Thrill or drag?

Wednesday, 03 May 2006

By BRANDI BARHITE
brandibarhite@sanduskyregister.com

SANDUSKY - The Top Thrill Dragster is "good to go" after mechanical problems kept it from operating at the end of last season, said park spokesman Bryan Edwards.

Cedar Point fully anticipates the temperamental roller coaster will be ready for Saturday's opening day.

"We have been testing it," Edwards said Wednesday. "I have seen it go over the hill quite a few times. Fingers are crossed for a great season."

Cedar Point announced after Labor Day that Top Thrill Dragster would be closed indefinitely. The coaster reopened for a weekend in October only to break down again and be closed for the rest of the season.

Edwards said the park typically doesn't divulge what was wrong with its rides or how they were repaired, however, the problems that plagued the Top Thrill Dragster in the fall were mechanical and have been fixed.


Top Thrill Dragster is prepared for Cedar Point's 2006 season, which starts Saturday. (Register photo/JASON WERLING)
"It's been worked on -- just like we do all of our rides," Edwards said.

Carole Sanderson, president of American Coaster Enthusiasts, said club members are accustomed to the Top Thrill Dragster not working, but excited about the possibility of this season. Sanderson has ridden the 420-foot-tall, 120 mph coaster many times.

"We believe it is going to be running smoothly this year," she said.

The Top Thrill Dragster has had problems since debuting in May 2003 as the world's tallest and fastest roller coaster.

Cedar Point experienced trouble with the ride's prototype hydraulic oil system and launching cables in 2003-04, and four riders were injured on the ride in July 2004 when a cable frayed.

Last year, the Top Thrill Dragster gave nearly 1 million rides, which Cedar Point considers a bench mark, Edwards said. It wasn't until the fall that the ride began to act up.

"Top Thrill Dragster went down on Sunday evening on Oct. 9," Edwards said.

That's when the park announced it would not be open for the remainder of the season. At the time, Edwards said the park wouldn't be able to get the parts needed to repair the roller coaster before the end of the season. He wouldn't elaborate Wednesday.

Edwards said the Top Thrill Dragster gives more rides every season.

In 2003 -- the ride's inaugural year -- Top Thrill Dragster gave slightly more than 500,000 rides. In 2004, it gave more than 900,000 rides. In comparison, Millennium Force gave 1.4 million rides in 2005.

"We hope to give even more rides on it this summer," he said.

Like previous seasons, the park will keep guests updated on the ride's status.

"We will definitely let our guests know if it's running," he said.

The park's Media Day for its newest ride, Skyhawk, is today. Skyhawk will be the only ride operating.

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