Millennium Force

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Millennium Force
The 310 foot hill of Millennium Force
Location	Cedar Point
Park Section	Frontier Trail
Type	Steel
Status	Open
Opened	May 13, 2000
Manufacturer	Intamin AG
Designer	Ingenieur Büro Stengel GmbH
Model	Gigacoaster
Track layout	Out and Back
Lift/launch system	Cable lift hill
Height	310 feet (94.5 m)
Drop	300 feet (91.4 m)
Length	6,595 feet (2,010.2 m)
Max speed	93 mile per hour (149.7 km/h)
Inversions	0
Duration	1:45
Max Vertical Angle	80 degrees
Capacity	1,600 riders per hour
Cost	US$ 25,000,000
Height Restriction	48 inches (121.9 cm)
Millennium Force at RCDB
Pictures of Millennium Force at RCDB

Millennium Force is a steel roller coaster located at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. The fourteenth roller coaster built at the park, it is a royal blue structure and stands 310 feet (95 meters) tall at its highest point. The coaster lookes over the shining waters of Lake Erie. When it was built in 2000, it was briefly the tallest complete circuit roller coaster in the world. It is also the first roller coaster to "popularize" a cable lift system, rather than the traditional chain lift. Cable lifts were previously only used on smaller coasters in Europe.

Millennium Force has been voted the #1 Steel Coaster in the World five times since 2001, and has never been ranked lower than #2 since it opened in 2000. [1][2][3]

Today, Millennium Force is no longer the tallest roller coaster in Cedar Point, having been surpassed in height and speed by Top Thrill Dragster. Nonetheless, Millennium Force remains one of the tallest continuous circuit roller coasters in the world, and one of the most popular rides at Cedar Point.

Contents 1 The ride 2 Statistics 2.1 Physical Dimensions 2.2 Design 2.3 Vehicles 2.4 World records (2000) 3 Trivia 4 External links

[edit] The ride

While the train is being loaded in the station, the catch car for the cable lift descends down the lift and latches onto the middle car of the train. Once the train is cleared, the cable lift pulls the train up a 45 degree lift hill at 15 mph (24 km/h) to a height of 310 feet (95 m). After reaching the top, the train drops 300 feet (91 m) down at an 80 degree angle and reaches a top speed of 93 mph (150 km/h) at the bottom. It then climbs 169 feet through a right overbanked turn at 122 degrees from the horizontal axis, then travels through a tunnel as it passes over the Frontier Trail midway. It then travels over a 182 foot (55 m) parabolic hill, which provides a moment of "air time" as it passes over a lagoon and down onto Millennium Island. While on Millennium Island, the train completes a 360 degree right-handed helix, followed by a left overbanked turn and then a small right-hand turn before traveling over another airtime-filled hill to exit the island. After exiting the island, the train travels left through a second tunnel, then travels over a small "bunny hop" over the station exit before passing by the queue. Finally, the train travels through a 68 foot (21 m) right overbanked turn over the queue and then is brought to a stop by magnetic brakes.

[edit] Statistics

[edit] Physical Dimensions

• Height Requirement: 48 in / 122 cm
• Angle of Lift Hill: 45 degrees
• Second Hill Height: 169 ft / 51.5 m
• Third Hill Height: 182 ft / 55.5 m
  

[edit] Design

• Model: Out-and back coaster
• Structure: Steel tubular track
• Features: Tiered seating on the coaster's cars for better viewing (similar to stadium seating); 110-122-degree overbanked turns (extremely banked, but not quite inverted); Two tunnels; Elevator cable system- first of its kind in the world; New magnetic braking system
  

[edit] Vehicles

• Coaches: Nine four-passenger coaches on each train; Three 36-passenger trains
• Design: Stainless steel coaches featuring stadium seating style seating arrangements with individual hydraulic lap bars and seat belt
  

[edit] World records (2000)

1. Tallest complete circuit roller coaster (310 ft / 95.5 m)
2. Longest drop on a complete circuit roller coaster (300 ft / 91.5 m)
3. Most roller coasters at one park (14)
4. Most rides at one park (68)
5. First complete circuit roller coaster to top 300 feet
6. Most steel roller coasters at one park (12)
7. Most roller coaster track at one park (44,013 ft / 13,415 m)
8. First coaster in the United States to utilize elevator lift system
9. Steepest non-inversion banked turn on a roller coaster (122°)
10. First roller coaster to feature magnetic braking system

[edit] Trivia

• A rumor was started stating that Millennium Force opened with a green train, and that it derailed into Lake Erie. This rumor is completely false, and the ride has never had a green train; the ride is also located near Sandusky Bay vice Lake Erie.
• The coaster had many motor box problems in its 2006 season. [A motor box is a component that operates the lift hill]. During the latter half of the season, it suffered a considerable amount of downtime. A new motor had to be flown in from Switzerland, the location of the ride's manufacturer.
• The park's giant ferris wheel had to be moved in order to fit this ride. It currently is located near the beach in front of Wicked Twister.

Golden Ticket Awards: Best Steel Coaster
Year	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Ranking	2	1	1	2	1	1	2

Preceded by Fujiyama

World's Tallest Complete Circuit Roller Coaster May 2000–August 2000

Succeeded by Steel Dragon 2000

[edit] External links

• Cedar Point Official Website

Roller coasters at Cedar Point
Blue Streak - Cedar Creek Mine Ride - Corkscrew - Disaster Transport - Gemini - Iron Dragon - Jr. Gemini - Magnum XL-200 - Mantis - Maverick - Mean Streak - Millennium Force - Raptor - Top Thrill Dragster - Wicked Twister - WildCat - Woodstock Express