Cedar Point fans determined to uncover secrets behind Top Thrill Dragster's new design

Cedar Point, the Ohio summer amusement park hot spot, is teasing it has an announcement to make Aug. 1. Many speculate the park will reveal what its Top Thrill Dragster ride — which is being reengineered to reopen next year — will become.

The cryptic message on the social media platform X: "GET REVVVED UP 08.01.23."

Yet that is not enough for roller coaster enthusiasts, who, for months, have been flyspecking social media and the Ohio park for clues to what the Midwest mecca of thrill rides, is doing. They've inspected shipping labels, tracked park construction progress, checked permit filings, flown over the park with drones, and even took a long — but mostly unsuccessful — road trip to the New Jersey headquarters of the retooled coaster's rumored manufacturer.

"Everybody likes to think they know what's going on, and give their opinions and guesstimations," said Gregg Sullender, 44, of Philadelphia, who is set to visit Cedar Point for the first time on Sunday, and will be there for the park's announcement. "It's part of the thrill. It adds to the excitement."

When it comes to amusement parks, enthusiasts like Sullender want the inside track on information. Which parks have the tallest, fastest, longest rides — and even better — where will the next one be opening? And even, where are the best places to sit on a coaster? The very front, the very back, the right or left side? To them, it matters.

Moreover, technology is always advancing, and the parks are competing to offer new thrills and new records.

Sullender never rode the Dragster, which closed in 2021 after a Michigan woman waiting to ride it was injured. More recently, she has filed a lawsuit against the park, seeking damages from serious injuries and $2 million in medical expenses.

More: Michigan woman seriously injured in Top Thrill Dragster accident sues Cedar Point

But Sullender has ridden Kingda Ka, a similar coaster that eventually topped the Dragster's record as the tallest coaster and fastest coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey, plenty of times. He also recently rode the Wildcat's Revenge, which opened this month at Hersheypark in Pennsylvania, and was even in a commercial for it.

Sullender said he plans to ride Cedar Point's roller coasters, especially the once record-breaking ones, all day for several days, while his wife, Amanda Ennis, relaxes and suns at the park hotel on the beach. And, he said, when the Dragster reopens as a new coaster next year, he wants to ride that, too.

'Ramping up the hype'

Twenty years ago, the Dragster opened as the world's tallest and fastest coaster. It had some problems, but it also, to many, was a lot of fun. For now, however, it is a yellow, 420-foot tower of steel and a reminder that someone was seriously injured from it in 2021. A hunk of metal from the ride, an "L"-shaped bracket, struck her in the head.

Cedar Point would like to change that, and the easiest way is to retool and reopen Dragster with another name.

The challenge with thrill rides is that once you've had the thrill, you want a new one.

"I wouldn't say they get tired of them," said Tanner Tam, 24, of Wyandotte, who has a season pass to Cedar Point, and has been there three times this summer already. "But, with the new ones, you never know what the thrill is going to be like the first time."

Enthusiasts, like Tam, are eager to know what the new Dragster will be like. To help, publications like Theme Park Tourist — a website that bills itself as "your essential source for news, reviews and park guides" — are trying to find out.

Tuesday, the Theme Park Tourist reported: "There doesn't seem to be a day that goes by without another major update regarding the reimagining of Top Thrill Dragster and Cedar Point are certainly ramping up the hype prior to the official announcement, which is expected on August 1."

It embedded videos posted to YouTube by Lake Erie Lifestyles, which showed "work continues on track infield and station. The rebar and concrete prep work is continuing, which is expected to be for the switch track." The video also said that no new permits have been filed with Sandusky, where the park is located, or the Federal Aviation Administration, which gets involved for rides as tall as the Dragster.

In addition to the Theme Park Tourist, the YouTube channel has been documenting the coaster's redevelopment, mostly in two- to three-minute bursts. The video also said that the park is offloading dark gray, "massive supports" for the new coaster and even used Google Maps to try to approximate the size of the beams.

Each clue that gets reported isn't much, but for those following what's going on — like a national security agent watching spy satellite images — the small clues starts to develop a bigger picture of what is to come, months, weeks and days before the speculation is confirmed, or debunked, by the park.

'Information and theories'

In a longer, 10-minute Lake Erie Lifestyles video, Dragster enthusiasts begin to speculate, based on comments from "multiple subscribers" who sent "various information and theories" about which company might be the manufacturer of the reimagined ride.

The Dragster was made by Intamin Amusement Rides, headquartered in Liechtenstein.

Images of shipping labels shown on the July 5 video suggest Italian roller coaster maker Zamperla may have a role in the new ride. The labels, the video said, had Zamperla's name and address of its North American headquarters address in Boonton, New Jersey.

That gave the video makers an idea.

"So," the video said, "in our relentless pursuit of information, we decided it was time for a road trip."

It took seven or eight hours and required a drive through Pennsylvania, and, at times, it was raining. It turned out, however, to be mostly a bust because "anyone who could give a tour or answer any relevant questions" was out of the office for holiday.

The rest of the video speculated about what kind of train car the new ride might use, and how a lighter one, made of a lighter metal, might make the ride even better. It also talked about design and safety, and, as you might expect from thrill ride enthusiasts, if there was a problem, how quickly the ride could be fixed to run again.

"We'll continue to keep obtaining information from the manufacturer," the video promised viewers near the end. "Otherwise, we'll keep pounding the ground and flying over the lake to keep you up on the project."

What's with the 'the 3 V's'?

Another Lake Erie Lifestyles video offers a casual stroll alongside the ride. It shows the new teasers for the ride, and asks its viewers — who comment under their social handles, instead of their actual names — to weigh in with their thoughts and speculation.

"What does everyone think about the 3 "V"s?" one asks. "There is something there, but I haven't figured it out yet."

In this video, you can see the word "racing" and the image the park posts on social media platform X with the date, clues that the new ride will stick with an automotive theme.

On a wall, presumably where the a long line of riders will snake around, there are some phrases, more clues, maybe? "Smoke the competition," and "A new formula for thrills." There's also: "Drive the sky" and "Accelerate your adrenaline."

"'Smoke the competition' sounds encouraging," one person comments.

Could 'racing' combined with 'competition' mean that riders will race against each other? Will there be actual smoke? Or is that just metaphorical language?

Another viewer asked: "What if this turned out to be a dueling version of the original like West Coast racers?"

Some enthusiasts, said they can't wait to get on the new ride, while others, including some who loved the Dragster, were concerned that the new coaster won't be record-breaking or even different enough from the thrill ride that had been retired.

"The amount of hype that Cedar Fair is bringing to this just makes me think it'll be something extremely special," @masonbhunter2 wrote as a comment to the video. "If it's just a basic spike I'll be a bit let down, but I'm well aware of the Internet's ability to overhype everything, so who knows. Either way, the Dragster isn't going away and that's dope."

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Top Thrill Dragster new design at Cedar Point: Fans visit Zamperla