The Gemini opened at Cedar Point in 1978 and featured two racing trains on one of the tallest and fastest hill tracks in the United States. It is the third oldest roller coaster in the park, just behind the Blue Streak and Cold Creek Mine Ride.
The Gemini remained popular for a long time and still can attract a decent line when some of the other coasters are down for maintenance.
It still remains a fun ride and gives a decent thrill despite its age.
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History of the Gemini
The structure is considered a steel hybrid due to the track’s use of tubular steel, which sits on a wooden support structure.
Two trains, red and blue, are dispatched on two tracks that run side-by-side throughout most of the ride until briefly diverging into separate helices and coming back together to finish the ride.
The coaster’s 125-foot lift hill sends riders down a 118-foot drop at a 55-degree angle up to 60 miles per hour.
The Gemini roller coaster has one of the highest capacities of any ride in the park. Gemini’s station previously featured a double-sided entry, allowing guests to enter the station from both the front and the back.
Eventually modified to have guests only enter from the back of the station, the stairway formerly used for the queue at the front of the station still remains.
When conditions permit, Gemini’s trim brakes are disengaged, and a slightly faster ride is experienced. This is especially noticeable when traveling through the helices at the end.
When the ride opens in the morning (or when attendance is low), the ride only operates one colored side. Originally, Gemini operated 3 trains on each side of the roller coaster for a total of 6 trains. It has since been brought down to 2 trains on each side.
Conclusion
The Gemini holds a special memory for me. When I was a kid, I can remember riding the ride multiple times with my grandpa.
I can remember him laughing the entire time, and he rode it with each of his grandchildren who were able. He rode it so many times that, in the end, he got a little sick. Great memories.