Dragster a flop?

I wouldn't say any of the coasters at Cedar Point are a flop. All of them were great additions for their time. I can think of a reason why each is so great now and when they debuted:

Dragster: obviously tallest and fastest

Wicked Twister: attracted guests to deserted part of park

Millennium Force: enough said

Woodstock Express: great addition for the kids

Mantis: was tallest and fastest stand up when it debuted, first stand up in the park

Raptor: still one of the most popular today

Mean Streak: was tallest and fastest wooden, and still one of them, not so popular now, but I still love it

Disaster Transport: only indoor roller coaster in the park, good beginner ride for the kids

Magnum: tallest and fastest when debuted, still an AWESOME ride

Iron Dragon: was better when there were more trees in the lagoon area, good beginner ride

Jr. Gemini: great first roller coaster ride for kids

Gemini: was once tallest and fastest, plus it's a racer

Corkscrew: first to go upside down 3 times, looks great how it goes over the midway

Wildcat: fun for young and old

CCMR: good for the kids and adults, looks great over the water

Blue Streak: a classic
*** Edited 6/26/2005 11:48:06 PM UTC by Vince982***

No one rides Windjammer because it no longer exists.

I'd say they replaced Windjammer for the better, anyway ;)

If we want to talk about busts, Drachen Fire would be a good one.
*** Edited 6/22/2005 5:27:45 PM UTC by bholcomb***

Brandon people used to come from all over. sure i bet most still do but how many will skip this year to ride what would have been Kingda Ka? how is that do anyway? (sorry off topic) but yeah i dont think its to much of a flop. minor drop in rides? maybe. but really not a flop.

I was saying that no one rides WindJammer because it no longer exists. ;)

Fluffy, I hear what you are saying, but it's all just a guessing game as to whether or not people are going to (or were going to) skip CP to go to SFGAdv because of KK. It's a moot point now, because KK is down due to some pretty big malfunction.

I can only give my perspective as a newbie to CP. KK has had absolutely no effect on my planned trips to CP this year. I am going to try to get up to SFGAdv later in the summer *if* KK opens again and has a strong run of time with no breakdowns and reasonable wait times. I'm not trying to go up there to wait for 5 hours to ride it when I would likely have much more fun at CP.

True. and when the time comes (if KK is back up) i will probably make the drive to Jersey to ride.

Oh and Vince, Mantis is third fastest, tallest, length of drop, and longest stand up coaster. Chang and Riddler's Revenge beat it. but you are right about being the first stand up in the park :)

I just want to say that people come to ride roller coasters because they get to experience things that you can't really experience in real life and also because some people love to get scared but still be safe, and you can do that by riding on a roller coaster. And with TTD you get to do this by going 120 mph and go 420 ft above the earth.

So I think Dragster isn't a flop.
*** Edited 7/13/2005 6:07:09 PM UTC by tophat***

Dragster isn't a flop, Millenium Force is just one hell of a ride, that doesn't seem to launch 18 people every minute. I figured the shorter wait times was because of ride capacity. But if nobody was riding it, it is a great $25 million marketing tool. Two years after it was built, I find it in magazines and newspapers today. Some articles also mention Top Thrill Dragster in detail and Kingda Ka as a ride that was only a few feet higher and a little faster. But the price is impressive.

Another thing to consider is that even non-riders are fascinated by the ride. People sit in the grandstands for hours just watching the ride run, and every time a train launches and goes over the hill everyone on the midway almost involuntarily stares at it. And when trainload after trainload of cheering, laughing, and excited guests comes onto the brakes, you can hardly call that a flop.

Every train that you see at the end of the ride has smiles in it. There isn't a coaster at CP right now that creates that much energy not even MF.