That old familiar feeling…

Considering that the roller coaster world lost a very highly acclaimed ride yesterday, I was thinking back to the time when I first had the chance to ride Kingda Ka’s near twin, Top Thrill Dragster. During that trip, I also took my first ride on Millennium Force, which was the first traditional style gravity driven coaster to exceed three hundred feet tall. By that I refer to coasters where the train is pulled by a motor (or cable) to the top of the hill and then the momentum of the first drop serves to propel the ride thru its course.

The year was 2002, and I had moved back east from California just a year earlier. Having been following the “coaster wars” I was most excited to finally visit Cedar Point. So I bought my ticket for Coastermania, which is the annual event hosted by the park for coaster enthusiasts. That event is held in early June, and 2002 was no exception. That year it began at 5:30 am, and sleep deprived coaster fans started arriving just as the sky was growing light. A chilly wind whipped across the parking lot, and I was glad I brought a jacket. It wouldn’t be long before everyone was checked in at the gate, and soon afterwards the walk to the back of the park began. On the morning itinerary was Top Thrill Dragster and a couple of other nearby coasters, one of which was the park’s old woodie, the Blue Streak. I don’t recall what the other one was, though it may have been Raptor. The night before I had met two women who were traveling together, and all three of us decided to hang out for the event. We gathered in the crowd near TTD’s station, patiently waiting as the coaster was started up for the day.

The sky grew brighter as the first rays of the sun began to crest over the tops of the trees, and I watched with anticipation as empty trains were cycled around the track. Each train crept out of the station until it stopped completely, perhaps thirty or forty feet down the straight track. Then, once the “Christmas tree” lights (like those you see at racetracks) turned green, the train rocketed forth at a blistering speed. It continued on and up the ninety degree incline until it crested the top at 420 feet. Then, gravity took over and it plunged straight down, passing thru a corkscrew turn before entering horizontal track and then coming to a stop just before the station. I had never ridden a coaster like this one before, and despite my coaster riding history, I found myself becoming a bit anxious. Finally, we were given the go-ahead to finally get in line. My two new riding buddies and I were about midway back, and as there were hundreds of people there for that event, so we had a bit of a wait. We made small talk to pass the time until finally we were in the station. It was then that I noticed an old feeling, one that I hadn’t felt in some time, come rushing back. I had only ever ridden one launched coaster, and that was Hypersonic XLC at Kings Dominion. But it was a fraction of the size of this behemoth! And it was no where near as fast. Perhaps this is not the sort of thing a real die hard coaster fanatic would want to admit, but my nervousness was turning to fear! There were only a few people ahead of us, and they took their seats and were soon being flung down that track, reaching 120 miles an hour in just over three seconds. Then, it was our turn. Because there were only two seats per row on TTD, one of us would have to wait for the next train. So my one friend got in and I sat next to her, and by this time my heart was pounding. Part of me wanted to pass on riding this coaster, but I had come all this way to experience this record breaking ride. There was no turning back now.

The ride operators were going down the line checking everyone’s restraints, which, for this coaster, consisted of only a lap bar. By this time the trepidation had become quite intense, and the only thing I could focus upon was that which was right in front of me. The long stretch of track, the Christmas tree lights, and that enormous vertical ascent at the very end. It was then that I was suddenly made aware of exactly how frightened I was. The third member of our party, who was standing behind the gates on the loading platform, called out to me. She smiled and said “Awww, don’t be afraid – you’ll be OK”. I managed a weak smile and then the ride operators gave the final thumbs up, and the train was dispatched. It seemed like an eternity as it slowly rolled out onto the launch track, stopping just before the light tree. Then, it inched forwards ever so slightly, and I could feel something lock in place beneath the train. For that brief moment I felt like I couldn’t even manage so much as a breath… Then came the recorded announcement of “Head back, arms down!” (or vice-versa) and the lights came on, which was the final warning. Suddenly I was pinned back hard against the seat, unable to even move as the track before me rapidly vanished beneath the wheels of the train. Before I knew it we were heading up the tower. I do believe that I screamed at some point along the way, or possibly all of the way until we hit the brake run. Then came the brief pop of airtime as we crested the top of the tower before rocketing back towards the ground at 120 miles an hour. Before I knew it the ride was over, and we were parked on the brake run, pausing for a moment before proceeding back to the station.

My friend and I got off, and headed back to the ride entrance where all three of us would meet up again. As we were waiting, I looked down and realized that my hands were shaking. I remarked to my friend that I really didn’t need that cup of coffee at the hotel that morning, as by now I was about as wide awake as I’d ever be. I don’t know how many rides I got on TTD that morning, but I’ll never forget that first time. Several years later I made a first trip to Six Flags Great Adventure, and I got my initial ride on Kingda Ka. However, I was a bit jaded at that point, and perhaps that is why I was not as impressed with it, having already ridden TTD many times. Both of these coasters were very similar, and sadly today both are gone. Well, parts of TTD still exist, though it has been highly modified. Hershey Park has Storm Runner, which is a down sized version of those two giants. It is one of the top three coasters in that park, as far as I’m concerned. I get to ride that one every year, as my coaster club has a late summer event at Hershey. This summer hopefully I will get to ride Top Thrill 2, which is the current version of TTD. It had all sorts of issues and was only open for about ten days last year. The plan is for it to open with the park in early May.