The Thrill is back at Cedar Point

Redesigned strata coaster to feature a triple launch and intentional rollback

In what was one of the most anticipated recent announcements among coaster and park fans, Ohio’s Cedar Point revealed on Tuesday the details about Top Thrill 2, the follow up to the park’s highly celebrated Top Thrill Dragster coaster. The reformulated ride, which is set to open in 2024, will add a second 420-foot-tall tower and introduce a linear synchronous motor (LSM) multi-pass, swing launch system that will magnetically blast its trains three times to ultimately send them soaring up and over the original 420-foot top hat tower.

According to the park, the ride experience will begin with a launch that will accelerate the trains from 0 to 74 mph towards the top hat tower. That will give them enough oomph to partially climb the structure before stalling out and rolling backwards. They will then pass through the LSM motor a second time for a rolling launch that will goose them to 101 mph in reverse up the new 420-foot spike tower. Stalling near the precipice, the trains will roll forward and pass through the magnetic motor a third and final time, which will rev (or “revvv” as Cedar Point characterizes the acceleration on the newish ride in an apparent nod to its triple launch configuration) them to 120 mph. That will be enough momentum to catapult them over the top of the crazy-high tower.

Passengers will scale a new 420-foot-tall spike on Top Thrill 2. (Artist concept, Cedar Fair Entertainment Company)

As with Top Thrill Dragster, the trains will hesitate momentarily atop the tower before dropping down the other side and into a 270-degree spiral. They will then cross the finish line, and a switch track will disconnect from the spike tower and allow the trains to complete the circuit and return to the station.

“Top Thrill 2 will be the boldest and most advanced roller coaster Cedar Point has ever introduced,” says Carrie Boldman, the park’s vice president and general manager. “It’s another one-of-a-kind that could only be built at Cedar Point.”

When Top Thrill Dragster debuted in 2003, it was the world’s tallest and fastest coaster. (It has since been eclipsed by the 456-foot-tall Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey. That ride also surpassed Top Thrill Dragster by hitting 128 mph, and they were both dethroned by the 149-mph Formula Rossa at Ferrari World Abu Dhabi.) Built by Intamin, the Accelerator Coaster model featured a hydraulic launch system, which was capable of launching the ride from 0 to 120 mph in mere seconds. The company’s hydraulic launch system proved troublesome, and the Cedar Point ride (as is the case with other Accelerator Coasters) experienced a lot of downtime.

One of the new support structures arrives at Cedar Point for Top Thrill 2. (Zamperla)

In 2021, a metal bracket came loose from the ride’s structure, hitting and seriously injuring a guest. Cedar Point subsequently closed Top Thrill Dragster for the rest of the season and retired it altogether in 2022.

In a surprising move, Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, the parent chain that oversees the park, pivoted to a different ride manufacturer, Zamperla, to handle the reimagining of the iconic coaster. The renowned Italian company has refocused on its roller coaster division, investing capital and resources to develop new technology, capabilities, and products. The high-profile (in both the literal and figurative senses) Top Thrill 2 represents a major coup for the unit.

In addition to the new spike tower and the LSM launch system, Zamperla will introduce its Lightning trains on the Cedar Point ride. Designed to withstand the coaster’s high-speed acceleration, the trains are fabricated without welds and are especially light. They also feature newfangled polyurethane wheels.

“This project represents years of work,” says Adam Sandy, Zamperla’s roller coaster sales and marketing director. “We are humbled that Cedar Point chose the Lightning train as the ride platform to deliver record-breaking thrills.”

Since it became apparent that the closed coaster would rise again, there has been much speculation about the ride, some of it provoked by the park itself. It has been releasing cryptic comments, such as the hashtag, “#CP24PHP,” on social media posts a few weeks ago. Fans have been trying to decode the clues (“CP24” most likely stands for “Cedar Point 2024,” but what the heck is “PHP?”) and theorizing about what form the new ride would take. Everything from a taller, newly record-breaking tower to a dual-track racing coaster to a second top hat tower has been suggested. (Now that the details have been revealed, it’s still not clear, as far as I know, what the heck “PHP” means.)

There has been–surprise!–some negative feedback online in the wake of the announcement. Sure, the name, Top Thrill 2, is somewhat lame. And it would have been nice if the reborn ride scaled new heights and topped speed records. But come on.

The view, some 400 feet above the park, from the new spike tower on Top Thrill 2. (Artist concept, Cedar Fair Entertainment Company)

The world’s second tallest and third fastest coaster will once again send passengers into the strata-sphere. That alone is cause for celebration. With the additional launches and the spike, Top Thrill 2 will be a much longer ride. While it will no longer launch from 0 to 120 mph, it will still scream out of the station at 74 mph. And while it won’t reach the top of the tower on that first launch, it will nonetheless roll back every time–a rare occurrence on the original Top Thrill Dragster that was coveted by the coaster cognoscenti. The 101-mph second launch will be a doozy, and I believe, the fastest that any coaster will hurtle in reverse. (The only one that comes close, Superman: Escape from Krypton at Six Flags Magic Mountain, tops out at 100 mph.)

Try to imagine what comes next. We are going to soar some 400 feet up a vertical spike and float there for some potent, tummy-tickling, terror-inducing, reverse-facing airtime. You still with me on this imaginary, but soon to be real, adventure? Then we are going to freefall straight down 400 freakin’ feet at full tilt and accelerate even more to clear the top hat hurdle that looms before us. If you’ve been on Top Thrill Dragster before, you know how the rest of the story unfolds. The new elements, however, are mighty alluring–at least to this coaster fan.

So, save me a seat on one of the new Lightning trains. I can’t wait to be Thrilled.

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On Tuesday, Holiday World also announced its new coaster for 2024, Good Gravy! (love the name!). That will be the topic of my next article.

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Okay, ATPers, what do you think about Top Thrill 2? Should I save a seat for you as well? Were you surprised by the announced details? Do you know (or think you know) what the heck “PHP” stands for?