51+Best Tips for Visiting Cedar Point with Kids (2024 Guide for Families)

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Last Updated on April 19, 2024 by Sarah McCubbin

Here are my best tips for visiting Cedar Point over the last 30 years!! When traveling with kids and a large family to Cedar Point, we are always looking at how to maximize both value and fun!

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With 9 kids, the ticket price of anything really adds up and can make things like adventures to a theme park inaccessible. With Cedar Point just about 90 minutes from our house, it offers the option of being a staycation or an actual vacation for our family of 11.

We have been coming for many years, so I’ve learned some tips to make this a wonderful family-friendly option if you have little kids or tall teens.

Cedar Point 2024 Ticket & Season Pass Prices

Each of the Cedar Point Season passes has a variety of perks. I love that there are prices to fit every budget.

The regular Season ticket prices are:

• Adult $85.00 ($49.99 online)
• Jr/Sr $85.00 ($35.99 online)
• Funday Bundle (Admission, Parking, All Day Dining) $74.99

Check out all the season passes here.

• 2024 Summer pass: Good for Cedar Point only. It can be used through Labor Day for Unlimited visits. $110
• 2024 Gold Season Pass is $145 and can be used at Cedar Point and Cedar Points Shores plus a bunch of other perks.
• For 2024, The Platinum Pass changed. Now if you want a pass to enter all the Cedar Fair Parks, you need a Gold Pass AND a All Park Passport Add-on which is an additional $100 for 2024. Still…its a great deal…and quite a bit less than the Platinum pass for 2023!
• 2024 Prestige Pass: $350. This pass has tons of benefits including preferred parking, VIP lounge areas, discounts, 1 single use fast lane per visit, 2 free bring a friend passes and MUCH more

In our large family, the way we buy GOLD passes is EVERY OTHER YEAR. We buy passes as soon as they go on sale in late summer which will allow us to use it for the end of the season as well as Halloweekends. We will buy our Gold passes for 2024 in late August of 2023. All the perks are not available then…but free entry and free parking is 🙂 We will then use them in 2024 as regular Gold passes.

This works for our large family because we are flexible about when we go in a season. It also works because there are Payment plans that make this affordable for us. You can pay over 10 months if you buy in August. So even when we are buying 11 Gold passes, it will only cost us around $100 a month for 10 months (after the initial payment) which is something we can swing for the great value we get at Cedar Point.
If we lived closer to the park, I would easily buy a pass every year because we would be there all the time!

Does Cedar Point Have Family Passes?

Cedar Point does not have family passes. You can buy individual Gold Passes for Cedar Point and Cedar Shores or Platinum Passes (good for all Cedar Fair parks) for each individual member. They do offer free passes for children 5 and under for people that have a pass.

Cedar Point is Cashless!

In 2022, Cedar Point went cashless. That means you cannot pay for ANYTHING with cash. You can pay with credit cards or you can use machines in the park to convert your cash into gift cards. This is especially important if you are sending a teen to the park who doesn’t have a credit card. It does require advanced planning to make sure they have the money they need but we did it in 2022 and it worked out fine.

Best Days to Visit Cedar Point

The best days to visit Cedar Point any time of year are Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. But the best times of year are spring and fall before school lets out and once school is back in session before Labor Day. We often skip school for a day in the spring or fall to take advantage of the park on a less busy day.

Cedar Point Parking

Upon your arrival, you will notice this massive parking lot that goes on and on. If you have little kids, that can feel doubly daunting. First, it’s a lot of hot black pavement to walk on. Second, if you need to get a spare outfit or extra diapers, it’s a long walk back to the car. So if you have kids, my secret to parking is for you to drive to the back of the park. Follow the signs to the Waterpark and Hotels and you can find parking at the back of the park that is much more accessible for families with children. That parking will also put you right between Camp Snoopy and Planet Snoopy which are the two best places for young kids in the park. (Note: sometimes this option is not open before the Waterpark opens for the season)

This option is best if you get to the park early in the day.

Cedar Point parking is around $20 per car so it is worth considering passes as parking is included with the annual passes.

Cedar Point App & Map

The Cedar Point app is a great tool to have on your phone to keep all your passes and tickets in one place. It also has the park map right there in the app too. We use the park app for all our drink passes which makes it easy to use on the go over and over. I never have to worry about losing my passes!

