Cedar Point (CP) Discussion Thread

[DJeXeL]

Not anymore. Looks like it just went down. A lot of people are leaving the queue.

[boldikus]

Looks like Corkscrew is a walk on.

[Superbatboy]

I felt like Blue Streak was 10x better than Mean Streak. It was smoother, more foreful, and had that classic woodie feel.

[coasterkid124]

How often is Dragster down during daily summer operation? Does it get more consistent, or is it a guaranteed break down every day? Because my trip a few weeks ago, it was only open about for 25% of the time. Although it is a very complex system, you woild think that the park would want their star attraction to be open most of the time.

[MagnumFreak25]

Blue Streak and Mean Streak are both about equally rough, It just depends on whos riding to determine if there smooth or not. That said, blue streak is infinitly better because it has much more airtime and forces and everything.

[coasterbill]

How often is Dragster down during daily summer operation? Does it get more consistent, or is it a guaranteed break down every day? Because my trip a few weeks ago, it was only open about for 25% of the time. Although it is a very complex system, you woild think that the park would want their star attraction to be open most of the time.

 

Dragster is guaranteed to break down multiple times every day. That being said it's also open basically every single day for a portion (usually the majority) of the day. When we get in line for Dragster we assume that there's going to be a 20-40 minute breakdown while we're waiting for it and we're usually right, but if you expect it going in it's not a big deal.

[thrillrider]

It was down quite a bit yesterday because of the high winds.

[FeelTheFORCE]

Not taking weather into account, I've been to the park when Dragster has run flawlessly all day long, and also when it's had hiccups all day long, having trouble staying open for more than an hour or so consistently. Even 12 years later, it's still so hit or miss with that coaster.

[Ketchup]

Hopefully I get it either today or tomorrow. First time ever at Cedar Point and probably won't be back for a while!

 

Hurry up! You don't have long before it breaks again.

 

Got the cred and all the others as well except the 2 kiddy coasters!

Edited June 12, 2015 by Ketchup

[Koasterking48]

Not taking weather into account, I've been to the park when Dragster has run flawlessly all day long, and also when it's had hiccups all day long, having trouble staying open for more than an hour or so consistently. Even 12 years later, it's still so hit or miss with that coaster.

That's why it's absolutely important to hit this coaster first thing at 10 a.m.. Nine times out of ten, the coaster is open or testing by then. It just seems to get it's problems as the day progresses somehow.

[VF15]

Dragster was down for at least 80% of today. I don't think it ever stayed running for more than 20-25 minutes. I feel very fortunate that I finally got to ride it around 2:00. It's a shame that it has so many problems since it's an amazing ride.

[El Toro_Ryan]

Dragster is only loading 10 people per train right now. Is there a reason for this?

they open it with just the front rows and progressively move back to full trains once it's warmed up. It reduces the chance of a rollback if all the weight is at the front.

 

If Dragster's PLC is anything like Xcelerator's, it takes the average weight of every 5 launches to determine how much power is needed to get the train up to the 79.5mph that is required for a train to clear the top hat. I remember back when I worked Xcelerator a short shot was guaranteed if you completely filled a train early in the morning. Same was to be said at the end of the day. We had to slowly close off 1 row at a time for the last 10 trains or so of the day to prevent a "Catch car overtravel" fault when you sent the 1st empty train to bring the last train of guests back into the station.

Top Thrill Dragsters computer uses the speed that the previous train crest the tower to determine the speed needed to launch the next train to get it to clear at a similar speed. That's why in the morning the progressively load the trains to keep the weight variance small enough that it doesn't cause a roll back, or over speed.

 

Interesting. I work Kingda Ka and it uses the same method Top Thrill Dragster does to determine the launch speed but we don't have to load just the front rows in the morning. We actually can't run the ride if more than 6 seats are empty at any given time. The launch is calibrated to launch full trains over the tower pretty consistently but we can't launch empty trains with a regular launch. We have to press a launch boost button for an empty train or else it rolls back. I think the boosted trains launch about 3 or 4 mph faster than the regularly launched trains do. Do Dragster and Xcelerator have the same thing or no?

[El Toro_Ryan]

Dragster is only loading 10 people per train right now. Is there a reason for this?

they open it with just the front rows and progressively move back to full trains once it's warmed up. It reduces the chance of a rollback if all the weight is at the front.

