Ohio Trip Plan

Finally planning an Ohio trip after all these years of traveling through Ohio, but never enough time to stop at any of the parks. Planning to hit CP, GL, PKI and HW August 5-8. Any advice on where to fly in, what days are best, etc? Need to end up in Dayton by the 9th.

I'm thinking Cleveland or a Michigan airport will be your best bet of arrival. You will be able to hit Cedar Point and Geauga Lake. After that, you can travel to Holiday World or King's Island. KI is only about 40 minutes away from Dayton, so that should probably be your last park. I honestly don't know how far away HW is from KI, but I know I'm an hour and a half away from KI and HW is something like four hours away.

I just did a similar trip but we started with HW, then PKI, then 2 days at CP (skipped GL). If you fly into Louisville, it's pretty close to both HW and PKI.

Wow, sounds like a full-on few days!

FYI this is my first post, though I have been visiting the site for a few months now (I didn't really know much about coasters beforehand, but I have had an obsession with theme parks my whole life). I live in Christchurch, New Zealand (in the South Island); there are only two coasters in this country and they are both at a small park in Auckland (nowhere near me).
I have been to the parks on the Gold Coast, Australia several times and in 2001 when my family went to California for a holiday I visited Disneyland, Universal Studios, Sea World and Las Vegas.
Visiting Cedar Point and Orlando are dreams of mine; I plan on making my way there somehow once I finish Law School!

Anyways, enough about me. Hope you have a great time.

Where are you from? If you’re looking strictly for a low fare, Akron Canton Regional (CAK) is probably the cheapest in the area depending on where you’re from. It’s about 45 minutes from GL. Though with SkyBus now in Columbus there might be some more competitive fares. You might want to try Columbus as it’s the most centrally located from all points.

It doesn’t matter when you visit GL but if you fly into the Cleveland area Sunday I recommend doing GL for a few hours then taking the 80 minute trek to Cedar point for the 5pm starlight. Sunday nights at Cedar point in the summer are the best, as everyone seems to vacate early for the workweek.

What are the thoughts on CP during the week vs Sunday? Two days at CP, or am I going to feel rushed to get through the park in one day? GL worth it?.

Possibilities:

CP Sunday, GL Monday, PKI Tues, HW Wed, Dayton Thu

HW Sunday, PKI Mon, CP Tue, CP Wed, Dayton Thu

I'm from Utah actually. Will probably drive in, either on 80 if I start at CP, or on 70 if HW. (Bringing my son with me, too cheap to buy two airfares at the latest prices), and the dog days of summer are upon us, so not too much of a rush needed to get through things.

You know that Beech Bend is only an 1 1/2, if that, from HW. Just to put another thought into your head.

Definitely CP Tuesday and Wednesday. You can most definitely ride all the roller coasters at CP in one day, if you start early, but Sunday is like a wild card. It may be busy, it may not. I would suggest you do the 5pm Starlight the day before, get some nice rides in, then go full on the second day at CP, and work your way from the back of the park to the front. What I do when I go, is I ride Mantis first, catch the train to the back, and get in line for Maverick. In the morning, that line is never bad, 45 minutes tops. their listed wait time is usually over shot by 30 minutes.

As for flying, I would definitely choose Columbus. Besides that's where I live, but Skybus is here, and mostly everything flies here. I think it's better because a 2 hour drive to CP, and 1 hour to KI, doesn't sound as bad as, 1.5 hour to CP, and 4.5 hours to KI. Not to mention HW is a b***h from Columbus, about 5 hours, couldn't imagine it from Cleveland/Akron.

I'll be doing the Ohio circuit 4th week. But hitting Kennywood, GL, to CP, hitting KI last saturday. Then going to HW end of July. But that's a great schedule, but definitely tiring. GL.

Yo X! So are you flying in or driving in?? You seem to conflict yourself a little in different posts of yours....

But as far as my recommendations...if you're flying in, since isn't SLC a big United hub?? I dunno if you can easily fly into Akron or Cleveland or not, but I'd say if you can get an AM arrival on Sunday to either, hit GL Sunday afternoon/evening...you could try hitting CP by Sunday night too, but especially if you stay on property at CP on Sunday night, then you'd have the full day at CP on Monday with early entry and you should be ok...or fly into Detroit Sunday (which is practically Toledo), and you could do CP on Sunday and part of Monday and then do GL Monday afternoon/evening, but on an August 6th weeknight GL might close at like 8:00 pm!?

Then do KI on Tuesday, and hit HW Wed, with Thursday being a travel day back to Dayton...and while you will be doubling-back, you could always hit up SFKK on your way back to Dayton on Thurs...

If you're driving, *DEFINITELY* without question take 70 to HW first!! Do HW Sunday, KI Monday, GL Tuesday, and then maybe CP on Tuesday night more easily, and CP all Wednesday, and maybe even CP on Thursday for a while depending on when you need to be in Dayton by...Good luck!! Sounds like an awesome trip!!

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X-Mania said:
What are the thoughts on CP during the week vs Sunday? Two days at CP, or am I going to feel rushed to get through the park in one day? GL worth it?.

