Top Thrill 2

Roller coaster in the United States
(Redirected from Top Thrill Dragster)
Watch the on-ride POV
Top Thrill 2
Cedar Point
Location Sandusky, Ohio, USA
Coordinates 41°28′58″N 82°41′07″W / 41.482803°N 82.685356°W / 41.482803; -82.685356
Status Under construction
Operated May 4, 2003 to August 15, 2021
Cost $25,000,000 USD
Statistics
Manufacturer Intamin
Product Accelerator Coaster
Builder Martin & Vleminckx
Designer / calculations Ing.-Büro Stengel GmbH
Type Steel - Launched - Strata
Hourly capacity 1000
Propulsion Hydraulic launch
Height 420 feet
Drop 400 feet
Top speed 120 mph
Length 2800 feet
Inversions 0
Drop angle 90°
Duration 0:30
Rolling stock
Manufacturer Zamperla (2024-present)
Intamin (2003-2021)
Riders per train 20
HELP

Top Thrill 2, formerly known as Top Thrill Dragster, is a steel launched strata roller coaster located at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, USA.[1] It was designed by Intamin, who subcontracted manufacturing to Stakotra Manufacturing.[2] The ride opened on May 4, 2003 as the first complete circuit roller coaster to exceed 400 feet in height. It is one of only two strata coasters in existence, the other being Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey. Top Thrill Dragster was the second hydraulically-launched roller coaster built by Intamin, opening a year after Xcelerator at Knott's Berry Farm. The train was originally launched to 120 mph in 4 seconds.

The ride was installed by Martin & Vleminckx.[3]

History

A train entering the brake run

Development of Top Thrill Dragster began in 2000, the same year Millennium Force opened. Concrete footers started to be laid out in 2001. In August 2002, Cedar Point announced that they were building a new roller coaster, and that track was onsite.[4] That year, construction of the tower began. Cedar Point had to use a 480-foot crane, one of the four in the United States.[citation needed] Two rides, Chaos and Troika, were relocated within the park to make room for the new coaster.[5] Top Thrill Dragster was officially unveiled in January 2003.[6]

On May 4, 2003, the ride opened to the public,[7] being the fastest and the tallest roller coaster in the world. It suffered from technical issues, reopening on July 16 after a period of downtime.[8] The records for tallest and fastest roller coaster were taken two years later by Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure.[9]

During the 2010 season, the hydraulic systems were overhauled.[10] Top Thrill Dragster was repainted by Baynum Solutions for 2016.[11][12]

At the start of the 2017 season, the ride was temporarily renamed Top Thrill Cubster after the park lost a bet with Six Flags Great America.[13]

On February 18, 2022, Cedar Point announced that Top Thrill Dragster would not operate at all during the 2022 season.[14] On September 5, 2022, the park released a statement which said Top Thrill Dragster "as you know it is being retired" and that an announcement would be made later about a new and "reimagined" ride experience.[15] Some sections of the track in and around the station were removed and the ride has been repainted gray, with white supports.[16][17] On January 9, 2023, Cedar Point released a video to their YouTube channel showcasing the ride's top hat element. This video confirmed the ride's reopening date as 2024.[18] On July 18, 2023, Cedar Point made a social media post teasing an announcement on August 1.[19]

Details of the refurbished ride were shared by Zamperla on their website a day before the official announcement, and removed shortly after.[20] On August 1, Cedar Point announced that the ride would reopen as Top Thrill 2 in 2024.[21] Zamperla also confirmed its role in redesigning the ride and constructing new trains.[22] One of the trains was unveiled at IAAPA 2023.[23] Construction of the new vertical spike was completed in December 2023.[24]

Design

Elements

Top Thrill Dragster uses magnetic brakes provided by IntraSys GmbH.

Trains

Top Thrill Dragster has six trains, with five cars each. Riders are arranged two across in two rows, except for the first car which has only one row. Thus each train seats 18 riders. When Top Thrill Dragster first opened, the final car of each train only had a single row as there was an engine, spoiler, and tires at the back. These theming elements were later removed and seats installed in their place.

Incidents

Occasionally, if the train does not accelerate to the required speed, it will fail to crest the top hat element and fall back onto the launch track again.

