Disaster Transport

Disaster Transport General [[File:|link=|center]] ' ' Park Cedar Point Location Sandusky, Ohio, USA Status Defunct Operated Operated May 11, 1985 - July 29, 2012 Opened May 11, 1985 Opening Cost US$3,400,000 to build (1985) US$4,000,000 to renovate (1990) Height restriction 36 inches (117 cm) Statistics Manufacturer Intamin AG Builder Designer Type Steel- Bobsled- Enclosed Type Model Swiss Bob Riders per train Riders per hour 1,800 Lift/launch system Chain Lift Height 63 feet Drop 50 feet Top speed 40 mph Length 1,932 feet Dimensions feet x feet Duration 2:32 Inversions Steepest drop 27 degrees Maximum g-force 2.7G

Disaster Transport (formerly Avalanche Run) was an enclosed bobsled roller coaster located at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. It was notable as the only indoor roller coaster at the park, and the only bobsled roller coaster in the Midwest at its debut. Before 1990, the ride was outdoors, and had blue track and supports

The name of the ride stems from Dispatch Master Transport. The origin of the name could be seen in the ride's logo and a pre-ride movie explained it (although this was turned off years prior to the ride closing).

History

The ride in its original form.

Disaster Transport originally opened on May 11, 1985 as Avalanche Run and was entirely outdoors. It was built beside the beach, on the site of the former WildCat. Many other rides also had to be relocated Cedar Point Timeline — PointBuzz]. The original ride cost $3.4 million: $1.9 million to manufacture and $1.5 million to install.

Renovation

View of the building.

In 1990, ITEC Productions, Inc. was chosen to renovate the ride, completely enclosing it in a show building. The renovation included the addition of a space-themed queue and special effect lighting and sound throughout the ride. The special effects and construction cost approximately $4 million. On the front of the building, "12 E" was written, which has caused numerous rumors as to its meanings. On August 3, 2005, it was revealed that it stood for the 12th ride designed by the ITEC employee, Eric.

Neglect

Not long after the initial changes to the ride ilook90, the special effects were not maintained and began to deteriorate. At its closure most of the effects were not active, or had been covered up. Blacklight reactant paint lined the walls, mostly in the form of handprints or outlines of scenes. These gave a 3-D appearance when the rider wore special glasses purchased at the beginning of the queue.

Closure

On July 13, 2012, Cedar Point announced that Disaster Transport would close on July 29, 2012. A charity auction was held for the final riders, benefiting the Give Kids the World charity foundation. The last ride was given at 11:53 PM on July 29, with the lights turned on. Demolition began on August 6, using almost 400 trucks to transport scrap materials. The ride was replaced by GateKeeper, a Bolliger & Mabillard wing coaster which will open in May 2013. Space Spiral, an observation tower, also closed along with Disaster Transport, however, it did not close until shortly after Labor Day. A portion of track, two cars and the main entrance sign were donated to the National Roller Coaster Museum along with parts from the closed WildCat, closed in 2011.

Design

Disaster Transport (Cedar Point) - OnRide - (480p)

A video showing the old queue line

Disaster Transport was a bobsled roller coaster, meaning the wheels were not attached to the tracks as on standard roller coasters. The cars — resembling bobsleds — operated within a steel trough, on which they were allowed to run freely. This allowed the ride to swing from side to side when turning sharp corners, as an actual bobsled would. Guests would enter 10 passenger bobsleds, secured by a lap bar. After leaving the "launch area", the bobsled traveled up the 63-foot-tall (19 m) lift hill, which featured red and blue blinking lights on the sides. After reaching the top of the lift hill, it curved to the right, dropping 50 feet (15 m). After that, it curved to the left into a mid course brake run. After the mid course brake run, the bobsled turned left followed by several banked turns and curves and two more brake runs

Train capacity

Single-car trains.

Theme

After the ride was renovated in 1990, a new space theme was given. The ride's story was that the passengers had been to deliver cargo from a suborbital factory to a station in Alaska. Large screen projections, simulated lasers, mist, and sound recordings were added to the ride. In the queue, guests would go through three rooms: the Rocket Recovery, Mission Control and Repair Bay. The original entrance to the ride was located next to Troika. During HalloWeekends, the park would change the entrance of Disaster Transport to under the lift hill, leaving the one next to Troika to be used for the Halloween Haunt. For the 2009 season, the entrance was permanently changed to under the lift hill, closing off the Rocket Recovery and Mission Control rooms, leaving the Repair Bay the only room guests walked through..

Building

The building viewed from above

The building was also used as a storage facility for the park. During HalloWeekends, much of the original queue area was used to house a haunt attraction. It was first used in 1997 for the haunt, Cedar Point Cemetery. In 2000, it was transformed into the Egyptian themed, Pharaoh's Secret haunted house. In 2009, it was transformed into Happy Jack's Toy Factory, a haunted toy factory

Oddly, the ride would close in any type of rain. Because of leaks in the structure, water pooled in the trough, forcing a shutdown. Typically, the ride would remain shut down after a period of rain as the crew would have to cycle several trains through the circuit in order for it to dry. Although the ride was enclosed, the transfer track remained outdoors with a large door that opened when it was needed.

Photo Gallery

Disaster Transport with lights on

Diaster Transport's special effects

Disaster Transport logo

External links

• Demolition photos
• Benind-the-scenes photos