TTD has only three trains in sight. Sounds odd. I believe that they are retroffting 3 of the trains to go on MF next year, because they are more safer and can acommodate larger riders. And ttd's sensors and so on is being retroffited to run 3 trains so there will be less malfunctions to go wrong on the blocking and so on. I think it makes sense. TTD always has one train on the switchbacks anyways.

Again pure specualtion, i noticed they were missing trains.

wow... just.... wow...

Reasons the trains might be gone
1. Its the end of the season.. So they put them away for the winter
2. They are getting OTSRs added...
3. They are going to put them on MF...

Now of the 3.. what 1 seems most likely?

I think #3!

...Or they could just be in storage since TTD isn't going to be open until next May? Usually in the off season, the trains are just stored (disassembled) on the walkways next to the track. However, people are still going to be on those walkways so they can't put them there. I'm willing to bet they're just off somewhere out of the way.

As for retrofitting them to MF...no. TTD and MF are setup to accomodate the SAME size riders, and neither is safer than the other, as they use the EXACT same safety systems. Brake systems are slightly different, but to fix any problems that MIGHT occur (MF has had none), then all the work would have to be done on the track portion and not on the trains.

If CP moved trains to MF, they would just have extra trains sitting in storage there, since MF was designed to operate with 3 trains. And unless a MCBR is added to MF (and I don't see where they could), that number won't be changing.

Also, why would CP want to LOWER the capacity of one of the most popular rides in the park? I don't know of any reason they would want to do this. The reason TTD is down so often is usually due to the launch mechanism, not blocking. From everything I've read, TTD has had no problems caused by blocking.

Unless I see something that proves otherwise, I'm labeling this a certified, "Crazy Internet Rumor®."

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How's this for school? Walt Disney World. Yep, you read that right. I'm here from 8/23/04 to 1/03/05 working in Fantasyland, and sometimes Tommorowland.

Please.. I am sorry but i have to comment. I think our friend YoungStud is just saying this to get coaster geeks (like me) in a ruffle. I would have to go #1.

It's the end of the season and you would not beleave all the work it takes to shut down the park for the winter.

Things I saw when I was there last weekend

1. TV's at the Dive show were wraped in all season rap.

2. Some of the Paddle Wheels were removed and stored.

3. On ride Photo boths starting to close up for the season

I am sure you are looking in to the TTD thing way to much, and starting rumors that don't need to be started.

#2 Yeah right. The main thing distinguishes ttd and kk is the freedom of not having an otsr.

#3 I really don't know. Highly unlikely, but CF works in mysterious ways. They do totally unexpected things.

#1 Sounds the most realistic.

Look, our friend YoungStud is using steroids, causing his penis and brain to shrink. Who knows what wacky thing he'll come up with next?

Lol, looks like we have Franchise v2 (wasn't he a "bodybuilder" also?).

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but ttd's seats are deeper, and the lapbars are curved more, not straight across like mf's. mf will still run 3 trains, the trains ttd has with a different front car to accomodate 2 rows rather than one. TTD would probably still ahve great capacity with 3 trains rahter than 5. KK gets better capacity than ttd.

1. TTD's and MF's seats (excluding headrests), seatbelts, and lapbars are EXACTLY the same.

2. If MF will still only run 3 trains, then where would the old MF trains go?

3. I want to see what numbers you have on that. THRC (theoritical hourly ride capacity) for TTD at opening was 1500 pph. Cedar Point has EXCELLENT ride ops, so OHRC (operational hourly ride capacity) tends to get pretty close to THRC. Now 1500 pph was calculated with 6 trains, 16 seats per train, and dual unloading and loading. Since then, two seats were added to each train, increasing capacity. Kingda Ka is listed as 1400 pph THRC, and that assumes PERFECT operation by the ops.

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How's this for school? Walt Disney World. Yep, you read that right. I'm here from 8/23/04 to 1/03/05 working in Fantasyland, and sometimes Tommorowland.

The quality of grammar coincides with the quality of information and thought process.

ttd:
http://www.coastersandmore.de/rides/dragster/train.jpg

mf
http://www.hawaii.rr.com/leisure/rev...uga-phy018.jpg

look at the t-bars.
plus ttd's seats are a little deeper.

