Cedar Point: 5 Fantastic Tips for Family Fun This Fall

Cedar Point. If you’re an Ohioan, it’s pretty likely that your childhood summers weren’t complete without a visit to this ever growing amusement park. At the ripe old age of 35, I can only count on one hand the number of times I missed a summer of coasters, sweet treats, sweat, and tired feet! Anyone who has visited this park, even those who are not roller coaster  enthusiasts, will find something to love. From the sandy beach of Lake Erie to the 420 foot tall Top Thrill Dragster to the adorable Camp Snoopy to the carnival like games– Cedar Point truly offers something for everyone to enjoy!

My family was lucky enough to spend 3 days at Cedar Point last weekend! I attended my first ever Bloggy Conference (aka #bloggycon17) hosted by Bloggy Moms. I learned a TON about blogging! But more importantly, I made loads of amazing friends who I’ll never forget. This conference was a total game changer for me, and I’m already counting down the days until #bloggycon18! In addition to making professional relationships, we also created a boatload of family memories! Cedar Point in fall is where it’s at, y’all!

5 Tips for Making Memories This Fall at Cedar Point

HalloWeekends

Towards the middle of each September, Cedar Point closes for weekdays and offers only weekend hours. HalloWeekends, as they call it, are packed full of family friendly fun for all ages! The park is open until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays and is fully decked out if Halloween decor! Pumpkins, coffins, goblins, and Peanuts characters in costume abound! The park is also switched up a bit with the addition of spooky (and some not-so-spooky) haunted houses, the Harvest Fear (a play on an old time Harvest Fair turned haunted), and a real live Freak Show! Planet Snoopy and Camp Snoopy offer Trick or Treating fun, coloring, and other kid-friendly options as well.

Meal Plans and Night of the Living Fed

Cedar Point has taken an apparent cue from other theme parks and is now offering all day dining plans! This is pure genius (for both visitors, and Cedar Point alike)! We took full advantage of the reasonably priced daily dining for the Saturday we were there. The plan allows for an entree and side every 90 minutes from select Cedar Point restaurants. It was perfect for my 3 guys to stop every hour and a half and share a chicken strip basket or pretzel while I was in my conference sessions! We also also purchased drink containers from the park. These have free refills on the day of purchase, as well as $1 refills for the rest of the season! HUGE savings that really add up when you consider the fact that bottled waters are nearly $3 each in the park.

Another must do meal is Night of the Living Fed! This tasty dinner is held in the Convention Center from 5-7pm Saturdays during HalloWeekends only. There’s an all you can eat buffet with all sorts of delicious Halloween themed foods and desserts to suit all palates, big and small. While you dine and take in the graveyard decor, friendly ghosts and ghouls entertain and visit right at the table. My youngest monster made friends with a very nice lady zombie who happily shoved a frosted cupcake in his face, wedding cake style! We had a great time and found this meal to be worth every penny! Just make sure you purchase tickets online in advance for a discount!

Hotel Breakers

If you intend to stay overnight at Cedar Point, which I highly recommend, you’ll definitely want to check out Hotel Breakers. This hotel is right inside the park and is also located directly on the shore of Lake Erie! Location alone sold us on staying here. If the parents kids got tired it was an easy walk back to the room to relax for an hour or two. Mr. Pennington and the kids enjoyed using the indoor pool and hot tub in the mornings before the park opened, as well as the outdoor pool and splash area.

We also took full advantage of the food options located right inside the hotel. It houses a TGIFriday’s, Perkins (littlest Penn says they have the BEST bacon pancakes), Starbucks, and an ice cream parlor. Did I mention the cozy fire pits outside to sit down and enjoy with that cup of Starbucks? What more could one need?!

Another added bonus to staying at Hotel Breakers is that guests are allowed to access the park an hour earlier than all other visitors!

Pack Those Hoodies!

One of the best parts about going to Cedar Point in the fall is the cooler temperature! While we experienced warmer than average September days, the evenings were nice and cool. Being right on the lake also seemed to make the 85 degree daytime temperatures seem a little cooler. This was perfect for us as we are all much bigger fans of snuggling up in a hoodie than of sweating our butts off. You can relate, I’m sure!

Stay for Sunday

If you’re able, visit the park on Sunday during HalloWeekends! Most folks are traveling back home by this point, which makes crowds much smaller! Overall the whole weekend was a little less crowded than what we’ve experienced during summer months, but Sunday was amazing! We were able to walk right onto our favorite rides over and over with less than 5 minutes wait time! Both kids got one last ride on their favorites,  some time in the arcade, scooped up a souvenir, and had a snack all before leaving the park at 1:00pm! It was a perfect day with minimal whining about waiting! Score for parents and kids alike!

Cedar Point HalloWeekends will definitely be an annual family tradition for the Penningtons! I’d love to know if you decide to check out HalloWeekends! If you do, or have already, what are some of your favorite tips? Share in the comments!

XoXo

Jessica

*This post does contain affiliate links from which I get a tiny kickback if you purchase. Opinion of Cedar Point is strictly my own and I have not been compensated for this post!

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