Iron Dragon (roller coaster)
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Iron Dragon | |
Iron Dragon |
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Location | Cedar Point |
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Type | Steel - Suspended |
Status | Open |
Opened | 1987 |
Manufacturer | Arrow Dynamics |
Designer | Ron Toomer |
Lift/launch system | Two chain lift hills |
Height | 76 ft (23 m) |
Length | 2,800 ft (850 m) |
Max speed | 35 mph (56 km/h) |
Duration | 2:00 |
Capacity | 2,000 riders per hour |
Cost | $4,000,000 USD |
Iron Dragon at RCDB Pictures of Iron Dragon at RCDB |
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Iron Dragon is a steel roller coaster located at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. It was built in 1987 by Arrow Dynamics. It is a suspended model where the cars hang beneath the track with free lateral movement by a chassis allowing them to swing side to side. Some parts of the ride is built on artificial lagoons and takes riders into wooded areas and over water.
Before the Iron Dragon’s 1987 debut, the Western Cruise (now known as Paddlewheel Excursions) boats circumvented the waters around this island. The popular boat ride’s station sat on the same part of the midway where Iron Dragon’s station rests today (In fact, observant Iron Dragon riders can still spot the docking cleats welded to the dock while climbing the stairs to the boarding station). The Monster circular ride used to call the land under Iron Dragon’s transfer track home. Monster closed on Labor Day weekend in 1986 so Iron Dragon construction could begin. Planning for the Iron Dragon began in 1985, the same year the Frontier Lift cable car ride (similar to the Sky Ride found on Cedar Point’s main midway) opened for its final season.
Iron Dragon's previous color scheme was red track with gray supports, similar to that of Ninja's (also an Arrow suspended swing coaster) paint scheme at Six Flags Magic Mountain. In 2004, the supports where repainted yellow, and the track repainted the same color of red in order to resemble the color scheme of Top Thrill Dragster.
In the early and mid-1990s, a "remote a boat" game was housed in the water under Iron Dragon's final helex element. This was removed in 1997.
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