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Sudden Death Experience
Charles Manson writes "I'm sure you and your readers have already heard about this evil monster, but I just stumbled upon a fantastic review of it. Cedar Point has always been an innovator, but god damn, this thing is just sick. I'm glad I only live a hundred miles away becuase I'll be practically living there this summer. My favorite quote of the article is 'If Hell has thrill rides, this brilliantly evil machine should be one of them.'" We mentioned the Cedar Point coaster earlier. The best parts of roller coaster riding are the little surreal notes, i.e. looking over the side and seeing 500 hats on the ground below.
Top Thrill Dragster
The Giga-Coaster Rules No More.
Hard to believe it was just three years ago... three years since Cedar Point broke through the 300-foot height barrier with Millennium Force, the world's first "giga-coaster." At that time, I was certain that many, many years would pass before the next major height barrier-400 feet-would be surpassed, if ever.
But here we are today, in 2003, with what the Point calls the world's first "strata-coaster," a 420-footer. Also happens to be the world's first coaster to hit 120 miles per hour. Which it does in four seconds.
I don't know about you, but since Top Thrill Dragster was officially announced, I've been having dreams about riding it. (That may not be something I should admit to, but there it is.) I was lucky enough to do so on May 1st, the media preview day.
I'll be the first to admit that I'm prone to hyperbole when it comes to writing about thrill rides. But you're going to have to believe me when I tell you that Cedar Point's Top Thrill Dragster is, without question, the scariest roller coaster I've ever experienced. Seriously, brothers and sisters, this big dog bites as hard as it barks.
Had a chance to ride Knott's Berry Farm's Xcelerator yet? Then you know that Intamin's hydraulically launched "Rocket" coaster is not for the squeamish. Wild as it is, though, Xcelerator is less than half the height and a good 40 miles per hour slower than TTD. This should worry some of you.
Speaking of worrisome, Cedar Point's skyline is now completely dominated by TTD's soaring yellow and red superstructure. Power Tower? Not so powerful-lookin' anymore. Even the Force seems, well, kinda small now. (If you really want to give yourself the willies, hang around till after dark and look at TTD when it's all lit up, glowing against the night sky.)
Oh, and how's this for worrisome? At more than one location in the queue, we're informed that "Occasionally, a launched train will not clear the hill. You should not be concerned; the train will slowly return to the launch position." Gulp.
Should you need a place to sit and reconsider your decision to ride, there's the set of metal bleachers that faces the launch zone. You'll be mightily entertained by watching how each passenger squirms, yelps, freezes and/or freaks just before takeoff. (Media days are especially satisfying for this kind of passive sadism; one poor woman, clearly not a coaster enthusiast, looked to be on the verge of tears.)
From this vantage point, you'll also get to appreciate how much effort was made in designing this coaster's unique trains. The "stadium seat"-equipped middle cars are not much different from those found on Millennium Force. But the first and last cars, each with just a single two-passenger row, are unique to TTD. The sleek winged nose in front and the faux racing engine, air foil and mag wheels in back make these cargo-haulers as distinctive as they come.
(A note about the trains: for the media day, they were shortened to carry just 12 passengers, not 16 as promised, nor were they loading the very last row. Nor were two trains always filled and released simultaneously, also as planned. And the sixth train was nowhere in sight. To the park's credit, they had to make up for many lost days of construction, due to winter weather, and did what it took to have TTD operating in time, even if at less than optimal capacity.)
Non-riders will also dig the delightful details of the launch. Each train moves slowly into position accompanied by the prerecorded rumbles of an idling high-horsepower engine. Occasionally, the engine "revs" a bit-vroom, vroom-a sweet little tease. Finally, the long row of metal fins that line the launch track-an integral part of TTD's fail-safe magnetic braking system-sinks. The train inches forward.
Buh-bye.
To the tune of a roaring engine and squealing tires, and a very nifty cloud of "burning rubber" smoke, the train disappears. Unnerving to watch, but nothing like what it is to r
here.
Top Thrill Dragster is:
#1 Largest Drop: 400ft (#2 is 306 by Steel Dragon at Nagashima Spaland in Japan)
#1 Height: 420ft (#2 Steel Dragon again)
#1 Fastest: 120mph (#2 Dodonpa at Fujikyu Highlands in Japan)
#1 Angle of Descent: 90o. (In a 5-way tie!)
