Millennium Force
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Millennium Force is a steel roller coaster located at Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. Manufactured by Intamin, it was the park's fourteenth roller coaster when it opened in 2000, dating back to the opening of Blue Streak in 1964. Upon completion, Millennium Force broke five world records and was the world's first giga coaster, a term coined by Intamin and Cedar Point to represent roller coasters that exceed 300 feet (91 m) in height. It was briefly the tallest and fastest in the world until Steel Dragon 2000 opened later the same year. The ride is also the third-longest roller coaster in North America following The Beast at Kings Island and Fury 325 at Carowinds.
Millennium Force features a 310-foot-tall (94 m) cable lift hill with a 300-foot (91 m) drop, two tunnels, three
History
The planning, design and development phases of Millennium Force took place over five years, from 1996 to 2000.[4] The first rumors that a new record-breaking roller coaster would be built at Cedar Point, which included speculation about a ten-inversion roller coaster from Bolliger & Mabillard and an Arrow Dynamics MegaLooper, began circulating in early 1998.[5][6] A roller coaster from D. H. Morgan Manufacturing was also rumored.[7] On July 2, 1999, Cedar Fair Entertainment Company filed a trademark for the name Millennium Force,[8] which raised more speculation about what the ride would be like.[9] About a week later, the first track pieces were seen at the park, and it was confirmed that the ride would be manufactured by Intamin. Cedar Point officials also confirmed that it would not have inversions.[10]
Announcement and construction
Millennium Force was announced on July 22, 1999. Construction started in August 1999 when the site was cleared.
The ride's construction took seven months, and 120 construction workers and project managers participated. Testing took two months.[4] The park conducted a "pull-through" by pulling a train along the course to ensure proper clearance. The ride was inspected and tested with water-dummies on the trains.[17]
The first media event was held on May 11, 2000, and the ride opened to the public two days later on May 13. When it opened, it broke six world records. It was the first Giga Coaster and was the world's fastest complete-circuit roller coaster, but was later overtaken by other rides.[23][24] The ride was so popular that guests consistently waited three to four hours to board.[25] About a month after Millennium's debut, Cedar Point introduced a virtual queue system, "Ticket to Ride", which allowed visitors to buy a ticket then return later and wait in a shorter line.[26][27][25] In August, Cedar Point engaged John Hancock and Associates and Stalker Radar of Indianapolis to measure the height and speed of Millennium Force. The height was measured at 310 feet 11 inches (94.77 m), and the speed was measured at 93 miles per hour (150 km/h), slightly faster than what the park had been advertising (92 mph (148 km/h)).[28]
Before the start of the 2004 season, Millennium Force's seat belts were modified because of an incident that occurred on Opening and modifications
For the 2020 season, following the COVID-19 pandemic, timed boarding passes called "Access Passes" were used temporarily to comply with social distancing guidelines in effect at the time.[33]
Incidents
On September 2, 2001, the cable used to haul trains up the lift broke during a morning test run, resulting in the stranding of 30 park employees at the top of the coaster's lift hill 275 feet (84 m) above ground. It took about an hour for all employees to be brought down.[34]
In July 2023, a duck flew into a moving train and reportedly became trapped between a seat and a portion of the ride train. The duck was removed by a guest, who turned it over to Guest Services, and the duck was later turned over to wildlife rehabilitation services.[35]
Ride experience
Queue
Millennium Force's entrance is located behind the Cedar Point & Lake Erie Railroad's Millennium Midway station. The queue is situated between the ride's last overbanked turn and the station. A DJ booth is provided to entertain waiting visitors; the park's "Jamming DJ's" take requests for family friendly songs from people in the queue.[36] It was then replaced by Cedar Point's FUNtv, which plays music videos of popular songs, the Gatekeeper/Maverick shuffle, park trivia, sports news, park advertisements, weather forecasts, and popular news headlines. About a month after Millennium's debut, Cedar Point introduced a new queue system known as "Ticket to Ride" (later Fast Lane) to reduce the wait time. Visitors could buy tickets then return later and wait in a shorter line.[26][27] This system was discontinued in 2004 after several people complained it was unfair that others were going ahead of them in line.[37] In 2012, Cedar Point introduced its Fast Lane queue system on the ride; visitors can buy a wristband which enables them to wait in a shorter line.[38] The system was tested at Kings Island the previous year, where it received positive reviews.[37]
Layout
Millennium Force covers 13 acres (5.3 ha); it runs parallel to the shoreline of Sandusky Bay, then travels to an island located inside the park. There are two tunnels, three overbanked turns and three hills.[24][39] One cycle of the ride takes approximately 2 minutes and 20 seconds.[40]
While the train is being loaded with passengers, the catch car for the
Characteristics
Manufacturer
Millennium Force is a Giga Coaster model designed by Werner Stengel and built by Swiss manufacturer Intamin.
