Best ride order for this Fri, Sat

Greetings,

I'm going to be driving 550 miles to spend Friday and Saturday at Cedarpoint and I want a plan to try and get on the coasters with small waits in line.

We will be staying at Breakers so we should of course get the 30 minute head start Friday morning. I didn't know this when I planned goin this Friday but they are having a special day for home skooled kids. Anyone know if that is going to pack the park or not?

While it's tempting to run for MF or TTD right at first I'm considering instead hitting the other "good" coasters like Raptor or Magnum at first when they will have no lines at all. Plus I kind of hate the idea of doing the "best" coasters first because then it's all down hill from there :) I'd also kind of like to get back into the rollercoaster feel as it's been almost 4 years since my wife and I rode the Hulk down at IOA.

My plan was to perhaps try and get on TTD or MF around the dinner time hours on Friday... even if we have to wait a couple of hours. Then of course get in line for the other one right before the park closes.

We will also have the nighttime (starlight?) passes for Saturday as well. I know Saturday is supposed to be the worst day for lines but I figure we could probably get 2nd rides on the cool coasters even if we have long waits.

I'd appreciate any suggestions on a good ride order to try. We'd really like to be get a chance to ride all the good coasters at least one time!!

Thanks in advance!!!

I went in May and tried this strategy. We went right to Millennium Force, rode it, and then worked our way back. After MF we hit Mean Streak, Gemini, Magnum, and then headed up front. If you wanted to start with TTD you could do that and then head back. The best is to start with either TTD or MF, then the back of the park, then work your way up because most people will start in the front and then work their way back.

I would've said back to front also. With your get in early from the Breakers, the only rides that are open are Millennium, Dragster, and maXair. I know from experience that that time can be unbelievably valuable (I've gotten 3 dragsters and a MF run by 10:30 before), so I'd recommend starting on Millennium, since it's somewhat in the back already. Also, some general rules of thumb I usually like to give when these topics come up -

• If Raptor, Power Tower, Wicked Twister, or maybe Mantis is over 15-30 minutes, come back later because it'll be shorter. I'm not sure how this'd turn out on the weekend (as far as Mantis is concerned) but that's what I use
• The back [u]will[/u] be deserted in the morning, I guarantee it. Mean Streak, Gemini, et cetera will all be walk on, so if you want those jump on em early
• If you see a short line for Millennium or Top Thrill, jump on it. Take your opportunities
• Remember to have fun. Take a moment and grab an elephant ear or something (I recommend the shop in the front by Disaster Transport ;)). Don't turn it into a business trip with a strict itinerary =P

*** Edited 8/24/2005 2:51:03 AM UTC by GeeForce***

Thanks for the great advice!!! That was good information that the early entry on Friday morning is only for MF, TTD, and Maxair. I think it looks like MF for us!!!

Another quick question... What time should we go to the gate Friday morning to get in the line for early entry? I'm assuming that there will probably be more than my wife and I hitting the park right when it opens!!!

Thanks again everyone!

9 or 9:30 should work for you, just fine.

MrScott

Whoa, slow down. Listen to me for a minute. I usually stay at Breakers and I always take advantage of Early Ride Time, so I know what I'm talking about.

Remember early entry is 9:00, and the general public is let in at 9:30. All the coasters open at 10:00 except MF and TTD, which should open at 9:00.

Go to the Breakers gate, also known as the Beach, or Wicked Twister entrance. The lines there are always shorter than at the Magnum gate(the one on the other side of the hotel), and it's closer to MF. Get there by 8:45. This will give you a decent place in line. If three older women named Virginia, Sue, and Sally are working the gate, the entire line will be in quickly once the National Anthem ends at 9:00. We usually do this, and walk to MF, to get generally on the second train to leave the station. If you sprint, you might make the first train, but whatever...

If you hit MF the first day during ERT, head for TTD the second day. Again I recommend using the Breakers gate. It is a little bit further away, but you'll be there just as fast, since the Magnum gate takes longer to clear, and the line before the TTD gate opens often stretches back to the Midway under the corkscrew, and this is actually closer to the Breakers gate. Trust me, I've gone this way, only to see several people from the Magnum entrance walking down the midway to get in line behind me.

Another option is to ride MF once, then head for TTD. If you're lucky, the TTD wait will be less than one hour. I'd advise against doing TTD then MF, because you won't get on TTD as quickly, and by the time you get off TTD, MF will probably have a huge line.

A good strategy for Mantis is to ride it as early as possible, as the lines can get lengthy in the afternoon. If you do a couple ERT laps on MF and head to neighboring Mantis at 10:00, you'll walk right on. That's what I usually do.

Avoid the Raptor the first half of the day. It doesn't open until 10:00, and it will already have a huge line by then. The waits will be much shorter, possibly even walk-on in the evening.

Most of the other coasters shouldn't have substantial waits. Magnum and Wicked Twister usually don't get over 30 minutes, and are often walk-on before noon. The only other coaster with a long wait might be Disaster Transport which can be over an hour on a hot day, but you're not missing much if you don't go on it. As a last resort, you can ride it after dark, and it should be a walk-on.

As for Maxair, don't use your ERT time for it. The lines look long, but move fast. Just get in line whenever you want. I have found that the end of the queue fence is 15-20 minutes. I've waited in lines that have spilled 100-150 feet onto the midway and waited 30 minutes at most.

Most importantly, have fun!!

I don't know about those strategies....but I always get to the Magnum entrance around 8:20-8:30, then if Dragster is open run straight to that, when you go through the brakerun look at the line, if its more than the ramp going up I advise not getting in line again unless you loved the ride and have to go again. After that go straight to Millennium which should have no more than a 20 minute wait.
It's good to do Dragster first, because it can break down and then you won't ever get to ride it. So you should definitely go to TTD first if it is open on time. If its not, remember you can still get to MF early and have no wait.

Thanks for all the great advice!!!

Has anyone ever been there on the "homeskool" Friday??? I had kind of hoped this coming Friday would be less crowded with most kids back in school but I figured this promotion could swell the numbers up.