Researching for First Time Visitor

Can anyone tell me where I might find a source for info on Cedar Point? We would like to plan a visit this summer with our grandchildren and we are total newbies. We have no clue about the park itself, lodging, food, parking, etc. I was hoping to find a book like Birnbaums (for Disney), or something like Touring Plans. Is there a source or website you can recommend? TIA

The people here are about as knowledgeable as any about CP. Having said that, it's probably best to ask specific questions. Many years ago, people would write long advice posts and trip reports, but not so much in recent years.

As far as lodging, there are about 100 chain hotels in the Sandusky area and the majority of them are not too great. If money is not an issue and this is a once every several years or once in a lifetime kind of trip, stay at Hotel Breakers. The place is fantastic after the remodeling and the convenience of being literally on the peninsula with the ability to walk right into the park or back to the room to rest are nice - especially if your grandkids are of the age where they can remain in the park on their own and you could relax by the pool with a drink from the Surf Lounge or Starbucks. Also, if you stay at any CP property (even Breakers Express which is more of a "value" hotel), you can get into the park an hour early and knock out a couple of the more popular rides. There are also discounted tickets available through the CP hotels. which usually represent about the best ticket value you can get outside of a season pass (might be worth it to go that route if you're staying more than three days).

As far as food, there are a couple of halfway decent options in Hotel Breakers (TGI Fridays and Tomo as well as Perkins for breakfast). There is also Famous Daves right outside the gate in the CP Marina. All of these have prices that are slightly higher than they'd be anywhere else, but not horrible. In town, one option a lot of people like is Chet and Matt's Pizza on Strub Road. I also enjoy Quaker Steak and Lube which is owned by Cedar point and located at the end of the causeway. Inside the park, food is rather "meh" if you ask me and overpriced for what you get. You'd probably do well to have a good breakfast in you before going to the park and then get a snack (fries at Happy Friar or Hot Potato are good but expensive) sometime during the day and then leave briefly at dinner time to get a good meal. If you don't want to take the time to leave and return, Panda Express is in the park if you like that and is not a half bad value.

Is the date that your going flexible or do you have to go during peak summer months? If you can go during May or even June, the crowds will be less and you may not need Fastlane if you're staying for two or three days. CP is a rather large amusement park in terms of both land area and rides that you'll want to experience. Having said that, some of the live entertainment shows like Luminosity don't start until early June so if you go in May or at the end of August, you may miss them. Crowds are heaviest any Saturday and in general from late June through the second or third week of August. Sundays seem to be the lightest attended day of the week.

Rides you likely won't want to miss include Valravn, Millennium Force, Top Thrill Dragster, Maverick, Magnum, Raptor, Gatekeeper, and Rougarou. The second tier would probably include Blue Streak, Gemini, Maxair, and Skyhawk. There are dozens of other rides that are fun as well and often have shorter waits.

To maximize your time, I suggest doing one of the big rides first - getting to the gate a bit early and going straight there when you get in and also doing one of them last. Hop in line just a few minutes before closing time. As long as you're in line by the time they close the entrance, they'll cycle you through. Millennium, Dragster, and Maverick often have a decent line of people still at closing time. Dragster is a very unreliable ride. If it's running and doesn't have a huge line, knock it out so you don't miss your chance. It's been known to break for multiple days or even weeks at a time.

That's all I've got for now, but if I've created other questions or if you have anything more specific, I'll try to check back.

Also, this walkthrough might be helpful to get an idea of what the park is like.

The trip report section on The PointBuzz forum may help.

The CPFoodBlog has a lot of info on the food, prices and food events at the park and he keeps it updated. He even has some tips on there. http://cpfoodblog.com

We have only stayed at the Hotel Breakers- we pay for the convenience of being a short walk to our room and love the hotel since its been updated last year.
Have fun planning and ask any questions you have!

Thank you!

Usually the people here are knowledgeable about most, if not all, information about the park. I can't help you with lodging, but I can with just about everyone else. You can ask me questions here, and I'll answer to the best of my ability. Many others would probably do the same. I'm not quite sure if there is much for self research, but speaking with people that know the ins and outs of the park are probably better, anyway.