Good and bad news on the train themeing.

You can see video of a rollback (complete with reporter in a mild panic asking "why are we going backwards?!?") here.

I've seen an empty train rollback, but not one loaded with people.

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It's not war, famine, or pestilence; it's only downtime.

Yes, I've seen several rollbacks on TTD. They know what's going on with their ride, so if they think that the theming could potentially pose a risk, either to operation of the ride or the riders,why keep it on? Yeah, it might be too early, but better safe than sorry.

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Scott W. Short
mailto:scott@midwestcoastercentral.com
http://www.midwestcoastercentral.com

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ericjon3140 said:
First of all has anybody on here seen a rollback? 2nd Cedar Point would not have made this decision so soon after, and 3rd Ride-Ops would not be telling people this information if it is true, 4th, the ride is Top Thrill Dragster, you can't have TTD without the Dragster!

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2003 Counts
Visits : 2
Dragster:2 Millie:2 Maggie:1 WT:1 Raptor:1 Mantis:1 MS:1 BS:1 Gemini:1 CCMR:1 Corkscrew:1

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ummm you can't have TTD without a dragster hrmm? What about mantis, where are the preying mantis', and Raptor, i don't see huge velociraptors everywhere around the ride?

Raptor is themed to Velociraptors?!? I've been lied to all along... ;)

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VertiGo rides: 32
2002 Raptor Crew
"Hey, Cool. My voice is on the lift"
*** This post was edited by Montu 6/3/2003 10:53:59 AM ***

So your gonna have a christmas tree light, checkered flags, a winners circle, and a real dragster out front, but get rid of the theming package on the trains, I still think it is to early for a definate answer, but I dont see Cedar Point giving up after only 3 weeks with them on.

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2003 Counts
Visits : 2
Dragster:2 Millie:2 Maggie:1 WT:1 Raptor:1 Mantis:1 MS:1 BS:1 Gemini:1 CCMR:1 Corkscrew:1

you forgot about the authentic drag strip fence ;)

Personally, I'd almost bet money that themeing is coming back. Maybe not the SAME themeing (ie: not real drag slicks, just fiberglass mockups) but its coming back.
*** This post was edited by bholcomb 6/2/2003 2:57:58 PM ***

I said it somewhere else, but I'll say it again. I'm almost positive they took the whole package off the trains so that they could work on fixing it. Think about it, everything on the backs of those trains are all connected as one piece. Wouldn't it be easier for them to take it all off so that they could be working on modifications in a shop somewhere during the day rather than work on the trains themselves after the park is closed? I would bet money that this is what's happening.

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-Chris Woodard
"If you're standing in an uncomfortable position, that means you are in the right position because you are riding Mantis!" - Mantis ride op doing spiels on closing day.

Raptor is a type of bird. Its a general name for eagles, hawks, etc. Thats why its called Raptor.

Anway... we have two rumors here:

1) Themeing wont come back
2) Two more seats per train

As for #1, its likely. They have been having trouble. But odds are they will try to make changes and fix the thing. I dont think they would be giving up so easy. Whoever said that Intamin didn't plan for all the weight is a fool. They know what kind of weight and where it is on the train. This IS rocket science.

Also, dont forget that Goodyear probably paid money for their names on the tires. They have a contract and that would make trouble with removing the tires.

As for #2. That is VERY UNLIKELY. It would be the same if not more weight than the tires. It would require 6 new trains to be built and shipped. It would require reengineering of the ride. It would require the station to be changed. It would require way to much to be something smart to "fix" the ride. This rumor falls into the same group as Mantis getting floorless trains.

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"I can't make a movie or write a song either, but that doesn't mean I'm not entitled to think they suck."
-Jeff

Dragster: 1 Force: 2 Twister: 3 Raptor: 3 Magnum: 4
*** This post was edited by Rider 6/2/2003 3:22:36 PM ***

Well, I may be a fool, but I'm a fool with a Ph.D. in computer science who holds an appointment as a professor in a top-five engineering college. True, I'm in the EECS department, not the Aerospace department (where they really do do rocket science) but Aero is literally across the road from my office.

I'm not suggesting that Intamin didn't simulate the heck out of the train with the theme package on it. However, as one who does a *lot* of computer simulations, I can tell you that in any simulation you make assumptions that approximate reality. Most of those assumptions are validated by extensive experience with the real thing. However, anytime you add some new twist, the assumptions may or may not be correct. The only way to know for sure is to try it out. It is more than possible that there were unforseen subtleties in the way the themeing behaves.

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It's not war, famine, or pestilence; it's only downtime.

CP would not just throw out a great idea like that. A plastic mold of an engine and tires may not look as good but the CP doesn't care.

Give them some credit.

My idea: Attach the tires to the train, forget the spinning, but drill them in. That way it still looks cool and they can't fall off.

