Amusement Park News

Cedar Point has put its Monster to rest. Referring to the iconic ride at the Ohio theme park, Tony Clark, communications director for Cedar Point and Kings Island, explained it simply: “Monster has been permanently removed from our Cedar Fair ride lineup. It has reached the end of its serviceable life, as replacement parts are challenging to locate. It will not be relocated, and there are no plans for the site.”

The classic ride featured six bright, cheerful arms, each holding four cars with a capacity of two riders per car. The attraction lifted riders up and down while spinning rapidly.


Originally built by the now-defunct Eyerly Aircraft Company, the ride appealed to both children and families. “The Monster hasn't been produced in 50 to 60 years,” said Albert Friedan of Battech Enterprises, whose company supplies parts for many Eyerly-built rides. Following Cedar Point's retirement of the attraction, only a handful of Monster rides remain in operation, including those at Kings Island in Cincinnati, Ohio; Valleyfair in Minnesota; and Idlewild in Pennsylvania.

Located next to the Gemini roller coaster, the site now appears to be repurposed for landscaping rather than prepared for a replacement attraction. The park currently offers 66 rides to guests.

Still, parkgoers will feel the loss of the Monster flat ride. It was a memorable experience for longtime fans and often served as an introduction to thrill rides for younger visitors who were not yet ready for high-speed coasters. The ride delivered delighted screams, wild spins, and, at times, a sensation of weightlessness created by its rapid motion.


For some, the permanent closure came as a surprise. In 2014, during a revamp of the Gemini Midway, the ride received upgrades that included fresh paint and large monster-like eyes added to the cars for HalloWeekends. While it remained a beloved attraction, riders also experienced slow loading and unloading times in recent years.

Eyerly Aircraft closed in 1990, but the Monster continued operating thanks to support from successor companies. The rights to Eyerly's rides were first acquired by Oregon Rides and later by Battech Enterprises of Salem, Oregon. Battech remains active as a manufacturer of amusement rides and parts. In addition to its current product line, which includes the Cliff Hanger, Zero Gravity, and Downdraft, the company also supplies parts and service for classic manufacturers such as Eyerly, Dartron, Manco, Kilinski, and Hrubetz.


Even so, parts for the Monster have become increasingly difficult to obtain.

“The off-the-shelf parts like motors and gearboxes are obsolete and hard to find,” said Friedan. “We can supply manufactured and fabricated parts,” he added. Friedan noted that Battech had fulfilled parts requests for Cedar Fair in the past; however, harder-to-find components such as motors and gearboxes could not be sourced through the company.

Evidence of these challenges extends beyond Cedar Point. At Kings Island, the park's Monster did not operate throughout 2025. The park shared on social media that the ride was non-operational due to a part that needed to be fabricated, delivered, and installed.

At Valleyfair in Minnesota, the Monster has reportedly relied on spare parts sourced from the former Octopus ride at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City.

Taken together, these examples highlight a broader industry challenge in maintaining and operating Eyerly's long-running Monster attractions.

Rather than continue struggling to preserve the past, Cedar Point is reinforcing its identity as the Roller Coaster Capital of the World. The park recently introduced Siren's Curse, the fastest and tallest Vekoma tilt coaster in North America. Debuting in June 2025, the ride delivers a “broken track” experience that holds riders at a 90-degree angle before locking into place and dropping them nearly 160 feet. The coaster reaches speeds of 58 miles per hour and features two 360-degree barrel rolls, along with onboard audio and LED lighting.

This modern coaster represents a stark contrast to the spinning thrills of the now-retired Monster, marking the end of one era and the continued evolution of Cedar Point's ride lineup.