Category Archives: RollerCoasters

News and Updates, News Stories, Rides, RollerCoasters

Fire ends Mean Streak’s season early

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From the Sandusky Register…

SANDUSKY

Cedar Point’s Mean Streak will return, feisty as ever, but fans will have to wait until next year to climb back on.

A small fire at the wooden roller coaster Tuesday night damaged a 5-foot section of the track. Firefighters kept the fire from causing major damage.

Cedar Point spokesman Robin Innes said Wednesday the ride won’t be open for the rest of HalloWeekends, but said the park had planned to shut it down by this weekend, anyway, for maintenance.

The park is open on weekends through the end of October, although not all of the rides are available on Friday night. Mean Streak is one of the rides that has been available only on Saturday and Sunday.

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Small blaze snuffed on Mean Streak

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From the Sandusky Register…

SANDUSKY

A portion of Cedar Point’s largest wooden roller coaster caught fire late Tuesday, but a quick response from Sandusky firefighters spared the ride from any major damage.

The city’s firefighters were called to the park at about 9:30 p.m. because the amusement park’s own firefighters were not there. The park is now closed during the week, open only on weekends for HalloWeekends.

Firefighters said a section of track near the Mean Streak’s second hill somehow caught fire. Workers at the park had been repairing the ride and replacing boards earlier on Tuesday, and part of that work required them to cut metal bolts.

Since there were no heating sources near the fire location, firefighters speculated one of those bolts heated up after being cut, then dropped near the wood. The hot wood may have smoldered for some time until the wind breathed life into the embers hours later and sparked a small blaze.

The fire was small, limited to a 5-foot section of track and boards near the Mean Streak’s second hill.

Crews using one ladder truck completely extinguished the flames by 10:30 p.m. Firefighters said park personnel already planned to replace the boards that burned, so the fire caused no lasting damage.

According to the park’s website, Mean Streak contains 1.7 million feet of Southern yellow pine.

This was the second fire at the park this year.

On July 6 a 5,000-square-foot service building at the park caught fire. Investigators never determined the cause, but suspected an electrical malfunction was to blame.

Cedar Fair, News and Updates, News Stories, Rides, RollerCoasters

Cedar Fair Wins Top Honors

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Cedar Fair Press Release

SANDUSKY, Ohio – Families looking for world-class fun and thrills will want to find their closest Cedar Fair Entertainment Company amusement or water park as the company earned several top honors at Amusement Today’s 2010 Golden Ticket Awards celebration, including the coveted “Best Amusement Park in the World” honor for its flagship Cedar Point amusement park/resort in Ohio. This marks the 13th consecutive year that Cedar Point has earned that title.

Cedar Fair also took home top honors for having the “Best Kids’ Area” for the 10th year in a row at Kings Island amusement park, in Mason, Ohio, and the “Best Steel Roller Coaster in the World” for its record-shattering Millennium Force roller coaster at Cedar Point.

“We are honored to receive these prestigious awards,” stated Dick Kinzel, Cedar Fair’s chairman, president and chief executive officer. “We strive to provide our guests with the absolute best in thrills, chills and family fun and these awards are a testament to that.”

Two new roller coasters made their highly-anticipated debuts this summer – Intimidator at Carowinds in Charlotte, N.C., and Intimidator 305 at Kings Dominion in Virginia and both were a huge hit with coaster lovers. Intimidator 305 at Kings Dominion earned the No. 2 spot in the “Best New Ride for 2010” category, while Intimidator at Carowinds came in at No. 4. Both scream machines also earned a spot in the “Top 50 Steel Roller Coasters in the World” list, along with numerous other Cedar Fair roller coasters. In fact, Cedar Fair placed nine coasters in the Top 25 alone, including four of the Top 10! Three Cedar Fair wooden coasters earned spots in the “Top 50 Wooden Roller Coasters in the World” category, with the legendary Beast at Kings Island finishing in the Top 10.

