Cedar Point - has the Magic moved North?

[katiebelle21]

We just got back from Cedar Point. We loved it! We stayed at the Hotel Breakers, and were very impressed with how nice the beach was there. We are HUGE roller coaster fans, and these were some of the best I've been on! If you don't like coasters, this is definitely NOT the park for you.

 

[notatallmagic]

We just renewed our Gold Passes (Cedar Point, waterpark, and free parking) for $99 for the rest of this year and all of next year! And each renewal came with a free day ticket for a guest (a $49 value). We definitely enjoyed our beach walks, the waterpark, and the low stress of a few rides and a meal whenever we wanted this summer. Our experience was very clean parks, better than expected customer service, and no ride breakdown issues at all. It's not the immersive nature of Disney (although the beach and natural beauty is excellent), but given the cost, crowding, and "new normal" of Disney this summer, it's been a welcome break for us.

We are looking forward to our new Universal Annual Passes for next year - and have been enjoying the feeling of experiencing relaxation AND value (which wasn't our experience at Disney last year - hopefully again someday).

 

[goofy4prez]

I grew up and have lived in NE Ohio most of my life. I love Cedar Point. The experience though is completely different than WDW. One is about immersion, incredible themes and sceneries, and magic ( or it used to be). The other is in your face thrill rides with a major focus on coasters. There's a reason why Cedar Point is called the "Roller Coaster Capital of the World." One thing I really love about Cedar Point is that my boat is docked very close at Catawba, by the islands and makes for a great weekend. Take some friends on the boat out on Lake Erie, dock at the Cedar Point Marina, head into the park, enjoy the day, take the boat back to my dock and spend the night on the boat.

The thing about Disney though is I am not a fan of all the changes, cutbacks, current park experience, smartphone dependency and etc. WDW has lost me and now It's just DCL when it comes to Disney. And now that I'm 58 and have been a coaster enthusiast, I'm really getting to the point the intense roller coasters are not as easy for me on the body as they once were (and this coming from an old guy in decent shape). I'm afraid my park days are coming to an end. Perhaps that's why I've taken a liking to cruises the last couple of years.

 

[soccerdad72]

In case anyone hadn't heard yet, Cedar Point announced today that they were permanently closing Top Thrill Dragster. It's been closed ever since the freak accident last year, but they're permanently shuttering it up now.

 

[Jrb1979]

In case anyone hadn't heard yet, Cedar Point announced today that they were permanently closing Top Thrill Dragster. It's been closed ever since the freak accident last year, but they're permanently shuttering it up now.

That's not true. They are re-imagining the coasters. From what I have read is they are moving the queue away from the track and they have changing the type of launch. The track and structure is not changing

 

[soccerdad72]

That's not true. They are re-imagining the coasters. From what I have read is they are moving the queue away from the track and they have changing the type of launch. The track and structure is not changing

There has been no news that's indicated anything like what you've said.

https://www.cleveland.com/entertain...utting-down-top-thrill-dragster-for-good.html

 

[Jrb1979]

After 19 seasons in operation with 18 million riders experiencing the world’s first strata coaster, Top Thrill Dragster, as you know it, is being retired,” Tony Clark, the amusement park’s director of communications at Cedar Point, tweeted on Tuesday. “However, Cedar Point’s legacy of ride innovation continues. Our team is hard at work, creating a new and reimagined ride experience.”

The key words being as you know it and creating a new and reimagined ride experience. That to me says they are making changes to the ride like they did with Mean Streak when it became Steel Vengeance.

 

[GreatLakes]

My wife and I just got Gold passes that are good for the rest of this year and all of next year. Since our son isn't turning 6 until next year he gets in free. We just went this weekend and it is a great park and a good value if you avoid spending too much on food while there. That being said it isn't comparable to Disney. There are things Disney has been doing lately that really turns me off and while we still go we spend much less time in the parks. If someone is looking for something new to replace Disney and they like thrill parks places like Cedar Point might fit that bill but if anyone thinks they will get the old Disney experience at the current Cedar Point you'll be mistaken.

