O/T: Cedar Point & Cleveland

[njmomboys2]

Good morning..we are planning a summer trip out to Ohio..specifically Cedar Point...Pro Football Hall of Fame..Rock n Rock Hall of Fame...Cleveland Indians Game...can you tell I have 2 boys (ages 16 & 11). Anyway some questions if I may:

1) Where to stay near Cedar Point? The hotels onsite are really expensive and don't seem to updated or clean. Any suggestions? We were looking at the Great Wolf...as we have stayed at the one in PA and know the quality of the rooms/resorts.

2) How far is the drive from GWL to Cedar Point? What is the price for parking? Can you come and go during the day?

3) Is 2 days enough to do the park? We would probably do full days in both since my boys are coaster lovers?

4) What about hotels in the Cleveland area? We typically like suite arrangements since the boys would prefer their own bed.

5) Any thing else I am missing in this area.

We are looking to go from July 18th to the 23rd....thanks again!!!

 

[dispor]

Good morning..we are planning a summer trip out to Ohio..specifically Cedar Point...Pro Football Hall of Fame..Rock n Rock Hall of Fame...Cleveland Indians Game...can you tell I have 2 boys (ages 16 & 11). Anyway some questions if I may:

1) Where to stay near Cedar Point? The hotels onsite are really expensive and don't seem to updated or clean. Any suggestions? We were looking at the Great Wolf...as we have stayed at the one in PA and know the quality of the rooms/resorts.

2) How far is the drive from GWL to Cedar Point? What is the price for parking? Can you come and go during the day?

3) Is 2 days enough to do the park? We would probably do full days in both since my boys are coaster lovers?

4) What about hotels in the Cleveland area? We typically like suite arrangements since the boys would prefer their own bed.

5) Any thing else I am missing in this area.

We are looking to go from July 18th to the 23rd....thanks again!!!

You would be pretty safe with any of the water parks: GWL, Kalahari or Castaway Bay (this one is the closest to CP and is owned by CP, but I have heard reviews saying the the rooms are tired. They were fine when we went, but that was a few years ago.)

You are wise to avoid the on-site rooms based on all the bad reviews I have read. You may want to check the reviews for Lighthouse Points. These are the on-site cabins/cottages. I think they are supposed to be pretty nice.

We don't usually stay overnight because we live so close, but we are going to try Fairfield Inn and Suites on Milan Road this year. Pretty good reviews, and it does look nice from the outside anyway.

All of the waterparks are within a very short drive from CP.

2 days is just right for CP, especially with your coaster fans. Did you plan on also going to Soak City - the water park? It is a separate admission. That would take a day, too.

If you have more time, you might want to consider buying a CP Platinum Pass, which would also get you into Soak City, plus all other Cedair Fair parks. You might want to head down to Cincinnati and do Kings Island (also a Cedar Fair park.)

Your boys will LOVE Cedar Point!!

 

[mekia2001]

Good morning..we are planning a summer trip out to Ohio..specifically Cedar Point...Pro Football Hall of Fame..Rock n Rock Hall of Fame...Cleveland Indians Game...can you tell I have 2 boys (ages 16 & 11). Anyway some questions if I may:

1) Where to stay near Cedar Point? The hotels onsite are really expensive and don't seem to updated or clean. Any suggestions? We were looking at the Great Wolf...as we have stayed at the one in PA and know the quality of the rooms/resorts.

2) How far is the drive from GWL to Cedar Point? What is the price for parking? Can you come and go during the day?

3) Is 2 days enough to do the park? We would probably do full days in both since my boys are coaster lovers?

4) What about hotels in the Cleveland area? We typically like suite arrangements since the boys would prefer their own bed.

5) Any thing else I am missing in this area.

We are looking to go from July 18th to the 23rd....thanks again!!!

If you're looking for a spacious hotel, there is a Residence Inn and a Hilton that are in downtown Cleveland. They might even be within walking distance to Progressive Field. There is also a Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn Express that are also located in downtown.

 

[Cindy B]

Ex- Clevelander here... loved that city.. and miss it daily.