 

If Dragster's PLC is anything like Xcelerator's, it takes the average weight of every 5 launches to determine how much power is needed to get the train up to the 79.5mph that is required for a train to clear the top hat. I remember back when I worked Xcelerator a short shot was guaranteed if you completely filled a train early in the morning. Same was to be said at the end of the day. We had to slowly close off 1 row at a time for the last 10 trains or so of the day to prevent a "Catch car overtravel" fault when you sent the 1st empty train to bring the last train of guests back into the station.

Top Thrill Dragsters computer uses the speed that the previous train crest the tower to determine the speed needed to launch the next train to get it to clear at a similar speed. That's why in the morning the progressively load the trains to keep the weight variance small enough that it doesn't cause a roll back, or over speed.

 

Interesting. I work Kingda Ka and it uses the same method Top Thrill Dragster does to determine the launch speed but we don't have to load just the front rows in the morning. We actually can't run the ride if more than 6 seats are empty at any given time. The launch is calibrated to launch full trains over the tower pretty consistently but we can't launch empty trains with a regular launch. We have to press a launch boost button for an empty train or else it rolls back. I think the boosted trains launch about 3 or 4 mph faster than the regularly launched trains do. Do Dragster and Xcelerator have launch boosts as well or no?

[DoinItForTheFame]

Interesting. I work Kingda Ka and it uses the same method Top Thrill Dragster does to determine the launch speed but we don't have to load just the front rows in the morning. We actually can't run the ride if more than 6 seats are empty at any given time. The launch is calibrated to launch full trains over the tower pretty consistently but we can't launch empty trains with a regular launch. We have to press a launch boost button for an empty train or else it rolls back. I think the boosted trains launch about 3 or 4 mph faster than the regularly launched trains do. Do Dragster and Xcelerator have the same thing or no?

Maybe the partial loading of trains is just something Cedar Point has adopted over the years to try and cut down on roll backs at the start of the day. Top Thrill Dragster has a "Launch Boost" button, however I have rarely seen it used, and it is only used when the trains are empty during early morning test runs, or during empty test runs after a break down. (At least this is how it use to be done, it may have changed over the years.)

 

I wonder if Kingda Ka's programming is a little different because of the brake at the top of the tower? Does the brake prevent Kingda Ka from getting over speeds??? If so maybe this explains why each ride is loaded, and ran a little differently?

[El Toro_Ryan]

Interesting. I work Kingda Ka and it uses the same method Top Thrill Dragster does to determine the launch speed but we don't have to load just the front rows in the morning. We actually can't run the ride if more than 6 seats are empty at any given time. The launch is calibrated to launch full trains over the tower pretty consistently but we can't launch empty trains with a regular launch. We have to press a launch boost button for an empty train or else it rolls back. I think the boosted trains launch about 3 or 4 mph faster than the regularly launched trains do. Do Dragster and Xcelerator have the same thing or no?

Maybe the partial loading of trains is just something Cedar Point has adopted over the years to try and cut down on roll backs at the start of the day. Top Thrill Dragster has a "Launch Boost" button, however I have rarely seen it used, and it is only used when the trains are empty during early morning test runs, or during empty test runs after a break down. (At least this is how it use to be done, it may have changed over the years.)

 

I wonder if Kingda Ka's programming is a little different because of the brake at the top of the tower? Does the brake prevent Kingda Ka from getting over speeds??? If so maybe this explains why each ride is loaded, and ran a little differently?

 

No, Kingda Ka still gets overspeed errors all the time even with the break. My guess is the partial loading is just a Cedar Point thing too.haha Does anyone know anything more?

[DJeXeL]

Dragster is only loading 10 people per train right now. Is there a reason for this?

they open it with just the front rows and progressively move back to full trains once it's warmed up. It reduces the chance of a rollback if all the weight is at the front.

 

If Dragster's PLC is anything like Xcelerator's, it takes the average weight of every 5 launches to determine how much power is needed to get the train up to the 79.5mph that is required for a train to clear the top hat. I remember back when I worked Xcelerator a short shot was guaranteed if you completely filled a train early in the morning. Same was to be said at the end of the day. We had to slowly close off 1 row at a time for the last 10 trains or so of the day to prevent a "Catch car overtravel" fault when you sent the 1st empty train to bring the last train of guests back into the station.

Top Thrill Dragsters computer uses the speed that the previous train crest the tower to determine the speed needed to launch the next train to get it to clear at a similar speed. That's why in the morning the progressively load the trains to keep the weight variance small enough that it doesn't cause a roll back, or over speed.

