Memorial Day Eve at Cedar Point | 05.24.2026

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

We took a little Sunday trip up to Cedar Point because of the long weekend and had a nice time. I'd like to clarify, as always, that while my criticisms are many, I really enjoy every time I visit Cedar Point. Some of these can be easily fixed while others would require major changes.

Some positives:

• My pepperoni pizza meal at Hugo's was good, though I'd have preferred a better dipping sauce for my breadsticks. This meal was on the lower side of a "good" rating.
• All of the associates I interacted with were friendly and seemed to do their jobs well.
• I enjoyed the pre-recorded spiels for some of the rides. That said, they need to be played louder and/or find a better soundproofing method overall.
• My second meal of the day was a Hot Dog Basket with Chips from Derby Dogs (hooray! it was open!!). There were four associates working the stand who kept the line moving swiftly. Two of them were assembling the baskets and the other two were manning the registers. The split-top bun (as opposed to a standard side-split) looked very nice and the hot dog itself was good. This meal was on the higher side of a "good" rating.
• Throughout the day I got at least 3 paper cup refills, and only one of them (a Coke from Hugo's) tasted odd. Honestly this is the one time I'll admit to wanting lids and straws offered (when requested) since all of the bugs are 

Some complaints:

• The associates are required to consistently ask about if you'd like to purchase a drink bottle even if you're already redeeming your paper cup plan. I think I saw that this was a mandate from their Coca-Cola supplier (or something like that), but I really wish the park would negotiate something that would let them tone it down.
• There aren't as many "fluffy-friendly" rides at Cedar Point as there are at Kings Island — a category which both parks are severely lacking in. Even Corkscrew (with Arrow's forgiving restraints) didn't look like it could really accommodate anyone with a larger belly or chest. Cedar Point is the thrill park, but I do think they need to have more rides that the entire family can ride together. I'm really just salty that they got rid of the riverboat expeditions.
• The lack of a dark ride is a major hindrance for the park. I think they need something the size of Phantom Theater, though having 50-ish cars in it would be better considering their crowd numbers. I'd love to see a Disaster Transport dark ride near the front of the park. A second good dark ride would be something taking over the plot from Frontier Fling and Shoot the Rapids' station. They would lose that access to the island, but would gain a big dark ride on the Frontier Trail.
• During our meal at Hugo's I saw at least 6 people go in/out of an emergency exit door. There isn't really much you can do about that besides giving it an actual alarm, but it was not a great thing to see. 

This last one gets a bigger point:

Operations were less than stellar for it being Memorial Day weekend. This isn't the issue of the associates that were there, but more of an issue with Cedar Point's hiring practices. Having a group of older, full-time associates around the park who are more responsible and knowledgeable would help to provide a much better experience overall. I won't provide a possibly-AI-but-maybe-not solution though. You're not going to attract people who will stick around beyond a Summer job without paying enough for them to live in Sandusky year-round.

Despite being posted at a 25 minute wait time, it took me 60 minutes to make it through the line for Corkscrew. The only thing that might've made it go quicker would be if the three associates working in the station provided a sense of urgency. I watched about three Top Thrill 2 launches between each train being sent on Corkscrew. The second train sat on the brake run for a good 3 minutes each cycle. My main point in saying this is that Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial beginning of the Summer season for parks. This is the weekend that a park like this should strive to have everything operating by. There were only two shows set to take place, and their showtimes were all after 3:00PM despite the park opening at 10:00AM. Maverick appeared to be closed until about 1:30PM: it had a line that stretched all the way back near the Stockade Refreshments with no associates attempting to corral guests into a smaller area. (Part of that issue was guests waiting outside of the queue and part of it was the lack of planning/execution on how to contain the line.) 

There are still a few things that I feel are fundamentally wrong with the park operations. Fast Lane has historically been oversold and sales need to be cut off sooner. There's no reason why a Fast Lane line should exceed 45 minutes IMO — so when it gets up there, close that queue for a little bit. The lack of associates on the midways as well as the closed Guest Services locations (on a holiday weekend) is concerning. If there isn't an easy way to fix the ride wait times then there need to be other things for guests to do. Live entertainment and play areas are a good start. A new/reopened park museum would continue the effort. I think Cedar Point is the kind of park that could sustain an all-season Haunt maze (even as an upcharge). More things for people to do that get them out of coaster queue lines.

