Cedar Point
America's Roller Coast
Cedar Point is the roller coaster capital of the world with a
record 17 roller coasters of all kinds - stand up, wooden, steel, suspended,
inverted and racing. It is truly the park of choice for the aggressive roller
coaster ride.
This was my first visit to this world renowned amusement
park, and was I excited about riding some of the top roller coasters in the
world. As I drove out on the causeway, the horizon became filled with wood and
steel gleaming in the morning sky. There stood Raptor perched at the front of
the park seeming to lure me in. As my adrenaline began to pump, I could hardly
wait to get my car parked and I rushed to the front gate to begin my adventure
at America's Roller Coast.
The skies were partly cloudy and the
temperature reached only 75 with low humidity making for a beautiful day.
Crowds were fairly light early, picking up a little later in the afternoon as
more school groups arrived on buses.
Corkscrew
I began
my roller coaster experience at Cedar Point with the
Corkscrew. This Arrow triple-looping roller
coaster takes you upside down and all around. When it was constructed in 1976,
the Corkscrew was the first ride with a 360-degree vertical loop and two
helical curves.
From its 85 foot lift hill you race around this track
with its two helical curves and 360-degree loop over the heads of onlookers at
up to 48 mph. 
It only took 5 minutes to get onto the
Corkscrew and I got two consecutive rides. This short 2 minute ride was a
little smoother than some other Arrow multi-element coasters but there was
still some headbanging.
Gemini
Gemini (1978) - Arrow Steel Racing Coaster
built on a wooden structure with twin parallel tracks in a figure-eight
configuration. This coaster is a favorite for many folks. I waited only 15
minutes for a front seat and found it to be rather enjoyable, but hardly a
favorite. Was it the 125 foot high first drop at 55 degrees or maybe the
heightened excitement of racing the red and blue cars at up to 60 mph that
attracts many? It was a smooth ride with lots of air time. I rode again in the
back seat and found the air time about the same, however I experienced much
more lateral G forces.
Mean Streak
Mean Streak (1991) - This Summers Twister is
one of the tallest (160 feet) and fastest wooden roller coasters in the world.
Built in 1991, this wooden forest of hills and thrills features a stunning
161-foot-tall first hill, a blazing top speed of 65 mph and more than 5,400
feet of hair-raising excitement.
Built from 1.7 million board feet of treated
Southern yellow pine and standing a monumental 161 feet tall, the Mean Streak
is one of the two wooden roller coasters that grace the skyline of "America's
Roller Coast." 
I waited only 15 minutes for a front seat on this
fun, fast and exciting coaster. It has fast turns, good dips, and a lot of
laterals G's. The first half of the ride is definately the better half.
I experienced very little air time and thought it was a little jarring,
especially the first drop. I also found the narrow seat divider a little more
than uncomfortable. Hey, why do they have those things anyway?
Iron Dragon
Iron Dragon (1987)
I had to wait only 5
minutes for this Arrow Suspended coaster with individual four-passenger cars
skimming above treetop and swooping over a misty lagoon ending with a giant
pretzel-knot loop over water. The suspended design of this coaster makes it
rather interesting as you sway side to side. The first part of this ride was
boring but after the second lift hill there were some good S curves and it
finally picks up a little speed in the curve over the water. I certainly didn't
see any need for shoulder harnesses - seat belts would have been
sufficient.
Wildcat
Wildcat (1970) - The Schwarzkopf Wildcat was
not running in the morning and by afternoon when it was running, after riding
other coasters, this little carnival style coaster had no appeal to me. The
compact four-passenger cars maneuver swiftly through sharp turns and frequent
dips, but had no big drops and looked rather slow.
Disaster Transport
The Disaster Transport (1985) is an Enclosed Intamin Bobsled. It's a roller coaster space adventure with a queue area themed like a battered suborbital launching facility complete with rocket recovery and mission control rooms. Riders supposedly encounter attacking space pirates, exploding asteroids and a laser-beaming satellite along the ride, although I don't remember seeing any of that. What you do have is a twisting, turning maze of track in the dark with no inversions, not nearly as intense as some of the newer enclosed launched coasters such as Outer Limits at King's Island.
Cedar Creek Mine Ride
There was no waiting for the Cedar Creek Mine Ride, built in 1969 by Arrow. The ride takes you through a rustic-themed ride hurling you toward a lagoon and twisting you through sharp spiral turns. It is a very smooth ride with no big drops and a couple sudden dips. The tight lap bars seemed totally unnecessary. This is not a very intense coaster, as far as coasters go, but would be enjoyable to those who won't ride the larger coasters.
Certainly, the highlight of my visit to
Cedar Point was Coaster Mania, sponsored by ACE (American Coaster Enthusiasts).