Copy of Park Map

Tips for Visiting Cedar Point & Economically Buying & Using Cedar Point Passes

If you are someone who wants to buy passes…but feels like its hard to justify the expense, let me tell you how our large family buys passes. In late summer, usually in August, Cedar Point starts selling passes for the following year. So August 2024, they start selling passes for 2025. But that 2025 pass can be used for all of the current year.

You can also choose to make payments on your passes over 9 or 10 months when you purchase in August. So our family will buy passes in August, use them on a slow day in August (our favorite) and several times during Halloweekeends. Then the following year, we use it for the whole season. It feels like we get so much value. Then, we will SKIP A YEAR of buying passes knowing we will rebuy the following August and visit in late summer/fall.

Cedar Point Wait Times

Cedar Point wait times can be notoriously long especially if you go on a popular day. If you are taking a family…especially if you are going for just one day, I would suggest looking at the calendar to pick days that are less busy. That may mean going off-season, in the middle of the week, or even on a cool or rainy day.

The Cedar Point app can help you see at a glance which rides have long or short lines. The app is not perfect though. When we went recently, it said the Gatekeeper had a 30 minute ride and we literally walked right on the ride.

Of all those options, my favorite is going on an off-season day. When school is in session, lines are usually much shorter, especially at the end of August or the beginning of September. Sometimes all the rides are not operating on off-season days…but it is usually offset by the benefit of much shorter lines. If your kids are like mine, they would rather ride the same ride over and over than stand in line for hours and hours. Not that it actually happens that way. Going off-season, most of the rides are still open every day.

Cedar Point Roller Coaster Tips for Families

Cedar Point has a fantastic variety of coasters for the adventurous members of your family. Below I’ve marked the roller coasters as (*) for small or easy coasters and (**) for the kiddie coasters in the park. They also have a huge variety of other rides that range from mild to intense thrill levels.

Check out all the rides HERE

If you coming to the park to ride roller coasters and you want to ride them all in one day, I would suggest coming on a less crowded day…and making a strategic plan about how you will work your way through the park. The roller coasters with the longest wait times tend to be:

• Top Thrill 2
• Maverick
• Millenium Force
• Steel Vengence

If you are hoping to ride those rides, plan to get there early as the lines are shortest if you are in line when the park opens…or come on a less crowded day. These rides often have wait times of 90 minutes up to 3 hours.

*Blue Streak

Ride Height – 48″

Level 4 Thrill Level

Fast Lane Pass: Fast Lane

This is one of those classic old time coasters that screams nostalgia. It’s not too big but it has enough hills and valleys to still be thrilling. This coaster is good for one of your young riders that might be in elementary school, but adults love it too. They do not have boxes to put your cell phones in and you must keep it on your person, so be sure to either hand it off to someone else or have a place to secure it. My daughter lost her phone on this ride because it slipped out of her pocket!

*Cedar Creek Mine Ride

Ride Height – 48″

Level 4 Thrill Level

I love the Cedar Creek Mine ride! It doesn’t have big hills and it looks and feels very sturdy. There are boxes to secure your belongings in if you wish. The lines usually move very quickly, so even when they look long, they aren’t really. This ride doesn’t give top thrills which makes it great for people new to coasters or who enjoy a more pleasant ride. For a more adventurous feel, ride this one at night when you can’t see the twists and turns coming!

Cork Screw

Ride Height – 48″

Level 5 Thrill Level

Fast Lane Pass: Fast Lane

This is a steel coaster with several quick twists upside down. Despite being steel, it can feel like you are being jolted around. Don’t wear earrings on this ride and be sure to have good head control or you might find your ears bumping against the safety harness. Do not ride this if you are prone to vertigo. For being a smaller coaster, its pretty intense and one that our family skips on our regular trips to the park.

GateKeeper

Ride Height – 52″

Level 5 Thrill Level

Fast Lane Pass: Fast Lane

This is a great ride to transition between the small coasters and the big ones. It feels like you are flying! You can look out over Lake Erie and the park as you sail through the air. This one has boxes for securing sunglasses and phones. My 12 year old son was having a hard time riding bigger coasters and resisted riding this one too. I think I bribed him to ride it. And when he did, he declared it his favorite ride in the park. It feels very secure when you are strapped in. It does go upside down but feels very smooth and is not jerky at all!