 

Ultimately, I still love Cedar Point. The park has one of the best ride collections in the world and still lives up to most of its reputation. It has a lot of things that absolutely need to be rethought. Better staff hiring practices, more boots on the ground helping to direct people and fix things in the moment, and an overhaul on some of how the park works would all do wonders. These are the kinds of things that would make guests a lot happier than another new coaster before 2030.

[Tr0y]

I haven't made my way to the point this season. (I plan on going June 2nd.) But I have heard they removed the brisket from Backbeat BBQ. That was my favorite restaurant and meal when visiting. The brisket was a well-known, fan favorite at CP. It's a shame they removed it due to budget cuts.

[IBEW_Sparky]

19 hours ago, Losantiville Mining Co. said:

We took a little Sunday trip up to Cedar Point because of the long weekend and had a nice time. I'd like to clarify, as always, that while my criticisms are many, I really enjoy every time I visit Cedar Point. Some of these can be easily fixed while others would require major changes.

 

This last one gets a bigger point:

Operations were less than stellar for it being Memorial Day weekend. This isn't the issue of the associates that were there, but more of an issue with Cedar Point's hiring practices. Having a group of older, full-time associates around the park who are more responsible and knowledgeable would help to provide a much better experience overall. I won't provide a possibly-AI-but-maybe-not solution though. You're not going to attract people who will stick around beyond a Summer job without paying enough for them to live in Sandusky year-round.

Despite being posted at a 25 minute wait time, it took me 60 minutes to make it through the line for Corkscrew. The only thing that might've made it go quicker would be if the three associates working in the station provided a sense of urgency. I watched about three Top Thrill 2 launches between each train being sent on Corkscrew. The second train sat on the brake run for a good 3 minutes each cycle. My main point in saying this is that Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial beginning of the Summer season for parks. This is the weekend that a park like this should strive to have everything operating by. There were only two shows set to take place, and their showtimes were all after 3:00PM despite the park opening at 10:00AM. Maverick appeared to be closed until about 1:30PM: it had a line that stretched all the way back near the Stockade Refreshments with no associates attempting to corral guests into a smaller area. (Part of that issue was guests waiting outside of the queue and part of it was the lack of planning/execution on how to contain the line.) 

There are still a few things that I feel are fundamentally wrong with the park operations. Fast Lane has historically been oversold and sales need to be cut off sooner. There's no reason why a Fast Lane line should exceed 45 minutes IMO — so when it gets up there, close that queue for a little bit. The lack of associates on the midways as well as the closed Guest Services locations (on a holiday weekend) is concerning. If there isn't an easy way to fix the ride wait times then there need to be other things for guests to do. Live entertainment and play areas are a good start. A new/reopened park museum would continue the effort. I think Cedar Point is the kind of park that could sustain an all-season Haunt maze (even as an upcharge). More things for people to do that get them out of coaster queue lines.

 

 

Thank you very much for this, this is the information I needed to make an informed decision this season on whether or not to attend that park.

[disco2000]

Sadly, CP has been on the decline in guest sentiment since 2019, and seems to get worse every year.

Unlike a park like KI, CP has to rely on people outside of say an hour circle to make it a viable park.

On years they don't add something, guest service has to be top notch or people won't go...but sadly, like KI....enough will continue to go regardless of the product being offered.

But I know plenty that have decided to not make a visit this year, or cut their number of trips way shorter.

But people will also still show up in numbers to the roller coast capital of the world.....

[IBEW_Sparky]

Even when they DO add something I expect guest service to be top notch, Im sorry and anyone who wants can call me an a$$, but simply put I want/expect Pat and Will Koch era HW level guest service every time I come into a park that (when a passholder) I dropped as much on the pass as I did on my iPhone.  Throughput.... throughput, throughput, throughput (safe of course)... is what I desire as well as proper "You pay a part of my salary so Im going to be nice, attentive, and efficient" interaction at food and drink stands or restaurants.  Ask anyone who has gone to a park with me and they will say I am the NICEST person to the ride-ops and all other associates in any park provided the same courtesies are afforded me when we interact.  The automated spiels mentioned being on some rides is a start.... yes I understand blocking, load/unload times, and the fact that more often than not its the guests that slow said load/unload/dispatch times down but I have no desire to listen to smalltalk over the mics.  All the Sirens Curses and TTD2s and whateverelses dont cut it with me unless there is a minimum of BS attached to riding said coasters.