Top Thrill Dragster
2003-2021
Top Thrill Dragster opened in May 2003 as the first roller coaster in the world over 400 feet. Top Thrill Dragster would give guests an amazing experience they couldn't get elsewhere.
The 1990's were a huge expansion era for Cedar Point. 1993 saw the addition of Snake River Falls. In 1994 Raptor was the first major project to transform the Main Midway in 30 years. In 1996 riders would stand up to their fear on Mantis. Soak City was expanded in 1997. Riders would be blasted on the world's tallest drop tower in 1998 on Power Tower. In 1999 Camp Snoopy became the park's family friendly area. Millennium Force opened in 2000 as the world's tallest roller coaster. In 2002 Cedar Point added Wicked Twister. With the success of all these attractions, Cedar Point would add something big in 2003!
Durning the entire summer construction crews worked on filling in huge sections of the lagoons. The lagoons were dug in 1905 to help control the parks mosquito problem.
On Sunday, October 27, 2002, Schwabinchen would give its last ride after 32 years of operating at Cedar Point. The ride opened in 1970 on the Million Dollar Midway and was relocated near Kiddy Kingdom in 1985.
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The ride was removed from Cedar Point and sold to Strikers Grove, a small private amusement park in Ohio. The ride was moved to Strikers Grove but it was never put together and never ran again.
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With Chaos and Troika out of the way the construction site would start to get bigger. The construction site would now stretch from near Camp Snoopy to all the way to the lagoon that houses Iron Dragon's helix.
Later on during the summer the new ride would start to become vertical. Guest would be able to see the ride grow over the fence. Cedar Point would still remain silent on what they were adding. Cedar Point kept the ride a secret because the ride was getting so much buzz. No other ride at that point in time had ever had so much publicity before it was announced.
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The ride wold continue to get higher and higher. It eventually seemed to get taller than Millennium Force.
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After 3 years of planning, and over a year of construction, Top Thrill Dragster would finally open to the public on May 4, 2003.
When Top Thrill Dragster opened it was the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world. It was the first roller coaster in the world to be over 400 feet. Top Thrill Dragster would be the tallest and fastest roller coaster on earth until Six Flags Great Adventure opened Kingda Ka opened on May 21, 2005.
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Creating a Thrill
Ride Experience
Inside the racing-themed station, riders entered one of 6 trains. Each train had its own color.
When the light tree flashed green Top Thrill Dragster launched its riders at speeds of 120 MPH in 3.8 seconds! The launch was very intense and riders were pushed back in their seats.
As the train got closer to the top it would lose energy and slow down.
Shattering World Records
Top Thrill Dragster's Impact On The Roller Coaster Capital Of The World!!!
In the years following the opening of Top Thrill Dragster Cedar Point opened a number of attractions that would help make the parks line-up better including 7 roller coasters: maXair (2005), Skyhawk (2006), Maverick (2007), Planet Snoopy (2008), Shoot The Rapids (2010-2015), WindSeeker (2011), Dinosaur's Alive (2012-2018), GateKeeper (2013), Pipe Scream (2014), Wilderness Run (2014), Rougarou (2015), Valravn (2016), Cedar Point Shores Waterpark (2017), Steel Vengeance (2018), Forbidden Frontier on Adventure Island (2019), and Cedar Point's 150th Anniversary Celebration (2021). All of these new attractions have brought something unique to Cedar Point.
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On January 9, 2023, Cedar Point announced they were creating a new formula for thrills for 2024.
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Photos by: Jake Hamons, COASTER-net, Russ Hauden and Cedar Point.
Last Updated: 12/16/2023