They're putting the dragster engine and spoiler back onto each of the trains! Yipee!

However much I would like to see that happen, I highly doubt it. Putting the trains away for the winter seems to be the most obvious reason.

As for blocking being a problem, isn't that the main problem that causes dragster to have intermitten downtime throughout the day? i.e. during a rollback, the computer blocking system gets screwed up because it's not use to having a train being sent backwards, so mechanics have to spend however long, trying to reset the computer so it can come to it's senses. I always thought that's why it was down after rollbacks, if I'm wrong please correct me and tell me why it has to be closed between 5 minutes, to an hour after a rollback.

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Sesame Street characters at Busch Gardens Europe!?
Take THAT Magic Kingdom!

The T-Bars look the same to me. And Plue you are useing a computer gen pic. That's not even a real train.

If you go to Cedar Point dot com it even lists both the rides as the same waist size under the "larger people" part. I know for a fact (cause I am fat) they are both the same. I get on both with exacly an inch of black on the belt.

C'mon man, think this through. Cedar Point already announced that the ride would be closed for the rest of the year, correct? So why not start a little early on the off-season tear-down of the trains? I wouldn't be suprised if some of the trains didn't look like this by now. (Thank you James)

Sounds like someone has taken a few too many 'roids

Have you ever actually SAT in the seats? They are the same. I can't see the difference in your pictures either.

As for rollbacks, I've seen plenty of rollbacks. for the most part, there is no significant downtime in between them, it's just rollback and immediate re-launch. If there is a problem, rollbacks are usually a symptom and not a cause.

Also, the TTD picture is concept art from before the ride opened. The spoiler/engine/tire were on when TTD opened, but were removed within the first year and replaced with two more seats, and they aren't coming back.

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How's this for school? Walt Disney World. Yep, you read that right. I'm here from 8/23/04 to 1/03/05 working in Fantasyland, and sometimes Tommorowland.

mmm, mf is 48" height, and ttd is 52". Sounds different to me

plus the tbars are different. TTd's are rounded over the thighs, mf is pretty much straight.

Your height has nothing to do with your waist size.

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ThrillNetwork Moderator
The user formerly known as WildeFyre
UOIT Mechanical Engineering Student

yes it does, ttd's seats are deeper

I'm sorry, but I have to comment on this. Has anyone ever seen TTD running all six trains? Honestly, it just never happens. Even on the 4th of July they were only running five. It's not a big deal that only three were there. Also, as many people said, its the end of the season, TTD's closed, and the park is only open for Halloweekends.

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Opening year they ran 6 train operation for a few weeks.

As far as this whole thread goes. It seems clear to me that they're just prepping Dragster for the offseason. They already know its down might as well start early.

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"foolish earthlings, cower before the awesome techno onslaught of nine-hundred-and-nine robots dancing in unison"

They maybe be deeper, but it still doesn't mean your height has anything to do with your weight size.
And besides, you're distroying your own point. Why would CP move the TTD trains if they had deeper seats to MF? They'd have to change MF's height restriction, and why would they want to do that?

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ThrillNetwork Moderator
The user formerly known as WildeFyre
UOIT Mechanical Engineering Student

It is a fact that ttd's deeper seats accomodates larger riders more so than mf. That is the reason, to help improve capacity.

First off, Willski, you sir are very funny. Second time you gave me a good laugh tonight.

I can't decide if this thread should be locked or if it should stay open to keep me laughing. TTD is closed for the rest of the year. Why would it be a big deal if they put the trains away now?

WildeFyre said "Your height has nothing to do with your waist size"

YoungStud said "yes it does, ttd's seats are deeper" Notice the no period and the lower case y.

That remark is in NO WAY relevant to the statement made by WildeFyre. That response is equivalent to a 6 year old trying to make fun of his classmate. You are 25, please come up with something better.

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I am pretty sure that they can't use TTD's trains for MF because MF's trains are very heavy; whereas, TTD's trains are very light. And if you put light trains on MF, they will not maintain there speed and get into many rollbacks. I heared this somewhere but I can't remember.

