Cedar Point will open Gatekeeper, a Bolliger & Mabillard wing coaster, in 2013. With a height of 170 feet and a length of over 4,000 feet, GateKeeper is expected to become the largest wing coaster in existence when it opens next spring.
Take a ride on GateKeeper in the video above.
A press release from the park reads: “GateKeeper, will forever change the landscape of the Cedar Point Peninsula, as the track will dramatically fly above the main entrance to the park, passing over arriving guests with rolling flyover maneuvers. Riders will twice narrowly slot through new front gate portals and slide by buildings for near miss excitement. GateKeeper will feature Sunset Gold trains with coaches that extend out sideways from the track, exposing riders to nothing above or below them, simulating the feeling of flight.”
GateKeeper Layout. Image © Cedar Point
The 2-minute and 40-second ride will feature a plethora of elements:
Image © Cedar Point.
“Once riders crest the top of the 170-foot-tall lift hill, the coaster train will rotate 180 degrees to the right, turning riders upside down before plummeting a record 164 feet toward the ground at speeds reaching 67 mph! Then the train will enter a half loop, go through a half twist and curve out in the opposite direction from which it came. A towering 105-foot-tall camelback hill awaits just before riders glide through a 360-degree giant flat spin.”
GateKeeper will fly over the new Cedar Point entrance. Image © Cedar Point.
“The train will then fly through the middle of two support towers that will dominate Cedar Point’s new Main Entrance. The coaster will then make a tight, 180-degree turnaround which pushes riders through an overbanked turn and rockets them back towards the station. A 360-degree in-line roll, camelback drop and spiral round out the amazing elements that GateKeeper will treat its passengers to next summer.”
GateKeeper stands at a staggering 170 feet. Image © Cedar Point.
“GateKeeper will feature three 32-passenger trains and will be able to accommodate approximately 1,710 riders per hour. Riders will be secured with over-the-shoulder restraints and interlocking seat belts. With the addition of GateKeeper and the redesign to the park’s main entrance, Cedar Point will invest approximately $30 million on improvements for the 2013 season.”
Image © Cedar Point.
Check out the below video for some great off ride Gatekeeper animation:
You can follow GateKeeper’s progress on Cedar Point’s website. And no, the GateKeeper at Cedar Point does not go backwards, that is just an effect used in the video animation.
Cedar Point always pushes the envelope with their coasters, and it looks like GateKeeper is no exception. We can’t wait to take a spin on it.
Are you excited about GateKeeper? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
This is revelatory. It’s what the front gate has been waiting silently for since time immemorial. It’s beautiful. Looks so fun too. Lifts right up on the beach of a great lake, soars over the entrance, reaches across to the oldest roller coaster in the park and then makes it’s flight back home. I even like the MCBR because it’s heading right towards the water. The finale swoops and landing even look good. Perfect. Thanks for sharing! This is exactly what I’ve been waiting for and it’s better then anything I had thought of for a front of the park ride. Made my night.
i saw the picture it looks so much better than x-flight. i thought x-flight would be better but it seems like cedar point can copy a ride and make it 10x better. i used to want to go to cedar point just for top thrill dragster and maverick mostly but now i wanna just go there and ride that with a fast lane.
That looks awesome! Better than I was expecting. Now please, please, please let there be separate load and unload stations.
sick. I love how the ride has 2 flythroughs and not 1 like x-flight (great ride by the way). I WANT TO GO TO CEDAR POINT!!!!!!!
I think it’s a good move for the park! It looks like an excellent addition and I’ll definitely be booking a trip to the park next summer!
This means that Cedar Point will have an awesome front gate for the same reason that Canada’s Wonderland now does! 🙂
u guys know its called gatekeeper cause the ride goes above the gate to the park and evan u r so lucky to get to go there and ride gatekeeper and everything else thats there
Thank god I only live an hour and a half away!
this rideee loookkksssssss amazinggg i love cedar pointtt this year ive already gone 18 times!!!!!!!!
u guys are all s lucky ive never been to cp but i go to great america so ive been on x flight
I can’t wait to ride it! It looks so cool with so many elements. Its. sure to be an amazing ride. I just wish I could ride it RIGHT NOW!
YEEEHAW Ive been a guest at Cedar Point for 14 years and Ihave never seen anything bigger and better than this and I live 5 minutes away from the park. I CANT WAIT FOR GATEKEEPER 2013
I can’t wait I go there every year!
Holy shit that ride is pretty darn fast
i am getting on that ride next year i don’t want to but i have to and i am going to if i don’t pass out
Andrea, don’t use the s word, I mean really there could be a 7 year old who knows how to read sees what you put, then turn around and say it and get in alot alot of trouble.
The rides looks amazing! It is really fast and really long length wise. I want to get to Cedar Point just so that I can ride GateKeeper! Thank you Cedar Point for putting in another awesome new attraction!!!!!
ill be working there so no need for me to buy season passes or fast lane passes im going to ride it reguardless..
Im not a big fan of roller coasters but boy im ready to ride the gate keeper may 22nd!! SO EXCITED 🙂
OMGhave to go on it.
what i need to know is how tall and how much you have to wegh
Gatekeeper was awesome! That was the first ride we rode as soon as we got in the gate. Loved it!!!