*Gemini

Ride Height – 48″

Level 5 Thrill Level

Fast Lane Pass: Fast Lane

We love the Gemini for a classic ride feel that is bigger than Blue Streak and the Mine Ride. This wooden rollercoaster has two trains going most of the time…red cars and blue cars. People can choose the color and often try to get in cars where they can “race” their friends and family in the other color. It is a little bit jerky but there are no overhead shoulder restraints to bump your ears into. It does not have boxes to secure your items in so be sure to keep them secure on your person.

*Iron Dragon

Ride Height – 48″

Level 4 Thrill Level

The Iron Dragon is what I always recommend for kids who are able to ride their first big coasters. They have finally crossed the height threshold to ride a few big rides. This one is amazing. It feels very secure like you are in your own private cabin with over-the-shoulder restraints. It also feels like you are flying through the trees, but there are no upside-down twists. Its just a really pleasant ride. As an added bonus, the lines are usually pretty short compared to other coasters.

Magnum XL – 200

Ride Height – 48″

Level 5 Thrill Level

Fast Lane Pass: Fast Lane

This gem was a new coaster when I started riding roller coasters back in junior high. Back then, the lines were LONG. These days though, this is the first ride my kids hit in the morning when we get there. It is located by the back entrance to the park. There are lockers right outside for securing your items, but we usually hand them off to a family member or keep them on us. The magnum is a BIG rollercoaster. At one point it was one of the tallest in the world. It has since lost that distinction but it still gives a great ride. It is a steel coaster, but it does not go upside down. It has an intense first drop though!

Maverick

Level 5 Thrill Level

Ride Height: 52″

Fast Lane Pass: Fast Lane Plus

For the thrill-seekers in the house, this is their favorite ride. It has a pretty intense drop with a couple of upside-down twists. Don’t hold your breath on this one. Make sure you breathe. I’ve found that if I hold my breath I kind of blackout! This one is fun, fast and furious and usually has long lines. If my family plans to ride this one, they usually get in line before the ride opens or ride it late in the evening.

Millenium Force

Level 5 Thrill Level

Ride height: 48″-78″

Fast Lane Pass: Fast Lane Plus

Millenium Force 93 mph of pure thrills that lasts 2 whole minutes. When it was first built it was deemed to be a gigacoaster…a whole new category of rollercoasters. It broke multiple records for height, drops, and speed and remains a top attraction more than twenty years after it was built in 2000. If you are a coaster lover, don’t miss this one! From the height…to speed…and breathtaking views that you can’t snap on your phone…this one has it all. The lines are predictably long unless you visit on less crowded days. I would caution against taking your young kids on this unless they have already proven to be roller coaster junkies on other rides. We took our son on it when he was just at 48″ and it was too much! He refused to ride roller coasters after that!

Raptor

Ride Height – 54″

Level 5 Thrill Level

Fast Lane Pass: Fast Lane

The Raptor is a medium intensity…not like Steel Vengence or Maverick. This steel roller coaster does have a few upside-down loops that can feel intense. The lines are not as long as the bigger coasters. When I asked my 14-year-old son about this one, he commented on feeling a lot of pressure in his head. It can be intense.

Rougarou

Ride Height – 54″

Level 5 Thrill Level

Fast Lane Pass: Fast Lane

The Rougharou is an intense steel ride. Once you go aboard the ride, the floor drops out and your feet are left hanging. I like to wear sandles to Cedar Point but for this one, sandals are removed unless you have ones with a strap on the back! For 2 minutes and 30 seconds, you will whirl and twirl up and over and around at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour. DO NOT WEAR EARRINGS on this ride. I think they have signs…but just don’t wear them. It’s easy to bump your ears on the harnesses in this ride…and that is the reason I personally don’t ride it. At 5’6″, my ears get a little to beat up on this ride! But my kids love it!