My other thing: If they were to add another row to every train, wouldn't they like, have to take the trains off the track, ship 'em to Europe, wait a couple weeks, then ship 'em back, and make sure they fit in the blocks and station?

Sounds like A LOT of downtime to me.

So you say, "Well, they can do one at a time, so they have 5 trains running at once and one of them being in the shop." Is that correct? Absonotly. You think they would put in two more queues in the station, so people can come in, and the people waiting for the way back have to wait for 4 trains to pass before they get in? That would be like an extra 10-15 minutes of people lovely day in the park turned into raw waiting time.

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The Point of Cedars - Pointing you in the right direction!
http://www.thepointofcedars.tk
http://www.thepointofcedarsforum.tk
*** This post was edited by Top Thrill Dragster 6/2/2003 4:38:51 PM ***

Ok? That was a waste of my time...Why would they need to ship the whole train back if only one car would need to be modified? I still say, A good weld would do the job and keep everything from flying off ever again. I think thats what they should have done in the first place...Instead of making it a thing that can be removed anytime. They could have made it more permanent so it would be really hard to take it off. Also the axle that the tires sit on is very small in diameter and cannot support the huge tires properly.

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- Dennis
When I die, They'll read this And say a genius wrote it.
http://drinkduff.com/

Dennis - You are not one to complain about wasting time. All you've done today is waste our time griping about the removed theming. Have you even ridden TTD yet? I'm betting not. I have ridden it - with and without the tires. Let me tell you, when you get to the end of the launch run at 120 mph and the air has lifted up your eyelids, you don't care one iota about the engine and wheels behind you. I suggest you give all of us a break from your whining and go ride the thing. You don't have to complain anymore because we all know how you feel.

Well said, jdubya, don't complain until you've actually ridden it and gotten to experience it for yourself. And the great part about it is, once you ride it, you won't want to complain anymore! I'm just as upset as you are, but I'm not whining about it. It's a great ride with or without that stuff on the back. Heck, they could've called this ride "The Hairy Testicle" and I still would've enjoyed it.

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The Point of Cedars - Pointing you in the right direction!
http://www.thepointofcedars.tk
http://www.thepointofcedarsforum.tk

Ok, the way I see it- there are 3 possibilities-

1. The engine, tires and spoiler are all developing problems (like not being strong enough) and we'll see stronger, lighter versions of them back on the train shortly.

2. They want capacity up, so theyre removing the back section and adding seats there. It would be a pretty easy way to get over 10% higher capacity on the ride, although just getting the dual flush to work property in sequense, the capacity should give them a 10% capacity increase anyway.

3. They were cought off guard by the problems theyre having with that whole assembly and don't have time to fix it right now, so theyre waiting and weighing options. It's not vital to the ride, and Im sure they'd rather spend the man power getting other things on the ride working more reliably before they play with cosmettic stuff.

Theres no way the back can "weigh the train down". Each train weighs 11,000 lbs, correct? Well an extra 300 lbs is negligable then, it shouldn't affect it at all.

When you are heading up that tower at 120 mph, how many of you are thinking about the cool tires on the back of the train?

Does it really mattter?

I think the extra seats is a good idea. Yea I hope that they keep the theming pretty heavy and not get rid of anything. Im not sure how many rollbacks they're getting but if it's only a few times a day then I think that they should keep the extra gear.

What is that daddy? I don't know son, I don't know....... "TTD 03"

For the reason on the coaster names and theming here are some easy answers.
1) Raptor: the name raptor means "Bird of Prey" We call the dinosaurs this because the velociraptor is actually related to birds. Watch Jurassic park if you dont believe me.
2) Mantis: The ride is not themed to be anything like a mantis, its not even green. Why? Because the name of mantis is not mantis at all. The original name of Mantis is Banshee. Hence the haloween like colors of purple red etc. are used. The name was changed after the ride was designed and fabricated because of the meaning of the word Banshee. The colors have stayed, and so there you have it.

I think that Cedar Point has done a pretty decent job of theming things. even though theyre not a theme park they still theme stuff anyways. Next year they should spend money reviving the park especially Frontier Town area, which is by far the most dead section of the park. oh well thats worth my $.02

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TTD Burnouts = 6

What are the lights moving for...
AHHHHHHHHHHHH!
I Feel The Need, The Need For Speed - Top Gun

Um mantis was repainted cause its original colors were black and blue or something like that they painted it in the parking lot cause it was Banshee tho that you got right,

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Ed Markey is my anti-drug.
Rollercoasters have proven to cause brain damage in stupid politicians.

trips to CP:6 Dragster:2 MFer:6 Magnum: 13 Running with the bulls for a 15 minutes dragster wait, Must be June!

Dose anyone have pictures of the ride parts in the blue and black sheme.(sp?)