SANDUSKY: Judging from the queue that zigzags back and forth in and around the Valravn’s entrance, Cedar Point already suspects it may have a hit on its hands with its latest record-breaking coaster.
Some have predicted coaster nuts may have to wait as long as four hours in line this weekend when the park throws open its gates on Saturday and Sunday for the first public rides on the world’s biggest dive coaster.
Park general manager Jason McClure smiles at the notion the line will stretch that long.
McClure said he suspects lines of up to two hours would not be unheard of as the public clamors to ride one of the most anticipated coaster openings in the country this tourist season.
The upside for guests, McClure said, is the opening of a coaster the size of Valravn usually means shorter waits on the park’s other 17 coasters like the GateKeeper and Millennium Force.
This new coaster is unlike anything else in the park’s already stellar lineup.
For one, its design takes riders 223 feet above the park’s midway, offering breathtaking views of the other coasters and attractions and Lake Erie. It then literally takes the rider’s breath away as it dangles them from the lofty perch with nothing but the ground below in their sight.
The four seconds the riders dangle there is just long enough to ponder such thoughts as “Did I tell my family I loved them?” and “Did we remember to return the Redbox movie?” and “Hmm. I wonder if the car key is going to fall out of my pocket?”
With those thoughts floating around in your noggin, it quickly becomes all about survival as the ground comes at you fast — 75 miles per hour to be exact.
The coaster doesn’t waste any time as it immediately roars through a series of three inversions, flipping riders over and over and over again.
This is one of those rare steel coasters where location matters. And by location, where you park your rump.
There are three rows to the coaster with eight seats across.
This coaster, in my mind, has three ratings.
For those with younger riders or timid tummies, I would suggest sitting in the PG section — the second row. Remember you have to be at least 52 inches tall to ride and also be able to fit in the seat.
The second row offers a smooth ride — there’s really not a rough seat on the coaster.
While the coaster features stadium-style seating, the front row obstructs your view of the ground just enough to lessen the terror.
The third row should be rated PG-13 and reserved for rambunctious teenagers. This is where you experience the best weightlessness as the coaster train drags you along. The opposite also holds true when the gravity kicks in as you climb hills.
The first row. This is the R-rated portion of the coaster reserved for those daredevils who start screaming and waving their hands high in the air from the moment those words “Oncoming riders, welcome to the Valravn ...” pierce the air.
These seats are not for the timid.
Once you climb the lift hill and crest the small section of track only to dangle your feet over the edge — all bets are off.
The ensuing blur of ground, sky, track, ground, sky, track over and over again are accompanied by hurricane-force winds, visions of death and an occasional bug in your mouth.
These are literally front-row seats to history as Cedar Point once again shatters world record after record.
The list of triumphs for the park and the ride — dreamed up by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) in Switzerland — are impressive.
They include:
• Tallest dive coaster (223 feet)
• Fastest dive coaster (75 mph)
• Longest dive coaster (3,415 feet)
• Most inversions on a dive coaster (3)
• Longest drop on a dive coaster (214 feet)
• Highest inversion on a dive coaster (165 feet)
• Most roller coasters taller than 200 feet at one amusement park (5)
• Most rides at one amusement park (71)
• Most steel roller coaster track at one amusement park (52,125 feet or 9.9 miles)
• Most roller coaster track at one amusement park (60,110 or 11.4 miles)
Back on the ground, McClure said, the Valravn takes up residence in a very visible spot along the park’s midway and fits what Cedar Point looks for in a coaster — it is very rideable and packs a “punch.”
“You can’t beat the view of Lake Erie before that dive.”
Craig Webb, who lost a lens to his glasses while on the Valravn, can be reached at cwebb@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3547. Visit his amusement park blog “Airtime” on Ohio.com, Facebook and his Twitter feed.