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.

Comments

Slow Friday?

[InfinityWpi]

I mean, this just got posted, no replies to it yet, and the damn thing's already slashdotted. Ye gods... is it a slow Friday and everyone's got nothing better to do than wait for a new link to pounce on?

Re:Slow Friday?

[Xzzy]

This movie doesn't do the article justice (it's mostly an ad for the website), but towards the bottom of the article they have a 15 second or so clip (wmv format) showing the ride in action.

I dunno.. record breaking is nice and all, but seems to me a longer slower ride, with more loops and swoops, would be much more fun overall.

Re:Slow Friday?

[slyckshoes]

>I mean, this just got posted, no replies to it yet, and the damn thing's already slashdotted.

Wow, you mean people are actually reading the article before posting replies? Dang, that's amazing.

While the coaster does seem pretty amazing, I would love to read about the technical hurdles that had to be overcome in creating it. How do you achieve that kind of acceleration? What are the safety measures (I'm sure there are a ton)? How many computers control it? Etc, etc, etc.

Re:Slow Friday?

[irc.goatse.cx troll]

"Wow, you mean people are actually reading the article before posting replies? Dang, that's amazing."

Reading? We just click through and hope they have pretty pictures/video.

Re:Slow Friday?

[Anonymous Coward]

How do you achieve that kind of acceleration?

Electromagnetism, my friend.

What are the safety measures (I'm sure there are a ton)?

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.

How many computers control it? Etc, etc, etc.

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.

Re:Slow Friday?

[TomServo]

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...

I do miss Cedar Point

[Flounder]

I used to live in Ohio and would go to the park at least 10 times during the summer. Last time I was there was right after Millenium Force opened up. At the top of the first drop, you're looking almost straight down into Lake Erie. Best damn coaster park in the country.

Re:I do miss Cedar Point

[Deagol]

My last Point excursion was to ride the Magnum. I remember looking down at the Gemini and thinking, "Shit, I'm toast."

Kinda dates me, though. I used to think the Demon Drop was pretty scary. My 30-year-old heart would probably bust a valve if I tried one of these new-fangled coasters!

Re:I do miss Cedar Point

[Saint Mitchell]

Millenium Force is such a bad ass. It's the only time in my life I've wondered why I got on as I went up the hill. TFD is supposed to be like 120ish feet over that hill. Thankfully it shoots you up it rather than drag you up like on Millenium Force. Go up quick, go down quick, done. I know somone is going to die this summer, there is no avoiding it. It won't be the rides fault either, i'm sure they will have it posted that you shouldn't ride with a bad heart. Yet someone will do it and keel over. It's supposed to be low g-force though, so who knows maybe it will be ok for all after all.

Re:I do miss Cedar Point

[FireballFreddy]

Remember kids, it's all fun and games until somebody's uncle pops a ventricle.

Then it's just fun.

Cedar Point

[zzxc]

The roller coaster exerts a maximum force of approx. 1.4 G's on the rider. Also considering the ride is 400 feet from the lowest point of the track to the highest, there's no way I want to go on it.

Cedar Point seems to have fewer and fewer sane-yet-not-kiddie rides. I was there last year and the only thing I rode was the "mine ride."

Re:Cedar Point

[Flounder]

Cedar Point seems to have fewer and fewer sane-yet-not-kiddie rides.

That's like saying there's fewer and fewer sane-yet-not-kiddie movies. There's no money in mild anymore. Over the top, push the envelope, burst a blood vessel and spray your fellow patrons. That's what sells. Not that I don't agree with you, I'm just stating facts. It's either an $84Mil opening for X-Men2 or $22.8Mil total box office for Being John Malkovich. Bigger, louder, faster, not necessarily better.

Kennywood in Pittsburgh is a great old-style park. Lots of older "sane" coasters, lots of rides for the kids, and pretty decently priced admission too. My kids loved it.

Re:Cedar Point

[Saige]

Then we did the mean streak, which sucked! Its like a rollercoaster during an earthquake, but wooden coasters usually suck like that.

The Mean Streak is a good demonstration why wooden coasters have been left behind. It set all sorts of records when it was built as the largest and fastest wooden coaster. And once upon a time, it was fun. I was there in May of the year it opened, and it was relatively smooth, and a lot of fun. I rode it a couple times that day.

The problem is that the speeds, coupled with the nature of the materials used, cause the structure of the ride to suffer. I've heard - though I am not certain - that they have like 6 full-time carpenders employed just for that ride alone, checking it every night for loose bolts and breaking wood. It is very high maintenance, and that still doesn't keep it in the shape they'd want it to be.

