Cedar Point's Top Thrill 2 is closed already

Guess not enough people are using the pay-to-ride lockers.

Ooof. The fact that there was a press release attached to its closure would lead me to believe that its downtime might leaning more towards “foreseeable future” than “temporary” status.

If what I heard is accurate, I'd recommend anyone with plans to visit before the 4th of July postpone their trip if possible. While I don't know the details, it seems to be related to an issue with one or more of the trains, and my source was not optimistic about it reopening before mid June (which is unfortunate for CoasterMania attendees). This is a one of a kind prototype, so encountering unexpected issues is not uncommon, and is one of the main reasons I've stopped trying to go for rides in their opening year.

Jokes and personal anecdotes aside, this is exactly why no park has attempted to outdo Kingda Ka even after 20 years. The risk is absolutely massive and when something like this happens it *really* pisses off thousands of customers every single day. When you're running a business the absolute last thing you want is hundreds or even thousands of letters/emails/people going to customer service demanding their money back every single day.

There are very few parks that have the resources to build and operate an attraction like this in the first place and then you add something like this...very bad situation. If they don't find a permanent fix sometime this season and get this ride operating reliably it's going to be a major problem for Six Flags.

Now regarding personal anecdotes, I feel vindicated as a few of my friends insisted on going in May and I refused, opting for a July date, because I thought the ride would be extremely unreliable. And then after opening weekend they were rubbing it in my face about the reports of the ride operating near flawlessly. Now they are going this week and its SBNO lol. Granted it still might be closed when I go in July but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Fun fact: TTD has had long downtimes every time I have been to CP (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, and in 2018 when I went opening weekend it was closed all weekend). I can't remember ever waiting in line for TTD and not having a downtime. I had a good streak going with Kingda Ka too it wasn't until 2018 where I actually waited in line and got to ride without it breaking down once.

This and Steel Curtain should reinforce to parks why you should go with reliable manufacturers designing and building attractions in their wheelhouse when you want to build something that is on the cutting/bleeding edge. Cedar Point contracted a ride manufacturer whose biggest coasters are installed along the beach in Brooklyn, NY (Luna Park), so there should be no surprise that this installation is running into issues. In the end, you get what you pay for, and when you try to save a few bucks going with a smaller manufacturer, you're taking a big risk that the resulting installation is going to have problems. This story has played out dozens of times in the theme park industry over the past 2+ decades, and park operators still haven't learned.

I can kind of forgive Kennywood, because they're a smaller park and wanted to push the envelope with a limited budget, and would never have the resources to build something like Steel Curtain from a top manufacturer, but Cedar Fair/Six Flags should know better.

Counterpoint: Fury 325