Top Thrill Dragster 2022 Status

If TTD was to be removed, I honestly don't think I could handle it. I'm having a hard enough time with Wicked Twister. I hope TTD reopens in 2023.

Cartwright said:

If any track needed replacement there is plenty of time for that to get manufactured and installed without calling it for the entire 2022 season. And the cost of something like that would hardly be something to paralyze the rides department budget for such a major ride.

With Covid, Manufacturing pieces could be delayed.

Track is still being manufactured on time for hundreds of ride projects globally. With the lead time they would have had from last year, I again doubt that this is the reason for keeping it closed the entire season.

We can all only speculate though, clearly this is a unique situation and the park has its reasons for keeping Dragster closed. I’d say we would know the fate of the ride for sure by Fall only if a total removal is taking place. They’d likely want to get that started in September or October. Otherwise we won’t hear anything.

GL2CP said:

Let’s bring in the GCI in this location

I'm all for it. Especially if it means Gemini would never have to be sacrificed for it

I suspect that insurance will not underwrite a policy for the ride, especially if there's à civil suit still pending (I assume there is). It's an expensive ride, and this isn't the first time someone was hurt by it. It's down a lot, and the price per ride I bet is pretty high.

I doubt we'll see it run again. I also assume it's fully depreciated by now. Write it off and move on.

Top Thrill 182 said:

I honestly wasn't expecting the ride to be SBNO for all of 2022.

Until the 2022 season is over, we can't say it will be SBNO for all of 2022. While it is likely, we shouldn't assume it will never open for 2022 until it doesn't actually open for 2022. There is always a chance once the park determines it can open without the same situation happening again.

The park already confirmed it will not run this year. If they were planning on running it this year, I think they would've said something along those lines or made a more vague statement like it may run pending further investigation. I can't see them retracting on that and opening this year. While that may be possible, I highly doubt it. They seemed pretty sure and are dead set on not running it this year.

I agree that saying it won't be open in 2022 doesn't in and of itself mean it won't open in 2022 or that it will be removed. It may well not run in 2022 and they may well remove the ride at some point. But saying it won't open in 2022 protects (to a certain degree at least outside this site) against constant questions about it. And no one can complain they bought a ticket or pass thinking it would be open at some point in 2022. Though to a certain extent, until they announce they are taking it down or actually take it down (and for some people on this site, even after they would take it down ;)), there would be questions from some people about it.

And if the plan is to re-open the ride at some point in 2022 (if they can figure something out), there is no harm in saying it wouldn't open in 2022. People won't say "but you told us it would be closed all of 2022."

And again, not saying it will be open in 2022 or they won't remove it. Seems to me they could make changes to correct/address the issues if they want to do that. And rides re-open after accidents (though some do not) so insurance issues aren't necessarily something that cannot be overcome. All that notwithstanding, they may well determine (and may have already determined) the ride will be removed.

In terms of a write-off, if its already fully depreciated (not sure what the useful life for a coaster is for accounting or tax purposes) there is nothing to write-off.

I meant that in the metaphorical sense, not financial.

I think we'll know a lot more as the season opens/progresses, whether or not there are any official announcements. If we see work in the area (replacing track sections, re-routing or putting some safety measures into the queue) that's a good sign that Dragster will see another day. If not, that may be equally telling.

It seems like a stretch, but I wonder if they would consider a re-design of the controls system to eliminate these flag plates entirely. A new sort of sensor or something that would both eliminate this failure mode entirely, and potentially also improve the embarrassing reliability of the ride. Obviously there's other historical issues in play, so that wouldn't resolve everything. And a new controls system is no small feat. But it's been done on other rides (looking at you, Power Tower), and the park could use it as a selling point if they did want to re-open the ride.

Frankly, I'm in agreement that the future is likely dire for TTD. But even as someone who doesn't ride it super often, it'll be sad if it does get the axe.

I’m getting “Wicked Twister isn’t getting scrapped” vibes from some folks on here with regard to the park saying the ride will remain closed this year. It ain’t reopening this year folks. Better that you accept that fact now then spend the entire season denying it. The park doesn’t make those statements lightly. But, I already know that Tony Clark will get asked about 500 times at Winter Chillout if Dragster is reopening this season so…not worth the argument I guess.

I forget what year it was, but Magnum had its control system updated as well.

If Intamin is in fact making sensor/track improvements to TTD, would they also want SFGA to make those same improvements to Kingda Ka? I would assume that ride has the same mechanical components that would need replaced - of course, if I’m correct, (never been to that park) the queue line for Kingda Ka is not in the same location in relation to Dragster.

It also makes me question how often this happens without being noticed by the public. What if the same thing happened to MaXair* to where some part of the ride came off, and just went unnoticed to the public but not to ride operators and mechanics. The park isn’t required to explain why a ride may be closed. But they had a lot pressure this time around because some guests witnessed the accident. If that plate happened to fly off into the lagoon instead, yeah Dragster would still have been shut down (once it was noticed by employees) but then we wouldn’t know the reason.

*I think it was said on here previously that there were motor issues and needed parts replaced.

https://www.wkyc.com/article/entertainment/places/cedar-point/cedar...51bdc35d41

I completely understand that the ride had an accident. I am sad that it happened, but I am glad that the woman who was hurt survived.

If the state has cleared the investigation and found that Cedar Point/Cedar Fair was not a fault, I wonder why they are keeping the ride shut down? King de Ka is made by the same manufacturer, so hopefully they have checked their ride closely.

Cartwright said:

GL2CP said:

Let’s bring in the GCI in this location

I'm all for it. Especially if it means Gemini would never have to be sacrificed for it

If the park is still able to operate dragster, I would imagine they would do so. However if they do decide to get rid of dragster that would be the perfect place for a GCI. They could have it go over the lagoon and everything. If they decide to go that route, maybe they can even make it a little taller mystic timbers; not that Mystic Timbers is a bad ride, but imagine how much faster it would go if it had a bigger lift hill.

While I admire the optimism, y'all aren't being realistic. As I said, consider the position of the insurance underwriters and the maintenance costs alone. Take the total operational cost and divide it by the number of rides given in a typical year, and I can guarantee it's one of the highest in the park. It has been unreliable from the start and had several accidents.

Actually, the more I think about it, the more I agree that the lagoon would be a great place for an RMC or GCI, that's about as good as you're going to get on the peninsula for terrain coaster territory (although Maverick has done pretty decently since the landscaping has matured). Yes, I know it's still as flat as the rest of the peninsula, but at least in regards of remaining tree density and the lagoon itself.

As much as I've wanted a redo of the CP Cyclone on the beachfront over the years, I think I'm a lot more open to the idea of a Gerstlauer at the WT site now, both from not obscuring the lakeview as much as the structure of a wooden coaster would, and potentially still fitting boardwalk vibes.

My assumption at this point is that while the State has completed its investigation, the attorneys are not done with the ride yet, and until they have their say, there is a good reason to keep the ride closed. My guess is that the condition of the ride has been preserved apart from what was done for the State investigation. And it will stay that way until the expected legal proceedings are concluded. Once that's done, the ride will need to undergo its normal winter overhaul before it can run again, and since that (presumably) hasn't happened yet, that will be deferred to the end of this season (at least). That is, assuming it happens at all.

My assumption for the moment is that the park intends to operate Dragster again, but the final decision on its fate has not yet been made. I also suspect that if the ride is closed for legal reasons, and if the usual legal foot-dragging happens, it may be late 2023 or even early 2024 before the ride can open again.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.