LOSING YOUR BREATH - AT 120 MPH - ON CEDAR POINT ROLLER COASTER.Byline: Simone Schramm Staff Writer SANDUSKY, Ohio Sandusky is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Erie CountyGR6. The municipality is located in northern Ohio and is situated on the shores of Lake Erie, half-way between Toledo to the west and Cleveland to the east. - Ohio might not seem like the most exciting vacation spot in the country. That's what I used to think, until some fellow roller-coaster fanatics and I trekked a great distance to Cedar Point Cedar Point is a 364 acre (1.5 km²) amusement park located in Sandusky, Ohio, U.S. on a narrow peninsula jutting into Lake Erie. It is one of the world's largest amusement parks (by ride count) with 69 rides and currently holds the world record for most roller coasters with 17, one Amusement Park amusement park, a commercially operated park offering various forms of entertainment, such as arcade games, carousels, roller coasters, and performers, as well as food, drink, and souvenirs. Resort on the shore of Lake Erie Lake Erie Great Lake; once so polluted, referred to as Lake Eerie. [Am. Hist.: NCE, 887] See : Filth . Our main goal was to scale new heights on the park's latest addition, Top Thrill Dragster Top Thrill Dragster is a steel, hydraulically-launched roller coaster located at Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio. It was the first "Strata Coaster," loosely defined as a complete circuit coaster that is 400 to 499 feet tall. , the world's tallest, fastest roller coaster, as well as on other thrill rides such as Millennium Force Millennium Force is a steel roller coaster located at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, and was built by Intamin AG. The fourteenth roller coaster built at the park, its royal blue track stands 310 feet (95 m) tall at its highest point. The coaster overlooks Lake Erie. and Raptor. The $25 million Dragster drag·ster n. 1. An automobile specially built or modified for drag racing. 2. A person who races such an automobile. , or TTD TTD - Telecommunications Device for the Deaf for short, is Cedar Point's ninth entry into the roller-coaster record books - the first ride to top 100 mph and soar above 400 feet. The 16-passenger trains, modeled after dragsters, blast out of the starting gate starting gate n. Sports 1. A series of stalls with interconnected doors that open simultaneously at the beginning of a race. 2. and reach an approximate speed of 120 mph in four seconds, then rotate as they shoot up a 90-degree incline to 420 feet. Then the trains careen over a top hat and back down a 270-degree clockwise spiral. All of this happens in 16 seconds. The wait in line was almost as interesting as the ride itself, as fast-paced music about cars and racing blared over the speakers and the vroom-vroom of what sounded like real dragsters emerged from the speakers just before each train took off. Watching the faces of riders before and after was priceless - fear and trepidation soon turned to laughter and amazement from the adrenalin rush. When our turn arrived, a combination of dread and elation elation /ela·tion/ (e-la´shun) emotional excitement marked by acceleration of mental and bodily activity, with extreme joy and an overly optimistic attitude. took over. The train pulled forward at the starting gate to the sounds of ``Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!'' and ``Arms down! Arms down!'' blasting over the loudspeakers. The countdown began as the train rolled about an inch back. Then we were hurled into the wild blue yonder yon·der adv. In or at that indicated place: the house over yonder. adj. Being at an indicated distance, usually within sight: "Yonder hills," he said, pointing. at 120 mph, faster than a speeding bullet. It was sheer terror Sheer Terror was an influential and long-lasting American hardcore band from New York City. The band was one of the first to mix shades of heavy metal with a hardcore punk base, pioneering a heavier style of hardcore that would become popular in the following decades. . And we loved every second of it. ``That was awesome!'' and ``That rocked!'' were sentiments that stayed with us the rest of the day. Cedar Point has dubbed TTD a ``strata-coaster.'' With six trains, each of which can be launched every 40 seconds, the ride can reach a staggering capacity of 1,500 people per hour. That's when everything is working smoothly, of course. Top Thrill Dragster, which opened at the end of May, has had bugs to work out and was down sporadically during the first few weeks of summer. During our visit, tests and the shooting of a commercial caused it to be closed to the public, but we were lucky to be walking