A Blast From The Past - Millennium Force, The Rest Of The Story...So Far!

So, here we are a decade later and Millennium Force still attracts a crowd. Although. early entry for passholders and resort guests have lessened the fury of the"running of the bulls," it's not uncommon to still wait an hour to experience the ride.


And, it's still favorite of park guests of all ages, even though it not the tallest or fastest coaster in the world, or in the park anymore.




Millennium force still provides a fast trip up the lift hill, and an even faster trip down the other side. And,it's still very smooth and very re-ridable. And, it will always be the 1st "giga" coaster on the planet!

A coaster of Millennium Force's magnitude deserves a special celebration, so on August 21, 2010 Cedar Point hosted a gathering to celebrate ten years of the Force. Luke Skywalker couldn't make and neither was Obi Wan Kenobi. But Brian Edwards was and he emceed the ceremonies. He talked about the records that were broken with the new ride. Cookies were passed out during his remarks.

He introduced John Hildebrandt, Vice President and General Manager of Cedar Point. John said that over 17 million guests had "felt the force" during its first ten years. He said people still cheer on the brake run, and he wanted to especially thank the maintenance crews and ride operators for the excellent decade.

Brian then introduced Dick Kinzel, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Cedar Fair, LP. He expressed appreciation for the enthusiasts who voted for Millennium Force in all the polls. The coaster has been ranked 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in every year of its existence.

Dick then thanked all the guests, saying, "Without your support this wouldn't have been possible."

Brian then concluded the event by reiterating, "It's a great coaster from start to finish," and he brought a rousing cheer when he said "It's time to ride."

The crowd swarmed the entrance but we took a different path. Robin Innes, Director of Public Relations offered News Plus Notes readers a behind the scenes tour of the world's first 300 foot coaster.

The rain held off long enough for us to complete the tour. Thanks again Robin, both for the opportunity, and holding off the rain.

Sabrina's Brochure Spotlight: Worlds of Fun 1995

The year 1995 was a turbulent one for Worlds of Fun, and I'm not just talking about their latest attraction. (More on that momentarily.) It was in June of that year that the park and its accompanying water park, Oceans of Fun, became Cedar Fair properties. But before that came to pass, this brochure was printed--which explains the distinctive lack of traditional Cedar Fair branding.

Even before Cedar Fair acquired controlling interest in these two parks, they were always on the lookout to expand their offerings. This year saw the addition of two new attractions--one at each park--but their creative team wasn't quite ready to let the cat out of the bag on the brochure cover. That would have been too easy. They're actually going to make us open it to discover what this "cyclone warning" business is all about. Horrors!! Well, if we must...

Hmm...This still doesn't explain exactly what those new attractions were, but at least now we have names: Cyclone Sam's Cloudpoofer 2000 and Captain Kidds. Allow me to unravel this mystery for you. Cyclone Sam's is an enclosed and heavily themed Chance Morgan Wipeout (you can read all about its background here), while Captain Kidds is an interactive children's water playground which takes the form of a pirate ship.

Combine those two attractions with the others pictured here (not to mention those whose names appear within the blue border) and "Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun might be too much fun for just one day!" Hey, wait a minute--"might be"? What's this "might be" stuff? Let's not get wishy-washy in our marketing, WoF! It's your job to convince me and the rest of the riding, sliding world that your fine amusement establishment IS too much fun for a single day. (Fortunately for you, I am easy to convince.)

Finally, a photo of that ever elusive kiddie pirate ship. There you have it, my friends: Captain Kidds, upper left-hand corner. When you've finished surveying all that Oceans of Fun had to offer in 1995 on the left panel, you'd better break out your microscopes for the right one. Virtually blind people such as myself do not appreciate fonts of this size! That's just cruel. Well, if nothing else, my contacts are good enough to tell you that Celebrate America, The Big Thrill, and Boo! Blast were the three big festivals featured at Worlds of Fun in 1995. As for the concerts and other fine print (pun definitely intended), you're on your own!

Assorted Six Flags News Bits

Among several larger Six Flags announcements today I've noticed some other juicy tidbits on different park webpages, all of which I figured I'd cover at once.

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom has the image of a large box on its website, taunting that it cannot be opened until 2011. The park promises that "something big is coming your way," and with few rumors around as to what it could be, well, this could be promising. Or not! I don't know! That's the fun part of this. With how out of left field Six Flags Over Georgia's announcement was, it could be anything, really.

