In the official announcement on August 1, we found out the new name for the iconic Top Thrill Dragster and long awaited details regarding the layout for this highly anticipated reimagining coming to Cedar Point in 2024. Top Thrill 2 was confirmed as being the world's tallest and fastest triple-launch coaster with a 420ft rear spike.
In the latest construction video posted to YouTube on August 23 by Lake Erie Lifestyles,we can see painting on the top hat remains to be halted. The entire cat walk along the launch track has been assembled and the iron workers are continuing to install the LSMs onto the tracks. Electricians will then be responsible for completing the wiring of the LSMs. Electrical control technicians will work on the control systems including the sensors and Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) which are needed in order to make the ride run smoothly.
A number of new concrete forms have appeared on the switch track with further concrete being poured and concrete pads have been revealed in the station.
Regarding the rear spike, we still await vertical construction which is expected to begin in September when Cedar Point reduces their opening hours and closes Monday, Tuesday and Wednesdays each week.
In the latest previous update,painting still remains at a halt on Top Thrill 2 and most of the developments have been happening on the station and track infield where numerous concrete forms have been erected inside the station. At the back of the station concrete is being poured into further forms which shows progress is being made on what will be the two-storey station building.
Concrete forms have been constructed where the switch track will be positioned and in the middle of the track area a large concrete pad has been created which could form part of the queue system. Electricians continue to install the wiring for the LSM staters and we will bring you further updates on the construction of Top Thrill 2 as they happen at Cedar Point.
Cedar Point had been hit by inclement weather and subsequently suffered some flooding in the track infield area. Having said that according to the latest Top Thrill 2 construction update posted to YouTube by Lake Erie Lifestyleson August 13, we can see that work continues to progress on the launch track where workers are currently in the process of installing LSM Staters onto the track.
There will also be a range of tasks happening behind the scenes including programming the new control system, laying immense lengths of necessary cables and other technical tasks imperative to the construction of the new Top Thrill 2 triple launch coaster.
In the video update posted on August 4, to YouTube by Lake Erie Lifestyles,we get to hear further details regarding Top Thrill 2 including the queue line location, ride capacity, length and capacity.
To recap, Top Thrill 2 will have an LSM swing launch to replace the former hydraulic launch system. The 1st launch will accelerate riders forward to 74mph travelling approximately half way up the top hat before rolling back and experiencing the 2nd launch which will be a backward launch reaching 101mph taking guests approximately 350ft up the 420ft rear spike. Finally the 3rd and final launch will be a forward launch and will be the fastest reaching 120mph cresting the 420ft top hat and heading into the station.
Top Thrill 2 will keep the high speed racing theme but no longer focuses on drag racing. Based on the animation Top Thrill 2 will last almost 2 minutes compared to the 17s ride duration of Top Thrill Dragster.
Surprisingly, the queue line will remain in the same location as it was formerly positioned prior to it being shut down after a woman was hit by falling debris whilst standing in the queue in 2021. There will now be a new configuration and structure to protect guests as well as fencing which will be installed along the systems edges to provide further protection. The covered queue will also protect guests from the sun whilst waiting in line.
We know the control booth is now going to be positioned above the station track and loading and unloading will now happen in the same station building. Riders will exit through a tunnel.
In regards to capacity on Top Thrill 2, the video explains that there will be three trains which although is half of what there was on Top Thrill Dragster, each train will hold 20 riders instead of 18 riders and will utilize Zamperla's fast switch meaning it will able to quickly switch from accepting new trains to connecting the launch track.
There is also a staging position before the track switch meaning that a train can be dispatched into the staging area whilst another train completing the launch cycle.
Originally Top Thrill Dragster had a ride per hour capacity of 1080 with releasing the 18 passenger trains every 60 seconds. To ensure the same rider per hour capacity Top Thrill 2 would have to release a train every 66 seconds. The key point here is that the LSM launch will be more reliable and safer than the former hydraulic launch, meaning overall the capacity will be higher but we await confirmation of exactly how many riders per hour Top Thrill 2 will accommodate.
Performance on Top Thrill 2 with the LSM launch appears to be from the animation, significantly less than on Top Thrill Dragster which had the hydraulic launch. Acceleration on Top Thrill Dragster saw riders go from 0-120mph in 3.8s where Top Thrill 2 will take 7s to get from 0-74mph on the first launch. Again, as in the case of the capacity we will have to wait for confirmation on the acceleration of the LSM launch on Top Thrill 2.
Another difference on Top Thrill 2 is that the seats are higher up from the track which could affect the thrill factor of this reimagining and the video suggests that 270 degree top hat roll should be more intense because of it.
It has been brilliant to learn about Cedar Point's plans for Top Thrill 2 and we will continue to bring you construction updates on Top Thrill Dragster.
In the previous video update posted by Lake Erie Lifestyleson August 4, we can see that more supports for the 420ft rear spike have been delivered to the Breakers Express Storage Lot. In the video we get to see the animation which shows that the old unloading area will become the two storey station with the control booth on top. This looks to feature the colors blue and white which will match the design of the new Zamperla Lightning trains which will be used on Top Thrill 2. This two storey style station is similar to Gate Keeper which is also located at Cedar Point.
The large crane used to install the three base support pillars earlier this week has been moved. We are not sure exactly when the new supports will be put in place but assume it will be in the next few days as has been the case with other deliveries to the Breakers Express Storage lot.
From the official video of Top Thrill Dragster which is embedded below, we got to see that as expected there will be another color added to the white and dark gray color scheme. We see sections of red stripes on the upper section of the top hat and new 420ft rear spike which will highlight the racing theme and pull in the red from the logo. This will certainly add extra vibrancy to Top Thrill 2.
When it was first discovered that white and dark gray appeared to be the two main colors in the new colour scheme, we asked you what you thought. Our first results showed 84% voting that it looked great, this then dropped dramatically to 61% and now at the time of writing has raised slightly to 64% saying"Yes, looks great!" and the remaining 36% saying "No, don't like it!".
Now we have confirmation, that Top Thrill 2 will also have red stripes on the upper section of the top hat we ask you in our new poll, do you like the white, dark gray and red color scheme of Top Thrill 2? We are expecting there to be an overwhelmingly positive response to this poll and will look forward to updating you on this.
The first Top Thrill 2 Construction update was posted to YouTube by Lake Erie Lifestyles on August 1, where the three base pillars have now been installed.
These were the supports that arrived at the Breakers Express Storage Lot last week and were then moved to site and have now been put into place in preparation for the confirmed 420ft rear spike which riders will travel up backwards at a speed of 101mph before being launched up the top hat at the top speed of 120mph.
We will continue to update you on all the construction developments on site for Top Thrill 2 at Cedar Point over the coming weeks and months as we head towards the opening date in 2024. We would love to hear your thoughts on the official announcement by leaving a comment below or on our Facebook page.