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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.
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.
No boom today. Boom tomorrow. There's always a boom tomorrow. - Cmdr. Susan Ivanova
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."
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
Evil monsters, sudden death, are you talking about the slashdot affect?
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.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
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
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.
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.
I think I peed myself.
You're not factoring in the 4 hours waiting in line. That brings it down to 25 cents/minute.
Jason
ProfQuotes
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...
The anti-salmon
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'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.
;^) 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.
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
Unless one of those tornados decides to pop down.
---
GeekNights!
Late Night Radio for Geeks!
I'm probably going to regret this, but...
I got there right when the story posted and have Mirrored it
The Digital Sorceress
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.
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
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.
"Inattention makes clowns of us all" -Bean
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.
In the future, I would want to not be isolated from my friends in the Space Station.
New alias for the slashdot effect: Slashdeath
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....
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.
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.
What, me worry?