For anyone who has no clue what I’m talking about, Top Thrill 2 is the reimagining of the old Top Thrill Dragster coaster. This new version has multiple launches forward and backward, a brand new 420’ rear spike, and the same 120mph speed to get you all the way over the OG 420’ top hat. It’s got a switch track to allow for multiple trains, and brand new trains with all new restraints, similar to the ones on Velocicoaster at Universal.
So, anyone who knows Cedar Point knows they build BIG things like, really fast, and less than a year after the first visible construction of the 420’ back spike began (we had concrete footers in the lagoon next to Iron Dragon from opening day last year, but no actual vertical work began until sometime around August), Top Thrill 2 is set to open to the public on May 4. It was topped off just before Christmas, and they have been testing all winter.
Here’s one of the first peeks at a full test run:
Tony Clark, the director of communications at Cedar Point, took us along on his first ride about a week and a half ago:
As a Gold passholder I’m signed up for the passholder preview day on 5/2. That’s a weekday night, though, and I’m not sure I can make it so I also ponied up the $$ for the charity first ride event on Sunday, 4/28. We’ve been promised multiple rides during the 3 hour event, along with free BBQ and rides on Magnum XL200 and Power Tower. Clearly, I’m a little bit excited.
We are going in mid August. Although I don’t have high hopes (ahem) for this re-imagining, I am sure it will be fun. Just not sure it will be wait-a-long-time-in-the-queue fun.
We shall see. Original TTD was all about the launch. This launch is much slower…so TT2 will be all about the back spire. Figure it is a mash-up of TTD and WT.
Who knows…maybe it will end up being a better experience after all!
I think that backward 101mph launch will be There’s just nothing else that comes close to that. Also, did you see Tony’s wattles a flappin? The final launch is still going to be no joke. Even toned down the initial launch acceleration is still faster than most… 0-74 in 3 seconds is one of the fastest starting launches out there (especially in the US), and I think overall there will be a more extended feeling of intensity because it’s not just one and done.
I also kind of think Ka’s days are numbered. That launch system is just not reliable, it’s expensive to maintain, and if they ever get the monstrosity built in Riyadh then it won’t even be a record holder. The only things keeping it going are the record and the stupid drop tower.
But…really it is more like a 30 MPH launch. It is acceleration, not actual speed, that matters more. So the initial launch will have some kick…but pales compared to 0 to 123 MPH we had before.
I never felt the launch on WT was terribly exciting…but where WT was, to me more fun than TTD was in the back spire looking down. So that’s where I expect TT2 to shine. Only…you only get one time.
I expect to ride it, really like it…and then, much like TTD, only bother riding it again if the wait is 30 minutes or less. I almost never bothered riding TTD when I would go to CP. Just wasn’t worth the wait.
Please prove me wrong. I am excited to hear first hand accounts of the experience!
I was the same way with TTD, especially since I test rode it a whole bunch it’s opening season and had a rollback my first ride. I’m hopeful that the extra duration of the ride will make this more worth a wait. I also just really liked WT a lot, and would have liked it even if I didn’t work there.
It’s funny, because when they first announced they were “reimagining” TTD there was a bunch of spray painting going on in the midway around the Iron Dragon lagoon and people were talking about what it might be for, and on September 8, 2022 I jokingly said:
Waaaait. Wait wait wait. So they took out Wicked Twister and now they’re reimagining TTD.
WHAT IF THEY BUILD ANOTHER TOP HAT, CONNECT THEM, AND IT’S LIKE A 420’ WICKED THRILLSTER???
And in the comments I clarified that I was kidding, but I’d totally ride it if they did. Then last spring giant footers showed up in the lagoon and we all realized that there really was going to be a spike there, and then it was official that something very close to what I had guessed was actually happening, but with a waaaaay lamer name.
Agree! I find it odd that they are going with the racing theme on this. I mean, where, actually, do you see race cars, if they can’t make it, suddenly decided to accelerate backwards? It isn’t a racing ride experience at all. There were some early theories they were going to retheme the area to a space theme (with the new TTD being about a launch) alongside Gemini. Obviously that didn’t happen…but it would have made more sense! (I would have renamed it something like Escape Velocity.)
Brought my nerd straps, but I’ll have to get a locker anyway, for my phone & keys. The event includes rides on Top Thrill 2, Magnum, and Power Tower… maybe Corkscrew too but that’s a no from me.
