Are you a thrill seeker? Do you enjoy feeling the rush of air through your billowy locks while strapped into a monstrous roller coaster? We have good news then because Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio has some of the best in the world. Quite a few of the best in the world, in fact, but which one is the greatest? Read on and find out.
Cedar Point, by the way, is an institution dating back to 1870. It actually didn’t start as an amusement park; it started as a public beach. Over the years, it grew to accomodate more and more people. By the 1960s, Disney World was expanding rapidly and Cedar Point followed suit, adding a themed district called FrontierTown in 1967.
Let’s be honest though, Cedar Park is known for its coasters. It has six of them taller than 200 feet. That’s 20 stories tall! The park’s first roller coaster was built in 1892, called the Switchback Railway. It was 25 feet tall and hit speeds up to 10 miles an hour. For the time, that was pretty incredible. Things are of course different now, so let’s rank the top roller coasters at Cedar Point.
14. Corkscrew
A steel coaster favorite that opened in 1976. It’s an oldie but goodie with three inversions that include a double corkscrew and a loop that’s vertical. It moves you rapidly from side to side and goes upside down. It reaches 48 mph.
13. Cedar Creek Mine Ride
This beauty is an old-fashioned coaster that quickly changes directions. Think of it like Thunder Mountain at Disney World. It opened in 1969 as the lynchpin of Frontier Town, and it’s perfect for the whole family. It hits speeds of 40 mph.
12. Iron Dragon
The main selling point for the Iron Dragon is the steel and the scenic views. It’s a suspended coaster, meaning the cart hangs below the track and a lot of the ride is over the scenic Cedar Point Lagoon. It goes 40 mph.
11. Valravn
This one is known as a “high-speed, floorless looping dive roller coaster” that goes upside down three times. It goes as high as 223 feet in the air and leaves riders dangling on the edge of a 90-degree drop. This beast hits speeds of 75 mph and the ride lasts over two minutes.
10. Rougarou
A floorless coaster that boasts a 119-foot vertical loop after a 137-foot initial drop at 60 miles an hour. This is one of those coasters that never really lets you catch your breath during the two-and-a-half-minute ride.
9. Magnum XL-200
When the Magnum was introduced in 1989 it was the first coaster in the world to top 200 feet. It has a signature “pretzel turnaround” and offers some of the best views of any coaster in the park. Clocking in at 2:45, it’s also one of the longer coaster rides in the park. It reaches speeds of 72 mph.
8. Raptor
This steel beast has six inversions and 3,790 feet of track. There’s a 100-foot vertical loop, two separate inverted corkscrews and a zero-gravity roll. Riders reach speeds of 57 mph as they take this two-minute ride through the skies.
7. Blue Streak
A tried and true Cedar Point classic, it’s one of the park’s oldest coasters. A family favorite since it was introduced in 1964, this two-minute ride takes riders on a 78-foot climb with speeds of 40 mph. There’s just something about a wooden coaster and Blue Streak has everything you’re looking for.
6. Woodstock Express
The Woodstock Express is the ultimate kid’s coaster. It’s a Peanuts-themed ride that reaches speeds of 25 mph, perfect for the little ones who aren’t quite ready to take flight with the grown-ups just yet. It’s also just a really fun coaster.
5. Gemini
This twin coaster pits red vs. blue in a thrilling race to the finish. It’s a hybrid steel and wood coaster that zips and drops like the world’s ending tomorrow. There’s a 125-foot climb before a glorious fall that reaches 60 mph and leaves you wanting more.
4. Millennium Force
A high-speed steel beast that offers moments of weightlessness. Oh boy is it big. This monstrosity is known as a giga-coaster, and when it was introduced it was the first coaster in the world to top 300 feet (it towers at 310) and to top speeds of 90 mph. The drop is ginormous. It’s a thrilling two-minute ride that’s going to be hard to forget.
3. Gatekeeper
Gatekeeper is a wing coaster, meaning there are seats on both sides of the cars. It has the highest inversion in the park at 170 feet and dive-bombs and threads its way through seemingly impossible-to-avoid obstacles. It’s located at the front of the park (hence the name), and it reaches speeds of 67 mph during its two-minute journey.
2. Steel Vengeance
This coaster created a whole new coaster category: the hyper-hybrid. It’s 205 feet tall and hits speeds of 74 mph. The drop is a staggering 200 feet at a 90-degree angle, so it’s not for the faint of heart. This is an incredibly popular coaster so plan accordingly when you visit Cedar Point.
1. Maverick
What can be said about the Maverick? It’s a launch coaster with not one, but two launch points along with 360-degree corkscrew rolls and a 180-degree banked curve. At one point riders get launched 70 mph in just three seconds. It’s obviously one of the best coasters in the world and it needs to be experienced to be believed.