Of course, Superman at 6 Flags Magic Mountain at 415ft isn't too shabby in the wood coaster category either considering it does 100mph and the same 90o drop.
'Dragster, however, doesn't make the list of the longest by a longshot.
Both Cedar Point's "other" Roller Coaster (Millenium Force) and Japan's Steel Dragon rank top three on this list AND every other list of speed, height, drop records.
Side by side, I'd have to say that Steel Dragon (in Steel) and Superman (in wood) still might be the most impressive of the lot.
I'm probably going to regret this, but...
I got there right when the story posted and have Mirrored it
The Digital Sorceress
I have to agree that if you're looking for classic amusement park stuff, you can't beat good ol' Kennywood. They even have a themed area for some of the older rides...
With coasters like the Jack Rabbit and the Racer built in the 1920s (and on the National Historic Register), you definitely get a whole time-warp feel going. My wife grew up there in the '60s and it's amazing how much is still there from when she was a kid. Can't say that much about most of the other parks I know...
BTW, Kings Dominion in Richmond has a similar ride to this one.... But not near the height. Only 165 ft. Only problem is the damned this is broken down most of the time! Hope CP has better luck with theirs....
Anyone else remember the potato-sack slide?
Of course... about 3/4ths the way down the Midway, right across from the smorgasborg restaurant they had (still do?), and near the old log ride. That was a lot of fun when I was a kid, I was on the slide a few times every year.
The one ride I will be most disappointed to see go is the Wave Swinger. It's been a tradition to ride it at least once every time I've been to the park, and when I'm forced to stop, I will be quite disappointed.
I do wonder how long until they move the parking lot to the other side of the causeway, so that they can use that space for more rides and stuff, since they're seriously running out of space on the penninsula.
Agreed about the crowds thing - the park's rides and reputation seem to attract more people each and every year, and the lines and crowds get worse - and the food from all the little stalls seems to also get worse. Though, to their credit, there is that air conditioned restaurant on the midway with salad/pasta bars and all that with food that is of rather good quality for an amusement park.
"You know your god is man-made when he hates all the same people you do."
1.4 G's? you get more G's than that accelerating from a red light in a poorly-running car, seriously.
from the post-gazette:
Under the proposed standards, front-to-back G-forces cannot exceed 5.6 for more than one second; and side-to-side G-forces cannot exceed 2.5 for more than a minute, although the figures can change, depending on the kinds of restraints.
The G-forces on Kennywood's 85 mph Phantom Revenge range from -1 to 5, said spokeswoman Mary Lou Rosemeyer. Even though this ride goes faster than the Steel Phantom [the former coaster that had a top speed of 82 mph] it's so smooth. The technology is so much more advanced.
Cedar Point spokeswoman Janice Witherow would not release G-forces for individual rides, but said all of the park's 15 coasters, including the nation's fastest and tallest coaster, the 93 mph Millennium Force, have G-forces below 5.
lots of interesting info when you google.
neopets.com
Yes, it is fun. It is obscene. Of course it is fast as hell. I went on Sunday, May 4th. I was in line for at least 6.5 hours. In my opinion, the ride is not worth this wait. After getting to the platform, it broke for at least a half hour, seems like they have some bugs to work out. I would ride it again...and I will. Thank goodness for my season pass. :>
k mail.com/t eh%20funnay/topthrill.jpg
Now getting in the ride is another painful procedure, especially for males. You see, they have a seatbelt with a handle...and a bar that goes over the lap...with a extension near the crotch that hurts...like a mofo. The ride "attendants" pull on the seatbelt handle until you can't feel anymore. Then they put the lap bar until you cry. Imagine, if you have to relieve yourself after standing in the line for 4+ hours.
Once the train is released onto the track...the christmas tree lights up & you hear the sound effects...with a voice if you have your hands up. Don't be that guy. Do not put your hands up...you just screw everyone else over. The brake pads go down...3 seconds later the train is shot. I blacked out...all I remember is crossing the top & going down the other side. Wow...what a ride.
