Cedar Point (CP) Discussion Thread

[Carrie]

22 minutes ago, anonymouscactus said:

I had a great time. A shitshow for sure, but I avoided the shit the best I could. To everyone that says opening day is always like this, yes, there have always been constant breakdowns, not every ride open, etc. But the two outliers were the food/drink/festival lines, and the FL+ line lengths. Other than that, yeah, to be expected. Now we know for next year to put budget money in the gift shop drink bucket and not preorder festival tickets, but I am happy that we can use them later in the season where previously you HAD to use them all the same day.

FL+ lines were long, as well?  Is that typical?  

[jonskinny12]

26 minutes ago, Carrie said:

FL+ lines were long, as well?  Is that typical?  

I wasn't there last weekend but have read that FL+ lines were much longer than usual, reaching up to 90 minutes for Steel Vengeance and Maverick. Still shorter than the regular lines, which were 2-3 hours from what I've seen. So still worth the money, IMO. On a regular day, Steel Vengeance and Maverick can sometimes get longer FL+ lines (30-45 minutes) but I've never seen or heard from a reputable source of a time when the FL+ line was as long as the regular line.

Other rides generally have shorter FL+ lines than Steel Vengeance and Maverick, but keep in mind that Millennium Force and Top Thrill Dragster merge at the bottom of their ramps so there's still a short wait no matter what. Valravn puts you right in the station and I've never personally seen that line get longer than halfway down the stairs, but I guess it was quite long on Saturday. Gatekeeper and Magnum merge at the bottom of the stairs but they hold enough people back that it goes quickly. I can't remember the rest off the top of my head but I wouldn't go to Cedar Point without FL+ unless it's one of those extremely lucky days you sometimes get in May or late August, but you can't predict those.

[AmyUD06]

 

20 minutes ago, Carrie said:

FL+ lines were long, as well?  Is that typical?  

FL wait times for the major coasters (SV, Maverick, Valravn, Raptor, Millie) will often get to approximately 1/4 of the standby wait times.  For example, if SV is posting a 3 hour standby wait, the FL wait will be approximately 45 minutes.

Yes, this is typical, even before COVID during normal operating season.  Yes, FL+ is always worth it at this park, unless it's a Wednesday and looks like its about to downpour and the moon is in the third phase after Venus.  Not sure how many more times we need to say it LOL.

[Carrie]

2 hours ago, Mike240SX said:

 

FL wait times for the major coasters (SV, Maverick, Valravn, Raptor, Millie) will often get to approximately 1/4 of the standby wait times.  For example, if SV is posting a 3 hour standby wait, the FL wait will be approximately 45 minutes.

Yes, this is typical, even before COVID during normal operating season.  Yes, FL+ is always worth it at this park, unless it's a Wednesday and looks like its about to downpour and the moon is in the third phase after Venus.  Not sure how many more times we need to say it LOL.

I just want to be armed as the FL is new to me.   I guess it's expected since CP has a ginormous amount of coasters.  So, this can be the case all summer and not just an opening weekend thing?  We are just debating if June would be better, but if this is not uncommon, then it wouldn't matter when we went.   

[FeelTheFORCE]

22 hours ago, Mike240SX said:

They haven't been open "7 days a week from opening day" for like 15+ years.  Your ability to know that opening day is going to be a shitshow is based on your own research...if you were relying on your experiences from almost two decades ago, that's your own fault.  Had you done any research into what the park is like in the past 5 years, you would see that opening weekend is always horrible, and before Memorial Day is a crap shoot as to what will be closed.  Every.  Single.  Year.  Except 2020, cuz y'know.

That is not true.  As recently as 2019 they were open daily from opening day onward.  Aside from opening day, May used to be the best time to go, hands down.  There were years where I was eerily the only one walking down the midways in 50-degree weather, but all the rides were still operating (weather permitting).  They were even so desperate to attract people during these times, that the Breakers + ticket packages they used to offer in the late 00s and early 10s were practically a steal.  They eventually ended up making those early season weeks into math and science weeks to fill the park with more people.

[prozach626]

We always hit the first week of 10am-10pm operations, armed with FL+. But, so much for that this year. We never had to wait more than 15 minutes for anything. Really slow days would mean walk-on rides.

