Thrill seekers, get ready to reach new heights next summer! After nearly two years of guessing and anticipation, America’s Rockin’ Roller Coast officially announced what’s in store for Top Thrill Dragster today.
When it opened in 2003, Top Thrill Dragster was the world’s first full-circuit strata coaster — a roller coaster taller than 400 feet — and boasted being both the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world at 420-feet and 120 mph (titles it would lose two years later with the opening of Kingda Ka in New Jersey).
Building upon that legacy, Cedar Point “will once again redefine roller coaster innovation” with its soon-to-be newest coaster, Top Thrill 2, which is being engineered by Zamperla Rides.
Like its predecessor, Top Thrill 2 will open with record-shattering titles, but this time it’s the tallest and fastest triple-launch strata coaster in the world.
Instead of six trains and a single launch that catapults riders up and over, Top Thrill 2 will feature three open-air seated trains that are “capable of high-speed aerodynamics, performance and rider comfort” and an all-new linear synchronous motor (LSM) launch system that launches riders a total of three times — hence “triple-launch.”
The first launch reaches speeds of 74 mph and propels the train down the straightaway toward the original 420-foot “top hat” tower that park guests have come to know.
But instead of cresting the top hat on first launch, trains will roll back down the tower — a rare and coveted happening that occurred randomly on Top Thrill Dragster when momentum wasn’t great enough — into the second launch that will send riders backward at speeds of 101 mph up a second 420-foot tower, which is new for Top Thrill 2, at a 90-degree angle.
Riders will then plumet down the new tower, forward-facing, into the coaster’s final launch of 120 mph up and over the original tower into a 270-degree spiral, and across a finish line to end the ride.
“Top Thrill 2 will be the boldest and most advanced roller coaster Cedar Point has ever introduced. It’s another one-of-a-kind that could only be built at Cedar Point,” Carrie Boldman, the vice president and general manager of Cedar Point said in a press release.
“Our stamp on the industry is in roller coaster innovation, and today, that’s solidified as we redefine the strata coaster into a mega-thrill that our guests will come from far and wide to experience.”
In addition to a gut-wrenching experience, Top Thrill 2 will also offer spectacular views of the park and is expected to give anyone daring enough to take it on “the chance to feel the rush of motorsport racing.”
Top Thrill Dragster has been closed since an accident in 2021 in which a piece from the original ride came free and struck a guest waiting in line.
Top Thrill 2 is expected to open in 2024.
Check out the official announcement below and visit CedarPoint.com for more information.
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