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  • Mean Streak @ Cedar Point | Coaster Reviews

    Written by The Coaster Critic 28 Comments
    Last Updated: July 31, 2006

    Mean Streak is All Bark and No Bite
    The Mean Streak was probably the biggest letdown of my trip to Cedar Point. This massive wooden coaster that’s 161 feet tall (16 stories) and over 5,000 feet long amazingly amounts to almost no thrills. I will say that it was fairly smooth for its size and age, but what a snoozer! It’s nothing but turns and short forgettable drops. I don’t recall any airtime whatsoever. Just what amounted to a long tour ride around a huge wooden structure. It’s even lacking in speed, probably because you spend a lot of the ride at higher elevations. At least Mean Streak won’t beat you up. My ride in the middle of the train wasn’t very rough at all.

    It sounds like Mean Streak was neutered for lack of a better word. It had a great few years when it opened and then for some reason Cedar Point re-profiled the layout and added trim brakes to the first hill. Unfortunately, I never got to ride Mean Streak during it’s betterRoller Coaster Reviews years. All that’s left now is the ‘Not So Nice Streak’. After riding, I recognized a major chink in Cedar Point’s armor. The park doesn’t have a solid woodie to speak of. Final Rating – 5.0 (Average)

    Want to know how good a 5.0 is? Check out the CCCS. Also, check out this onride roller coaster video of Mean Streak.

    Note – This is an official video that was filmed by professionals with permission from the park.
    For safety reasons, please DO NOT take a camera on a roller coaster.

    What’s Your Take?
    Have you ridden Mean Streak? What’d you think? Leave a comment below.

    Related Posts with Thumbnails

    Related Posts:

    1. Maverick @ Cedar Point | Roller Coaster Reviews
    2. Magnum XL-200 @ Cedar Point | Coaster Reviews
    3. Mantis @ Cedar Point | Coaster Reviews

28 Comments

  1. #1 Stephen says:
    June 21st, 2008 at 1:38 pm

    this is the worst ride I have ever been on. the best way to describe it would be FRUSTRATING in every possible aspect. A huge trim brake on the first drop (!!!) set the tone for the whole ride-zero airtime and terribly paced. It really makes you appreciate other woodies like the Beast and Son of Beast. Next time you go to Cedar Point, you have to try Maverick. It’s probably my favorite coaster there and has an awesome layout-the front row’s the best.

    Reply
  2. #2 Connor says:
    February 15th, 2009 at 10:39 pm

    There was nothing great about this ride and nothing bad, pretty smooth but just flat out boring. I hope that Cedar Point invests in a re-profiling of this ride next year, because it really has the potential to be a great ride, everything just needs to be lowered in height (except the first lift of course.

    Reply
  3. #3 The Coaster Critic says:
    February 15th, 2009 at 11:22 pm

    There was news that Mean Streak was getting some rehab though I’m not sure as to the extent of the changes that will made. It’s not like it was rough. Just boring.

    I agree though Connor, if they lowered the ride it would be much more intense and fun. The ride could actually use all that speed built up from the first drop and do something with it.

    Reply
  4. #4 Daniel says:
    February 17th, 2009 at 7:57 am

    I thought that it was the most overrated coaster I have ever been on. My 11 year old was not impressed either…he kept saying “why are all these brakes on here?” A coaster with the specs of Mean Streak should have been alot more effective. Cedar Point is one of those parks that you have to time what you are going to ride and I would suggest skipping this one if you are on a schedule…I know that I will in the future.

    Reply
  5. #5 mike says:
    May 29th, 2009 at 6:33 pm

    Rode this coaster last week. Worst roller coaster experience of my life. Extremely rough, I don’t know what people are talking about it being smooth. I have been on countless wooden coasters throughout the years and this is by far the bumpiest most painful expeirence. I had a spliting headache for the rest of the day. Terrible ride

    Reply
  6. #6 Dennis says:
    July 22nd, 2009 at 8:35 am

    I agree with Mike. I was there yesterday and the ride was very rough. Really the only thing worth remembering about this ride was how rough it was. Tore me up to the point of promising myself that I would never ride it again.

    Reply
  7. #7 Taz says:
    July 25th, 2009 at 11:34 pm

    I was just at Cedar Point for the first time on Monday, and I absolutely agree. I LOVE wooden coasters, and I dragged my sister and friend on Mean Streak with high expectations. I figured I’d get a good laugh because my sister isn’t too fond of the ricketiness and sway of woodens. It was even more enticing to me because while we were waiting on line, the gold train got stuck.

    But man, this mother was downright painful. In hindsight, thinking of the three brake sections the train goes through, had it not been slowed down, there could be some serious injury. The dip at the bottom of the main lift (after the first brake) was so harsh, it jammed my back and shoulder bad, and I seriously thought I had dislocated something. Had the track been in better shape, which would eliminate the need for the brakes (from what I understand, the brakes were added a couple years ago due to the harshness of the track) and up the enjoyment factor.

    It was quite comical though, that as the train stopped at the holding platform while the next train was being loaded and launched, two people in the car in front of me hurled over the side. Neither of them was my sister, but I got slugged when she caught me!

