Consolidating Financial Information of Guarantors and Issuers Balance Sheet (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 23, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 24, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 190,756	$ 166,245	$ 249,946	$ 122,716
Receivables	58,398	37,722	52,303
Inventories	36,549	29,719	34,240
Other current assets	21,875	13,297	18,624
Total current assets	307,578	246,983	355,113
Property and equipment (net)	1,588,699	1,585,772	1,580,510
Investment In Park	0	0	0
Goodwill	182,004	183,830	185,010	179,660
Other intangibles, net	37,131	38,064	38,532
Deferred tax asset	0	0	0
Other Assets	13,536	9,510	17,407
Total Assets	2,128,948	2,064,159	2,176,572
Current Liabilities:
Current maturities of long-term debt	3,750	0	0
Accounts payable	32,989	24,621	33,710
Deferred revenue	102,326	86,131	83,340
Accrued interest	21,893	8,124	23,928
Accrued taxes	48,372	43,975	78,657
Accrued salaries, wages and benefits	30,578	18,740	30,666
Self-insurance reserves	25,923	25,107	27,549
Other accrued liabilities	22,232	18,796	20,562
Total current liabilities	288,063	225,494	298,412
Deferred Tax Liability	74,637	74,798	112,671
Derivative Liability	0	8,722	14,849
Other Liabilities	16,292	11,684	15,732
Long-Term Debt:
Term debt	720,846	723,788	723,385
Notes	937,440	936,727	936,241
Total long-term debt	1,658,286	1,660,515	1,659,626
Equity	91,670	82,946	75,282
Total Liabilities and Partners' Equity	2,128,948	2,064,159	2,176,572
June 2014 Notes [Member]
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	190,756	166,245	249,946	122,716
Receivables	58,398	37,722	52,303
Inventories	36,549	29,719	34,240
Other current assets	21,875	13,297	18,624
Total current assets	307,578	246,983	355,113
Property and equipment (net)	1,588,699	1,585,772	1,580,510
Investment In Park	0	0	0
Goodwill	182,004	183,830	185,010
Other intangibles, net	37,131	38,064	38,532
Deferred tax asset	0	0	0
Other Assets	13,536	9,510	17,407
Total Assets	2,128,948	2,064,159	2,176,572
Current Liabilities:
Current maturities of long-term debt	3,750
Accounts payable	32,989	24,621	33,710
Deferred revenue	102,326	86,131	83,340
Accrued interest	21,893	8,124	23,928
Accrued taxes	48,372	43,975	78,657
Accrued salaries, wages and benefits	30,578	18,740	30,666
Self-insurance reserves	25,923	25,107	27,549
Other accrued liabilities	22,232	18,796	20,562
Total current liabilities	288,063	225,494	298,412
Deferred Tax Liability	74,637	74,798	112,671
Derivative Liability		8,722	14,849
Other Liabilities	16,292	11,684	15,732
Long-Term Debt:
Term debt	720,846	723,788	723,385
Notes	937,440	936,727	936,241
Total long-term debt	1,658,286	1,660,515	1,659,626
Equity	91,670	82,946	75,282
Total Liabilities and Partners' Equity	2,128,948	2,064,159	2,176,572
June 2014 Notes [Member] | Reportable Legal Entities [Member] | Parent Company [Member]
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0	0	0
Receivables	0	0	0
Inventories	0	0	0
Other current assets	293	164	275
Total current assets	293	164	275
Property and equipment (net)	0	0	0
Investment In Park	648,414	588,684	566,548
Goodwill	674	674	674
Other intangibles, net	0	0	0
Deferred tax asset	0	0	0
Other Assets	1,197	0	0
Total Assets	650,578	589,522	567,497
Current Liabilities:
