Full tilt: Cedar Point's new Siren's Curse roller coaster is not for the faint of heart 🎢

Yahoo

2 days ago

The wait is over.
And now the real wait is about to begin.
Cedar Point's newest roller coaster made its debut June 26 for the media and a select group of coaster enthusiasts.
The Siren's Curse is slated to make its public debut on June 28 after previews for season passholders on June 27.
Long lines are expected on June 28 to ride what is being billed as the tallest, fastest and longest 'tilt' roller coaster in America.
Anticipating the excitement for the new coaster, Dave Evans, construction manager for Cedar Point's parent company Six Flags, said they have constructed one of the largest queue lines ever at the park.
See it in action 🎢: Watch Beacon Journal reporter ride Siren's Curse and question life decisions
The ride has a capacity of anywhere from 900 to 1,000 guests an hour.
Evans said they have built the lines to accommodate a one and a half to two-hour wait.
Unlike other queue lines in the park, he said, this one will not have any in-park TVs that will distract from the theming of an abandoned Lake Erie shipyard.
And guests for this coaster will wait within feet of the coaster as it screams overhead.
"You are always in the ride," he said. "This is what is cool about it."
With 19 roller coasters now in its lineup from big to small, Cedar Point is home to one of the largest collections of such thrill machines in the world.
This one might be most unique with its tilt feature.
And this dangling of passengers over the Midway, said Park Manager Colleen Murphy-Brady, is what makes this one particularly exciting for riders and those not brave enough to venture on.
"This ride has a lot of spectator value," she said. "Guests are going to want to stop and watch that tilt."
Akron coaster enthusiast gives coaster two hands up
Akron resident Michael Burkes has been riding coasters for as long as he was tall enough to climb aboard.
He's been a member of the American Coaster Enthusiasts for some 38 years and first visited Cedar Point in 1973.
Burkes, 60, recently rode his milestone 500th coaster in Wisconsin.
He thought he had seen and ridden just about everything.
But this latest coaster at Cedar Point is certainly one of the most unique and thrilling he's ever encountered.
"I am just amazed," Burkes said.
He was surprised by its speed and variety of elements − particularly the number of instances of airtime or sense of floating out of your seat.
"It is fun and furious," he said. "This is an excellent addition to the park."
What is the theme of the Siren's Curse?
The Siren's Curse is themed after a collection of mythical sirens who reside under the water in Lake Erie and use their voices in song to lure sailors.
The Siren's mournful cries along with equally eerie music play inside of the coaster cars as riders climb the hill to the fateful tilt feature of the coaster.
The lift hill of the coaster − designed by the Netherlands firm Vekoma − is supposed to resemble an old 160-foot-tall Lake Erie shipping crane tower
What makes the Siren's Curse special?
The coaster's signature feature is a 160-foot-tall lift hill where the coaster train precariously tilts riders to the ground below.
At the top, riders will encounter a broken track that trails off to nowhere.
The tower's platform tilts 90 degrees straight down as the track connects to a twisted track below.
The coaster train will then plunge down along 2,966 feet of twisting track at a top speed of 58 mph.
In all, riders will experience 13 instances of weightless or so-called airtime moments along with two 360-degree, zero-gravity barrel rolls and a high-speed 'triple-down' element with twisted and overbanked track − all in the span of about two minutes.
The coaster trains, that will hold 24 passengers, have integrated audio and LED lighting − both a first for Cedar Point.
And the coaster is the first at the park to take riders underground.
What to know before you ride the Siren's Curse?
The new thrill machine – with its compact vertical design – is situated by the Iron Dragon coaster just off the park's Main Midway.
Like any new attraction at Cedar Point, expect long lines from the time the park opens to closing time.
You have to be at least 48 inches tall to ride.
And riders are not allowed to bring any personal items like water bottles, wallets, keys and cell phones onto the new coaster and will be required to pass through metal detectors.
Free short-term small lockers will be available for riders near the entrance to the coaster.
Parkgoers with larger items like purses and backpacks will still be required to rent a locker to ride these coasters.
If the ride's line is too long, you can always hang around and ride the other coasters and return shortly before closing time when the crowds have thinned out.
The park's policy is to let all guests ride an attraction as long as they are in line by closing time.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Siren's Curse debuts to roller coaster enthusiasts at Cedar Point
Solve the daily Crossword