Wicked Twister

Wicked Twister
2002-2021

Wicked Twister opened in 2002 as the world's first double twisted Impulse Roller Coaster. Wicked Twister held its records for 18 years.

The 1990's was a huge expansion ERA for Cedar Point. In 1990 Avalanche Run was converted into Disaster Transport. Mean Streak became the tallest and fastest wooden coaster in 1991. In 1993 saw the addition of Snake River Falls. In 1994 Raptor was the first major project to transform the Main Midway in 30 years. In 1996 riders would stand up to their fear on Mantis. Soak City was expanded in 1997. Riders would be blasted on the world's tallest drop tower in 1998 on Power Tower. In 1999 Camp Snoopy became the park's family-friendly area. Millennium Force opened in 2000 as the world's tallest roller coaster. With the success of all these attractions, Cedar Point would add something unique in 2002!

In late 2001 Cedar Point began demolition of Stadium Games. The arcade was the former Sealand that was built in 1967.

As the demolition continued Cedar Point remained quiet on what they were were building.

Over on the Cedar Point beach crews started to dig holes in the ground that would eventually lead to foundations being formed.

On November 20, 2001, Cedar Point had announced it was building Wicked Twister. Wicked Twister would be the world's tallest, fastest and only double Twisted Impulse roller coaster in the world.

The foundations would hold the rides massive ride structure to the ground.

Construction on the massive electrical room began as parts of the ride structure would start to arrive to Cedar Point.

The ride structure started to rise with the station track and launch sections installed first.

The ride track and structure began to be staged on the Cedar Point beach.

The park soon began construction of the towers.

The 215 foot tall towers would rise really quickly. The skyline of the park was rapidly changing.

Wicked Twister was built in a rather small location. The ride was built in an area that was not formally part of the park.

Crews worked on hooking up the launch system as the trains arrived to the park.

In the Spring crews worked on putting the station together as well as the queues.

While the ride was doing its initial testing crews worked hard to put the ride plaza and finishing touches together.

Wicked Twister opened to the public on May 5, 2002, as the world's Tallest Impulse Roller Coaster. Wicked Twister was the 5th impulse roller coaster to open.

Wicked Twister was placed on the Cedar Point beach behind the Giant Wheel. Wicked Twister gave riders great views of the Cedar Point beach.

Unlike the other Impulse Coasters, Wicked Twister is the first one with two twisted spikes to ever be built. There was only one other built to have 2 twisting towers.

Wicked Twister Ride Facts
Height: 215 feet
Drop: 207 feet
Speed: 72 MPH
Hills: 2
Inversions: 0
Type: Impulse roller coaster
Designer: Werner Stengel
Company: Intamin AG of Switzerland
Capacity: 1,000/HR
Opened: May 5, 2002
Number of Coaster at that time: 15
Cost: 9 Million
Cedar Point's 11th oldest roller coaster!

Over the years Wicked Twister was known to have a lot of down time. The ride also had a very low capacity due to the fact the ride could only run one train.

Wicked Twister Records
-Worlds tallest Impulse Coaster.
-Worlds fastest Impulse Coaster.
-Worlds only double twisted Impulse Coaster.
-Cedar Point's first launch coaster.
-Gave Cedar Point the most roller coasters in the world over 200 feet.
-Worlds tallest Inverted Coaster.

Wicked Twister was built by Intamin of Switzerland. Intamin built several other rides at cedar point. In 1979, Jr. Gemini became Intamin's first roller coaster to ever be built. In 1983 Demon Drop became one of the first of its kind in the world to be installed.

Avalanche Run brought a unique bobsled experience to Cedar Point in 1985. In 1986, Thunder Canyon became Cedar Point's runaway river rapids ride. In 1990, Avalanche Run was enclosed and re-themed to Disaster Transport. In 2000, Millennium Force became the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world and the first roller coaster over 300 feet. The fun didn't stop in 2002. Intamin would return to Cedar Point a few more times. In 2003, Top Thrill Dragster became the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world when it reached heights of 420 feet. In 2007 Maverick became Cedar Point's wild experience but the new ride didn't break any records. Over the years Intamin built rides that had a lot of problems and rides that became rare. Demon Drop would close in 2009 to be relocated to Dorney Park for 2010. In 2010 Shoot the Rapids became Cedar Point's newest water ride. Shoot the Rapids had a lot of problems when the ride was at Cedar Point. Disaster Transport was removed from Cedar Point in 2012. In 2014, Jr. Gemini was re-themed as Wilderness Run. Shoot the Rapids was the last new ride built by Intamin at Cedar Point. The ride was removed in 2015.

Wicked Twister gave riders a great view of the Cedar Point beach and Lake Erie.

Ride Experience

Wicked Twister featured 2 twisted towers. Each tower was 215 feet tall and had a 206 foot drop.

Wicked Twister was Cedar Point's first launched roller coaster.

The Wicked Twister ride experience began with riders entering the ride entrance. The ride entrance was located on the Beach Midway.

Riders would then snake their way way thru the ride queue line. The line was a very simple place to hold guest who waited for the ride. The queue featured shade structures so guest wouldn't be so hot.

The line then went behind the back tower and into the station. The average wait for Wicked Twister would very depending on how busy the park was. On a slow day the line would be anywhere from 5-15 minutes. On a busy day it would be anywhere from 30-60 minutes.

Once riders arrived in the loading platform they would then chose where to sit. The ride had 16 rows and the train held 32 riders.

Wicked Twister had an over the shoulder restraint. The ride also had a seat belt on the side of the restraint.

