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Why Valravn Is My Favorite Roller Coaster from Bolliger & Mabillard
Cedar Point's latest coaster, Valravn, opened for the 2016 season as the first Bolliger & Mabillard Dive Coaster outside of the East Coast in the U.S. It has elements unique to this coaster model, which includes a ninety-degree, or straight-down, drop. Valravn also has trains with eight seats across, rather than the typical three or four seats, which results in the train only having three rows of seats. This means the trains are wider than they are longer, which is odd compared to the most common train configuration where the trains are longer than they are wider. Because the trains are so wide, six of the eight seats in each row hang over the track, providing an experience similar to Bolliger & Mabillard (also called B&M)'s Wing Coaster model, but above the track, rather than next to it as on the Wing Coaster model.
Valravn also has four other notable elements excluding the first drop, but only one of them is the first of its kind in the park, which is the 270-degree roll, that is slightly similar to the Step-Up-Under-Flip on the Joker at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. This element is by far tied for, if not the best, element on Valravn. It is on the slower side, but that plays to the advantage of the element because it provides extreme hang time, which lasted for a good three or four seconds of inverted and on-your-side airtime. The exit of the 270-degree roll is a near-90-degree banked helix that actually has a really weird dip where the track indents. (pictured below)
Other elements include a 165-foot Immelmann (which is the tallest inversion of its kind in the world, and is also the second tallest inversion in North America, only behind GateKeeper's Wing-Over Drop that is just across the Main Midway at the same park), a second 131-foot near-vertical drop, and a dive loop.
So, what is my unpopular opinion about Valravn, you ask? Well, after having ridden over ten roller coasters from B&M (might I add, all of them are considered among the best works of the company), I consider Valravn as my favorite B&M roller coaster. The reason this opinion of mine is unpopular is because many people either think Valravn is a weak coaster or is a so-called "one-trick pony," which means the coaster had one good part and the rest of the coaster's layout was nowhere near as good as the "trick," a.k.a. the first drop. Because "one-trick pony" is mostly considered a negative nickname for a coaster, most people think the coaster didn't meet the expectations and standards of other coasters at Cedar Point, or just don't like the coaster. But, I actually think Valravn was spectacular.
I rode Valravn in late May earlier this year (opening year), and the ride was brand-spankin' new. It was incredibly smooth, intense, fast, and exciting. While waiting in the line for Valravn, the hype for the coaster is built up by the lift hill track towering over you and the loud screams of guests dropping 90 degrees on the first drop.
Though the coaster was very, very good, the line for it was a major turnoff. That did result in my party and I purchasing Fast Lane Plus, Cedar Point's paid shorter line system that allows you to wait in lines extremely shorter than the stand-by queue, to avoid waiting two hours for Valravn and five of the other popular coasters at Cedar Point with lines of similar lengths. Though Valravn has mixed reviews, I'll say it here; it deserves better.
I personally think Valravn was a smart investment on Cedar Point's behalf. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it made me want to go out and ride the other B&M Dive Coasters in America. Valravn's hefty estimated nearly $15 million USD price tag hasn't slowed Cedar Point's drive for building coasters down. The park has already purchased a roller coaster from Rocky Mountain Construction that is expected to open in 2017 or 2018, as proven by evidence found around the site of recently-closed Mean Streak, including new steel track and ledgers. I have recently written a blog post about this all-but-confirmed coaster on my site that can be read here.
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First Valravn photo overview courtesy of Gregory Varnum.
Second Valravn photo of lift hill © 2016 Caleb Keithley, author of this article.
