The History of Mean Streak

For twenty-five years Mean Streak was Cedar Point's giant wooden coaster. It opened in 1991 as the tallest wooden coaster in the world, and in 2018 it was rebuilt into the record-breaking Steel Vengeance.

The tallest wooden coaster

Mean Streak opened in 1991, built by the Dinn Corporation to a design by Curtis D. Summers, one of the most prolific wooden coaster teams of the era. At 161 feet with a layout stretching more than a mile, it debuted as the tallest complete wooden coaster in the world, with the longest drop of any woodie. It was Cedar Point's answer to the coaster arms race it had started two years earlier with Magnum XL-200.

Rough, then reborn

The trouble came with age. As early as 1994 the park added a brake on the first drop to slow the train and reduce wear on the huge wooden structure, but that fix also sapped the ride's speed. Over the years Mean Streak became known among enthusiasts for its roughness, a giant that never rode as smoothly as its size promised. Cedar Point closed it in 2016, but it did not tear it down. Instead the park handed the wooden frame to Rocky Mountain Construction, which re-tracked it in steel and reopened it in 2018 as Steel Vengeance, one of the best coasters in the world. The bones of Mean Streak are still out there, carrying riders.

One thing to know

Mean Streak was undone by its own upkeep. The brake added to the first drop in 1994 to protect the aging wood is exactly why the ride felt slow and rough for most of its life, and that reputation is what eventually justified rebuilding it.

Mean Streak is one chapter in the history of Cedar Point.

Mean Streak at a glance