 

Interesting. I work Kingda Ka and it uses the same method Top Thrill Dragster does to determine the launch speed but we don't have to load just the front rows in the morning. We actually can't run the ride if more than 6 seats are empty at any given time. The launch is calibrated to launch full trains over the tower pretty consistently but we can't launch empty trains with a regular launch. We have to press a launch boost button for an empty train or else it rolls back. I think the boosted trains launch about 3 or 4 mph faster than the regularly launched trains do. Do Dragster and Xcelerator have the same thing or no?

 

Xcelerator doesn't have a "Launch Boost."

[Superbatboy]

It's amazing how complex KK and TTD are, it's no wonder they break down frequently

[jonskinny12]

Does anybody know why TTD breaks down so often? When I was there for a few days last week it broke down multiple times every day, though I never saw it down for more than 20-30 minutes. A couple times I saw 2-3 guys walk down near the end of the launch track and fiddle with something beneath the track for a bit, then walk back and it opened. I hadn't been to CP since 2007 so I don't know if that's common. Another time I saw someone go into the building by the unloading area for a while and then it reopened.

 

Sometimes you can get really lucky with the lines on TTD being short due to break downs. I got 7 rides on it on Thursday alone last week, including 4 in a row between 7:00 and 8:00 just after it reopened.

[Comeagain?]

There's thousands of things that can go wrong, most of which are monitored by the ride. If anything happens (sensor failure, something doesn't move that should, events happen in the wrong order, etc) the ride goes down until it gets fixed. Plus its reliance on nice weather doesn't help either.

[CedarFlags]

Does anybody know why TTD breaks down so often? When I was there for a few days last week it broke down multiple times every day, though I never saw it down for more than 20-30 minutes. A couple times I saw 2-3 guys walk down near the end of the launch track and fiddle with something beneath the track for a bit, then walk back and it opened. I hadn't been to CP since 2007 so I don't know if that's common. Another time I saw someone go into the building by the unloading area for a while and then it reopened.

 

Sometimes you can get really lucky with the lines on TTD being short due to break downs. I got 7 rides on it on Thursday alone last week, including 4 in a row between 7:00 and 8:00 just after it reopened.

 

1. It's extremely weather sensitive, and being right next to a Great Lake makes the weather at the park a bit volatile.

 

2. The launch system has to operate with ridiculous precision in order to get the trains up over the hill with just the right amount of speed. So, seemingly tiny things not happening right will make the ride computer throw a fit.

 

3. The forces generated by ride are tremendous, especially on the launch, and so I wouldn't be surprised if sensor connections get knocked loose every so often.

 

4. The fact that it dispatches nearly every 60 seconds means that a LOT of trains get sent every day, which accelerates the normal wear and tear process.

[coasterbill]

They are really cranking them trains out.

 

Every time I watch Dragster roll trains the way it does I can't help but think about Kingda Ka and what a train wreck it is with Zumanjaro. I'm sure Dragster's capacity is more than twice that of Kingda Ka's.

[9Armgeddon4]

Well I'm heading up to Sandusky this afternoon with a few friends and will spend Saturday and part of Sunday at the park. Oddly enough this could be the third year in a row I've going to Cedar Point the year before a new coaster is built (Maverick, Gatekeeper and this supposed dive coaster). We were originally going last weekend but had to change to this weekend instead.

[maverick_cp]

Will be at CP for the first time in my life next Tuesday and the forecast looks bleak. Realistically, how accurate is the Ohio weather forecast this many days out?

 

I've postponed my trip before because it said it was going to storm, but later checking the webcams it was 75 and sunny all day. I've also gone expecting nice weather and having storms/cloudy.

 

It's really in the hands of mother nature. Most of the time the forecast will change as you get closer and closer to the day you go, so just periodically check.

[coasterbill]

The forecast looks fine to me, chance of rain but low winds. The forecast should make for short lines, and it's unlikely that it'll rain all day. Plus the forecast can easily change between now and then. If it does rain, check out Frontier Trail or find the coasters that landed on "Able to Operate in the Rain" when they spun the Rain Policy wheel that morning before the park opened (I'm convinced this is a thing, it's the only explanation for this rain policy).

[blk_mamba]

Cedar Point seems to have a lot of weather issues. When I was there everything was running smoothly, there was no down time on anything. Seems like I got lucky! I hope when I go over the summer the same still holds true. I don't want rides to be down!

 

On a side note have they added any picture to the construction wall?