What To Expect When You Visit Cedar Point This Fall & Summer

As you would expect, things are different right now with the Pandemic that is sweeping through the world. Going to a place like a theme park in the middle of this crisis isn’t for everyone, but if it is for you and if you were wondering what to expect and if it was safe to visit Cedar Point, this is the article for you.

We recently masked up, packed up some sanitizer, and headed to Cedar Point to see what was new at the park, what was the protocols, and to see how busy the park was. We were kind of surprised a little bit, but it ended up being fantastic, and at no time did we ever feel that we were unsafe. We actually felt pretty comfortable, but that was mainly due to hitting the jackpot on the day we decided to visit.

Of course, just by going out and interacting with the public, there is always a possibility you could catch COVID-19, however, by wearing a mask, and following the guidelines that are at the park, you should be okay. Again, I felt extremely safe and it ended up being a great day.

Below is a few things we noticed. Including some things we loved and things we did not love about our most recent visit to Cedar Point, plus some information on what to expect when you get to the park.

What To Do Before You Head To the Park

The first thing you should do before arriving at the park is to have at least one person in your party download the Cedar Point App. They are requiring that one person in the party have the app installed on your phone.

There is a little questionnaire that you will be asked if you filled out upon arriving at the entrance, which is now located for the time being in the parking lot just outside the main gates.

It is a series of questions, that is asking if you a few simple questions. It only takes a minute or two to complete. If you have it filled out before you arrive, it will make the entry process quicker.

The next thing I would do is make sure you have extra masks and hand sanitizer packed in your back pack or bag. Masks get wet they are real annoying and who knows how effective they are when wet. So if you plan on a long day, having extra masks will be a life savor.

What To Expect When You Enter Cedar Point And Are In The Park

When you arrive and head to the front of the park. There is a large white tent to the left of the park in the front parking lot. All guests that are entering through the front of the park must go through this tent.

There will be a person who will ask you if you or someone in your party has downloaded the app and then filled out the questionnaire. If no one has they will make you do it before you go to the next phase of the entry process.

Once you have confirmed, they will tell you go to move forward. You will notice social distancing icons on the ground. As it is for everyone, they are trying to keep your party six feet apart. There will be several phrases where someone will hold you up and then tell you to go.

When you reach the end of this tent you will get your temperature checked. It’s quick, they have a machine that captures it as you move through. If your temp is not within their guidelines, you will not be allowed to enter the park and will be asked to leave.

I am not 100% sure that if a member in your party is asked to leave if the whole party is as well due to exposure. If you experience this please let us know what happened to the rest of the party, Where they where let in or told to leave as well.

Once you are past that part of the process. You will go to the bag check and security area like before and then into the front area in front of the gates.

Once in the park you will notice social distancing stickers on the ground near ride lines, restaurants, and food stalls. These labels are all over the place.

You will also notice hand sanitizer stations through out the park. If you don’t have your own, use these regularly.

They have signs saying you must wear your mask at all times, and they have constant audio messaging every once in a while explaining their rules and guidelines for Cedar Point park visitors.

Although I’m not a big fan of wearing the mask everywhere in the park, especially when you are walking down the midways, I don’t understand why you should wear them in ride lines, buildings, and food stalls, or anywhere people will clutter up.

They do have locations set aside where you can sit and take off your mask and rest. It looks like they converted some areas to this including the old smoking areas.

Yes, you can no longer smoke in Cedar Point. You will have to go to their designated smoking areas located out the gates of the park.

Pick The Right Day To Visit The Park.

I was not okay with visiting the park on a weekend or a Friday. I felt that even though I have heard crowd levels have been down, I felt more comfortable going on a weekday instead.

We went on a Monday. We actually ended up hitting the jackpot that day. The park was not busy at all. I was shocked. In some parts of the park, it was practically a ghost town. This actually made me feel more comfortable.

Another factor I think aside from it being Monday and the Pandemic, was that the weather stations were all reporting Thunderstorms all day long. Lucky for us we were there most of the day, and it didn’t start actually raining to the evening, which made the trip fantastic.

Because there was no one there, we pretty much moved around the park with ease and did exactly what we wanted to do on this day pretty early. So we decided to call it a day and head back to the hotel before it started to rain.

NOTE: Cedar Point Announced that Post Labor Day this year the park will only be open Saturday & Sundays Only.

Things We liked About Our Recent Visit To Cedar Point During The Pandemic

1. The Safety Protocols – I love the fact that they put effort into trying to keep their guests safe during this pandemic. It’s hard to do anything during this crisis, but if you do, they are showing you can do it safely.
2. Low Crowd Levels – To be honest I was getting so frustrated over the years with the access crowd levels at the park. It was starting to make it unenjoyable especially if you go doing the weekend. But with this, crowd levels have been amazing. It’s pretty cool to go into the park and have plenty of space to distance from people and very low lines to food stalls and restaurants. It was a very peaceful visit.
3. Finding New Additions – This is one of my favorite things when going to the park for the first time every year. I try to locate a few new places. There are some new additions. Mostly there are some cosmetic changes and upgrades, but unfortunately, the new ride was not open this year.
4. They have Places to remove the mask and rest – Although I don’t like the mask everywhere thing, I was grateful they do have locations where you can go and remove the mask and rest. Wearing the mask on a hot day is not very fun, and at times it’s uncomfortable.
5. The Food – We were able to dine a few times and the food was pretty decent for the selects we made. We’ll have more posts on that in the near future.
6. Short Ride Lines – When we went the ride lines were very short. Although the counter issue to that was they were social distancing on some rides as well which caused the ride wait to be longer.

3 Things we did Not Like On Our Recent Visit To Cedar Point

1. Forced To Wear A Mask EVERYWHERE – I get the mask thing, that isn’t an issue. However, having CPOD, the part that irritates me a little and makes no sense is wearing it while you are walking down the paths especially when no one is around. I fully understand when it’s packed in an area, in a ride queue, food stall, bathroom, building, or restaurant.
2. Some of the show places where closed – Kind of expect that the saloon and other places were not open. Still, it’s a sad sight seeing things shut down and affected by this.
3. Other parts of the park were closed – There are a few places of the park that is closed. We didn’t see any of the animals out at the pet zoo, as well as other locations were closed.

Knowing This, Should You Go To The Park This Year?

That is totally up to you and if you want to risk it. I do believe there are ways to still live an enjoy life during this pandemic as long as you follow several guidelines, but at the same time there is always that threat that at anytime you could come across a person that is asymptomatic.

It’s really your own personal decision. You must make that choice on what you want to do in your own life and then be able to live with the consequences of what happens as a result of your own actions.