Cedar Point (CP) Discussion Thread

[coasterlover420]

I think the plinko game has a much lower impact on wait time than people here are thinking. It's not like thousands of people use plinko passes per day. At Millennium Force, we'd get around 100-200 plinko passes per day on a crowded day, which is 200-400 people. If the park is open 12 hours, that would be at most 32 ish people per hour, which means you'd have to wait ONE EXTRA TRAIN per hour, which is only adding 1.5 minutes of wait time per hour. It's not that big of a deal, and CP rakes in the cash with it too. It's seriously not something to complain about, it has a very minimal effect.

 

Fast lane, however, DOES make the line move really slow. We let in around 50/50 for fast lane; so before the merge point, the line literally moves half as fast.

[raptor6]

The first thing I am trying to work out is accommodation. Looking on the CP website it seems that on point accommodation does not operate Sunday nights, Just Fri and Sat. So because of that and the fact that we will have a hire car, I'm thinking that we will go off Point so we can stay in the same place for both nights. That said, I am not sure at what point we will have the opportunity to check into the hotel during the day. I can't imagine that anywhere would let us check in at 11pm (I could be wrong).. The other option of course is to stay at say Breakers for the Saturday night (closer/Parking/check-in convenience) and then go off Point for the Sunday night (given that the park closes at 8pm it should not be an issue checking in?)

 

So what are your thoughts on the best way to approach accommodation? Am I making too much of a fuss about late check-ins and so on...

 

If you stay off property, just ask the hotel that you'll need late check-in, and they'll be happy to hold a room for you. I would recommend that you stay in the same place on both nights, because it's a pain in the butt to switch hotels while at an amusement park. It's just more hassle than what it's worth.

 

So we have established that we will be there on Saturday and Sunday and I already know that we will need two days, but will it be worth getting a Fast Pass Plus for the Saturday? And if so, should I pre-order online? And how far in advance will I need to do it? I have seen some October pictures of last years Halloweekends at CP and it looked PACKED!!! Does the FP+ make much of a difference in your wait time? Are we talking 30min compared to 2hr in the normal line?

 

Cedar Point Halloweekend Saturdays are some of the busiest days of the year. You must buy Fast Lane Plus for these days, especially if you are traveling half way across the world. Sundays are much less crowded, but still could be busy. It depends how the parking lot looks when you arrive. If you can arrive on Friday, the crowds are lighter (possibly due to High School Football?) and the haunted houses open only 2 hours after the park opens.

[Bilby_AUS]

The first thing I am trying to work out is accommodation. Looking on the CP website it seems that on point accommodation does not operate Sunday nights, Just Fri and Sat. So because of that and the fact that we will have a hire car, I'm thinking that we will go off Point so we can stay in the same place for both nights. That said, I am not sure at what point we will have the opportunity to check into the hotel during the day. I can't imagine that anywhere would let us check in at 11pm (I could be wrong).. The other option of course is to stay at say Breakers for the Saturday night (closer/Parking/check-in convenience) and then go off Point for the Sunday night (given that the park closes at 8pm it should not be an issue checking in?)

 

So what are your thoughts on the best way to approach accommodation? Am I making too much of a fuss about late check-ins and so on...

 

If you stay off property, just ask the hotel that you'll need late check-in, and they'll be happy to hold a room for you. I would recommend that you stay in the same place on both nights, because it's a pain in the butt to switch hotels while at an amusement park. It's just more hassle than what it's worth.

 

So we have established that we will be there on Saturday and Sunday and I already know that we will need two days, but will it be worth getting a Fast Pass Plus for the Saturday? And if so, should I pre-order online? And how far in advance will I need to do it? I have seen some October pictures of last years Halloweekends at CP and it looked PACKED!!! Does the FP+ make much of a difference in your wait time? Are we talking 30min compared to 2hr in the normal line?

 

Cedar Point Halloweekend Saturdays are some of the busiest days of the year. You must buy Fast Lane Plus for these days, especially if you are traveling half way across the world. Sundays are much less crowded, but still could be busy. It depends how the parking lot looks when you arrive. If you can arrive on Friday, the crowds are lighter (possibly due to High School Football?) and the haunted houses open only 2 hours after the park opens.

 

Raptor, thanks for the advice much appreciated! I am really looking forward to this trip!!

[JWAddington]

As for the Plinko games, my 6yr old twins won us 16 skip the line tickets with $30 in playing. 5-MF, 3-TTD, 4-Maverick, 4-GK. we are going to use all of them on a Halloweekend Saturday!

[SbSteveZ]

This is a bit of an unrelated side note, but I have a good friend who visited Cedar Point this weekend. He is by no means a coaster enthusiasts but I've dragged him to enough parks over the years (Kings Island, Holiday World, Cedar Point, Great America, everything in the Orlando area to name a few) that he's been on some decent rides. I asked him what he thought of Gatekeeper and he said he loved it and that it was probably his new favorite ride at Cedar Point. So keep in mind that as much as we "enthusiasts" may be unimpressed by the forceless wing rider coasters and their bland layouts the GP (who really matter) absolutely love them. Kind of an interesting perspective.

