Cedar Point announces Top Thrill 2 roller coaster (VIDEO)

Cedar Point has plans for a reimagined Top Thrill Dragster. The amusement park announced Tuesday that the roller coaster, which closed after a 2021 incident when a woman was struck in the head by a metal bracket falling from it, is being reopened in 2024 as Top Thrill 2. The ride is being built by Zamperla Rides, featuring new "lightning" trains, offering an experience comparable to motorsports, according to a news release from Cedar Point. The coaster will feature a triple launch, with riders leaving the station and getting up to a speed of 74 mph on the straightaway before ascending the 420-foot "top hat" tower previously used by the Top Thrill Dragster. After a moment of weightlessness, the coaster will shift back into its second launch, reaching speeds estimated at 101 mph before climbing another, new 420-foot tower in reverse. A second moment of weightlessness occurs before going into a third launch, this time reaching a top speed of 120 mph on the straightaway before ascending, crossing the top hat tower, and making a 270-degree spiral before coming to its end. "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," said Carrie Boldman, vice president and general manager of Cedar Point, in a statement released Tuesday. "Our stamp on the industry is in roller coaster innovation, and today, that's solidified as we redefine the strata coaster into a mega-thrill that our guests will come from far and wide to experience." Touted as the world's first strata roller coaster — a roller coaster that was higher than 400 feet — Top Thrill Dragster debuted in the 2003 season. Built at a cost estimated at $25 million, the ride was a record-breaking 420 feet tall, and billed as the first roller coaster to top 100 mph. But the coaster's hydraulic propulsion led to problems keeping it operational initially. In 2004, four riders were injured when metal shavings sheared off the coaster's launch cable, and last summer, an L-shaped metal bracket flew off the back of one of the ride's train and struck a Michigan woman standing in line. The ride had been inspected that May and showed no issues, and an investigation by the Ohio Department of Agriculture found no evidence that the park acted illegally or negligently. The woman has filed suit, claiming negligence and saying she was left with traumatic brain injuries. The ride was closed for the entire 2022 season, and the park announced following that season that the ride was "retired" and would be "reimagined."