[adamb]

For the past couple of years I have thought about taking a trip to Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. I'm quite a fan of rollercoasters and it seems to be the place to be for those (plus I am close to exhausting the UK options) Now that I have the funds to do so I am trying to get the trip in before the end of this season. I figure 3 days in the park will be enough, staying in one of the park hotels to get the extra hour early entrance. Anyone any thoughts or experience on that?

I have come up with a couple of options (days aren't fixed but I'm thinking last week in August):

Option 1:
Mon: Fly to Cleveland, bus/taxi to park
Tues/Wed/Thurs: Cedar Point - Park, rides, coasters!
Fri/Sat/Sun: Do something in Sandusky Cleveland for a couple of days before flight back (need advice on what there is to do if anyone can offer it) I think it would be a bit of a waste of the flight money just to visit the park for 3 days.
Mon: Fly home

Flights: £650
Cedar Point hotel (4 nights M,T,W,T): £300
Park tickets: £70 (cheap with hotel)
Bus/taxis: £50
Sandusky/Cleveland hotel (3 nights F,S,S): £200
Estimated cost: £1000 - £1300 (depending on what I do Fri-Sun)

Could fly back home on Friday to save a bit on hotel since there's nothing I really have planned for Fri-Sun.

Option 2:
Mon: Fly to Newark, Mon night/Tues morning: Greyhound to Sandusky overnight
Tues: Rest day, probably need it after the overnight bus journey but likely end up going to the park once I see it
Wed/Thur/Fri: Cedar Point - Park, rides, coasters! Overnight Greyhound back to Newark on Friday.
Sat/Sun: Play about in New York, some sightseeing, go to 59th Apple Store (even though the cube may not be there )
Mon/Tues: Six Flags Great Adventure - Park, rides, coasters! (mainly for Kingda Ka but that's pretty much exactly the same as Top Thrill Dragster in Cedar Point, just slightly taller and faster)
Wed: Fly home

Flights: £600
Greyhound (return Newark-Sandusky M & F): £100
Cedar Point hotel (3 nights T,W,T): £250
Park tickets (both parks): £150
New York hotel (2 nights S,S): £200
Six Flags hotel (2 nights M,T): £200
Bus/taxis: £100
Estimated cost: ~£1600

I could do 1 day in Six Flags and spend an extra day in New York but may get bored (as I'll be on my own)

Questions
1) Am I insane spending that much for a short break? :/
2) Anything I should check out in Sandusky/ Cleveland for option 1?
3) Anything I should check out in New York for option 2?
4) Any advice on cheap places to stay in New York would be appreciated. I'm used to hostels when traveling in Europe so nothing too fancy needed.
5) Any random advice, Im all ears...

Looking at the price breakdowns above I'm starting to think option 2 makes more sense, its pretty hectic though. Getting this all down somewhere was partly the reason for this post, along with the great advice I know I'll get as well

[RowdyScot]

I don't know Cleveland to suggest anything - that's Yontsey's area. Cedar Point is 45 minutes from my front door, and I have a Platinum Pass. My biggest advice - if there are "must-ride" rides to you, stay a night at one of the Cedar Point hotels. You get into the park an hour earlier at 9AM, and can ride the normal 2+ hour wait rides like Top Thrill Dragster, Maverick, and Millennium Force with very little wait. Also...on Top Thrill, do NOT open your mouth if you are riding in front. You will swallow about 15 bugs.

I'll get back to you before the night is over on this regarding CP itself. I have an "order" to the rides in order to wait the least amount of time. Also, no man should EVER ride the Mantis. Seriously.

EDIT: Hah, you saw the get in an hour free deal. Also, I'll add this - if you'd like a local Novian to go with you and show you the park, gimme a shout. I'm there almost weekly as it is.

[Yontsey]

I'll jump in later tonight or tomorrow morning when I get on my laptop. I'll try and help you out. Too tired right now and I need a drink.

[RowdyScot]

Too tired to say much else at the moment. I'll post back later.

[turtle]

Originally Posted by adamb ... (even though the cube may not be there ) ...

Huh? Link?

On topic though, I'm looking forward to a vacation to Cedar Point too. Some day.

[Robo]

Originally Posted by turtle Huh? Link?

http://www.ifoapplestore.com/db/2011...nue-glass-cube

[adamb]

Thanks guys. I look forward to hearing your expertise.