The rumor mill around here seems to be that the announcement mentioned up thread about Top Thrill Dragster is indication that it will be changed, renamed, but the track and launch systems will remain but time will tell.

 

[luv2cheer92]

There has been no news that's indicated anything like what you've said.

https://www.cleveland.com/entertain...utting-down-top-thrill-dragster-for-good.html

Reading the actual press release from the park may help...

 

[KayMichigan]

Not surprised that they're changing Top Thrill Dragster. Some speculation is that the launch system will be changed from hydraulic to a magnetic launch system like the Maverick coaster has.

 

[luvnwdwgal]

That's not true. They are re-imagining the coasters. From what I have read is they are moving the queue away from the track and they have changing the type of launch. The track and structure is not changing

I’m a local. I live about 15 minutes away from Cedar Point and it was announced that Top Thrill Dragster has been retired but they may re-engineer the existing track to do something different.

 

[Jrb1979]

No,I’m a local and it was announced in the paper today that it will be permanently closed.

This is the quote from Tony Clark


Top Thrill Dragster, as you know it, is being retired,” Tony Clark, the amusement park’s director of communications at Cedar Point, tweeted on Tuesday. “However, Cedar Point’s legacy of ride innovation continues. Our team is hard at work, creating a new and reimagined ride experience.”


The old Dragster is retiring but they are doing upgrades. Why else would they say they are creating a new and reimagined ride experience

 

[luvnwdwgal]

This is the quote from Tony Clark


Top Thrill Dragster, as you know it, is being retired,” Tony Clark, the amusement park’s director of communications at Cedar Point, tweeted on Tuesday. “However, Cedar Point’s legacy of ride innovation continues. Our team is hard at work, creating a new and reimagined ride experience.”


The old Dragster is retiring but they are doing upgrades. Why else would they say they are creating a new and reimagined ride experience

Sorry, I reworded my post just a little bit before you posted. The local headline said it was permanently closed but after reading the entire article I realized as usual, our local newspaper is crap.

 

[Jrb1979]

Sorry, I reworded my post just a little bit before you posted. The local headline said it was permanently closed but after reading the entire article I realized as usual, our local newspaper is crap.

It's not just your paper, all the media outlets that have reported it don't say anything about the reimagining or changing the attraction.

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

It was no Kingda Ka (IMO anyway)

 

[luv2cheer92]

It was no Kingda Ka (IMO anyway)

The restraints alone made TTD a far better experience. And waaaaaaay smoother, plus a much better atmosphere, not even close.

 

[RF536]

I just spent 4 days at Cedar Point and I can say I hope Disney World has not gotten this bad. We were there Thurs. evening through Sunday. Thurs had low crowds so able to do a lot. Only low point was a lot of food places were closed.
Friday, half of their coasters were either down due to issues or closed. Several other rides were also either closed or down for repairs. This caused lines to be 2-3 hours long. The food lines were also over an hour. As many locations were closed.
Sat. brought an improvement to the ride situation with most being up and running. The issue with food lines continued all day. We were lucky and were camping so we went back to RV to eat. Like a lot of amusement parks, they do a huge Halloween weekend theme. They have multiple haunted attractions, most concentrated in a small section of the park. At one point we were trapped for 10-15 min in a section of this area. While there was security in the area, they were standing on the side lines not attempting to help.
Sunday was pretty good overall but their lack of communication with customers is horrible. We were in line at park opening for one of the headliner coasters. The line splits at one point so at the loading platform 2 lines are used to fill the trains. Normally they alternate lines to fill the trains. We stood there while 5 trains were loaded or sent partially full. They were not pulling anyone from our line. No explanation as to why. I finally asked why they weren't loading and all I got was "there is a security issue." Finally they loaded us, no sorry for your extended wait nothing.

