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Cedar Point | Top Thrill 2 | Triple Launch Renovation | 2024

That is unfortunately flawed thinking as Intamin is right now actively working on the 607 ft tall Falcon's Flight at Six Flags Qiddiya (not a Six Flags park btw, so no contract to the chain).
That's exactly what I meant though, ignoring if it's six flags or not, If intamin are already working on beating the height record with someone else they wouldn't be able to do it for CP at the same time (i know it's still incredibly unlikely but it's just a thought)
 
That's exactly what I meant though, ignoring if it's six flags or not, If intamin are already working on beating the height record with someone else they wouldn't be able to do it for CP at the same time (i know it's still incredibly unlikely but it's just a thought)
I mean, it didn't stop Intamin from having to develop Kingda Ka simultaneous to their finishing TTD. ;)

There is no love lost between Cedar Fair and Intamin. To be honest, it could literally be Intamin did not see a refurb of TTD as a valid project within their wheel house, and enter Zamperla.

Personally excited to see some more action, as we try to piece together what the new ride will entail.
 
Take away all the amusement park stuff around it, if I saw a pic of such a foundation excavation taking place in an empty lot somewhere, I could be inclined to speculate that it might be for the foundation of one of those really tall free-standing triangulated truss transmission towers.

Interesting stuff.....
 
I don't get why CP didn't reveal the reimagination yet. The Fans follow every little step of the porject and know whats going on and everybody else didn't hear about it anyway.
 
Here are better pictures of the site. At the rear end of the former launch segment, a gigantic footer is apparently being built, which could later serve as a stable foundation for the speculated spike element.

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From the shape of the footer I believe we're looking at a large straight spike, much like Pantheon and Toutatis. I've seen a few designs of spiralled spikes running about, however from the direction of the triangular base, we can pretty much rule that out.

Both Pantheon and Toutatis have triangular bases where the 'point' faces in the direction of the launch:
Pantheon038-600x450.jpg


So this may be what we're looking at, but on a far grander scale potentially. A taller example of this could be the old Speed coaster from Las Vegas:

speed-the-ride01.JPG


So, why do I think it will be a straight spike, rather than a spiral? Well we just have to look back at the footers for the alleged 'Draken Spire' coaster that Busch Gardens were going to make. A support structure for a vertical spiral would be much more complicated compared to a straight spike, as as shown by the footer layout on Drachen Spire, the triangle would have to face in the opposite direction:

FPcpAhjWQAAlpIC.jpg:large
 
From the shape of the footer I believe we're looking at a large straight spike....

Gonna start by saying excellent post and I agree with all your points.

However for the sake of Devil's advocate, or being poorly informed, is it yet confirmed which manufacturer is doing the refurb of TTD?

All the examples minus Speed are by Intamin, but wasn't one of the Italian Manufacturer's names being thrown about as the one taking over this project? If so, isn't there more window of opportunity for there to be a different support structure for a potentially different spike element?
 
Potentially, yes. However I believe it’d be far more difficult to support a spiral with the triangle facing that direction. It would mean the spiral part would have to be in the middle of the triangle. This means that the track facing the highest amount of forces (the incline) wouldn’t be properly supported*.

This is why the support structure is facing the opposite way on Drachen fire. The heaviest forces are pushing down into a corner, rather than an edge.


*Imagine a triangle. If you tried to “squash” it, it would be far easier to do so pushing down on one of the flat sides, rather than push down on one of the corners.

EDIT: I made a diagram:
Untitled.png
The first triangle shows how an intamin with a straight spike is supported, and how the positive forces pushed back against the supports is braced.
The second triangle shows how these forces would be braced by a spiral spike.
The third shows what would happen if you used the shape of the footer on TTD for a spiral.

The straight/spiral section of the track would have relatively low forces, the important aspect of the support will be in the transition track from horizontal to vertical, where forces of up to 4G would push "down" on the track.
 
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wasn't one of the Italian Manufacturer's names being thrown about as the one taking over this project?
The theory that Zamperla is behind the project is just that, a theory. But a decently compelling one at that. 'Evidence' for it is:

-They are actively overhauling a different Intamin hydraulic launch coaster (Senzafiato), turning it into an LSM coaster,
-The debut video of their new Lightning trains claim they can reach 110+ mph, and quote "will soon be seen on some of the world's fastest coasters",
-The removed track was shipped to Genoa, Italy.

It very well could be Zamperla doing it, making a triangle-design spike just like the pictures above. We just don't have an idea of how they'd do it.

End of the day, I am assuming it'll be Intamin. Just way too big of a gamble to be Zamperla, despite their clear efforts to overhaul & 'Vekoma-ize" their coaster division. I absolutely look forward to seeing how they do & what they can produce, I just hope it's not this.
 
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One thing that does make me wonder whether Zamperla are involved, as well as the evidence already given, is that Cedar Fair has seemingly avoided Intamin like the plague ever since Intimidator 305. Indeed, word on the grapevine is that the company’s last few Intamin installations left them quite displeased.

I know it’s been 13 years since I305, but was Cedar Fair so scorned by Intamin in the 2000s that they would want to experiment with a different manufacturer to revamp TTD rather than go back to Intamin themselves? Given the eventful history between Cedar Fair and Intamin, I think it’s definitely a question worth asking.
 
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