Top Thrill Dragster

Top Thrill Dragster was a steel accelerator roller coaster built by Intamin at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. It was the sixteenth roller coaster that was built at the park. It was the first roller coaster to be over  tall and was the tallest roller coaster in the world before its record was broken by Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure when it opened in May 2005. After Kingda Ka was demolished in 2025, Top Thrill Dragster (now under the name Top Thrill 2) is the only operating strata coaster in the world.

The ride
The original ride starts different from the redone version. After it leaves the station, the train enters the launch area. To the left of the launch area is a "Christmas tree" light, which is similar to a Christmas tree light at a drag strip. A message is then played to riders: "Keep arms down, head back, and hold on." Once the train is ready to launch, a motor revving sound effect is played and its magnetic braking fins are lowered from the launch track. The train is then launched from the track at a speed of  in 3.5 seconds. After it reaches its top speed, it goes up at a 90 degree angle and climbs a  hill, or top hat element. Once it goes down, the track twists 270 degrees before it levels out, and then it is stopped by magnetic brakes. In the revised version, it first launches forward at , then launches backwards at  up a  spike, which is followed by a final  launch, afterwards the rest of the layout is the same.

Problems
Sometimes, a train does not have enough speed to go over the  hill. This is known as a rollback, and it usually happens during cool, wet, or breezy weather. It can also happen when the wind is blowing against the train. In these conditions, the launch doesn't give the train enough speed to go over the hill, which causes it to stop before reaching the top of the hill and then roll back down the hill, which is why it is called a rollback.

On extremely rare occasions, the train may stall at the top of the hill. When this happens, a mechanic takes an elevator to the top of the hill and pushes the train forward down the hill. This has only happened three times with passengers on board the train, June 24, 2005, October 25, 2008, and May 25, 2009.

References

Other websites
 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

Category:Roller coasters by name
Category:Launched roller coasters
Category:Roller coasters in Ohio
Category:2003 establishments in the United States
Category:2000s establishments in Ohio