Blue Streak
1964
Blue Streak is Cedar Point's classic wooden roller coaster. Built by Philadelphia Toboggan Company, Blue Streak is Cedar Point's oldest existing roller coaster.
The early 1950s was a bad time for Cedar Point. In the 1950's Cedar Point was a decaying place. The park was still trying to recover from the depression. In 1956 George Roose and Emile Legros brought Cedar Point and planned on turning the park into a housing development. Due to public outcry, the new investors decided to turn Cedar Point into "The Disneyland of the Midwest:". As a result, rides started getting bigger and better. Cadillac Cars were added in 1958 and were so successful that Turnpike Cars were built in 1959. In 1961 Western Cruise used the old lagoon to take guests on a trip through the past. In 1962, Cedar Point added Sky Ride to the Main Midway. In 1963 the park was expanded to include Mill Race and the Cedar Point and Lake Erie Railroad. With all of these changes, Cedar Point finally would have a bright future.
The depression of the 1930s was a very bad time for the amusement park industry and Cedar Point was no exception. People couldn't afford daily living let alone going on vacation. The 1940s was not much better for the park. During World War 2 Cedar Point was fighting to stay alive. Buildings and rides were falling into disrepair. During this time rides were torn down and not replaced.
After years of neglect, Cyclone would be removed from Cedar Point after the 1951 season, leaving Cedar Point without a major roller coaster.
After years of neglect, Cyclone would be removed from Cedar Point after the 1951 season, leaving Cedar Point without a major roller coaster.
In 1956, Cedar Point was bought by 2 investors from Cleveland. Their original plan was to close Cedar Point and turn it into a housing development. The public did not go for this idea at all. The state of Ohio even considered buying the park and turning it into a state park. After studying the operation, it was decided to instead turn Cedar Point into ''The Disneyland of the mid-west.''
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Over the next few years old attractions were replaced with new spectacular attractions. New rides that opened became family favorites such as Western Cruise, Sky Ride, Rotor, Turnpike Cars, Sky Wheel, and Mill Race. Many of the new rides that opened were first of their kind attractions.
In 1959 Cedar Point opened Wild Mouse. Wild Mouse was a small all-steel roller coaster that had very low capacity. The ride was very popular, it was just too small for Cedar Point's growing attendance. Wild Mouse was closed in 1962 and replaced with Mill Race in 1963. Cedar Point would need a bigger roller coaster.
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Blue Streak was named after the Sandusky High School football team: the "Blue Streaks".
Blue Streak sits on land that is 1,200 feet long and 100 feet wide. The ride takes up 2.75 acres.
Blue Streak was built by Philadelphia Toboggan Company of Pennsylvania. The ride footers were designed by John Allen and the rest of the ride was designed by Frank Hoover. Frank was the construction supervisor on 16 roller coasters, including Blue Streak. Blue Streak was the only one he designed.
In 1964 it cost $200,000 to build Blue Streak, That is $1,626,103.56 in 2019. Most modern roller coasters built about the size of Blue Streak today cost 10-15 million.
Blue Streak
Ride Facts Height: 78 feet Drop: 76 feet Speed: 48 MPH Hills: 9 Inversions: 0 Type: Wooden roller coaster Designer: Frank Hoover Company: Philadelphia Toboggan Company of Pennsylvania. Capacity: 1,400/HR Opened: May 23, 1964 Number of Coaster in 1964: 4 Cost: $200,000 Cedar Point's oldest existing roller coaster. 26 roller coasters have been added since Blue Streak opened. |
Ride Experience
Blue Streak is an airtime machine! Riders feel an amazing amount of airtime on each hill!
Blue Streak's turn around gives riders a fantastic view of Cedar Point and the parking lot. The turn around aligns the coaster with the way back to the station.
Blue Streak then goes over the final airtime hill. Riders are ejected out of their seats once again.
Boo Streak
Changes
When Blue Streak first opened the trains were very open. They had simple buzz bars that were unlocked and featured no seat belts. A few years later the bars would soon be locked.
In the 1990s the trains would be changed to feature individual seat dividers and new lap bars with seat belts. In 2008, the ride got retractable seat belts. |
The station had been modified to having everything happening on one platform. The ride also got a new entrance with an actual place to have people wait other than on the midway. The entrance had been moved to an ally way that led to under the ride break run.
Withstanding The Test Of Time!
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In 1964, Blue Streak was Cedar Point's major thrill ride! It had been so long since Cedar Point had a ride this big that the ride had seemed like a monster to park guests. Blue Streak was still a big ride when it was added. The tallest roller coaster in 1964 was only 100 feet.
Today, roller coasters are much bigger then they were in 1964. Blue Streak is just as thrilling as it was in 1964. Standards have changed over the years. Today, Blue Streak is a great starter ride for first time riders. |
Blue Streak ended up being so successful that over the years the park would open another 25 roller coasters! Roller Coasters weren't the only the only items to the park. Over the next 55 years Cedar Point added: Space Spiral (1965-2012), Frontier Town (1967) : Cedar Creek Mine Ride (1969), Million Dollar Midway (1970 - 1984), Wildcat (1970-1978), Jumbo Jet (1972-1978), Corkscrew (1976), Gemini (1978) Jr. Gemini (1979 - 2013), WildCat (1979-2011), White Water Landing (1982-2005), Demon Drop (1983-2009), Avalanche Run (1985-1989), Thunder Canyon (1986), Iron Dragon (1987), Soak City Water Park (1988-2016), Magnum XL-200 (1989) Disaster Transport (1990-2012), Mean Streak (1991-2016), Challenge Park (1992-2016), Snake River Falls (1993), Raptor (1994), Mantis (1996-2014), Power Tower (1998), Camp Snoopy (1999), Millennium Force (2000), Wicked Twister (2002), Top Thrill Dragster (2003), maXair (2005), Skyhawk (2006), Maverick (2007), Planet Snoopy (2008), Shoot The Rapids (2010-2015), WindSeeker (2011), GateKeeper (2013), Pipe Scream (2014), Rougarou (2015), Valravn (2016), Cedar Point Shores Water Park (2017) Steel Vengeance (2018), Forbidden Frontier (2019, Cedar Point's 150th Anniversary Celebration (2021). Since 1964, the park has changed so much. It is really a fun place to be!
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Photos by: Jake Hamons, COASTER-net, Andrew Borgen, Billy Olsen, and Cedar Point.
Last Updated: 02/06/2023