cedar point

[dpratt68]

Can anyone lead me in the right direction in planning a trip to Cedar point Sandusky Ohio? where to stay? best places to get tix for both parks? any other great dis board tips...

 

[dawson5]

how many days? you can get a season pass for CP & SC for $160 and it's good for other parks, I think it included parking also. Check the CP site. They also have two-day passes for around $80 and just CP season passes for around $100.

As for staying there, we have family 20 minutes away so we don't use hotels when we go. I do know that Sawmill Creek is not far away and it's a beautiful (used to be at least) hotel, with a golf course and restaurant. It is not on the main strip. They used to give you a certificate when you checked in for a round of golf.

 

[pamrob]

We traveled to Cedar Point twice last year. Great park. Check hotel reviews on trip advisor. We stayed at a Comfort Suites the first trip. Newer hotel, nice amenities, not so friendly staff and not super close to the park but maybe 10 minutes. The last trip we stayed at a locally owned hotel. Simplier amenities, not so new, just minutes from the park. There are tons of options. We went to platinum season passes and were able to visit several other parks near us and on trips throughout the season.

 

[boufa]

It really all depends on your trip plans. If you are planning on only going to cedar point then a hotel near Sandusky is the best bet. If you are planning to go into Cleveland then a hotel near Sandusky may not be a good choice.

Cedar Point is nearly completely surrounded by water, and pretty much all of the land on "the point" is owned by Cedar Point.

If you want a Disney like experience, that is a hotel you can walk to during the day to refresh, then the only option is the 2 Cedar Point hotels, Hotel Breakers and the ... the name slips my mind sorry. All the other hotels, even the rest of the cedar point hotels, are off the "point" and will require driving to and from the park. There are a large number of hotels in the 10 - 15 driving range. It is important to note, unlike Orlando, Cedar Point is the only game in town, many of these hotels would not exist except for the summer season. Unless you stay in the outer western suburbs of Cleveland. Then you are looking at 40 - 70 minutes of drive time, depending on how close to downtown you get.

If you are looking at staying in Sandusky, there are several newer themed hotels. The Great Wolf Lodge (or Great Bear Lodge), and Kalahari Resort (Kalahari is trying to be something like a Animal Kingdom Lodge with live animal safaris). Both have an indoor water park, and Cedar Point also has a hotel with a water park inside, but it is off the point, at the turn to the main drive (a several mile walk, or a very short drive into the park).

Really it all depends on your budget and your wants. If I had all the time in the world, I would do 2 weekdays (tue, wed, thu) at Cedar Point and 1 day at Soak City.

Just some thoughts, good luck to you.

 

[jenseib]

I thin kthe other is Sandcastle suites. I think t here are 2 breakers there now, the old part and new part, but I haven't looked to hard lately. And does Castaway Cay have a hotel as well? I'm not even sure where it is located at in regards to the park.
Kalahri is nice, with a water park, but I would do that as a trip onto itself.
I think I have read that the Sandcastle is in desperate need of refurbishing. I stayed there years ago when it was newer, but I have heard it's not so great anymore. There are lots of hotels near there, but you have to drive a little way to get to the park no matter hwere you stay, except for the two right there. And cedar poin can be very expensive. I looked at stayin onsite for a night or two, 2 years ago, and the price was really expensive.

 

[cjnix29]

AAA usually has pretty good discounts on cedar point tickets. About any chain hotel you can find is near Cedar Point. The on site hotels are outrageously expensive. Cedar Point has a water park too, Soak City. It is a separate admission ticket, although I am sure there are combo tickets. It's a two day max to do it. But there is a lot of other things in the area...Put In Bay, kelley's Island, then Cleveland. All depends on what you are looking for. Haven't stayed there, as it is only about an hours drive from my parents house.

