Steel Vengeance: A Review

Cedar Point is a large amusement park located on a peninsula that juts out into Lake Erie. As a result, the park is completely surrounded by water, resulting in picturesque views. But Cedar Point isn't just known for views. Cedar Point is also known for pushing roller coaster technologies to their limits, breaking records. Since the 1970s, almost every roller coaster that opened at Cedar Point broke world records for speed and height.

In 1990 Cedar Point announced that they would be opening a record breaking wooden roller coaster. Mean Streak would open the following year as the tallest and fastest wooden roller coaster in the world. This ride was also one of the longest when it opened. Over the years though many people complained about its roughness and in 2016, it was announced that the ride would be closing permanently. Almost immediately work began on removing the track to the ride, but not the support structure. 

In 2017, Cedar Point announced that Mean Streak was being converted into a hybrid roller coaster (That is a wooden support structure with a steel track). The ride would be converted by Rocky Mountain Construction and would be called Steel Vengeance. The ride would be the first hybrid roller coaster to top 200 feet and would become the tallest, and fastest hybrid roller coaster in the world. This roller coaster also features more air time than any other roller coaster (of any type) in the world. The ride opened this summer. 

I had the pleasure of riding this both as Mean Streak and as Steel Vengeance. While it was rough as a wooden coaster I enjoyed it, but Steel Vengeance is insane. I loved every minute of it. The ride is incredibly intense, and throws you into each element. You spend more time out of your seat than in it. You find yourself upside down 4 times. This ride is so insane it doesn't feel tamer after riding it a second or third time, and the adrenaline rush is like no other. 

For those of you who are familiar with Hersheypark and have not gotten to visit Cedar Point before, I can describe Steel Vengeance this way. Think of Skyrush, but longer, even more intense, more exhilarating and more airtime, and thighs that aren't crushed. Even though Cedar Point has a roller coaster that is literally 2x taller than Skyrush, Steel Vengeance would be Cedar Point's response to Skyrush. It might not be the biggest roller coaster in the world, but it sure is the baddest. It is absolutely a MUST RIDE, and is now my favorite roller coaster of them all. Just in case you were curious here are my personal rankings. 

Overall

1) Steel Vengeance- Cedar Point

2) Millennium Force- Cedar Point

3) Phantom's Revenge- Kennywood

4) Skyrush- Hersheypark

5) Maverick- Cedar Point