Top Thrill 2 Announced

Well, I'm not disappointed with the ride, I think it will be a big improvement over Dragster and I'm excited to ride it.

I do wish that the rollback commenced higher up the tower.

Although, there is always a possibility that they could change the ride program in future seasons, similar to what Disney did with Tower of Terror in Orlando to achieve more passes and a rollback from further up the hat, and be able to generate some marketing excitement for the enhanced experience, again as in ToT.

Maybe the first year they want to see what actual capacity turns out to be and assess the performance and reliability and wear and tear on everything.

The name is really bad, and I'm surprised they didn't do better there.

All that said, I agree this will likely be a home run for CP, and the new color scheme definitely makes it look much less an eyesore.

I think the back spike being 420 feet is in case there is a rollback on the third launch.

I am excited for ride, it was a popular ride before and this is a great enhancement. There are times in recent years where I skipped it when the line was long, but this would make it worth the wait.

LSMs operate as brakes without controller / electrical input.

In the case of a 3rd launch rollback, I assume the ride would handle it the same as an initial rollback on TTD and reset the program entirely, not attempt two more launches.

Though thinking about that, has the lottery hopes now changed from getting a rollback shifted into hoping for a second rollback?

I hope that it’s programmed to not reset and to just re-launch if that’s the case.

The name is actually starting to slowly grow on me. I remember the name Steel Vengeance not being liked initially. Leave marketing to the marketing team.

Maybe the new gift shop will sell “Make me Whole 2” t-shirts for everyone else.

Frog Hopper King:

I remember you arguing against a spike

No, read it again. I said at the time that there was no evidence that there would be one. Didn't rule it out. Y'all consistently saw things that weren't there. We didn't even have enough support structure on site until fairly recently to conclusively determine any interesting height.

And I know things precisely because I don't come out and say them. This ain't my first rodeo. I'm trusted because I play along. It would have been inappropriate to "predict" anything I had knowledge of, and I shouldn't have even engaged in the Save Intamin campaign.

So thank you for thousands of extra ad impressions.

I'm pumped for this!

The biggest head scratcher for me is actually just the placement of the alternating track colors. They swapped the placement of the alternating segments from TTD so that it now alternates at the 2 slowest parts of the ride instead of further emphasizing the sense of speed by alternating them on the straightaways and initial transition into the top hat and spike.

Personally I think a reset (from a rider perspective) would be more optimal as it would give a full "double cycle."

In the event that it does need to perform a reset we shouldn't have to worry about a 15 minute, 1 mph coast back to staging like on the original version.

Ride looks great, name is horrendous though. Wouldn't surprise me if they change it within the next 10 years.

Jeff:

And I know things precisely because I don't come out and say them. This ain't my first rodeo. I'm trusted because I play along. It would have been inappropriate to "predict" anything I had knowledge of, and I shouldn't have even engaged in the Save Intamin campaign.

Sounds like you are saying you had the inside scoop a while back.

I have wondered at times if you have deliberately steered people away when their guesses are too close to what you know.

Also not seeing the christmas tree lights anymore, either on the tower or beside the launch. The teaser video has a 2x5 grid of starting lights, but that looks more promotional than concept.

We can now hope to get a 2nd rollback on the top hat when it misfires.

Three launches = three times the chance of breaking down.

I wonder if they actually keep proceeding with tower construction now or if standing these three pieces is just for the days marketing. IF they are going full steam ahead 1. That's surprising and 2. I'd assume Iron Dragon is down the rest of the season.

DA2OPILOT --

Yes, Jeff traditionally knows or has had some inside information in the past. What makes him so successful is that he can keep a secret, and has that character and integrity.

There used to be a famous saying around these parts when GTTP was around: "Those who know don't speak; those who speak, don't know"

Does anyone know what PHP stands for? I remember seeing that hashtag in a lot of twitter posts.

Jeff:

No, read it again. I said at the time that there was no evidence that there would be one.

Wrong. You said back in October that "It's pretty obvious by the current construction what they are doing". The context was that some were arguing from the language of the marketing at the time that a spike could be in the works. You were arguing that what had been down currently was basically all that was going to be done. Even when the "lagoon maintenance"/footers were in place you were still hesitant in saying there was going to be a spike. Nice try rewriting the last few months of you insulting everyone and now trying to claim a W. It doesn't make you look strong or cool, it makes you look silly.

This coaster is tearing us apart!

anyway, I am excited for it and hopefully it will avoid the downtime of a cable launch. Chances are most of the public won’t even notice anyway.

I agree they kept the less fun part of the name. Dragster 2 would have been better. But I guess we can get T^3 shirts and hats now.

Do we have to analyze everyone's past or present posts! Let's just enjoy watching this awesome project coming together!

So we all get Top Thrill Dragster back, only better. I'll take it.

The name is a little goofy, but that's the only thing I can personally put on the "con" side against a pretty heavy list of pros.

Did people at Six Flags Magic Mountain complain when they renamed "X", "X2"? I don't remember (actually I don't care).

The trains look slick, don't they? Love the colors.