Consolidating Financial Information of Guarantors and Issuers Income Statement (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Sep. 29, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 29, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 29, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Net revenues	$ 592,076	$ 553,445	$ 995,495	$ 939,249	$ 1,124,700	$ 1,084,094
Costs and expenses:
Cost of food, merchandise and games revenues	45,843	47,353	81,933	83,926	93,055	96,002
Operating expenses	170,394	163,311	388,335	380,832	458,906	460,125
Selling, general and administrative	58,727	52,993	125,533	115,488	148,356	145,788
Depreciation and amortization	57,495	60,223	108,313	112,211	122,408	127,191
Loss on impairment / retirement of fixed assets, net	1,637	25,000	2,266	24,230	8,372	34,509
Gain on sale of other assets	(8,743)	0	(8,743)	0	(15,368)	0
Total costs and expenses	325,353	348,880	697,637	716,687	815,729	863,615
Operating income	266,723	204,565	297,858	222,562	308,971	220,479
Interest Income (Expense), Net	25,512	26,850	77,027	83,871	103,707	116,369
Net effect of swaps	1,377	(175)	8,315	(1,318)	8,141	(10,930)
Loss on early debt extinguishment	0	0	34,573	0	34,573	0
Unrealized / realized foreign currency (gain) loss	(8,615)	(15,035)	15,229	(13,926)	20,157	(18,721)
Other Income Expense	0	0	0	0	0	0
(Income) loss from investment in affiliates	0	0	0	0	0	0
Income before taxes	248,449	192,925	162,714	153,935	142,393	133,761
Provision for taxes	58,025	51,912	34,026	41,754	24,030	27,858
Net income	190,424	141,013	128,688	112,181	118,363	105,903
Other comprehensive income (loss), (net of tax):
Cumulative foreign currency translation adjustment	(699)	(563)	1,194	(1,251)	2,814	(2,672)
Unrealized income (loss) on cash flow hedging derivatives	(2,761)	(234)	7,803	(1,798)	9,740	(397)
Other comprehensive income (loss), (net of tax)	(3,460)	(797)	8,997	(3,049)	12,554	(3,069)
Total Comprehensive Income (Loss)	186,964	140,216	137,685	109,132	130,917	102,834
Cedar Fair L.P. (Parent) [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Net revenues	83,285	79,663	131,528	124,864	152,379	147,733
Costs and expenses:
Cost of food, merchandise and games revenues	0	0	0	0	0	0
Operating expenses	1,669	1,368	4,500	4,141	5,739	5,452
Selling, general and administrative	1,796	1,853	4,310	4,841	5,964	6,865
Depreciation and amortization	18,306	19,209	31,672	33,436	35,896	37,698
Loss on impairment / retirement of fixed assets, net	368	25,000	404	24,221	1,318	24,188
Gain on sale of other assets			0		0
Total costs and expenses	22,139	47,430	40,886	66,639	48,917	74,203
Operating income	61,146	32,233	90,642	58,225	103,462	73,530
Interest Income (Expense), Net	10,858	12,213	31,580	36,438	43,667	50,007
Net effect of swaps	810	(104)	5,067	(35)	4,964	(5,019)
Loss on early debt extinguishment			21,175		21,175
Unrealized / realized foreign currency (gain) loss	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other Income Expense	188	186	563	561	751	749
(Income) loss from investment in affiliates	(146,054)	(125,636)	(104,833)	(99,621)	(95,234)	(88,216)
Income before taxes	195,344	145,574	137,090	120,882	128,139	116,009
Provision for taxes	4,920	4,561	8,402	8,701	9,776	10,106
Net income	190,424	141,013	128,688	112,181	118,363	105,903
Other comprehensive income (loss), (net of tax):
Cumulative foreign currency translation adjustment	(699)	(563)	1,194	(1,251)	2,814	(2,672)
