My 2007 trip [advises/tips]

So... me, my gf and four friends are going to have the best time EVER (and I hope some of you can help us get that) :-)

I've been planning this trip for some time now, and I would like some advise on a couple of things. It'll be my second visit to the greatest place on earth, and I'm very excited about this trip. We're going to spend a total of 10 days in the states (May 29th - June 7th) and we're on a fairly tight budget. The reason I picked that timeframe, is because of the longer opening hours, and the obvious "pre-highseason" periode. We all have our flight tickets, but I still
haven't made reservations for hotel(s) and our rental minivan. Our schedule looks like this:

Tue 05/29: Arrival Sandusky at approx. 17:00. Check in at hotel/motel. Going to get our Maxx Passes w/Joe Cool. Have a good night sleep.
Wed 05/30: Spend the day at Cedar Point
Thu 05/31: Spend the day at Cedar Point
Fri 06/01: Spend the day at Cedar Point
Sat 06/02: Check out at hotel early. Driving down to PKI. Check in at new hotel. Spend the day at PKI.
Sun 06/03: Driving to Holiday World. Spend the day at the park. Driving back to hotel at PKI in the evening.
Mon 06/04: Maybe spend some time at PKI, before checking out of hotel, heading back up to Sandusky and Cedar Point (check in at original hotel).
Tue 06/05: Cedar Point / Sandusky area (shopping etc.)
Wed 06/06: Driving to Niagara Falls (is it worth the 4½ hour trip each way?). Hitting Geauga Lake on the return trip.
Thu 06/07: Spend the day at Cedar Point, before heading to DTW for a late flight home.

Feel free to comment, if you like.

Here are some things, where I would like some advises/tips:

1) Hotel / Motel (Sandusky). In '05 my gf and I stayed at the Best Budget Inn (South), and we will not make that same mistake again. I've been reading some nice things, here on PB and other places, about Maples Motel (nice and low rates). We just want it clean and nice, that's all. I have been reading about some noisy trains at night, though. Is it that bad? Microtel (Huron) also sounds nice. What do you guys think (key words; clean & low rates).

2) Breakfast. On our last trip, we bought some bread, ham & cheese etc. at the Wal-Mart, and had our breakfast in the big "picnic-buildings" behind the seasonpass center. Very nice, but is there any really good places to get breakfast in Sandusky otherwise?

I've intentionally placed the weekdays at Cedar Point, but how crowded do you expect it to be during that periode (queue time for MF, TTD etc.)?

Any other things, that I should take into consideration?

Thanks! :)

PS. I apologize for any spelling/grammar errors.
*** Edited 2/22/2007 7:37:09 AM UTC by Paradroid[DK]***

2) Bob Evans, in my opinion, is a pretty good place to get breakfast, though it seems to get fairly busy most days.

EDIT: Link added.
*** Edited 2/20/2007 11:51:34 AM UTC by djDaemon***

Im old fashion and when my family and I stayed a weekend at the Point, we had breakfast at Cracker Barrel on 250 and I must say it was delicious.

edit:: I meant Cracker Barrel *** Edited 2/20/2007 3:45:49 PM UTC by TTD 120mph***

I don't believe Old Country Buffet is open any longer.

-Tambo

1) The maples is a great place to stay. the rooms are clean and it's a close drive to the park. You should look into weather or not you can put a parking pass on a rental car. It would save you a few bucks over all.
2) i agree with dj bob evans rocks!
3) you can expect the lines to be around 30 mins maximum for the big ones.

That looks like a pretty aggressive schedule, at least for the last few days. Nice to see you're adding Holiday World into the mix.

Here are a few things you might want to consider.

Rather than driving down to KI on Saturday morning 6/2, you might want to drive down on Friday night since you've already been at CP for 2 1/2 days by then. You can then enjoy KI for the full day on Saturday.

Also, remember that Holiday World is on Central Time. While that will be nice to gain that hour going on Sunday morning, you'll lose that hour going back to KI on Sunday night. Maybe stay around HW on Sun night, and just drive back to CP on Monday, skip the extra time at KI.

Whatever you decide to do, have a great trip!

^ You have some good points there Mark, I´ll probably use that layout instead. Yes, I just had to fit HW into the schedule - I always wanted to ride The Legend and Raven, and with The Voyage, I just couldn't resist.

Thanks everyone for the info. Very helpful. :-)

The only thing I would add is, you might want to allow a little more time at Niagara Falls (not that I would want to make anybody spend less time at the Point). It's just that, if you've never been, the Falls are truly amazing. You can easily spend two or even three days just checking out the attractions there. If possible, try to get over to the Canadian side. Especially worth checking out are the butterfly conservancy, the bird house, and Clifton Hill (the third most bizarre tourist area in North America, after Orlando and Las Vegas).

