Jarrett
Most Obnoxious Member 2016
We all know I'm the biggest RMC fan you'll ever meet. This is the company that practically put the terms to my taste in coasters that I use today, the company that sparked my interest in manufacturing technology, and has become a huge part of my identity as a coaster enthusiast. So naturally, when I found out that I wasn't working the night before they announced their biggest project yet and it happened to be in my home state, I had to go!
20 Hours Before Announcement
I woke up the day before the announcement and headed up to the park after getting almost no sleep coming off a night of work. After possibly the most boring drive ever (though I took our Sorento which has satellite radio so at least I wasn't trying to find something that wasn't country or Christian music the whole drive), I was there! And guess what? "Wild Wild West" by Will Smith comes on the radio as I turned onto the causeway to go see this outlaw-themed RMC announced!
Wanted to get that meal plan used ASAP so I could use it again later, so I swung by Pink's and got a wiener with rings and BBQ sauce.
I got in, said hi to Ben at Tiki Twirl, and headed back to my favorite ride in the park (but for how long?), the iconic and slightly basic Millennium Force! I rode with a dude in line for the back seat wearing an RMC shirt that had come all the way from Baltimore to see this announced! And the ride was awesome as always, not quite as much airtime as she usually has but it's still a great ride in the back.
I was actually kind of glad to have that Millennium ride out of the way so I could head back and check out Frontiertown less than 24 hours before an announcement over a year in the making. First stop? The infamous wanted posters!
Ride's not even announced yet and some idiot already broke off Blackjack's card. -_-
It's a close tie between Digger and Chess for my favorite of the three characters but the Gatling gun gauntlet sealed the deal for me. I'm pretty sure this is my favorite of the three. His little "mark" is the little line of bullet holes near his posters.
Chess Watkins is probably the least creative one they have of the three, but I have to admit that's a really creative name they gave this character. Her mark, a little brand reading "CW" for Chess Watkins, is probably the coolest of all three, but the character itself seems lazy.
Blackjack's a cool character too but I think I prefer both Digger and Chess. My friend Matt (who also likes classic rock) saw this and wishfully thought that they would call the ride Aces High and play Guns 'n' Roses in the station. His mark is a little blackjack card stuck in the corner of the poster, though as you saw some idiot (probably an entitled CP fanboy) snapped it off as a souvenir.
Some more wanted posters by Cedar Creek Mine Ride.
The park was in the process of setting up the stage for the announcement tomorrow when I walked by!
They had a pretty small screen compared to the giant projection they did for Mystic Timbers, but they did what they could with what they had.
Little LED screen to be used to show the POV tomorrow.
You know where I'll be tomorrow at noon!
This is going to be a great photo next year...
And even more across the tracks in the train station!
The lighting was starting to get bad because I got there late in the afternoon but those beams if you can make them out are certainly I-box track.
No transfer work done I noticed.
That MCBR was just going on last time I was here!
Later I went on to grab what would probably be my historic last ride on Millennium Force as my favorite in the park. And with the way the sun set behind it in line, it felt special. Like, as special as my last ride on Mean Streak.
Saw this girl with a house arrest anklet in line! Wyatt, Chess, and Blackjack apparently aren't the only ones at Cedar Point with criminal records!
I rode alone in the back on the bay side, and it was amazing. Storming around the park getting chucked from your seat at breakneck speeds and no slowdown in sight will always be an incredible experience. I love it, but it's gonna have to move over. It was the best coaster in the world when it opened I would believe, it's a great ride, it always will be, but there's a new sheriff in town!
Took a stroll the long way around the park next because Frontier Trail is gorgeous at night!
After verifying that Ben was at Giant Wheel the rest of the night, I went for a phenomenal GateKeeper night ride in my favorite seat, followed by a triple dip on Blue Streak in row two, my favorite seat on that one, like a true wooden coaster fanatic, as the park shut its gates.
13 Hours Before Announcement
After that Ben closed his ride and we both went back to his apartment. Now my car was running on fumes because dad gave it to me on half a tank of gas and I didn't stop and it turns out that after midnight, nobody in Sandusky apparently needs gas so after trying a Mobil and a BP my car rolled into a Speedway with its dying breath where I refueled a bit and grabbed a 40 of Corona, as I simply wasn't about to not get drunk the night before RMC dropped their biggest project ever in my home state. So with that we sat down, I gave Ben some of the maps I nabbed him on the Great Lakes trip, he showed me his Nintendo Switch, and we both hit the sack. He worked OC the next day, I did as well but had an announcement to attend. So we both went to sleep.