I was thinking about it last night; I could skip Six Flags and just spend a few days in NY what with it being somewhere I've always wanted to go, and I'm not that fussed on going to Six Flags as I'll hopefully be getting to Magic Mountain early next year (no Kingda Ka but like I said they just copied Top Thrill Dragster and it's Cedar Point I really want to get to).

The order to get on rides sounds excellent. My intention was to head straight for Millennium Force on Day 1 as it's probably the ride Im most excited about. I agree about the extra hour too: I was at Alton Towers in England not long ago and stayed in one of the hotels which got us in an hour early. During that first hour I was averaging a ride every 10 minutes! Not really expecting that at CP though, hence the 3 days.

[Moogs]

Or you could fly into Milwaukee / Chicago and go to Six Flags (Gurnee IL), where they have a bunch of mega-coasters. Though none that match that monster coaster at Sanduskee Park. Either way be prepared for long lines (90 minutes+ not uncommon for any of the popular coasters, and twice that for the most popular), and expensive concessions.

[Yontsey]

Cedar Point is an awesome place. Lines can suck at times but depending on the day and the weather forecast, you can luck out. By far the best park I've been too in terms of roller coasters. I believe they have a nice water park too, though I've never been to that. If you were going to come to the states to go to one park for roller coasters, bar none, Cedar Point would be the place to go. Getting a hotel there is nice and convenient. They do charge quite a bit in the park for food and drink, but all places are like that unfortunately.

If you stop off in Cleveland, some fun things to do that I would suggest are the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, maybe hit up an Indians baseball game, next to the RaRHOF they have an awesome science museum that is worth checking out too. There's a ton of great restaurants in the area such as Lola, Lolita (who are both owned by Michael Simon) and some other great places downtown.

[RowdyScot]

Soak City is nice on a hot day, though Thunder Canyon and Snake River Falls in the main park will suffice for cooling off/wetness, and NEVER have long waits, even on hot days.

I would advise drinking water - each concession stand will give a small cup for free that is ice cold, and they are unlimited. For food, I'd recommend leaving the park and returning. There are tons of choices for food on State Route 250 that are a fraction of the cost of the food in the park, and they taste better. It also gives an ample opportunity to reapply sunblock, etc.

As for in the park itself, I tend to go for Dragster first thing to have the least amount of wait for front seat (and yes, the warning about an open mouth is very real there). Dragster needs to be experienced in the front. NEEDS. After that, I head to the back of the park for Maverick, which has the second longest wait. After that, one can do the Mean Streak (if they enjoy pain), or head for Millennium. From there, there's no ride with a wait beyond 20 minutes most of the time. Many are walk-ons. There's a tradition of "Raptor Runs" at the end of the night, as Raptor tries to speed through the line as quickly as possible when the line is already short. The exit is at the entrance, so one can easily run right back through and be on the ride again in 2 minutes. Great fun.

Yontsey's recommendations on what to do in Cleveland are solid. RaRHoF is awesome for anyone who even remotely enjoys music. I'll gladly second that.

[adamb]

Thanks for those posts. I'm now swaying toward option 1, staying in Cleveland and saving myself some (probably horrendous) long bus journeys. I'm sure I'll get to New York at some point in the near future, plus it will give them time to get the Apple cube sorted out

That sounds awesome about Raptor, what with Nemesis at Alton Towers being my favorite coaster so far (they seem to be pretty similar, same manufacturer from around the same time). I'll be going for front seat for most of the rides Id say, at least once anyway. Being there a few days I guess that's possible, plus I don't mind queuing. The launched coasters I've been on have been a totally different experience in the front seat so the front seat of Top Thrill Dragster is definitely on my to-do list.

One thing I meant to ask. From what I've heard there aren't many rides with single rider queues. Is that correct? As I said I don't mind waiting around too much, but figured that might save me some time and let me cram some more rides in. It probably would work out pretty well for others in the single rider queue (if there are any) with me being a single rider when queuing for front seat.

[RowdyScot]

They will call for single riders if it is open, or if one appears to be and you are a bit back, call out single rider, and they can usually let you through.

[adamb]

Ok, I've booked my flights Going for option 2, flying Dublin - Newark on Sunday 21st and planning to be in the park Tuesday - Thursday, hoping to avoid the assumed weekend rush.

Hit my first problem though. I land in Newark at 1pm and had planned to get a Greyhound to Sandusky overnight on Sunday. However, when trying to book on the Greyhound site I'm getting card declined errors for all my cards. I cant find much information about booking internationally (apart from you have to pick up tickets so I assume its possible). Has anyone any experience with this, and if I cant get a ticket booked, what other options do I have? I've had a look at Amtrak but the times don't work out that great. It would mean a night in NYC and a lot more daytime traveling than I had planned. Not a great start...

