Millenium Force
I stood in line for 3&1/2 hours in the pouring rain, through 2 shut downs to ride the "Mother" of all coasters...AND IT WAS WORTH EVERY MINUTE OF IT. The ride is awsome, and that is putting it very, very mildly. COME TO OHIO, RIDE MILLENIUM FORCE. To quote Kevin Costner, "If you build it, they will come"
Finally made it on MF today. At the risk of getting lynched here, I give it a qualified thumbs up. The speed is incredible how it is sustained throughout the ride. The elevator lift up, and the first hill are fantastic. Pretty hard to tell 80 degrees from straight down. Nice airtime over the second and third hills. Overbanked turns are very nice, and the ride is smooth as silk throughout. Excellent seating. (even with gimmicky seatbelts)
So what's not to like? Aside from the speed, it's not particularly exciting. (TOO smooth??) A descending helix on the island building G forces would have been nice. ala Steel Force/Mamba. More bunny hop hills near the end are definitely missing. There's a nice little whoop next to the station, but only one. Would have liked to see a series of them. Perhaps space constraints were the big factor there. It's certainly not for a lack of inertia, the ride is still cooking along in that section near the end. And finally, as big as the trains are, 4 abreast seating would be a nice feature (capacity)that doesn't seem like it would have increased train size as much as one would think.
I say all this thinking about Magnum and what makes it one of the top rated coasters year after year. The size is no longer a novelty, nor even the first drop steepness. It's all the little things that went into it's design and how they all work together that make it a favorite over and over. Yes, we rode that today, and it's a blast even after MF. As is Raptor for good reasons discussed elsewhere.
MF is a VERY GOOD ride, and currently incomparable. Perhaps more exposure to it will help my appreciation of it. (it's over in a blur!) But I can't help feeling like it's going to be "just another 300' coaster" 5 or 10 years from now.
Let the outcry begin! :)
A 6 year CP season pass holder...
So what's not to like? Aside from the speed, it's not particularly exciting. (TOO smooth??) A descending helix on the island building G forces would have been nice. ala Steel Force/Mamba. More bunny hop hills near the end are definitely missing. There's a nice little whoop next to the station, but only one. Would have liked to see a series of them. Perhaps space constraints were the big factor there. It's certainly not for a lack of inertia, the ride is still cooking along in that section near the end. And finally, as big as the trains are, 4 abreast seating would be a nice feature (capacity)that doesn't seem like it would have increased train size as much as one would think.
I say all this thinking about Magnum and what makes it one of the top rated coasters year after year. The size is no longer a novelty, nor even the first drop steepness. It's all the little things that went into it's design and how they all work together that make it a favorite over and over. Yes, we rode that today, and it's a blast even after MF. As is Raptor for good reasons discussed elsewhere.
MF is a VERY GOOD ride, and currently incomparable. Perhaps more exposure to it will help my appreciation of it. (it's over in a blur!) But I can't help feeling like it's going to be "just another 300' coaster" 5 or 10 years from now.
Let the outcry begin! :)
A 6 year CP season pass holder...
To say something is "unbiased" would mean it's without opinion, and that's not the case here. Just thought I'd point that out since the word gets tossed around a lot.
Comparisons to what makes Magnum a great coaster are common when talking about The Force, and that's not surprising given Magnum's consistant popularity. I was chatting with Dick Kinzel (Cedar Fair CEO) about that and I think he summed it up nicely:
"We didn't want to build another Magnum, we just wanted to build a coaster that was fast, start to finish."
While it might not be everyone's cup of tea, I'd say he got what he asked for.
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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
Comparisons to what makes Magnum a great coaster are common when talking about The Force, and that's not surprising given Magnum's consistant popularity. I was chatting with Dick Kinzel (Cedar Fair CEO) about that and I think he summed it up nicely:
"We didn't want to build another Magnum, we just wanted to build a coaster that was fast, start to finish."
While it might not be everyone's cup of tea, I'd say he got what he asked for.
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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
I think I get frustrated when people give reviews that you know are based on their love for CP. Nothing wrong with that really, but I like when people review a coaster as if the park it was in were irrelavant. I can honestly say that SFNE Superman is the best steel coaster I have ever ridden, located in one of my least favorite parks, but that's not the coaster's fault.
Hey, it's all good, and I understand what you mean. The Villain is my favorite woodie without contest, and you know I'm no fan of TPFKAGL. On the other hand, I love Kennywood ("Kennywood is a very good value") but could do without Steel Phantom. The problem is that you take a lot of crap from people when you run a Cedar Point site, and furthermore have high standards for operation, only coincidentally set by said park.
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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
I would have to agree with Jeff, if speed was the goal, speed they got! And lots of it!
Of course everyone has their preferences in what makes the "perfect" coaster. It's a good thing too, or else there would be one design for a coaster. And even if that was "perfect", it would sure get boring quickly. Though not "perfect" in my biased eyes, MF is a still quite an experience!
Hmmm, is it too late for me to go to college to become a coaster engineeer? :) Prolly a bad idea based on my RCT designs, 8 G loops tend to break the average park patron. ("I feel very sick")lol
My opinion, though I try to make it honest is indeed a "little" biased. We love CP/Soak City. I don't get to a lot of other parks outside the Cedar Fair family for cost reasons. With 4 kids, it gets difficult to choke down the admission, travel expense, food etc etc etc. Announcing to them "I'm going to King's Island today and you guys aren't!" just doesn't go over well. :)
Of course everyone has their preferences in what makes the "perfect" coaster. It's a good thing too, or else there would be one design for a coaster. And even if that was "perfect", it would sure get boring quickly. Though not "perfect" in my biased eyes, MF is a still quite an experience!
Hmmm, is it too late for me to go to college to become a coaster engineeer? :) Prolly a bad idea based on my RCT designs, 8 G loops tend to break the average park patron. ("I feel very sick")lol
My opinion, though I try to make it honest is indeed a "little" biased. We love CP/Soak City. I don't get to a lot of other parks outside the Cedar Fair family for cost reasons. With 4 kids, it gets difficult to choke down the admission, travel expense, food etc etc etc. Announcing to them "I'm going to King's Island today and you guys aren't!" just doesn't go over well. :)
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