4 Hours Before Announcement
I barely slept that night and woke up at like 7:30 after going to bed at 2, and when you add in the fact that I worked that night, I could have done with way more sleep than I got. But I decided to use that as a blessing and went to grab breakfast at that McDonald's off the causeway (this was my view, watching the boats go out all morning is really relaxing over a steak bagel), and headed down the causeway to the park! Knowing I had no intention to park up front as everything I planned to do was in the back of the park, I rigged my phone up to the GPS mount with the camera rolling and got some great footage (and pulled great stills from it) driving around the park to Lighthouse Point.
Driving right next to it!
Off axis!
Well that's steep, as we already knew...
When she opens, Lighthouse Point will be among the best places to get stills of it in action.
Nothing like the smell of freaky twisting floater in the morning!
Double up into the MCBR!
Drop out of the MCBR
Headed back to the dock to grab some shots...you can tell how massive it is from here!
I already know this will be my favorite photo of the ride when it's done.
A photo of me totally not being a fanboy or anything.
The track gleams beautifully in the sunrise, good god RMCs are beautiful...
My favorite addition since I was here last was this air hill out of the MCBR, should provide some nice ejector that low to the ground.
The best place to see these shots is from Lighthouse Point or the road itself.
These seagulls had the right idea! So place bets now, how long until it goes from Maroon Streak to White Streak?
Almost time to unveil this big, imposing, beautiful machine to the world!
Finally dropped my car in the Cedar Point Shores lot! Let's head on in!
First order of business? A couple Maverick laps! I like Millennium better but this is a good second favorite in the park! Apparently it knew there was about to be a new sheriff in Frontiertown, because this bucking bronco was relentless this morning!
Grabbed two laps with minimal wait, compared to the full cattlepen that was there all day yesterday.
With people already filling in the plaza, I headed back to wait but swung by the discount gift shop on the way, as you can usually find some cool things there. Call me Blackjack Chamberlain because I hit the jackpot! Got six of these now old school Mean Streak keychains, all the ones that were left! Keeping a few for myself, some of my friends might want them, but at least a few I plan to resell for way more than I bought it for. Some people were offering me as much as $20 for one at the announcement! Currently the only one that's been opened is the one on my rack, which will be accompanied by one for the RMC when it opens next year.
After that I went over and looked for people I knew. I found Tony (who I was working with for my friend Matt's CoasterMatt Productions, Tony was filming as I grabbed still photos), Peggy (GateKeeper's marathoner, think she's up to like 5000 on it), Brandon (friend of Peggy's, met him at Dollywood in line for Lightning Rod), and Duane, who I knew from Kings Island. Also saw this guy Kenny who I had talked to on Facebook before but had never met in person. So we got to talking and looking at announcements, knowing that this was by no means the only one going on at the moment. Kenny said that word on the street was that this one was Railblazer, as rumblings said that the T-shirts in the box said Railblazer on them. So we sat around and the first things we saw were Twisted Timbers, Canada's Wonderland's flats, and Valleyfair's Larson Loop.
2 Hours Before Announcement
Saw quite a few other RMC shirts around, almost the entire announcement was CP fanboys, RMC fanboys, and families with passes. I was very clearly repping my love for my favorite manufacturer and got asked about it several times.
The unemployed wait in a bread line outside a soup kitchen grasping for vital nutrition. Brooklyn, 1934.
Just kidding. They were giving out these cheapo foam cowboy hats that said Cedar Point on them. And knowing us, everybody was tripping over each other for a 50 cent piece of foam rubber.
This hat had a manufacturing defect and only the one tab had a matching hole, but it was a fun little touch. I stuck with my comfortable RMC hat most of the announcement, but I swapped a few times. So we got the RMC shirt, the CP hat, and the Mean Streak keychain, together this will create something special.
1 Hour Before Announcement
About an hour before, they started letting us fill in the plaza. It was a bit claustrophobic but I managed to grab a spot close to not only the very front but close to the side near Maverick as well, so at least I was on the edge of the sea of people. Crowds don't usually bother me that much anyway. Two CP interns also saw me and asked me if I worked for RMC with all my swag, and when I told them no it actually sparked a good convo, so they actually stuck around and watched with me! I was also right next to Brandon and these other two CP fanboys I had just met.
