New for the 2009 season at Lightwater Valley is a rapid ride rented from Showman James Mellor. The ride will be at the park for the 2009 season after which point both parties will review it’s suitability for the park.

I visited the park in April on a warmish day and the ride has a constant queue with at least 15/20 minute wait times, I can imagine this will get alot bigger over the coming summer months when the temperatures rise in the UK.

The ride has took the place of the Pinfari Grizzly Bear coaster which stood at the park from 2004, this ride has since been sold. I certainly wont miss it.

This update contains approximately 25 photographs taking during April at the park.

I was fortunate enough to ride Millennium force a number of times during a visit to Cedar Point in 2007, we counted about 6 or 7 rides during our visit. After those experiences Millennium force dropped straight in at the number one spot as my favourite coaster.

Millennium force is a favourite of many enthusiasts and since its opening in May 2000 it’s never dropped below the 2nd ranking for the golden ticket awards “top steel roller coaster”.

Millennium force cost Cedar Point 25m USD to build and was built by Intamin AG over the winter of 1999.

Looking up at the lift hill  from the side of the station. Photograph taken on the cedar point railroad.

Looking up from the queueline.

The final banked turn into the station, at this point the trains are still running very quickly.

After the first drop a banked turn

Same view from a different angle

And again, you can see the height more clearly here

A couple for the technical guys. Millennium Force doesnt use a conventional chain lift as other coasters because of the sheer weight of the chain, opting instead for a cable driven system, a catchcar descends down the lift and hitches on underneath the center of the train, this in turn pulls the trains up the 45 degree lift hill to 310ft at which point the catchcar goes over the edge of the hill and disengages the train to start its 93mph ascent to the bottom of the first drop which is 80 degrees and 300ft.

Cable assembly at the bottom of the lift hill.

One of the many tunnels, the trains moved at some speed through these. Top thrill dragster in the background.

A train almost at the top.

Ride station.

Red car, hydraulic lap bars and seatbelt.

Inside the station.

I swear this elbow wasnt in the picture when I took it.

Final blast of airtime coming into the station.

Did i mention the big queues at Cedar Point, this one was about 2 hours.

Related youtube video of Millennium force.

Showing the construction.

Click here to view the embedded video.

On Ride video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

And finally some facts about Millennium Force.

• Length 6595 ft
• Height 310 ft
• Drop 300 ft
• Top Speed 93 mph
• Duration 2:20
• Max vertical angle 80 degrees

Millennium force operates with 3 trains and has a capacity of 1300 riders per hour – Thanks for http://www.rcdb.com for the stats.

If you would like to use any photographs in this set please contact me using the contact form dont just steal them, if you have any commercial enquires again just use the contact form.

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]]> http://www.ridemad.com/millennium-force-at-cedar-point/feed 0 http://www.ridemad.com/hydro-oakwood-theme-park http://www.ridemad.com/hydro-oakwood-theme-park#comments Tue, 27 Jan 2009 12:42:39 +0000 Admin http://ridemad.com/?p=236 Hydro at Oakwood is a ride thats had its fair share of media coverage since opening for the 2002 season. It’s a ride built by Intamin and is over 100ft tall with a almost vertical drop into a pool of millions of gallons of water, so much so that the first drop can generate a wave nearly 50 ft in height.

Dare you stand on the bridge running over the track when the ride train, they don’t call it a soak zone for nothing. Hydro gets you that wet Oakwood even went to the length of building a changing room just for Hydro customers to get dried out and a change of clothes.

Ive not been fortunate enough to ride Hydro as the day we visited was one of the wettest days I have ever had at a theme park and I certainly wasn’t going to queue up to get even wetter, even my daughter a 12yr old thrill seeker didn’t want to ride.

I have included these photographs as Oakwood is one of the most un photographed parks in the country, I’m not doing any PR for them just basically showing readers that haven’t been to Oakwood what they are missing out on. I have previously wrote a trip report on Oakwood if anyone wants to read it. Oakwood Trip Report.

Hydro Photographs.

Splash down.

The Soak Zone

Ride station and queue area.

Changing Rooms

In this shot you can see the amount of water that get in these boats, look at it pouring out from the rear.

Crazy drop.

Hugely powerful water pumps.

This shot was taken from the soak zone, looking at the drop.

Thanks for reading, if you have any comments please us the comment form alternatively use the contact form and get in touch. For any media enquiries please get in touch via the contact form.

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Built by Bolliger and Mabillard (B & M) Mantis is another unique ride experience at Cedar Point. Guests board stand up trains and fly down a 145-foot-tall first hill at a top speed of 60 mph.

This stand-up roller coaster turns riders upside down a total of four times, includes a 137-foot drop at a 52 degree angle.

Here’s some brief details about the ride.

In 2007 Cedar Point recorded 983,445 guests riding Mantis. I visited in June 2007 and rode this twice the first time after a considerable 1hr 30 minute queue in the scorching heat.

Technical details.

