Vertigo (Cedar Point)

Vertigo was a thrill ride at Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio. It opened in August of 2001, and was open for only four months. The ride was designed by S&S Power.

The Ride

Riders of Vertigo would first be strapped into a triangular car. Two people could sit on each side of the triangle, letting six people to ride at one time. The restraints were meant to make you feel very insecure, and had few places to hold on. The car would rise a few feet off the ground, and then pneumatic air pressure would rocket the riders up at 50 miles/hour, over the three 265 foot tall towers, almost 300 feet in the air. During the descent, the seats would rotate, causing the riders to face the ground until the ride reached the bottom, and went back up again. On this descent, the riders would be turned completely up-side-down. All riders paid a fee of $10 to ride, and reservations were recommended.

Incident

In January 2002, one of the 265 foot-tall towers collapsed, approximately 60 feet above the ground. The tower caused minimal damage, and nobody was injured. The ride was not operating at the time, as Cedar Point is closed in the winter.

Demolition

Soon after the incident, Cedar Fair released that the attraction would be demolished, because the ride was likely to face popularity issues after the incident. Rides of the same type also closed at Knotts Berry Farm (another Cedar Fair park), and Six Flags Magic Mountain, due to safety issues. Rides of this type still operate at Six Flags Great Adventure as well as Celebration Centre

Names

After the incident spread to the public, and the demolition was released, certain names were used as jokes to poke fun at the demolition. The most common name was "Vertigon", a combination of the words "Vertigo" and "Gone".

External links

* [http://www.ultimaterollercoaster.com/news/archives/2002/stories/030702_01.shtml Cedar Fair Removing Vertigo Thrill Rides From Parks]
* [http://www.ultimaterollercoaster.com/thrillrides/vertigo/ Vertigo at Cedar Point]