Cedar Fair park tour advice?

[ziplock]

Hello KIC. I am a long time reader of the forums here, but I don't post too often because I lack the knowledge of KI that most of you experienced members have. I know a lot about roller coasters and parks, but just the fact that my home park is Mt. Olympus makes it difficult to visit Cedar Fair parks. I have visited 5 of the best Six Flags parks (SFMM, SFGAdv, SFGAm, SFOT, and SFNE) for some reason instead of any Cedar Fair parks besides Kings Island.

This late July, my dad and I plan on taking a tour to Cedar Point, Kings Dominion, Carowinds, and lastly Kings Island! I have been to Kings Island twice already, however I have yet to experience the other three parks. I have done extensive research of all these parks, and have all the rides staked out (I've been looking forward to this trip for a long time!). I am a platinum pass holder this year, and am aware of the perks and early entry times, but I really have no idea about any strategies of attacking Cedar Point, Kings Dominion, or Carowinds' rides. . The trip schedule is...

Saturday July 23: Drive to Sandusky, OH/ Go to Cedar Point in late evening

Sunday July 24: Cedar Point

Monday July 25: Drive to Doswell, VA/ Go to KIngs Dominion in late evening

Tuesday July 26: Kings Dominion

Wednesday July 27: Drive to Charlotte, NC/ Go to Carowinds in late evening

Thursday July 28: Carowinds

Saturday July 30: Drive to Mason, OH/ Go to Kings Island in late evening

Sunday July 31: Go to Kings Island

You may have noticed gaps in this schedule, but that is just because the trip is being incorporated with a business trip for my dad, and other "fun" things that are not amusement park related. I thought that I would post the schedule for experienced Cedar Fair park goers could further help me with how and when to do what rides.

Any tips/advice/strategies for me at each park to avoid longer lines and possibly make the day better?

Thanks for any help!

[Diamondback FOF]

I don't really have any advice or tips but my first thought was you are gonna be very tired!!! That's a lot of driving and walking to do in nine days..

[Jeffy]

I don't really have any advice or tips but my first thought was you are gonna be very tired!!! That's a lot of driving and walking to do in nine days..

I'm not any type of expert on Cedar Point. (CP) But I have learned several tips. Guests do not have to park and enter the Main Entrance. There is a parking lot near Soak City. The "Resort Entrance is often empty during the 10am opening. You can be in the back of the park before anyone else and ride those rides with very few other riders back there. Once your finished work your way to the front of the park. Actually working your way against the crowd flow. Lots of guests run toward Millennium and Maverick but there as some who will meander on the way back to the park riding rides like Raptor and the flat rides along the way.

Eat before you get into the park at your hotel or McD's or DQ which is near the cos way. Try to schedule lunch at a different time than the crowd. Speaking of Soak City this water park in my opinion is not a "whole day" park. It is a diversion and a way to cool of a bit. But in by no means will it draw away the crowd like you will see at Holiday World or Kings Island. Many hot days you'll see as many or more guests in those water parks during the heat of the day than the "dry park" But I digress.

As I posted earlier. CP has an one hour early entry policy for resort guest. You can avoid some of the crowd by stay onsite. I think on the days you've chosen CP is usually crowded. The best time of the season according to workers I've talked to is in late May the 1st two weeks in June and later in the season of course late August and Sept. Cedar Point puts on a fairly well attended Halloween themed season as well.

CP as a lot of posters on this forum have written Cedar Fair parks in general are very expensive to eat in. I found a all you can eat buffet inside the park which was fairly reasonable for a family of four Midway Market inside the park near the main entrance. I would browse this and the Cedar Fair fan sites forums for trip reports. Here's mine from this year. http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=24080

Good luck on the theme park trek!

