Raptor

Raptor
1994

Raptor opened in 1994 as Cedar Point's inverted roller coaster. Raptor was the first project to change Cedar Point's Main Midway since the 1960's.

In the 1990's Cedar Point was all wrapped up in the roller coaster wars. The decade was very good for the park. New and exciting things were quickly coming to the park. Riders began rafting thru canyons on Thunder Canyon in 1986. In 1987 Iron Dragon became the first successful suspended roller coaster in the mid-west. Soak City began soaking guest daily in 1988. The roller coaster wars were launched by Cedar Point in 1989 with the opening of Magnum XL-200. In 1990 Cedar Point decided to go in a different direction and enclose its Avalanche Run into Disaster Transport. Mean Streak became the tallest and fastest wooden roller coaster on earth in 1991. In 1992 Challenge Park opened. Snake River Falls became the tallest water ride on earth when it opened in 1993.

With all these changes that have already happened, there were more coming. The new 1994 roller coaster would change the look of Cedar Point's Main Midway forever.

In the early 1990s Six Flags was very interested in the Suspended Coaster developed by Arrow. However, the roller coaster type couldn't do the inversions the company wanted it to do due to the rides swinging motion.

Six Flags solved the problem by working with the company Bolliger & Mobillard. The two companies worked together to develop a new style of roller coaster called the Inverted Coaster.

Batman: The Ride opened on May 9, 1992, as the world's first inverted roller coaster at Six Flags Great America in Chicago, Illinois. The ride featured 5 inversions and had a good theme. The ride was very compact.

At some point after the opening of Batman: The Ride Cedar Point executives had visited the ride to experience it. It was soon decided that they wanted an inverted roller coaster.

During the fall of 1993, Cedar Point closed its aging water ride, Mill Race. The ride was torn down before the park closed for the season. When the park closed, Midway Carousel and Calypso were taken apart to be restored so they could be relocated. Turnpike Cars were also remolded and redesigned to fit the 1994 project. With all of the former rides out of the way, Cedar Point had 3.5 acres to work with to design the new ride.

Midway Carousel was relocated to the front entrance. The ride was restored and placed in a new building. The new building was much smaller than the old one.

Calypso was relocated next to Blue Streak. Calypso had been relocated many times before. When the ride was moved this time it lost its backdrop and a lot of the theming the ride previously had.

Turnpike Cars were redesigned for the 1994 season. The ride would now feature only 1 track. Turnpike Cars got a new station and a new layout. The cars from the second track were relocated to Dorney Park, where they remain today. The ride would be removed from Cedar Point in 2014 to make room for Valravn.

On September 1, 1993, Cedar Point announced it was building Raptor. Raptor would be the world's tallest, fastest and steepest Inverted Roller Coaster in the world. Raptor would be Cedar Point's 12th roller coaster in 1994.

Raptor was built over the winter of 1993 and the spring of 1994. The construction of the ride took just 8 months. Raptor was a huge undertaking for Cedar Point. Cedar Point had to make room for the ride.

Raptor contains:
-250 Blueprints.
-119 Concrete Footers.
- 2,500 CU.YDS of Concrete.
-117 Sections of Track.
-1.5 Million Tons of Steel.
-9,000 Pounds of Chain Lift.
-1,500 Gallons of Paint.
-85,000 Square Feet of the Main Midway had to be replaced.

Raptor is a really big ride for Cedar Point. It helped improve the look of the main midway and gave thrill seekers a great ride to experience!

Raptor opened on May 7th, 1994. Raptor was the third tallest roller coaster at Cedar Point.

Raptor was designed by Ing.-Büro Stengel GmbH. Raptor was the first roller coaster at Cedar Point that was built by Bolliger & Mabillard. The company would return to Cedar Point to build: Mantis (1996), GateKeeper (2013), Rougarou (2015), and Valravn (2016). These coaster types have often been some of the most popular rides in any amusement park.

