Since then, Cedar Point has been called the roller coaster capital of the world. They created the first amusement park to have a ride that goes over 200 feet tall, that's Magnum xl-200. And it was the first park to have a ride over 300 feet tall when they opened the Millennium Force.
In this edition of Know Ohio, we learn about the history of Cedar Point.
Cedar Point is a 364-acre amusement park located on the Lake Erie peninsula in Sandusky, Ohio. It opened in 1870, and it is considered the second-oldest operating amusement park in the U.S.
In 1870, this beach opened and the very first time people came over on a steamship. An entrepreneur named Louis Zistel, would shuttle people over so they would spend the day at the beach.
Their first roller coaster was built in 1892. It was called the Switchback Railway. It was 25 feet tall and had a top speed of about ten miles per hour.
Read the Script:
[GABRIEL KRAMER / IDEASTREAM]: IT'S FINALLY SUMMER TIME HERE IN OHIO. TODAY, WE'RE AT CEDAR POINT. THIS SUMMER, THE PARK'S BEEN AROUND FOR MORE THAN 150 YEARS. FOR REFERENCE, AT THE TIME OF ITS OPENING, OHIO NATIVE ULYSSES S GRANT WAS THE US PRESIDENT. AND IT'S THE SAME YEAR THAT THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY FIRST OPENED. NOW, THIS PLACE LIKE A ROLLER COASTER. ITS HISTORY HAS A LOT OF UPS AND DOWNS. SO LET'S RIDE.
[KO OPEN & BROLL MUSIC BREAK]
[GABRIEL KRAMER / IDEASTREAM]: WE'RE HERE AT CEDAR POINT WITH A MAN, TONY CLARK. TONY, NICE TO MEET YOU.
[TONY CLARK / CEDAR POINT]: NICE TO MEET YOU AS WELL. WELCOME.
[GABRIEL KRAMER / IDEASTREAM]: TONY, TELL ME THIS PLACE WASN'T ALWAYS AN AMUSEMENT PARK. WHAT WAS HERE BEFORE ALL THIS?
[TONY CLARK / CEDAR POINT]: SO WHEN IT STARTED, IT WAS ACTUALLY JUST THIS BEACH BEHIND US. IN 1870 IS WHEN THIS BEACH OPENED AND THE VERY FIRST TIME PEOPLE CAME OVER HERE WAS ON A STEAMSHIP AND A MAN NAMED LOUIS ZISTEL WOULD SHUTTLE PEOPLE OVER HERE. THEY WOULD SPEND THE DAY AT THE BEACH.
HE WAS LIKE AN ENTREPRENEUR, A BUSINESSMAN WHO WANTED TO CAPITALIZE ON HAVING THIS BEAUTIFUL PROPERTY. HE BROUGHT PEOPLE OVER FOR THE DAY. THEY WOULD SPEND TIME IN THE WATER. THEY WOULD DANCE A LITTLE ON THE DANCE FLOOR. THEY'D A LITTLE TINY DANCE FLOOR. AND THAT WAS THEIR DAY OF FUN. AND THEN HE WOULD SHUTTLE THEM BACK ON THE STEAMSHIP. AND THEN OVER THE YEARS, MORE AND MORE PEOPLE CAME.
[MUSIC BREAK: GABE ON RIDE]
[GABRIEL KRAMER / IDEASTREAM]: WHAT WERE SOME OF THE FIRST ATTRACTIONS AND RIDES HERE?
[TONY CLARK / CEDAR POINT]: THE FIRST ATTRACTIONS WERE REALLY NOT THAT EXCITING. I THINK OUR FIRST EVERYONE LIKES TO HEAR ABOUT OUR FIRST ROLLER COASTER, WHICH WAS BUILT IN 1892. IT WAS CALLED THE SWITCHBACK RAILWAY. IT WAS 25 FEET TALL AND HAD A TOP SPEED OF ABOUT TEN MILES PER HOUR, WHICH IS NOT VERY EXCITING BY TODAY'S STANDARDS. WHEN YOU SEE SOME OF OUR RIDES GO 93 MILES PER HOUR.