[jcgoble3]

I can't help you with Kings Dominion or Carowinds, as I've never been to either of them. I've also never been to KI or CP on a Sunday, but I've heard that Sundays are typically not too busy (don't quote me on that, though). With that in mind, a few tips regarding lines (and other things):

Kings Island:

—On Saturday night, stick to smaller rides; the big rides will have long lines on Saturdays. KI is open until midnight that night, so the crowds may thin out a bit later in the night as families with kids head home for a reasonable bedtime, but I could be wrong on that.

—Sunday morning, I recommend hitting Firehawk right at 10 am, as it typically has close to or over a one-hour wait most of the day. While in X-Base, hit Flight of Fear also, followed by Backlot Stunt Coaster, as both of them can also have relatively long lines at times.

—Vortex's line is usually shorter than it appears to be, so don't be deceived by it; a line that is all the way out to the end of the black fence is only 15–30 minutes, if that, depending on whether the switchbacks in the station are open.

—Diamondback and The Beast are two of the highest capacity rides in the park, so while they may have long lines, those lines will move relatively fast. If the Diamondback line is really long, take advantage of the single rider line if it's open, as you can sometimes cut your wait by more than half by doing so.

—Don't trust the wait time signs; sometimes guests will mess with the signs, so always walk into the queue and look at the line for yourself before rejecting the wait as too long. In particular, I've lost count of how many times I've seen The Beast's sign say 90 minutes when it was really only 15 or so. Even if there is an employee at the entrance (e.g. Firehawk, Diamondback), the sign may still be wrong if it hasn't been updated in a while.

Cedar Point:

—First, let me say that on my only trip to CP (five days last week), the weather forecasts were so crappy that I had plenty of ridiculously short waits. You probably won't be so lucky, especially since you're hitting CP at the peak of vacation season, so I have very little advice I can offer from my own experience. I can, however, repeat some things that others here have said. That said, here goes:

—Again, lines will be long on Saturday night, so stick to smaller rides and plan on hitting the big rides on Sunday. CP is open until 11pm that night.

—For Sunday morning ERT, make sure you're at the gate by about 8:45. They will begin scanning passes and tickets at about that time so you can line up just inside the gate. When the national anthem ends, race for the ride of your choice. Several people on here have said to hit Maverick and Millennium Force during ERT, then line up for TTD. Enter through the resort gate if you want to hit Maverick first or the marina gate to hit MF first. After hitting those two, go line up for TTD. TTD may start running early if they finish up morning test runs early, so you might not have to wait until 10:00 to be let in. Take advantage of this relatively short wait to get a front row ride; even if this costs you an extra 20 minutes now, it would cost you an extra 30–45 minutes later in the day in addition to a full-length wait that may be over an hour to begin with.

—Because Raptor is close to the main gate, it will have long lines right after opening, but should have a much shorter line later in the evening.

—Be aware that not all rides are open 10 to 10; several of the smaller rides don't open until 11:00; Iron Dragon, WildCat, Dodgem, and the train will close early for the American Portrait show, and Snake River Falls and Thunder Canyon (I believe) are only open noon to 9:00.

—If you choose to hit the water rides, be aware that Cedar Point does not require shirts or shoes on the water rides. The section of the midway running from Skyhawk down to Shoot the Rapids is informally designated as the "water zone"; within that area, shirts/shoes are not required, so you can store them in an overpriced locker and walk from one to the next, hitting all three. I strongly recommend at least taking your shirt off, especially on Thunder Canyon, as that ride, unlike KI's White Water Canyon, (spoiler; highlight to read) has multiple waterfalls that are practically guaranteed to thoroughly and totally drench you from head to toe.

—This topic and this topic have plenty of tips for Cedar Point.

—Again, don't trust the wait time signs for the same reason as at KI. In five days at CP last week, I personally witnessed somebody messing with the signs three times.

Everything in this post is true to the best of my knowledge, but I'm only human. If I got anything wrong, I'm sure others can and will correct it. Have fun!

[ziplock]

Thanks for the tips! I'll definitely refer to these before my trip. I just have a couple of questions about early entry at Cedar Point and Kings Island. How long are the lines for Millennium Force, Maverick, and Raptor during this hour? I know only hotel guests and platinum pass holders are the only ones allowed, but I have no idea how many of them there are. Also, what rides is the Kings Island early ride time for? And how long is it for?