    Reply
  8. #8 Mike says:
    August 10th, 2009 at 9:08 am

    I don’t know why this coaster is allowed to stay open. Went there yesterday, knowing that I’d vowed never to ride it again after a bad experience IN THE MID-1990s! Saw there was no line and said ‘what the heck.’ There’s a reason there’s no line: It was 2 minutes of intense pain. My 11-year-old also complained, as did everyone getting off. I’ve never been on a coaster and kept thinking ‘when will this end?’ Please, please, please put this real estate to better use.

    Reply
  9. #9 Dave Y says:
    August 26th, 2009 at 8:06 am

    This ride should be shut down for the customers safety. I rode it August 24, 2009 and I still have a headache from it. I really believe that I have a concussion from the brain jarring “straight-aways” that simply rattle your brain from front to back. This ride was nothing but pure pain and I will be contacting Cedar Point about this ride. I have been on this ride in the past and it was a very rugged ride at that time; now it is simply painful. It NEEDS to be demolished and I am NOT joking about this. I should have taken the hint since NO ONE was in line for this ride.

    Reply
  10. #10 Daryn S. says:
    August 26th, 2009 at 7:43 pm

    I love wooden roller coasters and have ridden a few over the years. I agree with Dave Y. this ride should be shut down immediately. It was not the least bit enjoyable, except for when it ended. I was glad to walk away without any serious injury. The ten-year old boy next to me probably had never heard the unpoetic tapestry of profanity I let fly. Sorry about that, kid. The kid also said it was no fun for him and was painful. I am sure there are some who will say that these coasters are meant to be rickety and rough, and to get over it. I understand the concept, but this is way beyond a rough ride. I believe someone will experience serious injury if this ride is not shut down. I would urge CP to re-evaluate this coaster immediately. I rode this coater August 25, 2009.

    Reply
  11. #11 dcn says:
    August 28th, 2009 at 12:12 am

    i just returned from cedar pointe today. i have enjoyed the mean streak in the past- however today’s ride was pure misery! it bounces and bashes you and rattles your brains. i experienced sharp pains in my side and low back due to the unrelentingly harsh ride. i have never been so afraid on a coaster- i thought it must be coming apart and that i would be seriously injured. it felt like a train wreck. i will never ride this again and cedar point should fix this before someone is seriously injured.

    Reply
  12. #12 Ben says:
    August 30th, 2009 at 11:31 pm

    Another rough ride to add to the list. Of course I happened to ride the roughest seat in the house, the very last two seats. No coaster should be this painful. From the moment we reached the bottom of the first hill, I wanted off. I think being run over by a bus, several times, that was on fire, and having it blow up on its last time running me over, would be far less painful than riding this coaster. They need to have a big party at the end of the season and set this thing on fire, be the coolest bonfire ever, and then the ride would have finally been put to good use. By the way, I rode this ride with about 4 more hours left of being there. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to ride anything else after my horrific experience on meansuck. My whole body was just in pain. I hope they build a good wooden in the near future, they need it.

    Reply
  13. #13 Andrew says:
    September 20th, 2009 at 3:40 pm

    I agree, extremely rough. (but that’s what makes it fun)

    Reply
  14. #14 Nicole says:
    December 2nd, 2009 at 3:49 pm

    This ride was a LET DOWN. The roughness made the drop feel like nothing. I don’t remember the ride and heck, I rode it 4 months ago. I remember rides from 4 YEARS ago and this one was just bad.

    Reply
  15. #15 J.R. says:
    April 5th, 2010 at 7:07 pm

    I agree with the people who said it was rough, especially the very end, when they stop you. I had a headache, and my neck hurt for about a day or two. This was the worst wooden roller coaster I’ve ever been on.

    Nevertheless, it is a pretty good ride, and the wait time is awesome – almost no line at all! We only rode once.

    Another funny thing – While I was on the ride, I happened to notice how much the lap-bar came up while they were locked. I asked, “Sir, is this supposed to happen?” While moving the lap-bar up and down.
    Then, he says.. “Yeah, but you have a seat belt, so you’re fine.”

    I was like.. :O

    Reply
    • #16 Quil says:
      June 21st, 2010 at 6:07 am

      whow. i can imagine that, a ride op saying in a realy happy and energetic voice: “fasten your seatbelts, our your gonna die!”

      Reply
  16. #17 DSM says:
    April 21st, 2010 at 10:04 am

    I’m really sorry to hear about what has happened to Mean Streak. I was a grad student in Cleveland when it first opened an remember it as being a great ride. Several of us played hooky from school early in the season to go to Cedar Point before it got too busy and we rode Mean Streak, Magnum, and a couple others practically non-stop. Sounds like they should left well enough alone.

    Reply
  17. #18 jason says:
    May 19th, 2010 at 1:51 pm

    i rode the mean streak yesterday and man, my headache is almost gone. any potential enjoyment this ride might offer is completely overshadowed by how incredibly painful it is to ride. i seriously can’t understand how the management can let paying customers go on this ride in its current state. seriously, i feel like i just paid money to be beaten up. ugh.

