Cedar Point’s GateKeeper has opened. And it’s time to see what everyone thinks of this highly anticipated new ride.
Here’s a video of GateKeeper at Cedar Point via Robb Alvey of Theme Park Review: I appreciated the Ghostbuster references. Also, watch a complete GateKeeper POV video. Note – For safety reasons, please DO NOT take a camera on a roller coaster without permission from the park.
Cedar Point Goes BIG with GateKeeper
My take on the footage, isn’t really all that profound, but GateKeeper definitely comes across as BIG. In typical Cedar Point fashion, they ordered the big one when they sat down with B&M to design this ride. Six Flags Great America’s X-Flight has a small footprint and stays close to the ground. Dollywood’s Wild Eagle flies higher, but isn’t as long.
Here are some excerpts of reviews that I’ve found on GateKeeper:
The overall experience of the ride itself is mind boggling for those that haven’t ridden a B&M Wing Coaster yet, and will truly give Cedar Point another world star attraction that will please their park goers wondrously so. – Joe R of ThrillNetwork
Gatekeeper is the smoothest ride I have ever experienced and with the inverted drop and many head and foot choppers it’s not one to miss. … Overall a great ride and a home run for Cedar Point. – Jeremy (comment below)
The slow roll was pretty good, the right side is the best for it. The helix was intense, and i got a surprisingly high amount of airtime out of the last hill! …. The ride was great, overall rating 10 out of 10. New number 1. Blowing the old number 1, Alpengiest, out of the water. – Charlie (comment below)
One word: incredible. I haven’t ridden Wild Eagle, but I have ridden X-Flight. I gotta say, they don’t even compare. The whole ride is just a big smooth fun ride. – Nick (comment below)
What’s Your Take?
Have you ridden GateKeeper? What’d you think? How did it compare to X-Flight or Wild Eagle if you’ve ridden those as well? Leave a comment below.
Coaster Critic 
31 responses to “Early Reviews of GateKeeper at Cedar Point”
I had the chance to ride gatekeeper for the first time on opening day. After a quick run from the Marina entrance of the park and the ribbon cutting of Gatekeeper I was in line. Only about ten minuets later I found myself already getting in the seats of Gatekeeper. I was on the right side, second row of the train and in restraints that I thought were the most comfortable I have ever been in. I found myself only seconds later being pulled to the top of the 170 foot lift hill and that’s when I realized what was in store for me at the top. At the top of the lift hill there are some truly breathtaking views of Lake Erie’s coast line. Then suddenly the seat dropped out from under me and I was staring straight down from the world’s tallest inversion. After what seams like eternity of hanging up side down the train plummeted. With grace gatekeeper pulls up only feet above the ground and sends me flying throw its first inversion, an immelmann loop sending me right back from where I came. Plummeting to the ground again gatekeeper banks right into an airtime hill which gave me a slight bit of floating airtime at the crest. Speeding at the ground we are coming to a huge flat spin, but I nearly have my feet cut off from the gates surrounding the ride. The flat spine is great and one of the more forceful parts of the ride. A second later I came up to the huge keyhole element. They look bigger than life and I was really shocked at the size of the two towers from on the ride. They defiantly are one of the highlights of the ride and maybe the park. Flying in the dive loop I was sent strait back to the towers again. Gatekeeper seams to loose a lot of speed coming into the last roll of the ride. But I found my self enjoying the last flip even more at this slower speed. I could feel the blood rush to my head and really feel upside down. I loved the head/foot chopper the key holes make as you make your way past them. With a quick break run the ride drops in to an intense helix and the last air time hill.
Gatekeeper is the smoothest ride I have ever experienced and with the inverted drop and many head and foot choppers it’s not one to miss. The ride never felt overly fast even thou it runs at nearly 70mph. I think that this is partially because of the extreme smoothness and the paced of the elements on the ride. Overall a great ride and a homerun for cedar point. I look forward to riding gatekeeper many more times this season. Sorry about the length or my review but I hope I gave the ride the credit it deserves.