With all those weekdays in Sandusky, you'll have plenty of time to get all the riding you want in. Hope you have a great trip!

I suggest Motel 6, 250 @ 80/90 Its a good clean inexpensive place to stay. I have stayed there a few times before, its nice. And just maybe a 15 min drive to the park. (419)-499-8001 is their number if you want to look into it further. I will also be in the park on May 29th and 30th. Hope to run into you. :)

The drive to KI is a tricky one. Friday night traffic on I-71 is a NIGHTMARE in the summer. I wouldn't recommend that to anyone - much less someone from overseas. While Saturday morning is going to be less crowded, Mark is right about your schedule. That's a LONG drive, so you'll lose a lot of your day driving. Another thought would be driving halfway and staying at a cheapy hotel on the way. Might save some money and gain some sleep? I dunno - just a thought.

Niagara Falls is totally worth the drive. Its an amazing site. But, keep in mind the real beauty lies on the Canadian side. Although the beautiful falls are on the US side, the VIEW is from the Canadian border. So, I'd HIGHLY recommend going to the Canadian side and skipping the US side all together. Unless they've done a LOT of changing, the US side is trash compared to the beauty of the Canadian park system. If I'm not mistaken, they have some new "Wonder Wheel" that just opened too. Man I miss my yearly trip up there. sigh.

Definitely sign up for the all-Ohio parking pass since you can get it on your season pass now. That should save you a lot of money.

Sounds like a killer trip!!

halltd said:
Unless they've done a LOT of changing

Didn't you hear? A couple years ago a bill was approved to change the path of the SLSW so that the falls would be on the Canadian side and the view on our side. We made them pay for it because they wouldn't notice the higher taxes anyway.

On your way to Niagra falls, stop in Cleveland at the rock& roll hall of fame. Worth the trip, plus if you saty on 90, you go right through cleveland.

if you want a nice little gem or two for food OUTISDE the park, hit Toft's ice cream on US 6 west of the park. Then there's the Sandusky Fish Co downtown for a great perch sandwich.

You can also drive out to Marblehead Light house which is across the bay from CP and has a GREAT view of CP.

I just stayed at the Microtel in Huron this past weekend. It was nice, nothing fancy but nice and clean. Also the indoor pool and hot tub is open 24 hours which is cool. It is about a 15 min. drive, you can either take RT. 6 or RT. 2 to 250 up to CP. I took RT. 6 to avoid the traffic and it is a bit more scenic.

halltd said:
The drive to KI is a tricky one. Friday night traffic on I-71 is a NIGHTMARE in the summer. I wouldn't recommend that to anyone - much less someone from overseas.

I've been doing this drive on friday nights for years now (I live in Cleveland, and frequently visit family in Cincinnati that lives near KI). I-71 south is always a pretty smooth drive for me unless I end up in Columbus at rush hour. I usually try to time it so I hit Columbus around 7pm...I avoid most of the traffic that way, and I'm in Cincinnati by 8:30. If you do end up in Columbus during rush hour, however, well then that's pretty much a nightmare and I would avoid it at all costs. If I were you, I'd go ahead and leave CP Friday evening (no earlier than 5pm) so I could spend the whole day Saturday at KI.

I like Microtel also. The indoor pool is nice and the rooms are always clean. The price isn't bad either and sometimes they put coupons online for their rooms. Plus you get to drive the beautiful Chausee into the park.

Go to Jolly Donut on 250 for breakfast! It's super cheap and amazingly delicious. Plus you can pick up some donuts for later.

Thank you all for the nice tips, they will definately make our trip better. I never realized there was so much to do and see around Niagara Falls. Maybe we will stay there overnight after all. Thanks again :)

If you die on a coaster at CP you are greeted in Heaven by 75 CP virgins.

Right?

If you want a nice trip, but take the longer way down, drive down US-250 to OH-13 south and get down to Mansfield, OH. There's a place there called Carusel Magic the build NEW and restors old wooden carusels. There's a tour there that starts every hours and it's $4 a person. It's a WAY cool place to see everything from a raw blank to the paint of the horses.

Why not consider sharing a LHP cabin? It would be about the same or cheaper than 2 or three motel rooms, you won't have to pay to park at CP the days you rent the cabin and you can stock the kitchen with food for all your meals to save even more. After staying at LHP for the first time last season, I'm hooked. It was the best.

True. You can hit Meijer, Kroger, or Aldi and get a week's worth of food for less than what you'd pay eating out for one day for 6 of you. As for locations, Meijer (similar to a Wal-Mart Supercenter) is on US 250 by Great Wolf lodge. Aldi & Kroger are on Milan Road. Grab a cheap grill & a few bags of charcoal, and you come out ahead AND have more money for gas & souiviners. (Plenty of those at CP!)