I rode 5 times, plus once each on Power Tower and Magnum. It’s very fun.
For comparisons, the first launch looks really slow, but it feels fast, especially since you keep building speed the whole way down the track. You really feel each boost, especially if you have your hands up. Coming back down the spike all you can hear is wind in your ears, and then the boost hits and its every bit as intense as OG.
The biggest surprise, for me, was how much more intense the ride down the Top Hat feels in these seats… there’s no almost-stall at the top, so you’re going faster to start with and then the restraint lets you get so much more airtime, plus you’re quite a bit higher off the track so you feel that twist a while lot more.
Plus we got a t-shirt from the cancer charity that was the beneficiary of the event.
It’s very clear the lockers/loose articles are going to be a whole situation. They were mostly full during this very limited ticket event, even though the line never got to be more than 1 queue line.
I fit in the restraint with just a small extra push on the bar… it’s definitely similar to Velocicoaster that way.
So, if you were pitting TTD against TT2, which do you think you’d say is better?
The going back down part is intriguing. I didn’t realize these trains were taller (or higher) than the Intamin trains. So that twist around up there would definitely add a thrill. It is my second favorite part of the original ride.
Did you get much sense of “hang time” on either the front or back spire? And could you get any sense of cycle time? Will ride capacity be worse on this? I wasn’t sure if the longer ride time would add anything to the cycle time, or if they managed to optimize that pretty well with the loading station being offset.
The original TTD didn’t have strict rules about having things in your pockets or anything. Has that changed here?
I like this better… the intensity is still there, and it’s more of a ride, with multiple elements. When I go with friends this summer, I’d be willing to wait 90 minutes or maybe a bit more, which I never did with the OG.
The train really is so different… it’s almost a little off-putting how stripped down and bare bones it is. The seats aren’t quite as high as they are on Velocicoaster, but it’s definitely much, much higher than they old trains.
There’s a slight feeling of a stall at the peak of the first forward pass, and you get that a lot more with the back spike… you have time to take things in while you’re looking down, for sure.
As far as cycles go, they were hustling pretty well, and I think they’ll hit the published numbers, or very near to it. The trains unload before they arrive at the load station, and you walk right in to the train as soon as it stops, without a step up or down. The seats are at such a level that people aren’t going to have difficulty getting out of the seats quickly either. There was never any sitting in the station waiting for the previous cycle… once the restraints were checked you were out the door.
OG Dragster had a glasses strap rule, but they allowed zipper pockets. That may well have changed in the last 2 years if it had been open, though. Peoole pulling their phones out has just become a huge problem, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they implement a similar rule at Maverick and Millennium in the near future, after people got hit by phone on both of those rides last year. Magnum, Gatekeeper, and Valravn were stopped on the lifts for phones pretty much daily last season. The no loose shoes thing is going to get wild, though. People coming to this event are more savvy… the general public won’t be prepared for that.
Last time I was there, it happened on Millennium as well. Seriously, folks. What’s the deal? They need to institute a zero tolerance policy or something and kick folks out of the park for the day.
Anyhow, you have given me hope that my initial impressions of TT2 will be wrong and it will improve the ride enough to make it worth waiting for!
They do kick them out a lot, especially they’re adults.
It’s really exceeded people’s expectations, from what I can tell based on talking to people and reading posts. I only saw one person who said it wasn’t as good as the OG, and lots said they liked it better.
I forgot to mention that it is a little bumpy going into the top hat, and I don’t know if that’s just the nature of the trains, or maybe because that’s original, totally untouched (except for painting) track… it didn’t feel bumpy at all going up and down the back spike, so I think maybe it’s a little of both.
Oh… did I mention the freaking airtime? You get it at the start of the trip down the back spike, but then from the time you rocket over the tophat until you’re level again your butt will not touch the seat, even if you needed a bit of an extra shove on the lap bar to get it down far enough.
I don’t really think it’s going faster… I think that between the method of acceleration (like I said before, instead of one big guy-punch of a launch you just keep building speed the entire way down the track) and the lightness of the trains it just isn’t losing as much speed on the way up.
I have ridden the original, this looks awesome and terrifying at the same time. It has been about 20 years since I was at Cedar Point, hopefully my older body can handle it as well as my younger.
If you stay away from the older coasters (Magnum, Blue Streak, Corkscrew, and Mine Ride in particular) you should be fine. Those, however, are quite rough and I find myself skipping them now.
The newer coasters tend to be wild, but easier on the body!