This little Hootenanny got off to a start when they got this bluegrass band on the stage. Again, another very feel good moment from this season. I mean, we're already excited for the ride but even as someone who hates country, you can't listen to bluegrass and not be happy. Also played "I am a Man of Constant Sorrow" from O Brother, Where Art Thou, which happens to be one of my family's favorite movies.
Cedar Point's very own Richard Michael Crosby from Frontiertown's U. R. Dade Funeral Home and Demolition Services made an appearance. He stopped periodically to measure people for casket sizes with this measuring tape he had and handed out his business card (yes I got one).
We have a Tony Calamity Clark sighting! And with a cover of the Dixie Chicks' "Sin Wagon," they got the ball rolling!
***HIGH NOON ANNOUNCEMENT TIME***
The first speaker was Frontiertown's mayor, who came up and basically just kicked off the event.
Next up was Frontiertown's very own Deputy Jason McClure! He was wearing some loose costume and spoke with a bit of a western twang, but didn't go so extravagant it constituted cringeworthy or bad acting. He was getting into it without getting too into it, the perfect level of enthusiasm for something like this. Take note, other parks! This is way better than having Dolly Parton unenthusiastically sing Great Balls of Fire wearing a fake fire coat that's drip dry only!
McClure started in with an update on the three outlaws they had been trying to catch, and then rolled the video!
The video started with a version of Frontiertown's history. Said that it started off as a train stop with a boarding house, saloon, and restaurant. Eventually artisans and craftsmen settled in (Frontier Trail), and then a man named Maverick settled in. Maverick became very influential in the town, and took almost total control of Frontiertown. Now, a trio of outlaws has come in to take the town back and put an end to Maverick's reign. So I was glad I rode Maverick that day, as it actually plays a role in the story!
Digger is an inventor type character looking to take his mining company back, suggesting Maverick took it over to begin with.
Chess is a free-spirited character with little regard for authority.
Blackjack is their leader, who's apparently into gambling, and apparently tall and controlling.
The three have created a machine to put an end to Maverick's reign, and the second a giant RMC silouhette appeared behind the three, the crowd absolutely LOST IT. Me included.
The ride's tagline is "Tallest, Fastest, Wildest." Digger represents speed, Blackjack represents height, Chess represents Wildness. Tallest, Fastest, Wildest. This alone made me love the three outlaw characters even more than I already did.
The ride was promoted as having a good variety of maneuvers alongside being the tallest and fastest. Upside down, inside out, sideways, slantways over, and over and over. Finally, the moment we've all been waiting for, the ride's name was revealed: Steel Vengeance.
Steel Vengeance will be breaking a ton of records, some of which are a bit redundant, but some of which are very impressive. Tallest hybrid coaster, fastest, most inversions, longest, and my favorite: Steel Vengeance has the airtime record at almost 30 seconds, taking it from Voyage.
Absolutely nobody saw this coming, but next, Tony Calamity Clark came up there and asked if any of us played Planet Coaster. I was one of a few in the crowd that cheered.
It was then announced that Vengeance came with a partnership with Frontier Developments (perfect for Frontiertown), and that at 12:30 (ten minutes from that moment), a free Planet Coaster update would drop unlocking both a Steel Vengeance ride system and a recreation in the game, allowing you to walk around and ride it as is. I've not seen the recreation but I played with the CTR, which notably includes an unlocked 90 degree angle on the RMC ride system.
New Steel Vengeance sign in game!
The next thing to happen just about gave me a heart attack and took me completely off guard. Tony welcomed to the stage, "a real cowboy, grew up on a ranch in Wyoming, a pioneer in roller coaster design and one of the geniuses behind Steel Vengeance..."
Fred Grubb, there in person, strolled up to that podium and I LOST IT!!!! Brandon and I started the ol' RMC chant before he got down to business, starting off telling us that Alan Schilke was supposed to be there but couldn't make it. His speech was pretty good and he seemed very excited about doing such a huge project in such an iconic park. Sadly, when one of your idols as an engineer pops up on stage, it becomes kind of hard to focus just because it's that overwhelming.
