Cedar Point/Top Thrill Dragster down AGAIN

This time is pretty severe, I would guess. We were there yesterday, planning to ride it for the first time..But with a 1hr 45 min wait, we figured we'd hit the Gemini, Magnum, Wicked Twister (which is great!!) and then come back later. HUGE boom sound, we were in line for another coaster so we weren't sure what it was. When we came off we headed to Dragster to ride, and it's closed! We talked to a few people as well as a few park employees. All of them reported the same thing. You know how they have a left/right tube track/train support, and a central tube a bit lower forming a triangle of sorts? One of the upper track/tubes SNAPPED after a train was launched! That was the boom we heard. People looked up to watch the dragster train approach the top and the AND NEVER MAKES IT OVER THE HUMP!! WTF?? The train just slides backwards down the track towards the launch area again. Thank God for precautionary emergency backups. Of course, they had some sort of braking system in place in case something like this would ever happen, and they were able to stop the train and off load the passengers, close the ride, etc. I'm beginning to rethink ever riding this ride. EVER. Seems to be one problem after another. I'd imagine the people on the train probably freaked out, you hear a boom underneath you and then the train never makes it over the top and you slide back, not knowing WTH is going on? Anyway..we had a blast on everything else!

What's the over/under on TTD being gone within two years?

IF they fix it, I SO gotta get to the Point asap before it's gone.

^It's not going to happen. TTD will be here for a while.

It's open today so apparently this isn't so severe as you though.

Good to hear, at least it is running again! What, did they just burn the midnight oil on a weld job? Sheesh...Maybe the repair wasn't as extensive as they thought? The employees there we acting as if "oh..It might be down for a while" ...but they may not have known the details.

Anyone ever heard of any injuries on Millenium Force? Just wondering, they changed their seats on it a few years back (i see the people trying out those test seats all the time). I guess I just assumed it was for insurance purposes? One of the employees was telling us they had to change the seats because "someone got hurt". I never heard of anyone getting hurt?

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gomez said:
^It's not going to happen. TTD will be here for a while.

It's open today so apparently this isn't so severe as you though.

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What makes you so sure? Kinzel's on record as thinking it was a mistake, and an apparent structural issue bodes badly for it. Wouldn't be the first time a fairly new ride got torn down by Cedar Fair; remember Windjammer? Granted, there's a whole world of difference between the rides but if a couple more terrifying incidents happen - and make no mistake, that would be terrifying to be riding it when a support snaps - pretty soon it looks bad on CF to have it.

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AJL said:
Anyone ever heard of any injuries on Millenium Force? Just wondering, they changed their seats on it a few years back (i see the people trying out those test seats all the time). I guess I just assumed it was for insurance purposes? One of the employees was telling us they had to change the seats because "someone got hurt". I never heard of anyone getting hurt?

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That was due to an accident at another park, not Cedar Point, and they didn't change the seats, just the safety belts.

Attack of the super n00b.

Since when is TTD unsafe? Also, do we not notice the ride has managed to run very well this season? I thought I followed things rather close with this ride, did I miss the structural problems article or something? Steel needs to be flexible, end of story.

Agreed. This is not "severe"...the darn things open today! When Kindga Ka was down for 2 month....THAT was severe!

TTD has had a great year. If a support truely "snapped" I highly doubt that it would be open today. That would warrant serious inspection of other supports (Xray, ultrasound, etc.) I would imagine.

A rolback is no big deal either. That happens all the time....it's designed to do that. Sometimes it's just as simple as wind! *** Edited 8/13/2006 11:05:42 PM UTC by Peabody***

Seriously kids, lets not get our panties in a bunch. If a support or track spar snapped, the ride would not be open today. If the ride failed to make it over the top, they can -get this- just launch it again.

If your experiences are genuinely making you consider not riding again, you need to re-consider what actually happened and what the ride's designed to do. A support didn't "SNAP" and rollbacks are a normal part of the ride operation, and something that the ride was designed to do as many times as necessary without ever endangering the safety of its riders. I personally observed 10+ rollbacks while waiting in line on a cold, windy day last year shortly after the ride opened up (after it had been testing and rolling back frequently throughout the morning mind you).

If you still choose not to ride, it's your loss as far as I'm concerned, just means shorter queues for the rest of us.

After reading the opening post, it makes me wonder if they've been asleep under a rock for a while... ;)

I agree that the ride has actually been running well this year. I was there for two days last week, and It was up and running five trains both days. There were a few short break downs, but I thought that was pretty good.

Seems more suitable for general discussion rather than TR material to me.

Anyhow the rollbacks are typical for launchers...I've seen JJ rollback a couple times but so far have yet to see an HS:XLC rollback,speaking of which that darn thing broke down on us yesterday after getting about halfway to three quarters of the way through the queue so that makes two years in a row that we've passed on it.

I have been in line for it twice but have not ridden it yet. It has been running each time I was there pretty well though.

I agree to some extent that this has actually been the best year so far for the dragster, and it might have been a few things that caused it, ie cable popped or maybe it hit a break, who knows, but to have it running today its nothing serious.

I find it hard to believe that a support just 'snapped'. I highly doubt that one even failed, and if it did, I think it would be a gradual break, and probably go unnoticed.

My few visits to CP this year has always had TTD running pretty darn well.

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SFoGswim said:
Attack of the super n00b.

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LOL! I agree, this person is freaking out because a train didn't clear the hill. Nothing broke especially if it was running today. *** Edited 8/14/2006 7:10:32 AM UTC by RedCoasterman***

...AND NEVER MAKES IT OVER THE HUMP! WTF?

Like has already been stated, the ride is designed for a rollback! That's what the copper alloy fins are that drop right before a launch. They work in conjunction with permanent magnets installed underneath each train to smoothly stop a train that rollsback. This post is just like those people I hear talking about TTD who claim the launch is magnetic (linear induction) too, LOL. Personally, I wouldn't mind experiencing a rollback! *** Edited 8/14/2006 12:15:55 PM UTC by Bob Sekerak***

He also describes triangular three-rail track, for which Dragster has none.

Save the drama for yo mama.

Lets educate, not make fun! Not everyone is a freak like us. Heck man, I thought the Batman clones had three trains! *** Edited 8/14/2006 2:38:03 PM UTC by eightdotthree***