Cedar Point to Launch Top Thrill 2 in 2024

A new “strata coaster” will take the place of the Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point — incorporating one of the revolutionary coaster’s “top hat” towers while adding another.

The lakefront amusement park announced Tuesday that Top Thrill 2 will debut in 2024 as the tallest and fastest triple-launch roller coaster in the world. The coaster will initially reach speeds of 74 mph as it ascends the 420-feet top hat hill, giving a moment of weightlessness before going backward, topping 100 mph, and up the other hill. The coaster will then roll back again, accelerating faster than 120 mph before cresting the initial hill and going back down, into a 270-degree spiral.

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

The coaster is designed by Zamperla, an Italian amusement ride company that also designed the Wild Mouse that opened earlier this year as part of Cedar Point’s Boardwalk. “I cannot wait until 2024 when we will see this record-breaking scream machine come to life,” says Antonio Zamperla, Zamperla group president and CEO.

The term “strata coaster” — any roller coaster with a hill higher than 400 feet — was invented for the Top Thrill Dragster, which debuted in 2003 as the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world. But the ride’s hydraulic launch system proved problematic initially, leading to frequent closures.

There were also injuries reported to riders and, most recently and most seriously, to a Michigan woman in 2021 who was waiting in line to ride the roller coaster. She was struck by a metal bracket and taken to a local hospital. A state investigation didn’t find fault with the park. The woman is pursuing legal action against Cedar Point.

Top Thrill Dragster closed following the incident, and didn’t reopen in 2022. The amusement park announced after the season that the roller coaster had been “retired,” and would be “reimagined.”

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