Cedar Point’s annual off-season event has gotten so popular that the park is instituting a lottery system to dole tickets.
Winter Chill Out offers fans a behind-the-scenes tour of the closed Sandusky, Ohio park during its winter months along with a Q&A session with Cedar Point staff. Part of the profits go to the charity A Kid Again, which helps families raising kids with life-threatening illnesses.
Last year, the event sold out in minutes. To manage demand, the 2023 event will offer two dates — Feb. 25 and 26 — and have interested guests enter a lottery between Jan. 9 and Jan. 13 to get tickets, according to a post on the official Cedar Point OnPoint blog.
“All guests who wish to attend Winter Chill Out will need to enter the lottery; you will not be able to purchase tickets immediately, as has been offered before,” wrote Cedar Point communications director Tony Clark. “We ask that prior to the lottery going live, you take the time to organize your group and designate one person to sign up on your group’s behalf. You can request up to 4 tickets per group, and you will only be permitted to select either Saturday or Sunday.”
Clark noted that any duplicate entries will be removed before lottery winners are selected the following week.
Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana implemented a similar lottery this past year for its increasingly popular coaster enthusiast event, HoliWood Nights. The appeal of that special event is exclusive ride time on the park’s coaster collection; in contrast, no Cedar Point attractions are open during Winter Chill Out.
Cedar Point also announced 2023 for its other special events. Frontier Festival will run from May 25 to June 18, the annual CoasterMania will take place June 2 and HalloWeekends will return on select nights from Sept. 14 through Oct. 29.
The park opens for the 2023 season on May 6, which will also mark the debut of its newest roller coaster, Wild Mouse.