[KID ON THE STREET]
[GABRIEL KRAMER / IDEASTREAM]: RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. TELL ME, WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT CEDAR POINT?
[KID 1]: THE GEMINI?
[KID 2]: JUST EVERYONE. AND THEY'RE ALWAYS, LIKE, SO HAPPY. AND IT'S LIKE THE RIDES ARE REALLY FUN. THE CHAIN LINK, ALL THE ROLLER COASTERS.
[GABRIEL KRAMER / IDEASTREAM]: WHICH WAS YOUR FAVORITE ROLLER COASTER?
[KID 3]: THE GATEKEEPER. THE MAVERICK.
[MUSIC]
[GABRIEL KRAMER / IDEASTREAM]: YOU KNOW, GROWING UP NOT FAR FROM HERE, WE WOULD CONSTANTLY HEAR THINGS LIKE CEDAR POINT STARTED AGAIN. THEY BROKE THIS RECORD. THEY HAVE THE FASTEST HORSE, THIS AND THAT. YEAH, CEDAR POINT MUST TAKE A LOT OF PRIDE IN BEING THAT AND TALK TO ME WHAT I WAS SOME OF THE RECORD BREAKING ATTRACTIONS WE HAVE HERE AT CEDAR POINT.
[TONY CLARK / CEDAR POINT]: THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN KNOWN AS THE ROLLER COASTER CAPITAL OF THE WORLD.
SO WE WERE THE FIRST AMUSEMENT PARK TO HAVE A RIDE THAT GOES OVER 200 FEET TALL. THAT'S MAGNUM ZL 200. WE WERE THE FIRST PARK TO HAVE A RIDE OVER 300 FEET TALL. THAT'S MILLENNIUM HORSE, THE FIRST RIDE OVER 400 FEET TALL AND TOP THRILL DRAGSTER. WE'VE INNOVATED NEW TECHNOLOGY, SO HYBRID TECHNOLOGY OF A WOODEN STRUCTURE AND A STEEL TRACK. AND THAT GOES BACK TO 1978 WITH THE GEMINI.
[MUSIC BREAK]
[GABRIEL KRAMER / IDEASTREAM]: WE'RE SEEING PEOPLE PILE INTO THIS PARK ON A DAILY BASIS, ON AN ANNUAL BASIS. HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE COMING TO CEDAR POINT?
[TONY CLARK / CEDAR POINT]: FOR THE WHOLE YEAR, WE TYPICALLY ATTRACT MORE THAN 3 MILLION VISITORS ON THE PROPERTIES. AND, YOU KNOW, THEY DON'T JUST SPEND TIME HERE AT CEDAR POINT. THAT'S WHAT'S GREAT ABOUT THIS AREA. THEY CAN GO TO THE ISLANDS, THEY CAN GO VISIT THE OTHER ATTRACTIONS IN THE AREA. BUT THAT'S A LOT OF PEOPLE IN A PERIOD OF 4 TO 5 MONTHS.
[GABRIEL KRAMER / IDEASTREAM]: WHAT IS IT ABOUT CEDAR POINT THAT IT HAS SUCH GREAT SUCCESS? WHY HAS IT BEEN AROUND FOR 150 YEARS? WITHOUT FAIL.
[TONY CLARK / CEDAR POINT]: THIS IS A TRADITION. YOU KNOW, THAT'S THAT'S REALLY WHAT HAS BEEN THE FOUNDATION OF CEDAR POINT SINCE IT STARTED. WHEN WE BROUGHT THOSE VISITORS OVER EVERY SUMMER IN 1870, THEY STARTED DOING THAT EVERY YEAR. THAT WAS THE START OF WHAT WAS A FAMILY TRADITION. IT'S STILL A FAMILY TRADITION. YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WHO VISIT US EVERY YEAR. REMEMBER WHEN I WAS A KID WE WROTE THIS OR WHEN I WAS WHEN MY GRANDPARENTS TOOK ME. WE RODE THE TRAIN TOGETHER AND I HAVE PHOTOS FROM THAT. THAT'S WHAT REALLY KEEPS THIS SUCCESSFUL.
