New ride provides revival, appeal

Friday, 08 September 2006

By BRANDI BARHITE
brandibarhite@sanduskyregister.com

SANDUSKY - Cedar Point's newest roller coaster isn't a record-breaker, but coaster enthusiasts are pumped nonetheless.

Ride manufacturer Sandor Kernacs said fans should be excited. The Maverick is a one-of-kind ride, which no other amusement park has is its lineup.

"This is an absolute unique ride," said Kernacs, president of IntaRide LLC of Glen Burnie, Md. IntaRide is associated with Intamin, which brought the Top Thrill Dragster, Millennium Force and Wicked Twister to Cedar Point.

Now, the coaster company is bringing Maverick.

In the wee hours of Thursday morning, Cedar Point announced Maverick, a $21 million terrain-hugging coaster scheduled to debut in May 2007.

See video footage and photos of the new ride at funcoast.com

View the ride construction live with the funcoast.com FunCam

Mike Kaman, executive editor on The Point Online, a Cedar Point fan site, stayed up until 3:30 a.m. Thursday to log onto Cedar Point's Web site and view all the multi-media information about the park's 17th coaster, which has been under construction and a point of speculation for months. Cedar Point teased the public by waiting until 3:30 a.m. to reveal the much-anticipated news.

"It's going to be an amazing roller coaster," said Kaman, who admits he got caught up in the hype. "It looks like it is going to be a great, intense thrill ride, but also something the whole family can enjoy.

"There are a few people who are disappointed it's not a record-breaker, but overall this is going to be a wild ride," he said.

Kernacs said Cedar Point has so many great rides, including several that are billed as the tallest and fastest. The Maverick will complement those rides because it will appeal to the masses.

Maverick will carry riders along the 4,450-foot-long course by way of steam-era styled trains and down a 105-foot-tall hill.

While the hill might not be as high as many at Cedar Point, it's the angle of the hill that is designed to scare.

Maverick will take riders down at a 95-degree angle at speeds up to 57 mph to within a few feet of the ground. The riders will think they are about to hit the rocks.

"I am impressed that Cedar Point didn't go for another record breaker. This one is more realistic," said Michael Burkes, past president of the Great Ohio Coaster Club. "This is the type of coaster that even though it has a very severe drop, a lot of people will ride this."

Burkes, like Cedar Point officials, hopes Maverick revives Frontiertown, the northwestern portion of the peninsula.

Park spokesman Bryan Edwards said the Western-theme coaster ties in perfectly with Frontiertown. Frontiertown doesn't get much traffic in the morning or when the park is closing because it's in the back of the park, he said.

Joan Van Offeren, executive director of the Sandusky Erie County Visitor & Convention Bureau, said Maverick will bring more tourists to Erie County, too. Every year, several million visit, which includes the islands and Port Clinton.

"With previous new rides, tourism to Erie County has increased -- and not just that summer, for a few years," Van Offeren said.

Kaman said "terra-coasters" like Maverick aren't common, besides coasters built around mountains in the West. He'll be interested to see how Cedar Point creates its landscaping since the ride is being built on 5.5 acres of flat land.

"Everybody is really excited for it," Kaman said. "Let's have all these workers work overtime so we can ride it this season."

Cedar Point ended its daily season after Labor Day, although it is open for bonus weekends and HalloWeekends through October.

FunCoast.com is your online guide to summer fun for Cedar Point, the LakeErie Islands and Sandusky area. Our site offers up-to-date information on area attractions, restaurants, hotels, gasoline prices, ferry schedules, swimming, birding and fishing, along with a complete listing of events happening in the Sandusky/Cedar Point area. To use our Webcam and zoom in on Cedar Point's rollercoasters, go to http://funcam.funcoast.com

Copyright 2006 the Sandusky Register. All rights reserved.

All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of the Sandusky Register or FunCoast.com. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.