pic: top thrill dragster

Originally Posted by ahecht

I think that this picture, from the Associated Press, says it all:



And this was from before they made the launch more powerful (it now gets to full speed in under 3 seconds).

thats so wierd. thats probably how my face looked like when i went on it. I also think its the ultimate speed that give you the thrill. i love goin on like really high and fast rollercoaster. But i do really like the corkscrew rides and all of those rides. If you ever went on Rock and Roll Rollercoaster in disney world at Flordia, that gives a lot of speed and also has loops and everything. It has everything combined. That rides go i think 60mph in 2 seconds or something.

[Greg Ross]

Originally Posted by CourtneyB

I also think its the ultimate speed that give you the thrill.

In truth, I think Yan is right, and I knew that when I made my previous statement. I just felt like I needed to deflate JosephM a little.

The initial straight-line acceleration of this type of coaster really doesn't do too much for me. The twists and turns are the whole reason for roller coasters' existence.

[sanddrag]

I really want to go on X at Six Flags Magic Mountain but after I read an article of somebody falling out of Superman and dying, I'm not so sure I want to ride these things any more. There are always things in the news about roller coaster malfunctions leading to injuries and deaths. Also, someone I know who used to work there was telling me about all the problems that they would have that never even reach the press. Last, one time on Ghostrider at Knotts Berry Farm they almost set the train off for a run when my lap bar wasn't even latched in; it wouldn't go. I had to yell at them to wait and they literally got on the wlkie talkie to radio the operator just before his finger was going to push the start button.

I don't know about some of these theme parks. It just seems like too many accidents happen too often. Don't get me wrong, they are great fun and I love it but it seems like there is an unneccesary amount of risk. Even Disneyland is bad - they try to conceal everything that happens.

Originally Posted by sanddrag

I really want to go on X at Six Flags Magic Mountain but after I read an article of somebody falling out of Superman and dying, I'm not so sure I want to ride these things any more. There are always things in the news about roller coaster malfunctions leading to injuries and deaths. Also, someone I know who used to work there was telling me about all the problems that they would have that never even reach the press. Last, one time on Ghostrider at Knotts Berry Farm they almost set the train off for a run when my lap bar wasn't even latched in; it wouldn't go. I had to yell at them to wait and they literally got on the wlkie talkie to radio the operator just before his finger was going to push the start button.

I don't know about some of these theme parks. It just seems like too many accidents happen too often. Don't get me wrong, they are great fun and I love it but it seems like there is an unneccesary amount of risk. Even Disneyland is bad - they try to conceal everything that happens.

ya thats true. Crazy things happen like that. My mom was like scared for me to go on like top thrill and Millenium force cuz she was afriad i would fall out of the seat because of my wieght and stuff. thats happened before, but i just ignore her when she lectures me on that stuff haha

[Joe Matt]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

I really want to go on X at Six Flags Magic Mountain but after I read an article of somebody falling out of Superman and dying, I'm not so sure I want to ride these things any more. There are always things in the news about roller coaster malfunctions leading to injuries and deaths. Also, someone I know who used to work there was telling me about all the problems that they would have that never even reach the press. Last, one time on Ghostrider at Knotts Berry Farm they almost set the train off for a run when my lap bar wasn't even latched in; it wouldn't go. I had to yell at them to wait and they literally got on the wlkie talkie to radio the operator just before his finger was going to push the start button.

I don't know about some of these theme parks. It just seems like too many accidents happen too often. Don't get me wrong, they are great fun and I love it but it seems like there is an unneccesary amount of risk. Even Disneyland is bad - they try to conceal everything that happens.

Actually sand, that death was due to rider error and staff error, not the coaster malfunctioning.

[NoRemorse]

Those accelorations posted are just averages though over the enire time. That dosnt mean the top thrill dosnt accelorate harder! i mean, once u hit a certain speed, it take a while to get it going any faster! id like to know how fast top thrill goes after 1.8 seconds

[Paul H]

I think I waited 4 or 5 hours for it once last year, but the first time I went this year, I went on it twice, with a half hour wait each time. It's a crazy ride, but I don't think it's worth a long wait unless it's your first time. I'd rather wait for Millennium Force or Raptor.

