Top Thrill 2

Top Thrill 2 is a launched roller coaster located at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, United States. The ride originally opened as Top Thrill Dragster in 2003, becoming the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world, as well as the first ever strata coaster – a height classification of 400 feet (120 m) or more. Designed by Werner Stengel, the Accelerator Coaster model from Intamin debuted with a height of 420 feet (130 m) and could accelerate from 0 to 120 mph (190 km/h) in 3.8 seconds. It was themed to Top Fuel drag racing, with the launch track designed to resemble a dragstrip, and it consistently ranked as one of the world's top steel coasters in Amusement Today's annual Golden Ticket Awards publication. Top Thrill Dragster's records were surpassed in 2005 by Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure.

Following a serious incident in 2021, in which a guest was severely injured while standing in line, Zamperla was hired to create a new ride experience while Top Thrill Dragster remained closed. A second 420-foot (130 m) spike tower and two additional launch cycles were added, and the coaster reemerged as Top Thrill 2 in 2024. The updated ride retains the top speed of the original but provides a different riding experience, sending riders forward and backward through three total launches and extending the ride time from 30 seconds to approximately two minutes.

History

Development

According to Rob Decker, Vice President of Planning and Design, the park began working on a new project shortly after the debut of Millennium Force in 2000. After the 2001 season ended, a Dodgem ride across from Magnum XL-200's entrance was relocated to Michigan's Adventure to clear the way for the new ride. In April 2002, work began on the concrete foundation. The concrete footings were kept hidden behind a fence when the park opened for the 2002 season. In August, an informal announcement from Cedar Point confirmed the park was building a new ride for the 2003 season. Track pieces identified as Intamin were previously spotted near Mean Streak. Vertical construction by Martin & Vleminckx began in the fall season, months before the formal announcement. By October, the roller coaster had reached 200 feet (61 m) in height, and the highest peak was topped off in December. To construct the roller coaster, the park used five cranes, two of which were 480-foot (150 m) tall.

At the time, only four such cranes in the United States were tall enough to handle construction of the 420-foot tower section. An official announcement revealing details on the new ride was made the following month on January 9, 2003. Officials for the park stated the goal was to build "the tallest and fastest roller coaster on earth", reaching 420 feet (130 m) in height and accelerating up to 120 mph (190 km/h) in 4 seconds. The large investment tied it with Millennium Force as being the most expensive in park history. The structure was built by Intamin's subcontractor Stakotra. In March, Cedar Fair registered a trademark for the name "Top Thrill Dragster".

Operation

Top Thrill Dragster's media day was held on May 1, 2003, and it officially opened to the public three days later. It became the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world, overtaking the height record from Steel Dragon 2000 at Nagashima Spa Land, built three years earlier, and the speed record from Dodonpa at Fuji-Q Highland, which opened in late 2001. It lost both records to Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure in May 2005. Intamin designed both Kingda Ka and Top Thrill Dragster, and the two share a similar design and layout that differs primarily by theme and an additional hill featured on Kingda Ka. Shortly after it opened, a faulty valve on the hydraulic system caused a short-term closure. The ride continued to experience a variety of issues dealing with its hydraulic system and launch cable, which frequently led to downtime early on in its tenure.

During the 2017 season's opening weekend, Cedar Point temporarily renamed the ride "Top Thrill Cubster", referencing a lost wager with Six Flags Great America over the World Series. In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, timed boarding passes called "Access Passes" were used temporarily to comply with social distancing guidelines.

Closure and modification

On August 15, 2021, a guest waiting in line to ride Top Thrill Dragster was struck in the head by a small metal piece that dislodged from a train, resulting in a severe injury that was described as a "serious accident". The ride remained closed the following two seasons pending an investigation by the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) and a redesign of the roller coaster, described as a "new and reimagined ride experience".