Capacity    Approximately 1,800 riders per hour
Features    119-foot-tall vertical loop, 103-foot-high dive loop, heavily banked 360-degree turn, 83-foot-tall inclined loop, 360-degree flat spin, figure-eight finale.
Ride Time    Approximately 2 minutes, 40 seconds
Speed    Approximately 60 mph
Cost    $12 million
Manufacturer    Bolliger & Mabillard (B & M), Monthey, Switzerland

Physical Dimensions

Angle of Descent    52 degrees
Lift Height    145 feet
Track Length    3,900 feet
Vertical Drop    137 feet
Vertical Loop Height    119

Vehicles
Eight rows of passengers standing four-across, Three 32-passenger trains
Vehicle Design    Single ergonomically adjustable pillars with shoulder harnesses
Number of Trains    3

Pictures

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Want to discuss this further visit the forums or use the contact form at the top of the page.

The Incredible Hulk was a coaster I was really looking forward to riding in Florida, located on the Marvel Super hero island themed area in Islands of adventure the hulk dominates the skyline, it can also be seen from most other areas of this superbly themed theme park.

Built by B&M in 1999 and with a top speed of 67mph the Hulk is still entertaining thousands of visitors daily.

Huge Cobra roll.

On our visit in February 2008 the park was quite busy so we decided to buy fast pass for all the big attraction to save queuing for most of the day. Our party was 2 adults and 2 children with only 1 adult and 1 child wanting to ride the coasters. The queue lines were showing upwards of 40 minutes for most rides so although costing another 140 dollars the fast pass worked out for us and it saved the good old arguements between the kids about how many rides each of them had.

Like everything at Universal the hulk is brilliantly themed some of it over water and in the evenings Universal take advantage of this and light up the coaster.

For anyone who hasn’t ridden the Hulk its a launched coaster so you don’t have any of the click, click when going up the first hill. The hulk is propelled by tyres up to its max height of 110ft the launch is in a tunnel so you have the feeling of not knowing what is coming next and before you realize it your at the top of the launch hill and daylight is coming fast. One of the great elements of the hulk is at the top of the launch rather unlike a traditional coaster of going down the hulk flips you 360 degrees so your right into the action which continues over the full 3700ft of track.

My daughter who is 11 complained about the ride quality of the hulk and she suffered some quite bad ear bashing to both sides of her head, it was completely opposite for me but i am taller and her ears were right in between the restraints. Its worth bearing this in mind if you havent ridden it before It could put some children off, my daughter is a hardened rider and although she didnt want to ride the hulk again it didnt put her off wanting to try the other coasters.

Heres the pictures.

from a distance.

Bottom of the launch hill.

Another shot of the cobra roll.

And some general shots and a video.

Video i found on youtube. Theres loads of on ride videos but this seem to have the best quality.

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you want to use any photographs on this blog please get in touch paul@ridemad.com im quite happy to share and have high resolution copies of everything used, to see the complete gallery visit the Ridemad Gallery

Thanks for Reading.

The park just a few minutes of junction 9 on the m62 has been running christmas events for a number of years now and can get really busy during this period, not to mention extremely cold.

They offer a number of different options for Christmas, I wont list them all but they offer the same each year, you can also choose to have a meal option included and a live show.From the feedback I have had from other parents the food is the biggest let down for the park. Im not having a go at Gulliver’s here but the food on offer throughout the park is awful and expensive, I like most parents I know would be only too happy to pay for food if its warm, served well and a reasonable price.

Only last week a colleague in work spent the Sunday at the park and couldnt even get a warm drink as the machines had broken.

Ok enough of the food the Christmas experience is allot better. As part of the trip to see father Christmas you board the Gulliver’s train near the entrance of the park and after a short journey you arrive at the grotto.

Gulliver’s boast the grotto is the largest in the north west and I can well imagine this as its huge. The grotto is full of Christmas trees and decorated extremely well, they have a flying father Christmas above the crowd and some snowmen on a chair lift which look great.

As you go deeper through the winding paths to get to see father Christmas the place is full of fluffy animals and very well designed Christmas themed sets. At the eventual end of the queue you are greeted by santa’s helper who then guides you into a maze of corridors to see the waiting father Christmas.

At this point the kids tell father Christmas what they want for Christmas and answer the usual questions like have you been good this year (my kids have the cheek to say yes) then a photograph is taken and the kids move into a toy shop.

In the toy shop the kids are allowed one present each to choose from. They normally have a good selection of toys for boys and girls, with items like coloring books, racing cars, pencil sets, teddy bears and many many more items to choose from. One of the difficulties is the choice as the kids don’t know what to choose.

In all the experience at Gulliver’s over the December period is magical, the kids really enjoy visiting father Christmas and the grotto is fantastic. When the kids first see the grotto their eyes light up, its moments like this you cherish.

Also bear in mind when planning a trip to Gulliver’s near Christmas only part of the park is open and you can usually go on all the rides in little over a hour, so if you book to see father Christmas at 5pm, i wouldn’t advise arriving at the park at midday – otherwise you will have a long wait.

The last time we visited we arrived early afternoon and probably did 2 or 3 laps of the park before boarding the train to see Father Christmas.

Heres a selection of photographs I took of the grotto – these were all taken December 2007.

Father Christmas working through his Christmas lists.

These look like the seven dwarfs.

Related Articles, Gulliver’s World Warrington trip report.

If you want to use any photographs on this blog please get in touch paul@ridemad.com im quite happy to share and have high resolution copies of everything used, to see the complete gallery visit the Ridemad Gallery

Thanks for Reading.