 

[Mom_Rides]

I may not be a Disney expert but I know Cedar Point!!!! First off, how long are you planning on going for? And when are you planning on going? Both of those make a difference in trip planning. CP generally opens early to mid May and remains open until at least Halloween. Once the park opens in May, it remains open daily until Labor Day and then it goes to only Friday nights and weekends. Weekends in May are busy (albeit not crazy), but weekdays are slow. The first couple of weeks in June are great time to go, as the vacation crowd has not started yet. The last week in August is known as dead week. Halloweekends (beginning in mid September) are insanely busy -- think hour plus waits for the smaller coasters which are normally walk ons.

If you're looking to go to Cedar Point and Soak City, CP offers many combo tickets (Ride & Slide). But depending on the amount of time you plan to stay, you may want to consider a Platinum Season Pass. This will get you into CP, SC, parking as well as access to all of the other Cedar Fair parks. Regular season passes will only get you access to CP. Both passes will give you ERT (early ride time) which allows you to ride an hour earlier on some of the coasters then the general public. CP does not have a Fastpass type system.

As far as staying, I can only speak to the Point owned hotel that I have stayed at. That being the Breakers Express. It's located on the Causeway and does not have direct access to CP. Meaning you have to drive. We have stayed there a few times and it's your basic, clean, two beds, bathroom room. We've always got a nice deal through them that included tickets, parking passes, breakfast and coupons for Challenge Park and upgrades to Ride and Slide tickets. The Breakers, Sandcastle Suites and Lighthouse Point are all within walking distance to the park, as is Camper Village. The 3 hotels are much more expensive then the Breakers Express. Cedar Point resort guests also get ERT. Castaway Bay is CP's indoor waterpark. It's located just off the Causeway. I've not stayed there but have been to the waterpark, which is small but nice.

If you are looking to stay off Point, there are several hotels offsite in Sandusky and surrounding areas. The Cedar Point resort area offers many restaurants including Famous Daves and TGIFridays. The park itself has Chick-Fil-a, Panda Express, Johnny Rockets and Subway, as well as a few other sit down restaurants and tons of counter service and kiosk food stands. Soak City has counter service restaurants. Cedar Point also has two picinic pavillions in front of the park.

For trip planning information, you can visit the Cedar Point website and click on Planning and request a brochure. There is also a lot of information on the resort area on the website. There are a few DIS like CP boards as well.

If I can help with anything else -- ride info, park info, info on the area, please feel free to let me know. I'm mildly addicted to CP I've been hundreds of times to the Point, so I know my way around pretty well!!

 

[dpratt68]

I may not be a Disney expert but I know Cedar Point!!!! First off, how long are you planning on going for? And when are you planning on going? Both of those make a difference in trip planning. CP generally opens early to mid May and remains open until at least Halloween. Once the park opens in May, it remains open daily until Labor Day and then it goes to only Friday nights and weekends. Weekends in May are busy (albeit not crazy), but weekdays are slow. The first couple of weeks in June are great time to go, as the vacation crowd has not started yet. The last week in August is known as dead week. Halloweekends (beginning in mid September) are insanely busy -- think hour plus waits for the smaller coasters which are normally walk ons.

If you're looking to go to Cedar Point and Soak City, CP offers many combo tickets (Ride & Slide). But depending on the amount of time you plan to stay, you may want to consider a Platinum Season Pass. This will get you into CP, SC, parking as well as access to all of the other Cedar Fair parks. Regular season passes will only get you access to CP. Both passes will give you ERT (early ride time) which allows you to ride an hour earlier on some of the coasters then the general public. CP does not have a Fastpass type system.

As far as staying, I can only speak to the Point owned hotel that I have stayed at. That being the Breakers Express. It's located on the Causeway and does not have direct access to CP. Meaning you have to drive. We have stayed there a few times and it's your basic, clean, two beds, bathroom room. We've always got a nice deal through them that included tickets, parking passes, breakfast and coupons for Challenge Park and upgrades to Ride and Slide tickets. The Breakers, Sandcastle Suites and Lighthouse Point are all within walking distance to the park, as is Camper Village. The 3 hotels are much more expensive then the Breakers Express. Cedar Point resort guests also get ERT. Castaway Bay is CP's indoor waterpark. It's located just off the Causeway. I've not stayed there but have been to the waterpark, which is small but nice.

