JJLehto Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 I imagine size and $$ are the reasons why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christianscoasters Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 Top Thrill Dragster: -Lap bars -Smooth -Fantastic airtime on the tower -Replaces anticipation of a traditional coaster going up a lift hill hearing "click click click" with the sounds of an engine revving. Really adds to it! - Runs at highest capacity. (Originally designed to run 6 trains but capacity was actually increased when operating with 5 trains) -The launch is basically one "tug" and it's incredible. Kingda Ka: -OTSR's... WHY?! -Rough. Wow. Very, very rough. -No airtime. Why? It was trimmed to death at the top of the tower. And the speed hill did absolutely nothing. -The launch "tugs" like 3 or 4 times. It was awkward and weird. I am a CP fanboy and I LOVE Top Thrill Dragster, but I will give credit where credit is due. When I rode Kingda Ka, I went in optimistic but was still left disappointed. The point of these rides is height and speed. One trick pony? Yes. Maybe a "two-trick." But it does it WELL and that is what it has going for it. The speed is insane. The ride just "feels" massive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yay101 Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 I totally get these rides! Kingda Ka are supposed to act as the "scary and intimidating" ride of the park. By not installing tons of hills or inversions, Cedar Point and SFGAd are highlighting and showcasing the enormous "hight" of these coasters so they won't be known as just "other coasters." It's also moreso for tourists and not locals. I hope I stated this clearly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GwaziBSRider1 Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 ^^ I've never gotten airtime on TTD. Is it only in certain seats or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 (edited) ^^It's all overcompensation for some perceived "shortcoming." Edited December 16, 2013 by cfc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christianscoasters Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 ^^ I've never gotten airtime on TTD. Is it only in certain seats or something? Nope. I get it every time. My butt is out of the seat from the crest of the tower to the pull-out of the drop. I love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterlover420 Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 ^^ I've never gotten airtime on TTD. Is it only in certain seats or something? Um...it is a vertical drop. According to the laws of physics, that's negative g's right there. Plus on days when it is cresting quickly...WHOA BOY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.A.B Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 I have only ridden Top Thrill Dragster, and it was fun the first time I rode it. Although I seriously found it to be boring after the launch after my re-rides. To me, they were both built just to break records and end the coaster war on what park has the tallest and fastest roller coaster. Kind of like Tower of Terror and Superman: Escape From Kyrpton. If I had to choose between either one of them. I would go with Kingda Ka, just because it has that extra hill at the end instead of a straight piece of track like Dragster. I also don't remeber getting any airtime on Dragster when I rode it, nor did I find it smooth. I seriously found the ride to be kind of shaky and uncomfortable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterlover420 Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 I also don't remember getting any airtime on Dragster when I rode it, nor did I find it smooth. I seriously found the ride to be kind of shaky and uncomfortable. Definitely don't ride KK if you think TTD is rough. It's horrible Plus, I think that's just an Intamin thing. All of their fast or forceful coasters vibrate quite a bit. It's just something to get used to I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 I guess it's just me, and maybe because I only ride either coaster in the front but I don't think Kingda Ka is rough at all. Personally I think TTD is slightly better because of the view from the top, and I like the theme of TTD more but that has nothing to do with the ride experience. I really think they feel exactly the same with only extremely minor differences. I actually ride Kingda Ka a lot more than TTD when I'm at the park because TTD has much longer waits for the front because of the station design and because of the fact that the line moves slower once you're in the station because they have 2 loading platforms. Great Adventure is actually really good at getting KK trains out quickly even though they're only using one of the 4 platforms now and a maximum of 3 trains. The biggest factor is the station setup though... there isn't as much room for a front seat line to form, so it doesn't get as long. On TTD it forms along the entire back railing of the station. Personally I don't care for either coaster in any row besides the front. I'm not like that on any other coasters but it makes a huge difference on KK and TTD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcjp Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 ^I agree. These rides have to be ridden in the front. And, honestly, if you do so, I don't find a big difference in terms of roughness. Yes, kk is not silky smooth but it never bothered me. If anything, it made the experience more intense. And I do find KK more intense than TTD, I don't know what it is but I do. I get the idea that KK pulls a bit more Gs while entering the top hat and it has a bigger acceleration (it sometimes might be in steps but it is faster). The way people say how much better TTD is than KK actually made me a bit disappointed when I rode it. It was great, but I just didn't find it better. For me KK is a tiny bit more exciting as I actually felt the urge to ride it immediately as I left the station while on TTD I really didn't (but maybe that's because I rode the Ka more times in the front, comparatively). Still, while they both are unique experiences in terms of height and speed I always felt there was something missing. To me, if there were a ride which started like these do and then carried on like skyrush, for example, it would be just brutal. But, you know, $$$$$$$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GwaziBSRider1 Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 ^^ I've never gotten airtime on TTD. Is it only in certain seats or something? Um...it is a vertical drop. According to the laws of physics, that's negative g's right there. Plus on days when it is cresting quickly...WHOA BOY Should have worded myself a bit better there. I've ridden TTD all across the train and I don't ever remember getting airtime. I'm not a big fan of TTD, and the only reason I even ride it is because I want to get a rollback. I probably wouldn't ride it again after that. It vibrates way too much on the launch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanM64 Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Personally I don't care for either coaster in any row besides the front. I'm not like that on any other coasters but it makes a huge difference on KK and TTD. I feel the same exact way!! I ride literally EVERY coaster in the back row. I've tried the front on nearly every one I've been on, and I just don't care for it. TTD and KK are different though. I've ridden both in the back and thought they were ok, but the front row is OMFG WOW!!! The launch feels twice as strong in the front row. Those are the only 2 coasters I feel that way about. That being said, everyone go ride them in other rows so the line for the front is shorter if I'm in the park . