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The Cedar Point Dream


 Everyone knows this place, home to some extreme coasters, insane rides and one huge reputation. The coasters alone boast such a reputation with the first hyper (Magnum XL 200), the first giga (Millennium Force) and the first strata (Top Thrill Dragster) as well as rides such as Gatekeeper and Rougarou along with what is considered the best coaster in the world- Steel Vengeance. This park is the holy grail for many enthusiasts and I am one of those people so I thought I'd break it down and look at why I am so desperate to get to Sandusky, Ohio.


History

Of course the history undergraduate had to go straight to this but this park seems to have its history brushed to one side as its a park that constantly adapts, yet it is older then our old friend Pleasure Beach by 26 years and of their 16 operating coasters, only 6 opened this century. It's a park that keeps moving forward, always at the forefront of the amusement industry and breaking records. This is evident by the closure of Wicked Twister in 2021 or the conversion of Mean Streak into Steel Vengeance. You could look at the fact it opened their first roller coaster back in 1892 with Switchback Railway. While an old park, it adapts and avoids becoming a museum and that's why we see some of the best rides in the world there. 


Coasters

OK so lets get right into the good stuff and talk about the coasters, I've picked out 3 that particularly intrigue me but its not limited to those as I'm interested in basically every thrill and family coaster they have to offer to some extent.

Maverick

Yeah this one just strikes me as a great ride having seen the POV, snappy and intense. Strikes me as Icon on steroids but that might just be me, either way I've seen a lot praise for this ride and rightly so. Over 100ft tall and speed of 70mph with 2 inversions, it sounds like an absolute beast (no, not the one at Kings Island also in Ohio 😅). 

Top Thrill Dragster

The first strata coaster, an Intamin Accelerator, just a ridiculous ride. Such an intense experience, to my understanding just a much bigger version of Stealth and as you'll know from my top 10, I enjoy that ride and think a bigger version would fit high up in my rankings. With a height of 420ft and a speed of 120mph this is a behemoth of a ride and probably deserves all the credit it gets even it is unreliable. 

Steel Vengeance

How much air time is too much? Not enough according to this ride, revered as one of, if not the best coaster in the world and when you look at it, I can't even put into words how much I want to get on this. Seeing all these RMCs pop up is incredible and having grown up with woodies, this ride speaks to me, its innovative and modern. Inversions, massive vertical drop but then still very much a wooden feeling with lots of hills and head choppers. The king of RMCs and the top of my bucket list, an engineering marvel.


Why do I want to go?

I mean I know I've made it pretty obvious but in case I need to explain further. This park is stacked with great rides all over, more so than parks like Energylandia and Magic Mountain which have more coasters. I think the decisive factor for me is the history of the park, I love a park with roots and that acknowledges where it comes from. I love the look of the rides too, even rides such as Gemini and Iron Dragon look like fun to me and they are not tiny rides either.

It beats out other parks like Phantasialand, Efteling and Universal's Islands of Adventure as my top bucket list park due to the amount of coasters, the quality and the history but also because this will feel like an event rather than a very exciting new park, its been a dream for years and something I am determined to get to in my 20s. 



Without a doubt, the 'roller coaster capital of the world' becomes arguably more contentious with other parks adding more and more (Especially Energlandia which seemingly will never stop expanding) but there's a charm and a childish giddiness that comes with thinking of this park and driving down into the park and seeing the skyline, America itself is a plan for multiple trips over the years however this park is the only one that 100% matters to me and as long as I get there for one trip I will be satisfied. This park builds the biggest and the best so I see why so many people aspire to go here and I am fully part of that bracket.


As always, thanks for reading and let me know what park you want to get to.

Take care and see you in the next post!

Tom ✌

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