Top Thrill Dragster is a steel accelerator roller coaster built by
Intamin at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, United States. It was the
sixteenth roller coaster built at the park since the Blue Streak in 1964. When
built in 2003, it was the first full circuit roller coaster to exceed 400
feet in height, and was the tallest roller coaster in the world, before
being surpassed by Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure in May 2005. Top
Thrill Dragster, along with Kingda Ka, are the only strata coasters in
existence. It was the second hydraulically launched roller coaster
built by Intamin, following Xcelerator at Knott's Berry Farm. The tagline for
Top Thrill Dragster is "Race for the Sky".
History Planning for Top Thrill Dragster started
around 2000 when Millennium Force opened. Footers started being poured
during the winter of 2001/2002 then were covered up during the 2002 operating
season. To construct the roller coaster, the park had to use a 480 feet crane,
only one of four in the United States. Vertical construction by Martin &
Vleminckx started in fall 2002, months before the announcement. By October
2002, the roller coaster had reached 200 feet. The ride was announced on January
9, 2003 and the structure, built by Intamin's subcontractor Stakotra, was
finished shortly after. It is tied with Millennium Force for being the two
largest investments in Cedar Point history. The announcement revealed the
park's goal to build "the tallest and fastest roller coaster on earth",
reaching 420 feet and accelerating up to 120 miles per hour in 3.8 seconds. On
March 10, 2003, Cedar Fair Entertainment Company filed a trademark for the name
Top Thrill Dragster. Top Thrill Dragster's media day was held
on May 1, 2003 then it officially opened to the public on May 4. It became the
"tallest" and "fastest" roller coaster in the world overtaking both world
records from Steel Dragon 2000 at Nagashima Spa Land that was just built
three years earlier. It lost the title of being the world's tallest and fastest
roller coaster when Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure opened in May
2005. Intamin designed both Kingda Ka and Top Thrill Dragster, and the two
share a similar design and layout that differs primarily by the theme and the
additional hill featured on Kingda Ka. The ride had constant downtime in its
first couple seasons. Several problems such as the ride's hydraulic system and
launch cable caused the ride to experience downtime. Top Thrill Dragster
was also closed in 2003 for the annual event, CoasterMania.
Ride experience = Layout=
After leaving the station, the train enters the launch area. To the left of
the launch area is a "Christmas tree" light, similar to those employed at the
starting line of a drag strip. A brief message is played to the riders to:
"keep arms down, head back, and hold on." Once the train is prepared to
launch, a motor revving sound effect is played and its magnetic braking fins are
lowered from the launch track. It then launches, accelerating to a speed of 120
mph in 3.8 seconds. Shortly after reaching its maximum velocity, the train
begins its ascent up a 90-degree incline, twisting 90 degrees
counter-clockwise before climbing over the 420-foot top hat. Upon descending,
the track twists 270 degrees before leveling out, allowing the train to be
stopped by the magnetic brakes. = Theme/trains=
The roller coaster is based on the Top Fuel Drag Racing motor sport. A real Top
Fuel dragster weighs approximately one ton, while each train on the coaster
weighs 15 tons. Its dragster themed trains once had decorative spoilers and
engines, but these were removed soon after opening, allowing an extra row of
seats to be added to each one. Also, when the ride opened, it had only four
cars on each train, including the decals. By the middle of the 2003
season, the fifth cars were added to all trains, making them the five cars long
that they are now. The fifth cars were added on shortly before the decals were
removed. The ride's theme song, "Ready to Go" by Republica, is played while in
the station. = Rollbacks=
Occasionally, a train is launched with not enough speed to clear the crest.
This typically happens in cool, wet, or breezy weather, or when the wind is
working against it. In these conditions, the launch often does not provide it
with enough speed to climb over the hill, which causes it to stop short of
the top, and roll back down the hill in reverse, hence the term "rollback". The
launch track is equipped with retractable magnetic braking fins which
are raised after the train is launched in order to slow one that did not crest
the hill. On very rare occasions a combination of
the weight distribution of the train, the force of the launch, and the wind
can stall a train on the top of the tower. When this happens, a mechanic
takes the elevator to the top and pushes the train down the hill. This has only
happened three times with passengers on board, June 24, 2005, October 25, 2008,
and May 25, 2009. World records
When Top Thrill Dragster debuted, it set four new records:
World's tallest complete circuit roller coaster
World's tallest roller coaster World's tallest roller coaster drop
World's fastest roller coaster It was the fourth roller coaster to
break the 100 miles per hour speed barrier. It was preceded by Tower of
Terror II at Dreamworld, Superman: Escape from Krypton at Six Flags Magic
Mountain and Dodonpa at Fuji-Q Highland. The previous record holder for overall
height was Superman: Escape from Krypton at Six Flags Magic Mountain, standing at
415 feet. Its record was broken in 2005 when Kingda Ka opened at Six Flags Great
Adventure, standing 456 feet tall. The previous record holder for speed was
Dodonpa, at 107 miles per hour. This record was broken by Top Thrill
Dragster, which reaches speeds up to 120 miles per hour, which was later broken
by Kingda Ka which reached a top speed of 128 miles per hour. In November 2010,
Formula Rossa at Ferrari World broke the record for fastest roller coaster, with
a top speed of 149.1 miles per hour. As of 2015, Top Thrill Dragster has the
second tallest lift, the third fastest speed, and the second-highest drop among
steel roller coasters in the world. Operation
Top Thrill Dragster is negatively affected by unfavourable weather
conditions as both a high altitude and high velocity ride. "Rain, high winds,
and/or lightning" may result in the closing of the ride depending on the
severity. It will close in high winds and any kind of precipitation.
There is no minimum age requirement, but passengers must meet the miniumum height
requirement of 52 inches and a maximum of 78 inches to ride. Some persons over
a certain weight/waist size will not be permitted to ride if the seat and lapbar
harness cannot accommodate them. Passengers on Dragster may not bring any
loose articles onto the train and will be required to wear shirts and footwear.
Headphones must be removed before boarding.
Passengers are advised that they must not ride Dragster if they have "a
history of recent surgery, heart trouble/high blood pressure, neck
trouble, back trouble, or any other condition that may be aggravated by
riding, or who are pregnant". Accident
On July 14, 2004 at around 8:20 PM, four people were struck by flying debris
while riding the coaster. Reports indicated that its metal cable frayed as
the train was being launched. Shards of metal sheared off of it and struck the
riders as the train launched. The riders were left with abrasions mainly on their
arms and one rider had cuts on his face. The injured ones were treated at the
park's first aid station, and two of them later sought further medical
attention on their own. Awards
Records References
External links Cedarpoint.com - Top Thrill Dragster
Official page Roller Coaster Philosophy review of Top
Thrill Dragster Video of how Top Thrill Dragster works
Construction photos video Top Thrill Dragster Photo Gallery at The
Point Online