Steel Vengence

Ride Height – 52″

Level 5 Thrill Level

Fast Lane Pass: Fast Lane Plus

The Steel Vengeance is a hybrid of steel and wood that makes it fit right in back in Frontierland. This roller coaster goes up to 72 miles per hour and is over 200 feet tall. It definitely feels more intense than some of the Level 5 rides and has more jerkiness to it too. It’s not as smooth as an all-steel ride. The lines are long for this one…BUT…the ride is 2 minutes and 30 seconds. It actually feels long.

This ride you cannot bring ANYTHING on it. You can’t bring a cell phone or a backpack or anything. There are lockers you can rent outside or plan to hand your belongings off to someone else. You can’t tuck a cell phone into a fanny pack or pocket…they have x-ray vision or something…they always see if you try to bring it on!!

Top Thrill 2

Ride Height – 52″

Level 5 Thrill Level

Top Thrill 2 is the World’s Tallest & Fastest Triple-Launch Strata Coaster

Top Thrill 2 is a record-breaking roller coaster with Sleek, aerodynamic vehicles that launch you three times as you drive the sky in an epic competition to reach the finish line. Riders experience THREE “free-fall” moments with top speeds of 120mph.

Valravn

Ride Height – 52″

Level 5 Thrill Level

Fast Lane Pass: Fast Lane Plus

The Valravn is the fastest, tallest dive coaster in the United States. Cedar Point states that this ride is 2 minutes and 23 seconds, but my teens strongly disagree. Their opinion was that this ride was not worth the time to ride it and that it went very fast. The lines are not the longest…but you might want to pass on this one if time is short and the line is long.

**Wilderness Run

Ride Height – 36″

This rollercoaster is the perfect introduction to roller coasters for your 3 and 4-year-olds. It doesn’t go too fast and has no big drops, so it feels very fun and friendly. This one compares to a roller coaster you might ride at the county fair.

Wild Mouse

Ride Height – 48″ to ride by themselves, 42″ with an adult

Level 4 Thrill Level

This rollercoaster is different than others in the park. Each 4-passenger car climbs 52 feet before beginning a twisty, spinny, wild ride along 1,312 feet of orange track. The cars free spin all the way down the track making every ride unique!

**Woodstock Express

Ride Height – 36″ with an adult or 48″ without an adult

Level 4 Thrill Level

Once your little kids have conquered the Wilderness Run, they will be ready for Woodstock Express. Buckle in and hold on tight because this one has big drops all the thrills your little kids could desire. My 4-year-old absolutely loves this ride and I enjoy going on it with her. If you have a backpack, you can set it right by the operator’s station on the platform while you ride the ride.

Cedar Shores Water Park Tips

1. If you are going to the Water Park, our family has enjoyed it most when paired with a visit to the full park midweek. We usually go to Cedar Shores for a couple of hours before going over to Cedar Point to ride rides.
2. The bathrooms are really spread out. Put your swimsuit on before you come to avoid waiting in a long line for the bathroom
3. Bring a wagon to keep all of your stuff together
4. Bring lots of sunscreen!!
5. Your smaller children will need to wear life jackets in the wave pool and other pools.
6. The splash pads are amazing and a wonderful place for kids to play. Mine would stay there for hours.
7. There are food options in the water park but not very many.
8. The food and drink passes work inside Cedar Shores as well as in Cedar Point.
9. A Gold Season Pass to Cedar Point also works in the water park.

Beach Board Walk

I have been going to Cedar Point for over 30 years and until this year in 2022, I never knew there was a beautiful boardwalk along the beach at the back of the park. It technically isn’t in Cedar Point. It is technically public beach. However, there is a gate right onto the beach back by the WindSeeker. If you leave through that gate, make sure to ask for a reentry ticket so you can come back in. I’m sure it didn’t exist the same way 30 years ago…but now its beautiful!! Go check it out!

When you have little kids, you may find that by 2 or 3 in the afternoon, they are tired and cranky. They might just need to run around or play somewhere without getting lost. The beach is a wonderful place where they can run and get their feet wet without the big crowds inside the park. It can be just the thing to give them a break midday.

If you have a stroller, the boardwalk is a lovely path and goes all the way down to a long pier.

6 Cedar Point Food Tips

Going to an amusement park can be a hefty investment just for tickets. And when you consider food, it can become truly a big expense. As a large family with 9 kids, we have managed food a few different ways over the years. In general, we have prioritized eating economically, but as our kids have gotten older, they want to have some of the fun park food options. So my suggestions below allow for the full gamut of family food options.

