Dragster Report 07/11 - 07/14
Friday night we got to the park at about 7, and Dragster was closed. Upon further inspection the had a several small plates removed from the launch track, the launch return cable was detached from the sled, and there were several mechanics working around the return brakes for the launch sled. We spent the rest of the day in the park. On our way back from a late night run on Millenium we saw the mechanics welding around the sled brakes.
Saturday morning Dragster was still "down for mechanical reasons" and was "scheduled to open later in the day." Later in the afternoon they began testing and the first train rolled back. At about 3 or 4 it appeared to be running good so we decided to get in line. After only about an hour wait we arrived in the station. After we were seated but before we began to move forward in the station the ride broke down. Our harnesses were released and the mechanics were walking down the track and working near the end of the launch. We waited for about 45 minutes till we got to ride (in the middle somewhere).
Saturday night we got in line at about 10:50 and about half way through the queues it broke down again. We waited about 45 minutes once again but we couldn’t see what the problem was (darn queue wall). There was another rollback while testing. We got a good night ride at about midnight (somewhere in the middle; we wanted to get on as quick as possible incase it broke down again…).
Sunday morning the ride opened at about noon. But broke down till about 3:00. We saw them testing so we decided to wait in the line outside the queue. About 10 minutes later the ride opened and once we got in line there was only about 2 sets of queues full ahead of us. Within minutes the ride broke down again. About 20 minutes later we decided to leave the line. After a quick ride on Power Tower, Dragster re-opened so we got back in line again. After about an hour wait we got to ride (back seat).
Sunday night was one of the most interesting rides. Dragster broke down once again at bout 9:30, but we decided to get in line outside the queue at bout 10:40. As it began to get closer to 11:00 we wondered if they would even re-open the queue to the line outside after 11:00. I asked the ride op at the entrance and she gave me a positive "I don’t know". At about 11:00 they announced that they were unsure if Dragster would re-open at all that night, and that millenium would be open for an extra 15 minutes for anyone who wanted to leave the queue. Almost everyone left the queue and the line outside at that point, but we stayed in line anyways. At about 11:15 they announced that Dragster would not be opening and that millenium would STILL be open for another 15 minutes. We left the line and ran to millenium to get a walk-on. After our ride we decided to check out Dragster since it was testing again and there was still a small line inside the queue. There was once again a short line (about 10-15 people) outside the queue. To our amazement the ride ops began to load a train and the ride op opened up the que (It was about 11:30 at this point). We ran to the queue and got in line to find only about 100 people in front of us. About 30 seconds later it broke down again and they closed the line for the night. The mechanics were working around one of the kickers in the unload area. We waited for about 45 minutes and witnessed another rollback. They launched one train of people with no sound effects (possibly manual mode??) and once again said it was down. They had to manually release the harnesses on the trains 3 times. After about 30 minutes they launched another train of people (no sounds) and AGAIN said it was down. About 10 minutes later the ride suddenly seemed to come to life. The trains all began to move and they quickly began launching. Within 10 minutes at about 1:00 am we were riding (2nd to last seat).
Monday morning Dragster was testing so we ran to it as soon as we got in for ERT (resort card). At about 10:00 the ride opened and we ran all the way up to the station. When we got there we were surprised to see practically every "high up" person in the station and a film crew interviewing Monty Jasper. We immediately got in the front line queue. We were told that it was a film crew from The Discovery Channel and to act like normal and to not "love the camera". We stood right next to Monty as he was interviewed and I even got some pictures of the interview. He talked about how the ride ran off 2 computers (one for just for the motor) and a few other things. At about 10:30 the crew left the station and we got our final ride on Dragster (front seat!).
This was one of my best trips ever to cedar point! And the strange experiences with Dragster made it all the better!
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Coasters? I thought those were those things you put under your drink? ...am I on the wrong site?
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LaUnCh...420 feet, 120 mph, 4 seconds....brakes...breathe
I was there on Sunday night also. They didn't have to let the people waiting outside the line in but they did. That's why I love going to Cedar Point.
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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.
It's got a while to go yet before it is "world-record downtime". I do agree that it is frustrating. But like Pete said, it is improving.
Nice report, Matt. Sounds like you had a great time.
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TTD Launches: 5
MF Laps (2003): 11
Rapter Laps (2003): 7
Playa21 said:
I am very frustrated with Dragster, although it was interesting, world-record downtime! Anyways, stand in line for an hour, break down for an hour...thats about how it works..and it is interesting, to count how many times it can break down in one day... to think that Cedar Point spent 25 million on a roller coaster that doesnt work...but I do know that they are trying their hardest to correct everything...------------------
LaUnCh...420 feet, 120 mph, 4 seconds....brakes...breathe
True, but the advantage is since it has opened after the 4th most breakdowns are 15-30 minutes maybe 45. I was in the line saturday night also got in line at 11 as the parked closed and it broke down, I didn't time it exactly but it was around 30 minutes tops I would think. The green train rolled back as they tested it again after the breakdown. That is one thing, the wheels get cold fast on this ride.
Anyway, if I am in line for dragster (which is rare) I am less likely to leave in a breakdown, because the problems as of late seem to be minor in the amount of time to fix them. Now before the 4th, I would be out of that line really quick with a break down.
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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. Per my conversation
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2003 Statistics
Top Thrill Dragster: 8
Millennium Force: 18
Trips to the point: 22
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OMG! The Space Spiral is leaning!!" Must be the weight of that new air conditioning system everyone keeps hypothesizing about...
Chris I didn't notice you, but my friend, his two sisters, and I were about the last 5 peaple in line, although the people waiting for the first row seat ended up having to move, and rode after us. We were standing right next to the drunk guy in the red shirt who kept yelling things at random, and was scared that the ride might fall apart again.
I posted some of the pics of the filmcrew, Monty Jasper, and Dick Kinzel at PBase here.
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Coasters? I thought those were those things you put under your drink? ...am I on the wrong site?
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"When I was a kid my favorite relative was Uncle Caveman. After school we'd all go play in his cave, and every once in a while he would eat one of us. It wasn't until later that I found out that Uncle Caveman was a bear."
-Jack Handey
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2003 Statistics
Top Thrill Dragster: 8
Millennium Force: 18
Trips to the point: 22
I was talking to the op that loaded myself. He said they have it open that late all the time. Plus he said that they still had to clean the ride, and that he had to work at 5:30 the next day.
I was there monday as well, and one of the ops said they were there till 3:30.
When they were done with the brakes, the first train they launced had people on it. However, remembering what Monty said at Coaster Mania about the launch computer resetting to the default speed after sitting for a while, I knew it would rollback. Sure enough, they made it to the top and everyone in line (except for me) let out a loud groan as the train came down backwards.
The point of this story? After doing some people counting, I discovered that I would have been on one of the rollback trains if I hadn't been waiting for the front seat. Front seat doesn't always have it's advantages.
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-Chris Woodard
"We got pop and Gatorade over here for $100 a bottle, so have your credit card ready. Seriously, the food here is so expensive, I just eat the condiments because I can't afford a meal." - MF que DJ 6/16/03
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