Iron Dragon
1987
Iron Dragon is a suspended roller coaster that opened at Cedar Point in 1987. Iron Dragon takes riders on a journey over a forest and a small lake. Iron Dragon is a great starter ride for guests who don't like aggressive roller coasters.
In 1978 Gemini Midway opened featuring Gemini. Gemini was the world's tallest, fastest, and longest racing roller coaster when it opened. In 1979 Cedar Point added Wave Swinger, a new WildCat replaced the old one and was relocated to the former spot of Jumbo Jet. Oceana became Cedar Point's marine life complex in 1980. Riders would sail the high seas in 1981 on Ocean Motion. In 1982 White Water landing opened as the world's largest Hydro Flume. Riders would free fall 99 feet on Demon Drop in 1983. Avalanche Run became Cedar Point's Bobsled roller coaster in 1985. Thunder Canyon became Cedar Point's white water rafting ride in 1986. Also in 1986 Cedar Fair L.P got a new CEO, Dick Kinzel.
With all these new additions Cedar Point would be adding another huge roller coaster for the 1987 season.
Frontier Lift closed in the fall of 1985 and was removed to make room for future expansion.
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At the end of 1986, Monster and Western Cruise were relocated to the Gemini Midway to make room for future expansion. Western Cruise was also renamed Paddlewheel Excursions to better fit the new location.
Iron Dragon opened on June 11,1987. When the ride first opened the ride had red track and gray supports.
Iron Dragon was built and designed by Arrow Dynamics of Clearfield, Utah. Over the years Arrow had changed its names a few times, but they built some of Cedar Point's most popular rides. Over the years Arrow would add: Cadillac Cars (1958), Turnpike Cars (1959-2014), Mill Race (1963-1993), Earthquake (1965-1984), Pirate Ride (1966-1996), Shoot-the-Rapids (1967-1981), Cedar Creek Mine Ride (1969), Antique Cars (1969-2021), Corkscrew (1976), Gemini (1978), and White Water Landing (1982-2005) at Cedar Point. After Iron Dragon was built in 1987 Arrow Dynamics would return to Cedar Point to build Magnum XL-200 (1989) and Snake River Falls (1993).
Iron Dragon Virtual Reality
When Iron Dragon opened in 1987 the ride had a statue at the entrance to the ride. It reamined at Iron Dragon's entrance until the end of 2011.
The statue was bought by G.A. Boeking during the early years of the resort. It came from the 1904 worlds fair. In 2012 the ride line was reworked to make room for Celebration Plaza. At the time the statue was moved into storage. In 2020 the statue had once again been placed at the entrace of Iron Dragon. |
Ride Experience
The Iron Dragon ride experience begins with riders getting in line for the ride. The entrance is located to the right side of the ride station in Celebration Plaza.
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The average wait time for Iron Dragon is 30 minutes. The ride can get up to an hour wait if the park is busy.
Iron Dragon is located in the woods and over a misty lagoon. It is hard to see portions of the ride because they are in the woods.
Iron Dragon's first lift hill is located directly under Rougarou's lift hill.
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The ride then swings past Rougarou. As the coaster swings it goes into a drop into the woods.
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Iron Dragon is one of two roller coasters at Cedar Point to have 2 lift hills. The other roller coaster is Cedar Creek Mine Ride.
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Iron Dragon's Impact On The Roller Coaster Capital of the World
Even tho Iron Dragon wasn't as thrilling as it was originally met to be, the ride found its popularity with families. It's a great starter ride for guests who want something bigger than Wilderness Run, but aren't quite ready for Gemini or Blue Streak.
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Iron Dragon was a very good addition to Cedar Point. Over the years the park would add many things to to make the park better including 16 roller coasters, a water park, 4 kids areas, 3 hotels. Cedar Point would add: Soak City Water Park (1988-2016), Magnum XL-200(1989), Disaster Transport (1990-2012), Mean Streak (1991-2016), Berenstain Bear Country's playground (1992-1998), Challenge Park (1992-2016), Snake River Falls (1993), Raptor (1994) Cedar Point's 125th Anniversary Celebration (1995),Mantis (1996-2014), Chaos (1997-2010), Power Tower (1998), Camp Snoopy (1999), Peanuts Playground (1999-2007), Millennium Force(2000), Wicked Twister (2002-2021), Good Time Theatre (2002-2014), Top Thrill Dragster(2003-2021), Castaway Bay(2004), maXair (2005), Skyhawk (2006), Maverick (2007), Planet Snoopy (2008), Shoot The Rapids (2010-2015), WindSeeker (2011), Dinosaurs Alive! on Adventure Island(2012-2018), GateKeeper (2013), New Gemini Midway (2014) Rougarou (2015), Valravn (2016), Cedar Point Shores Water Park (2017), Steel Vengeance (2018), Forbidden Frontier on Adventure Island (2019), Cedar Point's 150th Anniversary (2021), and The Boardwalk. (2023)
All of these new attractions have given Cedar Point something new for guests to experience. |
Photos by: Jake Hamons, Andrew Borgen, COASTER-net, and Cedar Point.
Last Updated: 01/06/2023