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| Manufacturer | Zamperla Intamin | ||||||||||||||
| Product | Lightning Coaster | ||||||||||||||
| Builder | Martin & Vleminckx | ||||||||||||||
| Designer / calculations | Ing.-Büro Stengel GmbH | ||||||||||||||
| Type | Steel - Launched - Strata | ||||||||||||||
| Hourly capacity | 1000 | ||||||||||||||
| Propulsion | LSM launch | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 420 feet | ||||||||||||||
| Drop | 400 feet | ||||||||||||||
| Top speed | 120 mph | ||||||||||||||
| Length | 2800 feet | ||||||||||||||
| Inversions | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Drop angle | 90° | ||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2:00 | ||||||||||||||
| Rolling stock | |||||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | Zamperla (2024-present) Intamin (2003-2021) | ||||||||||||||
| Riders per train | 20 | ||||||||||||||
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
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]
_2017_02.jpg)
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 the 2023 IAAPA Expo in Orlando, Florida, USA.[23] Construction of the new vertical spike was completed in December 2023.[24]
Top Thrill 2 opened to the media and invited guests on April 25, 2024. It opened to the public on May 4, 2024.[25][26][27] On May 12, 2024, the park published a note on social media stating Top Thrill 2 had been closed indefinitely to allow Zamperla to make modifications to the trains.[28] The ride reopened in 2025.[29][30]
Design
| Elements |
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Top Thrill 2 uses magnetic brakes provided by InTraSys GmbH.
Station
Top Thrill 2's station has separate areas for loading and unloading.
Trains
Top Thrill 2 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.[31]
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.[32] She was subsequently taken to the hospital, and her condition is not known.[33] 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.[34]
Images
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The queue line -
The test seat -
The original launch system pulleys -
The loading station -
The transfer track
_2012_01.jpg)
_2012_02.jpg)
_2012_03.jpg)
_2017_01.jpg)
_2009_01.jpg)
References
- ↑ http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/park/rides/coasters/top_thrill_dragster/index.cfm
- ↑ Top Thrill Dragster - Stakotra
- ↑ Attraction Installation - Martin & Vleminckx
- ↑ Cedar Point To Build Major New Thrill Ride For 2003 Season - Ultimate Rollercoaster
- ↑ Kraft, Randy (2003-05-04). "Take your seat and get blasted into the sky". The Morning Call. p. 64. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
- ↑ Cedar Point unveils 420-foot coaster - Amusement Today (Wayback archive)
- ↑ Cedar Point's "Top Thrill Dragster" Comes Alive - Coaster Globe (Wayback Archive)
- ↑ Top Thrill Dragster Up and Running Again - Ultimate Rollercoaster
- ↑ "Tallest and fastest".
- ↑ The thrill is back— thanks to refurbished hydraulics - Hydraulics & Pneumatics
- ↑ Newport company wins contract to paint 2 iconic roller coasters - WCPO Cincinnati
- ↑ "Cedar Point Repainting Top Thrill Dragster, Raptor". Coaster101. October 7, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
- ↑ "Top Thrill Dragster will be renamed Top Thrill Cubster for opening weekend of 2017".
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Webb, Craig (2022-09-07). "Cedar Point closing Top Thrill Dragster; ride to be 'reimagined' after injury". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Glaser, Susan (2023-01-09). "Cedar Point teases reimagined Top Thrill Dragster for 2024". Cleveland.com. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Fagenson, Adam (2023-08-01). "Top Thrill Dragster Leak: It's Real, But Is It Ethical?". Theme Park Tourist. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "Zamperla partners with Cedar Point on Top Thrill 2". Zamperla. 2023-08-01. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
- ↑ "Zamperla unveils new trains for Top Thrill 2 at IAAPA Expo 2023". 2023-11-14. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
- ↑ Niles, Robert (2023-12-04). "Cedar Point tops out its newest roller coaster". Theme Park Insider. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
- ↑ Webb, Craig. "Screaming success: Roller coaster enthusiasts take Cedar Point's Top Thrill 2 for test ride". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
- ↑ "Cedar Point unveils reimagined Top Thrill 2 roller coaster - Scioto Valley Guardian". 2024-05-01. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
- ↑ Taylor, Blake (2024-05-04). "Top Thrill 2 now open at Cedar Point". Attractions Magazine. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
- ↑ Helms, April. "Top Thrill 2 at Cedar Point closed less than a month after opening for modifications". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved 2024-05-12.
- ↑ "Closed for the season: Top Thrill 2 coaster opening at Cedar Point postponed to 2025".
- ↑ "Top Thrill 2 receives regulatory green light to launch on opening day". 13ABC. 2025-05-02. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
- ↑ "Dragster Closed at Cedar Point After Incident". Ultimate Rollercoaster.
- ↑ Brase, Victoria. "Broken Bracket on Top Thrill Dragster Blamed for Woman's Critical Brain Injury". MotorBiscuit.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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. |
- Top Thrill 2 on the Roller Coaster DataBase.
| 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 |