Cedar Point to host coaster enthusiasts from around the world

It has happened nearly every June since 1989. Roller-coaster-enthusiasts from across the country and from around the world will visit Cedar Point to celebrate and enjoy roller-coaster-riding at its finest. On Friday, June 6, the Sandusky, Ohio amusement park/resort will host CoasterMania ’08! A week later, on Friday, June 13, the Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain will challenge the world’s largest collection of coasters.

Resurrected in 1989 to introduce the 205-foot-tall Magnum XL-200, the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world at that time, to the coaster community, participants will celebrate CoasterMania’s 19th anniversary in the traditional way – by riding roller coasters from sunrise on Friday, June 6 to the early hours of Saturday, June 7. Overall, coaster-enthusiasts will be able to ride coasters for more than 18.5 hours. In 1978, Cedar Point hosted CoasterMania to commemorate the opening of Gemini, a 125-foot-tall double-racing coaster, the park’s first coaster to hold the distinction of “tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world.”

With 17 roller coasters, including perennial favorites such as Millennium Force, Top Thrill Dragster and last summer’s newcomer, Maverick, named the “Best New Ride of 2007” by the National Amusement Park Historical Association (NAPHA), Cedar Point will give attendees plenty to scream about.

Approximately 1,400 coaster aficionados are expected to attend. Several coaster clubs will be represented including the American Coaster Enthusiasts, Great Ohio Coaster Club, Coaster Zombies and the Western New York Coaster Club. During the day, participants will discuss the differences between steel and wood coasters and what coasters offer the best thrills.

Seven days later, approximately six dozen members of The Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain will visit the park. Formed in 1988, the group will be celebrating its 20th year anniversary. Its membership now totals more than 1,200 people from more than 15 different countries.

This will also be a special visit for the group. It will be the 15th anniversary of the organization’s first trip to the United States in 1993.