 

 

Honestly, GateKeeper is one of my favorite coasters in the park. It's unlike anything else there, it has great capacity, and it's visually stunning. The back left seat is actually pretty intense, and I love the way it yanks you over each of the hills. On the way back it slows down quite a bit, which is a unique sensation in itself.

 

It's not Maverick but I thought it was a great addition to the park.

 

I agree, I love Millennium, Magnum, Top Thrill, Maverick, Raptor etc... But I also love how each coaster at the park is unique in it's own way. I was lucky enough to be a rider on GateKeeper with a (wait for it) 5 minute wait on the 4th of July AS they were shooting the fireworks. Not only was that an amazing once in a life time experience (as well as probably the 5 minute wait for a brand new CP coaster ) but also, as we reached the top of the hill, right before the cars flipped, We were up on the top just long enough to look into Sandusky and see all the beautiful lights and the slight curve of the earth which is always interesting. The experience of being on a wing, and not actually on the track was really awesome to me. having 2 different ride experiences on 1 roller coaster (not counting which seat you rode in, just the side) is very unique in my mind, and the Keyhole element was very cool on its own. The only "Problem' i had with it was the lighting on the cars and on the keyholes weren't doing so well. The keyholes Uncontrollably strobed and flashed on and off while the actual lights on the trains were never always on. Which was a shame but that didn't take away from my ride whatsoever. So I was happy with GateKeeper.. maybe it was just the circumstances, maybe not. But a good ride is a good ride. and GateKeeper, is a good ride.

[SbSteveZ]

Just Putting it out there... Sources say (CP Fansite - Coastercrew) The Cedar Point 2014 announcement is scheduled for august 27th. They say they received this information Directly from Cedar Point. Good to know. Can't wait to see what it will be!

[coasternut]

Just Putting it out there... Sources say (CP Fansite - Coastercrew) The Cedar Point 2014 announcement is scheduled for august 27th. They say they received this information Directly from Cedar Point. Good to know. Can't wait to see what it will be!

 

Yes, according to PointBuzz they will have an announcement on Tuesday 8/27 regarding 2014. I'm sure it's not a new coaster.

[SbSteveZ]

One can hope, looking back into early august on pointbuzz it seemed as if people didn't want a new coaster... BUT i did see a cool boardwalk idea from someone on the site that I thought would liven up the beach some. Rumors are floating from new dark ride, to camp snoopy re-theming to CCMR retracking, Mean Streak re tracking, Blue streak retracking, Blue streak midway remodeling, Planet Snoopy & Kiddy Kingdom merger plus addition of a new junior/family coaster (such as the inverted coaster at i want to say kings island... don't be too quick to flip out if i'm wrong on that... ) and several people complaining about the ice rink. I even saw people speculating over the generic Wooden roller coaster support shown on the title image for the Blog post titled "I need your help"

 

So it's safe to say that whatever it is, it CLEARLY is not evident like GateKeeper or Banshee were...

 

Lastly, On pointbuzz a member who received an email from Cedar Point mentioning 2014 said "something new is coming or 2014 or SOMETHINGS!" so again. No For Sure mention as to what 2014 will hold...

[Koasterking48]

A Planet Snoopy/Kiddy Kingdom merger actually sounds like a good idea! That area looks pretty dated right know and could use a refresh.

[David H]

Right now, Cedar Point's Facebook page is full of people complaining because they tried to hold a fake marriage contest during Halloweekends, but specifically excluded same sex couples in the contest rules. Their justification was that the state of Ohio doesn't allow gay marriage. But the "marriages" in the contest weren't even legal ones, so that is irrelevant. When a gay couple (who are active in the enthusiast community) complained about being excluded, they canceled the contest. When they canceled the contest, they claimed it was because they didn't want to take sides. But it seems to most people that they already have.

 

Compare this with Six Flags America, who recently hosted a very public gay wedding on one of their roller coasters.

[Vonni]

^ Actually the Marriages WERE going to be legal, and when they canceled the event they simply said it is just not the right time, meaning they do not want to host an event like that until EVERYONE is qualified to participate.

[Austin55]

Gatekeeper is probably my 3rd favorite in the park behind Millie and TTD.

[David H]

^^ No, because they were offering to let people re-exchange their vows as one of the options, which is in no way a legal ceremony. It's illegal to get legally married again to someone you're already married to, unless you get divorced first.

 

And on a less legalistic, but more humorous note, it's not legal to marry a zombie.

[Garet]

^^ No, because they were offering to let people re-exchange their vows as one of the options, which is in no way a legal ceremony. It's illegal to get legally married again to someone you're already married to, unless you get divorced first.

 

And on a less legalistic, but more humorous note, it's not legal to marry a zombie.

