Top Thrill Dragster 2022 Status

I don't know, but just using my imagination.

Not that long ago.

Texas Stingray 2020

Did a quick search, GCI is involved with building the new Zambezi Zinger at Worlds Of Fun.

They say Stingray is a great ride and it looks to be.
Zambezi Zinger, I dunno. It’s still on its way to completion so the jury is still out. So many Missourians have such fond memories of the original that an attempt to replicate it in an odd way may be insulting. And Missourians are hard to fool. Show Me State and all that.

To add to that.. Mystic Timbers at KI? From all the way back in 2017 (feels way longer ago than it actually was), but along with the recent Zinger this shows CF at least isn't unwilling to work with GCI, imo. However, I doubt there's any appetite to put a *new (edit to add "new" to make my thought a little clearer :) wooden coaster in at CP in the near future (which I'm fine with, despite enjoying MT immensely after finally riding it a couple years ago.) Mean streak is gone, they could've put a boardwalk woodie in, which wouldn't have been the greatest environment anyway...

It's brought up often and I seem to see it mentioned online on most people's wishlists but personally I just don't see it happening within the next 10 maybe even 15 years.

Just throwing this out there that the old STR and Forbidden Frontier area is a nice plot of land for a really nice sized GCI. But I’m not jumping on that train just yet. I’m still excited for 2023 and of course what 2024 has in store first.

I doubt they'd want to deal with a traditional wood coaster due to how they age and become rough and associated maintenance costs. But I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a small RMC woody with 208 track on it in that spot. I'd much rather see a traditional log flume though.

There’s a traditional wooden coaster at the front of the park that has been there for years. Many parks have had success with recent wooden coaster installations. I’m not following your logic.

The traditional coaster at the front of the park is already there and is a classic. I'm not suggesting they tear down something that exists.

My logic is simple...

A) Wooden coaster track tends to not age well and requires frequent retracking expense and hassle to maintain the quality of ride experience, and thus there may be an element of reluctance to install a new woody with traditional track construction when there are other options available today.

B) RMC's 808 track provides an option to have traditional wood coaster look and feel and wood coaster trains while ostensibly retaining the experience of riding a wooden coaster and maintaining the ride experience over time and eliminating retracking expense. Purists may disagree, and I havent ridden a coaster with 808 track, but I would expect it to ride like good wood assuming the element design is akin to a traditional woody as opposed to something like SV.

C) A wood framed coaster would aesthetically and thematically fit well in that area.

D) CP has an abundance of steel coasters but lacks a modern traditional style mid-sized wooden twister layout coaster (BS is a simple out and back, and SV and Gemini are more like steel in terms of ride experience), so something like this would fill a gap in CP's coaster lineup.

D) Cedar Fair has an existing relationship with RMC.

Thus, due to all of the above it seems like a reasonable possibility that CP might go in this direction as opposed to a wood tracked GCI.

That said, I think a traditional log flume would fill a much bigger gap in CP's overall ride lineup and would also fit very well in that spot.

There aren't a ton of new wood coasters being built. However, there have been some pretty extensive retracking projects using The Gravity Group's manufactured, vertically laminated track. They've replaced significant portions of The Beast and Racer at Kings Island, and did something like a thousand feet of track on The Voyage at Holiday World. That stuff is a game changer... cheaper than the RMC treatment, smoother ride, longer lasting, still wood for the purists. Blue Streak is small enough that it ran pretty well for years after Martin & Vleminckx ("The Canadians") worked on it, but it was a mess when I rode it last year. I've never seen the trains squeak and flex as much as they did. I wouldn't object to getting the TGG track.

Work on Blue Streak would be great! Wonder if it would have a better ride experience with the millennium flyer trains?

DA20Pilot:

B) RMC's 808 track provides an option to have traditional wood coaster look and feel...

If you're referring to RMC's "208 ReTraK", it is, as I understand it, nothing more than a different version of their I-box track, so it's nothing at all like a traditional wood coaster, and certainly wouldn't have the "feel" of a wood coaster. Plus, CP already has two hybrid coasters.

D) Cedar Fair has an existing relationship with RMC.

I would imagine it's not a great relationship after SV.

As for GCI, they're still working, and as far as I can tell CF was happy with Mystic Timbers. And if the park is looking for a wooden coaster with lower maintenance costs, the obvious answer would be a steel support coaster with GG's Engineered Precut Track that Jeff mentioned. You get the "feel" of a wood coaster, since the track is wood, but save on some maintenance cost since the steel supports require far less attention.

Why wouldn’t it be great after Steel Vengeance?

Yes, I meant 208 track, my bad. I think I had the Roland 808 on my brain lol.

Not familiar with the Gravity Group track, but sounds great if it holds up over time.

I know SV had some issues in the beginning, bid did that sour the relationship? Or was it more a case where they took care of the issues to everyone's satisfaction and everyone was happy in the end? I don't know either way.

I remember when Blue Streak had the original trains. They used to flex like a cardboard box in the early 90s.

If ElToroRyan is to be believed, SV could not run true 3-train operation for the first two years of its existence because of design failures. Trains collided on its opening day because of design failures. The structure has required quite a bit of reinforcement, etc. I would imagine RMC has corrected the issues to CF's satisfaction, but if I'm CF, would I rather work with a company who might deliver a subpar product, or would I rather work with a company like B&M, who have a much better reputation?

CF has not installed a RMC ride in several years. That's not to say they'll never work together again, but if CF were over-the-moon pleased with RMC, one would think that we'd have seen more installations since SV and Twisted Timbers debuted 5 years ago.

The TGG track uses vertical pieces cut with a CNC machine, glued and bolted together. Take a few popsicle sticks and hold them horizontally. They'll bend and flex quite a bit. Hold them vertically, they bend almost not at all. They're also cut so they sit flat on each ledger. There's far less opportunity to create the "washboard" effect between ledgers. (Layers painted different colors so you can see the difference.)

kylepark:

It’s so obvious the three big footers is for the steel columns that will hold up the massive canopy covering the new queue area.

:)

Yes, it's self-evident. You would always want to build a footer of these dimensions to hold up something very small -- over-engineering is super cost effective.

If Jeff’s theory is correct about the upward slope (enough to overshoot Iron Dragon) and no “spike”, then perhaps the footer being constructed is the only one needed to support it. And the part of the lagoon that was filled in - near Coasters and along the edge - could be used to store supplies or simply just access for trucks.

I agree that CP's relationship with RMC is probably not great after SV. On top of the other issues mentioned. Take note of the fact that SV can't even operate on Early Entry because of the amount of time taken each day for inspection. Last year I ran into one of the "Black shirt higher-ups" and asked them about this. They mentioned that with the removal of the catwalks that Mean Streak had, the daily inspections and necessary corrections are very time consuming for the carpenters. I love SV, but I do think that RMC did not meet the parks expectations looking back on it. Reminds me a bit (not nearly as bad) as what the relationship with Intamin was after STR.

Jordan_Vanichek:

If Jeff’s theory is correct about the upward slope (enough to overshoot Iron Dragon) and no “spike”, then perhaps the footer being constructed is the only one needed to support it.

The footers are massive and are very clearly laid out to support something much taller than a simple "upward slope."

Using some very rough measuring on Google Maps, the two back footers are approximately 70 feet apart. It doesn't take a geometry wizard to understand that they'll be supporting something pretty tall.