When you look at Millenium Force from the ground, you wonder what on earth its designers could have been thinking. With its 80° maximum descent from a height of over 300 feet, you wonder how the engineers would expect that anyone could withstand the sheer terror it would deliver. I know that when I contemplated the fact that MF reaches a speed of over 90 mph on that first hill, I was afraid that I would be in for a brutal trip around the bend and beyond. But then I looked over at the queue and saw all of the eager riders waiting to board--many of them returning guests--and it buoyed my confidence. So ... I got in line.
As I anticipated the experience, I was very much afraid that MF was going to do me in like so many high-G rides have in the past, but I knew that I HAD to experience this thing. Upon riding, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the Gs were not a major problem.
The initial descent (from the second row) definitely lived up (or down) to its billing. It felt like my eyes were dilating to the size of frying pans when we finally rounded the crest enough to see the bottom of the hill. It definitely looks like you are going straight down--and you nearly are! From there, you do reach incredible speeds, but MF is so smooth that the positive Gs are quite manageable. Once you get past the first hill, however, it is the negative Gs that deliver the big rewards as you speed over the tops of MFs many subsequent hills. The surprising changes in direction and tunnels at various points along the course, mix in some additional elements of fun.
I rode MF four times in one day and found each trip exhilarating. It is easily one of the best thrill machines in the world--at least I cant imagine that there are very many that could beat it. MF made it worth the six-hour drive to get to Cedar Point.
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