Millennium Force

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Millennium Force

The 310-foot (94 m) 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 ft (94 m)
Drop 300 ft (91 m)
Length 6,595 ft (2,010 m)
Max speed 93 mph (150 km/h)
Inversions 0
Duration 1:45
Max vertical angle 80°
Capacity 1,600 riders per hour
Cost US$ 25,000,000
Height restriction 4 ft 0 in (120 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, and was built by Intamin AG. The fourteenth roller coaster built at the park, its royal blue track stands 310 feet (95 m) tall at its highest point. The coaster overlooks Lake Erie. When it was built in 2000, it was briefly the tallest complete circuit roller coaster in the world, before being beaten by Steel Dragon 2000 and then Cedar Point's own Top Thrill Dragster. It is also the first roller coaster to utilize a cable lift system, rather than the traditional chain lift. The chain lift was too heavy considering that Magnum's chain was 7 short tons (6 t) and two-thirds as tall. The cable lift uses an 800-horsepower (600 kW) motor that turns a set of sprocket gears that pulls the cable. Cable lifts were previously only used on smaller coasters in Europe. After the 2007 season, Millennium Force gave almost 12 million rides total. Park guests must be at least 48 inches tall to ride.

Millennium Force has been voted the number one steel Coaster in the World five times since 2001, and has never been ranked lower than number two since it opened in 2000. [1]Millennium Force has switched the top position with Superman - Ride of Steel, a coaster of very similar construction, three times in the last seven years.

Today, Millennium Force is no longer the tallest or fastest roller coaster at Cedar Point, having been surpassed in height and speed by Top Thrill Dragster. Nonetheless, Millennium Force remains one of the tallest, fastest, and longest steel roller coasters in the world.[2]

Contents

[edit] The ride

While the train is being loaded in the station, the catch car for the cable lift descends 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 miles per hour (24 km/h) to a height of 310 feet (94 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 miles per hour (150 km/h) at the bottom. It then climbs 169 feet (52 m) 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 100-foot (30 m), 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-tall (21 m) right overbanked turn over the queue and then is brought to a stop by magnetic brakes.

[edit] Statistics

[edit] Physical dimensions

  • Angle of Lift Hill: 45 degrees
  • Angle of First Drop: 80 degrees
  • Second Hill Height: 169 ft (52 m)
  • Third Hill Height: 182 ft (55 m)

[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)

When it opened in May 2000, Millennium Force broke many world records including:

  • First ever complete circuit roller coaster to top 300 feet (91 m)
  • Tallest complete circuit roller coaster (310 feet (94 m))
  • Longest drop on a complete circuit roller coaster (300 feet (91 m))
  • Fastest complete circuit roller coaster (93 miles per hour (150 km/h))
  • Steepest non-inversion banked turn on a roller coaster (122°)
  • First coaster in the United States to utilize elevator lift system
  • First roller coaster to feature magnetic braking system

[edit] Rankings

Golden Ticket Awards: Top Steel Roller Coasters[3][4]
Year 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Ranking
2
1
1
2
1
1
2
2
Mitch Hawker's Internet Poll: Best Steel-Tracked Roller Coaster
Year 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Ranking
n/a[5]
3
3
3
4
3
6
4
NAPHA Survey: Favorite Steel Roller Coaster[6]
Year 2005 2006 2007
Ranking
1
1
1
Preceded by
Fujiyama		 World's Tallest Complete Circuit Roller Coaster
May 2000–August 2000		 Succeeded by
Steel Dragon 2000

[edit] Gallery

Millennium Force's 310 foot lift

Millennium Force's lift from a distance

Red train on the way up the hill

Millennium Force's 300 foot drop

Millennium Force's massive overbank

Millennium Force's lift and overbank

Millennium Force's first and second airtime hills

Millennium Force's final airtime hill at dusk

Millennium Force final overbank turn before brake

Millennium Force's cable tensor for its cable lifting system

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Cedar Point Wins Best Amusement Park Again!", The Point Online, 2007-09-05. Retrieved on 2007-12-20. 
  2. ^ "Roller Coaster Records", Ultimate Roller Coaster, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-12-20. 
  3. ^ Golden Ticket Awards - Top 25 Steel/Wooden Roller Coasters
  4. ^ Amusement Today
  5. ^ There was no poll in 2000.
  6. ^ Survey - National Amusement Park Historical Association

[edit] External links


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