Cedar Downs

[aimster]

Ok for those of you who don't know...

Cedar Point has this really cool carousel they call Cedar Downs. Why is it cool? Because it's themed to a horse race. The horses are in rows of 3 or 4 and besides going up and down, they move backwards and forwards to make it feel like you're actually racing! It also goes a bit faster than your normal carousel too. This has been one of my favorite rides at Cedar Point since I was a little kid. In junior high & high school, my friends & I would bet quarters on which of our horses would "win". LOL!

I actually found a short video of it on YouTube too!

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[Melonballer]

I love Cedar Downs! I ride it everytime I go to Cedar Point.

[Peabody]

Greatest carousel ever. The speed is insane!

[Dutchman]

Believe it or not it actually ran faster when it was originally built for Euclid Beach Park. It was still running at the original speed back in the mid 70's when I worked there. I went back ten years later and it was obvious that it had been slowed down. The one at Rye Playland still runs at factory speed.

[aimster]

I haven't been to Cedar Point since summer 1990 but that'll probably be my first stop next time I visit. It's one of my favorite rides there (Gemini being my fave).

[Melonballer]

wait til you get to ride Millenium Force. Man that is such a sweet ride.

[aimster]

I want to ride that so bad! The newest coaster last time I was there was Magnum XL 2000! I remember my best friend was too chicken to ride it.

[CoasterMatt]

Yeah, Cedar Downs is a ton of fun, but if you want to ride a genuinely thrilling Derby Racer, try the one at Rye Playland - it spins about 3 times faster.

http://history.amusement-parks.com/racingderby.htm

[Melonballer]

Originally Posted by aimster

I want to ride that so bad! The newest coaster last time I was there was Magnum XL 2000! I remember my best friend was too chicken to ride it.

I like that one too, but it is a little rougher. In act I liek most of the coasters, with the exception of Mantis which always beats me up. I hope to go back this year to ride Maverick.

[aimster]

This year looks doubtful but hopefully within the next couple years I'll make it back up there.

[Melonballer]

Originally Posted by aimster

This year looks doubtful but hopefully within the next couple years I'll make it back up there.

I was just talking with my cousin who lives in Ann Arbor MI about going out there this year. Its going to be tricky. I hope to pull it off, but I may wait until early in the season next year. Especially since I have a Silverwood trip planned.

[aimster]

I grew up in MI so we made almost annual trips to Cedar Point when I was a kid. I really miss that place!

[Opus1guy]

Actually, here in the U.S. these "Racing Derby" type carousels were the cheap and dirty knock-offs of their day of the classic, popular, and famous "Steeplechase" attraction at Steeplechase Park Coney Island, which first opened in the 1890's.

Steeplechase was basically the same thing but ran at high speed on a huge track circuit with curves and ups and downs for added thrills.



Steeplechase was the thrill ride of its time. Much of the public was so unprepared for the experience, that pants wetting was common by riders. Countless others were injured (some severely), but heck...lawsuits for such things were unheard of back then and they just should have hung on tighter.

Steeplechase's reputation and fame quickly spread across the U.S. via postcards, newspapers, and word-of-mouth. Other amusement park operators and ride designers...seeking to capitalize on this fame...created their own mini and more portable versions in the form of carousal round and rounds, and dozens of such rides opened up across the country. Often taking the very same Steeplechase name (which was actually a term for a real type of horse race).

Also see:

http://history.amusement-parks.com/steeplechaseride.htm

By the 1920's, even the original Steeplechase Park at Coney Island that inspired this type of carousal...installed one themselves.

So I guess you could say this one started out more related to what would become known as a roller coaster...and ended up being more related to a carousal.

[aimster]

I think Blackpool over in the UK still has one of those Steeplechase "coasters". I'd love to ride it as it looks so unique.

[Dutchman]

Take into consideration that the Racing Derbys were built the reknowned roller coaster builders Prior and Church. I'd hardly call them "cheap" Compared to the space a coaster took up, the Racing Derbys packed a whalop.