I was honored to be in the presence of such a brilliant man whose company had a hand in my choice of life profession.
Desperate to get a selfie with Fred Grubb 'cause I'm just that pathetic.
After that, the announcement was pretty much over, but they had shirts for sale! I like how the Steel Vengeance shirt is something other than just the logo on a generic color background. They tested it last year with Mystic's shirts being on a tie dye background with the #WhatsInTheShed on them, but these were even more elaborate. Sadly though, because apparently you can't trust RMC and CP fanboys to not trample each other over these, you had to get them from this booth and wait in line.
Richard Michael Crosby talked to some of us in line and that's when he gave me the business card.
After grabbing my t-shirt, I grabbed some fried cheese on a stick on my meal plan, and headed out.
Did the phone mount thing on the way out and got some more great stills and footage!
Hell it's already my favorite coaster to drive by.
This'll be cool to see a train bobbing along to the lift hill as you drive past it.
Got home, tried the shirt on (it fits, but I might advise a size bigger if you're in between because it feels way smaller than my other XL shirts), and it fits my Lightning Rod hat perfectly!
Cedar Point has a reputation for being basic and typically liking it makes you seem less than well travelled, but for me it's always been my favorite park. From a distance, it looks like an island dominated by coasters. In the park, it feels like a giant coaster metropolis. No matter where you are in the park, there's always some sort of giant mechanical structure towering over you. It feels like an isolated world in which coasters are the only thing that matters, and when I'm there, that's how I will always feel. To me I consider it the most magical place in the world for a reason and this coaster just adds to that. Having a giant 200 foot RMC towering over Frontiertown will be wonderful! In addition, the park has a tradition of having opened some coasters that were the best in the world at the time, but also years later, still speak for their era beautifully. This is in the tradition of Magnum and Millennium in that it's a very innovative use of the technology that defines the 2010's, among the biggest in the world, and will likely be the best coaster in the world when it opens. Cedar Point's recently gotten a bad rap for making safe choices like Valravn, but it looks like they've gone back to being a player on the world stage for coasters. Pretty sure when this thing opens, it won't be an enthusiast badge of shame to have your number one at Cedar Point! Can't wait til next year, I'll be up there the very second I can make it to ride this mechanical beauty! If it can maintain Lightning Rod's insanity for that whole long layout, I could easily see this being the best coaster in the world!
20 Hours Before Announcement
I woke up the day before the announcement and headed up to the park after getting almost no sleep coming off a night of work. After possibly the most boring drive ever (though I took our Sorento which has satellite radio so at least I wasn't trying to find something that wasn't country or Christian music the whole drive), I was there! And guess what? "Wild Wild West" by Will Smith comes on the radio as I turned onto the causeway to go see this outlaw-themed RMC announced!
Wanted to get that meal plan used ASAP so I could use it again later, so I swung by Pink's and got a wiener with rings and BBQ sauce.
I got in, said hi to Ben at Tiki Twirl, and headed back to my favorite ride in the park (but for how long?), the iconic and slightly basic Millennium Force! I rode with a dude in line for the back seat wearing an RMC shirt that had come all the way from Baltimore to see this announced! And the ride was awesome as always, not quite as much airtime as she usually has but it's still a great ride in the back.
I was actually kind of glad to have that Millennium ride out of the way so I could head back and check out Frontiertown less than 24 hours before an announcement over a year in the making. First stop? The infamous wanted posters!
Ride's not even announced yet and some idiot already broke off Blackjack's card. -_-
It's a close tie between Digger and Chess for my favorite of the three characters but the Gatling gun gauntlet sealed the deal for me. I'm pretty sure this is my favorite of the three. His little "mark" is the little line of bullet holes near his posters.
Chess Watkins is probably the least creative one they have of the three, but I have to admit that's a really creative name they gave this character. Her mark, a little brand reading "CW" for Chess Watkins, is probably the coolest of all three, but the character itself seems lazy.
Blackjack's a cool character too but I think I prefer both Digger and Chess. My friend Matt (who also likes classic rock) saw this and wishfully thought that they would call the ride Aces High and play Guns 'n' Roses in the station. His mark is a little blackjack card stuck in the corner of the poster, though as you saw some idiot (probably an entitled CP fanboy) snapped it off as a souvenir.
