GateKeeper is the golden-griffin wing coaster that greets every arriving guest at Cedar Point’s front gate with a 170-foot dive at 67 mph — and more than a decade after it opened, it remains the tallest, fastest, longest wing coaster Bolliger & Mabillard has ever built.
Whether you’re checking the height requirement before a family trip, comparing GateKeeper’s numbers against other Cedar Point coasters, or trying to settle a debate about how many records it actually broke, this guide has every verified stat, date, and fact in one place.
Quick Answer
GateKeeper is 170 feet tall, drops 164 feet at 67 mph, and has 6 inversions across a 4,164-foot track. It opened May 11, 2013 as a Bolliger & Mabillard steel wing coaster, and riders must be between 52 and 78 inches tall to ride.
GateKeeper Height Requirement
GateKeeper’s height requirement is 52 inches minimum and 78 inches maximum, confirmed on Cedar Point’s own attraction listing. That upper limit is unusual — most Cedar Point coasters only set a minimum — but it exists because the wing coaster’s over-the-shoulder restraints and open-air, no-floor seating are engineered to hold riders securely through six inversions.
There is no accompanied-rider exception below 52 inches; the minimum is a hard cutoff enforced at a height-check station before the queue. Riders close to either limit should expect to be measured on-site, since the posted inches are enforced consistently.
How Tall Is GateKeeper at Cedar Point?
GateKeeper stands 170 feet tall at its lift hill — the highest point on the ride and the crest of its signature wing-over element. From that peak, the track immediately drops 164 feet in a rotating dive, which is why GateKeeper’s height and drop figures are close but not identical.
That 170-foot apex is also where GateKeeper set its most famous record: it was the highest inversion on any roller coaster anywhere when it opened in 2013, a record it held for six years.
How Fast Does GateKeeper Go?
GateKeeper reaches a top speed of 67 mph. That speed hits during the wing-over first drop, as the train rotates 180 degrees off the 170-foot lift hill and dives 164 feet toward the midway — the single fastest point anywhere on the 4,164-foot layout, and a moment that generates roughly 4 G’s of force.
When Was GateKeeper Built?
GateKeeper was officially announced on August 13, 2012, with construction beginning that September. Cedar Point built the ride in roughly eight months, erecting track through an Ohio winter before GateKeeper opened to the public on May 11, 2013 — one of the fastest B&M wing coaster builds at the time, reportedly costing around $30 million.
GateKeeper was the fifth wing coaster B&M had built worldwide and only the third in the United States, and it remains the tallest, fastest wing coaster in the Cedar Point lineup more than a decade later. Its opening weekend was the most successful in park history to that point, and it carried its one-millionth rider by July 17, 2013.
GateKeeper Stats and Specs
Park: Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio. Manufacturer: Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M). Type: Steel wing coaster. Opened: May 11, 2013. Height: 170 feet (52 m). Drop: 164 feet (50 m). Top speed: 67 mph (108 km/h). Track length: 4,164 feet (1,269 m). Inversions: 6. Max G-force: approximately 4G. Capacity: approximately 1,710 riders per hour. Minimum height: 52 inches. Maximum height: 78 inches. Restraints: over-the-shoulder harness with seat belt. Cedar Point rates GateKeeper the top thrill level in its ride guide.
Wing coasters position riders in pairs on both sides of the track with nothing above or below the seats. GateKeeper runs three trains, each carrying 32 riders across eight cars of four seats — two per side — so every seat sits fully exposed with no floor and no overhead structure blocking the view. The track and supports were even filled with sand to help dampen the noise the ride makes as it passes over the park entrance.
All 6 GateKeeper Inversions, in Order
GateKeeper has 6 inversions, in this sequence: (1) Wing Over Drop — the 170-foot crest with a 180-degree rotation into the 164-foot descent; (2) Immelmann Loop — a sweeping half-loop with a roll at the apex; (3) Corkscrew — an oversized flat-spin element; (4) Zero-G Roll — a weightless barrel roll; (5) Inclined Dive Loop — a tilted loop bringing the train toward ground level; (6) Inline Twist — a final roll before the brake run.
Most traditional sit-down steel coasters carry one to three inversions. Six on a wing coaster — where every seat sits on the outer edge of the train with nothing overhead or underneath — makes each element feel considerably more intense than the same inversion on an enclosed-track coaster.
World Records GateKeeper Broke (and Which Ones Still Stand)
When GateKeeper opened in May 2013, it broke seven world records for a wing coaster: tallest, fastest, longest track, longest drop, most inversions, and the highest roller coaster inversion in the world at 170 feet, surpassing the previous record held by Volcano, The Blast Coaster at Kings Dominion.
GateKeeper held the highest-inversion record until July 2019, when it was overtaken by Steel Curtain at Kennywood (197 feet), and other coasters have since pushed the mark higher still. But GateKeeper’s wing coaster-specific records — tallest, fastest, longest track, longest drop, and most inversions — remain unbroken; no B&M wing coaster built anywhere since 2013 has topped its stats.
GateKeeper Logo and Theme: The Golden Griffin
GateKeeper is themed around a mythical griffin — half eagle, half lion — rendered in the logo as a golden creature with wings spread, standing guard at Cedar Point’s front entrance. Each train’s nose is sculpted as a griffin head with LED-illuminated eyes, a first for any Cedar Point coaster at the time.
The track runs azure blue with white supports, and the two 100-foot keyhole towers at the main entrance double as themed portals the coaster physically threads through. The queue line itself runs beneath the lift hill and station, roughly parallel to the beach, so riders get shade and a preview of the trains overhead before boarding.
Best Spots to Watch and Photograph the GateKeeper Drop
GateKeeper’s front-gate placement creates photo angles no other Cedar Point coaster can match. From the plaza between the keyhole towers, the train swoops directly overhead. The midway offers the widest framing with Lake Erie in the background, and early morning — before crowds fill the entrance plaza — gives the cleanest shot of the wing-over drop.
GateKeeper is a Bolliger & Mabillard creation — see our full Bolliger & Mabillard profile for the company’s history and signature coasters.
GateKeeper Cedar Point stats FAQs
What is GateKeeper’s height requirement?
Riders must be between 52 and 78 inches tall. The 52-inch minimum is a hard cutoff with no accompanied-rider exception, and the 78-inch maximum exists because of how the over-the-shoulder restraints fit riders through the ride’s six inversions.
How tall is GateKeeper at Cedar Point?
GateKeeper’s lift hill stands 170 feet tall, and the wing-over first drop descends 164 feet from that peak.
How fast does GateKeeper go?
GateKeeper reaches a top speed of 67 mph during its 180-degree wing-over drop off the 170-foot lift hill.
When did GateKeeper open?
GateKeeper opened to the public on May 11, 2013, after roughly eight months of construction that began in September 2012.
How many inversions does GateKeeper have?
GateKeeper has 6 inversions: a Wing Over Drop, Immelmann Loop, Corkscrew, Zero-G Roll, Inclined Dive Loop, and Inline Twist.
Is GateKeeper still the world’s tallest or fastest wing coaster?
Yes. GateKeeper’s wing coaster-specific records — tallest, fastest, longest track, longest drop, and most inversions — have never been surpassed by another B&M wing coaster. Its separate record for the highest inversion on any roller coaster was overtaken in July 2019 by Steel Curtain at Kennywood.
Who manufactured GateKeeper?
GateKeeper was built by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M), a Swiss firm known for wing coasters. It was B&M’s fifth wing coaster worldwide and only the third built in the United States.
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