Trains
Millennium Force operates with three stainless steel,
Station
The
Track
The steel tubular track is 6,595 feet (2,010 m) long and the lift is approximately 310 feet (94 m) high.[40] The track is blue and the supports are silver. The track consists of 229 pieces, each weighing between 11,000 and 17,000 pounds (5,000 and 7,700 kg).[4] Intamin supplied the track with hollow structural sections (HSS), which is used in all the track pieces, supports and towers. Millennium Force uses three different track shapes. The simplest sections are two-pipe track, made with two running rails connected by 6-inch (15 cm) square HSS cross-members. The ride also uses three-pipe track, which has two running rails with a backbone of round HSS, which forms a triangle. The third type of track forms a square and is considered the strongest. It has two running rails with two backbone tubes.[47] As both a high altitude and high velocity ride, Millennium Force is affected by unfavorable weather conditions such as rain, lightning or strong winds; under these conditions the ride is closed, but in light rain it can remain open.[44]
Lighting
When the ride opened in 2000, Cedar Point chose High End Systems, headquartered in Austin, Texas, to light the ride. Rob Decker, Cedar Point's Corporate Director of Planning & Design, said that they thought they would have to mount multiple floodlights on the tower. However, they were able to install thirty EC-1 floodlights at the base of the lift hill structure which provided lighting throughout the ride's structure. Of the six main support towers, three had six EC-1s, and three towers had four EC-1s. The three tallest towers had another unit in the middle.[48]
Over the years, the lights were not maintained and grew noticeably dimmer. In 2012, Cedar Point introduced a nighttime show,
Records
When it opened in May 2000, Millennium Force broke five world records among roller coasters and introduced a new magnetic braking system instead of the commonly used
Millennium Force's records as the tallest and fastest complete-circuit roller coaster were broken several months later in August when Steel Dragon 2000 opened.[50][25] It remained the tallest and fastest at Cedar Point until 2003, when the park debuted Top Thrill Dragster, the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world.[51]
Roller coaster records
Millennium Force held the following records at the time of its debut:[13][39]
- 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°) (Half Corkscrew)
Park records
At the time of Millennium Force's debut, Cedar Point held records for the following:[13][39]
- Most rides at an amusement park (68)
- Most roller coasters at an amusement park (14)
- Most steel roller coasters at an amusement park (12)
- Most feet of roller coaster track at an amusement park (44,013 ft)
Reception
Millennium Force has one of the longest lines in the park, with passengers waiting over four hours when the ride debuted.
Rankings
Millennium Force has consistently ranked high in various polls and has won numerous awards. Millennium Force and
Year | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ranking | 2[64] | 1[65] | 1[66] | 2[67] | 1[68] | 1[60] | 2[69] | 2[70] | 2[71] | 2[72] | 1[73] | 1[74] | 1[55] | 1[75] | 1[76] | 1[77] | 2[78] | 2[79] | 2[80] | 2[81] | 2[82] | 3[83] | 2[84] |
NAPHA Survey: Favorite Steel Roller Coaster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | ||||||||||||||||
Ranking | 1[85] | 1[85] | 1[85] | 1[85] | 1[85] | 1[85] | 1[85] | 1[85] | 1[85] | 1[85] | 1[85] | 1[85] | 1[85] | 2[85] |
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External links
- Official Millennium Force page
- Millennium Force at the Roller Coaster DataBase
- Millennium Force at The Point Online
- Millennium Force at Coaster-Net