I finally got to ride Millennium Force on Tuesday (5-30-00) - first of all let me say the ride was amazing both times (one near the front and the other in the last row).
The lines were not bad at all... they were running three trains and I only waited 1:14 for the first ride (got in line at 9:45 am) and 1:10 for the 2nd ride (got in line at 7:45 pm)
While waiting in line, I consistently timed the interval between trains at 1:40 which allows for 36 trains per hour and 1296 riders per hour.
In order to hit their target of 1600 per hour, they need to get the interval down to 1:21 between trains.
Does anyone know if they are getting any closer to that goal? (The wait wasn't bad on a weekday in May, but an extra ~300 riders per hour would sure help move things along on a busy summer weekend)
The ride is only like 1:45 long and to get the interval of 1:21 I think they would have to get one train at the top of the hill just as one is coming into the brakes, and this would require precision timing.
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HA HA HA, MELLENIUM FORCE, YEAH BUDDY!