Cedar Point is a 364-acre (147 ha) amusement park located on a Lake Erie peninsula in Sandusky,Ohio,United States. It opened in 1870 and is considered the second-oldest operating amusement park in the US behind Lake Compounce. Cedar Point,which is owned and operated by Cedar Fair,is the flagship of the company's amusement park chain. Known as "America's Roller Coast",the park features 16 roller coasters,which ranks third among amusement parks in North America behind Six Flags Magic Mountain (20) and Canada's Wonderland (18). One of Cedar Point's signature attractions,Steel Vengeance,opened as the tallest,fastest,and longest hybrid roller coaster in 2018.
Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters (PTC) is one of the oldest existing roller coaster manufacturing companies in the world. Based in Hatfield,Pennsylvania,it was established in 1904 by Henry Auchey and Chester Albright under the name Philadelphia Toboggan Company. The company manufactured carousels,wooden roller coasters,toboggans and later,roller coaster trains.
Top Thrill 2,formerly known as Top Thrill Dragster,is an upcoming launched roller coaster at Cedar Point in Sandusky,Ohio,United States. Originally manufactured by Intamin and designed by Werner Stengel,Top Thrill Dragster opened in 2003 as the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world,as well as the first strata coaster. It debuted with a height of 420 feet (130 m),a maximum speed of 120 mph (190 km/h),and a total track length of 2,800 feet (850 m). Its speed and height records were surpassed in 2005 by Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure.
Valleyfair is a 125-acre (51 ha) amusement park in Shakopee,Minnesota,United States. Owned by Cedar Fair,the park opened in 1976 and now features over 75 rides and attractions including eight roller coasters. Valleyfair also has a water park called Soak City which is included with the price of admission. Cedar Point and Valleyfair were the first two parks in the Cedar Fair chain and a combination of the park names –"cedar" and "fair" –were used to name the company.
Anton Schwarzkopf was a German engineer who founded Schwarzkopf Industries GmbH,a German manufacturer of roller coasters and other amusement rides that were sold to amusement parks and travelling funfairs around the world.
A wild mouse is a type of roller coaster consisting of single or spinning cars traversing a tight-winding track with an emphasis on sharp,unbanked turns. The upper portion of the track usually features multiple 180-degree turns,known as flat turns,that produce high lateral G-forces even at modest speeds. Cars are often designed to be wider than the track to enhance the illusion of hanging over the edge. Lower portions of the track typically feature small hills and bunny hops. Wild mouse coasters first appeared in the 1950s,and following a period of decline in the 1980s,new innovations and layout designs in the late 1990s led to a resurgence in demand.
Michigan's Adventure is a 250-acre (1.0 km2) amusement park in Muskegon County,Michigan,about halfway between Muskegon and Whitehall. It is the largest amusement park in the state and has been owned and operated by Cedar Fair since 2001. As of 2022,Michigan's Adventure has 37 rides,more than any other park in the state.
Bell's Amusement Park was an amusement park located in Tulsa's Expo Square,part of the Tulsa State Fairgrounds in Oklahoma. It operated for 55 years before closing in 2006. The park was previously owned and operated by Keli and Jason Fritz. And was especially known for its large wooden roller coaster,called Zingo,designed by John C. Allen and built in 1966–68.
Excelsior Amusement Park was an amusement park on Lake Minnetonka in the town of Excelsior,Minnesota,United States. The park,which operated from 1925 to 1973,was a popular destination for company picnics and day trips from the Twin Cities.
WildCat was a steel roller coaster located at Cedar Point in Sandusky,Ohio. Designed by Werner Stengel and manufactured by Anton Schwarzkopf,the ride opened to the public in 1979. Cedar Point decided in 2012 to remove WildCat to allow for expansion of the Celebration Plaza,also citing that the coaster had reached the end of its service life. It was dismantled and scrapped.
Mild Thing was a junior roller coaster at the Valleyfair amusement park in Shakopee,Minnesota.