 

Wasn't it getting married by a zombie?

[Coasterguy21]

Tony Clark had stated they were looking for legal marriages, people with wedding licenses and that they would actually be married. The promotion was specifically called "13 Weddings" and they asked for renewal of vows as backup. But same-sex marriage is still illegal in Ohio (as much as I'm sure most everyone on here believes in equality in one way or another) we can't change the law. They did say that if it were 13 Acts of Love then there'd be no issue. But they were shooting for 13 weddings and if they didn't get that number, they wouldn't have held it. They would've only accepted one or two vow renewals probably because the focus was real weddings. There is a complete response from Tony Clark on PointBuzz regarding this topic that was posted weeks ago (because all of this went down at the beginning of the month and it just now got to the press apparently). But I'm not at the 50 post threshold yet so I'm not going to post the link.

 

The park has already stated they do not discriminate and have offers Beach Packages to ALL couples (Weddings, Commitment Ceremonies, Renewal of Vows etc...), but no in park ceremonies yet.

 

Also, the park is working on a formal wedding program, which would include commitment ceremonies. So to say the park discriminates when they are working on something like that just isn't fair.

 

They cancelled to not discriminate. They said they would be interested in attempting it again in the future if/when same-sex marriage becomes legal.

 

This is a touchy subject so this is all I will say on it. If anyone wants me to remove my post, just let me know. I'm just pretty much stating what the park actually said about it all because there is a lot of misinformation out there in the press (what a surprise) and the postings on the Facebook page are taken from all the misinformation (lots of maturity and people not knowing the actual truth about what the park did). From the way its blown up, it just seems that Cedar Point is anti-gay and ran by morons, which really isn't true at all.

[Mr. Starr]

From the park's Facebook page:

 

What's new in 2014? Here's your first "look." The official reveal happens on Tuesday, August 27!

[Invertalon]

Looks like a beach on the bottom there, color wise... Maybe the awaited beach improvements with stuff for the family and whatnot.

[DJeXeL]

Has Skyhawk been down all season?

[Invertalon]

I have been to CP maybe 10-12 times this season and never saw it run once. I never made it the week it supposedly open, by the time I did go it was back down again for the cable.

 

Bad year for that ride!

[DJeXeL]

^Thanks. Yes bad indeed as it is a really fun ride.

[Invertalon]

Yeah, I really like riding it a few times a season. Bummer to see it down so long.

[coasterkid124]

From the park's Facebook page:

 

What's new in 2014? Here's your first "look." The official reveal happens on Tuesday, August 27!

 

Its so obvious. Aquatrax over the beach. Realistically, I have no idea what this could be and I am skeptical about the rumored dark ride.

[coasterjunkie1975]

From the park's Facebook page:

 

What's new in 2014? Here's your first "look." The official reveal happens on Tuesday, August 27!

 

 

It is..............something. All I know is that seeing as a family will be making the announcement on Cedar Points behalf this will most likely be an attraction geared towards families. So there goes any chance of Project 2014 being a 600 foot tall wooden coaster.

[SbSteveZ]

of course its the long awaited Space Spiral 2 ... the Poler Coaster making the worlds first 600 foot coaster/observation deck a reality smack dab right on the beach! There will be a $50 upcharge for the tower and a $75 upcharge for the coaster itself. You didn't expect the ride to be "Free" did you? Fast Pass is not available for the ride or the tower, but you can pay just as much to experience the ride of a lifetime! Then, in 2015, the ride will be removed for a brand new type of ride, a Wing Rider!

[David H]

Tony Clark had stated they were looking for legal marriages, people with wedding licenses and that they would actually be married. The promotion was specifically called "13 Weddings" and they asked for renewal of vows as backup. But same-sex marriage is still illegal in Ohio (as much as I'm sure most everyone on here believes in equality in one way or another) we can't change the law. They did say that if it were 13 Acts of Love then there'd be no issue. But they were shooting for 13 weddings and if they didn't get that number, they wouldn't have held it. They would've only accepted one or two vow renewals probably because the focus was real weddings. There is a complete response from Tony Clark on PointBuzz regarding this topic that was posted weeks ago (because all of this went down at the beginning of the month and it just now got to the press apparently). But I'm not at the 50 post threshold yet so I'm not going to post the link.

 

So, they would have accepted one or two vow renewals -- which are not weddings (at least not legally). But not gay commitment ceremonies, which are not real weddings (at least not legally.)

 

Nope. Not discrimination at all. LOL.

 

If they were smart, they would have just said, look, someone screwed up. He's been disciplined. We apologize. It won't happen again. Then went ahead with the contest, and allowed the gay couple (or more) to participate.

 

They'd have saved themselves a whole lot of embarrassment and bad press -- and done the right thing. And they probably would have gotten some GOOD press out of it.

 

It amazes me how companies and PR people, who's job it is to understand the media and the public, so often get situations like this wrong.