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Go Detroit Pistons
Go Detroit Red Wings

I've ridden Millennium Force before, and have also been on Xcelerator (which I believe Dragster derived its headrest and seat design from), and they seating is NOT the same. It's not just the headrests either. The seat and seatback contours and the way they cradle riders is different too.

Let's get a few things straight...

1) MF and TTD trains are very different. MF has a chain dog as found on many roller coaster with chain lifts. TTD has a rare earth magnet that holds it's pin up. When the rides launch sequence is initiated, an electromagnet interacts with the magnets field and the pin drops under it's own weight. The brakes are in different positions. The mod process would be excessive as the trains don't have the same clearances. The seats are mounted differently. The seats are designed completely different, they look somewhat the same to the average person though. The lapbars on TTD are shorter, have better locks, the head of the lapbars is tilted towards the riders, the bar on it is also longer. The block reset plate is in the wheel on both rides. The very last wheelset on the right side of the train. TTD has a horizontal plate, MF has a vertical plate. TTD's front car cannot negotiate MF. Not to mention TTD has annoying headrests.

2) FALSE! TTD control system automatically sets an error code when a train takes too long to clear the tower. During a rollback here are the steps to recover.
a) Flip the ride mode switch to manual mode.
b) Flip reset switch.
c) Hold "acceleration brakes down" untill they pop back up on their own.
d) repeat b untill the train is close to the launch poition.
e) reposition trains.
f) Flip the ride mode switch to automatic mode.
g) Press Auto Mode Start.
h) Try launching again.
It's that easy. If e isn't needed, then it will take 5 minutes. When the first train of a given dispatch rollsback, all trains must be moved back. This process can take 10 minutes or longer depending on how quickly each hosts presses their block reset buttons. If the ride itself caused the rollback, or another error is generated, then it probably will take longer. At that point, Maintenance needs to be called. The shortest time for that is the 5 minute rollback time. The longest time down after a rollback was over a month.

3) Contrary to popular belief, TTD's capacity is 1150 riders per hour, MF's is 1300 RPH, and I have no flipping clue what Kingda Ka's actual max capacity is. By the looks of Kingda Ka, it's not higher than TTD's.

4) TTD's cars are slightly heavier than MF's.

Why would a popular park like CP get such a low capacity ride? Sure, the park is big, but they could've told Intamin to try to figure out a way to up the capacity when TTD was still being developed. I would maybe say 1600 PPH minimum.

Dragster was suppossed to have a higher capacity. That is why it has six trains. There are hundreds of proximity sensors on TTD's track from the launch section, all the way back to the end of the brake run. This was for the computer system to track a trains movement somewhere around every 8 inches or so. The idea was to have the trains moving simultaniously, but for reasons unsolved to date, the system has never worked. Trains consequently move one at a time and thus makes a cycle time much longer than originally planned. This brought the capacity down, and is also the reason that they only run 5 trains. There is simply no point in having 2 extra trains full of people waiting to get off the ride. This also allows for one less train to be moved back and saves time in the event of a roll back as described by Marc.

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I like the Zingo a lot.

Has anyone noticed that if you took 3 of TTDs trains and put them on MF (not possible without serious modification) then you can only make 1 train. You would need all 6 of TTDs trains to make the 3 that MF has.

If you were to take the 3 trains, then what would you do with the other 2 if you dont use them? If they did that, then you will have very long lines, since you can only run 1 train, since that is all you will have.

3 trains from TTD = 1 train for MF.TTD has 5 cars. Each car holds 2 riders except for the 1st which only holds 1.

You will need to modify the front of TTDs car to fit 2.

If that happens, then we have this.

1st, take away the 1st car. We take the last 4.

Put them together, and we have 4 cars. Add another train, we have 8.

Do that with the last 4 trains. Then, add the font car on.

We have 3 trains, but we needed 6 of dragsters.

I am not saying this will happen, I am just stating what will need to happen if you want MF to run at full capacity with TTDs trains.

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It's just time to put them away for the winter and rebuild them. Carowinds has already started that as well removeing a train from Thunder Road.

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2009 Carolina Cobra Crew
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