Cedar Point planning

[screamingnight]

Just a few quick questions.

Is there any place to buy cheaper tickets than online or at the gate? I live in Oxford so I only know places that sell KI tickets.

What are the best days to go in June or July so the park will not be over crowded?

If the park is really crowded, one fulll day enough time to ride all the rollercoasters I want?

What rollercoasters have the shortest/longest lines?

[bkroz]

The only one of your questions I can attempt to help with is the one about wait times and roller coasters.

In general, know that Cedar Point is much different from Kings Island. You will likely wait an hour or more for a few attractions, and given the right mix of temperature, day, and school group visitation, you may find many rides have longer waits that you think they'd be worth. There's nothing more frustrating than seeing a 45 minute wait for Corkscrew or Iron Dragon, but it can and does happen.

Just a couple of things I've noticed - Raptor gets multi-hour waits almost immediately upon opening. I'd say that this is mostly because it's the first big ride people see upon entering. But if you wait until early evening to ride it, or ride it on the way out, you'll find the line to be much more tolerable. Also, it's one of my least favorite lines to wait in... There's just something that's not very feng-shui about the setup of it, and it seems to take even longer than it really does.

I don't know if there's a good time to ride Millennium Force, so perhaps someone else can help you out there. In my experience, if it's a slower day, the line will be between 45 - 60 minutes from open to close, and if it's a heavier day, it'll be 90 - 120 minutes from open to close without much variation throughout the day. But I could be wrong.

I don't typically see long lines for Magnum, and it has a good throughput, but it's one of those where there are 10 pairs of people line up for each row, so the station always looks chaotic even when the line isn't that long. All of the flats have pretty high capacities, so even when the line for maXair is onto the midway, it's usually a 3 or 4 cycle wait. Also know that some of the park's smaller rides don't open until 11:00. I know Disaster Transport and Paddlewheel Excursions are two examples. There are more.

I don't know if Maverick still earns 2+ hour waits as it once did, because I have just made a habit of saving it for last. I always get in line 10 minutes before the park closes, as I think that's when the line is the shortest that it'll be. It's usually still at least 45 minutes, but it's not as scorchingly hot and I think it's a really satisfying night ride (especially when the effect lights are on in the tunnel). It seems like this is a major trip for you, so I don't know if this plan would work, but what I usually do is to ride around through the morning, leave for lunch, and then come back and park at the tip of the peninsula in the Soak City parking lot. Since I ride Maverick last, that makes it at least a little easier to get back to the car at 10:30 or 11:00 when I finally get off. (Remember, if you're in line before 10, you will ride given no external incidents like weather or a mechanical issue).

Cedar Point is very close in size to Kings Island as far as acreage, but it's essentially one long, long midway that splits into a loop. That makes navigation a lot more tiring than with Kings Island's hub-and-spokes format, so getting from Maverick to the front gate is probably a good 15 - 20 minute walk... Not fun at 11:00 when you've been riding all day.

Honestly I haven't waited longer than 30 minutes for Top Thrill Dragster in a few years, so it seems they've finally learned how best to operate it, or people have redirected their attention elsewhere, which is good - waiting more than an hour for it is a little silly when you really think about it. Mantis is usually pretty packed because of the slow loading time.

I'm sure you plan to make the most of the trip, but don't pass up the "smaller" rides like Blue Streak, Disaster Transport, Wicked Twister, even the Cedar Creek Mine Ride. They aren't kidding when they say Cedar Point is a multi-faceted park, so if you do have a minute and need a break, walk through Camp Snoopy or Frontier Trail. There are many interesting things to see.

[screamingnight]

Thank you answering my questions. I will pretty much wait anytime for anything just because this may be the only time I'll be going and this is the second amusement park I have ever been to. I just wanted to get prepared. So it's best to wait a while on Raptor? Also is there ever a long line for Mean Streak? I've always imagined it would have a line like Beast.

