Steel Venom (Geauga Lake)
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| Steel Venom | |
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| Location | Geauga Lake |
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| Type | Steel - Impulse |
| Status | Preparing For Removal/Relocation |
| Opened | May 5th, 2000 |
| Manufacturer | Intamin AG |
| Designer | Werner Stengel |
| Model | Twisted Impulse roller coaster |
| Height | 180 feet (54.9 m) |
| Drop | 180 feet (54.9 m) |
| Max speed | 70 mile per hour (112.7 km/h) |
| Max Vertical Angle | 90 degrees |
| Steel Venom at RCDB | |
| Pictures of Steel Venom at RCDB | |
Steel Venom is a steel Launched Inverted Impulse roller coaster designed by Intamin AG located at Geauga Lake in Aurora, Ohio. The ride opened on May 5th, 2000 as a part of the Six Flags conversion of the park from Geauga Lake to Six Flags Ohio/Worlds of Adventure. During Six Flags' ownership, the ride was known as Superman: Ultimate Escape (not to be confused with the roller coaster at Six Flags Mexico). However, when Cedar Fair L.P. bought the park in 2004, Cedar Fair did not purchase the rights to use D.C. Comics characters, which is why it is known as Steel Venom.
Steel Venom was the first Impulse coaster in the United States and the first coaster of its type to feature a twisted spike. The ride is located in the 50's Midway section of the park and is parallel to State Route 43.
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[edit] Layout
The ride has a fairly simplistic layout consisting of two vertical spikes. One of the spikes are twisted and the other spike has a holding brake on it. The ride begins when riders pull down the restraints and are then catapulted forwards by the use Linear Induction Motors or LIM's. The LIM's sends the train full of riders to speeds of 70 miles per hour. After the LIM launch area, the train heads up the twisted vertical spike that twists the train 180 degrees. Once the train loses speed, the train then rolls back into the launch and station area. The train heads up (backwards) to the straight vertical spike. The straight spike occasionally has a holding brake working on it to enhance the ride experience. After falling back to the station forwards, the train heads through the layout again twice and then stops after the third time around.
[edit] Trivia
- This ride shares the name of Valleyfair's Impulse coaster, Steel Venom. Both rides have a similar layout and experience.
[edit] Incident
- During the 2006 season, an incident occurred on Steel Venom in which the part of the train and an LIM launch motor were destroyed. This occurred in mid July and the ride was closed for the rest of the 2006 season.
[edit] Removal
At ACE's No Coaster Convention 2007, the Geauga Lake park map did not show Steel Venom on it. Along with that, the park's photos of that area had the Steel Venom spikes airbrushed out. On February 3, 2007, a Cedar Fair representative confirmed that the ride will be removed from Geauga Lake. This is the second major roller coaster to be removed from the park before the 2007 season.
Removal has been confirmed by Photographs from Geauga Lake fan site, Geauga Lake Today http://www.geaugalaketoday.com.
