Planning a big Cedar Point trip in July. Advice?

Lord Gonchar said:
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.

Depending on who you and when you go it's not overrated at all. I read your trip report or Twitter feed and the park sounded slow when you visited.

Oh, it was. But that wasn't exactly my only visit - just the latest. Been visiting CP since before early entry existed, as I'm sure many of us have.

And yes, everyone faces different situations. But, in general, if you're spending 4 days at CP - you aren't going to need early entry to 'do it all' while you're there. Not even close.

On top of that, I'm the kind of guy who prefers not to get up over getting a couple of morning laps in - the value just isn't there on that trade for me. (Hence my answer to "Is early ride time really worth it?" asked in the original post)

No. It's not.

Knowing what I know of Timber Rider from this forum and based on my own experience, I think it is totally worth it. Even if it's one day out of the few he's at the park.

Well, there you go then.

RCMAC said:

...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.

You forgot to factor in the one hour stop at the toilet that would result from his McBreakfast.

Or his cooking...

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

I have figure out that Camping will be $90.00 for the 4 days, actually less, because weekdays are cheaper than weekends. I'll put maybe $50.00 worth of gas in the car, as I will leave with a full tank of gas to get there. That will leave me with $60.00 to spend on food and stuff, that I might wan to get. Though, I may take another $50.00 along just in case. I also might see if anyone at the campground want to car pool to the park, and maybe get extra money for gas.

The campground I am going to be staying at isn't a tourist campground. So, it's not very expensive. And, I will be staying in a tent. so it's only $20.00 a night, with a $10.00 membership fee. A lot cheaper than one night at a hotel. And, I am going alone. Paul is not going with me.

Paul stopped going to the parks with me years ago. He doesn't like all the walking, and since he has a heart condition, he can't go on any of the rides. Though he has been on some of the best coasters with me, including the Beast at Kings Island. And, nobody else I know wants to go. Though, I have chatted with a couple guys at another website, who may be meeting me at the camp ground to go along for the rides.

I think so highly of Paul. He must be a saint.

Actually Paul is kind of paying me back for the many years that I supported both of us, on one income. I paid the mortgage on the house, and all the bills, and food for years, then another 8 years of rent and Bills on our apartment. The only reason were are no longer living together is because I lost my job in 2009, and could no longer afford to pay all the bills on my own. Now I live my mom in BFE, and he lives in low income housing in Grand Rapids, and gets SSI, which I talked him into getting. So, he is nicely paying me back. Though he doesn't have to. Paul is a very thoughtful quiet man.

I have known Paul for over 23 years. He is also my partner.

Well, I hope it works out for you so that you can be together again someday. I've known a few couples that for some reason can't (or won't) live together, my brother and his girl being one of them. They've co habitated off and on, mostly off, all these years and he has finally just recently moved himself into her house to live for good. They're both in their 50's.

I've got a partner who is great in every way, but he won't go to the parks either. And that's purely out of grouchiness. But oh well...

Not to de-rail, sorry. Back to the advice.

Timber-Rider said:

I know it is probably crazy of me, but I have selected July as my month to go to Cedar Point.

The best advice I can give is to not write a negative trip report upon your return as you know exactly what you are getting yourself into with your selection.

:-)

My opinion of the (long finished) early entry debate in this topic, I say it really depends on if Timber-Rider wakes up early normally or likes to sleep in normally. I did early entry at Kings Island for my two day visit a while back and I really enjoyed getting Beast and Diamondback out of the way so I could take it easy the rest of the day (both days).

I can, however, understand that some people want to spend "vacation time" sleeping in and taking it easy. My park trips are not usually "vacation time." The reason I go to parks, mainly, is to ride. Vacations are when I spend a week at the beach or resort somewhere. I have yet to go on a cruise, but that will also be an occasion in which I take it easy and sleep in.

Don't get me wrong though, I love to take it easy while I am at the parks. I like to walk, not run or sprint, from attraction to attraction. I like to take a break from everything in the middle of the day and ride the train, or the Chocolate making tour while I am at Hershey, or whatever. I sit on a bench and eat ice cream. I stop and "spactate" the things going on around me. I try to find some time to walk out to my car and get my camera and take some pictures.

But I am there for riding everything, mainly, and getting a few of those rides knocked out early in the morning because I have my special pass is a great way to do it. It's why I bought the Platinum Pass to begin with.

Remember, his admission/parking cost for 4 days will be $0. That really lowers the budget

The early ride time is a perk practically designed for someone like T-R. If the crowds are bad, Fast Lane Plus is not going to be an option with a $200 budget. We all know that T-R complains about heat, long lines, crowds, people drinking beer in amusement parks, burritos, prices, upcharges, and many other things.

ERT is sort of like an hour of Fast Lane Plus at no additional cost, it's cooler in the mornings, the lines are short, midways free of crowds, and the beer and burrito stands are closed.

Considering he's sleeping in a tent, at a campground, in July heat, I can't imagine he'd really want to sleep in. With 4 days of ERT at the park, you won't have to wait in any of those long 1-2 hr lines for the big coasters. Then, you can just relax and enjoy everything else without baking in long lines. If you get tired, take a nap on the beach, at a show, or in the water park, and you'll still be far ahead with ERT.

Rather than starting a new thread, I thought that I would ask a question on this thread....

If I wanted to buy a fast lane pass and wanted early access too, can I buy the bracelet while I am outside of the park or is there a specific place in the park where I need to purchase it? Do the CP hotels sell it?

Thanks!

Captain Hawkeye said:

Remember, his admission/parking cost for 4 days will be $0. That really lowers the budget

Well, sure, but not enough to make that budget any less insane to me. Don't get me wrong - if you can do a "vacation" on that budget, more power to ya'. :-)

But looking at that budget, he'll have $60 for 4 days worth of food and souvenirs. Let's say he gets a shirt on sale for $15, leaving him with $3.75/meal. At that point, he's basically resigned to "dollar menu" fare for every meal of every day (and God forbid he buys a soda in the park, killing an entire day's food budget in the process). Even the extra $50 only bumps the per-meal budget up to $8.

Though it is worth pointing out that he's starting with a full tank of gas, meaning the actual budget is more like $250, but still...

Again, not trying to pass judgment or anything. I just find it fascinating that someone can squeeze 4 days of vacation out of what others might spend per day.

There is no sleeping in with two 6yr olds that like to wake up before 7am in the summer. :) For ERT, i will jump in line, ride and do the parent swap thing for my wife so we can knock out some of the big rides with little waiting. Then onto the stuff we all can ride after the entire park opens, or open soak city.

Richie Reflux said:

If I wanted to buy a fast lane pass and wanted early access too, can I buy the bracelet while I am outside of the park or is there a specific place in the park where I need to purchase it? Do the CP hotels sell it?

Why would you need the Fast Lane before you enter the park? Can't you just enjoy the early entry first, and then when the gift shops open and the people start pouring in buy your Fast Lane? Fast Lane will have no benefit during early entry, unless, of course, you are trying to find a way to cut in front of the other early entry ERT riders, in which I will ask, WHY?

I got the sense he just wanted to avoid the hassle of buying it in the park.

No, he's trying to make sure he has a fast lane wristband when the park opens. He doesn't want to get off the early entry rides and find that the fast lane booths are mobbed with people, selling out before he gets to them.

To which I say, I believe you can buy them online in advance.