[fan of beast]

my experience with CP is you roll the dice. i have been there on weekdays that i expected light crowds and it was packed. i would try tues. or wed.

i don't know about ticket prices as i use my pass. 1 day should do it. millenium, maverick and the dragster usually have the longest lines. it could be up to 2 hrs. each.

magnum and meanstreak usually have short lines. raptor is not too bad. get there early and try to get the major rides in first. if you stay at some of the CP hotels, i believe the package includes ert's.

[bkroz]

Thank you answering my questions. I will pretty much wait anytime for anything just because this may be the only time I'll be going and this is the second amusement park I have ever been to. I just wanted to get prepared. So it's best to wait a while on Raptor? Also is there ever a long line for Mean Streak? I've always imagined it would have a line like Beast.

I don't think I've ever seen a line for Mean Streak in the years I've been going. It's usually a walk-on.

Speaking relatively, I would say you'll encounter short waits for the wooden coasters, Corkscrew, Gemini, and the smaller family flats.

With proper planning, expect medium wait times for Cedar Creek Mine Ride, Disaster Transport, the giant flats (Skyhawk, maXair), the water rides, Magnum, Top Thrill Dragster, and Raptor.

You're almost certain to encounter a wait on Millennium Force and Maverick.

And like I said, it's all relative. If you go on a Saturday in July, a "short" wait may be 45 minutes (and those are the frustrating days... Wait 45 minutes for Corkscrew, or 2.5 hours for Top Thrill Dragster? Neither is ideal, and when that happens I sometimes just want to give up and go home haha). And again, all of that is just in my experience from the times I've been there. Others may have entirely different suggestions.

[KI Kevin]

The only one of your questions I can attempt to help with is the one about wait times and roller coasters.

In general, know that Cedar Point is much different from Kings Island. You will likely wait an hour or more for a few attractions, and given the right mix of temperature, day, and school group visitation, you may find many rides have longer waits that you think they'd be worth. There's nothing more frustrating than seeing a 45 minute wait for Corkscrew or Iron Dragon, but it can and does happen.

Just a couple of things I've noticed - Raptor gets multi-hour waits almost immediately upon opening. I'd say that this is mostly because it's the first big ride people see upon entering. But if you wait until early evening to ride it, or ride it on the way out, you'll find the line to be much more tolerable. Also, it's one of my least favorite lines to wait in... There's just something that's not very feng-shui about the setup of it, and it seems to take even longer than it really does.

I don't know if there's a good time to ride Millennium Force, so perhaps someone else can help you out there. In my experience, if it's a slower day, the line will be between 45 - 60 minutes from open to close, and if it's a heavier day, it'll be 90 - 120 minutes from open to close without much variation throughout the day. But I could be wrong.

I don't typically see long lines for Magnum, and it has a good throughput, but it's one of those where there are 10 pairs of people line up for each row, so the station always looks chaotic even when the line isn't that long. All of the flats have pretty high capacities, so even when the line for maXair is onto the midway, it's usually a 3 or 4 cycle wait. Also know that some of the park's smaller rides don't open until 11:00. I know Disaster Transport and Paddlewheel Excursions are two examples. There are more.

I don't know if Maverick still earns 2+ hour waits as it once did, because I have just made a habit of saving it for last. I always get in line 10 minutes before the park closes, as I think that's when the line is the shortest that it'll be. It's usually still at least 45 minutes, but it's not as scorchingly hot and I think it's a really satisfying night ride (especially when the effect lights are on in the tunnel). It seems like this is a major trip for you, so I don't know if this plan would work, but what I usually do is to ride around through the morning, leave for lunch, and then come back and park at the tip of the peninsula in the Soak City parking lot. Since I ride Maverick last, that makes it at least a little easier to get back to the car at 10:30 or 11:00 when I finally get off. (Remember, if you're in line before 10, you will ride given no external incidents like weather or a mechanical issue).

Cedar Point is very close in size to Kings Island as far as acreage, but it's essentially one long, long midway that splits into a loop. That makes navigation a lot more tiring than with Kings Island's hub-and-spokes format, so getting from Maverick to the front gate is probably a good 15 - 20 minute walk... Not fun at 11:00 when you've been riding all day.

