VertiGo had to go. Who would dare climb aboard the Cedar Point ride next summer knowing its scary history? One of the thrill ride's three support towers snapped in January, sending a 200-foot section of steel crashing to the ground. Park officials have wisely conceded that even if the ride were repaired, it would be unpopular and a grim reminder of the accident. So VertiGo will be dismantled.
The ride was opened to the public only last August. It was a thriller that launched half a dozen passengers 300 feet into the air like a 50-mph slingshot in a carriage suspended from the three 265-foot towers. The experience, which lasted about 10 seconds, ended with riders coming to a gentle stop with operating cables and compressed air.
But when, for some inexplicable reason, one of its three posts broke 65 feet up while not in use and under no particular stress, the ride's manufacturer was dumbfounded. Subsequent investigations have been unable to determine a cause for what could have been a deadly accident.
Fortunately the theme park was closed for the season and a tragedy was averted, but what would have happened, God forbid, if this had occurred on a summer Sunday?
Initially Cedar Point indicated VertiGo would reopen after corrective measures were taken and the ride thoroughly inspected for safety. But the public relations blow had been inflicted, which Cedar Fair LP fortunately recognized with its announcement.
“We felt very strongly that because of the unfavorable perception surrounding the ride, in light of what happened, that it would decline in popularity,” said Cedar Point spokeswoman Janice Witherow. Cedar Fair also will remove an identical VertiGo ride installed a year ago at its Knott's Berry Farm amusement park in Buena Vista, Calif.
The fate of the only other VertiGo in operation - at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, Calif. - is up in the air, so to speak.
But at Cedar Point's Challenge Park, where a fee is charged for each ride, workers have begun dismantling VertiGo. It's unclear what if anything will replace the ride, or how much of Cedar Point's $2.5 million investment in the ride is gone. But Cedar Point's reputation at the top of the theme park industry depends on continued customer goodwill and adherence to the highest safety standards. That meant dismantling VertiGo.
First Published March 10, 2002, 4:05 p.m.