Current maturities of long-term debt	0
Accounts payable	553,952	497,558	478,416
Deferred revenue	0	0	0
Accrued interest	113	27	292
Accrued taxes	1,551	352	1,589
Accrued salaries, wages and benefits	0	0	0
Self-insurance reserves	0	0	0
Other accrued liabilities	3,292	3,406	2,985
Total current liabilities	558,908	501,343	483,282
Deferred Tax Liability	0	0	0
Derivative Liability		5,233	8,933
Other Liabilities	0	0	0
Long-Term Debt:
Term debt	0	0	0
Notes	0	0	0
Total long-term debt	0	0	0
Equity	91,670	82,946	75,282
Total Liabilities and Partners' Equity	650,578	589,522	567,497
June 2014 Notes [Member] | Reportable Legal Entities [Member] | Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	116,511	81,582	160,593	58,178
Receivables	895,263	857,205	837,594
Inventories	34,289	27,828	31,817
Other current assets	19,546	10,983	16,829
Total current assets	1,065,609	977,598	1,046,833
Property and equipment (net)	1,409,366	1,403,264	1,396,463
Investment In Park	246,968	234,238	222,953
Goodwill	119,605	119,605	119,606
Other intangibles, net	23,368	23,887	24,089
Deferred tax asset	0	0	0
Other Assets	9,374	9,470	17,354
Total Assets	2,874,290	2,768,062	2,827,298
Current Liabilities:
Current maturities of long-term debt	3,094
Accounts payable	30,155	18,610	26,141
Deferred revenue	92,929	79,894	76,464
Accrued interest	14,104	6,024	14,232
Accrued taxes	11,011	73,224	74,224
Accrued salaries, wages and benefits	0	0	0
Self-insurance reserves	13,829	12,542	13,734
Other accrued liabilities	11,559	10,139	9,306
Total current liabilities	176,681	200,433	214,101
Deferred Tax Liability	81,945	81,945	125,350
Derivative Liability		0	0
Other Liabilities	14,934	10,811	14,073
Long-Term Debt:
Term debt	594,046	596,351	595,983
Notes	491,594	491,571	491,367
Total long-term debt	1,085,640	1,087,922	1,087,350
Equity	1,515,090	1,386,951	1,386,424
Total Liabilities and Partners' Equity	2,874,290	2,768,062	2,827,298
June 2014 Notes [Member] | Eliminations [Member]
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	(3,633)	(1,095)	(2,694)	(1,025)
Receivables	(885,049)	(836,241)	(819,734)
Inventories	0	0	0
Other current assets	(2,728)	(29,601)	(12,066)
Total current assets	(891,410)	(866,937)	(834,494)
Property and equipment (net)	0	0	0
Investment In Park	(2,360,178)	(2,106,694)	(2,030,822)
Goodwill	0	0	0
Other intangibles, net	0	0	0
Deferred tax asset	(19,870)	(20,956)	(32,190)
Other Assets	0	0	0
Total Assets	(3,271,458)	(2,994,587)	(2,897,506)
Current Liabilities:
Current maturities of long-term debt	0
Accounts payable	(888,682)	(837,336)	(822,428)
Deferred revenue	0	0	0
Accrued interest	0	0	0
Accrued taxes	(2,728)	(29,601)	(12,066)
Accrued salaries, wages and benefits	0	0	0
Self-insurance reserves	0		0
Other accrued liabilities	0	0	0
Total current liabilities	(891,410)	(866,937)	(834,494)
Deferred Tax Liability	(19,870)	(20,956)	(32,190)
Derivative Liability		0	0
Other Liabilities	0	0	0
Long-Term Debt:
Term debt	0	0	0
Notes	0	0	0
Total long-term debt	0	0	0
Equity	(2,360,178)	(2,106,694)	(2,030,822)
Total Liabilities and Partners' Equity	(3,271,458)	(2,994,587)	(2,897,506)
June 2014 Notes [Member] | Co-Issuer Subsidiary (Magnum) [Member] | Reportable Legal Entities [Member] | Subsidiary Issuer [Member]
