top thrill top trouble

I prepped Rob before he left. I told him that as excited as he was to be visiting those parks for the first time to *not* get upset if the weather is bad or is a ride is closed...it's just not in his control. For lack of a better phrase, sometimes "sh*t happens" and while it's natural to feel disappointed it shouldn't ruin your day.

I predict he'll be in a great mood by SRM...tired, but in a great mood!

mOOSH

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SRM -- May 30-31
Vegas -- June 7-9
ACE Con-Quest -- June 11-22

Just got back from the park and from meeting Nasai and Peabody. They really aren't that pissed that the ride isn't operating. However, it seems as if Cedar Point is bent on getting this thing up and running ASAP. Even though Wicked Twister wasn't repaired in time for CoasterMania, Cedar Point has worked some marvelous miracles. Magnum's 1994 reprofile, Raptor's 1999 and 2001 track repairs come to mind...

By the time I left (1:00pm) most of the cable was pretty much in place, they had a large spool on the track at the beginning of the launch and seemed to be booking it as far as putting up the cable. I really hope that they can reopen the ride tonight for Rob(Nasai) and Jeff(Peabody) to ride. Otherwise, they'll try again for Starlight tomorrow.

As for the cable snappage? Jeff's right about the BFD. If the lift mechanism doesn't fail at least once, it's not an Intamin ;).

I just got word that the ride will not operate today. They worked all night but it just won't be ready. From what Rob describes, it sounds like things are at least moving in the right direction.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - Sillynonsense.com
"Pray that your country undergoes recovery!" - KMFDM

Hey, things happen. Test Track had a car fly off the track during testing. It doesn't mean the ride is a failure. On the contrary, it has been operating reliably for many years now.

Of course, they were going through tires like crazy early on until a better design gave them a longer life. I like Jeff's idea for TTD. Get rid of the slicks, etc and add another couple of seats for capacity.
*** This post was edited by wahoo skipper 5/27/2003 3:51:18 PM ***

Well, it looks like the ride should be up an running by the weekend. (fingers crossed). At least I hope so.

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BMCOASTER

bmcoaster@wi.rr.com

I'm kind of happy that I won't get to ride TTD for another year and a half! Hopefully they will have all the bugs worked out by then. That's bad about the tire flying off. That was a really cool themeing element, and I hope they can get that fixed as well. For all the peeps out there who have been on it......Well, you're really lucky! My family never goes on vacations bery often. But when I graduate, my friend and I are going on a Rollercoaster Roadtrip! I can't wait!

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Superman: Krypton Coaster----Just Ride It

1.) Millennium Force 2.) Superman: Krypton Coaster 3.) Steel Eel 4.) Raptor 5.) Mantis

I'm going to be there friday and saturday they better have it up considering Im coming from N.O. just to ride it.

Or else what?

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-Keith "Badnitrus" McVeen

Or else SupermanRoS13 will learn why it's not always a good idea to plan a trip around one ride.

SupermanRoS13,

What are you gonna do if TTD isn't open on Friday or Saturday?

Do us all a favor and suck it up. Roller coasters and other amusement rides are mechanical devices, and no mechanical device runs perfectly through 100% of its operating life. If you can't understand that fact, I recommend that you stop using mechanical devices altogether - you will be disappointed.

I'm going to CP on Saturday even if TTD is still closed. There are only 14 other roller coasters I can ride! My advice to you is to enjoy the rides that are open, whether that includes TTD or not.

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Rich Genthner / PTC99 & TL-Guest Services Y2K

Right on, chris...especially if that ride has also just opened and been known to be experiencing minor problems. Did y'all not learn anything from X, Xcelerator, Hypersonic, LoCoSuMo and SOB?

TCKR - exactly...there is plenty to do at CP w/o Dragster and it's not like the park or coaster are going anywhere.

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SRM -- May 30-31
Vegas -- June 7-9
ACE Con-Quest -- June 11-22

*** This post was edited by Mamoosh 5/27/2003 6:26:49 PM ***

Yeah, Moosh...just mentioning those coasters gave me Deja Vu...