Guests looking for even more thrills and chills will enjoy special Halloween-themed events at a majority of Cedar Fair’s parks this fall. Two of these events, Knott’s Scary Farm and Kings Island’s Halloween Haunt, earned Top 5 billing in the “Best Halloween Event” category.

Other awards included Gilroy Gardens placing No. 3 for “Best Landscaping” and Knott’s Berry Farm placing fourth in the “Best Kids’ Area” category.

The Golden Ticket Awards are some of the most prestigious awards in the amusement industry. They are presented annually to the “best of the best” in the industry and are calculated from an international poll conducted by Amusement Today, an Arlington, Texas-based publication that covers amusement and water park news and trends.

Cedar Fair Entertainment Company

Cedar Fair Entertainment Company (NYSE: “FUN”) is a publicly traded partnership headquartered in Sandusky, Ohio. The Company, which owns and operates 11 amusement parks, six outdoor water parks, one indoor water park and five hotels, is one of the largest regional amusement park operators in the world. Its parks are located in Ohio, California, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Missouri, Michigan, and Toronto, Ontario. Cedar Fair also operates the Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park in California under a management contract. Cedar Fair’s flagship park, Cedar Point, has been consistently voted the “Best Amusement Park in the World” in a prestigious annual poll conducted by Amusement Today newspaper.

Events, News and Updates, News Stories, Rides, RollerCoasters

Cedar Point to Celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Millennium Force

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Cedar Point Press Release

SANDUSKY, Ohio – In 2000, fears and concerns about Y2K were running rampant across the world.  Closer to home, then Vice President Al Gore and George W. Bush, the governor of Texas, were campaigning for the presidency of the United States.  How the Grinch Stole Christmas was the year’s top grossing movie, and Beverly Hills 90210 aired its final episode.

In May of that year, Cedar Point made history.  The Sandusky, Ohio, amusement park/resort had just introduced the Millennium Force roller coaster.  Standing 310 feet tall and reaching speeds of 93 mph, it was the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world!

Now 10 years and more than 17 million rides later, Cedar Point will commemorate this legendary coaster by hosting the Millennium Force 10th Anniversary Celebration on Saturday, Aug. 21.  Some of the special festivities on that day will include a 10th anniversary ceremony beginning at 11 a.m. and contests for Millennium Force prizes.

One of these contests will be for guests who follow Cedar Point on Twitter and the park’s in-park mobile messaging program.  During the day, several messages will be posted instructing guests on how to win an awesome Cedar Point and Millennium Force prize package.

“From Day One, Millennium Force was an instant hit,” said John Hildebrandt, Cedar Point’s vice president and general manager.  “It is an international icon for Cedar Point and symbolizes the best in roller-coaster-riding.”

Designed and manufactured by Intamin AG of Wollerau, Switzerland, Millennium Force is one of the most popular roller coasters ever built and has repeatedly been selected as the best coaster in the world in polls throughout the decade.

This steel giant towering over Sandusky Bay on Lake Erie was the first roller coaster in history to surpass the 300-foot threshold and to exceed 90 mph.  With a track length of 6,595 feet, Millennium Force is still the longest steel roller coaster in North America.

At a cost of $25 million, Millennium Force is one of the most expensive ride projects in the history of Cedar Point.

To learn more about the Millennium Force 10th Anniversary Celebration or any of the other rides and attractions at Cedar Point, please visit cedarpoint.com or call the park’s General Information Line at 419.627.2350

News and Updates, News Stories, Rides, RollerCoasters

Wild Ride!: Thrill Seekers Stuck on Cedar Point Roller Coaster during Power Outage

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From the 19ActionNews.com…

SANDUSKY, OH (WOIO) – People on the Cedar Point roller coaster Millennium Force were stuck on the ride for about 40 minutes on Tuesday.

This, after power went out to a small portion of the park around 11:45AM.

The roller coaster car stopped on the hill. Around 12:25PM, the back-up diesel motor power kicked in and brought the riders back to the station.

As of 1:30PM, most of the power had been restored. Officials don’t know yet what caused the power outage.