Cedar Point announces plans to debut new 'tilt' roller coaster in 2025

SANDUSKY — Siren’s Curse, what officials at Cedar Point have described as the tallest, fastest, and longest “tilt” roller coaster in North America, will open at the park in early summer 2025.

Likely debuting as the first of its kind in the Western Hemisphere, riders will come to a “dead stop on a ‘broken off’ section of track” after ascending a 160-foot-tall tower. The platform holding the train of riders will then slowly tilt the entire train into a 90-degree vertical position.

Once the track locks into place, riders will plunge down “into the abyss,” speeding through 2,966 feet of track at a top speed of 58 mph.

“Record-breaking thrills have always been at the heart of Cedar Point’s roller coaster lineup, and Siren’s Curse lives up to that standard,” said Carrie Boldman, vice president and general manager of Cedar Point. “The entire ride is an experience filled with non-stop action, but that first precarious tilted position where you’re hanging on – looking straight down – and waiting for the track to connect will be a signature moment our fans will love. It’s a first-of-its kind for Cedar Point and we’re thrilled to bring it to our guests.”

Siren’s Curse is 40 feet taller than Gravity Max, the only tilt coaster currently in operation. Both were designed by Dutch amusement park manufacturer Vekoma Rides, with Cedar Point outpacing its 2002 predecessor in both height and speed. Gravity Max was built for the Discovery World amusement park in Taichung, Taiwan.

“Cedar Point has always been pretty innovative when it comes to coasters, and this is no exception,” said David Chapman, founder of the Facebook group Amusement Park Portal.

“This is definitely going to be a unique coaster for the northern part of the country. There’s not another one like it in the country right now.”

Siren’s Curse will feature 13 weightless airtime moments, two 360-degree, zero-gravity barrel rolls, and a high-speed “triple-down” element with twisted and overbanked track.

“It’s going to be a white knuckler, that’s for sure,” Mr. Chapman said.

The two 24-passenger trains on Siren’s Curse will also feature integrated audio and signature LED lighting on each car.

With the addition of Siren’s Curse, Cedar Point counts itself as the home of 19 roller coasters, including Millennium Force, Steel Vengeance, Maverick, and more.

Siren’s Curse is a breath of fresh air in a season that struggled to find its sea legs after Cedar Point’s revamped triple-launch strata coaster Top Thrill 2 was shuttered indefinitely on May 12.

Open for only eight days, the closure was an ill omen for the park’s first season operating after the high-profile merger between Cedar Fair LP and Six Flags Entertainment Corp on July 1.

Plagued by frequent downtime during its original incarnation as Top Thrill Dragster, the ride was remodeled after a guest was seriously injured in 2021. Top Thrill 2 is scheduled to reopen in 2025.

If the manufacturer’s modifications pay off and Top Thrill 2 opens on time, Cedar Point would have two new coasters next year, a welcome way to not only draw in crowds but split them at a park where long wait times for rides are frequently a concern.

Usually, a large roller coaster announcement sees weeks or months of leadup.

Because Cedar Point permanently closed its longtime shoot-the-chute style Snake River Falls on Labor Day, a nautical-themed teaser released earlier this week had fans thinking about a replacement water ride. Currently, river rapids ride Thunder Canyon is the only dedicated water attraction inside the park.

“This one caught everybody by surprise,” Mr. Chapman said. “Someone at Cedar Point that can keep secrets needs a raise.”

The coaster announcement lit a fire under Terry Salisbury’s Cedar Point Alumni Facebook group, where many in the 1,600-strong group created to organize employee reunions have weighed in on the new ride.

“Some of us are like me, who are older, are worried about whether our old bones are going to be able to take it, but we’re excited about the prospect of the new coaster,” Mr. Salisbury said.

Siren’s Curse will be located across from the Iron Dragon suspended coaster and near the Cedar Point Marina, on a plot of land that once housed the employee housing Cedars Dorms and the park’s Human Resources department.

After Cedars was demolished in 2019, the land was used for temporary attractions like 2019’s Monster Jam Thunder Alley, an up-close child-friendly monster truck experience.

“It was a shared experience, and it’s sad to see that it’s gone, but that’s progress, right? Everything changes,” said Mr. Salisbury, who worked as a ride operator and in maintenance during his three-year stint at the park in the 1970s.

With no heat or air conditioning in multi-occupancy dorms lit by a single lightbulb, the 1901 building that began its life as the White House Hotel was in serious disrepair when it was demolished in 2019. But Cedars was also the last on-property housing, marking the end of an era where employees could wake up, brush their teeth, and walk to work.

Mr. Salisbury worries that declining standards means current employees don’t enjoy the benefits of a summer spent working hard and playing hard that made the park so special for his cohort.

“We’re probably going to call it the Cedars roller coaster rather than the Siren, but that’s just us,” Mr. Salisbury said.

Siren’s Curse is the first time Cedar Point is utilizing the popular coaster manufacturer Vekoma, whose prefabricated coaster models are seen around the country, found nearest in Kings Island’s Boomerang and Michigan Adventure’s Thunderhawk.

Vekoma’s most popular custom designs include coasters like Walt Disney World’s Rock n’ Roller Coaster and Flight of the Hippogriff at Universal Studios Islands Adventure.

The upcoming kids’ park COTALand is building a similar Vekoma tilt coaster called Circuit Breaker. Also set for a 2025 release, the Austin amusement park will compete with Cedar Point for the earliest release date, with the winner claiming the title to the first tilt coaster in the Western Hemisphere.

Whether it lands in first place or second, Siren’s Curse beats Circuit Breaker in height and speed — in the latter case, by a single mile.

They could both be outmatched in Six Flags Qiddiya City, an in-progress amusement park in Saudi Arabia that aims to be the largest in the Middle East, if the new park opens with Iron Rattler, which boasts the best stats yet. But with both competitor parks’ opening dates up in the air, Cedar Point is poised to break the first headlines.

“This is going to be a great addition to the park,” Mr. Chapman said. “It’s off the beaten trail of a traditional coaster, and I’ve always wanted to ride one of these. I think this coaster is going to bring a lot of crowds into the park of curious thrill riders that feel the same way.”

Cedar Point representative Tony Clark could not be reached for comment.