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Cedar Point: General Discussion

State investigations say the piece of metal that struck a Cedar Point guest waiting in line for the park's Top Thrill Dragster was about the size of "a man's hand."

And the piece that fell off the ride was from the back of the coaster's train.

The bracket which was attached by bolts is supposed to hover just over the track and a series of sensors that keeps tabs on the coaster as it makes its way at breakneck speed up and over a 420-foot-tall hill in 17 seconds. The ride goes from standstill to 120 mph in just 3.8 seconds.

At some point in its descent, Miran said, the bracket came in contact with the coaster's track and ripped off from the "green" coaster train and struck the woman in the head while she was waiting in line.

He could not speculate just how fast the train was moving when the piece became dislodged but added it was likely at the ride's "maximum" velocity.

Prior to the accident, the Top Thrill Dragster was last inspected by the state on May 14 and no major issues were found.

More here - Cedar Point Top Thrill Dragster accident victim identified (cincinnati.com)
 
This is bodycam footage from a first responder of the moments after the accident.

 
So it was the sensor plate that was detached from the train. That's quite concerning and brings up a lot of questions of how well the ride is being maintained.
The sensor plate is a non-mechanical component. For it to make contact with the track either:
- Something on the track was in its way
- It must have been loose
- the entire train was closer to the track
Besides the first possibility good daily inspection should have been enough to prevent the other two.
 
Cedar Point's (excellent) blog states Wicked Twister is now being removed and is headed for the scrap yard.

The train is already off and crews are disconnecting everything. Power, controls, linear induction motors, sensors, etc. In a few weeks, full demo will begin.

For clarity, Wicked Twister is not being reincarnated as a new ride at any of our sister parks; it’s not coming back to life as a climbing structure (although, wouldn’t that be amazing to climb the spike like we used to do as kids when playgrounds had big climbing structures??); it’s not being inserted into Maverick’s layout to bring back the heartline roll.

It’s being disposed of. Not coming back, anywhere.
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I'm actually gutted by that :( I know though the ride apparently used a lot of power which would make sense why it wouldn't go to another park of some sort but it is sad to see it go. Looked like a fun ride for what it was worth.
 
Ted said:
I'm actually gutted by that :( I know though the ride apparently used a lot of power which would make sense why it wouldn't go to another park of some sort but it is sad to see it go. Looked like a fun ride for what it was worth.
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I think it's a massively underrated ride, but it's the best part of 20 years old and they have been known to be a maintenance headache, Intamin had to do a lot of remedial work on the ride before its second season.

Not shifting it to another one of their parks is probably pretty sensible given that they have two other rides that can consume parts from this one. The Dorney & Valleyfair rides have probably been given a stay of execution.
 
It was a fun coaster, suppose it was massively upstaged by opening just a year before Top Thrill Dragster.

Be interesting to see what the area looks like and what happens in the coming years as the way it blocked the view of Lake Erie from inside the park meant it was likely on borrowed time since Disaster Transport was bulldozed for Gatekeeper to be built.
 
A pity that it is being scrapped, as it was a good coaster that really packed a punch. But I do get the decision, a lot of parts that can be used on the chain's other two Impulse coasters and one less Intamin head ache to deal with in the park.
 
Park spokesman Tony Clark announced Friday that Cedar Point’s Antique Cars ride in Frontier Town will be replaced with a new restaurant for the 2022 season. The family-friendly attraction, which debuted in 1969, features small-scale Model T-type cars on a twisting track.

Fortunately for fans of the ride, Cadillac Cars – a very similar ride – will still be available for families to enjoy.

MLive.com: Cedar Point’s Antique Cars ride to be replaced by new restaurant.
https://www.mlive.com/news/2021/11/...rs-ride-to-be-replaced-by-new-restaurant.html
 
Wicked Twister is on its way down. Somehow I imagined a small steel rollercoaster would be disassembled in the same way it was put up - lifted down piece by piece - but no they’re just… ripping it down :eek:

 
Be interesting to see what goes there, probably something that makes use of the view of Lake Erie instead of blocking the view of it.
 
James5696 said:
Wicked Twister is on its way down. Somehow I imagined a small steel rollercoaster would be disassembled in the same way it was put up - lifted down piece by piece - but no they’re just… ripping it down :eek:

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If a coaster is destined for scrap it's quicker to just tear it apart like that rather than undo all the bolts and take it down piece by piece. Shame it's not going to another park though. :(
 
Something rather amazing dawned upon me… in spite of Wicked Twister often being dismissed and overshadowed as a “minor ride” within Cedar Point’s lineup when it operated, and people often thinking of it as small, it would be the tallest coaster in the UK by 2ft if it were in Britain, if using RCDB as a metric.


It really puts into perspective quite how nuts Cedar Point’s coaster lineup is when a ride that would be a major record breaker if situated here in the UK is seen as only a minor loss from Cedar Point’s lineup and skyline!
 
It's a minor loss in the sense that it doesn't offer the variety the other coasters across CP do. It was a simple back and forth launch coaster regardless of height. If you were to put it in at Towers or Thorpe, it would not be the headlining coaster. Drayton Manor or Flamingo Land, perhaps.

With regards to the skyline, it's a huge loss; one of the most recognisable coasters on it. A friend of mine I met up with from Indiana also recalls it being his first coaster at Cedar Point, so it'll no doubt have that nostalgia point with some people. I hope some of it makes its way to the Roller Coaster Museum. I know my friend would be interested in buying a piece, and his invested interest into parks and coasters is quite minimal.
 
Well this is sad.

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Indeed it is. Looking forward to seeing what they have planned for that site though. Cedar Point are really due a big new coaster!
 
It's now the biggest gap in coaster additions since Maverick to Gatekeeper and in likelihood now will be the longest gap since before they started the coaster wars.

Suppose the original plan would likely have been 2020 for the 150th anniversary (and Snake River) and then onto the next big thing.

But then you see how Cedar Fair seem to have gone very safe post pandemic. Tumbili being the only Cedar Fair coaster opening this year which was clearly bought and paid for prior to everything and since then the only heavily rumoured coaster being the giga at Knotts.
 
John_P said:
It's now the biggest gap in coaster additions since Maverick to Gatekeeper and in likelihood now will be the longest gap since before they started the coaster wars.

Suppose the original plan would likely have been 2020 for the 150th anniversary (and Snake River) and then onto the next big thing.

But then you see how Cedar Fair seem to have gone very safe post pandemic. Tumbili being the only Cedar Fair coaster opening this year which was clearly bought and paid for prior to everything and since then the only heavily rumoured coaster being the giga at Knotts.
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Well you could say they don't cedar point in building another coaster... I'll let myself out
 
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