Not worth a 6.5 hour wait. Hopefully it will be shorter later in the summer. The better part of the day happened afterwards...my party rode Raptor, Magnum, Wicked Twister all in an hour.
I also dropped $12 for the priceless picture.
http://www.shackspace.com/~vital3d@shac
Evil is what I am. Death is what I bring.
If you have some $$$ to spare when heading to Universal Orlando then stay at one of the on-site hotels. Showing your room key gets you to the head of the line at every ride in the park. At Spiderman, we rode four times straight and each time walked by the same people on line. On the Jurassic Park ride the kid behind us said he waited an hour and hoped the ride was cool. I had to "shush" my daughter who was about to tell him this was our third time in the past fifteen minutes.
I felt guilty a few times as we passed the same people in line, but then I remembered that they were saving $100 per night by staying in Kissimmee instead on on-site.
You pay a bit more but you get to fly by everyone standing in the hot sun, plus you get to stay at a cool hotel (in our case it was the Hard Rock Hotel). It's an especially great deal if you've got kids since they definitely don't handle long waits on line.
"We make our world significant by the courage of our questions and by the depth of our answers." Carl Sagan
Electromagnetism, my friend.
They have computers controlling the "blocks," or sections of track that a single train can safely travel without crashing. For example, many coasters have "block brakes" which, if a coaster fails to reach the end of the course but goes after the block brakes, and if another train has already dispatched, the incoming train would just stop at the block brakes. This point has to be engineered to be high enough to provide enough potential energy to complete the course as the other train is back safely.
Ask Intamin, Ltd., who is a roller coaster engineering firm, and Top Thrill Dragster is their latest roller coaster for Cedar Point (last three for Cedar Point has been Intamins, starting with Millennium Force in 2000). I know that Bolliger & Mabillard (another roller coaster engineering firm) hires a company to do the electronics.
For your reading pleasure: 420.
How can we continue to believe in a just universe and freedom to eat crackers if we have no ale?
//
Let me add to my original post (the parent), I've been searching since for a very good explanation of those electromagnetic forces. There are actually two different types, LIM and LSM. Great info. If you want more information, just Google for "Linear Induction Motors" and "Linear Synchronous Motors".
Augh, lost my whole post! Time to try again...
Unlike one of Intamin AG's older creations, Superman: The Escape at Six Flags Magic Mountain in CA (0-100mph in 7 seconds, though it's realistically only making about 88mph with a full car these days to conserve some electricity and keep the motors cool), this one does *not* use electromagnetic LSM/LIM motors to launch. This one is basically Xcelerator at Knott's Berry Farm's (0-82mph in 2.3 seconds) big brother, both using a hydraulic launch
motor.
I remember a quote from someone at CP saying that if they were trying to use LSM's to launch a train at 0-120mph in 4 seconds, like TTD needs, they might well brown out all of Sandusky given all the power that a launch like that would consume. As is, I know that California Screamin' at Disney's California Adventure (sorta unrelated, so too lazy to link) actually has to spray water on their LSMs to avoid overheating them from all the launches.
On these, there's a cable that runs from the motor, back to the station, around a wheel, then back across the top of the box track. It connects to the back of a launch sled, then more cable runs from the front of the sled back to the motor. When the motor fires, it yanks the sled down a channel in the top of the track (you can barely see Xcelerator's in this shot, look at the center of the track immediately behind the train, you can see the sled as an object in the center of the track, then the channel running along behind it).
It does, however, use electromagnetics for the braking systems, on both the launch run and the final brake run. After launch, fins pop up into place to stop the train from rolling back if it fails to clear the tower (in the pic above, you can see that some of the fins have raised while the ones immediately behind the train have not). I would imagine that for brake fin systems that their default state, without power, is to have the fins up, and that it takes power to lower them. Not sure how that works, but generally that's the failsafe for a braking system like that. There aren't really any block brakes for the ride, other than through the entire unload -> load area, so the computer systems won't allow one train to launch until another train has completely cleared the brake run.
I'm not sure about the PLC for the ride, but I remember reading that Xcelerator's checks and adjusts the launch about 400 times in the 2.3 seconds it takes it. I would imagine they've got some relatively beefy hardware running this one as well...