Cedar Point is a 364-acre (1. 47 km) amusement park located in Sandusky, Ohio, the United States on a narrow peninsula jutting into Lake Erie. It currently holds the world record for most roller coasters (17), one of which, Top Thrill Dragster, is the world’s second tallest and second fastest roller coaster, reaching speeds of 120 mph (190 km/h) and a height of 420 feet (130 m). Cedar Point is also the only amusement park with four roller coasters that are taller than 200 feet (61 m). As of 2008[update], Cedar Point has more rides (75) than any other amusement park. It also has a mile-long white sand beach, an outdoor water park (Soak City), an indoor waterpark and hotel (Castaway Bay), two marinas, several hotels, and Challenge Park, which features attractions such as go-karts, miniature golf, Ripcord, and Skyscraper. Known as “America’s Roller Coast”, Cedar Point has been voted “Best Amusement Park in the World” by Amusement Today for the past eleven years. The park opened in 1870 and is the second oldest amusement park in North America after Lake Compounce.
Cedar Point is the flagship park for Cedar Fair Entertainment Company (which is headquartered at the park) and, along with Valleyfair, was one of the original parks owned and operated by the company. Cedar Point’s normal operating season runs daily from early May through Labor Day, then for nine weekends following Labor Day. Operating hours vary throughout the summer, but on most days the park opens at 10:00 a. m. and closes at 10:00 p. m. Guests of the on-site hotels (Hotel Breakers, Sandcastle Suites, Lighthouse Point, Camper Village, Breakers Express, and Castaway Bay) are granted 1-hour early access to the park.
In 2009, Cedar Point will be open daily from May 16 through September 7, then on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from September 18 through November 1 for Halloweekends. Cedar Point has received the Golden Ticket Award by Amusement Today for “Best Amusement Park in the World” in 2009, winning for the twelfth consecutive year. The park also placed in the categories for “Friendliest Staff”, “Best Outdoor Night Production” and “Best Halloween Event”. Cedar Point also won “Best New Ride of 2007” with its new roller coaster Maverick.
Top Thrill Dragster is steel, hydraulically-launched roller coaster located at Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio. It was the first “Strata Coaster,” loosely defined as a complete circuit coaster that is 420 feet tall. It was built by Intamin AG and debuted to the public on May 4, 2003. It is one of only 2 strata coasters in existence, the other being Kingda Ka (2005) at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey. Top Thrill Dragster if it were placed on the Skyline of nearby Cleveland, Ohio, would be tied with Cuyahoga County Justice Center Complex(1976) as the 8th tallest building in Downtown Cleveland.
If it were placed in Downtown Toledo, it would be Toledo’s tallest structure. The Tallest Structure in Toledo, Ohio is One Seagate. Top Thrill Dragster was the second hydraulically launched roller coaster built by Intamin AG, following Xcelerator at Knott’s Berry Farm. The tagline for Top Thrill Dragster is “Race for the sky. ” Due to aviation safety concerns, for the purpose of warning air traffic, the tower is equipped with four dual strobes: three mid-way up, and one on the highest point on the coaster.
When Top Thrill Dragster first debuted, it set two new records:
- Tallest coaster
- Fastest top speed of any coaster
Top Thrill Dragster was the fourth roller coaster to break the 100 mph speed barrier. It was preceded in this feat by Tower of Terror at Dreamworld, Australia, Superman: The Escape at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, and Dodonpa (located at Fuji-Q Highland). The previous record-holder for overall height was Superman: The Escape at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California (415 feet tall). Top Thrill Dragster broke this record at 420 feet.
Top Thrill Dragster’s record was broken in 2005 when Kingda Ka opened at Six Flags Great Adventure, standing 456 feet tall. The previous record-holder for speed was Dodonpa, at 107 mph. This record was broken by Top Thrill Dragster, which reaches speeds up to 120 (depending on wind and other conditions), which was later broken by Kingda Ka which reached a top speed of 128 mph. Skyhawk is a thrill ride at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. It is located in Frontiertown near the middle of the park. It was opened on May 6, 2006, at the beginning of Cedar Point’s 137th season.
Specifications Skyhawk is a Screamin’ Swing type ride built by S Power. The structure itself is 103 feet tall at its highest point, the equivalent height of a ten-story building, making it the world’s largest swinging thrill ride. It consists of two swinging arms, both 84 feet tall, seating 20 across and 20 back to back (40 total) At full swing, the ends of the arms approach 125 feet high off the ground–as high as a twelve-story building–and achieve a maximum velocity of 65 miles-per-hour–faster than most wooden roller coasters.
The ride lasts about one minute and can accommodate 800 passengers per hour. Riders must be 48 inches or taller. In 2006, Cedar Point added a world-record-breaking thrill ride – Skyhawk. Located near Snake River Falls in Frontiertown and standing 103 feet above the ground, Skyhawk is the tallest ride of its kind in the world. Skyhawk features two giant swinging arms, every 84 feet in length, with 20 seats on each arm. Each set of 20 seats consists of two rows of 10 seats, positioned back to back, that provide each rider with a “front-row” view.
Using pneumatic technology similar to that used on Power Tower, riders are thrilled as they are pushed toward the sky, then experience weightlessness as they reverse direction and rush back toward the ground – just like the drop side of a roller coaster – with no ride structure in their path. At the peak of the arc, riders on Skyhawk are more than 125 feet in the air and reach speeds of 60 mph in both directions! The $6 million rides gives nearly 800 rides an hour. Each ride is approximately one minute long.
In 2008, Skyhawk gave nearly 700,000 rides. (Guests must be at least 48 inches tall to ride Skyhawk. ) The cure for those hot summer days! Snake River Falls is an 82-foot-tall water flume ride that features one gigantic tidal wave of fun. Located along the Frontier Trail near the Cedar Creek Mine Ride, this wet and wild boat ride takes its passengers on a meandering journey until it reaches the edge of the first hill. The boat then plummets down at an amazing 50-degree angle in 1. seconds, creating a 1,600-square-foot wave that soaks riders and onlookers standing on a bridge built directly over the splash landing zone. Nearly 10 million guests have “cooled off” on this popular summertime attraction since it opened in 1993. In 2006, 561,695 guests did just that! Riders must be at least 48 inches tall. One of the world’s tallest, steepest and fastest drops crosses beneath the ride’s lift hill. An exit bridge takes riders into the path of “tidal waves” resulting from the splashdown of subsequent boats. Non-riders can watch the splashdown from a bridge on the Frontier Trail.
