UPDATE July 19 – On a recent podcast by Tony Clarke when asked about an update on Top Thrill he says “there really isn’t one because the last update talks about it. They are still working on it, they are still trying to adjust the trains and get to the performance that they want.”
Clarke confirms that work is being done but they are essentially waiting for Zamperla to give them an update on the project.
So, do not expect any news on the 25th July from the IAPPA event, the only thing we can now do is to wait it out.
On the question, will it reopen this season? Again, unfortunately at this point we do not know. We assume Zamperla and Cedar Point may be able to answer that question but they obviously have no plans of sharing this at the moment. With a project of this magnitude we are confident Top Thrill 2 will reopen but have no further way of knowing exactly when and what modifications would have been done.
July 16 – All roller coaster fans continue to wait patiently for news regarding the long-shuttered Top Thrill 2 at Cedar Point. Although all has been quiet on this front in recent weeks, we now know that an update is coming soon.
It has now been announced that an IAAPA event will be hosted at Cedar Point on July 25th where one of the highlights is described as “Get an engineering overview and the latest updates on Top Thrill 2” We therefore assume we will finally get an official update from Cedar Point which will hopefully answer a number of our questions.
Everyone is asking, will Top Thrill 2 reopen this season? Well, although speculation is rife regarding this online, right now we simply don’t know. What we do know is that a modification has been needed on the trains which is expected to be something to do with the wheel assembly but it currently appears to be taking longer than was initially expected. We also know that Adena and the American testing services have been on site over the last month but right now it appears to be quiet on the infield.
Could Top Thrill 2 reopen for Halloweekends which this year runs on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings from September 14 – October 29? Hopefully on July 25 we will get some answers.
June 28 – With all roller coaster enthusiast’s eyes clearly on Cedar Point in readiness for the next official announcement regarding Top Thrill 2, we take a look at what is currently happening onsite.
In a recent video posted to YouTube by Ghoster Coasters we see that the construction management firm, Adena have been spotted onsite in the last couple of days.
Adena managed the construction of the new spike for Top Thrill 2 and it seems as if Cedar Point is bringing them back in some capacity during this modification of the trains phase for Top Thrill 2.
With little official word from Cedar Point in recent weeks and extensive continued speculation online, roller coaster enthusiasts are understandable getting impatient for news.
We assume work is continuing behind the scenes to get the necessary modifications done on the trains for Top Thrill 2 so this new roller coaster can reopen as soon as possible.
With July just around the corner and the understanding that extensive testing will be needed when the modifications have been completed, there is now speculation for a potential August reopening for this headlining roller coaster at Cedar Point.
As already stated, nothing has been officially confirmed as of yet by Cedar Point regarding the reopening of Top Thrill 2 and we will have to continue to wait patiently until that announcement comes.
Image: Cedar Point
June 12 – Whilst we still await another official announcement on Top Thrill 2 from Cedar Point there continues to be a lot of speculation online surrounding the work being done on this new roller coaster.
In a recent video posted to YouTube by Ghoster Coasters we see an update from June 8 which shows us that testing is currently being done.
We also hear that the seats were removed from rows 7 and 9 last week of the silver train and work was also being done on the seats in rows 8 and 10. At the Coastermania event held at Cedar Point on June 7, new stators were seen laying out in the infield which match the ones on Top Thrill 2.
Trucks have been on site from American Testing Services so it appears as if progress continues to be made on the process of repairing and reopening Top Thrill 2.
As a reminder, Cedar Point recently said that this was “not a whole summer thing” which means that they must be very confident of a reopening in the coming weeks ready for the peak summer season. We will keep you up to date with the developments on Top Thrill 2 and hope to be able to relay news of the reopening date soon.
June 5 -We have been closely following the updates on Top Thrill 2 at Cedar Point since it closed on May 12, having officially opened at the park on May 4.
Yesterday (June 4), Cedar Point updated their official website with further news regarding Top Thrill 2’s closure saying, “Top Thrill 2 remains closed as Zamperla (the ride’s manufacturer) continues working on a mechanical modification to the coaster vehicles. While we do not yet have a reopening date, we hope to provide more information soon. We sincerely appreciate your continued patience and look forward to the reopening of Top Thrill 2 as soon as possible.”
As expected, there is still no news of an actual confirmed reopening date as work is continuing on the ride vehicles to rectify the issue which caused the new roller coaster to close very soon after it officially opened.
Image: Cedar Point
May 31 – We were expecting an announcement imminently and yesterday, Cedar Point made its first official comment since Top Thrill 2 closed on May 12. It was also stated that they are close to an official progress update.
Cedar Point’s Director of Communications, Tony Clark spoke yesterday on Sandusky radio Mix 102.7 to officially update us on news of the Top Thrill 2 reopening timeline. The key part of the interview came when Clark said “This isn’t a summer-long thing.” “This is a temporary thing” which is definitely reassuring and should put fans minds at rest who had seen any speculation of Top Thrill 2 not reopening until next season.
In a new video posted to YouTube (embedded above) by KI Coaster Guy we also hear at timestamp 1:25 that there is now a small crane onsite at Top Thrill 2 and one guest reported seeing the wheels being reinstalled which certainly seems to be a positive step in the right direction.
In another interesting new video posted to YouTube by Ryan The Ride Mechanic, he takes a closer look at the images of the wheels and it appears that there are new wheel carriers.
He goes on to say that where the road wheel support spars join the carrier there is a big open pocket where webbing has been installed. The spine is still there and the wheels look the same but it appears that they have added some reinforcements going from the top of the road wheel spar down to the guide wheel assembly and he is wondering if it’s also underneath down to the up stop.
Although it is great to see work being done onsite, there will still be a period of testing and then a reinspection by the Ohio Department of Agriculture before Top Thrill 2 will be able to reopen. We will continue to update you with further information as soon as it is announced.