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0	0	0
Receivables	991	1,184	1,285
Inventories	0	0	0
Other current assets	1,170	28,297	12,843
Total current assets	2,161	29,481	14,128
Property and equipment (net)	811	835	842
Investment In Park	1,205,086	1,045,640	1,016,857
Goodwill	0	0	0
Other intangibles, net	0	0	0
Deferred tax asset	19,870	20,956	32,190
Other Assets	2,926	0	0
Total Assets	1,230,854	1,096,912	1,064,017
Current Liabilities:
Current maturities of long-term debt	656
Accounts payable	334,696	344,410	345,150
Deferred revenue	0	0	0
Accrued interest	75	18	195
Accrued taxes	38,538	0	0
Accrued salaries, wages and benefits	28,162	17,498	28,306
Self-insurance reserves	10,459	10,947	12,090
Other accrued liabilities	6,796	5,094	7,772
Total current liabilities	419,382	377,967	393,513
Deferred Tax Liability	0	0	0
Derivative Liability		3,489	5,916
Other Liabilities	968	873	1,398
Long-Term Debt:
Term debt	126,800	127,437	127,402
Notes	0	0	0
Total long-term debt	126,800	127,437	127,402
Equity	683,704	587,146	535,788
Total Liabilities and Partners' Equity	1,230,854	1,096,912	1,064,017
June 2014 Notes [Member] | Co-Issuer Subsidiary (Cedar Canada) [Member] | Reportable Legal Entities [Member] | Subsidiary Issuer [Member]
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	77,878	85,758	92,047	65,563
Receivables	47,193	15,574	33,158
Inventories	2,260	1,891	2,423
Other current assets	3,594	3,454	743
Total current assets	130,925	106,677	128,371
Property and equipment (net)	178,522	181,673	183,205
Investment In Park	259,710	238,132	224,464
Goodwill	61,725	63,551	64,730
Other intangibles, net	13,763	14,177	14,443
Deferred tax asset	0	0	0
Other Assets	39	40	53
Total Assets	644,684	604,250	615,266
Current Liabilities:
Current maturities of long-term debt	0
Accounts payable	2,868	1,379	6,431
Deferred revenue	9,397	6,237	6,876
Accrued interest	7,601	2,055	9,209
Accrued taxes	0	0	14,910
Accrued salaries, wages and benefits	2,416	1,242	2,360
Self-insurance reserves	1,635	1,618	1,725
Other accrued liabilities	585	157	499
Total current liabilities	24,502	12,688	42,010
Deferred Tax Liability	12,562	13,809	19,511
Derivative Liability		0	0
Other Liabilities	390	0	261
Long-Term Debt:
Term debt	0	0	0
Notes	445,846	445,156	444,874
Total long-term debt	445,846	445,156	444,874
Equity	161,384	132,597	108,610
Total Liabilities and Partners' Equity	644,684	604,250	615,266
April 2017 Notes [Member] | Reportable Legal Entities [Member] | Parent Company [Member]
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0	0	0
Receivables	0	0	0
Inventories	0	0	0
Other current assets	293	164	275
Total current assets	293	164	275
Property and equipment (net)	0	0	0
Investment In Park	648,414	588,684	566,548
Goodwill	674	674	674
Other intangibles, net	0	0	0
Deferred tax asset	0	0	0
Other Assets	1,197	0	0
Total Assets	650,578	589,522	567,497
Current Liabilities:
Current maturities of long-term debt	0
Accounts payable	553,952	497,558	478,416
Deferred revenue	0	0	0
Accrued interest	113	27	292
Accrued taxes	1,551	352	1,589
Accrued salaries, wages and benefits	0	0	0
Self-insurance reserves	0	0	0
Other accrued liabilities	3,292	3,406	2,985
Total current liabilities	558,908	501,343	483,282
Deferred Tax Liability	0	0	0