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-Mike B.
Son of Hulk

Me thinks that our friend, SupermanRoS13, is a young newbie, or a troll, or perhaps both. In any case, it certainly wouldn't be a first! LOL! :)

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Rich Genthner / PTC99

I dunno 'moosh. I hurd they was gonna taer it dow'un cuz them tyres ur sinkin'! ;)

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Rich Genthner / PTC99

Just got back from the Point today (Tues). The ride has almost all of the cable spun and attached now. It will not be up and running by the end of the night. Carl Monday from Cleveland News was up there interviewing unhappy guests and understanding guests. It might be up and running by tommorrow if they can figure out the exact cause soon. The interview was on at 6pm and will be later tonight at 11pm. I also took lots of pics. Not much to see exept A LOT of cable. Also, no trains have tire slicks or engines on them anymore, for those who don't already know. And yes all 6 trains are on the track...well transfer track right now ;)

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"The Future of Roller Coasters"
-RollerCoasterGod
OhioThemeParks.com
*** This post was edited by RollerCoasterGod 5/27/2003 6:53:56 PM ***

They might as well work on the capacity issue and slap two more seats in there if they're gonna leave off the engines! j/k

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Rich Genthner / PTC99

Speaking of small things to work on with the coaster. They got the "Finish" line now up. And anyone have any idea when the tower lights are going to work. It looks like they still have one more set to put on at the very top for a total of 4 rows of lights. Oh, and I noticed the Speedometer is now taken down by the entrance to the ride....anyone know anything on that?

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"The Future of Roller Coasters"
-RollerCoasterGod
OhioThemeParks.com
*** This post was edited by RollerCoasterGod 5/27/2003 7:54:22 PM ***

When I left Rob and Jeff (Nasai and Peabody) around 4:30 pm, they were happily heading into Millennium Force's line for a second ride (it was just beginning to rain at that point).

Rob wanted to ride Dragster, no doubt, but he definitely is NOT crushed. Jeff seemed more disappointed, but Jeff is also planning another trip back. In fact, Rob was thrilled we rode 14 of the 16 coasters in 6 hours, along with a space shot ride on PT and a spin on Cedar Downs. Couldn't get him on any other spin-n-pukes...because he said he pukes! LOL!

And to prove Rob isn't all that upset, here is one picture. Oh...and they were working on installing the new cable most of the day. It's a little hard to see, but in the left of this picture, they are rolling out the spool of cable. They also had 3 trains on the track whereas earlier in the morning they only had one train on. I suspect they planned on testing as soon as possible. Robin Innes (?) told us he expected Dragster to be open some time tomorrow.

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I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead
http://www.webtechnik.com/ebony/CPLady.htm
*** This post was edited by CPLady 5/27/2003 9:46:33 PM ***

At least the lights for the tower are almost complete. As of Friday they still only had one set of lights installed. Maybe this means that by this weekend they will have the entire lighting package working.

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James Draeger
"Scroll buttons aww yeah...like that, heart attack."

The unnecessasy scrutiny that this issue has received can probably be attributed to changes in society in general. This ride was extremely hyped up, and the media attention and even attention on web sites such as this one has increased dramitcally in recent years. The media has probed into everything and this is no exception. Recent events like college coaches having their private lives exposed, while in the past things were kept quiet (Not to start anything because this is off topic like Alabama firing that coach while the great Bear Bryant liked his alcohol. This is just for comparison purposes.) This is a cause of this scrutiny. Why on earth would a news crew go to Cedar Point and interview riders about the cable snapping is beyond me. Definately, this is something that would not have happened even just a few years ago. The hype in general can just get out of control.

The bottom line is that just about any ride that has pushed the envolope over time has had its problems. The list is endless. As mentioned previously, really quality thrill rides have even had their problems when they first opened. This is just something that people have to realize. Yes, a cable did snap, but at this point, who really has the technical knowledge to know if this may happen again soon. If it happens again soon, then maybe this might be something to be concerned about, but as things stand now, the ride will be opening very soon, and will be safe. Prototypes are a wonderful thing and have come a long way (The Bat). Even those with major problems upon opening have developed nicely (Volcano comes to mind). There is absolutely nothing to be concerned with yet, so there is no use getting bent out of shape over this.
*** This post was edited by tservo 5/27/2003 10:17:15 PM ***