1. Bring snacks to keep in the car.
2. Fuel up before going into the park. That may mean eating in your car or grabbing something at the local McDonalds…either way, it is much cheaper than $15+ per meal to eat in the park.
3. The park officially has a “no outside food” policy, but we have never had a problem bringing a few snacks into the park. Usually, we throw a few snacks and waterbottles into a backpack or wagon and it hasn’t been a problem.
4. Drink Passes (either daily or annual) are a great deal if your kids want to have a sweet treat in the park. You can get refills every 15 minutes. We buy a bunch of these to go with our season passes. We don’t normally drink pop at home, so it feels like something special to get pop at the park. Without the passes, it’s about $5 for a cup of soda…which adds up quickly.
5. All Day Meal Pass – the all-day meal pass lets you get a meal every 90 minutes from opening to close. We don’t normally do this, but a few times during the season we have purchased the passes and the kids have really enjoyed it. It has allowed them to try out a variety of park foods to see which ones are good and which ones aren’t as great. When you use the pass, it lets you get a main dish and a side at the restaurants on the list. To keep things more economical, we chose to share passes so the kids were getting a snack every 90 minutes. If you actually ride rides at the park, it’s not a great idea to ever have a full stomach so this “snack” way of eating works great. As a side note…we have had the passes on not-busy days and on busy days.. On busy days, the lines are really long….sometimes 30 minutes or more. Because of that, we have decided that it is not really worth it for our family to get the pass on busy days, because we like to ride rides and don’t want to wait in long food lines. On non-busy days, we might wait in line for 5 or 10 minutes at most, which makes using the passes a much better value.
6. Season Meal Pass – the season meal pass is good for the entire summer season. It can be used twice a day. If you plan to visit the park more than 4 times during the season, this may be a good option for you. We have chosen to simply buy the all-day meal pass a couple of times during the season and getting meals every 90 minutes works out better the way we eat with a bunch of kids.

Best Food Places to SHARE a Food Pass

As I already mentioned, buying an All Day Meal Pass is one thing we have found to be worthwhile even with a large family. Since you can get a meal every 90 minutes…it just makes the food thing easy.

But, not all food venues give portions that are large enough to share. Here are a few that definitely have portions large enough to share…if you are eating again in 90 minutes!

• Panda Express (by Millenium Force) – They give you 3 different things on your plate…easy to share
• Hugos (by Raptor)- This is a pizza and pasta joint. If you get pizza…itsa largish thick piece that you can cut in half. Your side can be cheesy breadsticks or salad.
• BackBeat Que (by Magnum) – Great Barbeque place with different meat options and sides that include corn, mac and cheese or salad. Comes with cornbread as a side.
• Farmhouse Kitchen (Frontierland by Maverick)- This one is my kid’s favorite. They will eat here several times in a day.

Parent Swap Pass

If you are the parent of young kids who are too short to ride the big awesome rides, you know the frustration of one parent going off to ride while the other stays with the littles. It seems a little unfair for parents to have to wait twice for the same ride. And Cedar Point has figured out a way to make this more fun. When you enter the park, you need to visit the Guest Services (at the Main Gate), the Resort Gate, or Town Hall. and ask for a Parent Swap pass.

When parent #1 rides, they have an attendant sign off on the paper. They exit the ride. When parent #2 comes back, they enter the ride through the exit and the attendant will let them and one companion rider on without waiting. It’s a win-win! When our kids were all little, it was a way for us both to enjoy the park even though we never rode together!

Kid Track – What To Do If Your Kid Get’s Lost at Cedar Point

Cedar Point is a big place and it’s not hard to imagine kids getting separated from their parents. It was my biggest worry when we first started going there. Thankfully the park has Kid Track bracelets are available at Guest Services (at the Main Gate), the Resort Gate, or Town Hall.

When you get to the park, ask for the number of bands you need and write your cell phone on each band. If your child gets separated, they can go up to any Cedar Point employee…at a ride or a food location and they will help them contact you.

