World's Biggest Roller Coaster

jplan34 writes "Cedar Point made the official announcement today that they are going to build the world's tallest coaster, set to open in 2000 at 310 feet tall with a 300 foot 80 degree 92 mph first hill. " Cedar Point already has my 2 favorite coasters- the Magnum and the Gemini. Both are fab- I guess summers are that time when you want to think about being hyper accelerated and spun after eating excessively greasy food. Mmm. Grease.

Comments

Site with diagrams, a movie, etc.

[Anonymous Coward]

Check out Coasterhost for some good info on Millenium Force. Also has links to another really cool coaster for next year called Project: Stealth.

Re:

[Ether]

1- The lake freezes. Ice is not easy on structures. See the engineering that went into the bridge connecting the UP and LP in Michigan.

2- They could take out Disaster Transport (like space mountain, but lamer) and Iron Dragon (a thrilling 45 mph in what appears to be a "yugo-of-the-future-circa 1987" without anyone complaining. Also the wildcat, which is redeemable only for it's sheer ghetto-value, but not enough to stand in the way of progress ;).
However, It sounds like they're gonna take out the Matterhorn (?), the gondola ride. From the description [center of the island] it sounds most likely that it's gonna be the victim, but then again, I could be wrong.

It's bad living (relatively) near Cedar Point. It raises your expectations too high.

Re:guess who does safety inspections???

[Windigo The Feral (N]

Razzmataz wrote:

've heard that the Ohio Department Of Agriculture is the governmental body that inspects and certifies rollercoasters as safe.

Actually, having the Department of Agriculture for a state inspecting rides isn't that terribly weird if you think about it (especially if you think how amusement rides started in a lot of states)...

In many states, there aren't formal amusement parks and rides primarily are set up during church fish-frys and...state fairs. (Kentucky's state fair--which is supposedly the second largest in the nation--has HUGE midways and Kentucky Kingdom was actually part of the midway during the fair till Kentucky Kingdom got bought out by Six Flags. Also, just as an aside--the one state with a (supposedly) larger state fair happens to be Ohio.) State agriculture departments are usually quite involved in state and county fair inspections anyways. A lot of states actually have their Weights and Measures departments (basically state bureaus of standards) under their Department of Agriculture. (It's actually the Weights and Measures guys who inspect the coasters and other rides, btw--basically to make sure they're within safe tolerances.) Weights and Measures departments have historically been associated with agriculture departments anyways; pretty much they determine stuff like fuel standards, standardised loads, etc.

Considering that most Weights and Measures departments in most states are under the state Department of Agriculture *anyways*, and further considering that most rides in states aren't at amusement parks but rather in state and county fairs and church festivals, it isn't weird that the Department of Agriculture inspects rides at Cedar Point. :)

(And to think that me going to the fair every year--both to see the crops-n-critters and to get myself disgustingly dizzy on the midway--would ever pay off in a Slashdot post. Maybe there ARE advantages to living in a semi-rural state. :)

Re:Good God....

[Jim Hurlburt]

According to my HP48gx, if I pushed you off a 300 foot cliff, you would be going aproximatly 94.4755 miles per hour when you went splat. Given friction losses, and the 80 vs 90 degree slope, 92 mph is in the ball park. Might be a bit high, but not much.
****************************

G-factors: palliative measures and general apps...

[Salgak1]

(speaking as former USAF Aviator)

The muscle and leg flexes, also known as the "M-1" manuever, start being useful at around 3G's. Much beyond 5G's, anti-acceleration garments, better known as "fast pants", automatically inflate to cut off circulation to the legs and lower abdomen.

Reclining also helps: the lower the vertical distance between the brain and the heart, the higher G-resistance a given person has. Physical strength also helps: fighter pilots and WSO's are encouraged to pump iron, and encouraged NOT to run: an ectomorphic body shape/type also handles G's better than a tall, thin endomorphic type. .

Given all that, I wouldn't want to put a coaster out there with more than a sustained 2.5-3G's for any period, and bursts not more than 4.5G's: more and you risk injuring people who just aren't in shape for it. . .

Okay,

[CerebusUS]

How long until we see this thing modelled in Rollercoaster Tycoon :-)

Re:yeah! (how many G's?)

[Jburkholder]

I would think the G forces would be more of a limiting factor? This thing drops 300 feet at an 80 degree angle (I assume this is where the 92mph top speed is reached), how many G's are exerted on the riders when that thing bottoms out?

I have no real information about what current coasters dish out, but I would guess its in the 2-3 G range, no? I've felt 4.5 G's when in a friend's private plane, I can pretty much guess that most thrill-seeking coaster riders would be satisfied with that G Load (read, not ready for much more :-) ). A fighter pilot can supposedly stand 9G in a sustained turn, but they have to do special breathing and leg muscle flexes to keep from blacking out.

So, the sensations that thrill a rider are the weightless drop (300 feet has to be one *hell* of a rush, I like the last car the best!), and then the G forces as you bottom out, turn and loop. I would guess that you wouldn't have to build a coaster too much higher than 300 feet before you start getting speeds and G loads that are going to be too much for the average coaster rider to enjoy.

Re:Cedar Point

[Jburkholder]

>Actually, I'm surprised I haven't been moderated down as flamebait yet...

That's because all the moderators used up all their points on the bad Kennedy jokes in the Katz thread. =)

Re:92 mph - Steel Phantom hit that long ago.

[lyonsj]

Thank you, paled. I'm sorry, but Kennywood kicks Cedar Point's butt any day. I'm half scared to go on the rides at Cedar Point -- the grounds aren't nearly as well maintained and the rides are sometimes in poor shape at least by sight. Example - whatever that roller coaster is that's inside a building and works like a water slide. Looks like they just got tired of keeping it up so they removed half of the pretense of the stupid thing and gave it 1/4 of the staff. Nothing like walking through what looks like an abandoned buliding but is obviously supposed to tell a story, boarding your train, getting off at the other end and hearing "Welcome to Alaska".
I'm sure there's some REASON they say you're in Alaska, but it's not part of the ride anymore.

Cedar Point

[qmrf]

Ah, one of the best reasons to live in Michigan...(yeah, I know it's not in Michigan, but who wants to live in Ohio, anyways?)

Top X Reasons to Visit Cedar Point

[RimRod]

Cedar Point, by the way, is the best friggin' roller coaster park in the world. Just get up and GO. Well, without further ado...

1) The Magnum is the best roller coaster ever made. PERIOD.

2) Why sit in the comfort of your own homes when you can get up and wait in line for hours on end?

3) It's in Ohio. I mean, how cool is that?!?!?!?! No explanation necessary, I should think.

4) The music the new rides play on speakers while you're waiting on line really sucks^H^H^H^H^H rocks.

5) There's NOTHING like puking upside down.

6) ...and catching it on the way down!

7) RimRod's been there.

8) It's a mass gathering of white trash from around the country.