Cedar Point announces record breaking dive roller coaster, Valravn

Posted | Contributed by Jeff

From the press release:

Cedar Point will change the Lake Erie skyline once again with over 3,400 feet of thrill ride innovation when it introduces Valravn (val-rey-vuhn), the world’s tallest, fastest and longest dive coaster, in 2016. Valravn is the regal king of birds, swooping in to conquer all other dive coasters on the planet with its powerful and intense maneuvers, massive structure and immense ride vehicles. Valravn will become the 18th coaster to take reign at The Roller Coaster Capital of the World® and will claim its rightful place among other record-breaking roller coasters at Cedar Point.

Riders on Valravn are carried more than 20 stories up to the top of the coaster’s 223-foot-tall first hill. Once there, the train is held perilously over the edge of the first drop for approximately four seconds, giving anxious guests unparalleled views of the park before free-falling a record 214 feet at a completely vertical, 90-degree angle, reaching a top speed of 75 mph!

Valravn then flips its passengers upside-down through a 165-foot-tall Immelmann, a fighter jet-like maneuver that takes the train into a half loop, then a half roll before traveling in the opposite direction. The train then approaches another drop zone – but there’s no stopping this time as riders plunge 125 feet down at a near-90-degree angle once again, twisting and turning upside-down two more times, once through a dive loop and then through a 270-degree roll before completing its epic journey over 3,415 feet of tarnished copper and silver steel track.

Valravn will shatter an astonishing 10 WORLD RECORDS when it debuts next summer, including:

1.Tallest dive coaster (223 feet)

2.Fastest dive coaster (75 mph)

3.Longest dive coaster (3,415 feet)

4.Most inversions on a dive coaster (three)

5.Longest drop on a dive coaster (214 feet)

6.Highest inversion on a dive coaster (165 feet)

7.Most roller coasters taller than 200 feet at one amusement park (5)

8.Most rides at one amusement park (72)

9.Most steel roller coaster track at one amusement park (52,125 feet/9.9 miles)

10.Most roller coaster track at one amusement park (60,110 feet/11.4 miles)

Valravn is also the signature 100th roller coaster designed by the imaginative coaster minds at Bolliger & Mabillard in Monthey, Switzerland, and will feature ride vehicles never before seen on a dive coaster. Riders will sit eight-across on one of three, 24-passenger floorless trains, featuring tiered seating as well as comfortable over-the-shoulder restraints with interlocking seatbelts, much like those on the park’s GateKeeper wing coaster. Valravn can accommodate approximately 1,200 riders per hour and guests must be 54 inches or taller to ride.

Cedar Point is also making history as the first amusement park ever to utilize 3D virtual reality to introduce a new roller coaster. Guests can experience Valravn in 360-degree virtual reality by downloading the Cedar Point VR app onto their smart phones and inserting them into the Valravn VR Viewer. The app is now available in the App Store and Google Play store. To take full advantage of the virtual reality simulation, Valravn VR Viewers can be purchased by visiting cedarpoint.com/Valravn.

“The introduction of Valravn is a first for the amusement park industry on many fronts, including the exciting virtual reality experience,” stated Jason McClure, vice president and general manager of Cedar Point. “For the first time ever, guests are able to take an immersive ride on Valravn before it opens next summer – and the actual experience will be unmatched with the tallest lift hill, fastest speed, longest track and most inversions on a dive coaster, right here at Cedar Point, The Roller Coaster Capital of the World.”

See the official site from Cedar Point.