I went to CP on opening day. I was in the Cleveland Clinic First Riders Group (known as “red cross riders”). When we went in at 7:30 A.M., we went to Johnny Rockets where we picked our seats. I was in the 4th row, left side outside seat. When we finally got into the restraints, i wanted one of the seats the restraints were so comfy. when the ribbon cutting was happening, we had to pull up our heads so high to see it. I was mad that i missed the fireworks. Just in case you were there, I was on the train that first came out, the 4th row “little kid” waving to everyone. when we were on the lift hill, the angle of the seats made it fell like the climb on SheiKra. the wingover drop was insane, reccomend the left side for the world’s highest inversion. the immelmann was nice and smooth. the airtime hill didn’t have much airtime, but waas still fun. when we were heading for the GFS, i could smell donuts from donut time at the bottom. that was relaxing. the inside on the GFS is fun, which is the left side. The keyholes were my favorite element in the world, brand new, and holding up the front gate was great! the IDL was fun, better than Hydra’s, the only other one, that I rode the weekend before. the slow roll was pretty good, the right side is the best for it. the helix was intense, and i got a suprisingly high amount of airtime out of the last hill! They let us ride it again with no line or getting off the ride. I rode it 2 more times, one in back right and one in back left. maybie next time i go i can ride front outside left! totaling at 4 rides for me i think i rode it the most on opening day. the ride was great, overall rating 10 out of 10.
10/10
New number 1, Blowing he old numer 1, Alpengiest out of the water.
I would reccomend going out to see this beast, my opinion best new ride of 2013.
I was also at Cedar Point opening day. I waited 3 hrs 15 min to ride this. One word: incredible. I haven’t ridden Wild Eagle, but I have ridden X-Flight. I gotta say, they don’t even compare. The whole ride is just a big smooth fun ride. It is also pretty intense from the back. I’ll be looking forward to hearing your take on the ride and comparing it to the other wing coasters.
I am typically an Intamin lover but B&M hit the jackpot with this ride! It is an incredible ride with every element that coaster enthusiasts crave, airtime, height, speed, twists, turns, and near misses. I rode it 16 times during its soft opening on Media Day and rode on every part of the train and found that my favorite seat was the front right. The near misses on the right side are great! I also love the feeling of the seat dropping from under me on the wing over drop was incredible! Gatekeeper will definitely be a very popular coaster at CP for years to come!!
I’m not a coaster expert, but Gatekeeper is a really nice ride. I am a bigger guy, so the shoulder restraints were a tad tight….but I only thought about that when the ride was done. Extremely smooth. We went the Thursday after opening day and got to ride it 3 times, waiting 45 min, 20 min, then 10!!! I rode both sides of the track, twice on an outside seat and once on an inside seat. I must say, if you only have one chance to ride, do it on the right side. I did the left side first…loved it. Then the next time, I went right side. Couldn’t believe how much more awesome it was on that side.
I rode gatekeeper the first monday it was open. I have been on x-flight, wild eagle, and gatekeeper, and gatekeeper is a lot better than either. It has a great view like wild eagle, and the near misses like xflight. The wing over drop is a thrill. The immelmann is seamless, the airtine hill had varying speeds and airtime in the 4 tines i went on it. If you look to the right, you see sandusky. Look to your left, and you cansee canada when its clear. It feels much faster than it looks. The keyholes over the entrance is a brilliant idea. The keyholes look to close more as you get clocer, it lost a lot of speed between the 2 rolls, though. I liked doint the last roll slowly. It made a what i dub the mystery mine effect when it feels like youre upside down for ages. Thehelix is so tight and intense, and the last hill had airtime. The line went so fast, it felt like 10 minutes. (It was only 30 still) and the view as you enter is a sight to behold. It is also the smoothest coaster ive been on, and ive been on around 300. My only complaint is it isnt as intense as i thought it would be.