by one day when it suddenly reopened. Being a roller-coaster fanatic, I'd always dreamed of traveling to other amusement parks besides our own Magic Mountain. What better place to visit than Cedar Point, which features a record-breaking 16 roller coasters? That's heaven to a coaster connoisseur. The anticipation of riding the Dragster had created excitement upon our arrival at the park. We rode other thrillers such as Magnum and Millennium Force to ``warm up.'' But our jaws still dropped as we watched TTD riders hurtle hur·tle v. hur·tled, hur·tling, hur·tles v.intr. To move with or as if with great speed and a rushing noise: an express train that hurtled past. v.tr. with incredible speed down the race track, up and over the top hat and down the spiral. To accommodate onlookers and those too sane to ride, the park built grandstands just like those you see at a real top-fuel dragster race. From our room at the Hotel Breakers, we could see the unbelievably high steel-track curve looming across the parking lot, beckoning us. The Dragster was built by Intamin, a Swiss company renowned for its roller coasters. Intamin built Xcelerator at Knott's Berry Farm Knott's Berry Farm is a brand name of two separate entities: a theme park in Buena Park, California, and a manufacturer of food specialty products (primarily jams and preserves) based in Placentia, California. , the prototype for TTD. After our experience with the Dragster, we rode other coasters and frolicked around the 133-year-old amusement park, savoring the sights and sounds of the carnival - rides, food, the beach along Lake Erie. Cedar Point is the No. 1 amusement park in the nation, according to Amusement Today magazine. It has won several of that publication's 2002 Golden Ticket awards, including best steel roller coaster A steel roller coaster is a roller coaster that is defined by having a track made of steel. The vast majority of steel coasters have a steel support structure, but several have a wooden support structure: Cedar Creek Mine Ride and Gemini at Cedar Point and Excalibur at Valleyfair!. (for Millennium Force), fastest-moving lines and best games. The park established its trend for offering the world's fastest and tallest roller coaster when it opened Gemini, a dual racing coaster, back in 1978. It was followed by Magnum in 1989 and Millennium Force in 2000. The resort is also on prime real estate, covering a 364-acre peninsula along the shore of Lake Erie. Visitors can avail themselves of comfortable hotels, top-notch restaurants, live entertainment, miniature golf and an RV campground. There is nothing quite as breathtaking as looking down at this beautiful, oceanlike lake from the top of the 310-foot lift hill on Millennium Force as you're about to plummet at speeds up to 93 mph. Our trip to this mega-coaster haven lasted four days. This included a short day trip to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, dedicated to recording the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, and other people who have in some major way influenced the music industry, particularly in and Museum in Cleveland. It provided a welcome diversion from two exhausting days of coaster-hopping and gave us a chance to check out the exhibition ``In the Name of Love: Two Decades of U2,'' which has been extended through the end of this year. Cedar Point is known for its customer service. The manager of the cafe at the Hotel Breakers made sure that another restaurant gave us the hotel's lunch discount since the cafe was not set up for lunch yet. Cedar Point is a great way to spend time with the family, as it has the world's largest collection of rides (68) and attractions. It is also adjacent to the Soak City water park. IF YOU GO GETTING THERE: Cedar Point is on Lake Erie, midway between Cleveland and Toledo. HOURS: Open daily through Labor Day, and also some weekends in September and October. Gates open at 10 a.m. Closing hours vary during the summer, ranging from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. COSTS: Admission is $43.95 for adults, $21.95 for children under 48 inches tall, $29.95 for seniors (age 60 and up). NOTE: Knott's Berry Farm in Orange County is also owned by Cedar Fair. If you buy an annual pass at Knott's, you can get your money's worth with unlimited use at Cedar Point. INFORMATION: (419) 627-2350; www.cedarpoint.com. Lodging options and regional discounts can be found at www.guidetothepoint.com. CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: (color) Cedar Point, on the Ohio shore of Lake Erie, has placed nine different roller coasters in the record books. Box: IF YOU GO (see text) |
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