Looking to experience the best of Cedar Point in just one day?
Cedar Point is the rollercoaster capital of the world with tons of record breaking rides.
It’s the ultimate amusement park for thrill seekers with 17 rollercoasters, but don’t worry, there’s still plenty to do if that’s not your thing.
Cedar Point is located on an island on Lake Erie in Sandusky, Ohio so there are some spectacular views all throughout the park.
Our Cedar Point one day itinerary shares all the best highlights of the park if you’re short on time but want to fit in as much as possible.
The Ultimate Cedar Point One Day Itinerary
When planning out an amusement park visit, the key is getting in line for the most popular rides when the lines are the shortest.
So you want to rope drop the iconic rides and potentially save 1 for the very end of the day.
If you must do all the coasters, I’d recommend splurging for the Fast Lane pass to make sure you get to do everything you want and save some time.
We’ve done these occasionally and they make the experience way more enjoyable.
But if you’re visiting on a not so busy day like we did, then you don’t need it.
Short On Time? Here Are The Highlights:
Record Breaking Rollercoasters – Top Thrill 2, Millennium Force
Wooden Rollercoasters – Steel Vengeance
Water Ride – Thunder Canyon
Carnival Rides – Cedar Downs Racing Derby is unique!
The Barnyard – petting zoo and animal feeding
Skyride – gondolas with lake views
Food – BackBeatQue and Coasters Diner
Bonus: Get a Fast Lane Pass if it’s busy
Rollercoasters
There are 17 rollercoasters at Cedar Point (the only park with more is Six Flags Great America in Southern California with 19 rollercoasters).
Let’s start with the record breaking rollercoasters, because those are the ones you’ll want to prioritize if you just have one day to visit.
Record Breaking Coasters
If you used to watch those Travel Channel top 10 shows back in the early 2000s, you’ve probably heard all about 2 rides – Top Thrill Dragster and Millennium Force.
Those are the 2 most iconic record breaking coasters, probably in the entire world.
But Cedar Point has even more record breakers.
1. Top Thrill 2
Originally opening at Top Thrill Dragster in 2003, it was re-done in 2024 and re-launched as Top Thrill 2.
This was the first ever strata coaster and it opened as the tallest and fastest rollercoaster in the world.
It goes up to 420 feet and can reach a maximum speed of 120 mph.
If this is way too thrilling for you, there are a set of bleachers where you can watch others get launched instead.
2. Millennium Force
This ride was the first in the world to exceed 300 feet and complete a full circuit, creating the “giga coaster” term back in 2000.
3. Magnum XL-200
This was the first coaster in the world to surpass 200 feet, creating the term “hypercoaster”.
4. Gatekeeper
This is a Wing Coaster so it is similar to Wild Eagle at Dollywood.
When it opened in 2013 it had the highest inversion in the world and held many records for Wing Coasters.
5. Raptor
Raptor was the tallest, fastest, and longest inverted coaster when it opened in 1994.
It also was the first ride to feature the cobra roll inversion.
6. Rougarou
This was was the tallest, fastest, and longest stand-up roller coaster in the world when it opened.
7. Valravn
Valravn is similar to Griffin at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.
It was the tallest, fastest, and longest Dive Coaster when it opened.
8. Corkscrew
This was the first rollercoaster in the world to have 3 inversions.
It’s just like the Corkscrew coaster at Michigan’s Adventure, both of which are owned by Cedar Fair (now Six Flags).
Wooden Rollercoasters
Now let’s get into the wooden rollercoasters!
Some of these are record breaking as well, but I feel like they deserve their own category because usually they’re a little tamer than steel coasters, making them more accessible to more people.
However, the older ones are rougher, so some people avoid them altogether.
9. Steel Vengeance
The name is a little misleading.
The track is steel, but the framing is wooden, so it looks like your typical wooden rollercoaster, but it’s much more intense.
Steel Vengeance exceeds 200 feet and it was the first hybrid hypercoaster in the world.
10. Blue Streak
This is the oldest operating rollercoaster at Cedar Point (1964).
11. Cedar Creek Mine Ride
Like the name says, it’s a mine train rollercoaster and it’s the second oldest in the park (1969).
12. Gemini
When it opened in 1978 it was the tallest, fastest, and steepest racing coaster.
It’s similar to The Racers at Kings Island.
Additional Rollercoasters
Here are the last few rollercoasters to check out at Cedar Point that aren’t record breakers and aren’t wooden.
13. Iron Dragon
This is a suspended coaster.
14. Maverick
This is a launch coaster with a beyond vertical 95 degree drop.
15. Siren’s Curse
This one is brand new in 2025!
It’s a steel coaster with a tilt track.
There are a few more that are just kiddie coasters.
Water Rides
Now let’s get to the water rides.
Thunder Canyon is a white water rapids ride and it’s the only actual water ride in the park.
Cedar Point Shores
Cedar Point has it’s own water park called Cedar Point Shores, with all your typical water park attractions.
Cedar Point Boardwalk & Beach
Since Cedar Point is also on a beach, there are also a ton of random activities you can do on the beach boardwalk like:
- rent jet skis
- rent beach bungalows
- cruiser bike brew tour
- cruise bike wine tour
- boat charter
- ferry boat
- kayaking
- paddleboarding
- beach bar
- parasailing
Typically, if you’re visiting for just one day, you won’t really have time for these activities unless you’re there more for the experience than the rollercoasters.
