Steel Vengeance is Cedar Points newest rollercoaster, having opened on May 5th 2018. The coaster is located in Frontiertown, near Maverick. Steel Vengeance is a hybrid coaster built by the Rocky Mountain Construction company (RMC). RMC, like they have done many times with different coasters, used the old structure of the wooden coaster, Mean Streak, to build a brand new attraction. Over the last 18 months to 2 years, RMC built on the existing structure of Mean Streak to create a brand new and vastly more impressive coaster in Steel Vengeance.
Steel Vengeance is the tallest and fastest hybrid coaster in the world. It also has the steepest drop and more inversions than any other hybrid coaster. The ride has a maximum height of 205ft and a top speed of 74mph. The track length is 5,740ft and there are 4 inversions throughout the ride.
Since Cedar Point unveiled their plans to build Steel Vengeance, there has been a huge amount of excitement. Many people, including myself, expected that Steel Vengeance would be the best rollercoaster in the world. Having rode Steel Vengeance ten times during my visit to Cedar Point, I can definitely say that the ride lived up to my expectations. I am now pretty certain that it’s my favourite rollercoaster in the world.
The first half of the ride is formed of larger drops and turns. The second half of the ride is more compact, with sharper turns, twists and drops. This gives you the best of both worlds when riding this coaster, by providing both large drops with great airtime and fast inversions, twists and smaller hills that really rip you out of your seat.
Another positive about Steel Vengeance is that, despite it being such a huge coaster with many fast twists and multiple moments which completely lift you off your seat, it still remains comfortable. This makes it an extremely re-rideable coaster. With the restraints on the coaster being the standard lap bar, like on all hybrid coasters, you can’t bang your head or shoulders like you do on some of the other coasters in the park such as Raptor or Rougarou. The lap bar also gives you that extra sense of freedom which definitely helps enhance your ride experience.
The one negative about this new coaster is that during my two day visit the ride never opened on time. On my first morning the ride was 30 minutes late opening, which isn’t too bad. On my second morning, however, the ride was nearly 3 hours late opening.
The coaster is currently running with two trains. The ride is designed to operate 3 trains but due to some technical difficulties this is yet to happen. Running a third train will obviously increase capacity but I don’t think it will increase it by much. This is due to the fact that, even with only 2 trains running, there is very little time when there is not a train in the station.
Steel Vengeance is a huge win for Cedar Point. They have managed to convert one of the least popular rides in the park into the parks number one rollercoaster. I personally feel that Steel Vengeance is the first world class rollercoaster to be opened at Cedar Point in over ten years since Maverick opened in 2007. This isn’t to say that other additions since Maverick, such as Valravn and Gatekeeper, have not been good. I just don’t think they are in the same category as other coasters in the park like Millennium Force and Maverick.
Overall, Steel Vengeance is an absolutely incredible coaster and , in my opinion, unrivalled. It’s a rollercoaster that offers a bit of everything. Steel Vengeance is really a combination of everything a coaster fan wants to see in a ride. It has large drops, tight turns, speed, inversions, airtime and a bit more airtime. Steel Vengeance is most definitely a must do for anyone who likes rollercoasters.
If you enjoyed this article then check out our article on the Top 5 coasters at Cedar Point.
