Fast Lane and Fast Lane Plus at Cedar Point

Hi, Michelle! Glad to hear you'll be visiting up here on the north coast! I don't know why you think coming to Cedar Point on Monday, June 22 is crazy- I would not expect it to be an especially busy day. It's still pretty early in the season. The only times we ever get Fast Lane is if we are going with friends who are 1)major over-the-top coaster geeks who 2) have only one day to visit and 3) it's going to be an especially busy day due to some special event or holiday. You've probably done your homework on line and saw that the only difference between Fast Lane and Fast Lane Plus is that the Plus includes Gatekeeper, Maverick, Top Thrill Dragster and Rougarou (the new flavor of the month). I was surprised to see that Millennium Force and Raptor are included in the basic Fast Lane, and they often have extremely long lines. Most of the stuff on both of the Fast Lanes is fluff- not that they're bad rides, but they usually don't have much of a wait.

If you want to spend much of your time riding the major coasters, esp. those big four, and you don't like waiting with the "unwashed masses" then splurge for the Fast Lane Plus. You really will get a lot more ride time in. If you're a "once and done" rider then you might not get as much benefit. Personally I do recommend riding Gatekeeper several times from several different seats on both sides. It is like a totally different coaster from the left to the right side and from front to back to middle. My personal favorite seat? Front seat, right side, outside seat. Second favorite is the same on the left side.

Tips or tricks for Cedar Point. It is HUGE! 365 acres, and extremely long. Plan on doing a lot of walking. There are four gates into the park: Main Gate from the main parking lot, underneath the Gatekeeper keyholes; Marina Gate (if you arrive via your yacht); Beach Gate by Windseeker if you are staying at the Breakers Hotel or want to get some sand in your toes; or Resorts Gate (sometimes called Soak City Gate) which shares its entrance plaza with the water park. Note for a Kings Island person- unlike at Kings Island, Soak City is NOT included in admission. It is a separate park with separate admission. If you are going to hit the coasters at the front of the park first (Gatekeeper, Raptor, Wicked Twister, Blue Streak) use the main gate. Back of the park coasters (Maverick, Mean Streak (if you like it rough and don't mind having a few kidney stones worked loose), Magnum) are closest to Resorts/Soak City gate. The rest of the major coasters (Millennium Force, Top Thrill, Rougarou) are in the middle of the park, so either the Resorts gate (turn left) or the Beach Gate (go straight then turn right) are the closest.

A few things I would recommend you not miss: 1) Cedar Downs, one of the last racing derby carousels left. It is fun, fast and a really unique ride. 2) Sky Ride. There are surprisingly few left, and if you don't mind looking down then peek over the edge and look at the floral gardens that run down the middle of the midway. They usually have pictures in the flowers than can only be seen from the skyride. 3) Frontier Trail. It is cool, much more relaxed and a nice place to decompress from an excess of coaster adrenaline. Be sure to check out the shops if you have a chance. The petting zoo has become extremely popular with families.

Feel free to contact me at jim@themeparkinsider.com if you have any questions I can answer or if I totally confused you with what I wrote. I hope you have a great time!

Thank you James! I guess I didn't word the beginning correctly. I meant that it is crazy that this will be my first time going to Cedar Point after being in Ohio for so long. Anyways, thank you for this great information. I'm definitely excited to ride the Gatekeeper, so it might be worth it for me to spring for the fast lane plus.

Jim - I sent you an email asking for advice, hope you don't mind! if you rather I post my question publicly please let me kmow. thanks! melissa

I had the same questions and just got back last night. Gatekeeper was walk on all three days...there were rarely lines for coasters - except for Milinium (20 minutes) and Dragster......Maverick had line too. But we did those first thing in morning but honestly ANYTHING else was quite easy to do.

I wonder how much of the low wait times was based on the weather reports for this entire week- rain and thunderstorms predicted every day. I suspect lots of the locals have decided to wait until the monsoon season is over to visit- I know we have not gone this week due to the constant threat of thunderstorms. Regardless of the reason, I'm glad to hear that you didn't have to wait very long for the premier coasters at CP. Gatekeeper is often a walk on due to its high capacity. I hope you had a good time!

Hi I need a little more information.... My husband and myself both have next Friday off work. We wanted to take our 8 year old and a friend. It's approx 3 hour drive one way/back. We have dogs and cats and have family "checking in" and feeding them/potty break so no overnight lodging. To make it worth the trip I was going to bite the bullet and pick up Fast lane.... Last year, for Halloweekends we paid $50 admission (no FastLane) and it was awful. 2 hours in line for Raptor with an 8 year old and me having to use the bathroom is NOT fun, I kept envying the people with Fastlane who were on and off within 20 minutes.... Anyhow, I didn't understand the difference between FL and FL plus (which is already SOLD OUT online for every weekend in July) but now it's starting to make sense. Alot of people said FL isn't worth it because it includes a bunch of "filler" rides are don't have a long wait anyhow and for the $20 extra you could ride on the TTD, GK, Maverick and Rougarou. So.... My question is this.... Since I don't have the option to buy FL plus, buying the FL won't apply to those big rides? Then even after spending $75 EXTRA pp, I am still stuck waiting with a FL upgrade in the regular line at those rides because I don't have a FL plus wristband? Is that how it works? I am really frustrated and about the scrape the whole idea of even going. My son will be devastated and I'm already have a difficult time seeing which, if any of his friend's have parents willing to shell out $100 for their kid to join us. We can't afford paying for a friend. This just sucks.