Some more wanted posters by Cedar Creek Mine Ride.
The park was in the process of setting up the stage for the announcement tomorrow when I walked by!
They had a pretty small screen compared to the giant projection they did for Mystic Timbers, but they did what they could with what they had.
Little LED screen to be used to show the POV tomorrow.
You know where I'll be tomorrow at noon!
This is going to be a great photo next year...
And even more across the tracks in the train station!
The lighting was starting to get bad because I got there late in the afternoon but those beams if you can make them out are certainly I-box track.
No transfer work done I noticed.
That MCBR was just going on last time I was here!
Later I went on to grab what would probably be my historic last ride on Millennium Force as my favorite in the park. And with the way the sun set behind it in line, it felt special. Like, as special as my last ride on Mean Streak.
Saw this girl with a house arrest anklet in line! Wyatt, Chess, and Blackjack apparently aren't the only ones at Cedar Point with criminal records!
I rode alone in the back on the bay side, and it was amazing. Storming around the park getting chucked from your seat at breakneck speeds and no slowdown in sight will always be an incredible experience. I love it, but it's gonna have to move over. It was the best coaster in the world when it opened I would believe, it's a great ride, it always will be, but there's a new sheriff in town!
Took a stroll the long way around the park next because Frontier Trail is gorgeous at night!
After verifying that Ben was at Giant Wheel the rest of the night, I went for a phenomenal GateKeeper night ride in my favorite seat, followed by a triple dip on Blue Streak in row two, my favorite seat on that one, like a true wooden coaster fanatic, as the park shut its gates.
13 Hours Before Announcement
After that Ben closed his ride and we both went back to his apartment. Now my car was running on fumes because dad gave it to me on half a tank of gas and I didn't stop and it turns out that after midnight, nobody in Sandusky apparently needs gas so after trying a Mobil and a BP my car rolled into a Speedway with its dying breath where I refueled a bit and grabbed a 40 of Corona, as I simply wasn't about to not get drunk the night before RMC dropped their biggest project ever in my home state. So with that we sat down, I gave Ben some of the maps I nabbed him on the Great Lakes trip, he showed me his Nintendo Switch, and we both hit the sack. He worked OC the next day, I did as well but had an announcement to attend. So we both went to sleep.
4 Hours Before Announcement
I barely slept that night and woke up at like 7:30 after going to bed at 2, and when you add in the fact that I worked that night, I could have done with way more sleep than I got. But I decided to use that as a blessing and went to grab breakfast at that McDonald's off the causeway (this was my view, watching the boats go out all morning is really relaxing over a steak bagel), and headed down the causeway to the park! Knowing I had no intention to park up front as everything I planned to do was in the back of the park, I rigged my phone up to the GPS mount with the camera rolling and got some great footage (and pulled great stills from it) driving around the park to Lighthouse Point.
Driving right next to it!
Off axis!
Well that's steep, as we already knew...
When she opens, Lighthouse Point will be among the best places to get stills of it in action.
Nothing like the smell of freaky twisting floater in the morning!
Double up into the MCBR!
Drop out of the MCBR
Headed back to the dock to grab some shots...you can tell how massive it is from here!
I already know this will be my favorite photo of the ride when it's done.
A photo of me totally not being a fanboy or anything.
The track gleams beautifully in the sunrise, good god RMCs are beautiful...
My favorite addition since I was here last was this air hill out of the MCBR, should provide some nice ejector that low to the ground.
The best place to see these shots is from Lighthouse Point or the road itself.
These seagulls had the right idea! So place bets now, how long until it goes from Maroon Streak to White Streak?
Almost time to unveil this big, imposing, beautiful machine to the world!
Finally dropped my car in the Cedar Point Shores lot! Let's head on in!
First order of business? A couple Maverick laps! I like Millennium better but this is a good second favorite in the park! Apparently it knew there was about to be a new sheriff in Frontiertown, because this bucking bronco was relentless this morning!
Grabbed two laps with minimal wait, compared to the full cattlepen that was there all day yesterday.
With people already filling in the plaza, I headed back to wait but swung by the discount gift shop on the way, as you can usually find some cool things there. Call me Blackjack Chamberlain because I hit the jackpot! Got six of these now old school Mean Streak keychains, all the ones that were left! Keeping a few for myself, some of my friends might want them, but at least a few I plan to resell for way more than I bought it for. Some people were offering me as much as $20 for one at the announcement! Currently the only one that's been opened is the one on my rack, which will be accompanied by one for the RMC when it opens next year.
