The world’s largest erector set at Cedar Point is quickly becoming the world’s tallest, fastest and longest dive coaster on the planet.
Construction of the record-shattering coaster hit a milestone this week as workers connected the highest piece of the Valravn — the top section of the ride’s massive lift hill — towering some 223 feet over the park’s midway. The top section alone weighed in at 95,000 pounds.
Park spokesman Tony Clark said workers have been able to take advantage of the unseasonably warm weather to make great progress on the construction of the new attraction.
Clark said the work is “on schedule” for the ride to be ready for the 2016 season.
Workers will take a short break over Christmas, Clark said, then return to the task of connecting the rest of the pieces of track “mostly in chronological order.”
The Valravn joins some lofty company at the Sandusky park. It is the park’s fifth roller coaster — another world record — to top the 200-foot mark.
The other members of the 200-foot (and more) club at Cedar Point include:
• Magnum XL-200 (205 feet tall)
• Wicked Twister (215 feet tall)
• Millennium Force (310 feet tall)
• Top Thrill Dragster (420 feet tall).
The coaster’s name comes from a Danish legend of a bird-like creature that was said to have swooped down from the sky to feed on the flesh of knights killed in war.
Valravn will take riders to the top of its lift hill then dangle them over the edge for about four seconds before dropping them on a 90-degree, 214-foot freefall dive toward the ground at 75 miles per hour. Riders will then be flipped upside-down three times along its 3,415 foot track.
Craig Webb can be reached at cwebb@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3547. Visit his amusement park blog Airtime on Ohio.com or on Facebook.