Planning a big Cedar Point trip in July. Advice?

I know it is probably crazy of me, but I have selected July as my month to go to Cedar Point. On this trip, it will be the first time I plan to go for Multiple days. Most likely a Weds through Saturday trip, and returning home on Sunday. I have a platinum pass, and hope to spend half the day at the park on Weds, then a full day on Thursday, and maybe during the day on Friday and Saturday. Leaving around 6 or 7. Then maybe go for part of the day on Sunday before I head home.

I will be staying at a camp ground, which is only a 30 minute drive from the park. I'm hoping that I can do all that I want to do in a couple days, but also want to take full advantage of my pass. I have been at the park in July, and crowds were not nearly as bad as I expected, but only once or twice.

How are the weekday crowds this year? Also want to know if the early ride time is really worth it? The only advantage I can see to that, is getting into the park before everyone else. Though, I might stick around for the night ride time. But, will have to see what the drive is like to the campground, before I decide to drive to a strange place at night.

As for the weekends, I'm thinking either the weekend after the 4th, or at the end of the month. Hoping it isn't going to be too hot. I might also be going the weekend after labor Day in September.

EE ERT is 108.7% worth it. Ride Maverick and Millenium Force twice during the ERT. Weekday crowds are awful for MF and Maverick, which can still get up to a 90 minute wait. Gatekeeper will be fine if you wait to ride between 3-9 pm. During that time, it should give you about 20 minutes. Then, ride Maverick or MF as your night rides. The waits for those two rides are extremely long this year.

As opposed to past years when they were...oh, wait, they were long then, too.

Thanks Tyler. I can probably Skip Millennium Force, but will ride it if the line is short. I will usually get in line if the wait is 45 minutes or less. I do want to ride Maverick and Top Thrill Dragster again. I have only been able to ride them once, as the line has been more than 2 hours, the times that I have gone. Though I have been on almost every ride in the park hundreds of times since 1985.

The Only rides I'm really interested in are Gate keeper, Wind Seeker, and Shoot the Rapids. I have been on everything else. I might also spend a few hours at the water park, depending on the weather. Though I heard Soak City pales in comparison to the water park at Michigan's adventure.

I'm hoping it won't be too overly packed. My brother and I went once, and we were there for a full day, and only went on 7 rides. The lines were terrible, even corkscrew had an hour and a half wait. Though Mean Streak was only 5 minutes, and my brother couldn't figure out why. Then he spent the rest of the day flopping on any bench he could find.

They asked how was your ride? on Mean Streak, and my brother said, nothing that a truckload of gasoline an a match can't cure!!

You know what you could get? FastLane.

During EE ERT, MF can have a 5 minute wait. I walked on Maverick, also. (Really, I sprinted on it). The early entry is a must do if you want Millenium Force and Maverick rides.

Remember to take full advantage of the train and sky ride. They generate breaks and set up great photo situations.

The best advice is to ask food and game stand people if they have a plattinum discount. Some places give you great deals for plattinum passers.

See if you can win Gatekeeper Bank a Ball. It's difficult, but I won it 3 times while spending only $18. The prize is a huge Gatekeeper dragon or a big plush dog or a big snake. The game offers plattinum discount.

Make sure you get 5-8 laps on Gemini. It's running with great air time.

The big hint with Shoot the Rapids is to sit on the left side if you want to get drenched, and you sit on the right to get wet. I'm not going to tell you about the secret waterfall that hits the left side. Of the boat and not the right. You'll just have to be suprised.

The water park water got me too wet, so I didn't experience it to full fun level. The nicest thing I have to say about the Soak City is that the life guards are very polite and it isn't usually crowded.

Have fun on your trip! I hope you trip report and etc.

I thought about getting fastlane, until I heard that they removed Gate keeper and Top Thrill dragster from the ride list, so they can charge more for FOL access for those rides, which I heard is $90.00 for premium fast lane. No, I will wait like everyone else. What a rip off.