At the time of its closure, Top Thrill Dragster had accommodated 18 million riders over 19 seasons. An update was released on social media in September 2022 stating, "Top Thrill Dragster, as you know it, is being retired." Officials provided limited details but confirmed that the roller coaster would reopen as a "new and reimagined ride experience". A portion of the roller coaster's track near the station was dismantled in late 2022. In January 2023, the park released the tagline "A New Formula For Thrills" on social media to describe the planned modifications.

There was speculation that Top Thrill Dragster's launch system would be replaced. In August 2023, the speculation was confirmed after Cedar Point announced plans to transform Top Thrill Dragster into a triple-launched roller coaster using linear synchronous motors. The modified coaster was to reopen as Top Thrill 2. Zamperla, hired to redesign the ride, reused the existing 420-foot (130 m) "top hat" and added an equally-sized vertical spike at the opposite end of the track. While the maximum height and speed remained the same, the track length increased to 3,422 feet (1,043 m). The vertical spike topped out during early December 2023, and testing took place during early 2024.

Reopening

Following the completion of construction and testing, Cedar Point held a soft opening media day event on April 25, 2024. The ride was officially opened on May 4, 2024. A short time later on May 12, Cedar Point announced that there would be an "extended closure" of Top Thrill 2 while the ride's trains were modified.

Ride experience

Layout

As Top Thrill Dragster

After leaving the station, the train entered the launch area. To the left of the launch area was a "Christmas tree" light, similar to those employed at the starting line of a drag strip. A brief message was played to the riders before the launch: "Keep arms down, head back, and hold on." Once the train was prepared to launch, a motor revving sound effect was played and its magnetic braking fins were lowered from the launch track. It then launched, accelerating to a speed of 120 mph (190 km/h) in 3.8 seconds. Shortly after reaching its maximum velocity, the catch car disengaged, and the train began its ascent up a 90-degree incline, twisting 90 degrees clockwise before climbing over the 420-foot (130 m) top hat. Upon descending, the track twisted 270 degrees before leveling out, allowing the train to be stopped by the magnetic brakes.

As Top Thrill 2

After leaving the station, the train passes through a switch and makes an S-turn to the right to join the launch track. To the left of the launch area is a modified version of the original "Christmas tree" light. As soon as the switch changes positions behind the train, the train is launched forward towards the original top hat at 74 mph (119 km/h), rolling backward partway up the tower. Reaching the launch track again, the train is launched in reverse at 101 mph (163 km/h), past the station, and up a 420-foot (130 m) vertical spike in reverse, crossing over Iron Dragon in the process. Rolling forward onto the launch track once again, the station roof creates a headchopper effect and the train is accelerated to 120 mph (190 km/h) to crest the top hat. After descending the 270 degree spiral drop, the train hits the brake run, while the switch track is reset to allow another train to launch.

Station, theme, and trains

As Top Thrill Dragster

The roller coaster was themed to Top Fuel drag racing, a category of motor racing that involved the world's fastest accelerating cars. An actual Top Fuel dragster weighs approximately one ton, while each train on the coaster weighed 15 tons. Originally, the design called for five cars on each train, but when the ride first opened, there were only four. A fifth car was added to each by midseason.

Each dragster-themed train was also decorated with a spoiler, a set of tires, and an engine at the rear of each train, but these were removed after the fifth car was added to allow an extra row of seats to take their place.

The track was mostly painted red, with the launch and approach to the tower having white stripes alternating with red sections. The supports were white on the launch and brake area and yellow on the tower.

As Top Thrill 2

As Top Thrill 2, the theme was modified to be a more general racing theme. The ride area, as well as the trains, are decorated with a stylized logo of "CP Racing." The redesigned ride runs three 5-car trains supplied by Zamperla, holding 20 people per train. The trains are of Zamperla's Lightning model, which is notable for using a milled aluminum chassis and carbon fiber bodywork. For safety, riders can not bring loose items onto the ride, and metal detectors are installed at the beginning of the queue.

As part of the refurbishment, the ride was repainted to have white track and dark grey supports, with the highest points on both the spike and top hat towers being accented with red sections alternating with white sections.

