Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point "Closing"

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

1 hour ago, REGIE said:

I doubt they would change support Color’s because of a key ring.  

He didn't say it was because of the keyring. 

I don't know the backstory - because as usual @Dean Barnett doesn't fill in the whole story - but i'm assuming from the context that some senior guy named Tony who is involved in the project (and who knew what colour scheme they were going to change to) had some keyrings produced with the colour scheme and was handing them out to sort of 'drop a hint'.

[franky]

Tony Clark has a history of posting cryptic clues/teasers about new attractions, so the enthusiasts always read into anything he posts. Kinda like RMC trolling the same kind of folks with t-rex hints.

https://www.cedarpoint.com/new-in-2024

I've always thought the 'new' coaster would be grey based on the massive image of it being grey at the top of that page. I've only today realised that it's just grey scale (intentional?)

[REGIE]

9 hours ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

He didn't say it was because of the keyring. 

I don't know the backstory - because as usual @Dean Barnett doesn't fill in the whole story - but i'm assuming from the context that some senior guy named Tony who is involved in the project (and who knew what colour scheme they were going to change to) had some keyrings produced with the colour scheme and was handing them out to sort of 'drop a hint'.

I guessed that must have been the case.  I just found it weird the way Dean worded it.   Thanks for filling me in!  I did not know that about tony, 

5 hours ago, franky said:

I've always thought the 'new' coaster would be grey based on the massive image of it being grey at the top of that page. I've only today realised that it's just grey scale (intentional?)

Yeah same I originally thought the coaster was going to be painted all black. (Which would look pretty sick). But this is more a light bluish grey

[Dean Barnett]

Tony (CEO) gave out these keyrings for coastermania

 

More painting today

 

 

 

 

[Gazza]

Double Push?

[REGIE]

Double top hats confirmed/s

[Stevie]

They are building a second tophat at the opposite end and turning it into a giant shuttle coaster /s 

[Dean Barnett]

On 24/6/2023 at 9:00 PM, Stevie said:

They are building a second tophat at the opposite end and turning it into a giant shuttle coaster /s 

I got three rides. Two in the front row - one in the back at night. 

Nothing compares. 
 

also it’s been pretty much confirmed that Zamperla is the manufacturer for the referb 

source - thecoasterbear1721 on YouTube 

 

 

[TBoy]

3 hours ago, Dean Barnett said:

also it’s been pretty much confirmed that Zamperla is the manufacturer for the referb 

That sucks. I used to be on Team Zamperla but after hearing how unreliable the Wild Mouse was I switched to Team Intamin.

[wikiverse]

8 minutes ago, TBoy said:

That sucks. I used to be on Team Zamperla but after hearing how unreliable the Wild Mouse was I switched to Team Intamin.

Because Intamin only produce 100% reliable rides with no downtime like Doomsday Destroyer.

[TBoy]

12 minutes ago, wikiverse said:

Because Intamin only produce 100% reliable rides with no downtime like Doomsday Destroyer.

That was only sold by Intamin, it was built by ABC Fun Rides.

The reason I am saying it is risky is because Zamperla have not built a coaster of that size yet. Their tallest coaster is 122ft/55 mph. TTD will be 3.5x the height and 2x the speed at least, most likely taller and faster due to the vertical spike.

[DJKostya]

Cedar Point has a bit of history when it comes to taking risks and pushing boundaries. They're not afraid to try something new and see if it works (or not).

They were the first to break the 200, 300 and 400 foot barriers in coasters, Raptor was the first inverted coaster to introduce new elements for inverts like the Cobra Roll, longest records like Valravn and GateKeeper etc. etc. full list here Records - CP Insiders

I don't see any issues with Cedar Point giving Zamperla a go at the new TTD, sure it might be a risk as they haven't built these kind of coasters before, but that doesn't mean they can't start doing it either, every company has to start somewhere. 

People probably thought Six Flags were mad when they engaged B&M to build the first Batman coaster or RMC when they rebuilt the New Texas Giant, but these risks both paid off in letting companies try things outside of their comfort zones and we are all the better for it.

Edited June 28, 2023 by DJKostya
Added link

[Tricoart]

3 hours ago, DJKostya said:

People probably thought Six Flags were mad when they engaged B&M to build the first Batman coaster or RMC when they rebuilt the New Texas Giant, but these risks both paid off in letting companies try things outside of their comfort zones and we are all the better for it.

Except B&M were a newly formed, unproven company with proven staff from Giovanola, making a relatively risk-free ride, and RMC were a newly formed, unproven company with proven staff from Arrow/S&S & Silverwood, retrofitting a relatively risk-free ride. Zamperla, on the other hand, is a classic company with nothing to show for growth or improvement (unless if you want to argue for their Lightning model, but like, c’mon), massively changing almost everything about one of the worlds tallest & fastest coasters. Not to say improvement can’t come from a classic company, obvious example of such being Vekoma, but I can’t think of any circumstance where it’s happened so quickly, let alone on such a gargantuan scale, let alone without major issues. Every company has to start somewhere, yes, but starting from the top is a hell of a gamble for both parties, no matter how you look at it.