I personally would plan an entire 2nd day just for the water park and beach activities.
Carnival Style Rides
My personal favorite part of visiting amusement parks is the carnival style rides.
These are tame enough that you can take most school aged kids on them, but also thrilling enough that you don’t have to bring a kid with you to justify riding it!
They also usually don’t have lines longer than 20 minutes, so you can fit in a lot of rides in one day.
The carnival style rides are also a great way to manage your time because so many of these can be found at so many parks, so you can choose to stick to the rides that are just unique to Cedar Point and skip all the typical rides you’d see anywhere.
Here are the carnival style rides that Cedar Point has:
- Atomic Scrambler
- Cadillac Cars (antique cars)
- Calypso
- Cedar Downs Racing Derby (my favorite unique Cedar Point attraction)
- Dodgem (bumper cars)
- Giant Wheel (Ferris wheel)
- Matterhorn (my favorite carnival ride)
- Midway Carousel
- Monster (like the Octopus at Kings Island)
- Ocean Motion (swinging ship)
- Pipe Scream
- Super Himalaya (similar to Matterhorn)
- Troika (like the Scrambler)
- Wave Swinger (swings)
- Wild Mouse (mini rollercoaster)
Additional Experiences
There are still even more rides and experiences at Cedar Point that I haven’t mentioned yet, so I’ll throw them all into this category.
Some additional experiences include arcades, gold mining, glassblowing, and pony rides.
Here are some more rides and experiences you can enjoy.
Thrill Rides
These are rides that are classified as thrilling that aren’t rollercoasters and aren’t carnival style rides.
Most of these can be found at many other amusement parks, especially other Cedar Fair owned parks, so I would probably skip them if I’m short on time so I could prioritize rides that are just unique to Cedar Point.
- Windseeker (very high swings)
- Slingshot
- Skyhawk (super sized swing set)
- Power Tower (drop tower)
- MaxAir (super sized spinning swing)
Animals
There is a petting zoo at Cedar Point called The Barnyard.
They have cows, camels, sheep, goats, baby goats, piglets, turtles, ducks, donkeys and more.
You can pet and feed these animals!
Remember when the camels got loose awhile back and it went viral on Tiktok?
Transportation
Other than walking, there are 2 other ways to get around Cedar Point.
There’s a railroad and there’s the Skyride gondolas.
While the gondolas seem a little sketchy, they provide fantastic views of Lake Erie, especially around sunset time.
Where To Eat At Cedar Point
When we visited, we had the Cedar Fair pass that is good at all Cedar Fair and Six Flags parks.
We mostly use it for our home park, Kings Island, so we also had a meal plan and drink plan for the season that we were able to use here.
We had also brought someone with us and got them the all day dining plan that is good just for that one day and that plan is a steal!
I recommend getting one for every 2-3 people in your party because it’s plenty of food to share.
You can get a new meal every 90 minutes!
BackBeatQue
A great meal that isn’t your typical theme park food is the pulled pork meal from BackBeatQue.
They also have stuff like smoked brisket, rotisserie chicken, smoked sausage, mac n cheese, and baked beans.
I personally went with just the pulled pork, fries, and cornbread.
Coasters Diner
These diners are at all the Cedar Fair parks and it’s a great go-to where you always know exactly what to expect.
We always share a burger and fries and drink at these places.
During our visit I had a stomach bug where everything I consumed, even water, would burn the second it reached my stomach until it was digested, so I was limiting myself to just some grapes.
But I’ve the burgers at the Coasters Diner at Michigan’s Adventure and Kings Island and they’re really good.
When we took our trip up to Cedar Point, we stayed at Tru by Hilton Sandusky.
It’s just about 8 miles from Cedar Point, which is usually about a 15-20 minute drive.
During peak traffic times, it could take as long as 30 minutes on a busy day.
Tru by Hilton is near a ton of restaurants, fast food, and a Walmart.
They offer free parking and a free continental breakfast.
We like that these are all newer hotels since it’s a relatively new brand that Hilton offers and it’s affordable like the Hampton Inns but a little more trendy.
Click Here To Book Your Tru by Hilton Sandusky Stay Today!
More Of Our Favorite Amusement Parks
We haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on our list!
Here are some of our favorite amusement parks we’ve been to around the US.
California
Florida
Michigan
Missouri
Tennessee
Virginia
Conclusion: The Ultimate Cedar Point One Day Itinerary
Cedar Point has so much to do that you can’t do every single thing in one day.
But if you prioritize the rides and attractions that are unique to Cedar Point, get a Fast Lane pass if it’s a busy day, and stick to quick service meals, then you should be able to do everything on your to-do list.
Unless of course rides go down, but nobody has any control over that.
Even though I was sick during my visit and spent most of the day sleeping on a cot in First Aid, my husband and his son were able to enjoy all the thrill rides they wanted.
I was able to make it onto a couple carnival rides before the end of the day and enjoy the gondola views of the lake.
This is really a great park for any type of visitor – even those that don’t even want to go on rides!
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