Top Thrill Dragster

Top Thrill Dragster
Top Thrill Dragster
	Top Thrill Dragster launching
Cedar Point
Location	Cedar Point
Coordinates	41°29′2.25″N 82°41′10.38″W / 41.4839583°N 82.6862167°WCoordinates: 41°29′2.25″N 82°41′10.38″W / 41.4839583°N 82.6862167°W
Status	Operating
Soft opening date	May 1, 2003
Opening date	May 4, 2003
Cost	US$25,000,000
Replaced	Chaos, Troika
General statistics
Type	Steel – Launched
Manufacturer	Intamin
Designer	Werner Stengel
Model	Accelerator Coaster
Lift/launch system	Hydraulic Launch
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Inversions	0
Duration	0:30
Max vertical angle	90°
Capacity	1,000 riders per hour
Acceleration	0 to 120 mph (0 to 193 km/h) in 4 seconds
Height restriction	52–78 in (132–198 cm)
Trains	6 trains, with five cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows (except for the first car), for a total of 18 riders per train.
Restraint	Lap bar
	Fast Lane Plus only available
	Top Thrill Dragster at RCDB; Pictures of Top Thrill Dragster at RCDB

Top Thrill Dragster is 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 400 feet (120 m) 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. Top Thrill Dragster, along with Kingda Ka, are the only strata coasters in the world.

The ride

Top Thrill Dragster's launch area

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 120 mph (190 km/h) in 3.5 seconds. After it reaches its top speed, it goes up at a 90 degree angle and climbs a 420-foot (130 m) 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.^[2]

Problems

Sometimes, a train does not have enough speed to go over the 420-foot (130 m) 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.^[3]

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.^[4] This has only happened three times with passengers on board the train, June 24, 2005,^[5] October 25, 2008,^[6] and May 25, 2009.^[7]