Honestly I haven't waited longer than 30 minutes for Top Thrill Dragster in a few years, so it seems they've finally learned how best to operate it, or people have redirected their attention elsewhere, which is good - waiting more than an hour for it is a little silly when you really think about it. Mantis is usually pretty packed because of the slow loading time.

I'm sure you plan to make the most of the trip, but don't pass up the "smaller" rides like Blue Streak, Disaster Transport, Wicked Twister, even the Cedar Creek Mine Ride. They aren't kidding when they say Cedar Point is a multi-faceted park, so if you do have a minute and need a break, walk through Camp Snoopy or Frontier Trail. There are many interesting things to see.

This is a pretty good rundown of what to expect. It really depends on what time of the summer you go. I went on a Saturday in June a few years back expecting 2+ hour lines and found very light crowds. Lines for Raptor are ridiculous. Near the beginning of the day (even on somewhat slow days) you can find 45 minute- hour lines. However if you go in the evening, around dinner time, it usually isn't past 15 minutes. In fact I've waited 45 minutes and five minutes for that ride in the same day. Top Thrill Dragster's lines are usually 45- an hour all day. Millennium Force will usually be around an hour or more. Millennium and Maverick will likely be the longest waits, maybe Dragster as well. Maverick often gets past an hour. Magnum usually is never more than 15 minutes or so, and is well worth the short wait. Have fun!

[BavarianBeatle]

This is our typical day..... Hit Millenium first! Then work your way around to Gemini (skip Trim Break the Ride, aka Mean Streak!!!) and then Magnum. Maverick and Dragster will have waits that you will have to deal with so do those next. Then head to the front of the park and do Wicked Twister, Disaster Transport, and Blue Streak. Raptor is a typical overrated B&M watching-grass-grow cure for insomnia, so skip it unless it's a station wait or less. Mantis..... Don't bother (See my comment above about Mean Streak). Then go back and hit the smaller coasters like Wildcat and Corkscrew as well as Power Tower, MaxAir, Skyhawk and any other flats that seem interesting at the time. And make sure to ride Millenium at night above the Starlight Experience!. That is truly a beautiful view, as is Maverick at sunset!

[thekidd33]

^Mantis has been running with the first drop trim off this year.

[BavarianBeatle]

^Mantis has been running with the first drop trim off this year.

Good! Thanks for the information! I will give Mantis a second look when we go this year.

[Jasper]

In my past experiences the longest lines are usually Maverick, Raptor, and Milly. Top Thrill usually has a fast moving line but can get long every now and then. The past couple times I went they had an employee in front of Magnums station entrance only allowing a select few people in so that made it go by quick.

[DropZone99]

If you get to the park before opening or right at 10, park in the back lot. Ride Magnum XL-200 first as it won't have a line at all. Next if you want the kiddie credits get them, otherwise go to Gemini. Ride Mean Streak if you want, lol. All of these rides will have little to no wait.

I'd skip Maverick and save it for later, unless it's a short line. Hit up Cedar Creek Mine Ride and Skyhawk if your interested. They'll have lines of about 5-10 minutes. All of the water rides are located right here, so nows the time for them! Thunder Canyon (?) will have the longest line.

Follow the Frontier Trail and ride MF. Expect the queue to be pretty full! Mantis will probably have a long line, and it moves SLOW! Wildcat is closed I believe... Iron Dragon is iffy, anywhere from a walkon to about 40 minutes.

I'd skip TTD and that area for now, instead go towards Wicked Twister. It hardly ever has a long line so you'll get right on, btw ride near the back! If WindSeeker is open, I have no idea how long it's line will be. MaXair hardly ever is above 3 cycles so ride it! Disaster Transport usually has a long line, especially if it's hot outside.

Next cross the midway to Raptor. By now it'll be the late afternoon or evening so you'll wait probably around ten minutes. Blue Streak won't have a wait, be sure to ride near the front!

