Back with a Vengeance: An Inside Look at Cedar Point’s New Coaster

Cedar Point is breaking records—again—with the world's tallest, fastest and longest hyper-hybrid roller coaster. Steel Vengeance opens spring 2018.

Tony Clark, Director of Communications at Cedar Point, offers an inside look at the development and what this coaster has on track for thrill seekers.

Steel Vengeance is the world's first "hyper-hybrid" roller coaster. Can you tell us what this means, and why Steel Vengeance needed a whole new category for coaster classification?

"Hyper-hybrid" is a combination of two types of roller coasters. A "hyper" coaster is a non-looping roller coaster over 200 feet tall. Cedar Point was the first amusement park in the world to introduce such a coaster, so a new category had to be created back in 1989 with the debut of Magnum XL-200. A "hybrid" roller coaster combines a structure made of wood with a track made of steel.

Since nothing this tall has been done before, we once again had to create a new category of roller coaster: the hyper-hybrid.

How does Steel Vengeance combine the best of steel and wooden roller coasters?

When you look at Steel Vengeance, at first glance, it looks like a massive wooden roller coaster, since the structure is completely made of wood. But on top, we've placed smooth steel rails to give a ride experience that's nothing like being on a wooden roller coaster. So the beauty of the wood is just breathtaking and the ride experience is smooth, like some of our other steel coasters at the park. It's the best of both worlds!

What features excite you the most about Steel Vengeance?

Steel Vengeance is going to be able to perform maneuvers that you could never do on a wooden roller coaster, so we have things like a 90-degree first drop; we flip riders upside-down four times; we have overbanked turns; there are twists and elements that weave inside and out of the wood structure; there's more "airtime" on this roller coaster than any other coaster on the planet. I think this is really going to be a special ride and we're excited to have it here at Cedar Point.

Can you give us an update on the construction process?

The ride structure is mostly complete, so workers are now running underground utilities, connecting motor and brake elements, adding the lift chain, preparing the midway for concrete and more.

What else would you recommend groups check out at Cedar Point?

If you love thrill rides, there's no better place to visit as a group. But if you also like to just "chill," there are options for that as well. I would definitely recommend a ride on our signature roller coaster, Millennium Force. It's a great introduction to massive roller coasters—it doesn't go upside-down, it's tall, fast and is just plain fun. It's always a crowd pleaser!

By Cassie Westrate, staff writer for Groups Today.

Photo Courtesy of Cedar Point.