28 Jun

Siren's Curse Media Day Preview

Posted in Blog.

Siren’s Curse, North America’s tallest, fastest, and longest “Tilt Coaster” is ready to open and we were graciously invited to the ride’s media day to check out this one of a kind attraction. There is so much to talk about with this ride from the ride area, the trains, and the ride itself, but first I want to take a step back and talk about how we got here.

When Top Thrill 2 opened last season, I think everyone expected that with such a big attraction being added for the 2024 season, Cedar Point couldn’t expect to see another large addition for some time. Later on in the season Cedar Point announced Snake River Falls, the park’s shoot-the-chutes style water ride would be retired after Labor Day Weekend. A couple weeks after the Snake River Falls closure, Cedar Point dropped a teaser during the first “Opening Scarymonies” of the haunt season that came completely out of left field (so much so Mr. Midnight himself seemed a little confused during the show). The teaser seemed to play on the spooky vibes of the night and definitely had a water theme to go with it. It seemed very obvious that whatever was to be announced would be a replacement for Snake River Falls at best. Maybe a new water coaster? Maybe only an addition to the water park? At some point Cedar Point also mentioned an announcement would be made at 5am the following Thursday. The lack of time between teaser and announcement also seemed to point at the attraction being nothing super major. That being said we all excitedly checked our phones announcement morning, and what we all saw was completely shocking.

New For 2025, SIREN’S CURSE! What in the world??? A new coaster? Near Iron Dragon? Not replacing Snake River Falls? And it’s a rare tilt coaster made by suddenly beloved manufacturer Vekoma? WOW we are spoiled.

Part of the announcement was also that the trains for Siren’s Curse would have LED lighting and onboard audio (a first for the park) and the ride would briefly go underground. Other than that details on theming were scarce. Cedar Fair had been following a trend of better theming across the chain and it seemed after the merger with Six Flags that trend would continue. So in the announcement video seeing a grassy field and a very plain steel station building was somewhat underwhelming. However, just 9 months later here we are with Siren’s Curse opening to the public and I feel extremely confident in saying that the theming rises well above what many regional theme parks can offer. To see what the creative team dreamed up and executed in just 9 short months is absolutely incredible and they deserve the highest of praises.

Spoilers ahead! Let’s go through the entire experience from entrance to exit. As you approach the ride you can’t help but stare at the foreboding lift structure and tilt track ahead of you. The story is placed in an abandoned shipyard and the look of the tilt track and structure fit right into that theme. You enter the ride under the beautiful entrance sign placed directly under the ride’s first drop and you walk under, around, and over the almost 3000 feet of red track. As you walk you encounter a beautiful pond situated under parts of the ride, an abandoned toll booth with books placed inside telling of the sirens, rusted speakers that play shipyard-esque sound effects, and shipping containers from Erie Freight Company. Even better is at the bottom of each support is hand painted green algae and seaweed growing from the water or rust if the support does not touch the water. These little touches are phenomenal and really add to the aesthetic of the ride.

Once you wind your way through the queue you will place your loose articles (all of them, even if you have pockets with a zipper) into the free double sided lockers and head through the metal detectors and up the stairs into the rusted out “abandoned” building that serves as the ride’s station. In the station you will notice hand painted details all over the place and special lighting that changes when the ride dispatches.

So now at long last you are on the ride and the beautiful black trains with neon green trim are ready to take you to the sirens. Once you dispatch the onboard audio begins, and for me this is what really makes the ride. First you hear similar sound effects as you did in the queue line followed by eerie music as you travel up the 160 foot tall lift hill. As you crest the lift, a lovely and as the park described her, “seductive” siren begins to talk to you and invites you to join her and her friends as you approach the tilt track. The music picks up and the tilt track begins to, well, tilt! You rotate and are now facing straight down as the track connects to the rest of the drop below. At this point the siren’s voice quickly goes from “seductive” to down right evil as she promises you your doom and you drop straight down into the twisted first drop as heavy rock music begins to play that lasts throughout the rest of the ride.

Now let’s talk about the ride itself. The train releases from the tilt track (pro tip, keep your head back against the headrest as the train releases or else you may smack your head on the headrest as you would on a launch coaster) and you are immediately thrust into a tight left turn before heading up a large airtime hill that absolutely delivers and the track then dives in on itself. The ride only has a top speed of 58 mph but it moves at a brisk pace into an absolutely incredible barrel roll before speeding towards an awesome, airtime-inducing twisted triple down. The ride then dives under ground where lights and fog greet you before turning upwards into a non-inverting loop that also provides ample airtime. The siren then throws you into yet another beautiful barrel roll before hitting you with some final twists, turns, and airtime pops before hitting the brakes. The rock music ends and you are instructed to unbuckle your seatbelt before returning to the station. If you listen closely you may be able to hear the sirens calling for you and asking you not to leave. Absolutely creepy but I love it!

So, what did I think of the ride? Absolutely perfect. It surely isn’t the most OMG crazy thrill ride ever but it gets the job done and is incredibly easy to ride over and over again. The tilt track itself is also a super cool, and freaky, experience. Vekoma, a company once known for rides that many consider rough and tough to enjoy, really put that idea to bed with Siren’s Curse as it is absolutely the smoothest and most comfortable ride in the park. Smooth, full of airtime, and just straight up fun. All that being said, I feel that Siren’s Curse is comfortably a top 5 coaster in the park, and probably competing for the number 1 spot in most other regional theme parks.

Once you depart the ride and retrieve your belongings from the lockers (another pro tip that seems obvious, remember your locker number! These lockers have a punch code at the locker instead of just popping open from the kiosk like at Steel Vengeance so it speeds up the process if you remember which locker you had) and head to the also wonderfully themed gift shop to pick up your ride photo (taken after the second barrel roll) and all the great merchandise for the ride. A great selection of shirts, plushies, sweatshirts, and other collectables await you.

Overall, Siren’s Curse is a huge win for Cedar Point and is sure to be a hit for both riders and nonriders alike as it is just as fun to watch, with its tilt track and beautiful lights on the trains, as it is to ride. Not only that but it is also sure to be a hit with the whole family as it has a height requirement of only 48 inches. Siren’s Curse opens to the public Saturday June 28th. Get out to Cedar Point and take it for a spin!

One last HUGE thank you to Cedar Point, Tony Clark, and Six Flags for having us out to check out this amazing new addition to an already incredible roller coaster collection.

I think I hear the sirens beckoning to me again… Thanks for reading!

-Evan