Blue Streak (Cedar Point)

Infobox roller coaster
name= Blue Streak


caption= Initial drop on Blue Streak
location= Cedar Point
type= Wood
status= Open
opened= May 23, 1964
manufacturer= Philadelphia Toboggan Company
designer= Frank F. Hoover & John C. Allen
model= Out and Back roller coaster
track=
lift=chain lift hill
height= 78
drop= 72
length= 2558
speed= 40
inversions= 0
duration= 1:45
angle= 45
capacity= 1300
cost=
acceleration=
gforce=
restriction= 48
rcdb_number= 12

"Blue Streak" is a wooden roller coaster following the out and back design, and is the oldest operating roller coaster at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. According to park officials, the roller coaster has given over 54 million rides since its inception in 1964.cite web
url=http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/park/rides/coasters/blue_streak/index.cfm
title="Blue Streak"
publisher=Cedar Point
accessdate=2006-07-21]

History

In the 1950s, Cedar Point was suffering from decline of popularity, especially since it had not gotten a new roller coaster in over a decade. The park was near permanently shutting down, and was in desperate need of a headline attraction. By the 1960s, new rides started to appear again on the peninsula, but a huge (at the time), headlining ride was still needed, and thus the Blue Streak roller coaster was born. The first roller coaster at the park in nearly 20 years, a wooden roller coaster, opened on May 23, 1964.

"Blue Streak" was built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company (now Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters), and named after "The Blue Streaks", the nickname of the Sandusky High School athletic teams.cite web
title = "Blue Streak"
publisher = PointPics.com
date = 2007-01-13
url = http://pointpics.com/details.php?image_id=1037
accessdate = 2007-12-26 ]

Today, even after 43 years on the peninsula, the ride thrills hundreds of thousands of riders each year. The ride is considered one of Cedar Point's best, and is in many coaster enthusiasts' lists of favorite wooden roller coasters (it was, in fact, ranked as the 48^th best wooden coaster in 2007 in the Golden Ticket Awards). Blue Streak was not always the sky blue color it is today; when it opened, the wood was unpainted.

Relinquishment of ACE Coaster Classic title

"Blue Streak" was considered an ACE Coaster Classic until 1995 when the bench seats were replaced with divided seats, individual lap bars, and headrests. In 2004, the original steel lap bars were replaced with more comfortable molded plastic ones. In 2008, the seat belts were replaced with retractable ones, allowing for quicker load times. In general, wait times usually can be between 10-30 minutes, being most busy during early afternoon.cite web
title = "Blue Streak"
publisher = ThePointOL.com
url = http://www.thepointol.com/bluestreak.html
accessdate = 2008-02-16 ]

References

External links

* [http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/park/rides/coasters/blue_streak/index.cfm CedarPoint.com - Official "Blue Streak" page]
* [http://www.thepointol.com/bluestreak.html ThePointOL.com - Unofficial "Blue Streak" page]
* [http://www.pointpics.com/categories.php?cat_id=25 PointPics.com - "Blue Streak" Photo Gallery]