Is Top Thrill Dragster removed?

Cedar Point closing Top Thrill Dragster ride after it caused a severe injury in 2021. AKRON, Ohio — It was once the tallest roller coaster in the world. And some 19 years and a troubled past later, Cedar Point is retiring the famed Top Thrill Dragster.



No, Top Thrill Dragster was not removed, but it has been completely reimagined and renamed as Top Thrill 2. Following a significant safety incident and several years of closure, Cedar Point partnered with the manufacturer Zamperla to replace the original hydraulic launch system with a more reliable Linear Synchronous Motor (LSM) launch. The ride reopened in 2024 (and again in 2025 after further modifications) featuring a massive 420-foot vertical "spike" at the opposite end of the launch track. Instead of one launch, riders now experience three: a forward launch, a backward launch up the new spike, and a final forward launch at 120 mph to clear the original 420-foot "top hat." While the original "dragster" theme has been updated to a more modern "Top Thrill 2" branding, the iconic red tower still dominates the Cedar Point skyline, maintaining its status as one of the world's tallest and fastest roller coasters.

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The ride was closed following an incident in 2021, in which a guest was severely injured while standing in line, and Zamperla was hired to create a new ride experience. The modified version, which will add two launches and a second tower, will open in 2024 as Top Thrill 2.

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Officials for the Sandusky, Ohio-based amusement park announced the closure Tuesday on Twitter. After 19 seasons in operation with 18 million riders experiencing the world's first strata coaster, Top Thrill Dragster, as you know it, is being retired, the tweet said.

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In August 2023, the speculation was confirmed after Cedar Point announced plans to transform Top Thrill Dragster into a triple-launched roller coaster using linear synchronous motors. The modified coaster is scheduled to reopen in 2024 as Top Thrill 2.

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A new video released by Cedar Point this week teases what's ahead for the amusement park's popular Top Thrill Dragster, three years after it was shut down after a park patron was severely injured by a piece of metal that fell from the ride.

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“Rachel suffered permanent and life-altering injuries as a result of being struck in the head by a dislodged flag plate while simply standing in line,” said Attorney James Murray, who represents Rachel Hawes, her husband and her father.

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Cedar Point's future While the Top Thrill will be gone at the start of the 2023 season and its apparent replacement remains in limbo, there will be a new coaster at the park next summer. And it couldn't be more different size-wise and otherwise.

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The Top Thrill 2 will be the worlds fastest triple-launch strata coaster. It will feature two 420-foot-tall towers and launch riders three times at 74 miles per hour, 101 mph and finally 120 mph. The total track length will be 3,422 feet and take some two minutes from start to finish.

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The Dragster only had one tower, and in addition to adding a second tower, the new coaster will have three launches, an upgrade from The Dragster's one. One of the three is a backward launch, which will reach 101 mph. Top Thrill 2 will be the boldest and most advanced roller coaster Cedar Point has ever introduced.

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Over the years, Mantis became known as a rough ride and its popularity began to decline. On September 2, 2014, after weeks of leaking clues that a major announcement was forthcoming, Cedar Point released a statement that Mantis would close on October 19, 2014.

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