WildCat (Cedar Point)

Defunct roller coaster

WildCat was a steel roller coaster located at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. Designed by Werner Stengel and manufactured by Anton Schwarzkopf, the ride opened to the public in 1979. Cedar Point decided in 2012 to remove WildCat to allow for expansion of the Celebration Plaza, also citing that the coaster had reached the end of its service life. It was dismantled and scrapped.

WildCat opened at Cedar Point in 1979. It was the 65m variant of the Schwarzkopf Wildcat model where small cars (each holding four passengers) take many tight turns and small hills that produce negative g forces as well as strong lateral forces. Riders were required to be at least 48" tall and be able to climb down vertical ladders in the case of an emergency evacuation. Riders were secured by a seatbelt and lap bar. At the end of the ride, riders were given a visual signal by the operator to extend their arms and hold on, as the train stops extremely quickly. It was the second Cedar Point ride to use the WildCat name following the 1970 installation, Wildcat, which was an identical 65m Schwarzkopf Wildcat. WildCat is the only roller coaster in Cedar Point that has been relocated since being built. WildCat had been in two previous places before settling in its final location, across from Iron Dragon. WildCat gave more than 25 million rides since its debut. Due to this accident, the ride was closed for a month. It reopened in late June 2008 after a section of track was replaced. In the evening of June 5, 2011, two cars of WildCat collided, injuring seven people, none seriously. Three people were taken to Firelands Regional Medical Center as a precaution and four were released from the first aid station without further treatment. The crash was classified as an "incident" by the US Department of Agriculture.