There will be about a 2 hour or so drive from Cleveland to Cedar Point. I would advise staying onsite at Cedar Point, so you can get in early and at least ride one or two rides... We used to stay at the Cedar Point Express (something like that in the title) and it worked for us.

You really haven't lived until you have run like the bulls to Top Thrill Dragster or Mellenium Force. Plus the lines get horrendous.. and to be on top of the game for at least 1-2 rides, you are ahead of the game. This is a must if you have coaster lovers.

The older hotels are historic... if you remember that the park has been around for 100's of years-- they have charm that new ones don't have.

Pro Football Hall of Fame is in Canton.. another fairly long drive. I want to say at least an hour and a half or more (depending on where you are).

Rock and Roll hall of Fame is based on a lot of "older" acts.. depending on what your kids interests are, they may find it boring.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

I would think about staying at Kalahari instead of GWL. The GWL in Sandusky is very small. It's geared more toward little kids. My 7yo and 12 yo have already outgrown it. Your boys would love Kalahari more.

I hope you're not going to Cedar Point on a weekend. It can get very crowded. One advantage to staying onsite at Cedar Point is onsite people get into the park an hour earlier. Some of those lines for the big coasters can get long. Your boys will love Cedar Point. Those coasters are something else.

 

[Family Fun Mom]

I've stayed at GWL and liked it just fine. I never stayed at the Kalahari but my daughter had a cheer competition there and we had the chance to go explore the resort a bit. Kalahari is a whole lot bigger and probably better for older kids. Mine were young when we stayed at GWL and they loved it, but now... I'm not so sure. If you are up for a no frills hotel, the Fairfield Inn is great. Clean, great price, and free breakfast. Perfect for a place to crash after Cedar Point.

I personally have not been to Cedar Point in several years but used to go every year growing up. My older kids go every year now, too. They go with band and student congress each June. Two days is plenty of time to see and do everything you want in the park. I agree with other posters that say going during the week is HIGHLY advised. Weekends get nuts. Lines can be very long for the big coasters.

Your boys will LOVE Cedar Point. Any coaster lover would. It's a cool park.

ETA: Cedar Point and Kalahari are both just down the road from CP. Easy drive to the park.

 

[NYEmomma]

Pro Football Hall of Fame is in Canton.. another fairly long drive. I want to say at least an hour and a half or more (depending on where you are).

I'm in the Akron area... about 20 minutes north of the PFHOF & it takes us 2 hours to get to Cedar Point.

Cedar Point to HOF: 2 hours
Cleveland to HOF: 1 hour

Sounds like you guys are going to keep busy around here (props to you for coming -- I hate this place!! lol ), just be ready for a decent amount of driving to hit all the locations you mentioned.

Oh, I'll also second Kalahari for teens -- they've got more slides for their age group than Great Wolf does. We've stayed at the hotel on-site before (not my choice but I didn't pay for it so whatever) and I didn't have any complaints about the resort or the room.

 

[njmomboys2]

Thanks so much for all your replies...we are planning on doing cedar point tues & wednesday that week so hoping mid week will help with crowd levels.

We will get there on Monday 7/18.....probably flying in from Newark that day (using some miles!)

So will drive from Cleveland to Cedar Point and stay there until Thurs AM....Thursday do the Football Hall of Fame and visit a friend from College who lives in Akron for afternoon/dinner!

Thurs PM drive to Cleveland and stay there until Sat....Friday do the R/Roll Hall of Fame and Indians game at night.....

 

[angierae]

I live two hours from Cedar Point and I wouldn't step foot in that park on a weekend in the summer, so I'm glad to see you're going during the week. I think I've read that Tuesdays is the best day to go. (We tend to take an early spring trip (late May, early June) before the crowds get big, and then stay away the rest of the year.)

I'll repeat what others have said about GWL - we went when DD was 10 or 11 and she was okay but I was bored to death. The lazy river was nice but there wasn't any actual pool for me to hang out in, just the three foot "basketball pool" and I got bored really quickly and wished there were more for me to do while she was playing. Kalahari is supposed to be much better, and if we go again that's where we'll stay.

