The Great Lake Escape and Steel City Adventures- silver2005's Kennywood, CP and MIA TR

[silver2005]

^Not going to Pittsburgh now.  Had a week off sick this week, gotta make it up @ work. 

[BuckeyeBond]

Sorry, I seen your last post after I hit the send button.

[silver2005]

So my tax refund was WAY bigger than I expected, so the Pitt/Kennywood trip is back on!

[silver2005]

I finally chose the week for my CP/MIA trip- June 18-25. 

[electricsun]

I went around that time to both parks a few years ago and it was great timing. Weather was lovely and the crowds weren't crazy. I hope the same is true for your visits! 

[silver2005]

^Part of it is also to avoid or get the tail end of mayfly season.  I got a cut across my forehead from hitting one at 120 mph on Dragster during my last visit.  Also hoping for just enough wind to keep TTD open and a bit of rain beforehand so I can attempt a roll back ride.  

[silver2005]

After glancing at CP's Fast Lane prices, I'm more likely than not avoiding Fast Lane.  

[malem]

^ Weekdays in June, you should be good without it as long as you're strategic about when to ride things. (eg. not riding Raptor/Gatekeeper until evening)

[silver2005]

^Yeah, I got the day plan of CP down to a science after previous visits.  

[silver2005]

Hotels all booked for Michigan and northern Ohio!

I did contemplate skipping a night on a hotel stay, aka, pulling a malem and going straight from my house to MIA, thus, only staying the one night in Muskegon, but then saw I'll be on the road for roughly 7 hours, so that's a big nope. 

Oh, and my hotel in Port Clinton on the shore of Lake Erie.

Just out of curiosity, given the nature that MIA is Cedar Fair's smallest park, are there any types of policies regarding early closure for low attendance or other such not well known park policies I should be aware of (for Kennywood, too)?

EDIT: Day by Day Itinerary of Trip

June 18- Leave for Muskegon

June 19- MIA

June 20- go from Muskegon to Port Clinton

June 21-22- Cedar Point

June 23- back to Cincy

[malem]

5 hours ago, silver2005 said:

Just out of curiosity, given the nature that MIA is Cedar Fair's smallest park, are there any types of policies regarding early closure for low attendance or other such not well known park policies I should be aware of (for Kennywood, too)?

Not sure about Michigan's Adventure, but Kennywood is notorious for closing due to inclement weather - even if it will clear up later.

With that park, it helps to have flexible plans if possible.

[silver2005]

^Yeah, I'm nervous about booking that week because weather can screw that up a ton (along with the Reds/Pirates game).  I may book the hotel early, but I'll wait to buy the ballgame ticket until the week before or even the day of if I can help it (hopefully, the Pirates are mediocre at best this year).  I nearly got royally screwed over by weather during my HW trip last year as well. 

[electricsun]

I don't know if there are policies at MIA to close early if there aren't a lot of guests. The night I visited and the next day didn't have a ton of people and they didn't close. That was right about the same time that you are visiting. I had the impression that most people were there for the water park. I would expect KI Sunday morning level crowds and waiting a train or two for rides. 

[PhantomTheater]

Kennywood's closing time is the greatest secret in the amusement business. It is announced over the PA usual between 6-8pm on what time they will close. I once asked guest services around 8pm and they still didn't know.

[King Ding Dong]

5 hours ago, PhantomTheater said:

Kennywood's closing time is the greatest secret in the amusement business. It is announced over the PA usual between 6-8pm on what time they will close. I once asked guest services around 8pm and they still didn't know.

That's not cool.  I would imagine that would create a problem of hoards of teenagers hanging around waiting for parents to pick them up.  

[silver2005]

So here's how I'm gonna handle Pittsburgh.  

I'll book the hotel and get admission to Kennywood now.  I will wait until the week before, or at least when I'm comfortable that the weather is accurate, to get the ticket for the Reds @ Pirates game I want to attend.  The Reds' series in Pittsburgh I'm going for is August 1-3, so the actual trip will be leave on the first, do whatever combination of Reds and Kennywood on the 2nd and 3rd, and return to Cincy on the 4th.  

Ideally I wanted to do the game first, but with Kennywood's early closing stuff, weather will be the determining factor in when I do both things. 

 

[malem]

^ If they'd close early, you'd get a raincheck good for another admission, which isn't super helpful when the cost of getting there is more than that of a ticket.

[silver2005]

Question regarding CP dining- are the on-property restaurants like DQ and Quaker Steak as good as their off property counter parts?  Also, do I get Platinum discounts at those restaurants?

[PhantomTheater]

Unkown about DQ, but Quaker Steak is a yes, year round too!

[silver2005]

One thing I'm thinking of going is if I get to Muskegon at a decent time and I'm feeling up to it, I may squeeze in a few hours at MIA the day before I go for a full day.  

[electricsun]

I did that and was happy I did. It was a great way to stretch my legs after such a long drive! There weren't many people the days I visited. Yet, the evening visit gave me just enough rides that I didn't feel like I had to rush around to get to everything. I was able to leisurely enjoy the park. 

