worth a ~7 hour drive this year?

If you had to drive about 7 hours to go to CP this year, would you make the trip?

We have gold passes so admission cost isn't an issue, but we do wonder if it is worth the hassle drive and cost of the hotel and the cost of someone to take care of our dogs while we are away. If we go, we'd probably go the weekend of Aug 21-23 or Aug 28-30, or possibly a weekend in the fall if open. We have a 9 year old and 4 year old. I grew up going to CP multiple times every summer from birth to age 20, but I haven't been back since 2014.

Would you consider it worth it in my situation? Or would you wait until next year?

Just depends what you're hoping to get out of it. I live about 5.25 hours away from the park, and I made the trip a few weeks ago. For me, it was just great to be back in the park with my friends. We went in with very low expectations, and ended up spending basically the entire day on Saturday at the beach. We got one ride on MF that morning, and that was our only ride that day. But we got some rides in on Friday evening and Sunday morning, and overall it was an awesome time.

From the sound of it, more rides are opening up and the crowds are still very light, so it's potentially a good time to get some rides in. But this is all contingent on your comfort level in regards to the pandemic. There is certainly some level of risk with staying in a hotel, eating food prepared by someone else, and being around other people in general. But I think there are some things you can do to mitigate those risks as well.

If crowds are low and weather is good, it could be worth it to me, but I'm not sure my husband will be convinced. Then again, he didn't go to CP growing up so there's no nostalgia factor for him. I don't think we'd be happy with just having beach time. I guess we don't need to make any decisions right now and can see how things play in out in the next couple weeks.

If you don't go, how much and for how long will you be regretting that decision.

Everybody (?) is expecting the situation to improve for 2021, what if it gets worse. No I'm not predicting it will be worse just nobody knows the future.

I agree with Dvo, it depends on what you expect. The good thing is that passes are good through next year. So not going, you are not out anything.

I know for me, I hate masks with a passion! So I would be miserable the whole time there! Hanging with friends there is really what CP means to me. It's been 5 years since my last visit and I really miss my CP family. I am glad so many others are getting out and enjoying parks and the things they love to do at a time when the world has been turned upside down. Hopefully by the time I am in a position to return to parks and ride coasters, things will be back to normal.

I would go. I live much closer than you, but it seems like you really enjoy the park as well. As others have said, there's something about being there and even just walking around and grabbing a bite to eat that soothes my soul. If everything goes back to "normal" next year, it will probably be crazy with all of the gold passes they sold

I'd be very cautious booking a trip from that far away. The way they have been changing procedures and their schedule, something could change quickly. I would either book a stay on site or something that's not pay in advance that way if you book something and the park changes their schedule and ends up being closed on a day you book, you can either reschedule or cancel without penalty. Labor Day weekend would seem like a safe bet.