Looking back at the past ten years of Cedar Fair history, there has been quite a few new roller coasters added to their lineup spread out among 7 of the 11 amusement parks in North America. From the two Intimidator roller coasters added to Kings Dominion and Carowinds back in 2010 to the latest Copperhead Strike and Yukon Striker, the company often gives us new screams to come back for more. In addition, as technologies and designers evolve, many are pushing the boundaries of what we have come to expect from a roller coaster.
So we reached out to our audience to get their first hand experience with the most influential Cedar Fair new roller coasters of the past 10 years (2010-2019). For the purposes of the list, we opted to only include new roller coasters and not simple conversions like Mantis to Rougarou (Cedar Point) or Vortex to Patriot (California’s Great America). We also did not include flat ride or dark ride type attractions that the parks like to claim as roller coasters like Pipe Scream or Wonder Mountain Guardian.
Most Influential Cedar Fair New Roller Coasters of the Past 10 Years (2010-2019)
10. Intimidator (Carowinds, 2010)
Opened in 2010, the 232′ hyper-coaster at Carowinds remains one of the top 10 highest steel roller coasters in North America. Intimidator was designed by Bolliger & Mabillard, and themed to legendary NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt.
9. Yukon Striker (Canada’s Wonderland, 2019)/Copperhead Strike (Carowinds, 2019)/Twisted Timbers (Kings Dominion, 2018)/HangTime (Knott’s Berry Farm, 2018)
Four coasters tied for the ninth spot on the list.
Yukon Striker debuted in 2019 at Canada’s Wonderland, as the world’s tallest, longest, and fastest Dive Coaster. Despite being the same height as Valravn at Cedar Point, Yukon Striker gains additional dive length by going into an underwater tunnel.
Yukon Striker was designed by Bolliger & Mabillard and anchors the corner of the park now beautifully themed to Frontier Canada.
The dive coaster was also awarded the 2019 Golden Ticket for Best Innovation Award from Amusement Today for the ride’s loose article and transfer system.
Copperhead Strike opened at Carowinds in 2019 in the new Blue Ridge Junction area of the park. Designed by Mack Rides, the double launch roller coaster takes riders through 5 inversions at speeds of 50 mph on 3,255 feet of track.
How about that JoJo roll right out of the station?
Cedar Fair’s first collaboration with Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) brought a roller coaster conversion of The Hurler at Kings Dominion (and Mean Streak at Cedar Point) into the new era of attractions in 2018.
Guests enjoy a casual tour through the Hanover Hill Orchard before realizing something is eerily wrong and some mysterious forces have impacted the area.
Following the conversion from a wood to steel-hybrid roller coaster, Twisted Timbers gains additional height, length, speed, and inversions over its predecessor.
Gerstlauer, a German ride manufacturer, had not worked with Cedar Fair since the Spinning Dragons were installed at Worlds of Fun in 2004. Knott’s Berry Farm received a new Infinity Coaster from Gerstlauer in 2018 at the Boardwalk area of the park.
HangTime features a 150 foot height, and 5 inversions at a top speed of 57 mph.
In addition, HangTime received an extraordinary LED light package that makes for some spectacular night rides and photos!
8. RailBlazer (California’s Great America, 2018)/Leviathan (Canada’s Wonderland, 2012)
Two roller coasters received the same number of votes to take in the eight spot on the list.
RailBlazer debuted in 2018 and is one of the first two single rail RMC roller coasters built in North America and the first for Cedar Fair.
The low center of gravity roller coaster offers rides 3 inversions on 1,800 feet of track at 52 mph on an off-road adventure theme.
Themed after the mythical sea serpent, Leviathan at Canada’s Wonderland is one of only five roller coasters in the world to traditionally tower over 300 feet tall (not counting “strata-coasters” like Top Thrill Dragster) with their first lift hill. It is also impressive to realize Cedar Fair owns 4 out of the 5 (Millennium Force, Fury 325, Intimidator 305, Leviathan) giga-coasters!
Leviathan, designed by Bolliger & Mabillard, towers to a height of 306 feet and offers an impressive 92 mph top speed along 5,486 feet of track!