Derivative Liability		5,233	8,933
Other Liabilities	0	0	0
Long-Term Debt:
Term debt	0	0	0
Notes	0	0	0
Total long-term debt	0	0	0
Equity	91,670	82,946	75,282
Total Liabilities and Partners' Equity	650,578	589,522	567,497
April 2017 Notes [Member] | Reportable Legal Entities [Member] | Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	1,188	1,152	1,689	353
Receivables	858,552	831,075	805,545
Inventories	6,084	5,300	5,659
Other current assets	3,675	1,642	3,955
Total current assets	869,499	839,169	816,848
Property and equipment (net)	1,409,366	1,403,264	1,396,463
Investment In Park	246,968	234,237	222,953
Goodwill	111,217	111,218	111,218
Other intangibles, net	23,368	23,887	24,089
Deferred tax asset	0	0	0
Other Assets	9,062	9,068	16,907
Total Assets	2,669,480	2,620,843	2,588,478
Current Liabilities:
Current maturities of long-term debt	0
Accounts payable	6,825	5,038	5,047
Deferred revenue	26,587	20,587	23,344
Accrued interest	0	0	0
Accrued taxes	1,442	67,048	65,200
Accrued salaries, wages and benefits	0	0	0
Self-insurance reserves	1,973	2,386	2,209
Other accrued liabilities	4,622	4,490	4,584
Total current liabilities	41,449	99,549	100,384
Deferred Tax Liability	81,945	81,945	125,350
Derivative Liability		0	0
Other Liabilities	11,630	10,691	11,992
Long-Term Debt:
Term debt	0	0	0
Notes	0	0	0
Total long-term debt	0	0	0
Equity	2,534,456	2,428,658	2,350,752
Total Liabilities and Partners' Equity	2,669,480	2,620,843	2,588,478
April 2017 Notes [Member] | Eliminations [Member]
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	(3,633)	(1,095)	(2,694)	(1,025)
Receivables	(885,049)	(836,241)	(819,734)
Inventories	0	0	0
Other current assets	(2,728)	(29,601)	(12,066)
Total current assets	(891,410)	(866,937)	(834,494)
Property and equipment (net)	0	0	0
Investment In Park	(3,850,844)	(3,499,454)	(3,401,117)
Goodwill	0	0	0
Other intangibles, net	0	0	0
Deferred tax asset	(19,870)	(20,956)	(32,190)
Other Assets	0	0	0
Total Assets	(4,762,124)	(4,387,347)	(4,267,801)
Current Liabilities:
Current maturities of long-term debt	0
Accounts payable	(888,682)	(837,336)	(822,428)
Deferred revenue	0	0	0
Accrued interest	0	0	0
Accrued taxes	(2,728)	(29,601)	(12,066)
Accrued salaries, wages and benefits	0	0	0
Self-insurance reserves	0	0	0
Other accrued liabilities	0	0	0
Total current liabilities	(891,410)	(866,937)	(834,494)
Deferred Tax Liability	(19,870)	(20,956)	(32,190)
Derivative Liability		0	0
Other Liabilities	0	0	0
Long-Term Debt:
Term debt	0	0	0
Notes	0	0	0
Total long-term debt	0	0	0
Equity	(3,850,844)	(3,499,454)	(3,401,117)
Total Liabilities and Partners' Equity	(4,762,124)	(4,387,347)	(4,267,801)
April 2017 Notes [Member] | Co-Issuer Subsidiary (Magnum) [Member] | Reportable Legal Entities [Member] | Subsidiary Issuer [Member]
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0	0	0
Receivables	991	1,184	1,285
Inventories	0	0	0
Other current assets	1,170	28,297	12,843
Total current assets	2,161	29,481	14,128
Property and equipment (net)	811	835	842
Investment In Park	1,205,086	1,045,640	1,016,857
Goodwill	0	0	0
Other intangibles, net	0	0	0
Deferred tax asset	19,870	20,956	32,190
Other Assets	2,926	0	0
Total Assets	1,230,854	1,096,912	1,064,017
Current Liabilities:
Current maturities of long-term debt	656
