This makes me wonder, if TT2 does well, would CF contract Zamperla to work on other aging launched coasters like Flight of Fear?

17 minutes ago, SonofBaconator said:

This makes me wonder, if TT2 does well, would CF contract Zamperla to work on other aging launched coasters like Flight of Fear?

I wouldn't be surprised if Xcelerator at Knotts gets the Zamperla treatment at some point considering it's about as much of a maintenance nightmare as TTD was. For Flight of Fear, however, it's harder to say. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it appears the Zamperla lightning trains were designed specifically for older Intamins, not premier rides launch coasters like FoF. Plus, the fact that FoF is an indoor coaster could make it more difficult to do any major modifications to the track and/or launch system.

47 minutes ago, SonofBaconator said:

This makes me wonder, if TT2 does well, would CF contract Zamperla to work on other aging launched coasters like Flight of Fear?

Maybe like @WoodVengeance said Xcelerator at Knotts but after that I don’t see anymore coasters that Zamperla would work on.

However, If Top Thrill 2 goes well I do see Zamperla building ground up multi launch coasters for the Cedar Fair chain.

17 minutes ago, Orion742 said:

Maybe like @WoodVengeance said Xcelerator at Knotts but after that I don’t see anymore coasters that Zamperla would work on.

However, If Top Thrill 2 goes well I do see Zamperla building ground up multi launch coasters for the Cedar Fair chain.

I think it would be neat if at least one small park in the Cedar Fair chain got a Zamperla double heart coaster. Personally, I think if Kings Island were to get a new launch coaster at some point, I would still put my money on it being from Mack or B&M.

2 hours ago, WoodVengeance said:

Personally, I think if Kings Island were to get a new launch coaster at some point, I would still put my money on it being from Mack or B&M.

It makes me wonder if Cedar Fair approached Mack about the TT2 project or even considered them as an option.

I hope that Mack at some point comes to more Cedar Fair parks...as of now there are approx 28 Mack Coasters in the United States. With Copperhead Strike being the most recent traditional (not counting Aquaman) coaster. Kings Dominion, Carowinds, and Knott's Berry Farm are the only parks within the family that are Mack. 

Of the Mack rides that I have been on, they are quite fun....the largest scale of theirs that I have been on would be Time Traveler and I love that coaster. Would love to see a similar concept near KI, if not at KI. 

15 hours ago, SonofBaconator said:

It makes me wonder if Cedar Fair approached Mack about the TT2 project or even considered them as an option.

Given that this was probably a last-minute addition due to the 2021 incident, I imagine Cedar Point went with Zamperla to save money on the investment compared to a manufacturer like Mack who is known for being expensive. This is just my speculation, though.

I am thrilled with the new layout. Overall, it should be a great ride. 

However, these are my thoughts/opinions on the new name. I had assumed there would be a re-branding to distance it from the problem prone/injury inducing coaster that it was once. The name Top Thrill 2 isn't going to accomplish that. As others have said, using either Formula __ in the title or some other racing terminology would have been a better option. Again, strictly my opinion.

1 hour ago, KIBeast said:

I am thrilled with the new layout. Overall, it should be a great ride. 

However, these are my thoughts/opinions on the new name. I had assumed there would be a re-branding to distance it from the problem prone/injury inducing coaster that it was once. The name Top Thrill 2 isn't going to accomplish that. As others have said, using either Formula __ in the title or some other racing terminology would have been a better option. Again, strictly my opinion.

Despite the issues the ride had, Top Thrill Dragster was still seen as one of Cedar Point's most iconic coasters. The top hat element is the tallest structure in the park and can be seen as Cedar Point's version of our Eiffel Tower. I don't think Cedar Point was going to fool the general public that this was going to be a completely different ride, especially considering most of the existing ride was still going to be there, so sticking with the Top Thrill naming made some sense there. Though I do agree that they should've added some sort of formula or other racing term in the name instead of just calling it "Top Thrill 2: Electric Boogaloo".

That is exactly what I called it 

The three new supports for the spike.

 

This is really exciting to see come together. Brings me back to the coaster wars era 20 years ago seeing all these massive supports being put in place. 
the 90s and 00s were a fun time to be a coaster enthusiast!

While in line for Iron Dragon (with the kids) I saw they had painted 2 supports with the grey they have on the TT2 supports. I don't know of this was a test for TT2, if they are using that color on ID as well? Either way I think ID will get painted for next year as well.

Video update, hosted by Tony Clark!  Looks like we can expect more of these as construction progresses.

Tony does such a great job with updates....short, sweet and to the point. 

43 minutes ago, Orion-XL200 said:

short, sweet and to the point. 

Was that pun intentional or not?

3 minutes ago, WoodVengeance said:

Was that pun intentional or not?

Ahahahaa no!

Another TT2 Pit Stop!  This time, our host is Michael Manley, CP VP Maintenance & Construction.  Say hi to the really big crane.

 

Our latest update comes in the form of a blog post.

https://www.cedarpoint.com/blog/tt2-construction/top-thrill-2-construction-updates

Long way up.

Photo credit: Baynum Solutions

https://www.facebook.com/Baynumsolutions/posts/pfbid02DtYn3wJjazws8LLZEhaiiudZkgZ1xfnZw4cBSAB26KyvEPiwrE8acdgem53pTyoKl

TT2 Pit Stop Episode 3 was just posted.  The ride is coming along nicely.

Interesting to note that the LSMs extend all the way to the start of the curve for the spike.

Also the modern proximity switches look like they don't extend as far above the track...

 

Late post but I find it odd they started painting from the bottom up vs the top down. I figure there is potential for paint run and drips going over progress already made.

 

That doesn't much matter if everything, such as the top hat support structure, is all one color. FWIW, on the track, which at the top alternates between red & white, they started from the top and worked their way down.

6 hours ago, DispatchMaster said:

That doesn't much matter if everything, such as the top hat support structure, is all one color. FWIW, on the track, which at the top alternates between red & white, they started from the top and worked their way down.

I’m sure having rides painted ain’t cheap, you would think that they would want to have it done correctly regardless if it’s a minor detail, especially when there was no rush to have the painting completed. Diamondback too was painted from bottom to top.

Why do you assume they aren't doing it "correctly"?  They're very experienced pros, who if nothing else have a financial interest in completing the job as efficiently as is safely possible.

I don't think you really get drips as much with paint sprayers.

Also, you aren't going to see drips 100s of feet away.

From what I have heard the spike is causing problems for entertainment.  Iron Dragon has to shut down if a show on the stage will have any fire effects or fireworks.  Typically not a big deal, but from what I have heard this is also true of Top Thrill 2, for a show to have fire or fireworks both coasters will have to close, and priority has been given to the new coaster.  It sounds like Cedar Point’s current plan is to just not do any evening shows on that stage next year, and possibly not use the stage at all next year.  Long term I expect the stage is likely going to move.

That was never a very good place for a stage, so hopefully it gets moved sooner rather than later. They could tweak Perimeter Road a bit and put the stage on the other side of the midway there, hopefully far enough away from Valravn that it wouldn't interfere with that ride's operation.

3 hours ago, teenageninja said:

I don't think you really get drips as much with paint sprayers.

Pretty sure they don't use sprayers.

Yep.  They don`t use paint sprayers because of the over spray on getting paint on other things below where they are painting.  Baynum does everything with rollers and brushes.

I stand corrected.