Millennium Force is Cedar Point's new coaster for the 2000 season. It's biggest features are a 300 foot drop, over banked turns, and a top speed of 93.2mph. Like most coasters at Cedar Point, this is one big snore......NOT! Millennium Force is the tallest and fastest closed-circuit rollercoaster in the United States and is the first rollercoaster to be above 300 feet tall. This, my friends, is a modern marvel of engineering. Cedar Point shelled out $25 million dollars for this machine and it was worth every last penny.

When the Cedar Point executives announced at the IAAPA trade show in 1999 that they were going to build the tallest and fastest rollercoaster on the planet, rollercoaster enthusiasts rejoiced. The Point kept the crowd informed with detailed explanations of the construction, as well as up to date pictures, almost on a weekly basis. As the rollercoaster grew nearer to completion, the crowd grew even more anxious. "Would this coaster live up to the hype?" they asked. Let's take a look...

The layout of Millennium Force is actually pretty basic. You go up the big hill, around a few turns, up a few smaller hills, and arrive at the station. There are no inversions in the entire course. There are also no brakes, except for those at the very end.

The Force is directly across from "Mantis". The queue makes its way back and forth inside the Force's final turnaround and brake run. In the final section of the queue, you are about 7 feet away from the track...and the trains as they come roaring by at about 55mph!

As you enter the loading platform, make sure you grab a front seat on this beast. No other seat can compare. After waiting for what will probably seem like forever, your train pulls up and you begin to load. Sit down in those comfy seats and fasten your safety belt. Proceed to pull the main restraint down...a lap bar. That's right folks, tallest coaster in the US doesn't even have a harness. The ride ops give the "thumbs up" and the car starts lazily up the lift hill. All of a sudden....<WHAM> we start 'cruisin up the lift hill. You see, the Millennium Force uses a new "elevator" style lift to pull you up the lift in in only 22 seconds! About half way up the hill, you'll probably begin to notice how the cars have no sides! This makes for a feeling of openness uparalled in rollercoaster design.

As you approach the top of the lift hill... you begin to level out. For about 2 seconds, you're on top of the world. And then... we begin to tip over, ever so slowly. And then....the rest of the train makes it over the lift hill and the real fun begins. Lift up your arms and shout for joy as you cruise down the best drop of any coaster... ever made! Down we plummet...mere feet off the ground. We race back up into the Force's first overbanked turn. 186 feet up and 122 degrees to the side is how we turn. Trust me when I say it's a one-of-a-kind experience to be held into a rollercoaster because of sheer speed.

Around the fastest 180 on any coaster we go. Down through a tunnel. Aah... a moment of darkness. That half second doesn't last long. We shoot out nearly straight up into the Force's 2nd highest elevation of 187 feet. Just a smooth little hill compared to the big one! Down we go turning first right, then left. Through another overbanked turn we race. To the right where, yet again, an overbanked turn is poised to meet us. We race up it an dive back toward the earth. When we are only five feet off the ground, we spring up into the Millennium Force's 3rd largest hillof 65 feet. Down we go, still cruising at about 55 miles per hour, yet never passing over a centimeter of track that hasn't been built for perfection.

Racing through another tunnel, we make a sharp left where a set of cameras captures our smiles. We speed over a small bunny hop and fly right past the queue. After the fly-by, we hit the final strait away before the last overbanked turn. The last overbanked turn is such an awesome way to end an incredible ride. We then hit the Force's super cool magnetic brake run and enter the unloading station. Much clapping and shouts of enjoyment are heard =).

This is the most incredible rollercoaster on the planet. Period. Nothing tops this. It is totally incredible! When the Magnum XL-200 was built in 1989, it totally shattered every other coaster on the planet. Cedar Point has shattered every other coaster with Millennium Force. After riding it, other coasters seem to pale in comparisson. It's just so awesome. If there's one park you absolutely must hit this upcomming summer, make it Cedar Point, if for no other reason than to ride this awe-inducing, one of a kind ride.