Blue Streak

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.

In 1929, Cedar Point opened its famous Cyclone roller coaster. Cyclone was very popular when it first opened. It was a huge ride for Cedar Point that brought success. Shortly after the park closed for the 1929 season the stock market crashed and the great depression started.

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.

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.''

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.

During the winter of 1963 through the Spring of 1964 Cedar Point built its next roller coaster, Blue Streak. Blue Streak would be about the same height as Cyclone and would be the first major roller coaster built at Cedar Point since 1929.

Blue Streak opened on May 24, 1964. When the ride opened it was Cedar Point's 4th roller coaster.

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.

For Blue Streak's first few seasons, the ride featured unpainted wood. By 1967 the ride was painted sky blue. Blue Streak is sky blue to this day.

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 $1,965,819.35 in 2024. Most modern roller coasters built about the size of Blue Streak today cost 12-17 million.

Blue Streak
Ride Facts
Height: 78 feet
Drop: 76 feet
Speed: 40 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.
28 roller coasters have been added since Blue Streak opened.

Ride Experience

The Blue Streak ride begins with guests entering the line for the ride. The entrance to the roller coaster is under the beak run.

Riders usually wait 5-10 minutes to ride Blue Streak. The line can be up to 1 hour when the park is busy.

Once in the station, riders are loaded onto the train. Blue Streak has simple, small trains. The trains feature a lap bar and a seat belt with a seat divider.

Once the ride begins the train leaves the boarding area and heads through the rides transfer track and heads out of the station.

Blue Streak then turns left into a U-turn and heads toward the lift hill.

Blue Streak lifts its riders up 78 feet. Going up the hill riders get great views of the front of the park, and the Cedar Point Marina on the right.

It takes about 35 seconds for the train to get to the top of the hill. Once the train gets to the top riders are treated to a great view!

Blue Streak drops riders down 76 feet at a 45-degree angle. Riders are ejected out of their seats as the coaster drops off the lift.

Blue Streak ejects its riders in 2 small air time hills. Riders fly over these hills!

Blue Streak is an airtime machine! Riders feel an amazing amount of airtime on each hill!

Riders then go over an amazing floater airtime hill. This hill is the second tallest hill on the ride. The train goes up, floats over the hill and heads down.

Blue Streak then goes through its turn around.

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 takes guest over a small ejector airtime hill. This hill sends guest flying out of their seats!

Blue Streak then goes over a floater airtime hill. Riders float out of their seats as they go over this hill!

Riders are treated to another ejector hill that sends them flying out of their seats once again.

Blue Streak then goes over the final airtime hill. Riders are ejected out of their seats once again.

Blue Streak then bounces up into the break run!

Riders come to a complete stop in the break run. When the station is clear the train returns riders to the platform where they boarded.

Boo Streak

For Halloweekends in 2018, Blue Streak got a temporary makeover as Boo Streak. The ride got a cool sign, a few decorations, and some music in the station. Boo Streak is a neat idea!

Changes

Blue Streak has seen a lot of changes over the years that has changed the look and feel of the ride.

When Blue Streak opened the ride featured unpainted wood. The ride was painted they sky blue that it is today by 1967. Blue Streak was last repainted in 2012.

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.

For decades Blue Streak was a manually controlled ride. The ride operator had to use a hand brake to run the ride. In the 1990s the hand brake was done away with and the ride received new controls.

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!

Over the last 60 years, Blue Streak has continued to be a very popular ride for Cedar Point! Today the ride is a classic. It has gone down in history as a great ride. Blue Streak helped launch Cedar Point's legacy as the Roller Coaster Capital of the world!

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 is still a very popular ride at Cedar Point. The ride doesn't have the longest lines in the park, but it still can get a line when the park is busy. The average wait time for Blue Streak is 5-20 minutes.

Many roller coasters have come and gone over the years. Blue Streak is the oldest existing roller coaster at Cedar Point and the 3rd oldest operating roller coaster in the state of Ohio.