My rating: 9.5/10
Bar none this is the best coaster I’ve ever been on. Currently millennium force is number one in the world….13 years straight,….but really what millennium has is just a massive first hill. This coaster has several amazing things going for it. This is sure to become the new number one….not just by me, but from rollercoaster enthusiasts everywhere. Hail to the new king of coasters……the gatekeeper.
Rode the GateKeeper for the first time yesterday. Once on the right side and once on the left. I prefer the left. I thought it was a smooth ride with some interesting features. I don’t think it is nearly as thrilling as some other rides in the park and later in the day as I looked at the repeat riders, I think I am not alone, especially as compared to the Millenium and the Magnum. Even late in the day (4:30) the lines at the Millenium and Magnum were still 45 to 60 minutes while the GateKeeper was 15 minutes. The Maverick was 75 minutes with many riding for the 2nd and 3rd time. All in all, the GateKeeper is a ride I will go on every time I visit, but it is a little sedate to be at the top of my list for raw thrills.
I have never ridden X-Flight, but I have ridden wild eagle. Gatekeeper is way more fun than the Wild Eagle. There are more loops and it is faster. It also has one part at the beginning where you hang upside down.
I visited Cedar Point last weekend, and rode the gatekeeper for the first time. It is big shiny and new. Looks great. The ride itself is smooth. Nothing too thrilling about it though. This is one of them rides I will ride once for the experience and then maybe again if the line isn’t too long. I would have really been disappointed had I waited in line for a long time.
I’m glad lots of people loved this. My 13-year-old daughter and I thought it was just OK. She said, “I’ll give it a 6 out of 10, and that’s being generous.” For our first ride, we waited 75 minutes early in the day. By early evening, the line was down to 25 minutes. (Meanwhile, there was an hour wait over at Raptor.) It didn’t seem there were a lot of people coming back to Gatekeeper for repeat rides. We wanted to try it again to see if a different side of the train would give more thrills, but we were still pretty unimpressed. At the end of Gatekeeper, the operator asked, “How was that ride?” Both times, the responses from the riders were pretty tame – not even close to the cheers and applause you hear from riders at the end of MF, Dragster, Maverick or Raptor.
I finally got my chance to ride Gatekeeper with 4 other people. We all had the same feeling when we got off. BLAH. We were not impressed at all, we even rode it again and switched sides. For all the hype this ride garnered it was a real let down. Ride it to say you did if the line is short, but if the line is long you’ll have more fun on any other coaster in the park.
I just got home from Cedar Point. I rode the gatekeeper and was not impressed at all with it. I went with 3 other people who felt the same way. We waited in line for it on the afternoon of our first day because it was closed in the morning. The line wasn’t too long of a wait. We got on the ride and the restraints felt fine. We went on the ride and by the end of it we were all in pain. The restraints were so tight my boyfriend could barely breath once it was done and he is not overweight at all. I also felt the same way and it started to really press hard on my chest which made the ride a disappointment. We only went on once and didn’t even give it a second chance to go on again. We were all very unimpressed. But had fun on raptor, maverick, and millenium force along with other rides.
Rode the Gate Keeper last week and loved the ride except the chest restraints tighten up so much during the ride that I don’t want to try it again. Half way in the ride I couldn’t get my breath because of the pressure on my chest right over my lungs. They need to rethink the restraints. Overheard another rider say his arm was totality numb.
