Buzz about what Cedar Point could be doing
to the closed down Top Thrill Dragster has been running rampant. And just last month,
Cedar Point got the buzz going even more when they announced that Top Thrill Dragster
will return in 2024 with a new formula for thrills. Well, I’m here with yet another video on Dragster to report about more of the changes that may
very well be coming to the re-imagined coaster. Before we get started, please keep in mind
that anything I mention is not confirmed as it hasn’t been publicly announced by
Cedar Point or any involved ride manufacturers. But what I can tell you is that this information
comes from the same source who told me Dragster would be re-imagined by Zamperla,
and also that Dragster wouldn’t re-open in 2024. Now, of course, Zamperla hasn’t been publicly
confirmed, but I do report this information to you with the same confidence I’ve reported
any information in my prior videos. Let’s start by discussing this recent
aerial photo update posted on Reddit. The photos show that all of the concrete platforms
of the unload and load stations have been removed, as well as the control booth, but the
roof structure on the load station still remains. But most interestingly,
there is now a large hole in the ground where the ride’s original storage tracks
were previously located. Well, I’m here to tell you
what this hole is most likely for, and this comes from a reliable source.
Get ready, as it’s not that exciting. Much of Top Thrill Dragster
was built over portions of the lagoon that runs through the center of the park.
For its original construction, a large area of the lagoon near the top hat
was filled with earth to make way for Dragster, as well as an even larger area of the lagoon
where the ride’s transfer tracks, brake run, load and unload stations were located. But during large rainstorms,
this has led to flooding issues where water easily collects on the midway
near the coaster’s load station. So, to combat this, the large hole
will be part of a new drainage system to better direct rainwater into the nearby lagoon
and away from the midway. So overall, we’re looking at
a major utility improvement but nothing regarding the coaster itself.
At least that's what I've been told. But what is much more exciting is what I’ve heard
regarding changes coming to Top Thrill Dragster from a multitude of different sources,
and this has to do with the ride itself. If what I’m hearing is true, Top Thrill Dragster
will indeed be receiving a layout extension but probably not how most of you hoped for.
It’s certainly not what I was hoping for. Now I haven’t heard if new ride elements
will be placed after the large top hat, but what we're looking at is
a new element placed *before* the top hat. And let me just clarify that I am not
making any of this up, and it comes directly from several reliable sources who have already provided
credible information that has proven to be true. The revamped attraction will now stretch
further back towards the front of the park, to about where the Dragster photo booth
is located circled here. And this will be to make room
for some sort of massive vertical spike that may be nearly as tall
as the 420-foot (130 m) tall top hat, or who knows,
maybe even taller than the top hat. This large vertical spike will then
be accompanied by a swing launch rather than a single straight forward launch.
If you’re unfamiliar with a swing launch, it’s when a roller coaster train
makes multiple passes through the same segment of launch track
in both the forward and backward direction. And as it valleys back and forth into
the launch track, it gradually gains speed until it can climb up and over
one of the hills at the end of the launch. Zamperla already advertised that they
can do swing launches at speeds up to 81 mph (130 km/h) on their
230-foot (70 m) tall double heart coasters. Personally, a swing launch
isn’t what I was hoping for, and I wanted to see another standard single launch
like Dragster previously had, where trains were accelerated from a standstill
to top speed in a single launch. But part of the reason for this may be to
further differentiate the new experience from what it previously was, especially since
a launch powered by Linear Synchronous Motors, or LSMs, will guaranteed provide a
less powerful acceleration rate than the ride’s original hydraulic launch system. So rather than debut the ride
with a less impressive acceleration statistic, this move will help to extend the ride’s
infamously short ride duration, as well as add another jaw-dropping aspect of the coaster,
which would be the massive vertical spike nearly as tall as the top hat, or maybe even taller.
After all, Top Thrill Dragster has always been a showcase attraction and adding something like this
will certainly grab the attention of the masses. This is just my speculation,
but the park could build a spike taller than Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure, which stands at 456 feet (140 m) tall
and is the world’s tallest roller coaster. If the park were to do that,
that would certainly go against how the park has considered coasters
the world’s tallest in the past. Cedar Point claimed Millennium Force
was the world’s tallest in 2000 when it stood 105 feet (32 m) shorter than
Superman the Escape at Six Flags Magic Mountain. And Magnum XL-200 opened as the world’s tallest
in 1989, even though the ride was 25 feet (7.5 m) shorter than Moonsault Scramble
at Fuji-Q Highland in Japan, which opened in 1983. I also don’t know if the revamped Dragster
will feature an airtime hill within the launch like it does in this wonderful concept
created by Savage Coasters. But if it’s possible, I think that would be ideal.
Plus, there's already plenty of swing launching roller coasters
with airtime hills already in their launches. I also don’t know if the revamped Dragster
will feature any kind of layout extension following the top hat,
and I personally would not count on this as there isn’t much room to expand the layout
and doing so would be very expensive. The new vertical spike on its own
will probably cost a huge amount of money. And apparently, all of the ride’s existing
track on the top hat will be replaced with new track, which is even more money. Whether or not that means the profiling
on the top hat will change, I'm not sure. But what is cool is
I’m hearing with the new swing launch, the revamped attraction will
continue to operate with five-car trains just how Top Thrill Dragster did, but with
ten rows per train instead of only nine. This would bump each train’s capacity
from 18 to 20 riders. And Zamperla plans to have the ride
capable of launching the same number of trains per hour as previously.
Top Thrill Dragster could previously launch up to 60 trains an hour, and if the new version
still launches 60 trains an hour, we’re looking at a new theoretical capacity
of 1,200 riders per hour instead of 1,080. Now, I’m not sure if this will be accomplished
with a slow-moving transfer track to align trains into the launch track,
or a high-speed track switch like the ones that Intamin has been using
on their more recent coasters. Probably a pre-launch into a high-speed track switch
which leads into the main launch track would be more efficient timewise, rather than a slow-moving
transfer track sliding into the swing launch. As the pre-launch and high-speed track switch would probably help reduce
the cycle time of the swing launch. This is important because the duration
of the swing launch will most certainly determine the new Dragster’s rider capacity. A good way to picture this is
the next launch cycle will begin once the train ahead clears the top hat.
Once that happens, the slow-moving transfer track, or high-speed track switch, would
then switch positions to accept the next train. In this case, a high-speed track switch
would be more ideal as it would take less time. And if the next train is given a slight launch
and then rolls through the track switch and into the main launch at speed,
this would cut down on the overall cycle time of the swing launch,
allowing trains to launch more often. So that will do it for this video.
As always, I will update you all as I hear more information
and whatever happens in the end, I’m sure the changes made to
the new Dragster will be incredible! Cedar Point are not usually
the ones to disappoint. Be sure to COMMENT below
your thoughts on this whole situation, LIKE the video if you enjoyed it,
and SUBSCRIBE to see more. Thanks for watching and I’ll see you all
in the next one. Peace. ♩ ♫♪ ♪♫ ♩ ♫♪ ♪♫ ♩ ♫♪ ♪♫ ◢ Captions by Pineapples Foster Media Services ◣
◹ YouTube: @PFMediaServices ◸
◣ Twitter: @annasfoster ◢