I've actually never stayed "onsite" at Cedar Point but I've avoided going when it was crowded. - last year we went for "Halloweekends" and it was so crowded I will never, ever go back in the fall again. (My niece talked us into going with her.)

We're actually considering skipping this year due to saving for Disney but it's going to break my heart because I really, really love coasters.

 

[njmomboys2]

To be honest, we are not planning on spending a huge amount of time at the GWL water parks. It would probably just be Monday when we arrive. We are just looking at that because the cost for the room isn't bad..and at least we know the resort and rooms tend to be clean.

Plus they have an outdoor pool as well.

I will check out Kalahari though as well.

 

[ADisneyQueen]

We just stayed at Embassy suites downtown Cleveland for a cheer competition. Wonderful 1 BR suites- they are huge- they used to be apartments and you get a mini kitchen. There is a free full breakfast buffet, including a ton of hot foods and servers there to make an omelet for you. We only paid about $110. Also, a nice pool. There restaurant had excellent food, too.

 

[cvjw]

Loved, loved, loved the Kalahari - and I have teen boys. They did not get bored with the attractions at the Kalahari. We stayed in a 2 room suite at the Kalahari, and the rooms reminded me alot of the Animal Kingdom Lodge at Disney. They were so nice. We spent 2 1/2 days at CP, but we went right after Memorial Day weekend, so the parks were pretty quiet. If I were going at a more busy time, I would plan more time at the parks. My boys are coaster fanatics, and they wanted to ride every coaster multiple times. It took us our whole trip to accomplish that goal. We are in Atlanta, so it isn't like we will be visiting CP every year, so we wanted to make sure that we didn't miss anything.

I would not recommend Castaway Cay. We spent one night there in a suite during the same trip, just to have early access privileges to CP. It was a nightmare, so rundown. It was very hard moving from the Kalahari to Castaway Cay. Also, their indoor waterpark was a joke after enjoying Kalahari's indoor waterpark.

 

[DZNEE4US]

Thank you for deciding to vacation in lovely Ohio!! I hope you have a nice trip and that you meet lots of friendly people. Thankfully the long hard winter is behind us, and you can see the best weather we have to offer.

 

[Bearvet]

Here is my post from last year:

Last year DH took our 3 teenage boys to Cedar Point since they're all roller coaster junkies. I stayed home and had some girlfriend time! I bought tickets early and the 2nd day was free, so they planned to go for 2 days.

After much research, I booked the cheapest room at the Breakers - it includes free parking and you can get into the park 1 hour early on both your check-in and check-out day (this perk was worth every penny!).

They got in early and rode as many big coasters as possible in the first hour (maybe 3 or 4) and then the wall of people entered the park! They had much longer lines the rest of the day and went back to the hotel to rest (you simply walk in and out a back entrance!). They went back at night and had the ultimate coaster experience - riding Millenium Force at 10PM (front row) - DH says it's the most exciting ride he's ever had!

They went back early the second morning and finished up by mid-afternoon. DFIL lives in Cleveland, so they stayed with him the night before and the night after. Maybe you could do less expensive hotels those nights, but I highly recommend at least 1 night at the Breakers. DH and the boys are still singing my praises for that one!

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

This Best Western which is south of Cedar Point is a suite hotel. It is also not that far from Kalahari if you want to get a day pass and check out the water park. This hotel is about 5 - 6 years old. I recommend eating at Danny Boys which is not far from this hotel on the same side of the street they have great pizza and other entree's.

http://book.bestwestern.com/bestwestern/priceAvail.do?stdRateFlag=false

Also CP offers a package deal for visiting both CP and Rock and Roll hall of fame. Take a look it is the on listed as Rock and Ride

http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/admission/tickets/deals.cfm

 

[Anne34]

We've stayed at Breakers Express and Sandcastle suites. The breakers is ok, but very loud -- holiday inn express type property just outside the gates. Sandcastle suites we've stayed at twice & they are on property. The suites are not fancy, but fine for our family since we spent most of the day in the park. It was nice to be able to walk back to the hotel with my younger daughter when she didn't want to do as many coasters as the others. It shouldn't be too expensive during the week. It's definitely cheaper than the Kalahari. Kalahari is really nice, but you really won't have waterpark time if you are spending it all at Cedar Point.