[Carrie]

30 minutes ago, prozach626 said:

We always hit the first week of 10am-10pm operations, armed with FL+. But, so much for that this year. We never had to wait more than 15 minutes for anything. Really slow days would mean walk-on rides.

Do you anticipate these lines to be like this even when they open all week?

[AmyUD06]

I stand corrected on Daily Operations.

Yeah, it can be the case all summer long.  Last year was pretty bad, but that was with reduced capacities on the rides.  This year, we're back to full capacity, but we also have a literal fuck ton of people that are eager to get back into the world going to parks.

That said, the last time I was at the park without Fast Lane was mid-week in 2017, and I was there on a Tuesday and standby queue's were "reasonable" at an hour for Maverick or Millie.  I'll never do it again...Fast Lane+ at this park is just a no-brainer in my opinion.

[thrillseeker4552]

Completely off-topic question, but how are crowds usually on Labor Day weekend? Was Labor Day last year when the park completely hit capacity or something?

I've been itching to get back to the park (haven't been since 2017) and with things looking much closer to "normal" this year, I'm thinking of staying at Breakers (for the first time, wow it's expensive) over Labor Day weekend and spending 3 days at the park. I would probably splurge on FL+ anyway, but I'm curious what the operations/staffing is like around that time.

[clem2754]

5 hours ago, jonskinny12 said:

I wasn't there last weekend but have read that FL+ lines were much longer than usual, reaching up to 90 minutes for Steel Vengeance and Maverick. Still shorter than the regular lines, which were 2-3 hours from what I've seen. So still worth the money, IMO. On a regular day, Steel Vengeance and Maverick can sometimes get longer FL+ lines (30-45 minutes) but I've never seen or heard from a reputable source of a time when the FL+ line was as long as the regular line.

Other rides generally have shorter FL+ lines than Steel Vengeance and Maverick, but keep in mind that Millennium Force and Top Thrill Dragster merge at the bottom of their ramps so there's still a short wait no matter what. Valravn puts you right in the station and I've never personally seen that line get longer than halfway down the stairs, but I guess it was quite long on Saturday. Gatekeeper and Magnum merge at the bottom of the stairs but they hold enough people back that it goes quickly. I can't remember the rest off the top of my head but I wouldn't go to Cedar Point without FL+ unless it's one of those extremely lucky days you sometimes get in May or late August, but you can't predict those.

Did they change Top Thrill Dragster? In 2019 the FL+ boarded in the front loading station and the regular line boarded in the back loading station and only boarded up front when FL+ line was empty. I didn't go last year so this may have changed.  The merge never happened in 2019. It was more like Valravn. 

[AmyUD06]

Yeah, Dragster's FL line dumps you in the station as of 2020.

[clem2754]

FL+ in 2019 was great on Steel Vengeance, Maverick, Top Thrill Dragster (If Open), Raptor, and Valravn. It could be great for Magnum XL-200 if Cedar Point puts a greeter at the merge and that greeter only allows a few people to go up and not let the station turn into a free for all. I've seen it handled both ways. For GateKeeper and Millennium Force FL+ is not as good as the other because of the merge, but the value is still there for these coasters because it will save you time. Sounds like it changed for Steel Vengeance in 2021. 

[jonskinny12]

9 hours ago, clem2754 said:

Did they change Top Thrill Dragster? In 2019 the FL+ boarded in the front loading station and the regular line boarded in the back loading station and only boarded up front when FL+ line was empty. I didn't go last year so this may have changed.  The merge never happened in 2019. It was more like Valravn. 

Thanks for correcting me on this. I thought it always merged at the bottom of the ramp on my visits but I'm probably wrong. Either way it's great for Top Thrill Dragster.

[prozach626]

I'm still wishing CF would increase the Fastlane Plus prices to cut down on the number sold, while breaking even on the profits. I'd gladly pay $200 per day at Cedar Point, if it meant a substantial reduction on wait time.

I'd be upset if I paid for Fastlane Plus and had the kind of wait times people reported on opening day. I wasn't thrilled in 2016 when we waited 45 minutes for Top Thrill Dragster.

As for medical emergencies related to low blood sugar, it would probably be a good idea to something available in your vehicle.

[coasternut]

21 hours ago, coasterbill said:

Thanks. Sounds like a shitshow.

No surprise there!