On July 4th, 2013 around 9:17 PM the Gatekeeper broke down with are car stopping at the bottom of the first incline. After 12 minutes came up beside are ride to ask if everyone was ok and they would get us going. 3 minutes later they informed us the ride would begin, we made it 3/4 up the hill with the front car on top of the hill and the Gatekeeper stopped. After 20 minutes are legs fell asleep and the wind and rain had us shivering employees made it up the steps to tell us they were working on getting us going. The harnesses were becoming unbearable (so tight it was hard to breath) . After another 15 minutes employees said after they got down the steps are ride would get going. By this time all 32 of us on the ride were cold and calmly and just wanted off the ride.We got going and they stopped us on a level platform in the middle of the ride. From here it took another 20 minutes before we made the main platform (are legs were num and getting out of the seat was horrible). Employees wanted are names so they could give us a free pass to come back to Cedar Point. No one ever wants to go thru this experience and we turned down a free return visit. Employees said a sensor was showing a ghost train was on the Gatekeeper track, so safety mechanisms in place shut the ride down. If employees would have removed us at the bottom of the 1st incline we would not have had to went thru this nightmare and they could have tested the ride without riders on board. The gatekeepers harnesses are unbearable when left on a rider for 70 minutes
I rode the gatekeeper for the first time on Saturday, July 13th. I will probably never ride this again based on my experience on it and I love all roller coasters. The harness was so tight by mid ride that I do not even remember the ride after going through the keyhole. The harness was actually tightening as the ride was going. By the time we reached the platform, as we were waiting to pull into the load/unload area, I told my husband I could barely breath, and I was in full panic mode. At that same moment, a woman on the other side of the ride was screaming in panic because her husband was unconscious. We were moved into the loading area and rushed off the ride so that medical personnel could tend to the man. I approached a young man who was a ride operator and explained to him how tight my harness was to which he replied that he knows, it is an issue that they are having that is still unresolved. I also heard other people say that their harness was too tight. There were probably about 15-20 medical personnel racing to the ride by the time we got out of the picture viewing area. I am not saying that what happened to this man had to do with the ride, but I don’t know. I posted a comment about my experience with the harness on Cedar points facebook page saturday night and by sunday morning it was removed. I am very uncomfortable with the entire situation. Regardless, I am still a Cedar Point fan, I just hope they fix the ride, I don’t want other people to go through that situation.
The harness tightening ruined the entire ride. The harness felt fine from the initial lock-in and throughout the run. BUT!!!! when we docked to unload….the next three minutes seemed like three hours. The pressure was so intense that we both were borderline ready to freak out with claustrophobia. As awesome as the ride is…I couldn’t imagine being strapped in stuck, for more than an hour as some have experienced…I can’t do it again until they alter the harness.
Linsay so sorry you were a witness to this situation. My children and family members were as well. This man just so happened to be my Uncle who I sent with my mom to spend time with my children and his family. Sad that this has been an issue that isn’t being taken seriously. I hope you are doing well. Thanks
I think that Gatekeeper was a good ride. I see a lot of people say that they had a problem with the harness. Thankfully bother times that I rode the ride that wasn’t an issue for me. I think it was a fun ride overall, but doesn’t compare to rides like Millenium Force or Maverick.
i rode last Friday its awsome I was their when he passed out right in front of my kids
Brogan could you contact me offline to give me details of what you saw???
I rode GateKeeper and was satisfied. It was a really long wait but it was a good coaster. I don’t think it was better the TTD but it was another great Cedar Point roller coaster! 10/10
I absolutely hated this ride. First, I sat down, was strapped in, and started smelling puke. I said something to the attendant, and the response was “yes, because someone just puked there.” I am appalled they didn’t leave the seat empty to air out and dry out. Totally disgusting! Then, after the first loop, the restraints tightened, and continued to tighten. I had a tank top on, and the straps were digging into my collar bones. I was miserable, and couldn’t wait to get off the ride! Sitting at the dock waiting seemed like forever because if the smell and crushing harness. When I unbuckled the belt, it was wet and there were vomit pieces in the latch. Worst CP experience ever. I do not recommend the Gatekeeper until restraints are fixed! 0/10!
