SANDUSKY, Ohio -- It dwarfs the Raptor.
It eclipses Blue Streak.
Sky Ride whimpers under its shadow.
Its towering presence has changed the Cedar Point skyline forever.
Valravn -- the so-called “King of Coasters” -- has soared to life.
The first hill claws at the clouds with a calm clickity-clack climb to heights of 223 feet.
But the calm doesn’t last for long…
App users can see photos from Valravn's media day HERE.
Once perched at the edge of Valravn’s crowning moment -- a 90-degree perilous plummet -- riders are clutched in the beast’s talons for four seconds before diving face down toward the earth at speeds up to 75 mph.
The trio of trains then twist through Valravn’s tallest inversion where thrillseekers kick the sky 165 feet in the air. This head-over-heels maneuver, known as an Immelmann, is the second-tallest coaster inversion in the world -- second only to GateKeeper's 170-foot record.
Another 90-degree dive element and two additional inversions await along Valravn’s 3,415-foot adventure.
While Valravn is a unique ride experience to Cedar Point, the restraints are similar to that of GateKeeper. The floorless trains allow riders’ feet to slice through the sky positioned in three rows of eight seats..
For those keeping track, Valravn’s media rides came exactly 33 weeks after crews broke ground on Sept. 9. Valravn's wrath snatches up a swath of land stretching from Blue Streak's entrance plaza to the Luminosity stage in the space once held by now-demolished Turnpike Cars and Good Time Theatre.
WKYC was dared to dive on Valravn with a special media preview event Wednesday.
The general public will be given their first opportunity to ride when the park opens for the 2016 season this Saturday.
If you can’t wait that long, there is a way you can jump ahead and climb aboard early by attending a fundraising charity event on Thursday that benefits the LeBron James Family Foundation.
Season passholders are invited to ride Friday for a special 7-11 p.m. event.
As they did with Rougarou last summer, Cedar Point is releasing Valravn-themed Toft’s ice cream, beer and its own Coca-Cola Freestyle mix flavor.