Rollbacks

As Top Thrill Dragster, occasionally a train would launch without sufficient speed to reach the top of the tower and roll back onto the launch track, hence the term "rollback". This typically happened in cool, wet, or breezy weather, or when the wind was working against it. The launch track was equipped with retractable magnetic brake fins, which were raised after each launch to slow the train down in case it did not reach the top of the tower.

On very rare occasions, a combination of the weight distribution of the train, the force of the launch, and the wind could stall a train on top of the tower. When this happened, a mechanic took the elevator to the top and pushed the train down the hill.

Characteristics

When Top Thrill Dragster debuted, it set four new records:

• World's tallest complete circuit roller coaster
• World's tallest roller coaster
• World's tallest roller coaster drop
• World's fastest roller coaster

It became the fastest roller coaster in the world with a maximum speed of 120 mph (190 km/h). It was the fourth roller coaster to exceed 100 mph (160 km/h), preceded by Tower of Terror II at Dreamworld, Superman: Escape from Krypton at Six Flags Magic Mountain and Dodonpa at Fuji-Q Highland. Dodonpa held the record previously with a top speed of 107 mph (172 km/h). Top Thrill Dragster also broke the height record, standing at 420 feet (130 m), which was previously held by Superman: Escape from Krypton at 415 feet (126 m). Kingda Ka opened two years later at Six Flags Great Adventure and broke both of Top Thrill Dragster's records, boasting a height of 456 feet (139 m) and a top speed of 128 miles per hour (206 km/h). The speed record was again broken in 2010 by Formula Rossa at Ferrari World, which reaches a maximum speed of 149.1 mph (240.0 km/h).

In the last operational year of the Top Thrill Dragster in 2021, the roller coaster had the second tallest height, the third fastest speed, and the second-highest drop among steel roller coasters in the world. Top Thrill Dragster was the second hydraulically-launched roller coaster from Intamin following Xcelerator at Knott's Berry Farm, and along with Kingda Ka, it is one of two strata coasters ever built. Its marketing tagline was "Race for the Sky".

As Top Thrill 2, the ride has been marketed as the "tallest and fastest triple launch strata coaster" by Cedar Point, with Zamperla using the more general "tallest and fastest triple launch coaster" in its marketing material.

Incidents

On July 14, 2004, four people were struck by flying debris while riding the coaster. Reports indicated that a metal cable frayed during launch, shearing off shards of metal that struck the riders. The injuries were mainly arm abrasions, with one passenger experiencing cuts to the face. They were treated at the park's first aid station, and two later sought further medical attention.

On August 7, 2016, two people were treated for minor injuries when the launch cable detached from the ride. The ride was closed for the following day while the park and Ohio state officials investigated the incident.

In September 2017, a report with photos surfaced that the braking system on the launch side of the track may have been damaged, causing the ride to close indefinitely. Cedar Point did not acknowledge the incident and stated the closure was for maintenance reasons.

Major incident in 2021

On August 15, 2021, in what was described as a "serious accident", a guest waiting in line was struck in the head by a small metal piece that dislodged from a train as it was nearing the end of its run. The guest was taken to a nearby hospital and was found to have suffered serious injuries. The metal piece was later determined to be an L-shaped bracket called a flag plate, which signals the train's location to sensors positioned along the track. Top Thrill Dragster was closed for the remainder of the season.

An investigation by the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) was completed in February 2022 and found that half of the bolts securing the flag plate had dislodged. The report confirmed that the ride underwent regular maintenance and an inspection the night before the accident, which found the metal plate to be in "normal, working condition"; ODA was unable to determine that Cedar Point violated any state laws. Following the report's release, the park announced that Top Thrill Dragster would remain closed. Cedar Point was required to perform a list of repairs before the attraction could reopen, which included the replacement of "different or improper grade" bolts and damaged track sections. An update in September 2022 stated, "Top Thrill Dragster, as you know it, is being retired." The injured guest's family sued Cedar Point in 2023, and a settlement with confidential terms was reached on April 13, 2024.

Awards

As Top Thrill Dragster

Records

Notes

References

External links

• Official website