Besides I have a $200.00 threshold for the trip, and lot of that is going to be paying for camping, and gas for the car. Maybe a t-shirt, and food. Though I do not plan to eat at the park every day. I will eat before the park, and after.

Also 4 days of fast lane would cost more that my whole trip. No thanks.

Thanks Tyler for the advice, though I do not play midway games. I worked for a carnival before, and never play them. I avoid them at all costs.

Well, if you want to spend 180 bucks for a platinum pass and spend 4 days so you can get Windseeker, Shoot the Rapids, and Gatekeeper then go ahead. I'd do FL at least one of those days so I could relax about it the rest of the trip. But it's your 200.

Why are we giving you advice anyway? You've been there enough to know its a miserable place.

What is your campground? Is Paul coming with you?

Timber-Rider said:

Besides I have a $200.00 threshold for the trip, and lot of that is going to be paying for camping, and gas for the car. Maybe a t-shirt, and food. Though I do not plan to eat at the park every day. I will eat before the park, and after.

Your 4 day/night trip has a budget of $200?!? How is that even possible?

Granted I haven't been there this year for early entry, but this worked incredibly well for me in August of last year. Get there before the park opens and stick to Raptor, Millennium Force, and Maverick. Once the park opens you can usually jump on Top Thrill Dragster, then Magnum. From there you're on your own. This is assuming Gatekeeper is an ERT ride. Have fun! :)

Don't ride Gatekeeper during EE ERT. The lines during early entry for it can be over 30 minutes. Like I've said, get Millenium and Maverick both twice, if you can, during ERT. Sometimes you get lucky and see TTD running with people on it durin ERT. They sometimes open it a 9:45. If that's the case, head there after Millenium. Use EE ERT every day you go to the park.

With the price of gas, almost half of your budget is already gone!

There are two problems with long lines: spending a large portion of your available time waiting to ride a single ride, and the discomfort of standing in line for several hours.

If you’re giving yourself three or four days at the park, then the first concern is mitigated. You should have enough time to ride everything you want multiple times, even with long lines. If you just don’t like waiting, then I would consider getting the cheaper FastLane for one day and stomaching the waits for TTD and Gatekeeper.

Spent three days at CP earlier this month. Didn't do early entry at all and still easily rode everything we wanted to.

Getting up early to get on the big rides is overrated.

The secret is to take an hour or so during the day and devote it to riding the train. It's relaxing if you take the MF stop to Mean Streak. It's very relaxing. Also, feel free to take naps at the waterpark. Getting up early for ERT is a must do.

As Gonch said, no, it really isn't. It's good fun, but if you have four days, you don't really need it.

Lord Gonchar said:

Getting up early to get on the big rides is overrated.

Getting up early for ***** is overrated.

Tyler Boes said:

Getting up early for ERT is a must do.

No. It's not. Even less so with a 4 day timeframe.

But if I was Timber-Rider, in this case, I would do it. People staying at campgrounds tend to be up at the crack of dawn anyway, and with a half hour drive to Sandusky he could easily cook or get his McBreakfast on the way and be thru the Magnum gate by 9. This would allow quality time on Maverick one morning, Millennium Force the next, Raptor, and so on. It would take the stress out of waiting for those majors in the heat of the day and he could do the "not so busy's" and/or Soak City later and relax. Without FastLane he could take someone's advice here and head to Gatekeeper in the evening while everyone's at the big Illuminicity show.

That's what I would do, but I don't like sitting somewhere like a hotel and watching perfectly good "exclusive" park time slip by, especially if I've travelled.

RCMAC said:

That's what I would do, but I don't like sitting somewhere like a hotel and watching perfectly good "exclusive" park time slip by, especially if I've travelled.

The only thing I'm watching is the back of my eyelids.

I'm not suggesting staring at the wall beats going to the park. I'm suggesting getting up and making it to the park early isn't necessarily needed.

Comfort beats a couple of extra rides in my world.

Stroll in late, park in the Soak City lot and hit the back half of the park still with minimum waits.