[Windswept]

Maybe you could contact a travel agency in your town. Actually go down to their location and sit down with one of the agents. Surely they would be able to answer your questions about booking Greyhound trips in the U.S. Maybe they could book for you, and you could pay the travel agent for the trip with your card. We get so used to doing everything online for ourselves that we forget there are professionals who arrange travel for a living. I don't think they even charge their customers, but I could be wrong about that. At this point, their help would be well worth any reasonable fee to get you the convenient trip times you prefer. Good luck with this. I hope you have a great time on your trip.

[adamb]

That's a good idea. Why didn't I think of that?

I'll pop into one of the American Holidays places around here and see if they can do anything for me. I think you're right though, I can't remember that last trip I went on that wasn't organised piece by piece online. It's become instinct just to do things that way now. The Greyhound times do work out pretty well, I just don't seem to be able to book it! Hopefully a travel agent will be able to sort me out.

[adamb]

I meant to update this a while back but never got round to it.

I (hope I) have it all sorted. Flying into Newark early Sunday, Greyhound to Sandusky that night until Thursday staying in one of the park hotels (for some sweet ERT) then to New York for a few days in Manhattan. I haven't decided about Six Flag NJ yet but its an option on the Saturday and is highly weather dependent.

I only really have 1.5 days in New York so am having to be careful with my planning. Am I missing anything from the following list (given the time constraints):

Apple Store 5th Ave - Cube all wrapped up but still have to go
Apple Store Upper West Side - You can see I have my priorities straight
American Museum of Natural History - I have a ticket booked to see the IMAX film Tornado Alley which isn't available anywhere over here. Also the Hayden Planetarium there looks awesome.
Rockefeller Center - Top of the Rock
Trump Tower 5th Ave - For some The Apprentice geekery
WTC
Grand Central Terminal
Statue of Liberty - View from Battery Park
Brooklyn Bridge

Also heard the Roosevelt Island Aerial Tram is worth a trip?

Cramming all that into 1.5 days could be interesting. If I don't go to Six Flags on the Saturday that'll be another day in the city. I'm wavering toward that option currently...

[kieran]

I'm heading out to cedar point in October so this thread is very useful.

Gotta remember to check back here Before our trip though.

[RowdyScot]

Anyone going to CP should get in contact, especially if they want someone to go with. It's free for me.

[adamb]

Bit of a bump as I'm in the planning stages for going back again this year. Slightly more complex this time though as I'm planning to fly to Toronto, taking in some touristy stuff (and Canada's Wonderland) there before making my way to Cedar Point via Niagara Falls.

So I have a couple of questions:

1. Can anyone tell me when the schools in the area start back from summer break? I seemed to time this perfectly last time as the park was empty 2 of the 3 days I was there (late August) so I'd quite like to do this again.

2. Travel plans between Toronto and Sandusky are at the minute likely to be hire car. I've struggled to find info though on cross-border car hire. Has anyone any experience with this, or with 1-way car hire (say between Toronto and Niagara Falls, then Niagara Falls and Cleveland)

3. If the car hire idea isn't a goer, is Google Maps public transport reliable or advisable? I'm not going to lie, the Greyhound from New York last time wasn't as great as an idea as I had initially thought, more comparable to 'hell on earth'. I guess it wouldn't be as bad from Niagara Falls as its about 1/3 the distance but it was an interesting experience last time to say the least...

Coaster related off topicness:

Gatekeeper is looking awesome and is no doubt the reason I'm heading back to CP. Leviathan makes a strong case for CW too, I've even heard reports that it's better than Millennium Force!

[Yontsey]

School here starts around the last week in August, so your assumptions are right. As far as crossing the Canadian boarder, all you need is your passport and all should be well.

If you need any recommendations in Cleveland, feel free to ask. I get around a lot in the city. We have lots of amazing restaurants here.

[adamb]

Thanks. I may take you up on that. I've been looking into Greyhound as a last (or cheaper) option to save having a car sit in the CP carpark for 3 days and could time it to have a few hours layover in Cleveland so somewhere good to eat could work.

[RowdyScot]

If you'd like someone from AN to join you, I'd be more than happy to try to get a day off. Re-upped my Platinum Pass again for this year. So long as the rental car company exists in both Canada and the US, you should be able to return the vehicle to another location even in a different country (though that likely will cost more for a one-way trip).