How will Intimidator 305 stack up against Millennium Force

Very true ... and the layout is what changes a lot of the time. No you can't beat the view of Lake Erie when going over Magnums second hill, but a lot of the time much of the difference lies within how the roller coaster's layout was planned. Kings Island's Diamondback is a much better ride than Carowind's Intimidator partly because it goes through the woods and the final splash pool, while Carowinds travels along the edge of a parking lot!

Getting back to the topic at hand though ... I can't wait to ride I-305 this Saturday and finally decide for myself which is better! I think I-305 has a lot of potential to beat Millennium since it takes the best of 2 of m favorite roller coasters (Millennium's height and Maverick's ground hugging aspects)!

I-305 sounds incredible. I'm hoping to make a trip sometime this summer.

Ensign Smith said:
There's a great reason -- they're three different credits! Seriously, where did you go to enthusiast school at? ;)

There ya go, the voice of reason as always.;) I cant wait to get my new credits this year.

BOY I love being an enthusiast.:)

The cycles were clean and fast all weekend. They were only running 2 trains all weekend, but they were FAST! I got 3 rides in the first 40 minutes the park was open this morning. Later in the day wait times were around 40 minutes, but it was moving. Some of the other coasters NOT as fast. It appears the best workers were put on I305.

Adam, thank goodness you gave me that winkie. I was almost ready to start taking myself seriously there for a minute. ;)

;);) No problem ;);)

Get To The Point said:
...I am not liking how Cedar Fair is putting the same coaster (for the most part) in their parks around the country. It seems like a six flags move, not something Cedar Fair should be doing (I understand with Power Tower type rides, but not for roller coasters).

And it won't matter to 99% of the people who go to any of those parks. Nobody cares.

Feels like the Clone Wars of 1999. It's just as tired of an issue today.

Just got back from a great Weekend at Kings Dominion. I305 is menacing to look at, being one of the tallest structures in the park. This ride is a great people eater for the park, it was much needed. Our longest wait for the weekend on I305 was about 30 minutes and that was with a full queue wait. We were able to ride I305 Ten times in a matter of 2 hours on Friday, which was amazing.

For the most part it was reliable, but there were some minor technical difficulties on a few instances. The biggest hiccup they encountered was with its silver train liking to release its anti-rollbacks near the bottom of the lift. It made a rather unpleasant banging noise (which most of us should be familiar with) as it started its accent up the lift. On Saturday, they transfered off the Silver train for most of the day making I305 only have one train in operation.

Operations in general at the ride were not bad, but I don't expect to see Cedar Point like operation in the first week of operation. It was rather killer that they only had two hosts checking trains on Friday making the wait time just a bit longer, but Saturday they did have four hosts on platform.

The Ride

The ride in all is really good and one of the best rides in the park. The lift hill wastes no time to get you to the top and on your way. You really do not have much time to think before you plunge the 300 feet back down to the ground. The first turn has the most sustained g-forces you will ever find on any coaster. Millennium Force was hit or miss in having me gray out, but on I305 it's a common experience. Out of my twelve rides total this weekend, there was only one where I didn't gray out; I was sitting in the twelfth row.

The airtime hill is quick at getting you back to your senses and provides great Maverick-like ejector air through the entire hill no matter where you sit. The "Twisty" part of the ride is a lot of fun. Even with the OTSR's I found less head and neck banging then what can be found on Maverick. It's almost as if Intamin engineered the quick transitions a little bit differently to reduce the chances of severe head movement.

Now for the part of the ride that really disappointed me every time we passed through, the trim brake. You have a large amount of energy still built up, lots of speed and the pacing up to this point is fantastic. Then you hit the trim, which does slow down the train a considerable amount. Noticeable enough to make me want to cry every time the train passes over it. It absolutely kills the pace of the ride, making for a lackluster rest of the ride to the final brake.

The final transition before the brake run is comparable to Raptor's final transition to its brake run in my mind. It had rather awkward banking and if you are not careful you could get a good jolt to the head or neck before leveling out and slowing to a stop. I still don't understand why they had to make the brake run like that. I think it is because of the tight transition to the brake run we have the trims to begin with.

Overall, I305 has a lot to offer, but still came up a little short. The ride up to the trim brake will not disappoint anyone, but the trim brake is what killed the ride for me. I305 had so much potential, but it still is a good reason to visit again.

I couldn't have said it any better. I agree with Everything you said.

I think the trim is psychological, and even then, only to enthusiasts. There's almost nothing left of the ride at that point... one more peak, a right then left turn, and into the final brakes.

BGRooDoG said:
The final transition before the brake run is comparable to Raptor's final transition to its brake run in my mind. It had rather awkward banking and if you are not careful you could get a good jolt to the head or neck before leveling out and slowing to a stop. I still don't understand why they had to make the brake run like that.

I could be wrong but I believe that Raptor's final brake run was CPs idea, not B&Ms. B&M didnt want the 1st brake run on the main brake after the final helix because it would be rough. CP felt for safety reasons better to have that addtional brake run.
Again, this is what I heard so Idk how true it is....

Jo
Lifetime Raptor flights: 2175 :)

I rode Intimidator 305 three times on Saturday and I have to agree with everything BGRooDoG said. I loved the ride and it was what I expected ... a combination of both Millennium Force and Maverick. I do think the break run near the end ruins (somewhat) a possible great ending to the ride. The ride keeps the speed up throughout the entire ride and you feel the speed as you are about to go up over the next bunny hop and then they put in the brake run ... and let me tell you, you feel it! I don't know if anyone doesn't wonder what the ending would be like if you didn't have those breaks. It's almost the ending of the ride by the break run, but there was still enough time to get in 2 or 3 more thrills in! Great ride overall and think it gives Millennium a run for its money (I think 305 is better), but not as good as Maverick.