You've now got most the park hit up, so go back towards TTD, but ride Corkscrew (and Power Tower) on your way since they shouldn't be too long. TTD will probably be around twenty minutes, but could be up to two hours at most. Now hopefully it's only twenty or less, that'll way you can ride Maverick if you haven't yet, or just reride rides for the remainder of the night!

This is all from experience, it could be completely different! If your visiting on a July Saturday, don't expect to ride much! I hope you have a great day at America's Rock'n Roller-Coast!

[markr]

I don't think I have ever encountered multi-hour waits for Raptor even on packed days. Raptor is a very high capacity ride and I have timed my wait with a full queue at 1 1/4 hours. I have said this before and I will say this again: The only way to be sure of what the real wait is for a line is to actually wait in the line.

[screamingnight]

Thanks a lot everyone. As I said I'm still not sure when I will go this summer. All I have to do is gather some information up for my folks. How large is the park overall? I know they have more than Kings Island but is the space wider to walk around? As for Mean Streak, what's everyone's hate for that ride? It couldn't be nearly as rough or jerky as SOB.

[BavarianBeatle]

Thanks a lot everyone. As I said I'm still not sure when I will go this summer. All I have to do is gather some information up for my folks. How large is the park overall? I know they have more than Kings Island but is the space wider to walk around? As for Mean Streak, what's everyone's hate for that ride? It couldn't be nearly as rough or jerky as SOB.

It is trimmed to the point that the first drop seems slower than the lift hill!!!!!

[bkroz]

Thanks a lot everyone. As I said I'm still not sure when I will go this summer. All I have to do is gather some information up for my folks. How large is the park overall? I know they have more than Kings Island but is the space wider to walk around? As for Mean Streak, what's everyone's hate for that ride? It couldn't be nearly as rough or jerky as SOB.

You'd be surprised about Mean Streak... I would say that Son of Beast is more jerky (but in all fairness, not by much). Still, the Son of Beast experience is better in my opinion. It was more "worth it," whereas I leave Mean Streak wishing you hadn't bothered... It just goes on and on and on, twisting in on itself for soooo long, and nothing notable happens at all.

And it's not so much that Cedar Point is bigger. Imagine being at Flight Deck and wanting to get to Diamondback. Complete opposite ends of the park. But you can cut through the center of the park under the Eiffel Tower. That, of course, is the advantage of the hub-and-spoke format popularized by Disneyland - there's a center and then different paths that radiate out. It makes it easy to navigate, and circumvent. No matter where you are in the park, you're not that far from anything else because you can cut through the hub. A lot of built-from-scratch parks are made with that layout. See, Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Six Flags America and Great Adventure, Universal's Islands of Adventure to an extent, the three original KECO parks...)

Cedar Point is not that way. It was not built to be a theme park. It evolved over time from a picnic grove and then a small midway.

Today, that midway has grown. Blur your eyes a bit and you'll see the white pathway on the map form pretty much an upside-down teardrop. The point being, to get from Mean Streak to the park's entrance is quite a distance, and there are no shortcuts. Even to get from Millennium Force to Top Thrill Dragster, you must either walk south past Mantis, around Iron Dragon, up past Power Tower and Corkscrew, or walk north through the whole Frontier Trail, through Frontiertown, around past Gemini and Magnum and Corkscrew...

The point being, the midway-based layout makes for a lot of walking, especially given the complex itineraries we're suggesting, which involve walking from back to front to back to front... We're just sadistic like that.

[Mr. America]

^Mantis has been running with the first drop trim off this year.

IMHO, it doesn't matter. That ride still sucks.

[KI Kevin]

I don't know why people hate Mantis so much. To the original poster: I'd advise you to ride Mantis, unless you have leg problems. Personally, I haven't been hurt at all on any stand-up coasters. They're a very unique experience and you should ride at least one so you know what they're like.

[IndyGuy4KI]

I took my first ride on Mantis during CM and other than feeling like I weighed 800 pounds for about 10 seconds, I really enjoyed it. Can't say it is a reride machine, but worth the experience now and again.