It's been said the ride is destroying itself due to the speeds and stresses on the material, and I don't expect it to last that long. They already have to change the rails every three years, as they degrade over time and make the ride just too rough. I've heard that riding it on that third year is pretty much a guaranteed method of getting a really bad headache. And given the fact that the ride gets rougher as the year goes on, riding in, say, October of that third year before they replace the rails is probably one of the roughest beatings you can take in a rollercoaster.

Though if you get on at the beginning of the year after a replacement, I'm sure it's still pretty damn fun.

Re:Cedar Point

[Saige]

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.

Re:Cedar Point

[scrawny]

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.

Re:Cedar Point

[AttillaTheNun]

I haven't been to Cedar Point in years (the year the Magnum opened, but broke that morning before I got a chance to try it out). However, my favourite ride at Canada's Wonderland (where I live) is STILL the Great Canadian Minebuster - the old wooden one that's been there since 1981 or whenever that place opened. I still love the old wooden, shaky rides over most of the trendy stuff they build today (standup, backwards, underwater, etc). I hope that coaster still has lots of life in it. Mind you they've tamed it down since I was a scared shitless 10 year old who was convinced I was lifting right of the seat since the handle bars were so far away at the time. Now they've got more secure restraints (probably because some poor kid DID fall out, which proves my original fears correct) - kind of takes away from the "Near Death Experience". Still, this 400+ft beast scares the living shit out of me. I'd better get on it before I'm too old (at 32, it may already be too late) :)

Re:Cedar Point

[machinegunben]

LOL On one of the cedar point boards I post on, they joke about these rumors all the time. Do you honestly think Cedar Point would spend ungodly amounts of money on these roller coasters to have them sink? Its absurd.

Slashdotted, so here's the text

[JJAnon]

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

Google cache

[Anonymous Coward]

here.

Go around early May to avoid lines.

[Thinkit3]

I think it opens a bit earlier for the season. All the rides were open and there were around 4 minute waits at most.

Evil monster

[Zakabog]

Evil monsters, sudden death, are you talking about the slashdot affect?

Lame

[stratjakt]

These stupid go straight up then straight down and thats it coasters are just lame, and the speed or height doesn't impress me. They're boring as hell. You wait in line for 2 or 3 hours, go fast for 2 or 3 seconds, and the rides over.

Give me more giant wooden behemoths with hills and twists and corkscrews, and a track that rattles your brain loose from your skull.

THAT's a rollercoaster. This is just theme park owners comparing wangs to attract customers.

Re:Lame

[John3]

You can occasionally get some great rides in addition to pure thrills from the steel coasters. Universal Orlando has a cool pair of coasters called Dueling Dragons that combine the speed of a steel coaster with some creative intertwining tracks...and the ride last more than 30 seconds.

However I still prefer the rattling old wooden coasters like the Dragon Coaster (built 1929) and the Wildcat (built 1996).

Almost like a roller coaster

[lcsjk]

I fell out of a tree once. Same rush as a roller coaster. The ride was almost as long too! Best part was that I did not have to wait in a two hour line to get started

Launch into sky...

[pjdepasq]

I wonder how long it will be before the damned thing breaks and the "car" portion just takes off into the sky landing about 1 mile from the park.

Re:Launch into sky...

[X_Bones]

we used to do that in Rollercoaster Tycoon... there was this one ride, like a shuttle launch or something, that was basically a track angled at 60 degrees into the air which the coaster cars would travel on. You could control the initial velocity of the cars so we pumped it up all the way; the next line of cars to run went flying off the end of the track, burst into flames, and landed far away, with little cartoon people running around and screaming.

(We also built hedge mazes in front of the bathrooms, but that's a different story...)

While reading that review

[teamhasnoi]

I think I peed myself.

Re:While reading that review

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, while we were going over that loop, you peed the rest of us, too.

Re:While reading that review

[lommer]

Bzzzzt! Wrong Answer.

Due to the intense G's, his pee actually flew across town before landing on the hot-dog stand.

Re:15seconds for 60 $?

[Jason1729]

You're not factoring in the 4 hours waiting in line. That brings it down to 25 cents/minute.

Jason
ProfQuotes

the irony

[fjordboy]

I find it sort of ironic that "Charles Manson" would post a comment including the words "god damn" and several references to hell....

