How Many Times Per Season?

been for a total of 5 days so far, probably around 10 more days before the season is over.

Wow Factory81, for someone who gets to the Point so often how come you won't be back until Halloweekends?

I have Sundays off and I've been going tubing down the Muskegon river the last two sundays. And its nice to actually "enjoy" my Sunday on the beach in Grand Haven here.

We have pretty big 4th of july events and Coast Guard Festival is underway now in the Grand Haven area.

Cedar Point you wake up at 3 in the morning, you don't get back until 3-4 in the morning the next day. Your Sunday is totally gone. Your Saturday night is crippled by the fact you have to wake up at 3 A.M.
Gas costs us a good $80-100 I guess I would say, and by the time I get the car home it already needs a car wash, and I wash it before I go to CP anyways. I also tend to spend $70 on food between the girl and I at TGI Fridays and usually an after park visit to Steak & Shake.

Finding people to car pool makes going more appealing. In August Nine Inch Nails are playing in Detroit and I kind of want to see them maybe (dunno yet). So thats one Saturday can't go. Than a bunch of DJ's I've been wanting to see are popping up in Chicago right when Halloweekends starts so I am waging the war of nights out at the club vs. Cedar Point. Both of which are expensive, but you can get tired of both.

We don't want to get too burned out on coasters offered at CP. I wouldn't mind trying other big coasters like Raging Bull in Chicago. But we stayed 1 week at the point last August and we spent the majority of the time in line waiting, and we find our time much better spent riding rather than waiting. So going in the middle of the summer starts to get pointless as you fight the crowds, and get less rides in for your dollar.

Distance + gas + crowds + fun things to do around Grand Haven makes us less interested in going.
Whats the point in driving 4.5 hours one way to stand in line for 1 hour per ride at best? (Except Maxair, Power Tower and a few other notoriously short lines).Basically I say money is better spent going to the park when its not busy, and you can get more rides in.

I am probably nearing 30 days of being at the point and after a while...well Magnum just loses some of its fun. Maverick is nice and fun but I will not wait over an hour for it. TTD is a great one trick pony but I will not wait over an hour for it. Millennium Force is a nice coaster but same thing..

Michigans Adventure is also 35 minutes or so away from us so we can get our coaster fix on Shivering Timbers for air time if we need it. Haven't even got on Thunderhawk yet.

Citing cost and practicality like I said I would rather go for a 6-12 halloweekends night when it is dead and get more rides in those 6 hours (or we get let in at 5 being Platinum Passers?). But yeah I would rather go than.

Plus you tend to find more CP nuts at the park during off season. For example the loading docks might look full as hell but its really everyone waiting for the front row on TTD or Magnum and every other row is maybe a 2-3 car wait if that and no one moves because they are sheep standing in front of the long line.

But yeah coaster burn out is a problem.......go too much and you get used to all the elements and its just not as fun.
After 1 week at the point we were ready to leave......
Than you look at how much you spent on gasoline and your like I could have bought......all kinds of junk including a trip to Orlando which my girlfriend has wanted.

I would rather ride Power Tower than Wicked Twister because WT just doesn't excite me that much.

But yeah our Sundays became dedicated to CP. None of our friends were really in to coasters and the hobby became excessive in their eyes. It sucks to work Friday and Saturday, then go to bed early Saturday to wake up 3 A.M Sunday "waste your Sunday away" in Sandusky, and come back home at 4 A.M to get to bed and wake up, wash the car, and head back to work.

The pavement gets downright annoying even...who paints the Gemini midway black? It can just get disgustingly hot in the summer, and then tho trek across black pavement. Give me a break.

I've also got on some rides and smelt the head rests which kind of disgusts me thinking of some of the people sweating like crazy and then riding in the ride getting sweat everywhere. Making it smell like body odor. I've already considered bringing purrell just for the lines and all the germs you pick up there, but hell I want to wipe the restraint down before I get in to it.

Anything with OTSR's can get a little funky smelling ,I think Maxair is the worst out of them all.

I've been 4 times to CP, Wonderland once, and Kings Island once. I'll be going to Wonderland again Saturday on my way home from a cottage with friends. I'd like to get to CP once more before the summer is over. I plan to go on September 7 also. Throw in Closing Weekend and one other Sunday during Halloweekends and I'll be happy.