[bkroz]

Yes, and on such a rare and apparently desired trip to Cedar Point (his first, I believe), why suggest that he skips anything? If I had passed over half the rides that people have suggested that I do, I would have missed out on rides that became some of my absolute favorites.

Ride Raptor. Ride Mantis. Ride Mean Streak.

The OP may end up loving all three, especially since he mentioned Cedar Point is only the second park he's ever been to. "Don't ride Raptor; Montu is way better." Some people don't have that experience yet, so they really shouldn't pass up the opportunities given. All are unique experiences that the OP has not yet had, and it would be absolutely ridiculous for him to walk right past them and say "Eh, some people on a discussion board told me these weren't worth it."

Wrong attitude.

If he finds himself limited in the amount of time he has at the park, it would be reasonable for him to make choices between different rides. But to eliminate straight off The Bat would lead to a pretty sad trip.

[PhantomTheater]

CP is over a mile long from Main Gate to MS. A lap of the park (Main Gate, Oceana midway, Gemini Midway, Frontier Town, Trail, Laser Midway and Main Midway) is 3 miles! Therefore the CP&LE RR and Skyride are your friends.

[screamingnight]

Yeah I don't want to pass on anything even Corkscrew. Now I'm a guy. Will riding Mantis be really pain that certain part? I heard from other guys that it hurts like hell afterwards. Still gonnna ride it though since I was too late for King Cobra.

[The Interpreter]

Mantis is not Akrophobia. Now that thing is a painful experience in the nether regions for most males. Mantis does not discriminate. It's into legs. not those other places. It's a real standup ride.

Terpy, sort of behaving

[thekidd33]

Personally I had pain in my thighs during the second half of Mantis but no problems at all with my uh, man parts. Its not a spectacular ride, but it certainly isn't terrible. I certainly agree that there isn't much at CP that should be missed, especially if it is your first visit. I hope you have a blast!

[The Interpreter]

Only one ride there would I caution about. Ride Mean Streak, yes. But wait for the front seat.

[bkroz]

Yes, Mantis' main problem is that it forces a lot of blood to your legs (or that's sensation you get, at least). When I was younger a bit shorter, it also did a number on my ears. Not that there's that constant "head banging," but there was enough to leave them red and make fresh earrings on friends bleed. Yikes!

I always equate Mantis to having been designed by a kid playing Roller Coaster Tycoon who, try as he might, just couldn't quite get the track to reconnect at the station. So of course, he adds odd twists and inversions to try to get the track heading in the right direction. The result is a very convoluted, twisted, track that seems to have odd pacing and no real strong points.

But most all B&M stand-ups are designed that way, so I suppose it's what they were going for.

Mantis

Riddler's Revenge

Chang

[markr]

I find that if I bend my knees a little when I ride Mantis it decreases the pressure on my knees.

[BavarianBeatle]

Yes, and on such a rare and apparently desired trip to Cedar Point (his first, I believe), why suggest that he skips anything? If I had passed over half the rides that people have suggested that I do, I would have missed out on rides that became some of my absolute favorites.

Ride Raptor. Ride Mantis. Ride Mean Streak.

The OP may end up loving all three, especially since he mentioned Cedar Point is only the second park he's ever been to. "Don't ride Raptor; Montu is way better." Some people don't have that experience yet, so they really shouldn't pass up the opportunities given. All are unique experiences that the OP has not yet had, and it would be absolutely ridiculous for him to walk right past them and say "Eh, some people on a discussion board told me these weren't worth it."

Wrong attitude.

If he finds himself limited in the amount of time he has at the park, it would be reasonable for him to make choices between different rides. But to eliminate straight off The Bat would lead to a pretty sad trip.

I agree that nothing should be skipped, if possible. But valuable time should not be wasted waiting for bad rides! If someone spends two hours waiting for Raptor and Mantis, then winds up missing out on Cedar Downs, a trip up the Space Spiral, and/or Power Tower, that would just not give them a complete experience, IMO!