The History of WildCat

Cedar Point ran two different WildCat coasters, one after another, from 1970 all the way to 2011. Both were small, wild steel rides that whipped guests through tight turns.

Two cats in a row

The first WildCat opened in 1970 as part of Cedar Point's hundredth-anniversary expansion. It was a compact Anton Schwarzkopf coaster, the kind with small four-seat cars that snap through hairpin turns with strong sideways forces. It ran through 1978, then was taken down and relocated, first to sister park Valleyfair and later to a park in Maryland. A second, nearly identical WildCat opened in 1979 and became a long-running park staple, standing fifty feet tall and running until 2011.

The end

The second WildCat gave its last rides in 2011 and was removed the following year so the park could expand a plaza in that part of the midway. Years later, part of that same stretch of ground became the site of the newest coaster at Cedar Point, Siren's Curse.

Sister coasters

Both WildCats were Schwarzkopf coasters of a widely produced portable model, and they shared their maker with Cedar Point's traveling Jumbo Jet. The relocated first WildCat lived on for years at other parks after it left Ohio.

One thing to know

The second WildCat was built on the very spot where Jumbo Jet had stood, a coaster torn out in 1978 to make room for it.

WildCat is one chapter in the history of Cedar Point.

WildCat at a glance