Lodge in park or not?

We are coming in the next week or two with the family, after an absence of years.  Is it worth the extra money to stay in the park resorts vs going cheaper with out-of-park ones?  If so, is the Cleveland Road the place to look, or should I also look at Milan since we'd have to drive a short distance in anyway.  Your top choices?  Thank you.

I prefer the Breakers over off-site lodging (despite the increased cost) for several reasons:

1) I'm staying multiple days on my vacation.  Vacation means that I shouldn't have to get in the car.

2) No traffic - At the end of a long day, the LAST thing that I want to do is sit in traffic on the causeway. 

3) I don't have to carry anything with me in the parks other than a wallet and maybe a drink bottle.  If I need anything, -- a change of clothes after SRF or TC comes to mind -- I can get to my room in less than 15 minutes from anywhere in the park.

4) If I want a break during the day (14 hours is a long day), I can go take a rest (even a nap) in my air-conditioned room.

5) With my daughter being a little older now, I can let her run the park with her friends/cousins and meet back up with her at the end of the day without fighting the crowds.  We just meet back up at the hotel.

I've stayed off-site (the first night of my trip), but only because I usually arrive in Sandusky at around midnight.  Once I'm on CP property, the convenience of not having to leave until the end of the trip is well worth the added expense.

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Duane Cahill
Cedar Point - One small part of a whole big life.

I think Duane covered the reasons pretty much.....

We dont even consider anywhere else.  If we cant stay on the point, we don't go.

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Next trip to CP on August 25th - 26th!

I am very excited cuz Aug 23-25 will be my first time staying at a CP resort (Breakers) and I am ready to explore all the paths, take tons of pics (and then run off to my room to leave the camera) and this way I will be guranteed to get there on time (My mom is an anti morning person... when we stay off the point, she doesnt want to leave until 10:00. Now she can just sleep in while we leave) For all the reasons DBCahill said, I think it's worth it to stay.

I agree. Stay at the Breakers. It's so much easier then the alterative. And I think it's worth it just for the ambiance. 

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Without upstops, airtime would have a whole new meaning!

Absolutely, go for Breakers. Then you're never feeling rushed -- either to beat the traffic to get into the park or beat the traffic getting out of the parking lot. You will be much more relaxed and enjoy the trip that much more, and it will give you the time to experience that much more of Cedar Point -- My favorite would have to be the romantic after-closing walk along the beach in front of Breakers or down toward Sandcastle Suites to see the turnaround on Magnum. You don't really have the ability to do that if you're not staying there!

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PO!NT OF VIEW - A Different Look at Roller Coasters
http://www.crosswinds.net/~justmayntz/thrills/

If you decide to go to CP for the fireworks next year be sure that you are staying at the Breakers that night too, if not be prepared to be stuck in the parking lot for quite awhile, expecially if you are in the Soak City lot, then bring your pillow. I made the mistake of not staying at the hotel this 4th of July...never ever make that mistake again! But back to the subject, it is alot better to stay on-site despite the extra cost, as mentioned above, after a hot day you can believe how good it feels to walk into a nice cold room! Its a really nice hotel too!
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2001 MF Count: 0
Favs:
1. Iron Dragon
2. Raptor
3. Gemini
4. Magnum
5. Demon Drop

*** This post was edited by jaredb12 on 8/8/2001. ***

We stayed at Sandcastle last year and it is very nice as well, although you need to take a shuttle to and from the parks. We never had too long of a wait for the shuttle, and we went there in mid-July.

My favorite would have to be the romantic after-closing walk along the beach in front of Breakers or down toward Sandcastle Suites to see the turnaround on Magnum. You don't really have the ability to do that if you're not staying there!

Actually, my wife and I take that walk all the time without staying on property :)

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VirtualMidway
http://www.virtualmidway.com

*** This post was edited by Gemini on 8/9/2001. ***

Stay on a CP property, it is well worth it!

We stayed at Sandcastle last year and it is very nice as well, although you need to take a shuttle to and from the parks. We never had too long of a wait for the shuttle, and we went there in mid-July.

I stayed at Sandcastle Suites once and unless you want to go to the Marina Entrance you can always walk to the resort gate near Disaster Transport from the hotel, in fact, all 3 resort areas offer direct access to this walkway (it goes right along the beach, thus making it more enjoyable). The only time you'll need a shuttle is if you want to go through either the Marina Entrance, or the Main Gate. Soak City, the resort gate, and the Magnum entrance are all within walking distance from Sandcastle.

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