 

[Jrb1979]

I just spent 4 days at Cedar Point and I can say I hope Disney World has not gotten this bad. We were there Thurs. evening through Sunday. Thurs had low crowds so able to do a lot. Only low point was a lot of food places were closed.
Friday, half of their coasters were either down due to issues or closed. Several other rides were also either closed or down for repairs. This caused lines to be 2-3 hours long. The food lines were also over an hour. As many locations were closed.
Sat. brought an improvement to the ride situation with most being up and running. The issue with food lines continued all day. We were lucky and were camping so we went back to RV to eat. Like a lot of amusement parks, they do a huge Halloween weekend theme. They have multiple haunted attractions, most concentrated in a small section of the park. At one point we were trapped for 10-15 min in a section of this area. While there was security in the area, they were standing on the side lines not attempting to help.
Sunday was pretty good overall but their lack of communication with customers is horrible. We were in line at park opening for one of the headliner coasters. The line splits at one point so at the loading platform 2 lines are used to fill the trains. Normally they alternate lines to fill the trains. We stood there while 5 trains were loaded or sent partially full. They were not pulling anyone from our line. No explanation as to why. I finally asked why they weren't loading and all I got was "there is a security issue." Finally they loaded us, no sorry for your extended wait nothing.

This time of year is the worst for Cedar Point. Lack of staff is a big issue as a lot kids have gone back to school and Halloween is the most popular time of year to go

 

[RF536]

This time of year is the worst for Cedar Point. Lack of staff is a big issue as a lot kids have gone back to school and Halloween is the most popular time of year to go

We've been during Halloween weekends several times over the years and expected higher than normal crowd levels. It was the fact that 8 out of 16 coasters were down for most of the day, along with several other rides. The situation on Frontier trail was just plain dangerous and not the first time it had happened. We were in gridlock for 10-15 minutes not able to move. If something had happened, and people had panicked, several people would have been injured or killed.
My SIL said the same thing happened to them, this same weekend last year, so not a one off.

 

[projectx3]

I grew up going to Cedar Point. In my book there are three "seasons" that each offer different experiences.
1. Early season. It's garbage. Weather has wild swings, they're understaffed, and woefully unprepared. This season is all of May, and sometimes leaks into the first few days in June.

2. Peak Season. It's mostly great. Weather is more consistent, park is fully staffed. This is around June 5-mid/late August.

3. Late season. You're rolling the dice. Staffing is a crapshoot, as is the weather. And if you're there on a Saturday during Halloweekends, you better buy a FastLane/FrightLane otherwise you might get on 3 or 4 big attractions for the entire day. This is early/mid September through October.

My family spent a short vacation there this summer. 4 nights at hotel breakers. The hotel itself is nice, but is grossly overpriced. But location, location, location. It’s right on the edge of the park, with two entrances to choose from just a short walk away, and you’re right on the beach, which is exceptionally maintained. While the rooms are nice, the quality doesn’t match the pricepoint. But again… location, location, location. The main problem I had with the hotel is the service, it’s pretty bad. Nobody knows anything, and they’re in no hurry. It took them nearly 4 hours to get a blanket to our room for our daughter’s bed (after telling us it would be right up), that didn’t arrive until after 11:00pm and only because I elevated the issue to a manager after being told I didn’t have a blanket yet because they “ran out”.

The collection of rides is hard to beat, especially if you’re a thrill seeker. Even for the non-thrill seekers, there’s still plenty to do. They offer a few mild coasters (Blue Streak, Iron Dragon, Cedar Creek Mine Ride, and the new for 2023 Wild Mouse), and a couple moderate thrill coasters (Rougarou, Gemini), and two kiddie coasters. Not to mention the many flat rides and gentle rides sprinkled throughout. The food quality and service has improved tremendously over the last couple years. You still get gouged on price like you would at any theme park, but at least you leave happy with your meal.

Where the park is struggling is ride operations. Anyone who says the lines move fast has not been to the park years ago. The way the park would pump through riders was almost a spectator sport in and of itself. It’s nothing like it used to be in that regard.

Disney magic? Nah, sorry. It can’t compare in that regard but you will have a good time.