The restraints on Wicked Twister didn't not accommodate larger guest or guest with larger shoulders.

Once the ride started it launched riders out of the station reaching speeds of 50 MPH.

As the train reached the end of the launch section, it would head up the forward tower. The train made it about halfway up the tower then it paused, and headed backwards through the launch section.

The train then headed back down the launch section and station where it is launched at speeds of 63 MPH.

The train went 215 feet up the tower and twisted 450 degrees on its way up. When it got to the top, the train paused and suspended in the air for a split second while riders looked straight down at the Cedar Point beach.

The train then went thru the station where it launched at speeds of 69 MPH and then it was once again sent up the forward tower.

The train then twisted its way up the tower and spiraled 450 degrees. Once the train got to the top, it stopped and went backwards.

The train then went back through the launch section and station where the ride was launched to speeds of 72 MPH!

The train then would head back up the back spiral and twist 450 degrees for the final time. The ride then stopped and headed down the tower going forward.

The train then went thru the station and launch section one final time.

The train will go up the forward spiral for the final time and twist 450 degrees. When the train got to the top, it stopped and headed down backwards.

The train then headed to the launch section where it came to a stop and returned to the loading platform.

Riders would then exit Wicked Twister and end up in a plaza behind Giant Wheel.

Wicked Twister Makes An Impact On Cedar Point

Wicked Twister wasn't the most popular roller coaster when it opened.

The ride never had long rides compared to the other rides in the park. It wasn't as popular as the others were.

The ride had a lot of moving parts. It could be a very complicated ride to keep running. Over the years the ride would have a lot of down time.

Wicked Twister would remain the world's tallest and fastest Impulse Roller Coaster, as well as the only one with two twisted spikes until 2020. Wicked Twister held its records longer then any other Cedar Point roller coaster.

In the years following the opening of Wicked Twister Cedar Point opened a number of attractions that would help make the parks line-up better including 8 roller coasters: Top Thrill Dragster (2003-2021), maXair (2005), Skyhawk (2006), Maverick (2007), Planet Snoopy (2008), Shoot The Rapids (2010-2015), WindSeeker (2011), Dinosaur's Alive (2012-2018), GateKeeper (2013), Pipe Scream (2014), Wilderness Run (2014), Rougarou (2015), Valravn (2016), Cedar Point Shores Waterpark (2017), Steel Vengeance (2018, Forbidden Frontier on Adventure Island (2019-2021), and Cedar Point's 150th Anniversary (2021). All of these new attractions have brought something unique to Cedar Point.

Wicked Twister had a great view of Lake Erie!

Jake's Story with Wicked Twister

In November 2001, when Wicked Twister was announced, I was 8. I remember Cedar Point announcing that they were building Wicked Twister. It was in the local news paper. As the ride was being built Cedar Point would release frequent updates of its construction. I would get on the computer often and watch them build the ride.

When Wicked Twister opened I didn't ride it. It was a ''big'' ride and I was scared of heights. It wouldn't be until July 2013 that I would ride the ride. I instantly fell in love with it and wished I had rode it long before then.

During the 2019 season I had the honor to get to work on Wicked Twister. It was really a fun experience to work the ride. Of all the rides I've worked, Wicked Twister was my favorite.

Over the years I always had a lot of fun riding the ride with my friends. It was always a treat to get to ride Wicked Twister with them.

After the park announced that Wicked Twister would be leaving, I got to work the ride a few more times in August 2021.

Wicked Twister closes

On August 6, 2021, Cedar Point announced it would close Wicked Twister forever on September 6, 2021.

Wicked Twister had given thrills to more than 16 million riders during its time at Cedar Point.

During the final weekend the ride was opened Cedar Point sold a special limited edition shirt to celebrate the rides departure.

During the final day of operation riders were given a button that advertised the ride.

For the final ride Cedar Point held a contest. 16 managers went thru the park with special lanyards. Guest would have to ask the manager for the lanyard. If they won they would get to take a guest with them. After the final ride, it was revealed that they also won a ticket of a lifetime.

The ride had a very long line during the last day the ride was open. Riders would wait 60-90 minutes to ride that day.

Wicked Twister closed forever on September 6, 2021. It was an end of an era for a record-breaking ride.

Demolition

When the park opened for Halloweekends they had placed signs outside of the ride entrance to let guests know that it was closed forever.

A few weeks later the entrance sign was removed from the ride entrance. The ride logo on the station followed soon.

Behind the scenes the park was removing electrical components and disconnecting the ride.

The ride received a tombstone in the ride cemetery under Sky Ride.

As of closing day 2021, the ride was still standing.

Shortly after the park closed the train was taken of the track for the final time.

On Nomveber 3, 2021 Cedar Point revealed that Wicked Twister was being scrapped.

During the winter the park continued to remove the ride. The first section of the ride to be removed was the launch track. After the launch track was removed crews worked on demolition of the station and electrical building.

On January 14, 2022 Cedar Point began removing the towers. The towers were pulled to the ground.

Once the demolition of the towers began, the rest of the demolition process would happen really fast. The ride was entirely gone by early February.

The park would use the rest of the winter to remove Wicked Twister's massive foundations that the ride used.

By Winter Chillout all of Wicked Twister was complete gone. Most of the foundations were completely removed by that point as well.

When Cedar Point opened in 2022 the Wicked Twister construction site was blocked by a fence.

During the summer of 2022 Cedar Point would start placing teasers on the fence. You could also see a mystery constriction project rising over the fence.

On August 11, 2023 Cedar Point announced it was building The Boardwalk for the 2023 season. Wicked Twister was going to be replaced with The Boardwalk.