Cedar Point: What to expect?

I've never been to Cedar Point in my life and I'm going tomorrow and I am so excited.

I'm going to the park on sunday, monday, tuesday, and maybe some of wednesday. Will the park always be busy?

Also, does anyone know if any of the rides are broken down for a few days (specifically ttd) and I won't be able to ride them?

Is it smarter to ride ttd at the beginning, middle, or end of the day (I mean when is the line shortest).

And if you guys can tell me anything else that would be good to know, that would be awesome. Thanks!

My suggestion would be to pace yourself since you're going to be there at least three days. Don't feel as if you have to get all the major rides in right away.

Pick something you'd like to ride first thing in the morning and head for it.

Also pick what you'd like to be your last ride of the night - if you're staying to close - (Tip: On the bigger rides the lines are remain open a few minutes after closing, so that no one can accuse the park of closing lines early and once you're in line - they will clear the queue. You may not get the seat you want - but you'll get a night ride)

Raptor - is a bottleneck in the morning - the crowd invariably stop there first. Oddly during dinner time the line is as short as it's going to be all day.

Blue Streak - is a great ride - but save it for an evening ride when you can pretty much walk onto the platform.

Mean Streak - has a mean reputation and deservedly so - save it for the evening...the crowds start to move towards the front of the park.

Wicked Twister - haven't figured this one out yet. The addition of maXair to that midway could make for longer waits. The crew is very efficient and wait looks longer than it usually is.

Disaster Transport - pay close attention to the sign out front regarding the wait time - you can't see the queue it's hidden and winding (though there is AC and you can buy 3D glasses) trust me, you don't want to wait any longer than you have to.

Mantis - ride it early or late because it bakes in the afternoon and two train operation makes it only that much worse.

Gemini - most efficient ride in the park. Ride it anytime of the day.

Magnum - if you get there early enough in the day you can get repeat rides while the crowds head to Dragster and MF and it's a different ride at night - so, if not your last ride of the day - make sure you do ride at night.

The other coasters and rides you can ride as you see fit.

I wouldn't call Gemini the most efficient ride in the park any more since they took away 6 train operation. That title would have to go to Raptor or Magnum, in my opinion.

Are you staying somewhere on or off the peninsula?

I suggest that you ride Wicked Twister before you ride Dragster because WT is really fun and all, but after you've felt Dragster's launch, WT is kinda "meh." Oh, yeah USE FREEWAY!

On Mean Streak, to make the ride less "rough" lean forward throughout the ride, meaning DO NOT put your back against the seat back because that hard foam rubber backing is horrible and transfers every bump and jolt into your spine. If you do this, the ride isn't so bad.

Magnum is best when run without trims. To get rides without trims, you should try to ride it first thing in the morning or very last at night. At both of these times, it will only be a walk on. I suggest riding in 1-3 (ejector seat) or 6-1, 6-3. DON'T forget to tighten your seat belt so you don't bruise your legs, especially if you want to be walking around the park for a few days. If the trims are off, the return trip is insanity, if they are on then the return trip is just pretty good.

You've picked probably the best 3-4 days to go to the park as far as crowds go. You'll have plenty of time to do everything you'll want so, like UPSTOP620 said, pace yourself! Try to catch some of the shows and visit the shops on the Frontier Trail.

Have fun.

These guys pretty much covered everything, but honestly, pulling into the parking lot is truely sensory overload. Everything hits you at once.

Definately ride Raptor in the evening, and Magnum in the morning.

Millennium Force will have the same line pretty much all day unless you get there right at opening. Dragster's wait usually isn't too bad if it doesn't break down. It doesn't look like there have been any major problems with TTD so you'll definately get on it! Make sure you get a ride on the front seat of Dragster and on the BACK seat of MF!

Have a great time! I wish I could go back again this year.. :(

Since it's your first time I'd leave MF and TTD until a little later. Work up to them, otherwise you might (although I doubt it) be dissappointed with some of the other coasters.

If you're not staying on-site then I suggest parking in the waterpark parking lot. That entrance is right next to Magnum and you should be able to get a few laps in on that first thing in the morning. On your other days you could use that entrance to get to TTD before the main crowd.

If you are traveling a long way and have not been there before, I recommend riding TTD at the first chance you get since the cable could snap and you will miss your chance.

If he's there for 3 or 4 days a cable snap wouldn't even deter him from riding. They are pretty efficient about getting it up and running after them. Last year it snapped while testing in the morning, and they had it running and open to the public later that evening. Their best time is around 8 hours. If it would happen later in the day, it would most likey be up the next day.

He should probably ride it the first day anyway, so if it would happen to snap that day, he'd still have time left in his trip.

Austin - read this.

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Since it's your first time I'd leave MF and TTD until a little later. Work up to them, otherwise you might (although I doubt it) be dissappointed with some of the other coasters.

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We went on MF first and weren't overly let down with anything else in the park [though we thought we would be].

We always park in the Maggie lot - usually pretty empty in the morning, and Magnum, Gemini, and [to a lesser extent] Mean Streak are all right there. You can get everything in the back of the park done, and then work your way over to the other areas.

Getting the Freeway Pass for MF is key, could easily save you 1 to 1.5 hour wait. If you are not familiar with the Freeway Pass system, the passes are free and are distributed at 11 AM for MF at the Freeway Pass stand near the exit for the ride. They stamp your hand for an hour window to come back where you can jump towards the front of the line (show your stamp to the ops at the beginning of the entrance and they will direct you to the Freeway Merge point). From this point, your wait time should only be about 20 minutes instead of the typical 1 to 1.5 hours for MF on busy days.

The TTD stamps are not distributed until 2 PM. That one is a crap shoot because sometimes the queue for the TTD Freeway stamp is an hour with no guarantee of getting a stamp. If you hit TTD at the right time of day and assuming no downtimes, your ride wait may be an hour. For one of your TTD rides, I recommend waiting the extra 20 minutes or so for the front seat--there is no other experience like it!

Others mentioned parking in the back lots which I agree is a great secret. When driving into the entrance, keep to the far left lane and when they ask you where you are going, tell them you are going to Soak City and then park in the lot next to Magnum and enter the park near Challenge City.

I also highly recommend closing the park down one of the days and ride some tall rides like the Wonder Wheel or Max Air to truly appreciate the view of the park at night.

Moosh-are sunday and tuesday really the least busiest days?

http://www.pointbuzz.com/faq3.htm