Unrealized income (loss) on cash flow hedging derivatives	(2,761)	(234)	7,803	(1,798)	9,740	(397)
Other comprehensive income (loss), (net of tax)	(3,460)	(797)	8,997	(3,049)	12,554	(3,069)
Total Comprehensive Income (Loss)	186,964	140,216	137,685	109,132	130,917	102,834
Guarantor Subsidiaries Co Issuer Subsidiary Magnum [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Net revenues	161,866	141,134	255,595	221,221	292,510	261,878
Costs and expenses:
Cost of food, merchandise and games revenues	0	0	0	0	0	0
Operating expenses	76,468	74,191	150,320	147,211	179,465	180,665
Selling, general and administrative	38,083	32,627	81,584	70,848	97,351	90,892
Depreciation and amortization	10	10	28	28	40	41
Loss on impairment / retirement of fixed assets, net	0	0	0	0	0	0
Gain on sale of other assets			0		0
Total costs and expenses	114,561	106,828	231,932	218,087	276,856	271,598
Operating income	47,305	34,306	23,663	3,134	15,654	(9,720)
Interest Income (Expense), Net	6,901	7,258	21,824	21,957	29,195	28,592
Net effect of swaps	567	(71)	3,248	192	3,177	(1)
Loss on early debt extinguishment			12,781		12,781
Unrealized / realized foreign currency (gain) loss	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other Income Expense	(2,129)	(2,043)	(6,645)	(7,119)	(9,033)	(10,205)
(Income) loss from investment in affiliates	(78,714)	(79,925)	(58,614)	(73,448)	(51,316)	(50,693)
Income before taxes	120,680	109,087	51,069	61,552	30,850	22,587
Provision for taxes	14,537	9,777	(2,444)	(3,771)	(8,530)	(29,298)
Net income	106,143	99,310	53,513	65,323	39,380	51,885
Other comprehensive income (loss), (net of tax):
Cumulative foreign currency translation adjustment	0	0	0	0	0	0
Unrealized income (loss) on cash flow hedging derivatives	(1,202)	48	1,836	(629)	2,385	(109)
Other comprehensive income (loss), (net of tax)	(1,202)	48	1,836	(629)	2,385	(109)
Total Comprehensive Income (Loss)	104,941	99,358	55,349	64,694	41,765	51,776
Co-Issuer Subsidiary (Cedar Canada) [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Net revenues	82,265	88,334	117,508	130,441	127,485	142,250
Costs and expenses:
Cost of food, merchandise and games revenues	6,082	6,447	9,076	9,988	9,404	10,531
Operating expenses	19,042	18,736	40,569	40,328	48,104	47,134
Selling, general and administrative	4,781	4,822	9,360	9,877	10,618	11,650
Depreciation and amortization	8,979	9,430	15,797	16,415	17,581	18,300
Loss on impairment / retirement of fixed assets, net	1	0	479	9	476	(62)
Gain on sale of other assets			0		0
Total costs and expenses	38,885	39,435	75,281	76,617	86,183	87,553
Operating income	43,380	48,899	42,227	53,824	41,302	54,697
Interest Income (Expense), Net	9,731	9,897	29,338	30,898	39,310	44,583
Net effect of swaps	0	0	0	(1,475)	0	(5,910)
Loss on early debt extinguishment			617		617
Unrealized / realized foreign currency (gain) loss	(8,615)	(15,035)	15,229	(13,926)	20,157	(18,721)
Other Income Expense	584	512	1,967	1,221	2,766	1,498
(Income) loss from investment in affiliates	(13,606)	(11,355)	(18,318)	(14,896)	(18,019)	(9,456)
Income before taxes	55,286	64,880	13,394	52,002	(3,529)	42,703
Provision for taxes	14,390	17,181	(1,596)	13,525	(11,708)	20,942
Net income	40,896	47,699	14,990	38,477	8,179	21,761
Other comprehensive income (loss), (net of tax):
Cumulative foreign currency translation adjustment	(699)	(563)	1,194	(1,251)	2,814	(2,672)
Unrealized income (loss) on cash flow hedging derivatives	0	0	0	21	0	21