7. Valravn (Cedar Point, 2016)
When Valravn opened in 2016, Cedar Point held a whole bunch of records with the new dive coaster. Another Bolliger & Mabillard creation, Valravn was the first dive coaster in the Cedar Fair arsenal of roller coasters.
Valravn also was the 100th coaster designed by Bolliger & Mabillard.
Our personal favorite element of Valravn is the turn at the top of the 223 foot lift hill and getting to look out of the park from the towering height!
Valravn also greatly transformed that area of the park, offering some beautiful layouts, landscaping, and views.
6. Intimidator 305 (Kings Dominion, 2010)
Who can recall the first time they “greyed out” on a roller coaster? This monster of a giga-coaster pulls such high G’s coming out of the first drop that many guests, including myself, lose sense of sight for a couple seconds that heightens the nirvana of the ride. Intimidator 305 is an Intamin creation, pulling speeds up to 90 mph on 5,100 feet of track.
Intimidator 305 won “Best New Roller Coaster” in Amusement Today’s 2010 Golden Ticket awards.
5. GateKeeper (Cedar Point, 2013)
No one can deny the beauty that GateKeeper added to the front entrance at Cedar Point when it opened in 2013. Bolliger & Mabillard designed GateKeeper on the site of the former Disaster Transport and Space Spiral, in addition to entirely redesigning the parks front entrance.
Offering six inversions, GateKeeper is so smooth, it hardly feels like one is flying upside down over the gate.
4. Mystic Timbers (Kings Island, 2017)
Kings Island already had a pretty stellar lineup of roller coasters, but when Mystic Timbers came to the park, the level of FUN really exceeded our expectations!
Constructed by Great Coasters International (GCI), Mystic Timbers flies. Like really fast. Through the woods. The top speed of 53 mph really hauls as guests meander through 3,265 feet of track, and all from a hill only 109 feet tall.
From the mysterious theme to the interaction around the Kings Island & Miami Valley Railroad, Mystic Timbers holds a special place to many of us!
3. Banshee (Kings Island, 2014)
When Son of Beast was removed, there was a large hole left in the hearts of many coaster enthusiasts and a big void to fill should Kings Island ever decide to build something else on the site.
Kings Island partnered with Bolliger & Mabillard to build Banshee in 2014, the longest inverted roller coaster in the world.
Banshee offers 7 inversions that will have anyone screaming by the time one gets to the end of the 4,124 feet of track.
2. Fury 325 (Carowinds, 2015)
People like different style of roller coasters for many reasons. Some like the first drop, and the higher the better. Others like to feel the intense forces from going upside down and airtime hills. Then there is those of us that like speed. Lots and lots of open air speed.
Fury 325 at Carowinds remains the tallest giga-coaster in the world and offers an incredible top speed of 95 mph! Another Bolliger & Mabillard creation, the Fury 325 roller coaster became the anchor for attracting millions of guests to the newly transformed Carowinds amusement park bordering the North Carolina/South Carolina boundary line.
1. Steel Vengeance (Cedar Point, 2018)
If there is one thing we have learned following the roller coaster community, it takes a lot to impress many of them.
Mean Steak had lived its life expectancy at Cedar Point, and became the perfect candidate to turn something old new again with RMC. Make it taller. Make it longer. Give it some inversions. However, it became so much more.
Steel Vengeance was born in 2018 and immediately became a smashing success! The overwhelming response was, “what just happened?” The world record breaking roller coaster became an engineering marvel, offering more, more, more of what really struck a cord with coaster fans.
Steel Vengeance really pushed the limits with creative elements and maneuvers, and thus easily earned a spot at the top of our Most Influential Cedar Fair New Roller Coasters of the Past 10 Years (2010-2019)!
Where do we go from here? Between 2010 and 2019, Cedar Fair introduced us to 16 new roller coasters, plus a couple conversions. Bolliger & Mabillard was the lead designer on the majority of those coasters with Rocky Mountain Construction, Great Coasters International, Intamin, Mack, and Gerstlauer rounding out the list.
For 2020, we already know we will be getting Orion at Kings Island. So where will thrills take us up to 2029? Hang on for the ride.
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