Cedar Point announces GateKeeper, new Wing coaster for 2013

August 13, 2012 at 2:25 PM · Looks Amazing! I'm planning my first trip to Cedar Point after Gatekeeper opens.

August 13, 2012 at 3:09 PM · Looks like a fine addition to the park, and a huge step up from the "disaster" it is replacing. Not sure I like the name very much as it conjures up images of Rick Moranis and Sigourney Weaver...probably not what the park intended. Any chance a Keymaster attraction will be added at a later date?

From the POV the layout looks like a real winner, especially the foot and head chopper elements. However, the thing does seem to peter out at the end and finish with a whimper, not a shout. Moreover, I do hope B&M improves the restraint system from what is in place at Dollywood (Wild Eagle), cause those ever tightening shoulder straps are unforgivable.

Still, I can't wait to ride!

August 13, 2012 at 5:13 PM · I think it looks like a solid ride with a great 1st half. I agree that the ending looks a little weak, maybe that last helix will pack more of a punch than it seems.

While the coaster does look solid and will be a crowd pleaser without a doubt, I do not see this coaster as being one of the top wing designs. It is more of a old school coaster, one with no theming what so ever. Compared to the natural beauty of Wild Eagle's flight through the woods, Gatekeeper has the same appeal as Scream! out at Magic Mountain (built in a parking lot). None the less, I can't wait to ride!

August 14, 2012 at 7:40 AM · This does look like a nice custom coaster for Cedar Point. However, it's not the game changer I think the park needed to add after being relatively stagnant for over 5 years (Maverick opened in 2007). Breaking records for a coaster style that only has 2 other US installations is not anything special in my book. What would have made this truly big would have been B&M's rumored 4th Dimension concept, which is the natural progression from the wing coaster design.

I do like the dive loop right off the lift hill (almost identical to X-Flight though) and the corkscrews through the slotted pillars (again similar to X-Flight). However, a little more could have been done to theme the coaster better. The best Cedar Point could do was to have two industrial-looking concrete towers with a coaster track running through them? This coaster design lends itself to some incredible theming opportunities, and Cedar Point, who had been putting some good ideas together with Dragster and Maverick, kinda dropped the ball on this one.

It's certainly an improvement over Disaster Transport, but will this one ride really draw coaster fans from around the world to Cedar Point in 2013? Probably not, because in reality Gatekeeper is just a slightly bigger and less themed version of X-Flight.

August 14, 2012 at 1:06 PM · What it does do is bring a much needed shot of life to that section of the park, which has been underutilized for a long time. There are a ton of revenue streams over there (games, gift shops..etc), but there weren't really any major rides, and hardly any people over there for any period of time. It might have some parking lot as foundation, but it's way better than what they had. As far as visuals, I think there are plenty of them coming to the park soon. You can also bet that the lake views will be pretty neat

It will definitely help to disperse some of the crowds in other sections of the park.