Cedar Point officials have released a video showing that construction is nearly complete on its newest ride, the tallest and fastest ride of its kind, scheduled to open in 2024.
Ohio State Amusement Park spokesman Tony Clark said in a video that the entire Top Thrills 2 track has been laid out and crews will begin testing blue, black and silver trains on the new track.
“Construction workers lifted the last piece, Truck 420, into the air and secured it in place, meaning the entire layout of the truck is complete,” Tony Clark said in the video. Ta. “Cedar Point now has two roller coaster towers that are 420 feet tall.”
Cedar Point announced in August that it would replace the Top Thrill Dragster roller coaster with Top Thrill 2 next year. The company also calls the new ride “the world's tallest and fastest triple launch Strata coaster.”
Officials at the Sandusky, Ohio, theme park announced the ride in a 50-second video tweeted.
According to the park, the roller coaster promises to bring the excitement, speed and adrenaline of high-performance racing.
The first launch boasts a top speed of 114 mph, the second 161 mph, and the third 190 mph.
The ride will replace the 420-foot-tall Top Thrill Dragster, which closed in 2021 after a Michigan woman suffered serious injuries after hitting her head on a metal bracket that fell from the roller coaster. The incident occurred on August 15, 2021 at approximately 4:30 p.m.
At the time, the Top Thrill Dragster was the second tallest roller coaster in the world.
The ride, which opened in 2003, launches riders at 190 miles per hour in a straight line, climbing up a hill and then descending. The trip took him less than 20 seconds.
mjohnson@detroitnews.com