Other comprehensive income (loss), (net of tax)	(699)	(563)	1,194	(1,230)	2,814	(2,651)
Total Comprehensive Income (Loss)	40,197	47,136	16,184	37,247	10,993	19,110
Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Net revenues	509,467	464,902	877,450	808,471	996,647	941,465
Costs and expenses:
Cost of food, merchandise and games revenues	39,761	40,906	72,857	73,938	83,651	85,471
Operating expenses	318,022	289,604	579,532	534,900	669,919	636,106
Selling, general and administrative	14,067	13,691	30,279	29,922	34,423	36,381
Depreciation and amortization	30,200	31,574	60,816	62,332	68,891	71,152
Loss on impairment / retirement of fixed assets, net	1,268	0	1,383	0	6,578	10,383
Gain on sale of other assets			8,743		(15,368)
Total costs and expenses	394,575	375,775	736,124	701,092	848,094	839,493
Operating income	114,892	89,127	141,326	107,379	148,553	101,972
Interest Income (Expense), Net	(1,978)	(2,518)	(5,715)	(5,422)	(8,465)	(6,813)
Net effect of swaps	0	0	0	0	0	0
Loss on early debt extinguishment			0		0
Unrealized / realized foreign currency (gain) loss	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other Income Expense	1,357	1,345	4,115	5,337	5,516	7,958
(Income) loss from investment in affiliates	(40,904)	(45,354)	(15,029)	(38,551)	(8,239)	(21,713)
Income before taxes	156,417	135,654	157,955	146,015	159,741	122,540
Provision for taxes	24,178	20,393	29,664	23,299	34,492	26,108
Net income	132,239	115,261	128,291	122,716	125,249	96,432
Other comprehensive income (loss), (net of tax):
Cumulative foreign currency translation adjustment	0	0	0	0	0	0
Unrealized income (loss) on cash flow hedging derivatives	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other comprehensive income (loss), (net of tax)	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total Comprehensive Income (Loss)	132,239	115,261	128,291	122,716	125,249	96,432
Eliminations [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Net revenues	(244,807)	(220,588)	(386,586)	(345,748)	(444,321)	(409,232)
Costs and expenses:
Cost of food, merchandise and games revenues	0	0	0	0	0	0
Operating expenses	(244,807)	(220,588)	(386,586)	(345,748)	(444,321)	(409,232)
Selling, general and administrative	0	0	0	0	0	0
Depreciation and amortization	0	0	0	0	0	0
Loss on impairment / retirement of fixed assets, net	0	0	0	0	0	0
Gain on sale of other assets			0		0
Total costs and expenses	(244,807)	(220,588)	(386,586)	(345,748)	(444,321)	(409,232)
Operating income	0	0	0	0	0	0
Interest Income (Expense), Net	0	0	0	0	0	0
Net effect of swaps	0	0	0	0	0	0
Loss on early debt extinguishment			0		0
Unrealized / realized foreign currency (gain) loss	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other Income Expense	0	0	0	0	0	0
(Income) loss from investment in affiliates	279,278	262,270	196,794	226,516	172,808	170,078
Income before taxes	(279,278)	(262,270)	(196,794)	(226,516)	(172,808)	(170,078)
Provision for taxes	0	0	0	0	0	0
Net income	(279,278)	(262,270)	(196,794)	(226,516)	(172,808)	(170,078)
Other comprehensive income (loss), (net of tax):
Cumulative foreign currency translation adjustment	699	563	(1,194)	1,251	(2,814)	2,672
Unrealized income (loss) on cash flow hedging derivatives	1,202	(48)	(1,836)	608	(2,385)	88
Other comprehensive income (loss), (net of tax)	1,901	515	(3,030)	1,859	(5,199)	2,760
Total Comprehensive Income (Loss)	$ (277,377)	$ (261,755)	$ (199,824)	$ (224,657)	$ (178,007)	$ (167,318)