Edited June 28, 2023 by Tricoart

[REGIE]

5 hours ago, DJKostya said:

They were the first to break the 200, 300 and 400 foot barriers in coasters

Not really. They were the first to give them special names and make rules about achieving those names.  
 

Moonsault Scramble Was the first coaster to take Guests up to 200 ft.

Tower Of Terror was the first to take guests to 300 ft.

Top Thrill Dragster did take guests up to 400 ft so they got that one at least.  Superman escape from krypton is listed as over 400 ft but I believe the launch got the train the same height as tower of terror so I do not believe it was the first to get guest’s up to 400 ft but I could be wrong.

Cedar point just couldn’t handle that other country’s had the records so they made up rules that it had to be full circuit to get a fancy name…  but they still beat cedar point at getting that high on a coaster.  Even if they aren’t considered hypers and giga’s. Height is height .

cedar point was the first to make up names for the 200, 300 and 400 foot heights in coasters. Not get a train that high. (Except TTD)

[Spotty]

9 hours ago, TBoy said:

That was only sold by Intamin, it was built by ABC Fun Rides.

 

I'd be curious to know your source on this... because as far as I am aware the Suspended Twin Hammer was an Intamin design from the get go.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

15 hours ago, Tricoart said:

Except B&M were a newly formed, unproven company with proven staff from Giovanola, making a relatively risk-free ride, and RMC were a newly formed, unproven company with proven staff from Arrow/S&S & Silverwood, retrofitting a relatively risk-free ride. Zamperla, on the other hand, is a classic company with nothing to show for growth or improvement (unless if you want to argue for their Lightning model, but like, c’mon), massively changing almost everything about one of the worlds tallest & fastest coasters. Not to say improvement can’t come from a classic company, obvious example of such being Vekoma, but I can’t think of any circumstance where it’s happened so quickly, let alone on such a gargantuan scale, let alone without major issues. Every company has to start somewhere, yes, but starting from the top is a hell of a gamble for both parties, no matter how you look at it.

@DJKostya is right here. 

First of all - you're second guessing one of the biggest rollercoaster parks on the planet. They've been doing this likely since before you were born. They're keenly aware of how popular TTD is, and you can rest assured all parties are aware how important it is to deliver on this. 

Cedar and Six Flags can both afford to gamble on something new. If it pays off, they're top dog. if it doesn't, their parks are still well rounded without the single missing element... i've no doubt if it doesn't work, Cedar has clauses in the contract to recover costs and they can simply return to market and find someone else to finish the job.

And as far as Zamperla goes, while they may not have built massive record breakers - what they have is diversity. These guys have turned their hand to everything from supermarket kiddie rides, giant pendulums, drop towers, coasters and everything in between. You could theoretically build an entire well rounded park just from their catalog alone (and they have a few times too) and many of the newest flats installed at the biggest parks around the USA all came from Zamperla.

What this shows is that they can do just about anything they put to mind. I'm keen to see what they turn out.

 

 

[wikiverse]

21 hours ago, TBoy said:

That was only sold by Intamin, it was built by ABC Fun Rides.

 

12 hours ago, Spotty said:

I'd be curious to know your source on this...

ABC engineering is owned by Intamin, so it doesn't matter which company they used to design it, it is 100% an Intamin ride.

Zamperla are one of the world's largest and most respected ride manufacturers.  They have build thousands of reliable rides that handle greater forces that TTD.  Designing and building new coasters from the ground up is a more difficult task than adding a spike, a switch track and an LSM system from Indrivetec (the same supplier Intamin uses).  They're perfectly capable of modifying Dragster.

Their lightning trains are also aluminium, not steel, so they can build longer trains with 25% more capacity - which is going to matter when you're adding a spike and extending the duration of the ride.

That alone might be the only reason the spike is possible at all.  Intamin might have proposed what everyone initially expected - a simple update from Hydraulic to LSM launch and a retro-fit of the same trains.  Zamperla's lighter trains might have been the thing that made the spike possible from an operations/capacity point of view.

[Dean Barnett]

source

 

u/Oreboy07

[REGIE]

Finally some launch track on site! Odd how it’s got no spine.

[wikiverse]

2 hours ago, REGIE said:

Finally some launch track on site! Odd how it’s got no spine.

No spine because it's the brake run. Same old track, new brake fins and a shiny white paint job.

 

[Dean Barnett]

Brake run is being reinstalled.
 

Twitter verse is suggesting this tweet means the track is being reversed … but the heart line roll poses issues with this theory 

[Gazza]

How come the heartline roll causes an issue?

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

3 hours ago, Dean Barnett said:

Brake run is being reinstalled.
 

Twitter verse is suggesting this tweet means the track is being reversed … but the heart line roll poses issues with this theory 

Twitterverse is reading too much into it. 

If that weren't going to be the finish line, would they have installed the track around it, or removed the finish post for easier install? i'm thinking the latter. 

[Dean Barnett]

2 hours ago, Gazza said:

How come the heartline roll causes an issue?

Similar to the issue with the heartline roll on maverick.. I'm assuming

[Gazza]

But if its going down the roll at high speed why can't it go up at high speed?