Cedar Point has run roller coasters since 1892, when the Switchback Railway was pushed back to its station by hand. Since then the Sandusky peninsula has been home to 38 roller coasters, and it was first to break the 200-, 300- and 400-foot barriers for full-circuit coasters. This timeline starts with today's lineup and runs back to the first wooden rides on the Lake Erie beach, including the coasters that were removed, moved to other parks or rebuilt into something new.
The Giga Era 2000 – today
The 300- and 400-foot full-circuit barriers fell in four years, then two decades of rebuilding what was already there.
Siren's Curse
The newest coaster on the peninsula, built around a tilt track that holds the train vertical before it drops.
Top Thrill 2
Top Thrill Dragster's 420-foot top hat, reworked by Zamperla with a vertical reverse spike.
Steel Vengeance
Built from the bones of Mean Streak: RMC steel track on the old wooden structure.
First hybrid hypercoaster
Valravn
A dive coaster that holds riders at the edge of a vertical drop before letting go.
Tallest, fastest, longest dive coaster when new
GateKeeper
A wing coaster that threads the keyholes over the main entrance.
Highest inversion in the world when new
Top Thrill Dragster
A hydraulic launch to the top of a 420-foot top hat at 120 mph. Closed after an August 2021 incident and rebuilt as Top Thrill 2.
First full-circuit coaster over 400 feetLives on as Top Thrill 2 →
Wicked Twister
An inverted impulse coaster that shot riders up two twisted spikes. Its spot is now the Grand Pavilion.
Tallest, fastest impulse coaster when new
Millennium Force
The ride that started the giga era, and the reason ThrillZing exists.
First full-circuit coaster over 300 feetThe Coaster Wars 1976 – 1999
Loops, hypercoasters and world records: the years Cedar Point became the Roller Coaster Capital.
Woodstock Express
A Vekoma junior coaster in Camp Snoopy, and a first big coaster for a lot of kids.
Mantis
A stand-up coaster, nearly named Banshee before fans objected. Converted to Rougarou for 2015.
Tallest, fastest, longest stand-up when newLives on as Rougarou →
Raptor
The inverted coaster that greets you on the main midway.
Tallest, fastest, longest inverted coaster when new
Mean Streak
A 161-foot wooden giant. Its structure lives on inside Steel Vengeance.
Tallest wooden coaster in the world when newLives on as Steel Vengeance →
Magnum XL-200
205 feet along the Lake Erie shore, and the ride the word hypercoaster was coined for.
First full-circuit coaster over 200 feet
Disaster Transport
Opened outdoors as the bobsled Avalanche Run, then enclosed and space-themed in 1989.
WildCat
A compact Schwarzkopf that ran in three different spots in the park. Removed to make room for Luminosity.
Wilderness Run
Opened as Jr. Gemini and renamed Wilderness Run in 2014.
Intamin's first roller coaster
Gemini
Racing twin trains on steel track over a wooden structure.
Marketed as the world's tallest, fastest, steepest
Corkscrew
Still spans the midway, so you can walk right under the inversions.
First coaster with three inversionsThe Modern Park Takes Shape 1952 – 1975
After the old lakefront coasters fell, Blue Streak and a run of traveling steel rides rebuilt the lineup.
Jumbo Jet
A Schwarzkopf Jet Star that went on to five more parks. It now runs in Chelyuskintsev Park in Belarus.
Wildcat (the first one)
Moved to Valleyfair, then to Jolly Roger in Ocean City, Maryland, where it still runs.
Blue Streak
The wooden out-and-back that has outlasted everything since.
Oldest operating coaster at Cedar PointBroadway Trip
A one-season steel coaster that went on to six more parks before being dismantled in 2003.
Scamper
A wooden wild mouse that later ran at Dollywood.
Wild Mouse
The park's first wild mouse. The name came back 60 years later.
Super Coaster
A kiddie coaster from Myrtle Beach Pavilion that later ran at Vollmar's Park in Bowling Green, Ohio.
Little Dipper
A one-year concession, also from Myrtle Beach Pavilion.
The Lake Erie Resort Years 1892 – 1951
Wooden coasters on a beach resort: the first rides on the peninsula.
Cyclone
A Harry Traver wooden coaster that anchored the lakefront through the 1930s and '40s.
High Frolics
Built from the remains of Dip the Dips as the Leap Frog Railway and renamed High Frolics in 1933. A 75-foot wooden giant for its day.
Leap the Dips
A wooden out-and-back.
Racer
A dual-track wooden racer, 46 feet tall.
Dip the Dips Scenic Railway
A 33-foot wooden scenic railway.
Loop the Loop
Also known as the Three-Way Figure Eight Roller Toboggan.
Switchback Railway
25 feet tall, 10 mph, and no lift hill: workers pushed the cars back to the station.
Cedar Point's first roller coasterPlanning a visit? Our Cedar Point park guide covers today’s rides, hours and tips, and the scariest rides at Cedar Point ranks the current lineup.
Cedar Point Coaster History FAQ
What was the first roller coaster at Cedar Point?
The Switchback Railway, which opened in 1892. It was 25 feet tall, reached about 10 mph, and had no lift hill, so the cars were pushed back to the station by hand. It ran until 1901.
What is the oldest roller coaster still operating at Cedar Point?
Blue Streak, a wooden coaster from Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters that opened in 1964. Cedar Creek Mine Ride (1969) is second.
How many roller coasters has Cedar Point removed?
Twenty coasters have left the park since 1892. Seventeen were removed outright, and three were rebuilt into new rides: Mantis became Rougarou, Mean Streak became Steel Vengeance, and Top Thrill Dragster became Top Thrill 2.
What happened to Mean Streak?
Mean Streak ran from 1991 to 2016. Rocky Mountain Construction rebuilt its wooden structure with steel track, and it reopened in 2018 as Steel Vengeance.
What happened to Top Thrill Dragster?
Top Thrill Dragster closed after an incident in August 2021. Its 420-foot tower was reworked with a new launch system and a vertical reverse spike, and it reopened as Top Thrill 2 in 2024.
Photos: ThrillZing (CC BY 4.0), taken at Cedar Point 2002–2026, except where a card credits a Wikimedia Commons photographer. Opening and closing years: Cedar Point and RCDB via Wikipedia.