Cedar point trip

[acemachine]

Hi all,

I just joined this forum and I see a lot of useful information about many theme parks!

I would like to visit Cedar Point from Chicago and have a couple of questions..

1. I am going to buy the fast lane plus, wondering if anyone could give me some tips on what days to visit - weekdays or weekends, which ride to start with, and what the average wait times are for all the rides with fast lane plus, especially top thrill dragster and millennium force.

2. Is one day enough to cover all the rides with the fast lane plus? I want to ride Top thrill dragster and millennium force as many times as I can. Been to Kingdaka at Six flags great adventure and absolutely loved it.

3. Is the first row the best for all the rides? Does fast lane plus allow us to choose the front row?

4. What would be the best place to stay on a budget? Any cheap motels nearby?

5. What are the other things to do apart from Cedar point ? Any nearby attractions? How long will you recommend staying in Sandusky ?

 

Thank you all

[Invertalon]

1.) With FL+ , don't worry about the day. The longest wait will likely be Maverick (15-30mins). Most others should be walk-on for the most part.

 

2.) Yes, one day is enough with FL+

 

3.) Each ride is different. And with FL+ you merge near or in the station, so you can sit wherever you want.

 

4.) Sandusky is filled with cheap motels, take your pick! (I honestly don't know much about them, I wouldn't stay in any of them...)

 

5.) Sandusky doesn't have much... You could go to put-n-bay or something, but honestly its a weird location. It has a lively "main strip" near the park, but it's more-so just restaurants and stuff. For actual attractions, stick to CP. I would recommend if you can going to the park at least two days... Check out some shows, enjoy the beach/breakers, etc...

[larrygator]

The cheap motels in Sandusky are not known for their quality.

[diamondzznspurs]

You definitely need to watch what motels you stay in. On our last trip we stayed at the Motel 6 Huron, which is about 15 minutes from the park, it was such a great stay and where we will stay on all future trips. We went during the week so the rate was $49, I know weekends are more but for the money you cannot beat it. The rooms are clean and comfortable and the drive to Cedar Point is easy except there is a bunch of construction. The only down side is they do not offer any breakfast but for us the money we saved staying there more than made up for it.

 

As most people have said, the biggest tip for getting in the rides is work from the back of the park forward and try to hit Maverick and Top Thrill Dragster early. Every time we hit Dragster it ALWAYS goes down at some point. A lot of people will leave the line but we have always stuck it out and ended up on it within an hour. It sucks to wait but with the unpredictability you really need to. Do not attempt to hit Raptor, Wicked Twister and Gatekeeper in the morning, the lines are always long, as for Fast Lane Plus not sure about those lines. We have platinum passes so we just take advantage of the early entry.

[coasterbill]

^ I agree that you shouldn't ride Raptor or Gatekeeper in the morning once the park opens but it's worth pointing out that they're awesome Early Entry rides (especially Raptor).

 

A far as riding Dragster Early this is good advice but remember that it's not open for Early Entry.

 

Even with Fastlane though this is really a 2 day park.

[yay101]

Start with Maverick and Magnum XL-200 if possible, maybe Millennium Force. Probably Wicked Twister too because that is a low capacity ride, but you can hit it up in the morning while everyone else is at GateKeeper. I never had Fast Lane so I'm not the best person for this advice, plus I've only been to Cedar Point twice. You COULD probably squeeze it into one day with Fast Lane Plus, but it's Cedar Point...spend a second day there just for rerides because it's great It's Cedar Point...stay a while For me, front row is without question best for Raptor, Rougarou, and probably Top Thrill Dragster, but Magnum and Blue Streak are definitely rides you would want to go on in the last row. GateKeeper is best I think in the back right out of the three times I rode it, but it's good in the front too because of the flythrough over the gate. I'm also not the best about hotels; I stayed in Breaker's Express when I went which is nice and I think within reason if you're looking for cheaper hotels, plus you get into the park an hour before anyone else and you can knock one or two rides out of the way then. I wouldn't advise staying in Super 8 or Motel 6 - I haven't been to those in Sandusky but we've had some bad experiences with them in the past due to them being dirty and the staff doesn't care and all. Sandusky doesn't have much, just a Kalahari and Great Wolf Lodge (I think), as well as Castaway Bay, and a cool mall if you need to buy something. It's an hour away from Cleveland, two-three hours from Michigan's Adventure (which is small but actually a nice park), and I can't think of anything else. Have fun with your trip - Cedar Point is fabulous!

[diamondzznspurs]

Maybe in general Super 8 and Motel 6 is worth staying away from, but since my husband and I actually stayed at Motel 6 Huron in May, I can tell you it is definitely CLEAN, I will not stay in a rat trap or somewhere dirty. As for helpfulness, they went above and beyond. On our last morning there we came out to our car battery dead, the manager got his jumper cables and actually gave us a jump. If not for him we really would have been screwed as we had borrowed a friend's car so we could not call insurance, etc. Being a former travel agent, one of the best resources on the web is tripadvisor.com, they are real reviews from real people and you can pick out what reviews are just BS.

[coasterbill]

The Sandusky Milan Motel 6 and Super 8 are both pretty good. Both are above average for their respective chains and both are very clean.

 

Stay at Breakers express if you don't have a platinum pass though as Early Entry is amazing.

[VF15]

I would also recommend staying at Breakers Express if it's in your budget. It's much cheap than CP's other hotels, only five minutes from the park, and you still get early entry (which is a great time for lots of rides on Maverick and Millennium Force ).

[kcurry11]

Breakers Express is great. I spent two days without a FL+ and easily got everything done. I would think with one it will be easy to get everything done in one day. Make sure to get to the low capacity rides first (Maverick mostly), as those lines will get long. Same with TTD, and some days Millenniums lines can get longish. Just plan wisely, a good plan is your best friend at CP.

[acemachine]

Thanks a lot for a lot of useful information! I am starting from Chicago tomorrow and I am exited. I would also like to know if the 2 day ride and slide ticket is worth it . Planning to visit the park on friday and saturday .