On a more concrete note, Six Flags Fiesta Texas - known for its world class live entertainment - announced that the park's aging Lone Star Spectacular will receive a mega-facelift in 2011. The show will still use the park's 100 ft. quarry walls, as well as fireworks and lasers to entertain guests, but next year it will have an all new storyline and technical effects. The park will also debut a "spectacular new show" in the Zaragoza Theatre - but details won't be announced until Spring.

Today was also the reveal of Six Flags Great America's new water park expansion for 2011. After a creative slow-reveal on Facebook, the park let the cat out of the bag today on their brand new area, Riptide Bay. The three acre addition will feature double-sided flowrider surf simulators, new water slides, a Caribbean themed activity pool, and luxury cabanas. One of the water slides is said to feature a "near vertical" drop, perhaps some sort of half-pipe type attraction?

Six Flags St. Louis is just starting to make mention of a large addition in 2011 - they have on their season pass page that a "towering new attraction launches exclusively at Six Flags St. Louis in 2001!" Another one that I have no guesses for - but maybe a companion ride to Six Flags Over Georgia's Dare Devil Dive?

Finally, Six Flags New England. In a surprise move, the park has announced a new family coaster. By the listed statistics - 5 stories tall, 1,213 ft. long, many hairpin turns - it sure sounds an awful lot like the Wild Mouse coaster that Six Flags is retaining from Kentucky Kingdom. The park promises to announce the name and more details soon. Interestingly, the ride is slated to go where the Dark Knight coaster was planned - which was a Wild Mouse coaster!

Six Flags Over Georgia 2011: Dare Devil Dive

Well I certainly did not have to wait long to find out what Six Flags Over Georgia was teasing fans about on their Facebook page, now did I? The park announced the addition of a major new roller coaster today, aptly named Dare Devil Dive.

The ride will be the third Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter coaster in the United States, following Mystery Mine and Rock Bottom Plunge at Dollywood and Nickelodeon Universe, respectively. Dare Devil Dive will feature a vertical lift that will take riders almost 100 ft. in the air.

At the top of the hill the trains will pause briefly before their descent, adding to the thrill. The first drop will be actually be steeper than vertical, and the individual cars will hit 52 m.p.h. on the way down. The rest of the 2,099 ft. of red track atop yellow supports will feature three inversions and plenty of twists and turns.

From the small concept art posted on the webpage for the ride it appears as though Dare Devil Dive will feature a custom layout. It's hard to tell exactly what maneuvers will be included; perhaps some better resolution art will be released soon.

The ride's announcement came as a great surprise to me, and I'm quite please that Six Flags is building a Euro-Fighter. These rides have gained popularity in Europe, but have been slow to catch on in the U.S. Looks like that's about to change!

Six Flags Over Texas Unveils New Texas Giant Logo

Six Flags Over Texas has unveiled the new logo for the Texas Giant - currently under heavy renovation and set to reopen in 2011. The ride will have a unique hybrid design, featuring wooden supports with the world's first steel Iron Horse Coaster Track.

The ride's renovation is currently 40% complete, with a significant portion of the new track in place. When finished the new Texas Giant will feature the steepest drop in the world on a coaster of its kind at 79 degrees, and feature banking in excess of 95 degrees.

The new logo has been designed to reflect the ride's new hybrid status, through which its "bold and unique features" are conveyed. Six Flags Over Texas has also launched a new time lapse camera that shows how the renovation is progressing. Check that out at the official park website.

I still cannot get over some of those shots of the ride's first drop! That's going to be simply amazing.

What's New At Six Flags Over Georgia?

I love all the teasing that parks are doing these days with new attraction announcements! Six Flags Over Georgia has stepped up and started releasing small images that are all hints to their new for 2011 attraction.

The images, which are being posted on their Facebook page, have been some flames, what looks like coaster supports, and a photo of coaster track. Now obviously that would lead us to believe the park is adding a roller coaster next year!

I'm not sure when the full announcement is, so we'll just enjoy the clues until then.

The Blue Streak May Open This Weekend

Conneaut Lake Park's Blue Streak may make its triumphant return as soon as this weekend, if all goes well. This is according to an official update on Conneaut's Facebook page. It sounds like it is not set in stone just yet, but there's hope.

The park plans to charge $3 per ride if it is able to open, but that will be outside of the unlimited wrist-band option. I would think the park would take funds generated from running the ride and reinvest them toward its future.

Today is also the last day to vote for the ride in the Pepsi Refresh challenge. The ride is still in 1st place, but it can't hurt to vote one last time.