I’ll never forget coming off the Cork Screw when our oldest son was about 12. I stepped off the ride into a crowd of people. In the second it took me to glance around to find my husband and other kids, Ian disappeared. I felt that panic start to set in, but we had prepped him with what to do if he was separated. It took about 30 minutes for the process to work out, but he did call us and we picked him up at one of the security stations.

It was a great reminder that the process does work. I highly recommend getting these bands for your kids.

Family Care Centers

Cedar Point is truly committed to being a family-friendly destination. I love that about them. They have Family Care Stations near the kid rides which means caring for your little people is much easier. Whether you need a bandaid for a scraped knee or a place to nurse or change a baby, these offer a great place to do that in a convenient location.

Family Restrooms

Family bathrooms are available a a few locations in the park if one person needs assistance from another. Family restrooms are available at Main First Aid, The Barnyard Restroom on Frontier Trail, Matterhorn Restroom and Camp Snoopy.

Camp Snoopy & Planet Snoopy

If you love fair rides and all the memories that come from those family experiences, you will LOVE Camp Snoopy and Planet Snoopy. These two locations in the park are packed with rides that you might find at the local fair…without the scruffy operator and a ticket for every ride. They even have a couple of kid-sized roller coasters that are a blast for little people.

Both parts of the park have rides that are densely populated, so it’s easy for your little person to go from one ride to the next without a long trek. They are also located away from the main drag of the park so most of the foot traffic through that area is other families with young kids.

Hotel Breakers for Overnight Trips to Cedar Point

I’ve visited Cedar Point regularly for over 30 years and until 2022 had never stayed in Hotel Breakers. I happened to stay there in September when I was there for a blogging conference. I brought 4 of my teens along and honestly, it was amazing. It’s my new favorite way to enjoy Cedar Point. Normally, all of us kind of lose energy around 4pm, so we end up leaving the park and driving home.

But staying at Breakers within a short walk of Cedar Point meant that the afternoon lull was a time for a break from rides and time to relax at the hotel. For our weekend stay, my kids ended up back in the hotel room around 2pm. They hung out…did homework and relaxed for a few hours. Then around dinner time, we headed back into the park to enjoy the evening and nighttime attractions.

Our stay was the first weekend of Halloweekends, so it was really fun to be able to enjoy the nighttime activities without having to drive home late.

Height Restrictions

Before you come to Cedar Point, it is important to make note of the height restrictions for rides. Inside Camp Snoopy and Planet Snoopy, there are rides that have no height requirement (but may require an adult. Rollercoasters in kiddie land start at 36″ but in the main part of the park they vary from 48″ up to 54″. Planning ahead and setting proper expectations with your kid will help avoid disappointment and let everyone have a great time.

Here are all the rides with their height requirements.

Make A Plan Before You Come

If you have never been to Cedar Point, I would highly recommend making a plan before you come. Plan where to park, where you might want to each, what your top rides are, and how you will stay connected. Cedar Point is a big place and setting expectations is the key to everyone enjoying their visit.

On top of your plan, you might want to map out a few other fun low-key rides. Our 13-year-old son does not enjoy roller coasters which is a challenge for us to navigate, because all our older teens do. He doesn’t want to ride kiddy rides…but he doesn’t like the big rides either. Finding other entertainment, slow rides, shows, and places to eat is key to him enjoying the park.

Look at the Live Show Schedule

As part of planning your visit, look at the live show schedule before you come. We don’t typically watch shows, but most of the time I think I want to watch one, we realize it is just ended and it won’t happen again for another 2 hours.

Shows vary by season. What is offered in the summer will vary from Halloweekends.

Cedar Point has great show options for both kids and adults!

Check Out ALL the shows!

Cedar Point Nighttime Fun

If your family stays for the evening or is planning to stay overnight at Hotel Breakers, be sure to enjoy the nighttime activities in the park. During the summer, you will find music entertainment, a glow zone, inflatables, games on the beach and even a disco party. To top it all off, there are nightly fireworks just before closing every night.

