a bunch of questions about my trip to cp. (hotel ?, ride ?, etc..)

I plan to take a trip to CP Aug 11-13 with 3 of my friends. We are about 7 hours from CP, so we plan to leave at 2 AM on Aug 11 (mon), go to CP that day, stay overnight at a hotel, go to CP the on Tues, stay overnight again, and then leave on Wed. We knew that we would be tired after the park so that is why we decided to stay the extra night, but we don't mind driving early in the morning to save some money.

So here are my questions:
1. I plan to stay at a CP hotel so we can get the ERT. We had a vote between breakers express, breakers, and sandcastle. I didn't include lighthouse point because the reviews I read online all said that they were very dirty and not worth it. We ended up choosing Sandcastle Suites because we like that it included a fridge, microwave, wifi, 2 TVs, and a couch. But from reading some people's thoughts on this forum about Lighthouse point I am starting to second guess my choice in not including it. It is only $1 more than sandcastle so price isn't a problem. So would you guys suggest that we stay at sandcastle suites or lighthouse point? We plan to bring most of our own food since we are trying to keep the cost of the trip as low as possible.

2. Since we don't plan on staying at the hotel on Sunday night, will we still be able to get an ERT pass for monday? We are staying 2 nights so I really hope we can stop into the hotel before 9am and get a pass, and possible check-in.

3. I read some "ride routes" that people suggested for ERT. I was wondering about how many times could we ride dragster during that hour, and what is the best day to ride it, mon or tues? We were really hoping to get a front row seat. Last time I tried for a front row seat it took way too long to get on, so would it be worth it waiting the extra time during ERT? or should we try to get to dragster right at 10AM and get the front row then? Also we plan to do a maverick and mf run for the other ERT day. How many times could we get on those in that hour? We were really hoping twice on maverick then at least once on MF.

4. We were debating on whether we should just go back to the hotel to eat lunch or to eat in the park, but I was thinking that with only 2 days at the park we should try to spend as much time as possible in the park. What are your thoughts?

5. If we should eat lunch in the park where should we eat? Remember we are trying to save some money, but also remember we are 19 year old guys, so we like our food :) Last time I was at CP I loved the midway market, but do you guys think it is worth $16? or could we get a better deal somewhere else?

6. I was planning to buy the 2 for 1 ticket deal from the CP site where you can get 2 tickets for $60. Would it be cheaper to buy tickets from the resort?

7. Can I get a AAA discount for the hotel? If so how do I get it?

If you are bringing your own food, particularly grill-ables, LHP is the way to go. Not sure where you read that it was dirty, but its a cabin. Can't keep bugs out all the time. You should be able to check in and get your resort ID when you get there in the morning, although your cabin may not be ready until 3.

It doesn't take long to get back to LHP from the park, maybe a 5 minute walk from the Magnum gate. Plus a little breather in the middle of the day is worth it. Whatever you do, avoid Midway Market. You'll leave the place feeling violated.

I would stop at your local AAA branch to see about the discount. I've never checked to see if AAA offers a discount or not. I'm guessing not, but they would be able to answer that for you.

If you go to the front desk of the resort you are staying at when you get to the park, they will give you a pass for ERT. And it is cheaper to get those E-tickets you were saying from the website than at the resort, by a few dollars.

TTD is not open during ERT. I would say to go to ride Maverick first, then see how long the line is, and then make your way to Millennium Force. The line for MF is most of the time short during ERT. Then by the time TTD does open at 10, you could try to go to that.

Also I would say to go back at least one time during the day, you will need a break from that long day!

really TTD isn't open? I thought it was because people were even talking about how many times they rode it in that hour.
O well I guess I'll have to plan differently.

If you stay at an on-site hotel, you should definately go back to your room to eat. A mid day break is really nice, especially if it is a hot day. You will feel refreshed and glad that you did it.

Plus the park food isn't that great, and service is slow most of the time. So you will probably enjoy yourself more if you eat out of the park, rather than in.

My sis and I always eat in our car parked at Soak City parking lot. We didn't have the privelage of going back to a hotel room to eat. :)

Have a great trip!!

