The History of Top Thrill 2

Top Thrill 2 is the second life of one of the most famous roller coasters ever built. It rose from the retired Top Thrill Dragster in 2024, and where the original had one four hundred foot tower, this version has two, and it launches you both forward and backward.

The resurrection

Top Thrill 2 is the same physical ride as Top Thrill Dragster, rebuilt from the ground up. After the original was retired in 2021, Cedar Point hired the firm Zamperla to replace its troublesome hydraulic launch with modern magnetic motors and to fix the ride's oldest flaw, a single-shot launch that either made it over the top or rolled backward. The reborn coaster opened on May 4, 2024, exactly twenty-one years to the day after Top Thrill Dragster first ran.

Two towers, three launches

The transformation added a second four hundred and twenty foot tower behind the station, turning a there-and-back sprint into a swinging, multi-launch ride. The train launches forward at 74 miles per hour toward the original tower, rolls partway up and falls back, then fires in reverse at 101 miles per hour up the new rear spike, before a final forward launch throws it to 120 miles per hour over the original top hat. The old dreaded rollback became a designed part of the ride. The top numbers, 420 feet and 120 miles per hour, were deliberately kept from the original.

One thing to know

Top Thrill 2 launches you backward at 101 miles per hour straight up a brand-new four hundred foot spike, a tower that never existed on the original ride, before the final forward blast over the top hat.

Top Thrill 2 is one chapter in the history of Cedar Point.

Top Thrill 2 at a glance