    Reply
  18. #19 Brian says:
    May 28th, 2010 at 10:54 am

    Just got back from my first CP trip and it was all amazing.. Except for the general woodie letdown. While I have to give blue streak credit for being old and fun, it’s big brother SUCKS! Never have I had to brace myself in a coaster seat as to not break a rib. If you like riding with your hands up, expect to leave with some sort of internal injuries because the mean streak will toss you around like a ragdoll. I still think one of my fillings got rattled out haha. IMO CP should demo this hunk of junk and snooze-fest Gemini and build a couple memorable woodies. Wish I could have ridden this years ago to see what she’s really made of. Oh well, at least the line for dragster was only 15 minutes. Helped me forget about this waste of space coaster until reading these reviews. Hopefully other first timers won’t waste their time, energy, or good health on mean streak.

    Reply
  19. #20 Christy says:
    June 20th, 2010 at 9:52 pm

    Hey everyone, I just rode this roller coaster and it was the worst ever besides The Son of Beast at Kings Island! which by the way, they just shut down because of complaints and injuries. I think the Mean Streak was worse-not a damn thing smooth about it! if it wasn’t so rough and beat the crap out of you, it would be fun-I vote for an over haul! ps the BEAST at Kings Island is still the best wooden coaster in the world and holds all the records-go there!! Mason Ohio.Paramount sold them to Cedar Fair a couple years ago…Enjoy

    Reply
    • #21 Quil says:
      June 21st, 2010 at 6:11 am

      no offense christy, but most of us already knew all of that.

      Reply
  20. #22 Tim says:
    July 30th, 2010 at 4:03 pm

    I don’t think I’ve ever been on a rougher coaster. Kind of interesting how the ride weaved in and out of itself, but it was not worth the physical pain,

    Reply
  21. #23 Patwell says:
    August 2nd, 2010 at 9:02 pm

    I rode it in 2007, not sure if any sort of “restoration” would’ve helped, but this ride made me sore. Cyclone at SFNE was occasionally painful, but at least it was exciting. This is barely a ride anymore – absolutely NOTHING HAPPENS. It was so bad I didn’t believe how bad it was and rode a second time with someone else to see if they’d confirm its extreme craptitude. They did.

    Reply
  22. #24 Anonymous says:
    August 15th, 2010 at 5:21 am

    Left me with a terrible headache…avoid this ride like the plague…

    Reply
  23. #25 christco says:
    August 22nd, 2010 at 1:13 am

    Cyclone is the only other ride I have ever been on that beats you like the Mean Streak. I hate the Mean Streak. I’ve been to Cedar Point some 35 times, and this ride just keeps getting worse. Tear it down and build a woodie that out-beasts the Beast. That’s what they oughtta do.

    Reply
  24. #26 A Roller Coaster Lover says:
    September 1st, 2010 at 5:10 pm

    The ride was EXTREMELY painful from the beginning until the end. As soon as the car took the very first hill, I found myself saying “PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!!! I CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS RIDE TO STOP!!!” It was not fun… just pure agony. During the entire ride I found myself holding my skull trying to prevent my brain from slapping against the inside of my skull. I got off the ride with a terrible headache. I took some Tylenol, but the headache persisted for several days. I was sitting in the very first seat of the first car. That makes me even more concerned. If the ride is this painful in the first seat of the first car, imagine how bad it must be if you are sitting in the last seat of the last car? I cannot stress this enough, use the precious time you have in the park to go on other rides. DO NOT ALLOW CHILDREN TO RIDE THIS RIDE!!! It most certainly will cause them a mild to severe concussion. PLAIN AND SIMPLE…THIS RIDE SHOULD BE SHUTDOWN!!!

    Reply
  25. #27 Robert says:
    September 1st, 2010 at 10:03 pm

    One word, ouch. This ride up was the most painful experience I had on a coaster up until my ride last year on Cyclone at SFNE. When I had finally convinced my family to make a trip to the coaster capital of the world, I was ecstatic. Upon arrival to the park I looked in awe at all of the rides, including Mean Streak, and I couldn’t wait to experience them. After arriving at the hotel we spent a day at the beach before experiencing the rides. During our time at the beach, I unfortunately got a sunburn on my back which would come back to haunt me during our day at the park. We started off the day with rides on Dragster and Millennium and then worked our way to Mean Streak. It looked like an impressive coaster, but as soon as we went down the first drop, I knew this was going to be painful. My back continually hit the backrest of the ride due to the roughness, and my sunburn caused immense pain throughout the ride’s course. When the ride finally ended, I felt as if I was my grandfather. Clenching my back, I swore I would never ride this coaster again. A few years later when I returned to the park, I went back on my word and gave the ride a second chance. Even without a sunburn, the ride was still horribly painful and should still be demolished.

    Reply
  26. #28 Sir Coaster says:
    September 1st, 2010 at 10:57 pm

    Man, I LOVE this coaster. The incredible turns and curved drops just pushed up the incredible adrenaline you’d feel hitting those turns and the sheer rattling as you’d fly down the hils…

    That’s just me, but I’ll admit, the ride was rough on my back. This is probably the reason why I’ve only rode on it twice…

    Reply

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