The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
‘STEEL VENGEANCE’ UNVEILED
Cedar Point chief claims it may be ‘best coaster in world’
Metal track on a wood foundation will thrill riders and set world records at Cedar Point next year, park officials said.
On Aug. 16, leaders of the Sandusky-based amusement park announced Steel Vengeance will become the park’s the newest ride — or mostly newest.
For 2018, Steel Vengeance trains will roll on 5,740 feet — more than a mile — of new steel rails set atop the timbered up structure of the former Mean Streak, a wooden roller coaster known for thrashing its passengers.
Steel Vengeance is a ride only Cedar Point could build, said Jason McClure, vice president and general manager of Cedar Point.
“There are so many unexpected moments on Steel Vengeance, it’s just plain twisted,” McClure said. “It’ll be an extremely wild experience for our guests.”
The first drop is 200 feet straight down a hill 205 feet tall and it will reach up to 74 mph.
The “hyper-hybrid” ride will become the tallest, fastest, steepest, longest roller coaster of its kind.
It will have 27.2 seconds of “air time,” the feeling of weightlessness that passengers get when the trains roll over certain features. That is
the most of any roller coaster in the world, according to Cedar Point.
“It’s going to be the wildest coaster here at Cedar Point,” McClure said.
Although Steel Vengeance will have a little Mean Streak underneath, he pledged an entirely new ride experience.
Delivering a new coaster at Cedar Point means a lot of pressure from fans and the industry, McClure said.
But the park won’t shy away from that, he added.
“We think that this Steel Vengeance roller coaster might be the best roller coaster here at Cedar Point,” McClure said. “And that means it’s probably going to be the best coaster in the world.”
The new brown metal track is visible on the hills, although McClure said his favorite part so far is the portion of the ride inside the wooden structure.
“It just goes on and on inside the wooden structure and it looks really crazy in there,” he said. “Inversions, high banks, it’s going to be a really intense experience when you dive back down into that lift hill and you’re surrounded by the entire ride.”
Steel Vengeance is being built by Rocky Mountain Construction of Idaho, a company that specializes in the redesign of wooden roller coasters.
“We are so proud to be chosen for this project; we are so blessed at the same time,” said Rocky Mountain Construction founder Fred Grubb. He credited Cedar Point for the teamwork needed to pull off the plan for Steel Vengeance.
“This is the biggest undertaking RMC has ever taken on,” he said. “It’s a huge, mammoth roller coaster. It has more tricks, more elements than we could even name.
“This coaster is really going to be hard to beat. This is one for the record books.”
Revitalizing Frontier-Town
Steel Vengeance will become another element to revitalize the Frontier-Town section of Cedar Point.
Much of the wooden frame remains standing and most of the steel track has been set down, said Tony Clark, Cedar Point director of communications.
Construction will continue, and so will the storyline created for Steel Vengeance, Clark said.
Cedar Point has created three characters: Jackson “Blackjack” Chamberlain; Chess “Wild One” Watkins; and Wyatt “Digger” Dempsey.
The “outlaws” have banded together to create Steel Vengeance as part of their plan to take Frontier-Town back from Maverick, the steel ride that “acts more like a bucking bronco than a coaster,” according to the park.
“It will definitely give Maverick a run for its money,” McClure said. “There’s nothing better for the prosperity of this here town than two rival coasters going head to head to deliver thrills for those of you brave enough to ride.”
For the unveiling, park staff announced a Hootenanny attended by press and park guests, many of whom wore brown cowboy hats made of foldable foam.
The staff donned Old West duds for the party, including McClure, who was clad in black and topped with a Stetson as the sheriff of Frontier-Town.
The park’s Bluegrass Jamboree quintet warmed up the crowd with music and jokes.
Grubb took the stage to chants of “R-M-C!” from coaster enthusiasts attending. Other speakers included Clark, Rob Decker, senior vice president of planning and design, and Ed Dangler, vice president of maintenance and new construction.
With the announcement, Cedar Point claimed more records in the world of thrill rides.
The park has 60,423 feet, or 11.4 miles, of roller coaster track; that includes 57,865 feet, or 11 miles, of steel track. Both are world records.
Cedar Point has six roller coasters taller than 200 feet; five coasters with a first drop of 90 degrees or more; and the most rides of any one amusement park, with a roster of 71.