This is a summary of notable incidents that have taken place at amusement parks,water parks,or theme parks that are currently owned or operated by Cedar Fair. This list is not intended to be a comprehensive list of every such event,but only those that had a significant impact on the parks or park operations,or are otherwise significantly newsworthy. The term incidents refers to major accidents,injuries,or deaths that occur at a park. These incidents were required to be reported to regulatory authorities due to where they occurred. They usually fall into one of the following categories:
- Negligence on the part of the guest,such as refusal to follow specific ride safety instructions.
- A guest deliberately breaking park rules.
- A guest's known,or unknown,health issues.
- Negligence on the part of the park,either by a ride operator or maintenance staff.
- Negligence on the part of the attraction's manufacturer
- An Act of God or a generic accident that is not a direct result of an action or inaction on anybody's part.
Roller coaster amusement rides have origins back to ice slides constructed in 18th-century Russia. Early technology featured sleds or wheeled carts that were sent down hills of snow reinforced by wooden supports. The technology evolved in the 19th century to feature railroad track using wheeled cars that were securely locked to the track. Newer innovations emerged in the early 20th century with side friction and underfriction technologies to allow for greater speeds and sharper turns. By the mid-to-late 20th century,these elements intensified with the introduction of steel roller coaster designs and the ability to invert riders.
Flitzer was a steel roller coaster on the Surfside Pier in the amusement park Morey's Piers. The Flitzer was 1 of the 3 small coasters at Morey's Piers. It opened in 1983 and was manufactured by Zierer in 1969. In 2018,it was announced that the Flitzer would close for good after September 23,2018. Due to weather,the send off for the ride was postponed to September 30,2018. A roller coaster called Runaway Tram replaced the Flitzer in 2019. Three of the Flitzer's ride vehicles are now at Runaway Tram's entrance.
National Amusement Devices in Dayton,Ohio was an American construction company founded in 1919 as the Dayton Fun House by Aurel Vaszin. Based on research,they built a 2-foot gauge miniature train that could be either gasoline or electric powered. This resembled a typical standard-gauge center cab electric train as early as 1922. Vaszin was an early environmental idealist and really pushed the idea of electric powered trains,as safer and less polluting.
Jolly Roger Amusement Park is an amusement park located in Ocean City,Maryland. The park features two locations in Ocean City:one at the pier on the Ocean City boardwalk and one further uptown at 30th Street. Both locations feature numerous thrill rides,including a looping roller coaster at the pier,bumper cars,a ferris wheel,a carousel,and kiddie rides,among others. The parks also contain typical carnival-like games and eateries. The 30th Street location additionally features two eighteen-hole mini-golf courses,Splash Mountain,a full-service waterpark with many slides and activity pools,and 10 go-kart tracks.
Valravn is a steel roller coaster at Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky,Ohio. Built and designed by Bolliger &Mabillard (B&M),it is the first Dive Coaster model in the Cedar Fair chain of parks and opened on May 7,2016,as the tallest,fastest,and longest of its kind in the world. It remains the tallest,sharing its height record with Yukon Striker at Canada's Wonderland. Valravn is also the first Dive Coaster to use B&M's vest-style,over-the-shoulder restraints and the third Dive Coaster overall to open in the United States. The installation marked the hundredth roller coaster from B&M,dating back to the company's founding in 1988.
Mad Mouse is a steel wild mouse roller coaster located at Valleyfair in Shakopee,Minnesota,U.S. It was manufactured by Arrow Dynamics and opened on May 8,1999 as a replacement for the similar coaster Rails,which was eventually moved to Jolly Roger Amusement Park in Maryland in 1998. The ride's track and supports were designed by Ride Centerline.
Silver Bullet is a steel Looping Star roller coaster currently operating at Frontier City in Oklahoma City,Oklahoma. Manufactured by Anton Schwarzkopf as the first transportable looping roller coaster,the ride was named Looping Star and first owned by German showmen Oscar Bruch and Fritz Kinzler. After its debut at the Cranger Kirmes in 1978,it operated on several fairs in Germany until it was sold to the State Fair of Texas in 1980. After the 1983 season it was relocated to Jolly Roger Amusement Park where it operated for the 1984 and 1985 seasons before being relocated again in 1986. At Frontier City the ride was renamed Silver Bullet and is currently the tallest roller coaster at the park and the one that has been operating there for the longest time.