After that I went over and looked for people I knew. I found Tony (who I was working with for my friend Matt's CoasterMatt Productions, Tony was filming as I grabbed still photos), Peggy (GateKeeper's marathoner, think she's up to like 5000 on it), Brandon (friend of Peggy's, met him at Dollywood in line for Lightning Rod), and Duane, who I knew from Kings Island. Also saw this guy Kenny who I had talked to on Facebook before but had never met in person. So we got to talking and looking at announcements, knowing that this was by no means the only one going on at the moment. Kenny said that word on the street was that this one was Railblazer, as rumblings said that the T-shirts in the box said Railblazer on them. So we sat around and the first things we saw were Twisted Timbers, Canada's Wonderland's flats, and Valleyfair's Larson Loop.
2 Hours Before Announcement
Saw quite a few other RMC shirts around, almost the entire announcement was CP fanboys, RMC fanboys, and families with passes. I was very clearly repping my love for my favorite manufacturer and got asked about it several times.
The unemployed wait in a bread line outside a soup kitchen grasping for vital nutrition. Brooklyn, 1934.
Just kidding. They were giving out these cheapo foam cowboy hats that said Cedar Point on them. And knowing us, everybody was tripping over each other for a 50 cent piece of foam rubber.
This hat had a manufacturing defect and only the one tab had a matching hole, but it was a fun little touch. I stuck with my comfortable RMC hat most of the announcement, but I swapped a few times. So we got the RMC shirt, the CP hat, and the Mean Streak keychain, together this will create something special.
1 Hour Before Announcement
About an hour before, they started letting us fill in the plaza. It was a bit claustrophobic but I managed to grab a spot close to not only the very front but close to the side near Maverick as well, so at least I was on the edge of the sea of people. Crowds don't usually bother me that much anyway. Two CP interns also saw me and asked me if I worked for RMC with all my swag, and when I told them no it actually sparked a good convo, so they actually stuck around and watched with me! I was also right next to Brandon and these other two CP fanboys I had just met.
This little Hootenanny got off to a start when they got this bluegrass band on the stage. Again, another very feel good moment from this season. I mean, we're already excited for the ride but even as someone who hates country, you can't listen to bluegrass and not be happy. Also played "I am a Man of Constant Sorrow" from O Brother, Where Art Thou, which happens to be one of my family's favorite movies.
Cedar Point's very own Richard Michael Crosby from Frontiertown's U. R. Dade Funeral Home and Demolition Services made an appearance. He stopped periodically to measure people for casket sizes with this measuring tape he had and handed out his business card (yes I got one).
We have a Tony Calamity Clark sighting! And with a cover of the Dixie Chicks' "Sin Wagon," they got the ball rolling!
***HIGH NOON ANNOUNCEMENT TIME***
The first speaker was Frontiertown's mayor, who came up and basically just kicked off the event.
Next up was Frontiertown's very own Deputy Jason McClure! He was wearing some loose costume and spoke with a bit of a western twang, but didn't go so extravagant it constituted cringeworthy or bad acting. He was getting into it without getting too into it, the perfect level of enthusiasm for something like this. Take note, other parks! This is way better than having Dolly Parton unenthusiastically sing Great Balls of Fire wearing a fake fire coat that's drip dry only!
McClure started in with an update on the three outlaws they had been trying to catch, and then rolled the video!
The video started with a version of Frontiertown's history. Said that it started off as a train stop with a boarding house, saloon, and restaurant. Eventually artisans and craftsmen settled in (Frontier Trail), and then a man named Maverick settled in. Maverick became very influential in the town, and took almost total control of Frontiertown. Now, a trio of outlaws has come in to take the town back and put an end to Maverick's reign. So I was glad I rode Maverick that day, as it actually plays a role in the story!
Digger is an inventor type character looking to take his mining company back, suggesting Maverick took it over to begin with.
Chess is a free-spirited character with little regard for authority.
Blackjack is their leader, who's apparently into gambling, and apparently tall and controlling.
The three have created a machine to put an end to Maverick's reign, and the second a giant RMC silouhette appeared behind the three, the crowd absolutely LOST IT. Me included.
