Cedar Point debuts record-setting dive coaster Valravn

CEDAR POINT - Coaster riders dove into a new era at Cedar Point Amusement Park on Wednesday as the park debuted its new dive coaster "Valravn."

In a special Media Day event, roller coaster club members and members of newspaper, television and radio media were the first to ride on the new steel-track coaster, which boasts 10 records not only for the park but for the world.

Adam Grignon, a coaster enthusiast from the metro Detroit area and a member of the CoasterBuzz group, said Valravn made his personal list of favorite coasters on Wednesday.

"It's a fantastic addition to Cedar Point," Grignon said. "It's unlike anything else here at the park."

And Grignon knows his stuff — he's ridden all 18 coasters at Cedar Point, visited 50 amusement parks across the country and ridden about 200 coasters in total.

Like other riders, his favorite moment is the suspension at the top of the dive track — four seconds of holding you over the edge before diving 214 feet straight down.

"The view is just something you don't get anywhere else," he said.

There are two other dive coasters in the U.S. but Valravn is the king of them all, Grignon said. It's the tallest, fastest and longest dive coaster in the world.

"It's so unique. It's made my list of favorites, right up there with Top Thrill Dragster," he said.

Adam Pooch, project manager for the Valravn, said Wednesday's debut for coast enthusiasts and media personnel was the "finish line" for the project.

"It's a milestone for us," Pooch said. "It's very rewarding getting to see people's reaction coming off the coaster."

There was a lot of hard work put into to making it happen, Pooch said. About 200 workers helped make Valravn a reality over the course of eight months of construction.

Work began the day after Labor Day and a mild winter helped make building the coaster progress quickly, he said. But despite the lack of snow, there were other weather complications including high winds that hindered lifting pieces on some days.

"You don't want to lift structures that weigh 134,000 pounds into the air when it's blowing around like that," Pooch said.

The work also required the use of a Manitowoc 16000, a massive crane commonly used for power plants, steel mills, bridges and other big projects.

Kristy Bacni, communications manager at Cedar Point, said Valravn fits well into the park's coaster legacy.

"It's cool for the employees who have been watching it be built to have it done and ready to ride," Bacni said.

The park lucked out on Wednesday for Valravn's premiere. Weather forecasts called for a 90 percent chance of rain, but the drops held off and riders were able to experience the coaster under overcast skies with a few pockets of sunshine throughout the day.

"We got lucky," Tony Clark, Cedar Point's director of communications, said. "The rain won't kick in until 3 p.m. so we are fine."

​On Friday evening, season pass holders will be able to enter the park and try the new coaster. The park opens to the general public on Saturday and Sunday.

VALRAVN SHATTERS RECORDS

The scale of Valravn is so large, it shatters 10 world records in the amusement park industry:

1. Tallest Dive Coaster (223 feet)
2. Fastest Dive Coaster (75 mph)
3. Longest Dive Coaster (3,415 feet)
4. Most Inversions on a Dive Coaster (3)
5. Longest Drop on a Dive Coaster (214 feet)
6. Highest Inversion on a Dive Coaster (165 feet)
7. Most Roller Coasters Taller Than 200 Feet at One Amusement Park (5)
8. Most Rides at One Amusement Park (71)
9. Most Steel Roller Coaster Track at One Amusement Park (9.9 miles)
10. Most Roller Coaster Track at One Amusement Park (11.4 miles)

jdenton@gannett.com

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