Yeah… that’s been the talk of my groups. It’s actually run really well since previews started on the 28th, so most of us think that they’re modifying the wheels in some way, because virtually everyone has noticed how the whole thing feels like it might rattle apart going into the hill on the full-speed pass. There’s a rumor going around that confirms this, saying that the wheels haven’t performed as expected.
Everyone has noticed how easily the loaded trains get up and over the hill as well, so it stands to reason that they’ve decided the trains (including the wheels) don’t actually need to be as stripped down as they are. The wheels are gigantic, with huge rims and what seems like very little of the molded poly “tire” part on the outside.
If I had to guess I’d say they’re going to shrink those rims down (which would make them more stable already) and beef up those tires. If they’re doing that, then that means the wheel assembly will have to be modified, so if a little more weight is okay then they could also beef up the suspension as well.
EDIT: I’ll note that altering the wheels after opening is not uncommon for a new concept coaster… Millennium Force’s wheels were changed, and it’s been said that they’ve changed them on Velocicoaster as well.
It seems odd they would shut down the entire ride “indefinitely” if it is just that the wheels don’t have to be as big or whatever. I think there is something more to it…perhaps a safety concern. Otherwise they could continue to run the ride while they work a redesign. I don’t think CP would want that kind of concern made public…way too much at stake.
Whatever the reason, my DS24 rode it last weekend and really loved it, although he mentioned the shakiness. Hopefully it will be back open and running when we go in August.
In other news, the Michigan bundle is back (although $10 more). But now they are selling dste-based tickets. I contacted CP about this, because paying for tickets when whether we go or not is highly dependent on the weather is quite annoying. They said you can change the date of the ticket if they are unused, but you might have to pay more. 
I was thinking that too, and questioning why, if that were the case, they wouldn’t just run 1 run train while 2 are being modded, and then swap them out.
Someone pointed out that trying to run with just one train would be a nightmare and they’d have to limit capacity using return times or something. It’s going to be less headache for them to just close the ride and let people know not to expect it, rather than let people come to the park only to find that they’re shut out of riding. People would throw a fit, especially after they promoted the all-season Fast Lane Plus season pass add on being good for unlimited use on TT2.
I do think it’s probably a safety thing, but I think it’s more an “in the long run” thing. Like, if they’ve already identified that there’s a major wear issue that’s going to come up then they need to address it now, even if the issue wouldn’t create a real problem for a whole season or more. CP has never hesitated to shut down the whole ride very early if they needed to address something. Remember when og Dragster was shut down in May of its opening year to remove the decorative stuff from the back of the trains? Seems somewhat similar, really… removing the deco messed with the cycle time, but they could have just removed the deco and run 1 train at a time while the others were being modded, but they shut it all down then, too.
The difference with TTD is that they NEVER intended to keep the decorative element on the trains. They designed them to swap it out for more seats … They just had to do it sooner than original planned. But it was a planned easy change.
I don’t think they would just run fewer trains. But I think the redesign work could be done while it still ran up to the point where they were ready to retrofit the trains. So either two possibilities…they actually already have a design change basically ready and can start modifying the trains right away…OR they are concerned about running the trains as is safely. The suddenness of this after only being open a single weekend makes me believe it is the latter not the former.
I think they will get it resolved, but after it was a train problem that led to the ultimate closing of TTD due to the terrible accident, I think CP really doesn’t want any publicity that could call into question safety, while at the same time them being hyper focused on safety.
I am surprised they didn’t find this problem sooner though. I guess the stress of running it constantly and perhaps higher temps may have revealed something they didn’t notice earlier.
Where did you hear that? I’ve never heard that, and based on what I saw working there when it opened, it was definitely not designed to have those 2 seats. The Intamin guys were tearing their hair out when the 2 seats were added, because it really screwed up the timing (not just by altering the ride speed, it also took longer for load and unload), but at the same time they also couldn’t just remove the tires and run it like that (they tried) because they weighed like 60lbs each and that messed up the timing as well. The ride never really ran a proper cycle with all the trains after that (and it had barely ever done so, to start with)… there was always one stacked in the brakes. It also messed up the balance and made the trains roll back more often. On cold days, windy days, and in the morning they would often just not load those seats at all, especially toward the end.
I watched a whole YouTube video detailing TTD, including ride cycling and why it was faster to run 5 trains instead of 6, etc. I don’t recall who it was. ElToroRyan, maybe? But may have been someone else.
Anyhow, the wheels on the back were really only intended for initial publicity, but they had no intention of leaving it that way since it reduced ride throughput.
It somehow just occurred to me that I was among the last to ride before they closed it. I was there Friday, and I got in line at like 6:15… the park closed at 8 that day. It didn’t feel noticeably different.
One rumor from someone claiming to have a bit of inside information is saying it might be closed longer than people are anticipating…possibly not re-opening until July, or even the entire season. Let’s hope their inside information is just plain wrong!
The reference to “this weekend” in the official announcement gives me hope that is not going up be quite that long.
Then again, if they’re actually redesigning a component then I don’t think even people with totally legit “inside info” can know how long it’s going to take, because there’s so many things that can hang out up in the design and fabrication process, plus even if that process goes smoothly there’s the chance that they’ll start testing and find that it’s not the fix they’re looking for. Yes, they’re smart engineers, but they were smart engineers when they designed the thing that’s not working, too.