Tips for Sending Your Teens on a School Trip to Cedar Point

1. Make sure they wear shorts or pants with zipper pockets OR bring a fanny pack to keep their phone and credit card in. All of the rides will let you keep your phone on you (at your own risk) or put them in boxes right at the ride EXCEPT Steel Vengence. Steel Vengence requires you to put your phone in lockers. They do have Free lockers for phones…BUT NOT FOR fanny packs! My son who brought a fanny pack took his phone out for the Steel Vengence. He his his empty pack in the bushes and then was able to put his phone in the free lockers. Otherwise you will need to rent a paid locker at this ride.
2. Bring a credit card or Apple pay to buy things in the park.
3. Get a drink pass for the day. Parents can buy it ahead so all teens need to do is show the barcode to a drink vendor and they will get a wristband for the rest of the day. Be sure to choose the disposable cup option so you don’t need to carry/store a plastic bottle all day.
4. Wear clothes that dry fast if your teen will be riding water rides. Outside the water rides there are places to put shoes, but it helps if teens wear clothes that dry quickly.
5. Wear shoes and socks to prevent your feet from chafing. Cedar Point is a big park with LOTS of walking. Wear comfortable shoes! One year my son wore a pair of Croc-like shoes and we spent the whole day there. He ended up with terrible blisters because of his sweaty feet rubbing in the shoes!!
6. Make sure your teen has the contact information for the leaders they are going with. Its easy to get separated but having contact infomation makes it easy to reconnect.

Tips for Visiting Cedar Point During Hallo Weekends

My tips for visiting Cedar Point with kids include visiting on Hallo-Weekends. It truly deserves its own post, but I highly recommend this for a family with kids of any age.

1. Daytime activities are very fall-festival-related and not scary at all. The park is beautifully decorated with pumpkins and mums. The kids can enjoy a friendly trick-or-treat (for kids up to age 12), hay bale mazes, bubble machines, and more. My little kids absolutely love this. This year my 12-year-old was probably the tallest kid in line trick or treating and I laughed as he collected his candy loot for one last year.
2. This year was our first year staying for the nighttime activities during Halloweekends. After 8, the back of the park is deliberately scary with frightening people jumping out to startle you. I would not recommend this if you have young children. My 12-year-old laughed his way through it with my teenagers, but I saw babies and little kids crying…so keep those guys in the front of the park! They do have several haunted houses. I went through a couple with my teens. They thought it was fun. We don’t ever pay to go to haunted houses so this was an experience they only have here.
3. In 2023, Hallloweekends starts on Thursday evenings and goes all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday. If you are looking to maximize a one-day visit, I would recommend going on a Friday...even if you have to miss school…because the crowds are so much smaller. On the weekend it was so crowded. A ride that had a 45-minute wait on Friday was over 3 hours on Saturday.
4. Haunted Houses do not open until 8pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Some open earlier on Sunday but most are NOT OPEN on Sunday. Here is a link to all the “Haunted” attractions at Cedarpoint so you can check the times.
   

What is there to do for kids at Cedar Point?

Depending on the ages of your kids, there are a huge variety of things to do at Cedar Point. Camp Snoopy and Planet Snoopy are ideal for kids 8 and under. But throughout the park, there are a variety of lower thrill rides like Cadillac Cars or bumper cars that kids and adults can all enjoy.

My kids love the petting zoo at the back of the park and look forward to seeing all the goats, rabbits, camels and more.

What age is good for Cedar Point?

I think it depends on what you hope to get out of it. Cedar Point is great for Kindergarten on up…as long as the parents have a plan for fun too. There is a ton for little kids but it can be hard to juggle parents riding with older kids and taking care of the little kids too.

How much does it cost for a family of four to go to Cedar Point?

The regular ticket price was $49.99 during Halloweekends 2023 but that was discounted from during the summer. During Halloweekends admission for 4 when purchased online would be right around $200.

Cedar Point Offers Great Value With Something for (Nearly) Everyone and price points for all budgets.

One of the things I have appreciated about Cedar Point over the years is the way they have kept their pricing accessible to all kinds of family budgets. The basic ticket price or season pass is very reasonable and they have all kinds of upgrades that you can buy if your budget allows.

I love that. As a family with a lot of kids, I can say this is pretty rare in the entertainment world. In years when our budget allows, we have spent extra on Platinum passes, food passes and drink passes…but in other years, we have enjoyed it on a low budget. Both have been amazing.

I highly recommend Cedar Point if you are visiting Sandusky Ohio!

If you are visiting Cedar Point for the first time and there is something you might want to know about bringing your family there, please send me a message. I’m happy to help.