I will also add that for me, I did leave before close on the second day as I had to drive to Sandusky to set-up my camp site. I know that isn't a concern for you but, I would still recommend getting a few hours in the night before if you have the time/energy. 

[silver2005]

^On the day between MIA and CP, I plan to leave Muskegon early (on the road no later than 10) and just spend some R&R time in Port Clinton and around the lake and then get a very good night's sleep before 2 days in Sandusky, especially because a night ride on Magnum is a must-do for me on any CP trip (my first ride on it, with it also being my first 200 ft coaster, was at night). 

Part of what helps me out with my medical condition is getting a lot of sleep, so you're preaching to the choir.  However, I will try to do things to make the most of the trip since I don't do these kinds of trips often.   I also left a day of R&R when I get back to Cincy.   Additionally, MIA closes at 7 on the days I'm tackling that park. 

Unlike malem, I need the extra hotel time.  I can't pull off the stuff he does.  It helps I'm already very familiar with CP and that MIA is a small park. 

BTW, thanks a bunch to all who've posted here for the tips and information.  

[malem]

5 minutes ago, silver2005 said:

Part of what helps me out with my medical condition is getting a lot of sleep, so you're preaching to the choir.

I'll keep that in mind if I'm planning something that involves you.

Unfortunately, working around multiple people's work schedules, spending full day(s) at parks, and getting full nights of sleep are sometimes mutually exclusive.

[silver2005]

^Just to give you an example of the kind of routines I do, I plan on staying until close both days at CP, getting back to the hotel, stay up a little bit to relax for a bit while hydrating before I go to bed (since water intake is a HUGE concern when I go to parks, anytime I'm out in warm weather and being active, I'm in a constant state of dehydration regardless of how much I drink, my job is finding that balance, I don't take notice to this kind of thing until it gets up to the upper 70s with modest humidity), and then get to sleep within an hour of getting back to the hotel.  I also have to do a bit of diet and hydrating prep before I go on these trips.  It's a lot of work (which has required a lot of research and talking to other people with my condition), but all things considered, its been worth it.  A lot of this involves mental prep as well.  I'm a huge believer in how mental health affects physical health. 

I don't need to worry about is as much with small parks such as MIA, especially with the short hours.  However, if I'm tackling multiple parks in a trip, especially with long driving distances between them, I need R&R days between parks.  Yes, it does mean I have to spend more on hotel stays, but it beats the bad alternatives.  There are exceptions, like for instance, if I do an eastern PA trip and stay around the Philly area, I could be up for doing NJFTP, HP and DP back to back to back (all are within 90 minutes of Philly).  It just depends on the trip circumstances.  I'm pretty thorough on itineraries when it comes to travel time as well to help pace myself (you can partially thank my time band for that). 

Oh, and despite my efforts to keep myself comfortable, I also have to be prepared for everything to completely fall apart instantly because my health can go south in a big hurry.  It's less of a problem now, but its always in the back of my mind. 

I also need some heads up at least a month before a planned trip, both for health reason and getting off of work.  I work with a lot of fellow employees in their late teens/early 20's who don't get how to properly ask off of work and I'm very thorough with my bosses about asking off as early as I possibly can.  I'm on very, very good terms with my bosses.  

[silver2005]

This is for information regarding toll roads, construction, and driving through certain cities.  I'm aware of how to avoid the Ohio Turnpike, but Google Maps is giving me 3 options to get to Muskegon, one up I-75 to I-96 and skirting Detroit, another I-75 option is cruising through South Bend, IN and Kalamazoo, MI via I-496 and I- 69, and one up I-70 to US-31 through Indianapolis.  I'm assuming Google Maps is keeping me off of toll roads since when I punched in directions from Muskegon to Sandusky, it kept me off the turnpike. 

Anybody with Michigan and/or Indiana travel advice?  At this point, that 2nd option I listed looks to be the best considering it lets me avoid both Indianapolis and Detroit.  I've been to Detroit several times, but each time was up I-75 so I'm somewhat more familiar with that route.  I am flexible in changing my mind though.   

EDIT: Found out that all 3 of the routes have 0 toll roads. 

 

[silver2005]

So I just saw that KI's first midnight close is on June 24th, which is conveniently during the days off I have from Skyline for my CP/MIA trip.  Might do a Fast Lane visit that day if anyone is interested in a meet up (the 23rd is my drive back from Sandusky to Cincy). 

[silver2005]

Awww...MIA doesn't have morning ERT.

[IndyGuy4KI]

4 minutes ago, silver2005 said:

Awww...MIA doesn't have morning ERT.

We are quite spoiled at KI and CP!

[silver2005]

^Well, on top of CP's morning ERT, which I'll be doing both days I'm there, they're doing a Valravn and MF night ERT on my 2nd day.  

[King Ding Dong]

2 hours ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

We are quite spoiled at KI and CP!

At SFSTL they let passholders in about 10-12 minutes early.  Not that any rides are open early, you just get to que first. On top of that, nearly everyone is a passholder given their pricing.