I go to Cedar Point all the time in the summer. It's only about 2 hours away, so it's easy to do in a day with friends. I bought a season pass for $80 in the fall, and with tickets at $40 a pop, if I go more than 2 times it pays for itself.

Oh, and X looks absolutely insane. If I ever get out to California, I want to go on that.

Last, one time on Ghostrider at Knotts Berry Farm they almost set the train off for a run when my lap bar wasn't even latched in;

That's why they have seat belts, it's a built in redundancy. You really have to try if you want to be hurt on a roller coaster.


If you want more info on Cedar Point, check out http://www.pointbuzz.com/ They have plenty of pictures of Dragster.

[Eugenia Gabrielov]

Call me old fashioned, but I still love Son of Beast at Kinds Island above all other coasters ^^. I bit my tongue through on that one...is that a danger?

I think that people at amusement parks do the best they can to stop accidents from happening. I have never seen someone managing a ride say "well, we think this isn't working, but we're not sure so we'll just keep going." They shut it down. There are many uncontrollable situations, and I'm just glad that rides get safer due to technology as time goes by.

[Joe Matt]

Originally Posted by a breezy era

Call me old fashioned, but I still love Son of Beast at Kinds Island above all other coasters ^^.

Oh, OH, OH MY GOD! OWWW!! I rode that ONCE. Needless to say, my back now hates me. OH the pain.... give me the origional Beat any time. Son of Beast just hurts......

[Madison]

X is not all that and a bag of chips. In fact, I found it to be quite a bit disappointing, seeing as how it's often made out to be the Holy Grail of roller coasters. Additionally, it has terrible throughput and doesn't function reliably.

Hypersonic XLC was also not too exciting, in my opinion. The acceleration of a launch really doesn't alter how exciting it is for me too much. The rest of the ride is short, rough and silly.

I'll stick with Phoenix, thanks. It may only be 78' tall and it is 56 years old, but I've not found a better roller coaster anywhere. On Phoenix, the seat is used when you're at the station and pretty much nowhere else.

if ur a big roller coaster fan and if you ever want to go to Illinios Six flags, the rides there are not that great. there classic, but nothin speacial. Theres this ride there that is called the American Eagle, its so old that im scared whenever i go on it that the wood will just break and the cart will fall through lol but i heard there are some new rides there are supposed to be pretty cool, but the last time i went was when the rides there werent to speacial lol

[Kevin Kolodziej]

No fair starting this conversation while I'm in Washington, DC!

I was at Cedar Point last year and I rode Dragster twice in the back...it was a very nice day - 75* ish and decent winds. I saw plenty of rollbacks that day. My launch was at 124mph and we still just barely made it, despite 117 launches on media day flying over the top. Despite the rollbacks, no rows were closed off. This was after the tires and engine were removed from the rear of the train.

To be honest, I'll take Corkscrew over TTD at Cedar Point anyday...speed is good, but I like to ride for more than 17 seconds.

Millennium Force is definitely my favorite ride there, but alas, due to the Superman accident, Cedar Point has made modifications to MF and TTD and I no longer fit in them despite fitting fine last year. With this in mind, I won't be visiting the Point until I lose some weight.

As far as Six Flags Great America is concerned, maybe I am biased since it is my "home" park, but it is my favorite park of all that I've been to. It is true that they have a lot of "clones" at the park (a clone is a ride that can be found in another park - Deja Vu, Viper, Demon, Batman, Ragin' Cajun, Vertical Velocity, Sprocket Rocket, Superman), but the unique rides (Raging Bull, Iron Wolf, Whizzer, American Eagle) are all quite fun. I like to refer to Great America as the "Prototype Park" because they have so many first-of-a-kind rides or one-of-a-kind rides there (Iron Wolf, Batman, Raging Bull, American Eagle, Whizzer).

Anyways, I'm going to King's Island this weekend for The Beast's 25th anniversay - it is going to be one of the funnest times at an amusement park ever!

Its a shame that X has so many problems...it seems like Magic Mountain pushed Arrow into the project instead of letting them take their time with the prototype. I don't know the whole story...but hopefully the coming versions will be better.

[Astronouth7303]

Originally Posted by robo hottie71

No fair starting this conversation while I'm in Washington, DC!

Grand Rapids, MI. Almost as bad.