Halloweekends at Cedar Point

We ventured up to Cedar Point over the weekend to check out the Halloween activities.

I haven't been to a Halloween event at a theme park for almost 20 years, so I was excited to check it out. We got a standard cabin at Lighthouse Point, brought some people with us, and made a weekend of it.

The weather didn't cooperate on either Friday or Saturday as it was chilly and windy most of the time. However, the weather didn't turn anyone away though as I've never seen Cedar Point this full. Pretty much every major ride had a 2+ hour wait the whole day, with some of them approaching 3. Even with all the people waiting in lines for rides, there were still long lines for every food/drink place and games. Thankfully we have been several times this year so we got to ride everything earlier in the summer, but it was still disappointing to not re-ride my big three (SV, Maverick, and Millenium). We did get some rides in on a few others though. I also struggled with the app and the wait times all weekend. A ride would be down in the app but running when we walked by. A short wait in the app, but over 2 hours when we got to it.

The highlight of the trip (and the main reason we went) was the Halloween activities going on. They did a really great job of keeping the lines moving through the haunted houses and scare zones. There were plenty of places to go and things to see so the crowds had plenty to do. It was great that our kids were old enough to enjoy all of this with us as well. We liked the theming of the different zones and the overall decor across the entire park. I would have liked a few more haunted areas, but that's just me.

We may have to check out the Kings Island Halloween before the end of the season!

Can anyone speak to the crowd situation at the beginning vs. the end of these Halloween events? Hearing that the park was packed isn’t surprising, but my impression is that the first few weekends at the end of September are better than the October weekends. Is this true, or is the park generally slammed throughout all of Halloweekends?

It doesn't really get any better, it's just the same pattern, rinse and repeat. Thursdays are the new Fridays, Fridays and Saturdays are slammed, with Sunday's still being a great day, but with caveat of no outdoor haunts (but with the indoor). The only outlier to this every year seems to be the very first weekend of Halloweekends, probably because many people either don't know it's already starting, or they're just not "in the spooky mood" yet. The caveat there is not everything is really firing on all cylinders, much like a general opening weekend.

Yesterday was a fantastic day to be there. Crowds were very, very light until mid-afternoon when it got somewhat busy, but even at peak crowds Steel Vengeance & Maverick had about an hour wait (I always use those two as benchmarks).

If you don't care about the outdoor scare zones, any Sunday is a funday.

The weather was nice yesterday too, so I thought about staying an extra half day to grab a few rides, but opted for heading out instead.

After hearing the crowds were light, makes me wish I would have given it a shot.

Bakeman31092:

Can anyone speak to the crowd situation at the beginning vs. the end of these Halloween events?

Speaking for Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando, up to about five years ago you could attend a non-Saturday event night in September and have pretty good luck with tolerable crowds. This year I went to an early September Thursday and it was uncomfortably crowded, with 90-100 minute waits for the houses. And that is after they started doing date specific tickets.

I second Thursdays and Sundays. Great days to be at the park if you can make it work.

We go almost exclusively on Thursday during Halloweekends. The combination of the lower crowds (although they DO increase as the season goes on), early entry, and open haunts makes it a night where we can do everything we want to do, and still make it out of the park and home early enough to get up and slog though a work Friday.

We will do an occasional Sunday just to take in the atmosphere, decorations, and get some rides and shows in.

Speaking of shows, The Tell Tale Heart (one-man show in the Blowing Glass Theater) and Wake the Dead (an interactive musical in the Palace Theater) were two of the best Live-E experiences I have ever had at Cedar Point. I saw the Tell Tale Heart with the original actor (David Gilmore) years ago and never thought it could once again reach that caliber, but the actor this year (no idea what his name is) is just as good.

Agree with awake the Dead just a fantastic show. Thur a few weeks ago was great ended up doing a solo trip through blood on the bayou, cutthroat and cornstalkers in perfect fog conditions. One of my best Halloweekends trips ever.

These Halloween events have certainly ‘blown up’ over the past 20 years or so.

ive noticed that wait time and service does tend to be slower than summertime. Is that because crowds are bigger or not as many workers for seasonal work?

The_Orient_of_Express:

Is that because crowds are bigger or not as many workers for seasonal work?

Yes

I remember that original Tell-Tale Heart fondly. I'm glad to hear it's back, even with a different actor!