Top Thrill Dragster 2022 Status

If they were considering the platform level a second story I’m not sure that they specify only the control booth being on the second story though?

SpeedDemon:

If they were considering the platform level a second story...

My point was that specifying the "elevated control booth" as the "second story" does not necessarily mean the booth will be like GK's.

Granted, I'm about as far from an expert as one could be, but to me it's at least conceivable that code might specify that a platform/room at or more than "X" feet higher than the main floor would be considered a "second story", and this new ride's booth could be at or above that height without necessarily being as high as GK's booth.

Did my post get deleted? Weird...

I watched a recent YouTube vid and they showed a new potential footer. Is this the same new footer? As in, just a weird angle or is this an entirely new one? It looks massive.

Nope, that's the same footer that lines up with the launch track and the center of the new triangle of footers. Been there for months.

User on Twitter posted this photo this morning, which (to me at least) says that they are not going to be "candy caning" the return track too, or if so they are changing the pattern on it.

In this photo, you can see them painting through the connection seam between the two pieces (signified by the two close vertical braces).

On the launch side, the pattern is defined by the different track segments.

The color (though hard to tell in photos) appears to be more of a very light grey than a white

That might just be primer on that side

But it does indicate a likely color change even if it's primer.

I wonder if they’re doing something similar to the new Xcelerator paint job?

Striping the launch would make it feel like you’re moving/accelerating faster.

Imagine if they did extend the top hat and did so by matching the top hat of Xcelerator. Being 420+ feet up with just track and no supports would be thrilling so say the least.

Would riders notice supports? Even if so, I bet average riders wouldn't.

Also, FWIW Beachcliff Studios on YouTube asked one of the painters if it was paint or primer, and they said paint. More of the brake run side is white now too so it’s not in sections.

I kind of like the white track and dark grey supports so far.

So with the confirmation that this is paint, I wonder where the red indicated by the keychain will show up.

I hope if they do put in a spike that the ride experience is like some of the video's I have seen where you will always get a roll back. I think that would really make this reimagined dragster awesome.

I do like that grey if in fact it is paint and not primer.

I wonder if they went with white so they don’t have to repaint as often since white won’t fade as fast.

I know this isn’t exactly an apples to apples comparison, but I remember towards the end of Firehawk’s life at Kings Island, the original neon green paint from X-Flight peeked through the red Firehawk paint.

If they do plan on drastically changing the color of the track and/or supports, I think it would make sense to add primer first to avoid what happened to Firehawk. I would hate to see a new color scheme, then 5-10 years down the road see, for example, the original yellow from the main tower showing through again.

NextGen89:

Did my post get deleted? Weird...

No. You must be doing it wrong.

djDaemon:

confirmation that this is paint

I don’t know how much I trust a random on the internet saying “I asked the construction guys and they said it’s paint”. I’ll personally wait to see if it really is paint instead of primer at this point.

cedarpoint2000:

towards the end of Firehawk’s life at Kings Island, the original neon green paint from X-Flight peeked through the red Firehawk paint.

Had Firehawk ever been repainted after it's re-debut at KI in 2007?

Regardless, someone from the painting crew confirmed they're painting, not priming, TTD's track.

SpeedDemon:

I’ll personally wait to see if it really is paint instead of primer at this point.

Cool, but even if it's primer, the final color will end up being pretty close to the white primer we see now. After all, if they're priming the track, it stands to reason they're priming the supports as well. And if that's the case, they tinted that primer to a color that matches the dark gray on the keychain, so...