Cedar Point was outstanding in every way. With Platinum Passes and staying on site at the resort, we enjoyed the early entry (by far the best hour of the day)! All of the rides were open (when they weren't down - but CP works hard to get them up and working ASAP). Maverick was our first destination Monday Morning and it dethroned Diamondback after just three days in our top spot. Maverick has a lot going for it: speed, launches, inversions, tunnels, and airtime. It is a wonderful "little" coaster! Millennium Force continues to awe us with its combination of speed and smoothness. Our seven year old rode it on our second morning at the park and was blown away by it! Magnum, row three, was its usual wild ride and the whole family loved it. Top Thrill Dragster was exhilarating as always. It ran almost non-stop for the three days of our stay (down an hour here and a half hour there).
Most waits during the day were between fifteen and thirty minutes. With so many thrill rides and coasters to choose from, we always found short queues, even though the park was full every day we were there. The whole family loved Gemini and Blue Streak for their enjoyable air time and wild but pain-free rides. Mean Streak on the other hand only exists for masochists and seven year olds - our's loved it and wanted to ride it over and over to my chagrin. CP's assortment of coasters, other thrill rides, family rides and child rides is unbeatable. The park is clean, the views of Lake Erie in every direction are wonderful and the park is basically flat so no hills to constantly climb.
A special note about the Cedar Point staff - they are very friendly, interactive, positive and engaged. They deserve a lot of credit for making the stay at the park even more enjoyable. Few other parks have such positive and friendly staff - great hiring and training at the Point!
Another benefit of the park: name brand restaurants and very diverse menu choices mixed in with traditional amusement park food. Prices were not cheap, but the food was very good.
After our planned two days at the park, the whole family agreed that we needed more time; so we stayed an additional 4 hours on Wednesday before the long drive home.
If you are planning a trip to Cedar Point, plan to stay for at least two days; three is preferable. Stay at the park (choice of hotels, cabins, RV park) to enjoy the early entry. Cedar Point continues to be our favorite destination.
Yes, line jumping was a big problem at Kings Island...much less so at Cedar Point. Cedar Fair needs to crack down on that!
Doug
I've been hearing more and more complaints of line jumping at KI. Seems that it wasn't that big of a problem until recently. I've witnessed plenty of line jumping at Cedar Point, particularly in the line for Maverick. The location of the queue makes it quite easy for people to cut about halfway through, as long as the people put up with it.
At any rate, we have never been to Cedar Point before but plan to possibly make that our destination next year. Will definitely plan to stay on-site for the convenience alone and the close proximity to the beach. Although that park has major thrills, it just seems like somewhere you can really kick back at. We're thinking a week's stay... is that too long if all we're doing is Cedar Point? Any thoughts?
Thanks for the report, DV.
I never noticed the issue at Disney where the lines seem to do a lot less wrapping around and are a bit more closely monitored. Nor have I seen the problem in my two recent visits to Silver Dollar City, where the ride attendants are more mature than the average theme park cast member and less afraid to give a few rowdy line cutters some old fashioned "what fer!"
Anyway, thanks for the response on where you stayed DV, I appreciate the feedback!
I could easily spend five days at Cedar Point. If you and your family love amusement parks, then a week at Cedar Point will be fantastic, especially if you want to relax. There are multiple indoor and outdoor swimming pools on site, volleyball nets on the beach and other activities.
Screamscape reported today that Dragster "crowned" for the third time ever. Two years ago, we rode Dragster first thing in the morning on a cool day and four of the first five runs fell backward. Sadly, we were on the car that did not fall back. I never saw so many excited riders. A fall back on dragster is like hitting the jackpot in Vegas...sort of...
It's amazing that a train going that fast and weighing that much can perfectly balance itself at the crest of a 420 foot structure.
