Top Thrill Dragster 2022 Status

The posts on social media whining about the possibility of Zamperla in control of this project….like Intamin nailed the Strata Coaster…😂

If that’s the case, lets see what they can do with it…couldn’t be any worse right?!? Gotta crawl before you can walk…they’ve been crawling for a while, time to stand up and take your big boy steps!

I am thoroughly enjoying the secrecy behind this project…now the teasers start! Old school!

Well, the hashtag #CP2024PHP matches what was on the folder some CP team members were passing around in the holiday video from last year. Not that it's a clue, but it's cool that it ended up being related to this in some way.

Can someone smarter than me explain how these few leaked photos prove this is a Zamperla creation?

It appears the track that arrived has two sets of fins running parallel to each other. This lines up with the chassis of Zamperla’s lightning train which has two parallel channels for brake fins and/or LSM stators to pass through. As far as I’m aware, Intamin hasn’t used that design before, opting for a single brake fin.

Bummer that it's still going to be a racing theme, but oh well. Excited to watch construction regardless!

cedarpoint2000:

As far as I’m aware, Intamin hasn’t used that design before, opting for a single brake fin.

Isn't that exactly how TTD and Ka are setup though? Side by side brake fins?

You’re right, it’s amazing how quickly I forgot about the old ride…

Let me clarify my point. Yes it will be great having a more efficient Dragster. However, I do not see a coaster that is “spectacular”. Zamperla will use their new trains,but I do not see a record breaking spike. My main disappointment is it looks like Cedar Fair does not want to work with Intamin anymore. Intamin is turning out some fantastic rides lately while Zamperla rides are having problems all over.

Well, once again, absolutely nothing is confirmed about ride layout, so I'm not sure that there's anything to be disappointed in.

Further, this thread is filled with back and forth about Intamin's poor relationship with Cedar Fair: from poor design leading to delayed openings for just about every ride installed at CF parks to a poor customer service experience.

However, I'd love to see examples of "Zamperla rides are having problems all over the place" because that seems rather dismissive and hyperbolic, likely caused by your own disappointment that Intamin supposedly isn't doing this work rather than being based in fact.

Edit: These are the Intamin coasters built in the United States in the last 6 years. Am I supposed to be impressed by anything other than VelociCoaster. Pantheon, and Hagrid's (all of which were either extensive projects or very problematic/delayed)?

Of course there is no 100% certainty about anything at this point but the layout does not see to be changing at all because of the painted footers in place. Perhaps no airtime hill. Makes me wonder what they are going to do with the existing station and transfer track though.

SpeedDemon:

Wouldn’t we usually be starting to get hints of some kind by this point in the summer for a huge project like this?

I take all the credit for what happened today

Sparty42:

dit: These are the Intamin coasters built in the United States in the last 6 years. Am I supposed to be impressed by anything other than VelociCoaster. Pantheon, and Hagrid's (all of which were either extensive projects or very problematic/delayed)?

Well.... having ridden Hagrids and Velocicoater, I'd say those three coasters are pretty damn impressive - a great coaster every two years (just in the United States). What is your point?

I mean, no one in their right mind would compare Intamin's rollercoaster ride design and ride experiences with Zamperlas, would they? (Not that I'm saying Zamperla shouldn't get a fair shot .... everyone does start somewhere, but Zamperla is certainly skipping some gradual growth steps...)

And the notion that "every" (or even the "majority") of Intamin coasters are problematic in their debuts is just demonstrably wrong. That Cedar Fair has had mostly poor experiences with them is generalized to everyone -- neither Universal nor Disney (of which Intamin has built numerous coasters) would agree, nor would the large majority of Asian and European theme park operators. Thus, that's why Intamin continues to be contracted for a ton of rides.

JW Addington:

like Intamin nailed the Strata Coaster…😂

And the log flume. They hit that one out of the park.

Yeah and it sounds like Zamperla really nailed Wild Mouse. That much downtime with an out of the box coaster? Sure, give ‘em the second tallest in the world. What could possibly go wrong?

Cedar Pointer:

with an out of the box coaster?

If I followed correctly, Cedar Point is the first park to install this "extreme spinning" (forgive the exact model being incorrect) wild mouse variant from Zamperla I believe. Not that there's any indication of quality one way or the other if that is true.

More so I wanted to point out this isn't a model that there's a handful installed and operating already.

It seems like some are talking up VelociCoaster and Hagrids as a model for great reliability. While anecdotal, when I rode them they both had multiple breakdowns while in line, each lasting 15-30 minutes.

I don’t disagree that they make great ride experiences, but pushing extremes didn’t equal great reliability with the “old” Intamin and I don’t think much as changed with “new” Intamin. I guess they haven’t sunk any boats lately, so that’s a win, right?

Aaronosmer:

t seems like some are talking up VelociCoaster and Hagrids as a model for great reliability. While anecdotal, when I rode them they both had multiple breakdowns while in line, each lasting 15-30 minutes.

I don’t disagree that they make great ride experiences, but pushing extremes didn’t equal great reliability with the “old” Intamin and I don’t think much as changed with “new” Intamin

Hagrid's was incredibly unreliable.

Velocicoaster has been very reliable.

One person's experience on a given day isn't exactly a representative sample. Even the most ardent Intamin haters should fairly concede Velocicoaster has been a huge win in both popularity AND reliability.

I could easily name 10 other recent Intamins (and historical ones) that have had nothing unusual in unreliability: but base rates don't matter around here. Cedar Fair's experience is generalized to ALL Intamin rides -- regardless of the actual data.

To be fair, I did mention that it was my anecdotal experience. Both rides were great once I got on them. At least on Hagrids the down time at least doubled the wait.

all good, I wasn't poking at you. and Hagrid's has indeed been a reliability disaster (but in semi-fairness, it was a very advanced ride and it was rushed to hit a specific deadline).

To be clear, Intamin manufactured those rides at Universal, but the designs are by Universal Creative. I know the guy largely responsible for Velocicoaster, and he's essentially an enthusiast in terms of knowing what we'd like.