On July 14, 2004, at around 8:20 PM, four people were struck by flying debris while riding the coaster. Reports indicated that its metal cable frayed as the train was being launched. Shards of metal sheared off of it and struck the riders as the train launched. The riders were left with abrasions mainly on their arms and one rider had cuts on his face. The injured ones were treated at the park's first aid station, and two of them later sought further medical attention on their own.[26]

At around 16:30 on August 15, 2021, an L-shaped bracket later determined to be a flag plate fell from a train near the end of the ride and hit a guest standing in the queue line.[27] She was subsequently taken to the hospital, and her condition is not known.[28] Top Thrill Dragster was closed immediately. On August 19, 2021, Cedar Point released a statement stating that Top Thrill Dragster would remain closed for the rest of the season.[29]

Images

References

  1. http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/park/rides/coasters/top_thrill_dragster/index.cfm
  2. Top Thrill Dragster - Stakotra
  3. Attraction Installation - Martin & Vleminckx
  4. Cedar Point To Build Major New Thrill Ride For 2003 Season - Ultimate Rollercoaster
  5. Kraft, Randy (2003-05-04). "Take your seat and get blasted into the sky". The Morning Call. p. 64. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  6. Cedar Point unveils 420-foot coaster - Amusement Today (Wayback archive)
  7. Cedar Point's "Top Thrill Dragster" Comes Alive - Coaster Globe (Wayback Archive)
  8. Top Thrill Dragster Up and Running Again - Ultimate Rollercoaster
  9. "Tallest and fastest".
  10. The thrill is back— thanks to refurbished hydraulics - Hydraulics & Pneumatics
  11. Newport company wins contract to paint 2 iconic roller coasters - WCPO Cincinnati
  12. "Cedar Point Repainting Top Thrill Dragster, Raptor". Coaster101. October 7, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  13. "Top Thrill Dragster will be renamed Top Thrill Cubster for opening weekend of 2017".
  14. Glaser, Susan (2022-02-19). "Cedar Point's Top Thrill Dragster, involved in August accident, will remain closed in 2022". Cleveland.com. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
  15. Webb, Craig (2022-09-07). "Cedar Point closing Top Thrill Dragster; ride to be 'reimagined' after injury". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
  16. Webb, Craig (2022-11-10). "Cedar Point's newest coaster starting to take shape along the Lake Erie shoreline". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved 2022-11-13.
  17. Sim, Natalie (2023-07-18). "Painting Continues, Concrete Is Poured And New Form For Track Supports Appear On Top Thrill Dragster At Cedar Point, Here Is How It Currently Looks!". Theme Park Tourist. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  18. Glaser, Susan (2023-01-09). "Cedar Point teases reimagined Top Thrill Dragster for 2024". Cleveland.com. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
  19. Webb, Craig (2023-07-18). "Cedar Point ready to announce its plans for shuttered Top Thrill Dragster roller coaster". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  20. Fagenson, Adam (2023-08-01). "Top Thrill Dragster Leak: It's Real, But Is It Ethical?". Theme Park Tourist. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  21. Sim, Natalie (2023-08-01). "Cedar Point Officially Announces Top Thrill 2, The World's Tallest And Fastest Triple-Launch Coaster!". Theme Park Tourist. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  22. "Zamperla partners with Cedar Point on Top Thrill 2". Zamperla. 2023-08-01. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  23. "Zamperla unveils new trains for Top Thrill 2 at IAAPA Expo 2023". 2023-11-14. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  24. Niles, Robert (2023-12-04). "Cedar Point tops out its newest roller coaster". Theme Park Insider. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
  25. Facts - Top Thrill Dragster - Cedar Point (Wayback Archive)
  26. "Dragster Closed at Cedar Point After Incident". Ultimate Rollercoaster.
  27. Brase, Victoria. "Broken Bracket on Top Thrill Dragster Blamed for Woman's Critical Brain Injury". MotorBiscuit.
  28. Glaser, Susan (2021-08-18). "What we know (and don't know) about the Top Thrill Dragster accident at Cedar Point". Cleveland.com. Retrieved 2021-08-20.
  29. Cross, Ian (2021-08-19). "Cedar Point closes Top Thrill Dragster to investigate how metal object fell, injured guest". News 5 Cleveland. Retrieved 2021-08-20.

External links

The category Top Thrill 2 contains additional media.
Tallest roller coaster
May 2003 - May 2005
Preceded by
Superman: The Escape
Tallest roller coaster
May 2003 - May 2005
Succeeded by
Kingda Ka
Tallest complete-circuit roller coaster
May 2003 - May 2005
Preceded by
Steel Dragon 2000
Tallest complete-circuit roller coaster
May 2003 - May 2005
Succeeded by
Kingda Ka
Tallest roller coaster drop
May 2003 - May 2005
Preceded by
Tower of Terror
Superman: The Escape
Tallest roller coaster drop
May 2003 - May 2005
Succeeded by
Kingda Ka
Fastest roller coaster
May 2003 - May 2005
Preceded by
Dodonpa
Fastest roller coaster
May 2003 - May 2005
Succeeded by
Kingda Ka


Articles on Cedar Point