If you are looking to stay off Point, there are several hotels offsite in Sandusky and surrounding areas. The Cedar Point resort area offers many restaurants including Famous Daves and TGIFridays. The park itself has Chick-Fil-a, Panda Express, Johnny Rockets and Subway, as well as a few other sit down restaurants and tons of counter service and kiosk food stands. Soak City has counter service restaurants. Cedar Point also has two picinic pavillions in front of the park.

For trip planning information, you can visit the Cedar Point website and click on Planning and request a brochure. There is also a lot of information on the resort area on the website. There are a few DIS like CP boards as well.

If I can help with anything else -- ride info, park info, info on the area, please feel free to let me know. I'm mildly addicted to CP I've been hundreds of times to the Point, so I know my way around pretty well!!

This is great info. So if I am understanding correctly I will get Early entry with a season pass? I thought I only got it if I stayed at their hotels. When we travel we like to stay at hotels similar to embassy suites-a little extra space and breakfast included (have to budget). Is there anything similar in the CP area?

 

[Mom_Rides]

This is great info. So if I am understanding correctly I will get Early entry with a season pass? I thought I only got it if I stayed at their hotels. When we travel we like to stay at hotels similar to embassy suites-a little extra space and breakfast included (have to budget). Is there anything similar in the CP area?

I just doubled check the 2009 Point Perks. The ERT was available for the Platinum Passes only in 2009. During ERT, everyone can get in but there are roped off areas for the general public that limit their access to the midway only. Pass holders then have access to all of the rides open during ERT. You also get the ERT if you are a resort guest. I'm guessing the Platinum Pass ERT perk will remain the same in 2010.

There's not an Embassy Suites or Residence Inn type places in Sandusky. You may be able to find a family type suite in one of the local hotels. The Sandcastle Suites at Cedar Point have bigger rooms but only offer a small fridge, microwave, etc. And breakfast is not included, although Sandusky has a Super Walmart, Meijer, Target, etc. that you could pick up some groceries. The picnic areas at CP are very nice. We use them everytime we go. We just do sandwiches and things like that but they do have some charcoal grills available and we've seen people hooking up electric griddles and crockpots! There are very few electrical outlets available though. Lots of people tailgate in the parking lot as well.

 

[Colleen27]

We like to go once or twice a summer. If we're on a budget we drive down for the day so I'm not much help with resorts. When we do stay, it is at Kalahari for the water park (we're all ghost-white Irish folk, so indoor waterparks have much more appeal than outdoor, even in warm weather!) and that's not cheap. It is tons of fun, though!

We pick up our tickets from AAA or the credit union before we leave because they sell discounted passes. When I was younger (pre-kids), I used to get a season pass but it has been so long that I don't remember how many days it takes to break even on it.

 

[Mickey527]

We went to Cedar Point way back in 1999 and loved it. My boys are much older now but they want to get back there someday.
We stayed at a campground about 10 minutes down the road from the point, about a 15 min. drive total.
We had a cabin with a full kitchen, living room with couch that converted to queen bed, a bedroom with a king bed, and two bedrooms with twin bunks. I think it was in the $60 range then. I looked last year when we were thinking of going and it was about $120 a night.
We did bfst there, then to the parks and had snacks and a late lunch. then had dinner at the cabin when the park closed at about 8 pm.
I remember that trip. The day was grey but didn't rain much. About 3 pm there were rain spouts all around the lake, we saw 4 at once. People were scared and they made us get inside the cement game booth.My boys got some great pictures of the "tornados". when they broke up over us they dropped lake water all over the park and some dead fish that they had picked up. Park smelled like fish all the rest of the day. Good times.....

