Cedar Point has developed number of interesting secrets over its long history, as well as several scary incidents the park’s PR team probably doesn’t want you to know about.
With the addition of the new GateKeeperride at the park’s front entrance in 2013, Cedar Point now boasts 16 different roller coasters, truly living up to its nickname as the “Roller Coaster Capital of the World.” Dating back to 1870, Cedar Point has a long and storied history that has made it a favorite destination of many theme park enthusiasts. And just like any park that’s been around that long, the massive complex on the shores of Lake Erie has quite a few hidden secrets for those who pay attention. From a (possibly) haunted attraction to a ride that literally collapsed and fell to the ground from 60 feet in the air, there are plenty of secrets that most regular tourists are not aware of. Here are 10 crazy secrets of Cedar Point!
1. The ghost on the carousel
Park employees have passed down the story of the haunted Cedar Point carousel for generations. The story goes that one of the horses for the park’s carousel was hand crafted by a man in Michigan. Legend has it that his wife was especially fond of the horse and was so protective she didn’t want anyone to photograph it. The legend states that the man caught his wife cheating on him, murdered both his wife and her lover, and then carved their bones right into the horse! The crazy story is unverified but countless park employees have claimed over the years to have been spooked by the carousel after dark. Some even claim to have seen the ghost of the woman riding it. The original carousel has moved on to another park, but the original horse is said to still be in storage at the park. If you ever go walking past the Frontiertown Museum and get a fright, it might just be the ghost of Cedar Point wondering where the carousel went.
2. The fall of VertiGo
VertigGo was a thrill ride at the park that opened for the 2001 season. That was the ride’s one and only season of operation because in January 2002 the ride did something you’ll never about from anyone at Cedar Point’s public relations office. It collapsed and fell over. When the 2001 season ended, the park removed the main car from the ride, which consisted of the car and two towers. The car was put into storage to protect it during the offseason, part of CP’s typical offseason maintenance. Unfortunately, the park failed to see the fact that the car was a main source of support for the two towers on either side of it. In January 2002, one of the towers was taken by a wind gust and tipped over, bringing the entire structure down. No one was nearby at the time and there were no injuries. Both this ride and another version of it at a park in Pennsylvania were never run again.
3. Park employees use a system of hand gestures to communicate. Some of the gestures are not nice…
Image: Cedar PointÂ
This one comes direct from a former Cedar Point employee who wishes to remain nameless. If you’ve ever looked at the attendants as they come by to make sure you are strapped in safely, you might see some of them communicating with each other, using hand gestures to tell the ride operator that everything is clear for takeoff. There have on occasion been other hand gestures that are not officially approved by the park. We’re not saying every employee in the park does this and truth be told it could be just a few individual crews from season to season but… some of those hand gestures might be making fun of you. We’ve been told there have been secret gestures to point out everything from a super annoying guest to a female guest that is of above average attractiveness.
4. The employees do see your inappropriate pictures and they’re laughing at you
Image: Cedar Point
Just about every main coaster at Cedar Point has a camera to take a picture of riders as they fly down the track. These are the pictures they then try to sell you at the booth when you get off the ride. What you can’t see is the employee that is sometimes sitting in the back whose job is to scan all of the photos as they come in and flag any that are not appropriate. Sorry, but the one of you lifting your shirt for the camera isn’t going up on the big screen unless someone is asleep at the wheel. That said, the photo booth has been known on occasion to keep an especially ridiculous photo around on their own private screen so that other employees can have a laugh at your expense. So if your goal was to make a fool of yourself when you flashed the camera, you probably succeeded at your goal, just not in front of as many people as you had hoped.
5. You can (sometimes) get into the park early even with a general admission ticket
Cedar Point sometimes allows special guests or season pass holders to get into the park an hour early or stay an hour late. But for just regular general admission holders, you can sometimes manage to get in early too if you know where to go. Step one: Park at Soak City. Step two: Walk to the park’s gate by the Windseeker by 9 a.m. Park employees let guests in at this gate and, if they’re feeling nice enough or it’s not supposed to be an especially crowded day, they’ll often let people with just regular tickets get in an hour earlier than they’re supposed to.
6. Magnum has an ejector seat
Or a vomit seat, depending on who you ask. It’s widely known among super hardcore roller coaster enthusiasts that the best seat to ride on the Magnum is car number one, seat number three. Thanks to a miracle of physics no one can quite explain, this seat seems to give guests the most “air time” when they go over a hump on the ride. “Air time” is when the guest literally lifts out of their seat into the air, only the ride’s restraints keeping them falling out of the ride completely. The amount of force that you lift up in this particular seat is said to be significantly more violent than the other seats. I can also personally attest to having seen more than one person lose their lunch after riding in this seat so… tread carefully in there.
7. A Shoot The Rapids boat ride might have ended in disaster if not for some heroic park goers
One of the most recent incidents at Cedar Point that no one on the park’s staff wants you to know about happened in 2013 on the Shoot the Rapids water ride. One of the boats fell back down after attempting to make it to the top of the ride’s big hill. It capsized at the bottom, turning over completely and sending the riders under water. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured thanks to the heroics of other park guests. The ride goes right by a bridge where other park guests can watch it pass. When the boat incident happened, a number of park guests in addition to staff jumped right into the water without a second thought and helped turn the boat back over in order to help the riders that had been sent underneath.. Seven people were injured with six being cleared by the park’s medical staff and one being sent to an area hospital. The ride remained closed for the rest of 2013 but is once again operational.
8. A wooden coaster at the park once caught fire
Roller coasters are known for their blazing speed but in September of 2010 one of Cedar Point’s wooden roller coasters ended up demonstrating a whole different kind of blaze. Mean Streak, the coaster near the very back of the park, has a storied history. It once held world records including tallest drop and is one of the longest rides in the park at well over 3 minutes long. The exact reasons have not been made public, but as the park neared the end of the 2010 season, firefighters were summoned to the coaster. A five foot section of the ride had caught fire. Thankfully, the firefighters were able to control the blaze. A fire going out of control on a huge wooden coaster could have had dire consequences for the entire park. Cedar Point officials closed the ride for the short time left in the season, although they did note it was going to close for maintenance anyway even before the fire.
9. Top Thrill Dragster once dished out some serious pain
Top Thrill Dragster is a coaster that goes from 0 to 100 mph in just a few seconds. During one ride in 2004, some riders got more of a thrill than they had bargained for. The metal cable that launches the ride became frayed during the explosive launch. Shards of metal flew off the cable and hit the riders. Riders got off of Top Thrill with serious abrasions on their arms and other parts of their body. Ouch.
10. The employees have housing right inside the park and they have it way better than you
Cedar Point employees who are there for the entire summer have two choices. They can either live “On Point” in a housing complex located right inside the park, or they can live in “off” housing located nearby. Many employees take advantage of some special treatment after the last guest has left. Employees also have it better when it comes the park’s food. I’ve been told there are vending machines that sell the same overpriced pop you just paid $4.00 for for $1.00 or less. There are also employee cafeterias that serve up some of the park’s well known food items for significantly lower prices. There’s even a dive bar called Louie’s that located right across the street from the off-Point housing and serves park employees well into the night. If your park attendant seems hungover when you show up first thing in the morning, it’s because he is. So cool it with those screams.
