Top Thrill Dragster 2022 Status

While I personally hope Intimin is behind the redo, I'm not convinced that the style of support or specific brake systems are really compelling evidence by themselves. I think both Zamperla and Intimin are currently on the table.

Avljkb22:

I was only able to find those pivoting brake fins on three other coasters, Nefeskesen, Red Fire, and iSpeed.

I thought Cheetah Hunt also used them on the first set of brakes heading into the final brake run. The ones that are on the tiny hill up into the brakes, then they switch to standard vertical-movement brakes once the track flattens out. Having trouble finding photographic proof to back this up, or prove that I'm remembering wrong.

EDIT: After looking closer at a 4K POV, I think I'm wrong and they're standard.

^^Intamin

I'm starting to think that Intamin doing the track and LSM system and Zamperla providing the trains is a very plausible scenario.

If that was the case, I'm curious what the rationale would be for this? Are they lighter and require less power to get them up to speed? Intamin already has trains that are successful on LSM switch track layouts.

Supposedly zamperla trains are lighter and are modular so far less maintenance cost and lighter moving mass.

Less weight, and my cursory understanding is, the way the Zamperla train chassis are machined, there are less individual parts that could potentially separate. Not that the latter would necessarily be a deciding factor, but could be incidental fodder for underwriter appeasement.

I posted this video some pages back, but it's hard to watch this and not think of it as a possibility. I don't think different companies working on different aspects of the ride is out of the question either. As far as I know the lightning train is the only thing like it on the market. Considering Cedar Fair's recent love affair with Zamperla, not to mention Wild Mouse, I'm sure it at least came up in the conversation.

Watching that video, it almost seems tailor made for this exact scenario. And when he said "soon to be on some of the world's fastest attractions" and "200 kph" (which is 124mph if anyone is keeping track), it just sounds like the perfect fit.

Yes. Cheetah hunt does have them in at least one location. There’s 2 or 3 clear pictures of them on RCDB. They are deployed in those photos though, you can see the pneumatic cylinder underneath and you can also tell which side they’re hinged on. Sorry, that post was my response to a comment about cheetah hunt also having them. I should’ve quoted the original.

So I think we get one more teaser on socials tomorrow at 4:20 to give us one last cliffhanger before the weekend. Probably one Monday as a “1 day until announcement” as well. Maybe some new pieces on the fence over the weekend?

I wonder if we will also get more clues on the Dragster midway. The past two Fridays have given us some new teases going into the weekend, ie: “Racing” sticker on the ground/ hydraulic building billboard and the clues on the construction fence.

DA20Pilot:

I'm starting to think that Intamin doing the track and LSM system and Zamperla providing the trains is a very plausible scenario.

With the reworked track arriving with what appears to be modern Intamin hardware, some scenario like this seems increasingly plausible.

I wonder if Intamin might be providing the track (& LSM by way of Indrivetec) hardware, and Zamperla is providing the trains and delivering the final product. Given the circumstances - poor deliverables' performance to and relationship with CF, and that it's an existing Intamin structure - it wouldn't be crazy that CF would want Intamin involved to some extent, but also wouldn't necessarily be keen on Intamin being responsible for the complete project. And Zamperla, given their eagerness to grow and tackle larger projects, might be willing to take on the task of taking Intamin hardware and delivering a final product to CF.

On the other hand, such a partnership could be kind of tricky, so maybe it as simple as Intamin doing the bulk of the work and using Zamperla trains. But if that's the case, I'm not particularly optimistic about this thing opening on time and having a smooth first season.

Only about 100 hours until we find out.

a date of 8/1/23 on the fence isn't going to be very relevant on 8/2. Think they'll leave it up or replace it with the new name or some other relevant number?

They'll just take out the slashes, 8123 miles per hour

Mach 11 would be a good name for an air racing themed rollercoaster lol

Plague on Wheels:

They'll just take out the slashes, 8123 miles per hour

Can someone explain where the idea behind an Intamin/Zamperla partnership on this project? Seems like several people think Intamin is doing basically the whole project with Zamperla providing trains. There's a few issues with that, one issue being that Intamin also makes fantastic trains with great restraints that are already proven. I don't see these companies working together.

I'm not sure I see the logic here either. If something breaks or goes wrong, having two different developers would make everything way more complicated than it already is. Was it Zamperlas fault, Intamins fault, or Cedar Points fault? I think they will keep it to one developer.

With any major attraction, there are always dozens of manufacturers, contractors, suppliers, etc., involved. It's not as if Intamin is providing Intamin-manufactured PLCs, sensors, AC motors, VFDs, cables, fittings, etc. Or even their own LSM tech, which comes from Indrivetec. And RMC doesn't provide controls systems, that comes from IOE. And so on.

So in a scenario where Intamin and Zamperla are both involved, it stands to reason that one of major players involved will be the entity responsible for the final product.