Top Thrill Dragster “as you know it” has closed permanently

Cedar Point in Sandusky Ohio made the announcement today, September 6, 2022, that it’s popular Top Thrill Dragster roller coaster will be “retired,” effective immediately, but left its future open to speculation with the words “new and reimagined experience.”

Billed as “the world’s first strata coaster,” the ride opened in 2003 and quickly became one of the park’s most thrilling attractions for its 420-foot-high up-and-over hill that was the coasters single “thrill” element. And thrilling it was.

Starting with a powerful launch that propelled the ride vehicle along a flat track leading to the hill, the ride vehicle coursed up and over the massive hill before plummeting back down and into a final straight track to the end. The entire duration of the ride was 20 seconds.

But on August 15, 2021 the coaster went dark during a state investigation into an incident during which a woman waiting to ride was struck in the head by a small metal piece that flew off the coaster. No negligence was found, and the park did not receive any sanctions when the investigation concluded. The ride, however, has remained closed.