Halloweekends in Sept.

I have yet to go to a Halloweekends but have been going to the Point for 30 years and have searched for topics on crowds and didn't get a clear answer to my question. For anyone that has been on the second or third Saturday in September what can I expect for crowds assuming decent weather. Please no smart replys or otherwise, just honest experiences from someone that may have been there on those given days. Thanks for your help

It's really not all that bad. Friday is the night to be there, short lines everywhere. Saturday will be busy if the weathers nice. Sundays are pretty moderate. That's from the last 2 years of going anyway.

If the weather is nice I would count on the Saturday of any Halloweekend to be compleatly packed. Halloweekends have become the busiest time of the year.

General rule of thumb for Halloweekends:

Fri: D-e-a-d dead, but not all the rides are open
Sat: Worse then the 4th of July, full lot and then some
Sun: D-e-a-d dead, but the outdoor (and best) haunts aren't opened

Well last year I went on a Sat in sept and attendence was in the upper 50 thousands...it probably reached 60 or so...one of the workers said it was the most crowded day in CP history. 2+ hr waits for the big rides 45 min+ for rides like corkscrew and ID

The best way to tell will be to search through the old Trip Reports for September weekends to see how they compare.

Other than that, our best source of info is FAQ 3.

I hear Sundays are not too bad. I only visited once last september on the 29th.

It was the busiest day I have ever seen. LONG lines for everything.

I am going back this year to give it a Sunday shot.

Best of luck

Sorry chaps if this topic bumps back up, Apologies if i've posted this in the wrong place too. Anyhoo's I have a rather noobish question...

Me and one of my chums are thinking of coming to Cedar point from the UK for the final open weekends for HalloWeekends (because tbh Scarefest at Alton towers is pretty pants compared to). Reading through some of the replies above it's quite off putting! We plan to spend 3 days on park from Friday 31st October - Sunday 2nd November. Roughly how long would the queues be for the main rides such as TTD/MF/Maverick etc.

I really want to go but if its too busy I can't really justify spending the £400 on flights.

Any help appreciated!

Generally the rules for Halloweekends are:

Friday: Dead, but only the haunts and major attractions are open
Saturday: The most crowded the park gets the whole year, full queues, full parking lot, packed
Sunday: Dead but the outdoor (and best) haunts dont open

Also be aware, it will likely be bone chillingly cold that weekend. Having highs only in the low teens (Fahrenheit) are something to plan for, with lows approaching 0. You may get lucky and have it be in the 30s-50s like last year but I would expect it.

As noted before I have only been there once on HW's and it was a Sat in Sept. I also intend to go the weekend you mention and look forward to the chilly conditions.

I am glad to hear Fri and Sun are not bad. On the Sat I was there is was very busy but remember CP has a lot to offer and not everything has a huge line up. It was the busiest I have seen it though.

My experience was on Sept 29 (Sat).

MF - 1 hour 15 minutes

TTD - 1 hour 45 minutes but it was down for half an hour.

Gemini - 30 minutes

Mean Streak - 45 minutes

Magnum - 40 minutes

Power Tower - 15 minutes

Disaster Transport - 45 minutes

Raptor - 1.5 hours

Mantis - 1.5 hours

The ferris wheel - 20 minutes

Wicked Twister - 25 minutes

Remember this was a saturday but the haunted house lines were so long they were not even in consideration.

The weather was ideal also.

Dude, I don't know about temps being in the teens, but anywhere from about 30-50F or 0-10C would be pretty typical.

^ Which compared to the mid 70's, it will feel like the teens. But then come winter when Michigan is in the teens, the 30's will feel warm. It's pretty pathetic when you think 30 degree weather is warm weather. lol.

I've never thought anything under 60 was warm.

When we are getting below zero weather, and then a 40 degree day comes a long...you don't think that it's warm? I am not talking about hot. Maybe it is just me and my family. :) But when that 30-40 degree weather comes back around, after a winter of being in the teens or below, it feels pretty nice.

It feels nice, but nothing I would consider 'warm'. Just nicer than it has been. This year we actually had 1 warm day during the winter on Jan 7 where we hit 61. The days around it we were in the 40's and 50's and while it was nice, it wasn't what I would consider 'warm' :)

Your body does not sense temperature, only changes in it, thats why you have that effect. If you dont believe me, you can do a very simple experiment at home, get three bowls out. Fill one with very warm (not burning warm) water, fill the another with ice water (and add some ice) then fill the last one with luke warm (room temp) water. Place the bowls so the two extremes are on the end with the luke warm one in the middle. Place one hand in the hot water, the other in the cold and hold them there for 2-3 min. Then take both and quickly switch them both to the luke warm water. It will feel unbarebly hot to the hand that was in the ice water and the opposite to the one in the hot water.

And I said plan for the worst when it comes to that weekend, the worst that time of year is a high in the low teens, lows in the zeros to negative numbers.

stigzy said:
I really want to go but if its too busy I can't really justify spending the £400 on flights.

Any help appreciated!

If you are going to be at the park all three days of the weekend I would say go for it. On Friday hit the rides that are open and any of the haunted houses that you have to wait in a line for. I have never been there on a Friday that has been busy during halloweekends.

On Saturday hit a few rides first thing in the morning then once it gets crowded take in the atmosphere, see the shows, and watch the parade. Once it gets darks hit all the scare zones.

On Sunday when it is traditionally very quiet again hit the rides again.

One last tip: Pack clothes that you can layer with. Especially Saturday. The temperature when you get to the park around mid-day will vary a lot from when the park clothes at midnight.

Chaps, what can I say! If my holidays at work go through ok tomorrow, I shall ring up Virgin Atlantic first thing tomorrow morning and book some return flights! That’s all thanks to a small bit of research I did, but mostly your tips & advice.

I can cope with one hour+ queues quite easily, anything over two hours though is torture for me and drives me insane! Anyhoos I'm liking the sounds of Friday and Sunday. As for Saturday being busy, I suppose I'll just have to live with it, Friday and Sunday should more than make up for that alone by the sounds of things. That, and being over the pond in the U.S. and at Cedar Point for halloweekends - I can't wait!

Also thanks for the tips about the weather, though I won’t be worrying too much. Our summer season is nearly coming to an end and has been averaging temperatures between 15°c – 25°c. So far we've had about 2 weeks of continuous sunshine, any other time it’s been damp, cold, wet and windy! So I'm already primed and ready for Autumn!

Once again, thanks chaps!

I am also finding out if I will be able to go that weekend. I think it will be neat to be there the last weekend of the year so we are planning to go for 3 days for my anniversary which is on Halloween. I am doing my masters right now though so I will find out today when I get my schedule if it is feasable. Maybe I will go anyways and you will see me doing homework on the giant wheel.

You will be able to concentrate on power-riding on Friday and Sunday. Saturday night you can focus more on the scare zones. Trust me you will have a fantastic weekend.

Be sure to hit up Fright Zone... Ill be sure to give you a good scare =)