[Carrie]

I had sticker price shock when I saw CP's fee.   Busch Gardens was like $40.  LOL. Of course, they are open nearly all year so the wait times aren't as extensive.   I think the longest we waited at BG was 10 mins.....and that was Sheikra and at the end of the day on Cheetah Hunt (<~~~~~~~GREAT RIDE!). 

[coneyislandchris]

38 minutes ago, prozach626 said:

I'd be upset if I paid for Fastlane Plus and had the kind of wait times people reported on opening day. I wasn't thrilled in 2016 when we waited 45 minutes for Top Thrill Dragster.

I know Cedar Point is its own little microcosm, but yeah, agreed. It's kind of weird that at the other parks in the chain your experience with FLP can vary so significantly. Kings Island? At most, usually ten minutes. Kings Dominion? Usually a walk-on. Dorney Park? Why did you even buy it LOL? I think the most I've ever waited outside of Cedar Point with a FLP was 30 minutes for Ghostrider at Knott's, and that was on a super busy Scary Farm night no less. But even with FLP at Cedar Point, the wait times are usually significantly longer than any other place I'd be buying their equivalent top of the line skip-the-queue pass, Busch parks and Six Flags parks included.

[Carrie]

21 minutes ago, coneyislandchris said:

I know Cedar Point is its own little microcosm, but yeah, agreed. It's kind of weird that at the other parks in the chain your experience with FLP can vary so significantly. Kings Island? At most, usually ten minutes. Kings Dominion? Usually a walk-on. Dorney Park? Why did you even buy it LOL? I think the most I've ever waited outside of Cedar Point with a FLP was 30 minutes for Ghostrider at Knott's, and that was on a super busy Scary Farm night no less. But even with FLP at Cedar Point, the wait times are usually significantly longer than any other place I'd be buying their equivalent top of the line skip-the-queue pass, Busch parks and Six Flags parks included.

Is King's Island busy like CO around opening weekends?   I haven't been there since I was in middle school!  Maybe going there instead is an option!   I'm always up for some Beast!! 

[tndank]

29 minutes ago, Carrie said:

I had sticker price shock when I saw CP's fee.   Busch Gardens was like $40.  LOL. Of course, they are open nearly all year so the wait times aren't as extensive.   I think the longest we waited at BG was 10 mins.....and that was Sheikra and at the end of the day on Cheetah Hunt (<~~~~~~~GREAT RIDE!). 

To be fair, BG does charge $149.99 some weekends and $129.99 many others during peak season.

[Carrie]

You are kidding!?!   That's INSANE! 

[AmyUD06]

2 hours ago, Carrie said:

Is King's Island busy like CO around opening weekends?   I haven't been there since I was in middle school!  Maybe going there instead is an option!   I'm always up for some Beast!! 

They were slammed last weekend, which was their public opening weekend.

[prozach626]

^That's on par with CP on a summer weekend, but I still wish CP charged more.

 

KI is worth visiting. It might be my favorite park, factoring in drive time from my home. But, their Fastlane Plus is a big part of that reason. As previously posted, you can get on rides very quickly using it. A 2-3 train wait on a summer Saturday is typical for us.

[Carrie]

I called CP to ask about limits on water, snacks to take in the park.  They are sold out for the weekend, anyway! LOL. I'll aim for mid week, mid June during a non-event.   Maybe we will get lucky.  The platinum passes are VERY attractive!! 

[Hilltopper39]

4 hours ago, Carrie said:

I had sticker price shock when I saw CP's fee.   Busch Gardens was like $40.  LOL. Of course, they are open nearly all year so the wait times aren't as extensive.   I think the longest we waited at BG was 10 mins.....and that was Sheikra and at the end of the day on Cheetah Hunt (<~~~~~~~GREAT RIDE!). 

Quick Que at BGT can get up there too, it's $40 during the week in the low season but it's $100-$150 on the weekends pretty much from now until October.

[DoinItForTheFame]

7 hours ago, prozach626 said:

I'm still wishing CF would increase the Fastlane Plus prices to cut down on the number sold, while breaking even on the profits. I'd gladly pay $200 per day at Cedar Point, if it meant a substantial reduction on wait time.....

Check out the VIP tours at CP. They are 100% worth the cost, and when you look at everything that’s included it’s not really a “bad” value. The longest you’ll ever end up waiting is a minute or two. With as busy as CP gets, it’s almost the only way it makes the park worth doing....