Accounts payable	334,696	344,410	345,150
Deferred revenue	0	0	0
Accrued interest	75	18	195
Accrued taxes	38,538	0	0
Accrued salaries, wages and benefits	28,162	17,498	28,306
Self-insurance reserves	10,459	10,947	12,090
Other accrued liabilities	6,796	5,094	7,772
Total current liabilities	419,382	377,967	393,513
Deferred Tax Liability	0	0	0
Derivative Liability		3,489	5,916
Other Liabilities	968	873	1,398
Long-Term Debt:
Term debt	126,800	127,437	127,402
Notes	0	0	0
Total long-term debt	126,800	127,437	127,402
Equity	683,704	587,146	535,788
Total Liabilities and Partners' Equity	1,230,854	1,096,912	1,064,017
April 2017 Notes [Member] | Co-Issuer Subsidiary (Cedar Canada) [Member] | Reportable Legal Entities [Member] | Subsidiary Issuer [Member]
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	77,878	85,758	92,047	65,563
Receivables	47,193	15,574	33,158
Inventories	2,260	1,891	2,423
Other current assets	3,594	3,454	743
Total current assets	130,925	106,677	128,371
Property and equipment (net)	178,522	181,673	183,205
Investment In Park	259,710	238,132	224,464
Goodwill	61,725	63,551	64,730
Other intangibles, net	13,763	14,177	14,443
Deferred tax asset	0	0	0
Other Assets	39	40	53
Total Assets	644,684	604,250	615,266
Current Liabilities:
Current maturities of long-term debt	0
Accounts payable	2,868	1,379	6,431
Deferred revenue	9,397	6,237	6,876
Accrued interest	7,601	2,055	9,209
Accrued taxes	0	0	14,910
Accrued salaries, wages and benefits	2,416	1,242	2,360
Self-insurance reserves	1,635	1,618	1,725
Other accrued liabilities	585	157	499
Total current liabilities	24,502	12,688	42,010
Deferred Tax Liability	12,562	13,809	19,511
Derivative Liability		0	0
Other Liabilities	390	0	261
Long-Term Debt:
Term debt	0	0	0
Notes	445,846	445,156	444,874
Total long-term debt	445,846	445,156	444,874
Equity	161,384	132,597	108,610
Total Liabilities and Partners' Equity	644,684	604,250	615,266
April 2017 Notes [Member] | Co-Issuer Subsidiary (Millennium) [Member] | Reportable Legal Entities [Member] | Subsidiary Issuer [Member]
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	115,323	80,430	158,904	$ 57,825
Receivables	36,711	26,130	32,049
Inventories	28,205	22,528	26,158
Other current assets	15,871	9,341	12,874
Total current assets	196,110	138,429	229,985
Property and equipment (net)	0	0	0
Investment In Park	1,490,666	1,392,761	1,370,295
Goodwill	8,388	8,387	8,388
Other intangibles, net	0	0	0
Deferred tax asset	0	0	0
Other Assets	312	402	447
Total Assets	1,695,476	1,539,979	1,609,115
Current Liabilities:
Current maturities of long-term debt	3,094
Accounts payable	23,330	13,572	21,094
Deferred revenue	66,342	59,307	53,120
Accrued interest	14,104	6,024	14,232
Accrued taxes	9,569	6,176	9,024
Accrued salaries, wages and benefits	0	0	0
Self-insurance reserves	11,856	10,156	11,525
Other accrued liabilities	6,937	5,649	4,722
Total current liabilities	135,232	100,884	113,717
Deferred Tax Liability	0	0	0
Derivative Liability		0	0
Other Liabilities	3,304	120	2,081
Long-Term Debt:
Term debt	594,046	596,351	595,983
Notes	491,594	491,571	491,367
Total long-term debt	1,085,640	1,087,922	1,087,350
Equity	471,300	351,053	405,967
Total Liabilities and Partners' Equity	$ 1,695,476	$ 1,539,979	$ 1,609,115