at the time due to bad weather. The real kicker was that I was on line for Disaster Transport right before they closed it due to rain, and they ended up removing the following year! Anyway, since some of you have more experience with this park than I do, do you have any recommendations for an order of coasters to go on? I've already ridden Millennium Force, Magnum, Iron Dragon, Wicked Twister, Blue Streak, Corkscrew, and Mantis (when it was still a stand-up coaster). I would absolutely love to ride some of them again, but my biggest priority is to ride all the ones that were built since then (Valravn and Gatekeeper) and the ones I couldn't ride last time (i.e. Dragster, Raptor, Gemini, etc). Short Version: What's a good plan of attack for the coasters at Cedar Point? Preferably NOT starting with Millenium Force or Magnum? Also, has the VR thing for Iron Dragon ended already, or will it be around by the time I visit (August 13)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiftThrill Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 ^Start with Maverick (early entry if you have a Platinum pass or are staying at any of the CP properties). You're going on a Saturday in early August so if you can get FL+ that's highly recommended as it will be packed^100. I've heard even FL queues can get up to 30-45 minutes on the busiest days, and even on a totally dead day Maverick's normal line will be around that number as well. Valravn will also have a ridiculous line but everyone will be going to that first so wait until later to ride it. If you only have one day at the park and it's a Saturday I feel like FL+ is a must, even if you've already ridden many of the coasters, most of the ones you didn't ride are the ones that get full queues. If it's not in the budget, you can definitely get in a few rides, the ones I'd prioritize are Maverick (because it's one of the best rides in the park, up there with MF), Valravn (new hotness and also one of the top coasters at the park), and Dragster (self-explanatory). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cj1990 Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 I am going to recommend the same thing. You will need to budget in FastLane+. Just buy the admission and FL+ combo tickets for $115 each. It offers a bit of savings vs buying separately. I agree to hit Maverick first. I can tell you I like it both in the front and the back. Because of how it is designed you're going to get awesome airtime in any seat. Views from the front are just awesome though. And again I have to agree, wait until later in the day for Valravn. After Maverick maybe head up to hit Raptor, Gatekeeper, and Rogarou. Rogarou is worth a ride. In my opinion it is much better than when you stood up. Still not an amazing coaster but it is a fun one to experience. You could then hit TTD. With FL+ you typically only wait from the ramp up into the station. I've never had to wait that long in FL for dragster. It's worth waiting for front row. Something I like to do with Dragster is; if you see it's not open yet but maybe they are running tests, I've stood and waited at the entrance until it's opened. I think the longest I ever stood there was a half hour, but when the line opened, we were one of the first through the FL+ entrance and had virtually no wait and went for front row. That could be worth it. Really depends on what you deem to be worth it or not. It's just something I have done that's worked out in our favor a few times. Granted, we go often and can afford to waste some time. So keep that in mind. By this time, I would say, go ahead and head over to Valravn. It should be afternoon by now. The line will still be long. But won't be as bad as early in the day. The line moves fast. Their operations have been very good every time I have visited and they take a lot of people from the FL+ queue each train. A couple fun rides to do if you have the time and desire are maXair and Pipe Scream. I hope this helped. have a great time! Oh! And get familiar with the map a little bit of you can. It's nice to be able to just walk around and not have to wonder what way to go or to know where everything is in relation to your current location. The CP app is also a great tool. It does help show you where you are in the park, you can mark the location of your car in the parking lot(super helpful) and it shows wait times, though not very accurate, it gives some idea of what things are looking like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoinItForTheFame Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 I found this post from Cedar Point on Facebook rather funny... The Valravn’s mystical aerial stunts always include at least three inversions, all at 75 mph. I didn't know Valravn always had at least three inversions. That makes it sound like sometimes when you ride the coaster, there will randomly be 4, or 5 inversions. . . Also, "all at 75mph" makes it sound like the second and third inversions are taken at 75mph. . . which... Well, they aren't. Anyway, just me looking to far into a post. Obviously the GP will never know any different. Half of them think the coaster has a 5,000ft tall vertical drop, 1900 inversions, and is still going 2,000 mph when it hits the brake run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Password121 Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 ^I think they're trying to be clever and talk about an actual Valravn, then demonstrating how the coaster named Valravn is similar in speed/inversions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluestreak Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 More VR testing on Iron Dragon today. Don't know details, but I'm getting reports from friends at the park and on instagram. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoinItForTheFame Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 ^I think they're trying to be clever and talk about an actual Valravn, then demonstrating how the coaster named Valravn is similar in speed/inversions. Ohhhhh, yeah that makes more sense!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zack44 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Thank you guys for your feedback! I'll try my best to convince everyone in my party to get FL+ passes, but it looks like Maverick is priority #1, followed by Valravn. I can't wait for next month! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SbSteveZ Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 I saw this on Twitter, and I'm wondering if anyone sees this as a clue? The poster said something along the lines of "Maybr it's just the train, or maybe it's a clue" I look at this, and I see the Dive Coaster on that one T-Shirt from last year. Something subtle but blatantly obvious to the enthusiasts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiftThrill Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 I'm mixed about if it is a clue or not but RMC Mean Streak would be pretty much the best thing ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DorneyKid14 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 They actually had a shirt with a dive coaster on it as a clue last year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidwestThemeParks Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 That does kind of look like a clue. "Iron Horse" on "Frontier Trail". I don't think that they would put those two beers on there just by coincidence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoinItForTheFame Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 They actually had a shirt with a dive coaster on it as a clue last year? Yes. If I remember correctly it was a black shirt with a dive coaster front and center, with other coasters around it. This was long before the announcement of Valravn. There is a picture of it on this site some where... I could see the "Iron Horse" as a clue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SbSteveZ Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 ^ this is the shirt I was referring to Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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