Top Thrill Dragster 2022 Status

I was coming in here to suggest just that. Would there be enough room for the brakes then, is the question.

It's just a ride - Sandusky Register

"It was jarring when the Cadillac Cars ride and especially the Turnpike Cars were removed."

Close enough...

Just a curious question. Besides Intamin, does anybody else do a hydraulic lunch? I just have a feeling they're dumping Intamin here, and going with a different company for track and hydraulic launch. This is just a feeling that I have.

So it is possible to add hieght by lowering the bottom, not adding to the top.

Intamin is still building revolutionary rides across the globe. I get all of the issues Cedar Fair has had- but I honestly don’t see how they do anything to Dragster without Intamin involved.

Cedar Fair isn’t the one who comes up with these ideas- sure they give the manufacturer a premise of what they’re wanting- and then the engineers and creative teams at the manufacturer comes up with the proposals and their respective sales teams pitch it back to the park leadership team.

I would assume that in a situation like this there were multiple manufacturers who were contacted about the situation with Dragster.

”We have a 420’ tall tower that’s going to cost a fortune to remove- what can you do to it?”

The winning proposal is what we’ll be getting. My money is still on Intamin.

I got to agree with leaning towards Intamin. But I also feel that the possibilities for the reimagined experience are endless. Makes me also wonder if the scrambler/Matterhorn relocation is at all related?

That's been my hunch since the Top Thrill Dragster retirement was announced. They didn't need to move Matterhorn and Scrambler and my guess is that it wasn't the intention to move them when they were planning The Boardwalk. A lot of of people questioned the necessity of putting Scrambler and Calypso in the same area (because one is obviously a tilted version of the other).

It would make sense that if they had a proposal that adds track to Top Thrill Dragster (or whatever it will be called), and they needed space for a turnaround of some kind, the midway space where Matterhorn, the bathrooms, and Scrambler all reside(d) would be the ideal spot with little infrastructure needed to be torn apart.

^There is very little accomplished by just relocating those to rides to clear up space. Corkscrew, Power Tower, Iron Dragon are all considerably in the way. Are you seeing something I'm not?

That is exactly what I was thinking, I am not sure how removing Matterhorn and Scrambler free up any space to whatever is happening with TTD as there are several additional rides in the way. Unless they are going to move the maintenance shops and re-route the Midway to the East of Corkscrew I am not seeing how Matterhorn and Scrambler play into this situation at all.

Here's some interesting 20-year old construction footage:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnaV_X530IQ

As far as Intamin being involved with the transformative work on TDD, I don't see that happening. They've burned Cedar Fair as a whole numerous times over the last few decades, and not just Cedar Point. It's long out of warranty, and any firm that has the credentials and expertise to do the job and is willing to stand behind their work has gotten the job. It's not like that this hasn't been done before.

The awful flumes, with the flip at Cedar Point and the, well, dud at Holiday World, plus years of death and injury, yeah, hard pass on Intamin.

What? Are you guys serious? Intimin of today is not the intimin of the past. They just made one of the best coasters in the US (Velocicoaster). They have been doing high-quality work as of late. My first guess would be to use intimin to help them with the project.

While I am a big fan of Velocicoaster, 1 successful reliable ride installation doesn’t necessarily mean Intamin is now producing “high quality” installations. Unless I am missing other more recent successful installs (which I very well may be missing it), I feel like Intamin will be Intamin: innovative and not afraid to push limits. However, still unreliable products as far as I know.

IntAmin.

Frog Hopper King:

They just made one of the best coasters in the US (Velocicoaster).

Meh, I have more context than that. I know the guy who had a lot to do with the layout, and he works for Universal, not Intamin. The mechanical systems of that ride are mostly proven from their portfolio. They did what they were given, which is unusual outside of the big Orlando themers.

Tilt-a-Whirl:

My money is still on Intamin.

But that's the thing - it's not your money. It's Cedar Fair's, and they've spent a lot of money on Intamin failures, most recently the StR catastrophe. There are other companies wholly qualified to design a new launch mechanism for an existing structure.

Sparty42:
They didn't need to move Matterhorn and Scrambler and my guess is that it wasn't the intention to move them when they were planning The Boardwalk. A lot of of people questioned the necessity of putting Scrambler and Calypso in the same area (because one is obviously a tilted version of the other).

This would make a little more sense if they moved Super Himalaya instead of Matterhorn, considering Matterhorn and Scrambler are nowhere near TTD. Heck, Scrambler is as close, if not closer, to Windseeker than to TTD.

As for grouping "similar" rides together, two things:

One, I don't think your average park guest looks at Scrambler and Calypso and sees the same ride, with the only difference being that one is tilted on its side. They see two spinning rides that either look like fun or not, and accordingly they ride one, both, or neither.

And two, when you have a low capacity ride, it makes sense to group it with other low capacity rides. That way you end up with an area with a decent combined capacity. The Gemini Midway is a good example, with Monster, Lake Erie Eagles, and Pipe Scream.

TwistedWicker77:

Unless I am missing other more recent successful installs (which I very well may be missing it), I feel like Intamin will be Intamin: innovative and not afraid to push limits. However, still unreliable products as far as I know

Their recent builds are Pantheon, Hyperion, Red Force, and the Movie Park Studio Tour. All have gotten great press, and seem to work well. And Jeff you actually proved my point. Velocicoasters' mechanical system works well because they have honed in fixing mistakes. If they are redoing the launch then that's exactly what they are updating. Personally, I think it's a little silly just to assume because CP/CF hasn't been working with them in the past automatically means that they would refuse from using them now. Especially because it seems like they are making high-quality products as of late that are more reliable. but I could be wrong, I'm just guessing.

djDaemon:

But that's the thing - it's not your money. It's Cedar Fair's

Of course it is. I thought this was a corner of the internet where we all discuss what we think will happen. What do you think is happening DJ? You and the webmaster seem to be so sure of everything that’s not happening- tell us what you think IS happening. It’s called speculation, and it’s what’s made sites like this successful over the years.

But it’s more enjoyable when people theorize what WILL happen vs just sitting back and poking holes in what everyone else is speculating. That’s not very fun.

Making uninformed guesses isn't a prerequisite for pointing out flaws in other people's uninformed guesses. And it's not as though I chime in and swat away every bit of speculation, just the really bad predictions.

And sorry, but the idea that CF is going to invest tens of millions of dollars by adding thousands of feet of track to a 420' tall 20+ year old ride structure is a really bad take. I'm not saying CF working with IntaRide is totally out of the question, but to suggest it would be because Universal likes the brand new ride from Intamin has, so far, been a success, is a bad take.

One difference between a good and bad prediction is that bad ones tend to work from the desired outcome and reverse engineer the evidence in support of the desired outcome. You seem to be a big fan of Intamin's rides, which is fine - I am too! - but have little to no concern with the business end of owning & operating their products. As such, your desired outcome is Intamin being involved - all else be damned - and you work backwards from there highlighting or omitting evidence to best fit your desired outcome.

In my opinion, blind, fantastical speculation isn't fun. Informed speculation is fun.