 

[jenseib]

You must've went early in the year or very late because the park typcially stays open much later.

 

[dpratt68]

I can't seem to get prices for 2010. when do they release them?

 

[Mom_Rides]

I can't seem to get prices for 2010. when do they release them?

As far as ticket prices, should be after the first of the year. Prices for passes should be posted now. I know when we bought our passes last year, they had a deal if you bought 4 then you got $10 off per pass. As many have mentioned, AAA has discounts on tickets. Pepsi products also generally have special Pepsi/Dew cans that have a coupon on them ($8 off I think). I know our Entertainment book also has the $8 off coupon. That is just for a one day park admission and not valid on multi day, jr/sr tickets or Soak City tickets.

 

[jenseib]

I know I recently got an email about dsicount passes for Christmas, be we don't even go yearly anymore, so I deleted it.

 

[dpratt68]

Can anyone lead me in the right direction in planning a trip to Cedar point Sandusky Ohio? where to stay? best places to get tix for both parks? any other great dis board tips...

Sorry I should have said the hotel rates. It keeps coming up rates unavailable. I did look at hotels on AAA and Wolf lodge looks nice. Has anyone stayed there?

 

[TinkOhio]

Just a short bit down the road from th Great Wolf Lodge is the Kalahari Resort. This is much nicer. The rooms are wonderful and the waterpark is the best in the area by far. There are sometimes great web specials, too. Hope this helps!

 

[EvanMaddieMouse]

We took the kids there in June for DS's 12th birthday (all he wanted, and since we took his little sister to WDW for her 5th, we couldn't say no!) and this is where we stayed:
http://www.qualityinn.com/hotel-sandusky-ohio-OH279
It was considerably cheaper than the Cedar Point resorts, and it's right on the corner of the Cedar Point Causeway, so maybe a 5 to 10 minute drive in. There is an indoor waterpark with slides, glow bowling, laser tag...granted, the rooms aren't as nice as, say, Kalahari, but in all honestly we were only in the room to sleep and shower.

As far as tickets, go to http://www.cedarpoint.com/, there should be a "special rate" link (or something like it) by spring for special rates. We did a pay for one, play for two special which was $63.99/person (for two full days). They also do offer at-gate military discounts if that applies.

 

[Order66]

Great Wolf Lodge is nice and it's just a short drive up the road to Cedar Point. If you sign up on their website they send out discount codes frequently. That said, I'll second a PP who said Kalahari is better. A lot more to do there. My kids liked GWL when they were younger. It's smaller and easier to keep an eye on them. They loved the bed time stories in the lobby. However now that they are a little older, Kalahari offers a lot more entertainment to them. Much larger water park, huge game room, etc.... They also offer discounts but are a bit more expensive than GWL but IMHO worth it.

We're somewhat local so Cedar Point is a day trip for us, but generally my husband will take the boys for a few days each summer and stay at Kalahari for 2 or 3 nights then to Cedar Point for a day. If you want to make it a trip that is more than an extended weekend I'd suggest doing one of these water park resorts combined with CP. If you're only interested in CP then you can find cheaper hotels to stay at. Sandusky is full of them. CP has several hotels you can get packages with. The Breakers is connected to the park, but last I knew was quite expensive. The Breakers Express is along the causeway to CP on the way to the parking lot, but you cannot walk in from here. Castaway Bay is CP's water park resort and it right across from Breakers Express. They seldom offer discounts. They also have the Sand Castle Suites and a place that's all cabins/cottages who's name escapes me at the time. Stayed in them once as a kid and I remember them being not so nice.....but that was a looooooooong time ago.

A lot of the local stores offer discount tickets. Here we can get them cheaper at Drug Mart, but normally we get the best rate at the gate with our military ID.

regards

 

[dpratt68]

thank you all