I've never seen so
many Coastermanics at one place at the same time, being the first
time I've attended a Coaster Club activity. They sure know how to enjoy their
coasters. The employees of the park are generally very friendly and helpful.
You can sense the excitement of the ride operators as they build your
anticipation of the ride as they prepare you for departure from the loading
stations.
Raptor
What a way to start the day of coastering
...on
Raptor (1994). Beginning at 7 a.m. (before
the park opened), Raptor began to rule the sky!
This B&M Inverted coaster is an incredibly fun
ride where your feet dangle above ground from ski lift-like seats as you drop
119 ft. at speeds of up to 57 mph, scream through a 100 ft. vertical loop, a
heartline spin, a cobra roll and then into the mid-course brake. Next you fly
through a spiraling drop followed by a corkscrew, a straightaway, a dip,
another corkscrew, a helix and back to the loading station. 
I can
understand why this 2-minute, 16-second-long ride along its 3,790 feet of
bright green track was recently voted No. 8 in the "Best Steel Roller Coaster
in the World" category in a survey conducted by Amusement Today. 
My first inverted coaster ride was on Top Gun at Paramount's
Great America in Santa Clara, Calif., but I liked Raptor more. 
The
smooth front seat ride is the most fun as you get to see everything coming up.
But, that doesn't take anything away from riding other seats ... they are fun
too.
All in all, your feet kiss the sky no fewer than 6 incredible
times!
Later, that evening after it got
dark, I rode Raptor again, and what can I say ... it gets even better. There
was something about riding in the dark that made the elements even more
intense. This ride takes you so fast upside down, sideways, looping and
everything that you get disoriented quite frequently.
View more photos of Raptor
Blue Streak
Following the Raptor, Cedar Point gave us an hour of ERT on Blue Streak (1964), a traditional Allen Out & Back woodie. There were lots of humps providing alot of good air time.
Magnum XL-200
Following an
incredible laser light and fireworks show as the park patrons were leaving the
park, hundreds of Coastermaniacs lined up for a night-time ERT on
Magnum XL-200 (1989) - Arrow Hyper-Coaster.
What a ride! That first drop... wow!
It's a frightening feeling
to crest the top of the 205 foot lift hill and not be able to see the track
below you. That incredible 60 degree drop is followed by another 157 foot hill
and the thrills don't let up from there. The tunnels during the day-time ride
are disorienting, but at night you get totally lost.
They took the brakes off for the ERT
and the Coastermanicas loved it. This coaster is so incredibly fast - up to 72
mph! Air time was great even during normal running, but with the brakes off,
there were times on the hills back to the station it seemed like I spent more
time out of my seat than in it. I sure appreciated the lap bars as I'm sure
without them, this coaster would have ejected me right out of the car. All in
all, a great coaster experience that you don't want to miss!
View more photos of Magnum XL-200
Mantis
To top off the night, under a clear sky and twinkling stars,
we boarded the B&M stand-up coaster,
Mantis (1996), for the last hour and a half
of ERT.
It was great to just walk up to this
mega-ride and get right on with no wait. Earlier in the day, it took at least 1
hour to get on. One disappointment I had was that the ride operator would not
allow us to stay on for consecutive rides even when there was no one else
waiting for a seat. It was a little crazy to have to get off and walk around
through the non-existent queue to re-board.
Compared to Chang, Mantis was shorter and rougher ride. I
experienced some uncomfortable headbanging on the later rides that I didn't
notice earlier in the day.
After climbing the 145-foot lift hill there
is a swooping banked turn to the right and you drop at 52-degrees 137-feet at
60 mph into a 119 foot tall vertical loop. That's followed by a 103 foot tall
dive loop and a 360-degree banked turn as you rush into an 83 foot tall
inclined loop, a series of rock-and-roll turns, a 360-degree flat spin and
through a figure eight before resting back at the loading station.
All
in all, a really cool ride.
View more photos of Mantis
The folks at Cedar Point should be thanked for their hospitality in hosting CoasterMania '97. Besides providing ERT (Exclusive Ride Time) on four of their more popular coasters, they also provided a great evening dinner of fried chicken, hot dogs, ice cream and soft drinks.
Roller Coasters added at Cedar Point since my visit in
1997:
Millennium Force (2000) stands 310 feet into
the air taking riders on a 93-mph journey along its 6,595 feet of track.
Wicked Twister (2002) is a
“double-twisting” impulse roller coaster.
Top Thrill Dragster (2003) debuted as the
tallest and fastest roller coaster in the universe.
Maverick (2007) a 2-minute, 30-second ride that featuring
plenty of speed, changes in direction and "airtime!"
Get to the Point!
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