Quote:Sandusky, Ohio, 2006 â Cedar Point will take guests to a new frontier in 2007. The historic amusement park/resort has announced plans for a new roller coaster for next summer named Maverick. Located in Frontiertown, Maverick will treat riders to multiple terrain-hugging elements that have never been experienced on a Cedar Point roller coaster.

Guests will begin their adventurous journey on Maverick by boarding steam-era-styled coaster trains with an ultra-sleek profile that will carry them along the 4,450-foot-long course. Linear synchronous motors will propel the train to the top of a 105-foot-tall first hill. From there, it's not straight down â it's more than straight down! Maverick will take its passengers down to Earth at an astonishing 95-degree angle at speeds of up to 57 mph to within five feet above the ground! From there, the train will hug the terrain as it twists and banks around hairpin turns with quick but smooth changes in direction. Throughout the 2-minute, 30-second ride, passengers will also experience eight "airtime-filled hills," three inversions and a second launch through a dark tunnel that will leave them in awe as they reach speeds of 70 mph!

Situated on 5.5 acres between the Mean Streak roller coaster and Thunder Canyon water ride, Maverick will be Cedar Point's 17th coaster, more scream machines than any park in the world. Maverick will cost approximately $21 million to build, making it one of the single largest investments in the park's 137-year history.

"Maverick represents a new brand of roller coaster," said John Hildebrandt, vice president and general manager of Cedar Point. "It is only right that it be built at the Roller Coaster Capital of the World â Cedar Point."

At the end of the 2005 season, the former White Water Landing ride was demolished and removed from the park â although the ride's station remained for use with Maverick's queue line. Throughout the winter and spring of 2006, construction crews prepared and poured footers for Maverick, even before the park opened for the season. Speculation grew throughout the summer as to what Cedar Point was planning for the future. Up until this time, "On-Point!" â the official Cedar Point online web log, has only teased the public and worldwide audience of coaster enthusiasts about the latest happenings at the site.

Guests who crave fun and excitement can ride Maverick when Cedar Point opens for the 2007 season in May. (Guests must be at least 48 inches tall to ride.)

"As a coaster enthusiast, I can't wait to ride Maverick," stated Carole Sanderson, president of American Coaster Enthusiasts, a worldwide club of coaster enthusiasts. "I believe Maverick will delight its riders with many surprising elements, including its compact layout and staggered launches."

Guests will be able to follow the construction progress of Maverick at the park's Web site, www.cedarpoint.com. Exclusive webcams, "OnPoint!" and the FUNtimes newsletter will help keep thrill-seekers up-to-date on the happenings at the ride site throughout the construction process.