MF Construction Site/Off Season 11/19

Jeff's avatar
(As posted to rec.roller-coaster on 11/22.)

I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to visit Cedar Point last Friday and get really up-close and personal with Millennium Force. Dan Haverlock and I were expecting to go up there, stand on Perimeter Rd., and take shoot some photos. We did a lot more than that.


Driving up the causeway can be a surreal experience for anyone who has never been to the point with that impressive skyline. That feeling has largely been restored for me with the lift towers only half-height. Just as we were driving past the site, they were installing the transfer table.


After driving past the Soak City lot, which is now packed wall-to-wall with track and partially assembled support towers, we parked at the marketing office. We met Bryan, our PR rep there, and we were on our way.



First stop was the Magnum pretzel. I thought it looked tall from the beach, but actually standing in the middle of it all is a bizzare experience. I had this feeling I was somewhere I shouldn't have been. The neat thing about seeing the structure from that angle was that I could finally see clearly how the ride was re-profiled, judging by the extended supports. I didn't realize it was quite as drastic a change as it was.



From there, we went under Magnum's first drop. Again, it was very weird to be there. It looks a lot shorter from that angle, since the steep part of the drop is relatively short.


Next we went to the top of the multi-person raft water slide in Soak City. This offered an interesting angle to shoot Magnum and the parking lot that looked like a giant erector set.


On the way over to the Millennium Force site, driving through Frontier Town, I noticed that there is a significant amount of re-tracking going on all over Mean Streak.


We parked at the MF cross-over on the Frontier Trail, and headed toward the island in the lagoon. The footers for the cross-over towers are about read? [corrupt data removed] ill pop you big time... I don't see how they couldn't. The last turn, which goes over the Giant Wheel site, is extremely steep. This will be coaster ecstasy, and it makes winter even harder to deal with.


On our way out, we noticed that Corkscrew has been running, as the trains (which are still on the ride), were all in different positions. We took a quick peak at the Giant Wheel pieces, which are all over the corner of the main parking lot.


I don't care what's in Japan... the greatest roller coaster to date in my book will be Millennium Force. We've got a HUGE winner on our hands. It's good to live in Ohio this year!


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Jeff
Webmaster/Guide to The Point *** This post was edited by Jeff on 9/21/2000. ***
Great TR!!! Did your PR guy ever tell you when the complete POV animation would be released to the public? *** This post was edit by CDCoolguy on 11/27/99. ***
Jeff's avatar
You'll know when I do!

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Jeff
Webmaster/Guide to The Point
Jeff,

What did you mean by the Magnum Pretzel being "Re-Profiled"?
Wow that sounded so cool. Boy you are luckey to have toured the site! Hey I have one question on the POV amination did it show any part of the ride with quick drops, like on the Magnum? I know on the drawing it only shows one quick drop on the final stretch, but I thaught the drawing might not be completley accurate. Well that sounded like quite a trip, and boy I can't wait untill May!

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-Chris
"Any day, is a great day, to ride a rollercoaster!"
You have probably answered this question somewhere else and I missed it, but, what is the final word on Aunt Em's amd the chicken bbq? Are they both still there or is one or the other history?
Jeff's avatar
The section of track leading into the Magnum pretzel used to dip further down... a lot further down. I don't remember the reason, but it was either hurting people or bleeding off too much speed. I don't remember which.

Em's isn't going anywhere, but the BBQ is where we parked. Sorry to be the one to break it to you! ;)

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Jeff
Webmaster/Guide to The Point
I'm sure we already discussed this somewhere before, but for whomever missed it -- Magnum's third hill was hurting people (as in bloody faces) and probably stressing the track and trains as well. It only operated in the original profile without brakes for about a month. It sure was fun though.

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