I typically go for about 4 "weekends" worth of 3-4 days each per year, usually in May and June and 1 Halloweekend; so that's about 12-15 times I use my Platinum Pass. Being that I drive so far, I want to enjoy my time in the park and relax so I stay a couple nights at a nice cheap hotel on Cleveland Rd since staying the night would cost just the same as a day trip in comparison to gas spent. Also, by the time I'm finished with a weekend, I'm sick of CP and ready to go home so that helps reduce my 'itching' to visit frequently.

I agree with a lot of Factory81's points about distance and it not being worth driving so far in the summer to just stand in line. I'm not a very good coaster enthusiast because I live by a rule that goes something like 'no ride in the world is worth more than 45 minutes in line', even if it's a new 500 ft tall launched flyer. I value my short time on this Earth (I'm not sick or anything) and wasting it in a line is really silly in my opinion. I'll just bend to the park's wishes and go when they say they're not as attended as opposed to when the weather is actually nice and it's prime season.

Also, what's the deal with that black Gemini midway anyway? I've always wondered whey they used asphalt there and white concrete everywhere else. It's torture on sunny days to walk on that path. It also sucks since a lot of my favorite rides are along that midway.

Germs are pretty disgusting when you think about it too. I wash my hands quite often when I visit just because I know that I have touched restraint handles that hundreds of people have touched this year and who knows what orifices/places their hands have been touching.

But still, CP is my favorite amusement park by far and I'll keep coming my average 15 days a year God willing.

7 last year. This year I'm planning on 13.

factory81 said:
after a while...well Magnum just loses some of its fun.

I think Magnum Dan would have to disagree with you on that. :)

Up until a few years ago, I had becomed bored with Magnum. But now that there are so many other coasters to ride in a day, it's back to being my favorite coaster. just glad the lines aren't two hours long like they were back in the day.

Went twice this year. Will prolly go 5 times altogether.

I see people with their hand down the front of their pants often at CP. It really happens a lot. Just take a look around....

I diversify my air time portfolio with the best amount of rides in the best period of time....or try to.

It's not Cedar Points fault that people smell. But I think if ride ops do not do a like every 3 hour or 4 hour sanitary wipe down of the restraints, it would make them smell a lot better probably (the restraints).

Gas went down the $3.63 here....I don't know what the hell happened. It's really amazing and it makes me want to go to the point.

There is this carnival in town with a mini-chump drop tower, and a Maxair wannabe but....don't worry CP.. I am not riding any of them.

Sweat on the seats and restraints doesn't really bother me that much. What bothers me is standing in an hour and half line, while being roasted from the sun and surrounded by stinky sweaty guests. That is enough to make you sick. It's called deodorant people. Don't be ashamed to use it. I even re-apply it while I'm at CP, if I need to.

Well last year it was two trips, one in May, the other in Aug. This year we went in May, the second will be next month Aug, and a third will be in Oct.

2006 - 16 times

2007 - 23 times

2008 ... - so far 12 times, but I've been taking classes at Kent over the summer so my time is restricted. But I'll be working at CP during Halloweekends; so does that count of times going, b/c technically I'll be going to the park to ride rides and working.... I don't think it counts, but I wonder if I can scan my pass anyway and obtain the count.

Anyone else notice at the entrance when you scan your pass that your picture and the # of times you've been to the park shows up on the monitor. Just in case you lose count, just take a quick glance at the monitor.

What will be your job for Halloweekends?

^ - check his signature.

Ah, thanks John. :)

I fly up from Texas at least three times per season and stay for about a week each time. :)

I used to make about 4 trips a year for 2-3 days at a time... (8.5 hours each way from Illinois...) in the past few years though, with gas prices rising, and with just deciding to do other things with my vacation time, I'm down to 1 trip a year, in fact this year and last year I only got 1 day each trip, while I happened to be in Ohio for other things... kind of a bummer, but otherwise I wouldn't have made it to alaska or tokyo...

ladyjerrico said:
We'll probably be going about 10 times this season. We went about 5 already in May and early June, we'll probably hit most of Halloweekends because I hate crowds and hot weather in the summer.

Next trip, Sept. 7th.

You hate crowds, so you're going during Halloweekends? Yeah, good luck with that.

Last year we made it to Cedar Point about 15 times plus a trip to KI. This year we have been only once, everytime we plan on going something comes up that we have to do instead. Hopefully we are taking our daughter back Labor Day weekend, we will definately be there closing weekend as it is tradition. I'm hoping for a couple more days here and there, but with a husband on third shift it isn't always easy.

Drose, I think she probably goes on Fridays....