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What is 456 feet tall and goes 125
MPH hour?
Kingda
Ka, currently the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the
word!
Six Flags Great Adventure. Jackson Township, New Jersey.
And what is the best part? The launch my friends, the launch . .
. 0 to 125 mph in just 3.5 seconds.
As you rocket down the
track, everything is a blur, you fly straight up the main tower
reaching 456 feet into the air, you bank 90 degrees slowing
slightly as you move across the arch of the top. Now you are
looking at the ground as you plummet 418 feet straight down and
then pull into a 270 degree spiral. Out of the spiral you shoot
up a 129 foot hill that produces a second or two of
weightlessness. |
The ride lasts only 28 seconds from launch to the end of the run,
however it is 28 seconds of intense ‘hair-on-fire’ thrills, that will
either have you screaming for more or looking for a dry pair of jeans! The Kingda Ka is so fast that the park will not operate it in even the
lightest rain . . . a drop of water hitting your cheek at 128 miles per
hour would be quite uncomfortable.
Oh, by the way, there are two added surprises on Kingda Ka. First, once
you are onboard you never know exactly when it is going to launch: ah,
the suspense! (Usually within 5 seconds after you hear a loud hiss.) And
the second surprise? Sometimes (depending on various conditions) Kingda
Ka doesn’t make it all the way over the top of the main tower and rolls
back down backwards. Don’t worry though, that little quirk is
incorporated into the design, and . . . you will be launched again!
A very exciting ride! Five stars in Dr. Von Zuko’s book!
Dr. Von Zuko's Fear Factor 9.0
Dr. Von Zuko's Fun Factor 8.5
by:
Dr. Von Zuko 2007©
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Millennium Force
Five Time
Title Holder
#1 Steel Coaster in the World
Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio |
Millennium Force is located at Cedar
Point in Sandusky, Ohio. Built in 2000 it is the fourteenth
roller coaster operated in the park. The Millennium Force
briefly held the title of the tallest, complete circuit roller
coaster in the world**. It is also the first roller coaster to
"popularize" a cable lift system, rather than the traditional
chain lift system.
Millennium Force has been voted the #1 Steel
Coaster in the World five times since 2001, and has never been
ranked lower than #2 since it opened.
This is one intense “hair-on-fire” endorphin blasting ride. Once
strapped in, you start the 45 degree assent up the 310 foot main
tower. I must comment that while the view of Lake Erie and the
surrounding landmass is superb, your anxiety level greatly
overshadows the calming effect of the dramatic view. As the
train slows slightly and crests the top of the lift hill your
endorphins are already starting to surge.
Cresting the top, the train plunges into a 300 foot drop at a
nearly vertical 80 degree angle. Accelerating to a top speed of
93 miles per hour (150 km/h), you bottom out and shoot up 169
feet and tilt steeply into a right overbanked turn. Out of the
nearly inverted turn, you rocket through a tunnel over the
Frontier Trail midway and then blast into a 182 foot parabolic
hill, grabbing a bit of very noticeable “air time.”
Rolling off of the hill, you bank into a 360 degree right-hand
helix, immediately followed by a left-hand overbanked turn. Out
of the overbanked, you go into a right turn and over another
hill to create more “air time” and then left to shoot through a
second tunnel. On the closing stretch, the train pops over a
small “bunny hop” into a 68 foot right-hand overbanked turn.
Leveling out the train comes to a stop under the pressure of
magnetic brakes and then slowly rolls into the station.
You jump out of your seat, power walk down the ramp, and get
back in line for your second go!
** Millennium Force is no longer the tallest or fastest roller
coaster in Cedar Point, having been surpassed in height and
speed by the Top Thrill Dragster. Millennium Force remains,
however, one of the tallest continuous circuit roller coasters
in the world, and continues to be one of the most popular rides
at Cedar Point. In our book, it will be one of our favorites for
many more years. Ride it if you can!
Dr. Von Zuko's Fear Factor 9.5
Dr. Von Zuko's Fun Factor 7.0
by: Dr. Von Zuko 2005© |
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eXtreme Rides Coaster Index:
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Dr. Von
Zuko's Recommended books and DVDs on Roller Coasters and eXtreme
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Find other great books on
this or any topic:
Top Fuel Dragster
Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio
First roller coaster to hit 120
miles per hour.
First "Strata Coaster" (400 feet tall)
Launch system: Hydralic
Height: 420 feet
Drop: 400 feet
Length: 2,800 feet
Max speed: 120 mph
Ride duration: 17 sec.
Short but one hot ride!
Dr. Von Zuko's Fear Factor 9.0
Dr. Von Zuko's Fun Factor 8.5 |
If
it moves and you can climb aboard and strap in . . . We're there!
Check out the ever expanding Zuko Extreme Rides Coaster Reviews!