Top Thrill Dragster 2022 Status

“The park does not need to say anything” and “you will notice by the fact that the ride is operating” is what you said. “The park does not need to say anything” and “you will notice by the fact that the ride is no longer present” are other things you said that led to my statement. I personally don’t care if there’s a grand announcement or not, and I agree that something along the lines of “Top Thrill Dragster Set to Make it’s Triumphant Return” would be a distasteful headline. But be sure that it won’t be handled with tiny, canned PR releases designed to wave off the fact that there was an incident. There will be questions and if they don’t feel pressed to say something meaningful then I’ll be surprised. I live in Columbus and was working at the Ohio State Fair the day of the horrible Fireball accident. And lo these many years later it’s still the lead line in many, many stories about the fair, especially those about the midway and ride safety. Regardless of whether the ride stays or leaves, the TTD accident will live with Cedar Point and amongst it’s guests for a long time from now, and I think they’re going to “need to say something”. It’s a hard one, and I’m grateful to not be the guy behind that desk.

The John Deere tractor display has been in that exact location as far back as 1979. That was my first visit there and I clearly remember walking through the woods after Jungle Larry’s and thinking how it was odd to see the display.

This John Deere display is turning into some sort of weird lore to me the farther back it goes. It's hilarious.

Thank you for the updates and information!

I still remember how weird it was the few years it was a Cub Cadet display.

You can still buy an ornament on the Cedar Point online store with Dragster on it. I say its staying. :)

https://cedarpointonlineshop.com/collections/seasonal/products/orna...cp-skyline

The John Deere Display just isn’t the same without the train launch of TTD in the background.

XS that's a good point, the whole John Deere display would need redone too!

New John Deere display location and setup 2023!

I'm calling it now!

Oof, that would be poor taste to sell the track pieces, wouldn't it?

Right, but the point I'm trying to make is:

"Ope, someone got injured by our rollercoaster. Let's try to make a profit off that."

Obviously it's an apples and oranges difference in magnitude, but all this talk about what's in good or bad taste is really making this feel like when you're talking about the legacy and past work of a celebrity who's just had a career-ending scandal.

Even that, you're always going to get different opinions from different people depending on the severity of said scandal, the time removed from said scandal, and how prolific their career was.

Bringing it back to TTD, and at risk of repeating myself, does it ever become less bad taste or is there ever a point that you can say 'enough time has passed, we can gently pay tribute to what was still a landmark and historical ride'? For instance, let's say yes TTD's torn down, does TTD even get a tombstone in the ride graveyard for Halloweekends?

Dan that's a point that's been crossing my mind too. I feel horrible for those involved in any incident, but one incident in my mind does not overwrite a nearly 20-year legacy of a record breaker. Is it a huge part of that history absolutely and a very sad one at that. But it doesn't mean that TTDs legacy is gone in that as well. I think there is a way to see Cedar Point honor the landmark no matter what they do, and still be respectful of the victim and family of the most recent incident. What that looks like I don't know, nor do I want to try and speak for that family or for the park, but I do have a couple ideas in my head that I think would be tasteful to all parties involved.

Let's not forget even though there was also some very unfortunate situations for riders of son of beast, there is still a monument to the ride in banshee's queue to this day.

Things can be gray, unfortunately the world we live in isn't black and white, there is tragedy and triumph and they can exist at the same time. Attending a memorial service today I was very much reminded of this.

Son of Beast did not result in nearly the same magnitude of injury as this incident did, since as far as we know all of the people affected by that ride walked out of the hospital back into normal lives.

From what we have heard about this situation, this was a career-ending injury that also resulted in the need for constant in-home care for the rest of her life. She's alive, but her life as she and her loved ones knew it was effectively and forever ended by this incident. If I'm the park, I treat this as a ride killing someone, full stop.