The ride's tagline is "Tallest, Fastest, Wildest." Digger represents speed, Blackjack represents height, Chess represents Wildness. Tallest, Fastest, Wildest. This alone made me love the three outlaw characters even more than I already did.
The ride was promoted as having a good variety of maneuvers alongside being the tallest and fastest. Upside down, inside out, sideways, slantways over, and over and over. Finally, the moment we've all been waiting for, the ride's name was revealed: Steel Vengeance.
Steel Vengeance will be breaking a ton of records, some of which are a bit redundant, but some of which are very impressive. Tallest hybrid coaster, fastest, most inversions, longest, and my favorite: Steel Vengeance has the airtime record at almost 30 seconds, taking it from Voyage.
Absolutely nobody saw this coming, but next, Tony Calamity Clark came up there and asked if any of us played Planet Coaster. I was one of a few in the crowd that cheered.
It was then announced that Vengeance came with a partnership with Frontier Developments (perfect for Frontiertown), and that at 12:30 (ten minutes from that moment), a free Planet Coaster update would drop unlocking both a Steel Vengeance ride system and a recreation in the game, allowing you to walk around and ride it as is. I've not seen the recreation but I played with the CTR, which notably includes an unlocked 90 degree angle on the RMC ride system.
New Steel Vengeance sign in game!
The next thing to happen just about gave me a heart attack and took me completely off guard. Tony welcomed to the stage, "a real cowboy, grew up on a ranch in Wyoming, a pioneer in roller coaster design and one of the geniuses behind Steel Vengeance..."
Fred Grubb, there in person, strolled up to that podium and I LOST IT!!!! Brandon and I started the ol' RMC chant before he got down to business, starting off telling us that Alan Schilke was supposed to be there but couldn't make it. His speech was pretty good and he seemed very excited about doing such a huge project in such an iconic park. Sadly, when one of your idols as an engineer pops up on stage, it becomes kind of hard to focus just because it's that overwhelming.
I was honored to be in the presence of such a brilliant man whose company had a hand in my choice of life profession.
Desperate to get a selfie with Fred Grubb 'cause I'm just that pathetic.
After that, the announcement was pretty much over, but they had shirts for sale! I like how the Steel Vengeance shirt is something other than just the logo on a generic color background. They tested it last year with Mystic's shirts being on a tie dye background with the #WhatsInTheShed on them, but these were even more elaborate. Sadly though, because apparently you can't trust RMC and CP fanboys to not trample each other over these, you had to get them from this booth and wait in line.
Richard Michael Crosby talked to some of us in line and that's when he gave me the business card.
After grabbing my t-shirt, I grabbed some fried cheese on a stick on my meal plan, and headed out.
Did the phone mount thing on the way out and got some more great stills and footage!
Hell it's already my favorite coaster to drive by.
This'll be cool to see a train bobbing along to the lift hill as you drive past it.
Got home, tried the shirt on (it fits, but I might advise a size bigger if you're in between because it feels way smaller than my other XL shirts), and it fits my Lightning Rod hat perfectly!
Cedar Point has a reputation for being basic and typically liking it makes you seem less than well travelled, but for me it's always been my favorite park. From a distance, it looks like an island dominated by coasters. In the park, it feels like a giant coaster metropolis. No matter where you are in the park, there's always some sort of giant mechanical structure towering over you. It feels like an isolated world in which coasters are the only thing that matters, and when I'm there, that's how I will always feel. To me I consider it the most magical place in the world for a reason and this coaster just adds to that. Having a giant 200 foot RMC towering over Frontiertown will be wonderful! In addition, the park has a tradition of having opened some coasters that were the best in the world at the time, but also years later, still speak for their era beautifully. This is in the tradition of Magnum and Millennium in that it's a very innovative use of the technology that defines the 2010's, among the biggest in the world, and will likely be the best coaster in the world when it opens. Cedar Point's recently gotten a bad rap for making safe choices like Valravn, but it looks like they've gone back to being a player on the world stage for coasters. Pretty sure when this thing opens, it won't be an enthusiast badge of shame to have your number one at Cedar Point! Can't wait til next year, I'll be up there the very second I can make it to ride this mechanical beauty! If it can maintain Lightning Rod's insanity for that whole long layout, I could easily see this being the best coaster in the world!