The extra time on dragster you may be thinking of is the extra hour they had for it a few weeks ago after hours. It broke down and then they rescheduled it for another day. That is the only time you get to ride dragster extra. Plus i think it was just for platinum pass people, which i had. :) You do get extended ride time all days you are there, so if you get there before the park opens on monday, you can get in early (you have to check in first of course) , as well as tuesday, and wednesday morning. And even though you check out, you can still stay parked in the parking lot if you decided to ride some before you leave on wednesday. :) The hotels class your stay time as the day you are coming till the end of the day you leave.

Panda Express near MF is a pretty good price if you like chinese. You get a pile of food for your money.

If you enter at the magnum gate you can hit maverick pretty quick, and then head to MF. The line gets a little long , but not as long as if the general public was there too.

Have fun. :)

Don't know where you read about LHP being dirty, but I've certainly never had a problem. I think it's definately the way to go. It's a nice little cabin, a very short walk from the park and you'll save a ton on food.

^ I have never stayed at LHP, but I have heard that they are cabins which sometimes have bugs. Maybe some tourists decided to stay in them, and didn't know that they were that rugged. So they wrote bad reviews, because there were bugs and such crawling around the place.

They are far from rugged. Rugged is camping in the middle of the Upper Peninsula.. Staying in the cabins at LHP is very modernistic (Minus simple modern day amenities like high speed wifi) and comfortable.

thanks. I think we are going to stay at LHP instead of SS. LHP is only $1 extra! and the only things it really doesn't include that SS does is wifi and maid service. Both would be nice, but the extra room in the cabin is a lot better than those 2.

Can anyone answer my other questions? #5, 6 and 7? Someone suggested panda express, but I'm not that big into asian food which is wierd because I'm part asian. What is wrong with Midway Market? I went there about 3 years ago and I thought it was pretty good. There is a good selection and they have a little of everything, but I don't remeber it that well.

Also what rides are open during ERT? I heard that raptor isn't open, so that really only leaves maverick and MF as coasters that we should really try to hit.

I have yet to ride Maverick since I was there the year before it opened >:( , but I was wondering how is it? I heard they took out the heartline roll which I was really looking forward to.

and one last question. Do you guys think it is worth waiting to get a front row spot on dragster? Last time I went, I went to the front row spot and my parents didn't. 30 min after they got off I was still sitting in line, so I said forget it and rode towards the middle. If you guys think it is worth the extra wait the I would love to try it. I would probably try to get in line right when the line opens so then we can rush to the front. Also I heard that if we are one of the first riders we have a greater chance for a rollback. That would be awesome.

Front seat on Dragster is worth it once. Just do it as last ride of the night.

Raptor is open during ERT, just not sure if it's open right now. I thought I read about being closed right now. Not sure, anyway, someone else can probably shed more light on that. Yes, TTD is worth waiting for the front seat once in a while. Helluva lot more intense. As far as food, you might try Game Day Grille. I've had pretty good luck there. Good food, not too terribly expensive and kind of a cool sports bar atmosphere.

Ben, all cabins are rugged to some extent. More rugged than a nice hotel room. I wouldn't mind a bug here or there. But some people might. So I was just saying that maybe that is why LHP got some bad reviews.

Maverick is awesome ( dragster is still #1 for me though). :) The launch tunnel alone is worth standing in line for. :)

I would definetly try for a early dragster ride if you want a roll back, but i wouldnt wait for the front then, try for the front later. By the time you finally get on, it will be warmed up. :) I would just get in to a seat as fast as you can if you go for it at 10 am.

What a bunch of wussies. A couple spiders or other 'bugs' don't hurt anyone.

While I prefer fancy gentlemen hotel rooms, I don't mind LHP. I can still feel classy lighting cigars with $100 bills.

This is the point where Mr. Scott is supposed to pop in and tell us all how amazing LHP is, and how we shouldn't stay anywhere else.

:(

I think you should stay in the park and eat. Since you are trying to save money, bring your own food and eat on the beach. My family has been doing it for decades. Just pack some sandwich's or whatever you want in a cooler, get your hand stamped and go find a spot to eat out there.

^ - what's the point of dragging a cooler of ice and food over to the park from LHP? There is nowhere at the back of the park to store it during the day, and by the time you get it and walk to the beach, you could be back at the cabin already eating.

well it looks like we are going to stay at LHP, and then try and get onto Dragster right away at 10:00 so we can hopefully get a rollback. If we do get one on Monday then on Tuesday we are going to go for the front row, if we don't get one on Mon, then we are going to try for it again on Tues.

Have fun, and good luck on getting your roll back! :)