 

[kydisneyfans]

To save a few more bucks, you can get Pro Football Hall of Fame admission on Groupon for $10 a person, but it ends real soon.Look under Akron/Canton.

We actually stopped going to Cedar Point due to overpriced rundown accomodations. Kalahari is nice, but who wants to pay $250 to sleep to attend an amusement park? Kalahari is an attraction in itself. You might just want to stay in Cleveland throughout, we used to live in Canton and I highly doubt Cleveland to Cedar Point is anywhere near 2 hours.

Figure an hour from DT Cleveland to Canton to the HOF, it's right off I77-45 minutes is doable without traffic. We visited last year and it's about a 3 hour tour. There isn't much else to do in Canton, Amish Country is to the SW and is a nice relaxing area, but the 11 and 16 year olds would be bored.

 

[Cindy B]

To save a few more bucks, you can get Pro Football Hall of Fame admission on Groupon for $10 a person, but it ends real soon.Look under Akron/Canton.

We actually stopped going to Cedar Point due to overpriced rundown accomodations. Kalahari is nice, but who wants to pay $250 to sleep to attend an amusement park? Kalahari is an attraction in itself. You might just want to stay in Cleveland throughout, we used to live in Canton and I highly doubt Cleveland to Cedar Point is anywhere near 2 hours.

Figure an hour from DT Cleveland to Canton to the HOF, it's right off I77-45 minutes is doable without traffic. We visited last year and it's about a 3 hour tour. There isn't much else to do in Canton, Amish Country is to the SW and is a nice relaxing area, but the 11 and 16 year olds would be bored.

As for time, google mapped my old address in University Heights to Cedar Point Blvd, Sandusky OH..

three different routes ranging in time from 1 hour 28 minutes to 1 hour 40 minutes.. plus traffic, so 2 hours gives you some traffic wiggle room

Using my old Shaker Heights address it was 1 hour 19 minutes

Using a Chagrin Falls address is one hour 35 minutes..

Of course if you are on the west side it would be closer.. Westlake OH is only 57 minutes.


It could feasibly take you two hours. I know it did when we lived in University Heights.

 

[gandycat]

We've stayed at the Hyatt Place in Independence several times. We've had good experiences despite our car being broken into in the parking lot (not uncommon in most hotel parking lots). There are suites with sleep couches, indoor pool and free breakfast. The AAA rate was $89. It's about 15 min from downtown. If your kids like zoos, The Cleveland Zoo is a great place to visit.

 

[vsimeone]

To save a few more bucks, you can get Pro Football Hall of Fame admission on Groupon for $10 a person, but it ends real soon.Look under Akron/Canton.

We actually stopped going to Cedar Point due to overpriced rundown accomodations. Kalahari is nice, but who wants to pay $250 to sleep to attend an amusement park? Kalahari is an attraction in itself. You might just want to stay in Cleveland throughout, we used to live in Canton and I highly doubt Cleveland to Cedar Point is anywhere near 2 hours.

Figure an hour from DT Cleveland to Canton to the HOF, it's right off I77-45 minutes is doable without traffic. We visited last year and it's about a 3 hour tour. There isn't much else to do in Canton, Amish Country is to the SW and is a nice relaxing area, but the 11 and 16 year olds would be bored.

I live 5 minutes from the PFHOF. What time of year are you coming? I would suggest NOT coming during the ProFootball HOF Festival in August. This area is a madhouse and hotel rooms that are typically $30 a night go for about $150 during that time. I agree to get the Groupon. That's a great price. Take some time to explore the park system that is adjacent to the HOF. Pack a picnic or get lunch at Woody's Rootbeer Stand. Their homemade rootbeer is to die for!!!

If you don't mind a little walk (it's about 12-15 city blocks or so) you can walk to the McKinley Monument from the HOF through the parks. There is a museum on the grounds of the monument that is reasonably priced as well.

Enjoy your stay in our town and if you have any questions, I'd be more than happy to help!