How long do you think Top Thrill Dragster will last?

[LotsOfLayne]

I'm not saying Intamin are bad engineers but looking at this pic

http://www.rcdb.com/ig1896.htm?picture=45

the third leg support doesn't look exactly straight and kind of awkward.

how long do u think this coaster will last in the future?

i say 20 years, before either storm tornado or earthquake or metal rusting or simply aging deem it unsuitable for riding.

[ringman33]

earthquake

earthquakes in ohio? espcially ones that can do the kind of damage that your talking about? now thats the funniest thing i have ever heard :haha: :haha: :haha: :lol-sign:

[IvanEnema]

TTD will last years, it won't be long before CF add some trims to the drop just to make maintenence cheaper...

[fathorse]

the third leg support doesn't look exactly straight and kind of awkward.


My 3rd leg support isn't exactly straight either, but it gets me by.

Seriously, it's supposed to be like that. It's straight for 250+ feet, then it angles in to taper the tower. The front can't taper because it's holding track. With it's vastly improved performance this year, it will be dominating the CP skyline for years.

[okinawaboy11]

I'm not saying Intamin are bad engineers but looking at this pic

http://www.rcdb.com/ig1896.htm?picture=45

the third leg support doesn't look exactly straight and kind of awkward.

how long do u think this coaster will last in the future?

i say 20 years, before either storm tornado or earthquake or metal rusting or simply aging deem it unsuitable for riding.
WTF? TTD was designed like that, it's not the supports falling over or breaking or anything. It's supposed to be like that. And did you see Six Flags New Orleans? All the coasters survived a Cat. 5 Hurricane. (Just flooded as hell)and they are still standing. And, the most that happens to Cedar Point is thunderstorms, and maybe a rare Tornado, but when tornadoes reach the point they are usually just water sputs. I highly doubt a natural disaster will take it down, even if there were to be a natural disaster.

TTD and MF always have the longest lines, they're not going anywhere anytime soon. Look at Gemini, Corkscrew, Magnum they are all over 20 Years old...and still standing, no rust (WTF). They have survived there share of tornados and storms. Coasters were designed to with stand the elements.

[Darth Gilbert]

It will last as long as Cedar Fair wants it to last.

[Harpo]

Just as an FYI, tornados have hit The Point in the past, and have caused damage.

I was visiting the park in 1977 when a tornado hit. It caused severe damage to Frontiertown, including to Mine Ride. It also resulted in the destruction of the Sky Wheel. The biggest area of damage, however, was a lot of tree removal, in the exact area where Gemini would stand one year later.

I was also working at the park when a tornado hit in 1987. Only relatively minor damage on that one. The queue entrance to Thunder Canyon was partly ripped out when a large tree was taken down by the tornado -- the tree missed the glass shop by only a couple of feet. Also, a guard shack on the perimeter road was ripped out. As I understand it, the guard was sitting in the shack, which was bolted to a concrete platform. The shack disappeared around her, but she stayed put (luckily!). Other than that, there were lots of tree limbs down, and signage and lighting was damaged througout the park.

[ACK!]

:eek: God, Harpo! You know everything about Cedar Point!

[okinawaboy11]

^ Still, It's not going to take down TTD. It would have to be atleast a F-4 or F-5. Which RARELY occur.

Like Darth Gilbart said, it's going to last however long Cedar Point want's it to last. Personally, That is a nice space to fit a coaster that does...well...more. But that's just me. It's really the GP That decides, and they love it.

[gigafreak30]

top thrill is not going down anytime soon

[BoRJoYZeE]

Yeah It was made like that and hasn't looked different since the first opening.

Yeah I would say F-5 would take TTD down because of the 300 Mph winds. Though they do occur very rarely. Earthquake can be possible but won't do anything to the park because the fault line is far away, I am talking about the the New Madrid Fault line.

[ACK!]

If it was in California, it would do LOTS of damage. But an earthquake in Ohio? It could happen, but not much damage would be done. Some screws might come off, but nothing more.

[Eric]

i think there might be fault lines near cedar point even though it's in the middle of the plate, just like there is a ancient fault line about 10-15 miles away from pcw (it's the valley that runs through toronto)

[IvanEnema]

i think there might be fault lines near cedar point even though it's in the middle of the plate, just like there is a ancient fault line about 10-15 miles away from pcw (it's the valley that runs through toronto):bulb:

[okinawaboy11]

Hehehe teeheheh LMAO ROFL....

ya'll make me laugh. When was there ever a recorded, damage causing earthquarke in Ohio..exactttttly. Never. As in NADA it's not going to HAPPEN. The only way TTD will come down, is by a crane and wrecking ball.

[Harpo]

:eek: God, Harpo! You know everything about Cedar Point!

Well, definitely not everything, but, having visited the park for 37 consecutive years, plus worked there for 4 summers, plus owning Cedar Fair stock since 1990, I've managed to pick up a few bits of information here and there! :D

Speaking of earthquakes, there was a small earthquake at The Point when I was working there in 1988. I felt it, but didn't realize it was an earthquake. It was before my shift, so I was still lying in bed at The Cedars (located next to the Wildcat) when I felt the room move. However, The Cedars is essentially a box with a door and a window -- it moves whenever someone jumps out of their bunk, so I didn't think much of it. The opening crew member for my location, however, also felt it, and told me that it wasn't merely someone jumping out of a bunk. Other morning employees also commented about it. I forget the magnitude, but news reports indicated the epicenter was under Lake Erie.

While earthquakes are very rare in the Midwest, they can still happen. Scientists and engineers think that a quake would do much more damage in the Midwest than in California, as the building codes don't take earthquakes into account. While California would be able to handle a 6.0 quake with relative ease, such a thing could cause severe damage to places like Cleveland.

I think Dragster's biggest concern is lightning. It was hit by lightning a couple of days before its first Opening Day, causing quite a bit of electrical system damage. (The systems are supposed to be protected, but, apparently, they weren't protected well enough.) For that reason, Dragster really limped along during its first Opening Day. I would like to think that the protection has since been improved -- a large metal object like Dragster, sticking out into Lake Erie, is a natural magnet for lightning!

[fathorse]

The faults that run under the upper Midwest aren't very major though. The big Midwest damage area would be Worlds of Fun, since they have the New Madrid fault nearby in Missouri.

[BoRJoYZeE]

^ Yep, the last time it had a major quake it was an 8 on the scale. Since the midwest is flat the shockwave can travel farther than the ones in California. It could reach to CP but won't do much of anything but a little tremor.

[fathorse]

Probably no more than a 3 or a 4. We had a 3 in Michigan about 10 years ago, and I didn't even feel it in the building I was in.

[Harpo]

However, when I worked at the Powertrain building at GM's Tech Center in Warren, Michigan, there's a crack in one of the support pillars. Others who were working there during that Michigan quake said that the crack was caused by the quake, and that whole upper story of the building felt like it was going to collapse, despite being a very small quake. Most people on ground level didn't even know it happened, but it was noticed by many people on upper floors of buildings.

[fathorse]

Ummmm, Harpo? C'mon, the building was in Warren. That said enough right there. :p

[snowspeeder_89]

I think it will last as long as CP takes care of it. Also, I think that leg was designed not to be strate. I think Its sapost to be a arch.