Dragster May Close for Rest of Season

what about the poor crew?? I bet their frustraited...what are they going to do with them?? i talked to one of the girls there and she was very nice yet she seemed like she was about to burst talking about the ride shes supposed to work...i give props to the crew.

It's hard to say what the impact might be with Intamin. On one hand, CP had to know that there would be some calculated risk in using a technology that, quite frankly, had never been used in this capacity. Sure, there was Xcelerator, but it didn't need to generate nearly the same speed.

On the other hand, they had problems with Wicked Twister as well. The surprise there is that it was structural and not mechanical. Gotta say I didn't see that coming at all.

And that brings us to Millennium Force, which, relatively speaking, has been problem-free. There's nothing particularly exotic about the way it works. So if the park wanted to do something like beat the 10-inversion record, and it could obviously do so without making it a thousand feet tall (see: Colossus at Thorpe in the UK), then they could give that a whirl.

I guess we'll have to wait and see.

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Jeff - Webmaster - GTTP - Sillynonsense.com
DELETED! What time does the water show start?

Well at least we will know what will be new for next season, a Dragster that actually works without any flying tires that nearly injury departing passengers!

It is time for CP to get its act together, the park is getting more and more like Six Flags everyday!

CP's bottom line is going to really be hurt this year, big time!

Many people have asked me why didn't they use steam like on an aircraft carrier to go that fast that quick? Unfortunately, I think someone said the reason, and for the life of me I can't remember what it was.

Edit: I think it was money, now that I think harder on it. (That's pretty simple). Looks like I need coffee for lunch. ;)
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"This second hill is my favorite part of the ride. It is so Cool!"
TTD Status: "Contaminates in the system" S.K.
*** This post was edited by Hooper 6/27/2003 11:58:25 AM ***

As far as the hydraulic problems, here is my input. I have worked with hydraulic systems in the past. It dont have to be metal shavings to damage a system. The particles include dirt, rubber (from hoses), metal, plastic, etc. Particles smaller than the human eye can see will damage and ruin a system over time. Especially one that has the abuse this system would have.

If there is contamination that you can see with the naked eye, there is allready serious damage. Extensive flushing of the system would have to take place and monitered till the readings of the particles was within an acceptible level. This would take some time to do. Hopefully they get it all cleaned out and going.

They don't use steam because aircraft carriers use nuclear energy to produce their steam.

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Dear Valued Guest, I regret to inform you that Cedar Point’s newest roller coaster, Top Thrill Dragster, is not currently in operation because of mechanical problems.

This stinks. They just sent me a TTD Front of the line pass for the 2003 season. I was really hoping for ride #2. C'mon CP.

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Should of used Mobil 1

CP and Intamin had a contract for 3 rides when MF was built... so they are done with that for now

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Matterhorn- 99
MF- '00, '01
Last Chance '02

'03- I will come visit... but no longer an employee

Now worst case scenario that it doesn't open back up this year. For those people that got a freeway pass for dragster and havent got to use it yet, would they accept it next year? I got my freeway past the last time it broke which resulted in this breakdown. So it hasnt even been open for me to use it. I would think they would accept it anyway knowing how CP works.

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2003 Statistics
Top Thrill Dragster: 5
Millennium Force: 17
Trips to the point: 13

Well, look on the bright side. Janice Witherow said they are planning to re-open the ride, if ready, by July 4th. I believe that is next week Friday.
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AKA Cobraroller on Cbuzz

From Virtual Midway's article:

"We can't just keep telling the public, 'it's going to open,'" Kinzel told the Register. "If you are honest with the public, they are going to be forgiving. People plan their vacations around this."

This should teach something to those people that criticize others for complaining or "whining" about the ride being down and the effects on their vacation plans. As it has been said before, it is not the same to live close by and be able to attend the park regularly during the season, than to plan a vacation to CP, mainly to ride TTD.

If Mr. Kinzel is acknowledging this fact, it is because it potentially affects park attendance and obviously revenue generation...

This same scenario happened to us at Great Adventure with Batman & Robin. The end result was that the ride remained closed for 10 months while they reworked all the motors. Granted that ride was built by Premier Rides and not Intamin, but with the sparratic operation of TTD this year, these are truly just tell-tale signs of a rest of season closure, although I really hope not since I really did plan my vacation around its opening. Oh well.

"Closing the ride could have an effect on Cedar Point's future plans. Kinzel noted to the Register that the park's expansion plans are pivotal to what happens with Top Thrill Dragster this year."

Does this mean they have/had something planed for next year by any chance?

I'm happy i got one ride in atleast

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The way I put it Six Flags needs more parks to keep up with the one and only Cedar Point :)
*** This post was edited by jonisneo 6/27/2003 2:50:55 PM ***

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Just Coasting said:
It is time for CP to get its act together, the park is getting more and more like Six Flags everyday!

CP's bottom line is going to really be hurt this year, big time!

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So tell me, smarty pants, what do you suggest they do? They've got the manufacturer and some of the best mechanics in the industry. Tell me, what should they do?

And you don't jack about the park's bottom line. Now that the weather has been warmer, attendance has been just about what I'd expect any other year.

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Jeff - Webmaster - GTTP - Sillynonsense.com
DELETED! What time does the water show start?

this is sad news indeed (considering i haven't gotten a chance to ride it yet), but i really do appreciate cp's honesty. if closing ttd for the rest of the summer is what it takes to have it running smoothly next year, then i can definitely accept that.
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i'm the product of a summer romance: my parents met at cp in '75!

Well if everyone can accept the fact that Cedar Point might have to close their new ride for the rest of Summer, then you all can accept the fact that Six Falgs had problems with X, and that it is closed every Wednesday.

Ohh god.. here we go with the magical "3 coaster" contracts again...

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June 11th, 2001 - Gemini 100
VertiGo Rides - 82
Technical Services 2002-2003
Fright Zone Screamster 2002-2003

I'm wondering if the fluid in Dragster can develop sludge contamination from the high pressure and heat it may generate? If that is the case, some redesign may be in order. I know that sludge formation is a problem with certain Toyota and Chrysler engines, due to design problems, but I don't know if hydraulic fluid can sludge like engine oil.

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I'd rather be in my boat with a drink on the rocks,
than in the drink with a boat on the rocks.

Folks, I'm sure the people at Intamin are working as hard as possible to get this ride up. It's an unfortunate, but an interesting situation. I think we can all learn a lot of stuff from this. Remember, it's bad for Intamin's business to have their premier ride standing still. I would expect it to be up again within the next two weeks.

Besides contaminated oil, there was a LOT of what looked like grinding or sanding near the brake mechanisms all along the launch today, you could even smell it,

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"What time does the 10 pm laser show start?"