A visit to the Point from Australia....

Well I requested off work during that weekend because I always wanna be at Cedar Point all three days of closing week. SO I will be there, maybe we can have a bit of a get together. I hope the park is not very busy for sterlo. My wife and I will be there that weekend so if possible we can meet up to say hi. I would not mind hearing some stories from the down under.

Remington and Cleveland are a 90 degree intersection. :)

No worries Mikeybo. That sounds quite cool. I'll probably be posting a bit closer to my departure date, to keep up with what's happening at CP on the dates I'll be there (translation: to see what rides are closed what's open.. seems like it could be a bit of a lottery for me with Top Thrill Dragster.. hopefully the gods will be shining down on me given I've come from a bazillion miles away! =).. will definitely throw you a line close to the date - would love to catch up and join you in a few rides.

Cheers

Andrew

Just post in the 'Meetings & Gatherings' forum when the date of your arrival nears. I'm sure you'd be able to meet up with a few of us, especially if you are going closing weekend.

If you fly into either Chicago or New York, Amtrack can take you within 3 miles of the park! A cab from there is 6 to 7 dollars.

Man! I guess there are CP fans from all over the world!

A few rides you MUST hit: Mellium force, Magnum, and Dragster!

As for getting to CP from Cleveland, A tip is to take OH Route 2 to Sandusky. You save about $8 US on the toll, plus it's just as fast, if not faster. Just get off at the exits for US 6 or US 250. 6 is faster, plus it runs right by the gate of CP. 250 is so built up and packed it may not be worth it, esoecALLY if you want to max your time in the park.

Your best bet from Akron (CAK) airport would be to take route 8 (the hightway just outside the airport) north. Then merge onto Rt. 77 North. 77 crosses the Ohio Turnpike (Rt 80). Take the turnpike West towards Toledo. I always forget the exit number on the turnpike, but I get off at Rt. 57 North. I take this about a mile, then merge onto Rt 2 West. I avoid the disaster that is Rt. 250, and instead elect for Rye Beach Road off of Rt 2. Then you just follow the signs to the CP causeway. From Akron, that should take about 1.5 hours or a little more since you're probably going to be driving slower than me. :)

From NYC, LGA to CAK on Airtran is definitely your best bet. You won't have to fight with Cleveland traffic either. And, the Akron airport is TINY, so it will be quick to get in and out of. They also have a nice selection of rental cars (or hirecars).

I can't say thanks enough for everyone's help. Will definitely keep active on the pointbuzz site over the next few months, and will hopefully meet some of you if you'll be at CP on the final weekend in October. Really looking forward to it!

halltd - Thanks for your directions. I note you mention that from Akron it would be about 1.5 hours drive.. is that still faster than if I went from Cleveland? Only asking as I notice on the CP website it mentions that CP is about an hour from Cleveland. Although.. given I'll be driving late Friday afternoon (ie, about 5pm, ready for the 6pm evening CP opening) I imagine Cleveland would probably be far worse at that time of day with rush hour traffic?

Andrew

Well, you need to take into consideration the size of the airport and rental car proximity into your time equation. Akron/Canton airport is literally tiny. The rental car desks are right across from the baggage claim, and the rental cars are right outside the door. At Cleveland, you have to take a shuttle to some remote rental car facility, not to mention, it takes forever to get your luggage. So, that extra 30 minutes of drive time would be made up by flying into CAK for sure. And you're right about the traffic. Leaving Cleveland on a Friday night is going to be way worse than leaving Akron. Whenever I go home to visit my family, I fly into Akron. Its just way less of a hassle. You will be amazed, trust me.

Yeah, CAK rules. It's absolutely my favorite airport to fly out of. Sometimes its way more expensive than CLE, though.

Parking is only $8 a day, too.

Actually, Halltd, I-77 is the highway by CAK, not Route 8. You'd simply drive up 77N until you got to the turnpike, and then take the turnpike to 57 in Lorain (edit-actually in Elyria), and hop on Route 2 there.

CAK is a great airport, as long as you can get a jet flight out of there. In my flights from CAK to DTW (Detroit), I've flown on the little propeller planes that seat like 30 people. Two of the worst flights I've ever had. I'd much rather have a jet! I'm sure I'll be going to CP sometime that weekend, if not for most of it, so let me know Andrew. Depending on flight times, there might even be someone who could pick you up at the airport. There's a bunch of us that live around CAK. *** Edited 7/25/2006 5:36:33 PM UTC by Jeff Young***

Actually, the Rt 57 exit of the turnpike is in Elyria, but I won't split hairs. ;)

You know, when I read that, I knew that Lorain didn't sound totally correct, but I couldn't think of anything else. I'll fix it. Thanks for correcting me!

Ok, I guess I've been living outside of Akron for a little too long. I knew that was I-77 and totally forgot. My bad. Thanks for clearing that up. I wouldn't want to be responsible for getting someone lost on their way to CP. :)

BTW, Airtran only flies jets, so he won't have the issue with little planes. *** Edited 7/25/2006 8:28:06 PM UTC by halltd***

Thanks everyone. That's a very very kind offer of a possible lift Jeff! We'll see what happens I suppose. Don't want to put anyone out.. Been browsing flight times from LGA to CAK and looks like there's a flight that gets into CAK at about 4:15pm.. that'd probably be just about perfect timing, but everyone's probably still at work at that point!=) But anyway.. yeah I was originally going to get a hirecar and just drive it from CAK, stay at a hotel at CP and then bring the rental car back.

Thanks halltd for the advice - yes I see your point exactly. Larger airports take far longer. I appreciate that advice. But yeah if people happen to be cruising to CP from the Akron area.. wouldn't say no to a lift! (Be happy to help with fuel costs!) Still, I'll have to actually book a flight into CAK first=) Still haven't organised yet as it's a bit far out. Also still yet to sort out a few details for the overseas leg of my trip!! (Need to put the cart before the horse as they say?=)

Cheers

Andrew

I also live near CAK in North Canton. I drive right past the airport on my way to CP. Be sure to keep in touch here on pbuzz. In fact, you may want to save this thread as a favorite so you'll be able to find it easily when your trip gets closer.

Will do Mark. Cheers for the advice.

Come on October!

Andrew

It's good to here of a foreigner knowing of CP! Sometimes, and in this case, the truly great things come in unexpected, little known places. I hope you enjoy your visit, and get to ride TTD. After all, you only get to go to CP so often (it's your first visit, eh?) so you might as well make it special :)

A tad bit off topic, but does anyone know of a good way to get to CP from the West Bloomfield/Walled Lake/Commerce, MI area?

One thing you have to keep in mind if flying to CAK instead of CLE are the automobile traffic conditions, especially at around 4:00 or 5:00pm. You will go through MUCH more congestion and delays on your way from Akron to CP.

The route takes you through the Southern and Western Cleveland suburbs during the evening rush and you can expect delays on I-77 and I-480 or I-90, depending on how you go.

CLE is on Cleveland's far west side, and the automobile route from CLE to CP will be much more direct, with less congestion during the evening rush.

Also check Google Maps, the driving distance from CLE to Sandusky is 54 miles, the distance from CAK to Sandusky is 99 miles.

If I were making your trip I'd fly into CLE, I think it would be easier and less stressful

If you take Amtrak from NYC Penn Station to Sadusky its about a 12-13 hour train ride (I just did that about a week ago) Its a long ride (leaving NYC at 3pm), but you would arrive in Sandusky at around 5am