Just when is it the best time to visit Cedar Point?
Dubbed “The Roller Coaster Capital of the World,” the amusement park is home to a flurry of rides and attractions, including 17 roller coasters. Despite its impressive lineup, the Cedar Point’s normal operating season runs only daily from early May through Labor Day, then for nine weekends following Labor Day.
So, which dates during the operating season are the least crowded and which dates should you try to avoid?
May
If you want light crowds, a good time to visit is on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays during opening week in late May through the first week of June. During this time, weekends are generally moderately busy, but come June, the summers crowds start to kick in and the weekdays are busy as well.
June – August
All of June and July is generally most crowded, especially during the 4th of July weekend. August is the same story, but by the last week of the month, there’s some relief as the summer crowds tend to die down.
September – October
In September, the park is only open on weekends and Sundays are the least crowded days.
Finally, in October, Cedar Point’s HalloWeekends takes over. The event usually draws big crowds on weekends throughout the month, so if you have to go during this time, Sundays are again the least crowded days.
That covers the park’s operating season of crowd levels. Remember that a good rule of thumb to get an idea of how packed it’s going to be is to simply look at Cedar Point’s schedule of dates and hours. If the park closes at 8 or 9:00pm, it usually means that they aren’t expecting it to be too busy. If the closing time is scheduled for 10:00pm or beyond, expect long wait times and lines for most of the popular rides and attractions.
Also, be sure to check out the park’s webcams! The live pictures allow you to easily check out just how crowded the park is right now. We sure wish other theme parks offered this kind of feature on their websites.
Crowd Calendar
For crowd predictions of upcoming dates, as well as historical crowd ratings, check out the Cedar Point Crowd Calendar.
When do you think is the best time to go to Cedar Point? How were the crowds when you last visited the park? Be sure to let us know in the comments below.
Image: Andrew 94
thxz
We went to Cedar Point on Tuesday, August 23, 2011. The longest line we waited in was for the Maverick, at 45 minutes. Top Thrill Dragster was 27 minutes. Wind Seeker, Magnum,Wicked Twister, Max Air, Skyhawk,Gemini, Corkscrew, and Power Tower where all around 15 minutes. Millennium was 1 hour. Many other rides where just “walk on and go”
Bill
We went Sunday, September 18th. The longest line we waited in was for caramel-covered apples at 30 minutes. Millennium Force was a 25 minute wait. Top Thrill Dragster and Maverick were 15 minutes. Everything else was 5 minutes or less. They may not be open as late on Sundays in September, but the time you save not waiting in lines more than makes up for it!
We went Saturday, October 22 for Hallow Weekend, and like the article said, it was super busy. Longest wait was for the Maverick at 2.5 hours. Even the Magnum, which usually has a line of fifteen minutes or less was over an hour. At the end of the day, the Raptor was an 1 3/4 hour wait. As fun as the Halloween decorations are, I’d avoid Halloweekend in the future
I went the last week of August. I was told by some locals that Ohio schools start the last week of August. As a result the majority of people during the week are out of staters resulting in much shorter lines. Most rides were walk right ons. The bigger attractions were at most 20-30 minutes.
thanks for the info everyone
My son is going to Cedar Point with some friendson June 9th and 10th, 2013. How will the crowds be? Will they need the Express Pass? Thank you!
We had season passes last year, and this is what I have noticed:
1. Watch the weather. If rain is predicted, but not like downpours all day, that’s a good day to go. Perfect, sunny days are crowded. On a perfect day during the weekend, you won’t enjoy your trip as much unless standing in line 2 hours or more appeals to you. This is especially true during Halloweekends when the weather is more likely to be colder. DO NOT go to Halloweekend on a nice sunny 70-80 degree day or you will regret it.
2. The 4th of July is actually a good day to go. It’s not crowded, there are fireworks, and the park stays open til midnight (which by 10 you can get on things without waiting.
3. Yes you can get in an hour early and get discounts when you stay in one of their onsite resorts, but if you stay in a hotel in Sandusky less than 5 minutes away, it will cost you about $50-$150 less. So if you’re on a budget keep that in mind.
4. Avoid Saturdays if you can (unless it’s raining or cold).
If you have the extra money to spend on the Express Pass (Fast Lane) then they will get to ride more. Several times we looked at the people with the Fast Lane Passes with malice because they made our lines take even longer. It didn’t seem quite fair to some customers.BUT If your son and friends have two whole days to ride, live very far away and can’t come back often, and you have the money to spend-then yes it will be worth it for them and probably a very good choice. If they closer (within 2 hours) and can get themselves there, a season pass is the best bet as it will only cost a few dollars more than a 2-day pass with Fast Lane added to it.
You went on a good day. every time we went Maverick and Top Thrill Dragster had 2+ hour wait. If you go on the wrong day, you will wait that or more for all the good rides. And the food, and the traffic to get in, and the traffic to get out…….You know it’s bad when there’s even a 3/4 hour wait for the Corkscrew.