Thanks again!

[jcgoble3]

I never went to Raptor during ERT, so I have no clue there, but Maverick and MF were roughly 20 minutes when I was there. You're visiting at the peak of vacation season, though, so you may get longer lines. At KI, ERT is on WindSeeker and Vortex, unless WindSeeker is down, in which case it's replaced with something else nearby ( which is at least sometimes Backlot Stunt Coaster).

[ziplock]

Oh thanks. There's only WindSeeker and Vortex? I thought some of the more popular rides would available like at Cedar Point. Does anybody have any experience with Kings Dominion or Carowinds that you'd like to share?

[Diamondback FOF]

According to KI Twitter (and another topic on this site), ERT will go back to being on The Beast and Diamondback, starting tomorrow morning

[CodyDL]

When you go to Carowinds just enjoy your time... the wait on all the rides are very little. The nighthawk is always the longest wait probably 20-30 min wait. Intimidator is a very short wait so don't ride that first. Go to the back of the park first because everyone always goes for Intimidator and nighthawk. Most rides you can just walk on with no wait. Carowinds is never crowded its probably the most underrated park owned by CF.

[ziplock]

According to KI Twitter (and another topic on this site), ERT will go back to being on The Beast and Diamondback, starting tomorrow morning

Nice! That'll make getting up early more worth while.

When you go to Carowinds just enjoy your time... the wait on all the rides are very little. The nighthawk is always the longest wait probably 20-30 min wait. Intimidator is a very short wait so don't ride that first. Go to the back of the park first because everyone always goes for Intimidator and nighthawk. Most rides you can just walk on with no wait. Carowinds is never crowded its probably the most underrated park owned by CF.

Is it slow like that in the peak vacation season too? That would be awesome!

[CodyDL]

According to KI Twitter (and another topic on this site), ERT will go back to being on The Beast and Diamondback, starting tomorrow morning

Nice! That'll make getting up early more worth while.

When you go to Carowinds just enjoy your time... the wait on all the rides are very little. The nighthawk is always the longest wait probably 20-30 min wait. Intimidator is a very short wait so don't ride that first. Go to the back of the park first because everyone always goes for Intimidator and nighthawk. Most rides you can just walk on with no wait. Carowinds is never crowded its probably the most underrated park owned by CF.

Is it slow like that in the peak vacation season too? That would be awesome!

I usually go late June or early July and its about the same... People I have talked to say its never crowded and they go in August so I am pretty sure its always like that. North/South Carolina people don't like thrills much I guess they would rather be at the beach on vacation. I am originally from Ohio with my home park being KI now that I moved to the Carolinas Carowinds is my new home. Have a good time on your trip!

[Titan]

I went to Carowinds around late June last year and the park wasn't very crowded. The longest I waited was 30 minutes for the Carolina Cobra and Nighthawk's line was only 20 minutes. So if anything I'd hit those rides as quick as you can. Then I'd check out Afterburn, which usually gets crowded towards the middle of the day. And most people eat lunch around 12:00-3:00, so that would be a very good time to hit up the rides with longer waits.

[ziplock]

Thank you! I don't think I've gone to a theme park in July and waited less than 30 minutes (without a Flash Pass), so this will be nice. So I got the Cedar Point plan, it seems I don't really need a Carowinds plan much, does anyone have any strategies or plans for KD?

[Jeffy]

Zip

Make sure you post a trip report to give us a good read on the parks south like Kings Dominion or Carowinds, Busch Gardens Williamsburg I would like to go to those in the coming year (s).

[ziplock]

I'll try to get a TR posted! It may be a good week or so after the trip that I do post it though. Just because I will still be on a vacation and not have access to a computer. I'm also not sure if I should take pictures or not. All I have is an iPhone 4 camera, but I'll see how much extra time I have at the parks!