Raptor Records

World Records

-Tallest Inverted Roller Coaster (137 feet)
-Longest Inverted Roller Coaster (3,790 feet)
-Steepest Drop for an Inverted Roller Coaster (45 degrees)
-Most Inversions of an Inverted Roller Coaster (6)
-Fastest Inverted Roller Coaster (57 MPH)
-First-Ever inverted Cobra-Roll

Park Records
-Most Roller Coasters (11)
-Most rides
-3rd tallest ride in the park (at the time)
-3rd fastest ride in the park (at the time)

Ride Stats:
Height- 137 feet
Drop- 118 feet
Speed- 57 MPH
Length- 3,790 feet
Inversions- 6
Hills- 3
Type- Inverted Roller Coaster
Designer- Ing.-Buro Stengel GmbH
Company- Bollinger & Mabillard
Capacity- 1,800 riders per hour
Year Opened- 1994

Number of Coasters at Cedar Point when opened- 11
Cedar Point's 7th oldest roller coaster.

Ride Experience

The Raptor ride experience begins with guest entering Raptor's trains. Raptor features floor-less style trains that have over the shoulder restraints and a seat-belt.

After the ride host has checked your seat the ride starts. The Floor is dropped below and the train leaves the station!

Raptor turns to the left with a dip and heads up the lift hill.

Raptor's lift hill is 137 feet. On the way up, riders get a great birds-eye view of the park. The lift hill faces Lake Erie! It takes about 40 seconds to get to the top!

Once Raptor leaves the lift it makes a small dip before turning slightly left. This element is called a pre-drop. a pre-drop is used on many early B&M roller coasters because it helps reduce wear and tear on the roller coasters chain.

Raptor drops it's riders 119 feet at a 45-degree angle. During the drop, riders reach speeds of 57 MPH!

Riders are flipped upside down on Raptor's 100-foot vertical loop! This was the tallest loop in the world when the ride opened in 1994.

After the vertical loop riders are sent into a zero-g roll. The zero-g roll is really cool because riders experience the sense of weightlessness as riders are flipped upside down!

Riders are then sent into a cobra roll. A cobra roll is when the train enters a half loop and is flipped into a corkscrew and repeated by going thru a corkscrew back into a loop. Riders go upside down twice during the cobra roll.

Raptor was the first inverted roller coaster to be built to have a cobra roll.

After coming out of the cobra roll raptor goes thru a twisted upwards helix. The helix is a forceful element that leads to the mid-course brake run!

Raptor's mid-course brake run slows the trains down as it heads thru the straight section of track. This element is what makes raptor able to run 3 trains!

Raptor then drops to the left and heads back toward the front of the park. This drop is really cool because the coaster quickly regains speed.

Riders are flipped upside down for the forth time with a Corkscrew.

Raptor then cruises under the zero-g roll, vertical roll, and behind Chickie's and Pete's where it performs its final elements.

Riders are flipped upside down for the 6th and final time with a second corkscrew.

Riders experience an amazing double helix. The coaster loses a lot of speed in the helix. This element is a very fast experience.

After a 2 minute and 16-second ride, Raptor arrives into its final brake run!

Raptor Rules The Sky!

Raptor opened in May 1994 to great reviews. The ride was very popular and groundbreaking at that time. Raptor was the 4th inverted roller coaster to ever open. Guest loved Raptor and the experience it gave to Cedar Point.

Raptor did great things for Cedar Point. In 1994 over 3.6 million people visited Cedar Point. Cedar Point set an attendance record in 1994 that has not been beaten since.

Over the years Raptor's popularity has continued to grow. In 1998 Amusement Today began ranking roller coasters. Raptor placed on the list for many years.

Year Ranked
1998 6
1999 6
2000 5
2001 8
2002 2
2003 10
2004 10
2005 11
2006 14
2007 19
2008 22
2009 22
2010 24
2011 8 2012 31
2013 30 2014 47
2016 47

The Coaster Kingdom Grows

In the years following the opening of Raptor, Cedar Point turned its focus into adding roller coasters and rides that would better help the parks line up. In the past 25 years, Cedar Point added 12 roller coasters. The park would grow adding: , 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), Dinosaur's Alive (2012-2018), GateKeeper (2013), Pipe Scream (2014), Wilderness Run (2014), Rougarou (2015), Valravn (2016), Cedar Point Shores Waterpark (2017), Steel Vengeance (2018), and Forbidden Frontier on Adventure Island (2019), and Cedar Point's 150th Anniversary Celebration (2021). All of these new attractions have brought something unique to Cedar Point.