Gemini (roller coaster)

Gemini is a racing roller coaster with a wooden structure and steel track located at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, United States. Built in 1978 by Arrow Dynamics and designed by Ron Toomer, it is one of the oldest roller coasters still operating at the park. Cedar Point marketed the ride as the tallest, fastest, and steepest roller coaster in the world, despite taller and faster coasters that had opened sooner.

Gemini
Two trains race to the finish on Gemini
Cedar Point
Park section Gemini Midway
Coordinates 41°29′10.75″N 82°41′22.75″W
Status Operating
Opening date June 17, 1978 (1978-06-17)
Cost $3.4 million
General Statistics
Type Steel – Dueling – Racing
Manufacturer Arrow Dynamics
Designer Ron Toomer
Model Special Coaster Systems
Lift/launch system Chain
  Red Blue
Height 125 ft (38.1 m) 125 ft (38.1 m)
Drop 118 ft (36.0 m) 118 ft (36.0 m)
Length 3,935 ft (1,199.4 m) 3,935 ft (1,199.4 m)
Speed 60 mph (96.6 km/h) 60 mph (96.6 km/h)
Inversions 0 0
Duration 2:40 2:40
Max vertical angle 55° 55°
Capacity 3,300 riders per hour
Height restriction 48 in (122 cm)
Trains 4 trains with 5 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 3 rows for a total of 30 riders per train.
Fast Lane available
Gemini at RCDB
Pictures of Gemini at RCDB

Ride experience
View of Gemini's station
View of Gemini tracks from rear parking lot
View from Gemini's station platform

The structure is considered a steel hybrid due to the track's use of tubular steel which sits on a wooden support structure.[1][2] Two trains, red and blue, are dispatched on two tracks that run side-by-side throughout most of the ride until briefly diverging into separate helices and coming back together to finish the ride. It is common for riders on each train to give high fives through curves.[3] The coaster's 125-foot (38 m) lift hill sends riders down a 118-foot (36 m) drop at a 55-degree angle up to 60 miles per hour (97 km/h).

Gemini has one of the highest capacities of any ride in the park.[4] Gemini's station previously featured a double-sided entry, allowing guests to enter the station from both the front and the back. Eventually modified to have guests only enter from the back of the station, the stairway formerly used for the queue at the front of the station still remains. Originally, Gemini operated 3 trains on each side of the roller coaster for a total of 6 trains. Gemini currently operates with 4 trains (2 on each side).

Record claims

Cedar Point claimed Gemini was the tallest, fastest, and steepest roller coaster in the world during its marketing campaign.[5] However, the taller Loch Ness Monster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Virginia opened earlier the same year, featuring the same drop angle and maximum speed but a slightly shorter drop length.[6] Screamin' Eagle at Six Flags St. Louis opened two years earlier in 1976 and featured a faster top speed of 62 mph (100 km/h).[7]

References
  1. "Gemini". The Point Online. Retrieved July 2, 2009.
  2. http://www.thecoastercritic.com/2012/02/one-of-cedar-points-weakest-coasters-could-get-an-upgrade.html
  3. MacDonald, Brady (July 15, 2011). "Top 10 roller coasters at Cedar Point". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 19, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023. Riders often give each other high fives as the trains pass through curves.
  4. "Gemini". Cedar Point. Retrieved July 2, 2009.
  5. David Shutt (May 11, 1978). "Cedar Point To Go Round And Round". Toledo Blade. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  6. "2 Parks Claim Roller Coaster World Record". Toledo Blade. June 9, 1978. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
  7. Marden, Duane. "Screamin' Eagle  (Six Flags St. Louis)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
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