A more on topic note...that coaster looks freaking awesome. However, I still give the Pheonix at Knoebel's grove in PA my vote for scariest coaster ever. Not because it is fast, not because of crazy g-forces, but because the riders know that it is a REALLY old coaster and the whole thing shimmies around like there's no tomorrow. People who have ridden it know what I'm talking about...it just feels unsafe...when you're strapped in to these new coasters, you know that they've passed insane safety tests before they allow humans to ride...but the pheonix...I pray through the whole ride that the car doesn't derail or that the whole structure doesn't collapse. Just looking at it makes me think of horrific newspaper headlines with pictures of the carnage after the oldest wooden coaster in the US collapsed...

Re:BE CAREFUL!

[stratjakt]

You tell your daughter slashdot is quality?

You should be in prison with the other child abusers.

Steel Coaster Records...

[mythosaz]

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.

Re:Steel Coaster Records...

[deke_2503]

Actually, Superman the Escape at Six Flags is steel....

Superman The Escape (Six Flags Magic Mountain) is tied with Tower of Terror (Dreamworld, Australia) for the #2 drop at 328' 1", and the Steel Dragon 2000 is 4th, at (exactly) 306' 9".

Similarly, Superman the Escape is #2 at 415' tall and Tower of Terror is 377' 4" tall, putting Steel Dragon 2000 in 4th again, with 318' 3"

Dodonpa (Japan) is #2 at 106.9 mph, Superman The Escape and Tower of Terror are tied at 100 mph, and the Steel Dragon 2000 returns for #5 at 95 mph.

Not sure about angle of descents, but there are a few tied at 90 degrees, and its hard to get much steeper than that!

The longest steel coaster is Steel Dragon 2000, at 8133' 2". Daidarasaurus (Japan) is #2 at 7677' 2" , and Millennium Force (Cedar Point) is #5 at 6595'.

And though I'm not certain, I'm pretty sure the Colossus (Thorpe Park, England) has the most inversions, with a twin corkscrew, vertical loop, cobra roll, and five zero-g heart rolls. Sounds fun.

And yes, those are only the steel records...didn't check all the wooden records against them.

Cedar Point

[Schezar]

I've been going to Cedar Point every summer for most of my life. My parents had their honeymoon there. I'd even go so far as to say that my best childhood memories arise from my times in that blessed haven of thrill rides.

Hands down, Cedar Point is the greatest coaster park in the world. I've been to various others (6 Flags, Canada Wonderland, King's Island...), but they just don't compare. Cedar Point has always had the biggest and the best. They've had the tallest coaster in the world on several occaisions, and still hold the record for most coasters in a park.

I was there the day the Magnum XL200 opened (before they activated the breaks at the top of the first hill to slow it down for safety). I was there two years later for the opening day of Mean Streak. I was there for... Well, you get the point: I'm a Cedar Point nut. (An old one, too. I've ridden a lot of rides that aren't even there anymore... Anyone else remember the potato-sack slide?)

Granted, the park has changed a lot over the years. Back in the day, ther were beer carts everywhere, and very few children outside of "kiddy-land." There were more open spaces and quiet areas. I remember watching the wild turkey roaming around Frontier Land. There was a sense of history (Cedar Point is a -very- old park) and decor.

Now, it's $3 just to get a soda from a machine, there are no open spaces (and no more turkeys), and they've added this garish Snoopy dome thing. The taste and decor are gone, as are the beer carts.. It's a commercialized "family" park. It's loud and flashy, and the crowds are sometimes almost unbearable.

Now, don't go modding me troll just yet ;^) I still go there every year, and I still love the rides. Cedar Point will always be tops in my book, because no matter what else they screw up, the coasters will always be there.

Unless one of those tornados decides to pop down.

---

Mirror

[DigitalSorceress]

I'm probably going to regret this, but...

I got there right when the story posted and have Mirrored it

Moore's Law

[Scrumper]

Does Moores law apply to roller coaster's as well?

Warning

[ergonal]

Warning slashdot users. Do not go on this ride. If you do, you brain will turn to mush. Here's one testimonial taken from here to prove my theory:

This is the greatest page ever made in the history of internet!!!!!!! I am a ride fanatic, mean you know what I mean "PSYCHO!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I am 18, i have been loving rides since i was nine. Every ride!!!!!!!!!!! I can't believe I found this page!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much, is there any Club i can join?????? I am going crazy!!!!!!!!!!!! Ah!!!!!!!!

You've been warned.

average /. reader is safe

[feed_those_kitties]

from the Cedar Point website:
May not accommodate Guests of Exceptional Size.

Whew! I guess I won't be going on this beastie!

I'll just continue to enjoy the Magnum XL-200, even though now people will think that a 200 foot tall coaster is 'wimpy'...

