I am planning a Cedar Point trip with my roller coaster junkie husband for on a Sunday and Monday, staying both nights. We’ve never been to CP. On Sunday, we will be driving from Cincinnati to CP and arriving probably around noon-1.
Is it worth it to stay on site? I’m looking at $893 to stay at the Hotel Breakers (that includes taxes, fees, tickets, parking, etc.) vs. $628 to stay off-site at the Holiday Inn Express (ditto, adding in tickets and parking costs too). I really like the idea of being steps away from the resort so we can get there at opening then take a lunchtime break, afternoon nap, and go back in the evening when it’s less hot and less crowded. I know on-site guests get an extra hour in the morning to access certain coasters, but is it worth it when we would miss out on that perk on our arrival day? If we were to stay off-site and try to take a mid-day break, are we going to have to sit in traffic trying to go back to CP? And what are the crowds like in mid-July?
No personal experience, but I recalled that @ryan1 did a trip report about Cedar Point and Hotel Breakers. We are KI season pass holders, but someday will make a weekend trip up to Cedar Point, which is why I remembered this post.
I enjoyed being right there and we went to the beach and walked to the water park and the side entrance of Cedar Point. All fantastic reasons to me to be right there.
Edit: I also got their version of Fastpasses and we were able to ride every single roller coaster on a July Saturday and some of the other thrill rides including the two pay for drop rides, the giant rotating swinging ride, the swings and the drop towers. I was a bit sick at the end of the day however. We did all the water slides in about 2 hours or less on Sunday morning. It was a fun time minus the heat.
Yeah…look at my CP trip report for details of our stay.
But in general, we had never stayed on site at CP before, and it was a kind of splurge to stay at Hotel Breakers. Whether it is “worth it” or not is entirely variable, but assuming affordability is left out of the discussion for the moment, I will say it was EXTREMELY nice to literally just walk to/from CP, even throughout the day. Not only is there early access, but you are also able to enter towards the middle of the park. This means even if you don’t exactly take advantage of early entry, you can still get ahead of the rope-droppers out front. This is particularly nice for the coasters toward the back of the park, such as Maverick (which generally has a fairly long long) and Steel Vengeance. In the case of the latter, SV wasn’t open for us during early entry, but it is now on Saturdays and Sundays. But since SV is arguably the best coaster in the park (and possibly the world!)—I haven’t decided if I like it more than MF or not!—the lines for that one also grow extremely long. So if you can get to SV for early entry, you will save a LOT of time right there. Possibly get in more than one ride on that coaster.
Now, if you aren’t showing up until Sunday afternoon, you will have to wait for SV. But you’ll still get early entry for MF and many of the other coasters.
One thing to consider is not staying at Hotel Breakers, but CP Express. It is significantly cheaper, but still has on-site benefits of early entry and guaranteed entry, plus includes parking. You won’t have the benefit of literally walking to the park, but if money is an issue, something worth considering.
BTW, guaranteed entry is worth something in COVID times. They have limited capacity right now, so if you stay off site (meaning, non-CP hotel), arriving on Sunday at noon might mean you can’t get into the park at all that day. But staying in Express or Hotel Breakers avoids that risk entirely.
Oh, one more tidbit. Staying at a CP hotel, you can get the “Ride and Refresh” package, which will also give you a wristband for unlimited fountain beverages…so yet another benefit to choosing a CP hotel.
Thanks so much, super helpful! I just read your trip report as well. My husband and I are big RMC fans after riding the Lightning Rod at Dollywood (that’s our home park, we’re in East Tennessee). Seriously, that coaster blew my mind, and Steel Vengeance only looks more amazing.
I am definitely considering on-site just so it feels a little more like a vacation, and so we can come and go… I know how I am with touring WDW, and I don’t want my poor husband to be falling asleep on the coasters after I’ve dragged him back and forth across the park five times, LOL. We could probably enjoy it a bit more if we can easily get back to our hotel room, and I’m all about not having to drive.
I don’t think the fountain drinks do much for either of us, as we’re not big soda people. Now, if they had a beer discount package…
Absolutely. And as @gingerSnaps543222 mentioned, being able to just walk the beach is nice as well.
There was one point on our trip where I needed to go back to the hotel room for something, and so just walking out, to the room, and back was great.
Do note…Hotel Breakers is a GIANT hotel. The corridors go on and on. (It is actually faster to walk outside than use the interior paths, depending on where your room is.) So, walking back to your room might still be like 15 minutes! But since there are two different ways into/out of the park from Hotel Breakers that is more central to CP, it is far better than having to walk from the middle or back of the park to the parking lot!
My favorite park! We loved staying at the cabins at Lighthouse Point.
Have so much fun! I’m hoping to get up there sometime this season too. You’ll do well to start at the back and work your way toward the front - which staying in the cabins actually helps out with.
If you have never been, I highly recommend a re-ride on Millennium Force after dark.
I hope so too, it really is a gorgeous and well-themed park. I love that they add something new every year, and despite adding new rides, they manage to keep a lot of the trees.
Dollywood opens for the season on Saturday. And I recently got a mailer about a new Flower & Food Festival in April through June this year. Looking forward to it!
Cedar Point is my “home park.” We live fairly close to it, so don’t stay in a hotel often but we have splurged from time to time to be right near the park. If your budget is super tight and every dollar counts, then sure go to the offsite hotel. However if I’m splurging anyway and have saved enough, that price difference is still in the range of being worth it to stay at the Breakers. The beach is pretty nice, and having it right there is a great way to take a break. It’s also a huge plus to not have to deal with the parking lot and traffic in the morning and evening. The history of the place is really interesting to me too. I am very biased because there is all sorts of nostalgia for me…
I have to agree with all of the other things that Ryan said. However, the Raptor is my favorite even though the others are more thrilling. I also have a place in my heart for the Magnum XL 200. The Raptor still gets pretty long lines but the Magnum seems to be pretty short whenever we’re there so maybe you can fit in a couple of oldies but goodies. Definitely check out Steel Vengeance and Maverick. Valravn is always down when I go and am able to ride coasters (I usually have little ones with me) so I still haven’t ridden it yet- my nephew says it’s one of his favorites.
Thanks so much for the recommendations! I think we will make the reservation for Hotel Breakers and decide closer to July what our plans will be (they’ve got a full refund cancellation policy).
I am fairly enthusiastic to see one of the Great Lakes. We’ve got a lot of lakes here in Appalachia but nothing to the ocean-like scale of Lake Erie. I’ve watched some ride POV videos on YouTube of Millenium Force and that view at the top of the lift hill is really spectacular… I can’t readily think of any other theme parks that are literally right on the water. So I can understand your nostalgia!
We just booked our trip for the first week in August - 3 nights camping on Kelleys Island and 3 nights at Hotel Breakers. Weird combo of a trip but since we moved to SW Ohio 10 years ago we’ve always wanted to take a trip to the Sandusky Area, but hadn’t had a chance until now. I’m excited!
CP revealed today reservations for the parks would be required for entry again. If you are staying on-site it’s included and you don’t have to worry about it. Also they may or may not have the WindSeeker entrance open, last year you had to go to the entrance across from the waterpark. Also be aware they limit pool and hot tub capacity. Check what the park hours are also, last year the limited hours left me a bit hangry by 9pm.
Personally waiting till we know how operations are going instead of booking so far out like we did last time(January 2020). Opening week was a disaster, and wouldn’t have gone if we knew half the park would be closed.
But since there are two different ways into/out of the park from Hotel Breakers that is more central to CP, it is far better than having to walk from the middle or back of the park to the parking lot!