Cedar Point announces newest roller coaster: Top Thrill 2
Two years since a piece of the Top Thrill Dragster roller coaster came loose and injured a woman waiting in line below, Cedar Point has announced that its successor will open in the summer of 2024.
Top Thrill 2 will be the world’s fastest and tallest triple-launch strata coaster. The coaster will first shoot up the main hill at 74 mph before rolling back into the loading station, a rare and popular instance that would occur on the Top Thrill Dragster. Then, the coaster will launch backward up the new vertical tower at 101 mph, before ending the ride by going over the main hill at 120 mph.
Cresting the main hill of the coaster will put riders at 420 feet in the air, giving them the perfect overview of the entire amusement park nestled along the coast of Lake Erie. On descent, riders will traverse a 270-degree spiral before crossing the finish line. The entire ride will last a total of two minutes.
The new coaster’s predecessor, the Top Thrill Dragster, closed in August of 2021 after a metal bracket dislodged from the track while the coaster was operating. The debris fell and struck a woman in the head as she was waiting in line below. The state investigation following the incident did not find any evidence that Cedar Point acted illegally, though the ride remained closed afterward.
In July, several Ohio news outlets reported a Michigan woman filed a lawsuit against Cedar Point, alleging that their negligence caused the incident that she said left her with traumatic brain injuries and millions in medical bills.