!Sig

Stupid Joke

[Syncdata]

the world's first "strata-coaster," a 420-footer
So this roller coaster is exactly 4:20 feet 'high'? I wonder if that top out was intentional? Chuckle.
If you don't get the joke, than I applaud your studious nature when you were in high school/college. You probably make more money than I do now.

Re:Stupid Joke

[aardvarkjoe]

For your reading pleasure: 420.

no no no! These are great!

[mekkab]

Why? Why is it great that there is a 30second ride that people wait on line for over an hour for?

Its great because while those schmucks are online for the new "uber coaster" the line for the slightly-less ubercoaster has 4 people on it, and you can ride it over and over and over again!

Bigger,faster,better coasters are great because that lets me ride all the other ones without the crazy lines.

As inspired by the headline

[div_2n]

New alias for the slashdot effect: Slashdeath

*ponders trip to ohio*

[ocelotbob]

Got to say, the thing looks fun. 420 feet straight up and then straight down has got to be a damn good rush. Course, i'm a believer that you've got to push youself if you're to really live. Sitting in a cubicle for 8 hours a day an not doing anything to challenge yourself is not living; it's just going through the motions. A ride like this allows a relatively controlled release of adrenaline and excitement, and would be damn fun, too.

Sometimes I wonder about the people on this site. They seem to have no desire for action or excitement. All y'all you are commenting about how dangerous this looks need to rent a very fast car with no top, and cruise for the weekend going at least 20 miles per hour over the speed limit for at least an hour. Trust me, it's much more fun than playing it safe.

Re:*ponders trip to ohio*

[ocelotbob]

I've got a pretty full life too. At the same time, though, I try to look for new types of stimulation, new experiences. I want to watch the sunrise from a mesa in the desert, I want to feel the wind rush over me as I hurtle down a roller coaster, I want to feel the rush after completing a 20 mile day hike. What's the point of living if you're just going to do the same things over and over again?

Kennywood

[Mr.Pumpkin]

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....

Love the rides, hate the wait

[swb]

I wish more places used a Disney fastpass-style system.

I try to schedule an annual trip to Valleyfair here in MN on some oddball Tuesday when it looks like its going to rain, it usually cuts the wait by about half, but some rides *still* have an annoying wait.

Some suggestions for amusement park execs:

1) Have limited-admission days where park admission is capped. Charge more to get in to make up the difference.

2) Upcharge (2x? 3x?) admission to allow some kind of limited queue-jumping system (maybe a less restrictive fastpass deal where you could get multiple fastpasses for different rides). Set the fee high enough where not everyone does it.

3) Maybe just make more fun rides and fewer megabucks rides. Nobody buys your overpriced food or stuff when they're stuck in a queue. I have a great time on the scary-maintenance rides at the State Fair, and I almost never wait for them, and those rides are usually small enough that they can be folded up and transported on a semi trailer or two.

Re:Love the rides, hate the wait

[gozar]

Cedar Point has looked into some sort of "fastpass" system, but ran into a couple of problems. Most notably, the weather. It could look like the nicest day in the world when all of the sudden it rains. This adds to the delays. The other problem is ride breakdowns. Another poster noted that the ride broke down for 1/2 an hour. Since the Dragster is rated at around 1,500 people an hour, that's 750 people that you have to try to get back into the cue. Just think of the rain lasting 30 minutes, then another 1 hour before the ride is dry enough to ride. You'd have 2,250 people getting pretty ticked.

Re:Love the rides, hate the wait

[bobroberts]

Islands of Adventure has the most expensive system... if you stay at one of the in-park hotels, your room key allows you to skip the line for almost all rides. Sa-weet!

This is totally worth it. No other way can you ride the Hulk 3 times, Spiderman twice, Dr. Doom, Dueling Dragons twice all in 3 hours or so. I live in about 15 minutes from the park, and having used it once, if I was going back to IOA I would stay at one of their hotels just to use this system. You get so much more out of your day than just lots of standing in line.

Re:At 420 feet....

[B3ryllium]

420? Cool, man. I'm sure hundreds of people would want to toke up at 420.

I have been on this

[vital3d]

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. :>

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@shack mail.com/t eh%20funnay/topthrill.jpg

killer magnet

[forgetmenot]

Isn't the need to experience thrills to enjoy life one of the defining traits of a sociopath? Wouldn't that make this thing a magnet for psychopaths and axe-murderers?

Skip the lines

[John3]

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.

More information...

[Anonymous Coward]

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".

omfg

[abhisarda]

Take a look at this picture. I laughed and screamed at the same time.

I don't know who is scarier-the man on the left or the ride itself.