Cedar Point First Timer Questions

Hi,
I am new to the coasterbuzz forum. I have some questions for you guys. We are coming to Cedar Point May 28-29 of this year. We are traveling all the way from Hawaii so of course we want to maximize our fun during this short stay. He goes with the questions. Many thanks in advance for your advice for us

1. Will CP be very crowded May 28 and 29? (i.e. will lines be longer than 10-15 minutes)
2. Are Fast Lane and/or Fast Lane Plus good options to buy to minimize wait during those dates?
3. If you guys think I should buy FL or FLP for my family is it better to purchase online in advance (do they usually sell out) or can I wait until we get to the park?
4. Do you guys have any other advice for us first timers to CP?

Thanks again for any information you may have. We are traveling very far and can only stay for a few days so we just want to get the best bang for our stay.

I thought Hawaii was absolute paradise and the only reason I wouldn't move there right now is that the closest roller coaster is over 3000 miles away! And while i dont know where else your trip will take you, you're coming even further to visit Cedar Point! Fantastic! You're gonna love it.
May 28 and 29 are usually good days to visit the park. Memorial day is the 27th, and Ohio kids aren't out of school quite yet. The school science trips to the park are probably done by then, too. I usually try to go that week myself.
Cedar Point is a big park and can be very, very busy. I'm glad you're planning 2 days to make sure you get it all in without having to rush.
As far as Fast Lane goes, I would at least wait until you get here to decide, and not suck into Cedar Point's offer to let you buy them in advance. The price won't change. Maybe on the 29th you'll decide you're missing out or wasting precious time and decide to do it. Remember, they're available at locations throughout the park anytime that day. Others here might know differently, but I have never ever heard of them selling out. And I think that week it won't be an issue, anyway.
Will you be staying at a Cedar Point hotel? If so, remember resort guests get in an hour early for select rides and that might help you. I don't know if you all are careful planners or like to wing it, but you could take advantage of that and work the front end of the park, (Raptor, Gatekeeper), one morning and the back (Maverick, Millenium Force) the other.
The weather should be good here by then, nice and warm. Don't laugh at our Lake Erie beach, please.
Coasterbuzz is full of fans and folks with good advice. Welcome, and thanks for asking.
I hope you have a great trip, and a blast at Cedar Point.

Awesome, RCMAC. Very lovely post! :)

Honestly, I visited in the middle of July, and while the crowds for Maverick and Millennium Force and Raptor were bad, they weren't the worst I've seen due to some really great ride ops. I'd never do it again without FastLane, but again, that was the middle of July. The end of May is usually a great time for parks to not be so crowded, and yes, I'd wait on FastLane until you get a better idea of the crowd situation. Two days should be plenty of time to ride everything you like without it.

Thank You RCMAC, very much. That was super informative for me. Yes, we are staying at the cabin on the beach of Lake Erie. I have seen the pictures and honestly it looks beautiful, we are looking forward to our stay.

Sounds as if no Fl or FLP is needed. I will take your advice though and see how things go on the first day. Perhaps buy the FLP on the second day if we don't get to do many rides. All that way and only two days, gotta maximize.

We are actually headed east: Philly, NY, NJ, D.C., Virginia. It should be really fun. We have Hershey Park, Six Flags Great Adventure and Busch Gardens Williamsburg on the slate too among all the other cool things to see along the way.

Oh I really like the idea of hitting the park front and back on the two different morning. Nice strategy!

Oh my gosh, that trip sounds awesome. All cities and parks I'd love to visit again.
Now, you know, there's those here that are gonna try to talk you into Kennywood, Coney Island, Dorney, and Kings Dominion while you're at it! You're gonna have to plan more time!

I have some questions for you about Hawaii, if you don't mind. May I please private message you on here?

RCMAC said:
Oh my gosh, that trip sounds awesome. All cities and parks I'd love to visit again.
Now, you know, there's those here that are gonna try to talk you into Kennywood, Coney Island, Dorney, and Kings Dominion while you're at it! You're gonna have to plan more time!

And Knoebels.

RCMAC please PM it is fine.

I forgot we are headed to Coney Island too. Thought of Kings Dominion (or was it Kings Island) but it was just to far not enough time to fit into our packed schedule.

Hey, we are at the cabins near the RV park (forget what they are called), what do you think of them? Would breakers be a better choice do you think? We don't mind the 'rustic' living in the cabins but I just got done looking at a blog about a stay at breakers and it looked pretty nice.

bunky666 said:

RCMAC said:
Oh my gosh, that trip sounds awesome. All cities and parks I'd love to visit again.
Now, you know, there's those here that are gonna try to talk you into Kennywood, Coney Island, Dorney, and Kings Dominion while you're at it! You're gonna have to plan more time!

And Knoebels.

Where is Knoebels?

Cedar Point is no Hawaii. :) I've often wondered if I lived in Hawaii where I would go for vacation, and this thread is interesting in that respect.

Knoebels is in central to eastern PA. From Cedar Point, you'd almost pass right by it to get to Busch Gardens and KD depending on which route you took. And since you're going to Hershey, you'd be coming that way anyway (somewhat).

If you go to Knoebels: Phoenix second seat on the right, first car. It will blow almost everything else on your trip out of the water.

Yes Jeff, I get that often when we are away on 'vacation'. Many say WTF do you need a vacation from...? It is nice to see something different though; we have been very lucky to visit beautiful places on the mainland (what we call the continental USA). Places that I in awe of when I get there and see them for real. I never lose that feeling of how beautiful it is back here at home though, being away just refreshes or reenergizes that emotion.

Major drawback though is 'rock fever' LOL. Where I live, on Kauai, 30 miles in either direction is all I get. And of course we have to go thousand of miles to ride some killer roller coasters.

I gotta look into this Knoebels place, huh.

It will surprise you if you've never heard of it...it is unlike any of the "chain" parks.

For me? Breakers over cabins/cottages any day. Beware of the Bon Air section though. (which in French stands for crap) It's ok if it's just me (its the cheapest) but I wouldn't treat my family to it.
I don't remember whether it's cabins or cottages that are right on the water, but that would be preferable. They aren't exactly rustic cabins, either. They're more like permanent RV type structures. Kind of. I remember the bathrooms are tiny and it helps in the shower to be short. The cabins are close together, but you feel like you have your own place. I'd guess that week they won't be sold out, so you may feel somewhat secluded. Kids would probably like it. It's past Camper Village and a bit of a walk to the park.
Breakers is no Grand Floridian, but I like it for access to the park, pools, beach, and restaurants. Its old, they've done ok with updates, and its seasonal. I'm a hotel kind of guy, though, every time.

I could see retiring in Hawaii, specifically Kauai. Love it there. Really good people, too.

Just happened to watch The Descendants last night. The opening voiceover includes this little tidbit which sort of stuck out to me and seems oddly appropriate here: 

"My friends on the mainland think just because I live in Hawaii, I live in paradise. Like a permanent vacation -- we're all just out here drinking mai-tais, shaking our hips, and catching waves. Are they nuts? How can they possibly think our families are less screwed up, our heart attacks and cancers less fatal, our grief less devastating? Hell, I haven't been on a surfboard in fifteen years."

Give us credit, please. We've all seen enough Hawaii 5-O and Dog the Bounty Hunter to know what it's really like over there!

If you book online with Hotel Breakers, enter promotional code RETURN, for a better rate! You can include tickets with your room with the package deal.

don't get that response????