I've been trying to look up examples of comparable incidents that resulted in deaths or effective deaths if you will, and it's been surprisingly challenging if I want to exclude incidents that were the result of either preexisting medical conditions (undiagnosed or otherwise) or from the victim violating a safety protocol (e.g. folks falling out of restraints from trying to stand up, or the various folks that have gotten killed from entering restricted/low clearance areas). Maybe I'm just not looking in the right places.

That being said, you're not wrong, the victim in this case from all accounts has basically had a Michael Schumacher level of life upheaval and debilitation that one could definitely argue to be almost worse than straight-up death.

I guess to put the ball back in your court as best I can without beating a dead horse, you've been repeatedly quite emphatic in this thread that the severity of the injury to the victim and its effects on her and her family overrule any comparisons to other incidents... Are there any historical incidents that you would say is a comparable level of magnitude? And past that, if you're the park and you're treating this as the ride killing someone, what's your approach to Dragster, its legacy, and making it up to the family?

You guys might have already talked about this, but just an observation, I was at CP last week for 5 nights, and Top Thrill Dragster was indeed lit up at night, which I believe hasn't been the case up until now. Not that I have any idea what that, coupled with the markings all over the ground near it, mean, but I would assume it's not an accident that the spotlights / floods are back on...

I don't recall exactly when the lights were turned on. Could it have been to coincide with the start of Cedar Point Nights? If not, add a check mark to the "it's staying" column.

That Crazy Dan said:

Are there any historical incidents that you would say is a comparable level of magnitude?

There aren't any that I can think of, which is my point when responding to people making comparisons to other situations, and predictions based on those comparisons. The park is sort of in uncharted territory here.

And past that, if you're the park and you're treating this as the ride killing someone, what's your approach to Dragster, its legacy, and making it up to the family?

Making it up to the family is a separate situation that the park and their insurers are infinitely more qualified to handle, so I can't touch on that. I'm also completely unqualified to run an amusement park, but... :-P

If it were my call, the ride would be gone from the landscape come May '23, as much as is feasible given the size of the ride.

Its "legacy" depends on from what perspective. From the park's perspective, it's been a costly, problematic ride that has had incidents prior to this one, some of which didn't result in injuries purely by luck.

From the fan perspective, they'll always have memories of the ride, and that's the legacy for them. And I suppose in a world where StR, which nearly drowned multiple occupants, has a tombstone, sure, put one up for TTD during HW to appease those who miss it. And maybe in a few years sell vintage apparel.

I guess I'm strange for not seeing any connection to the lights coming on and whether the ride is staying or not.

Unless...

CEDAR POINT MIDWAY, CLOSE TO SUNSET

Blue Shirt: "Sir...the enthusiasts are restless."

Black Shirt Higher Up: "But the ride is staying. They will know soon enough."

Blue Shirt: "But sir....I just think that..."

Black Shirt Higher Up: "SILENCE!"

Black Shirt Higher Up: "They must learn patience"

Blue Shirt: "Why did you hit me? And where did you get that costume?"

Black Shirt Higher Up: "It's not important."

In a daze, the Blue Shirt shuffled off, knowing he had to find a way to let the people know. After all, there were 43 people on the internet counting on him. They must know. But how? Call the Sandusky Register? No...too risky. Release an emu? Already been done.

And then, just as he was about to lose hope. He saw it. Yes. Yes.

This was the way.

Jordan_Vanichek said:

Oof, that would be poor taste to sell the track pieces, wouldn't it?

Not as bad as if they sold the "flag plates" or whatever they're called.

I’m seeing TTD from Webcam 2 for the first time since last year’s incident. Could that be a good omen?

I dunno... slingshot from that angle looks like a crane getting ready to tear it down...

Didn’t a woman die on Texas Giant? Wasn’t she thrown from the ride? I understand it may have been a situation where she should’ve never been permitted to ride, but the ride killed her nonetheless (I do remember a lengthy lawsuit with Six Flags and the train manufacturer).

Texas Giant is still up and running. I guess my point is what is the criteria to respect victims of past accidents? I think that the park has gone above and beyond to respect what has happened, and I do not think reopening the ride next year somehow disrespects what took place.