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. M Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 The roughness on Kingda Ka definitely makes it more intense. My first time on TTD I was perfectly aware of everything going on around me the whole time, on KK I had one of those weird out-of-body experiences where if I tried to remember what happened it was all just a shaky blur, like being in a building that was exploding. I also rode towards the back if that clears things up a bit. So, in terms of view, placement in the park, and restraints, I'd go with TTD. For a pure visceral experience, I have to go with KK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJLehto Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 I do feel both are over rated, fun but just such a short burst! They are great if you get there soon as the park opens (or the hour early at CP) and can grab a few minute wait, if not I usually don't bother. I do like TTD a bit better purely because of the restraints. Where you sit regardless it'll be fine, KK you need to be as far front as possible since the back gave me a decent thrashing. I agree with coasterbill. Front row on KK was just insane. I never really wait for front but that is one time I will make an exception. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alilstronger Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 ^^ I've never gotten airtime on TTD. Is it only in certain seats or something? Um...it is a vertical drop. According to the laws of physics, that's negative g's right there. Plus on days when it is cresting quickly...WHOA BOY Should have worded myself a bit better there. I've ridden TTD all across the train and I don't ever remember getting airtime. I'm not a big fan of TTD, and the only reason I even ride it is because I want to get a rollback. I probably wouldn't ride it again after that. It vibrates way too much on the launch. I get airtime on both. I personally LOVE both, I just prefer KK because its a little taller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamondbacker27 Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 The funnest part is your first time riding it, climbing to the gate, hearing the music burst in your ears, seeing trains launch at 120 mph. It certainly makes your nerves tingle and the butterflies go wild in your stomach. But nothing is more nerve racking than waiting for the stop light to hit green on your first ride!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBru Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 ^^ I've never gotten airtime on TTD. Is it only in certain seats or something? Um...it is a vertical drop. According to the laws of physics, that's negative g's right there. Plus on days when it is cresting quickly...WHOA BOY Should have worded myself a bit better there. I've ridden TTD all across the train and I don't ever remember getting airtime. I'm not a big fan of TTD, and the only reason I even ride it is because I want to get a rollback. I probably wouldn't ride it again after that. It vibrates way too much on the launch. Maybe you just don't remember this aspect of the ride? Because it's literally impossible not to experience airtime on TTD's top hat...I mean, that's just how it was designed. Unless every time you've ridden it you've come incredibly close to getting that roll back and the train absolutely crawled over the top hat...but even then, physics would imply that you would've experienced negative g's on the entrance and exit of convexity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christianscoasters Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 ^What he said. Totally possible not to get airtime *right* at the top but ONLY if the train barely even makes it over. But even then, you'll get it going down the drop. The 270* spiral on the way down also kind of feels like you're being ripped out of your seat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GwaziBSRider1 Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 That's a great summation of every ride of mine on both TTD and KK. Hell, I almost got stuck at the top of KK. One of these days, I'm going to go up to CP and get a FastLane Plus so I can hopefully get several good rides on TTD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alilstronger Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 The funnest part is your first time riding it, climbing to the gate, hearing the music burst in your ears, seeing trains launch at 120 mph. It certainly makes your nerves tingle and the butterflies go wild in your stomach. But nothing is more nerve racking than waiting for the stop light to hit green on your first ride!! I will add that one of the funnest parts for me is walking through the queue line with people that have never ridden it and they read the signs that say this ride may not make it over the hill and can roll back. I have seen so many people flip out over that. By the way, last time I was at Six Flags GA I ask about if KK can potentially get stuck at the top due to wind. One of the engineers told me there is a mechanism at the top that will push the car over so if it ever did get stuck it would not be for long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanM64 Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 By the way, last time I was at Six Flags GA I ask about if KK can potentially get stuck at the top due to wind. One of the engineers told me there is a mechanism at the top that will push the car over so if it ever did get stuck it would not be for long. Neat!! I guess they learned from TTD! I'm pretty sure I remember reading or hearing somewhere that there are trims on the top of KK that TTD doesn't have so you get a bit more time at the top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPDave Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 ^ I know stealth at TP has been stuck at the top and they have to get someone up there to give them a push. Having a mechanism sounds smart as they can use it faster and don't have the risk of sending an engineer up there!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcjp Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 I didn't know ka had such mechanism. I had thought that there could be some system to solve that but I assumed most parks wouldn't think it is worth it given the chances of a stall happening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterP Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Yeah, I can't see how anyone would have fun on a coaster that isn't my perfect idea of what one should be. People and their fun....weird-o-rama.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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