I just rode this 2 days ago and I absolutely loved this ride! My third favorite only behind Dragster and MillenniumForce, this ride was so smooth! It was definitely a great ride I had the hour early pass, so I went to this first it only took about 10 minutes and I was sitting on GateKeeper. I love this ride because you actually can feel the effects of going up side down! I loved the Key hole above the entrance too. Definitely ride this if you go to Cedar Point
The Gatekeeper roller coaster has taken the top spot for roller coasters for me (formerly Diamondback in King’s Island). The first loop just lets you hang ridiculously long before sending you down. The keyhole barrel rolls are super intense. The restraints do certainly get a knock against the ride though as they tighten up really good on you during the progression on this ride and by the end I felt like a Boa Constrictor was squeezing the life out of me. We rode four times in a row testing the front and backs of both sides (front right was our favorite) and they were all super fun experiences. During our last ride of the evening however I had a pretty bad experience when I was riding solo and there was no one next to me so the seat restraints were pushed all the way down. I was raising my arms while going through the first hill and the momentum pushed the restraint down pinning my arm between my restraint and the empty restraint next to me. For the entire ride my arm was stuck and I could not physically move it even when I tried to use my other arm for leverage and the more the ride progressed the more that I thought my arm was going to break. Had said that, the ride is still outstanding and I wouldn’t let what happened mar my positive perspective on this fantastic engineered coaster masterpiece.
Sorta confused about all the people commenting on how “comfortable” the restraints were. I rode this front row 3 times, each time in a different seat and I must say I have never felt so claustrophobic in my life. The harness was already fairly tight as it automatically pulls itself toward your chest and actually wasn’t too bad until the ride started and we went for a few loops then the harness just tightened itself to the point where I had trouble exhaling my chest out. As soon as the ride stopped I had never wanted to get off a ride so bad in my life the harnesses press against your shoulders and chest WAAAY too much it is just ridiculous! I decided to give it 2 more tries but each time I just couldn’t enjoy the ride like I would have liked. The third time we got off the train behind us had a man screaming for help because he couldn’t breathe and just started panicking. They had security guys and a first aid team thgere right away when the train pulled back in. As my friend and I were exiting we even asked the atendant at the entrance if many people complained about the restraints and he said they got complaints all the time. I am not suprised. The ride is pretty good byt they NEED to do something about the restraint system because it puts too much pressure on the chest.
Great ride, love all of it, but you can’t bring bags into the line even though there are bins. Honestly I could care less about ever riding it again they really need to allow bags .
I had the same experience with the restraints tightening just momentarily when I was waiting to get off of Wild Eagle at Dollywood (a similar ride). The restraints are comfortable overall, but when that tightening happens it is very uncomfortable. I agree. It must not happen for everyone, but something should be done.
I would have really loved this ride if the harness was not so sickeningly tight. It’s a fantastic coaster and fills a need for a thrilling ride that is not too high (at least that was a need in my family!). But, as others have noted here, at least on some people the harness is so tight, and becomes much tighter during the ride, that the experience is fairly awful. However, I was with a group of 7 and only I had this experience. I think the ride must be mis-callibrated for people of a certain size to just squish you beyond tolerance. I was with 2 adults bigger than I am, and 4 children smaller, and they all thought it was kind of tight but not impossible. For me it was a deal breaker though – I have bruises on my collar bones and would not ride this coaster again unless they fix this problem.
I’m glad others brought up the restraints. I didn’t mention them in a previous post because I thought maybe my experience was a fluke. We only rode GK twice. I didn’t notice any issue with the restraints on our first ride. On the second ride, though, the restraints had tightened so much by mid-ride that it frightened me. By the end, they felt dangerously tight. I was afraid to move because I thought my movement might trigger them to tighten even more. They were so tight, I was actually worried they might break my collarbone. CP needs to fix this. Even if they do, we probably won’t ride GK very often because we found it pretty boring. However, I definitely won’t ride it again if the restraints aren’t fixed.
I loved the gatekeeper and walking into the park I was surprised at the coolness of it going over the main entrance. But I thought the dive drop was more rough than X-Flight and I liked X-Flight’s fly-throughs and themeing better than the GateKeeper’s
Rating: 9/10