The main reason that Cedar Point’s Top Thrill Dragster wasn’t too terrifying was that it was only 17 seconds long — offering a quick adrenaline rush that gave riders no time to think about what was happening. Many people’s biggest fear was that the rollercoaster wouldn’t clear its 400-foot hill, as sometimes a “rollback” did occur and the car fell back down.
The Top Thrill 2, a revamped coaster that the amusement park announced will debut in 2024, will last two minutes, including three launch points, two vertical towers, and a purposeful backward drop. The ride will begin with a rollback right after launch, then riders will be shot backward over the new vertical tower and finally launched forward at 120 mph to the finish line.
The Top Thrill Dragster was the tallest coaster in the world when it debuted in 2003, until the Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey beat it in 2005 at 456 feet and 128 mph.
The new ride is still the second tallest, with its second tower at 420 feet, but it will break records as the “world’s tallest and fastest triple launch strata coaster,” the amusement park said in its announcement. It is also the only vertical speedway in the world.
The OG Dragster was shut down in 2021 soon after a metal bracket from the coaster flew off and hit a Michigan resident in the head, causing serious injuries. The incident, however, was not said to be the cause of the ride’s retirement.
In Septeber 2022, Cedar Point took to social media to give lovers of the rollercoaster hope, stating that while the ride was closing after 19 years and 18 million passengers, the park was working on “creating a new and reimagined” experience.
The Top Thrill 2 is certainly that.
Its upgraded entrance pavilion introduces “CP Racing,” which gives the ride a motorsports theme. The coaster announcement states that the park is “looking for new crew members to challenge and defy gravity,” which we assume means be one of the first to test out the new thrill.
Fans of the Ohio amusement park shared their excitement on Twitter, while others expressed disappointment in the coaster’s name, calling it “boring,” and saying things like “my 4-year-old could have come up with a better name than that.”
However, the updated title does fine at showcasing that the new ride will be a sequel to its beloved predecessor.
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