Just when is it the best time to visit Cedar Point?

Dubbed “The Roller Coaster Capital of the World,” the amusement park is home to a flurry of rides and attractions, including 17 roller coasters. Despite its impressive lineup, the Cedar Point’s normal operating season runs only daily from early May through Labor Day, then for nine weekends following Labor Day.

So, which dates during the operating season are the least crowded and which dates should you try to avoid?

May

If you want light crowds, a good time to visit is on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays during opening week in late May through the first week of June. During this time, weekends are generally moderately busy, but come June, the summers crowds start to kick in and the weekdays are busy as well.

June – August

All of June and July is generally most crowded, especially during the 4th of July weekend. August is the same story, but by the last week of the month, there’s some relief as the summer crowds tend to die down.

September – October

In September, the park is only open on weekends and Sundays are the least crowded days.

Finally, in October, Cedar Point’s HalloWeekends takes over. The event usually draws big crowds on weekends throughout the month, so if you have to go during this time, Sundays are again the least crowded days.

That covers the park’s operating season of crowd levels. Remember that a good rule of thumb to get an idea of how packed it’s going to be is to simply look at Cedar Point’s schedule of dates and hours.  If the park closes at 8 or 9:00pm, it usually means that they aren’t expecting it to be too busy. If the closing time is scheduled for 10:00pm or beyond, expect long wait times and lines for most of the popular rides and attractions.

Also, be sure to check out the park’s webcams! The live pictures allow you to easily check out just how crowded the park is right now. We sure wish other theme parks offered this kind of feature on their websites.

Crowd Calendar

For crowd predictions of upcoming dates, as well as historical crowd ratings, check out the Cedar Point Crowd Calendar.

When do you think is the best time to go to Cedar Point? How were the crowds when you last visited the park? Be sure to let us know in the comments below.

Image: Andrew 94

  1. Labor Day Weekend has been fairly crowded in the past, around 40-60min waits is the norm.

  2. Hi, is the park August 14th going to packed because the LeBron James school is visiting or will people try to avoid the park for that reason?

  3. I’d be prepared for it to be a little crowded. Around 30-40min waits is the norm early in the Halloween season.

  4. Do you think it will be busy for Point Fest on 9/15/18? The calendar says no but I’m not sure if it’s factoring in the event. I’m interested in the rides, not the concert itself.

  5. Hi there,
    My boyfriend and I are going to Cedar Point on Monday August 27 and the water park on Tuesday. Do you think it will be crowded?

  6. I don’t think the rides will be too bad on that (around 30min waits is the norm). Most of the big crowds usually go to the concert.

  7. It’s not expected to be crowded on that day. It’s usually very manageable at the end of August.

  8. Planning to attend Cedar Point Saturday September 1st. What will the crowd be like? Expected wait with fast pass?

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