Possibilities:

CP Sunday, GL Monday, PKI Tues, HW Wed, Dayton Thu

HW Sunday, PKI Mon, CP Tue, CP Wed, Dayton Thu

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If you like floorless coasters and nice flat rides, go to GL. The nice flat rides include the Hay Bailer (Flying Bobs), Starfish (Chance Wipeout), and an Eyerly Spider. I believe they have a Swing Around. It wasn't open the last time I went. There Yo-Yo ride didn't tilt when I was there which stinks. Otherwise, don't go.

Go Cedar Point two days. The park has Max Air, Skyhawk (I haven't been on it.), Top Thrill Dragster, Maverick, a Chaos ride, a Flying Bobs ride (Matterhorn), a Tilt-A-Whirl, Wildcat (It's okay), Wicked Twister, Corkscrew, Mantis, and Raptor. It has a lot. You might like Millenium, and Magnum even though I don't. Disaster Transport is okay. It's air-conditioned at least. *** Edited 6/19/2007 3:33:17 PM UTC by Spinout***

Dont do GL and do CP 2 days.

Geagua lake only needs a half of a day. It isn't extremely crowded, and only one or two of the coasters are worth a re-ride. The waterpark side will probably be more crowded due to it being August, so the lines for the rides should be even less in the midday.

Definately use the second half of the day for a starlight ticket at Cedar Point. In may on a weekday, we got through all the coasters in one day without much rushing, but we had done so much walking to that point and didn't have a huge amount of time for rerides or any flats other than Skyhawk and Maxair. Cedar Point definately requires at least a day and a half, preferably two.

Oh, and take advantage of the train at CP. We rode it conveniently 7 times to get from Maverick to the middle of the park (or vice-versa), including a last hour in the park that included Maverick, M-Force, two rides on Wicked Twister, and a Raptor. Without the train M-force and Twister probably would've had to be sacrificed.

I just had to make the 2 days CP or 1 day CP 1 day GL. I chose 2 days at Cedar Point. Leaving tomorrow morning at 6:00am. for the 7 hour drive!

Wow, this is a tough trip to decide on.

Sorry for the confusion on driving/flying. I'm not sure yet, just wanted to see what the best plan to hit the best parks is.

1. My son and I are more into the thrill rides, so now a day/half or 2 at CP is appearing to be better than a half day at GL.

2. If I absolutely had to choose only one, while keeping the trip reasonable, HW or SFKK? SFKK is much closer and offers a possible fly in point (Louisville), but it almost seems a sacrilege to give up HW? Any strong opinions on this?

I'm thinking more on starting at either HW/SFKK and ending up at CP with Dayton in the middle or vice versa. Thanks for all the comments on this, it has definitely helped! BTW is Wicked Twister really down?

Responding to 2, HW is something you won't want to miss. While I've never been to KK, HW is just an experience in its own right. If you're going to be in the area, I'd highly recommend going, it's just such a fun place.

As for Wicked Twister, I'll be at the park tomorrow, so if no one else answers the question, I'll let you know tomorrow night. :)

Touche on HW!! It is a *MUST* and very close to Louisville (< 1 hour)...you'll thank me later, but if you really like "thrill" rides as you said, The Voyage is hands down one of the best, most intense wooden roller coasters there is!! Plus the free parking, soft drinks, and the best customer service around really make it a great value!!

And also, you never said your stop in Dayton could be in the *middle* of your trip!? :) (I thought you had to end up there!) But without question make that a stop along the way to CP (after HW/SFKK and KI), and I also agree that ditching GL for 2 days at CP is best...die GL, die!!...just kidding ;)

I don't know about Wicked Twister, when I was there last, they came up with that retarded excuse. But I would still recommend GL, still a classic place to go for a few hours. My first time at CP was a starlight, and a full day the next. And nothing was better than the anticipation of the second day. Especially if you're going on a weekday. you'll definitely be able to ride. Or atleast, don't go all day on the first day, so you're not wasting your money the second day, when you're done riding, already paying the 41.95 to get in.

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X-Mania said:
Wow, this is a tough trip to decide on.

2. If I absolutely had to choose only one, while keeping the trip reasonable, HW or SFKK? SFKK is much closer and offers a possible fly in point (Louisville), but it almost seems a sacrilege to give up HW? Any strong opinions on this?

I'm thinking more on starting at either HW/SFKK and ending up at CP with Dayton in the middle or vice versa. Thanks for all the comments on this, it has definitely helped! BTW is Wicked Twister really down?

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Hey X-Man,

If you want to do the better park in Kentucky, then Beech Bend is by far the park that you'll want to go to then. 115 miles south of Louisville, and 104 miles from Holidayworld. You'll have the chance to ride Kentucky Rumbler, the best wooden coaster of 2006 then.

GL is a nice park. They have an Awesome waterpark. The Big Dipper is also a GREAT woodie! I would do CP for 1 1/2 days (more than enough time), and GL for half a day. With this in mind, you might also want to get a Max Pass. For $125 it will cover your addmissions to CP (1 1/2), KI and GL.