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Top Thrill Dragster Photo Gallery
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Top Thrill Dragster
Review
Leave all your expectations behind and be prepared for THE ride
of your life. From the second you drive into the city of Sandusky to the
moment you leave (yes the ride can be viewed many miles away) Top Thrill
Dragster is all about height, speed, and as the name correctly stats, top
thrills. Broken down, here are my thoughts (along with some facts) on the
worlds tallest and fastest roller coaster:
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Ride
- Simply outstanding! There are no photos or videos that show just
how tall or fast Dragster really is. The train rolls slowly out of the
station, and pauses in the staging area - sounds of a growling motor
fill the air along with some "smoke" from the trains mock
"engine". The noises pick up, you hear the brakes along the
launch track drop, and without a warning you start traveling at
120mph. For those thinking the launch wont be intense - HA! You are
rocketed from 0mph to high speeds - and the speeds keeps building up
while you can feel the unbelievable speed of the ride. Suddenly, the
trains make a swift 90 degree turn and travels 420 feet in the air. As
the train approaches the top, it slows down, only to be yanked down
the crown section (which provides some insane airtime). For a brief
second you can see a miniature ride in front of you - Millennium
Force. Coming off the top, you start heading down, then, before you
realize it, the train makes a quick 270 degree twist (and the train
swings around close to a track support piece creating a wonderful
"head chopper" effect). Then you travel head first down the
rest of the drop - roughly 200+ feet! Suddenly, the trains levels out,
and magnetic brakes slow the train to a quick and smooth stop. At the
opening ceremony, Cedar Point's general manager said something along
the lines of that Top Thrill Dragster is the ultimate thrill which
people have been searching for - he couldn't be more right.
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Themeing
- Cedar Point did a beautiful job on the ride themeing. From the
ride trains, to the grandstands - everything is made to make you feel
like you are at the race track. There are signs comparing Top Thrill
Dragster to real dragsters, a real dragster on display, and a
"winner's circle."
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Landscaping
- I'm one who likes amusement parks with a lot of trees - so I was
quite disappointed when Cedar Point removed so many trees. My mind was
changed after riding the ride - they kept many trees, and the
"stream" by Corkscrew, and put a big effort into
re-landscaping the area - and it looks very nice.
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Midway
- I always enjoyed the Gemini Midway of the park - an area with
big rides, but with trees also. It was hard to believe last year when
I saw so many trees removed - but its worth it. Not only did the
construction of Top Thrill Dragster cause the movement of several
"flat rides" to less popular areas of the park (which the
movement is a great idea to help even out the crowd flow), but added a
huge amount of energy to a rather "dull" area of the park.
Yes, the coaster itself if full of enery(10,000 horsepower motor), but
the excitement level, the themeing - everything all comes together to
make the new "Top Thrill Dragster Midway" one of the most
exciting areas in any amusement parks - for both riders and
non-riders.
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How
does it feel? - Surprising after my two rides on the monstrous
ride, I did not feel dizzy, shaken up, or sick to my stomach at all.
Yes, the g-forces are high, very high, but the ride's transitions and start
and stop are very smooth.
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Trains
- Themed like real a real dragster cars, the trains are some of
the neatest I have seen. Comfortable wise, they are OK, but better
than most.
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Excitement
- People are pumped about the ride. As the train slowly rolls out
of the station some riders scream or cheer. Forgot about hearing any
screams coming from the ride once in progress - all you here is the
smooth running sound of the train glazing along. Like Millennium
Force, pretty much everyone cheers at the end of the ride (and some
make so rather obscure comments to proclaim their love for the ride).
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Misc.
- When I rode, there was queue line covers only over one section
(though they plan to install them over most of the queue). One
disappointed though, was a large fence that blocks the anxious
riders-to-be in line from seeing anything except the ride's brake run.
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