As we head into March 2024, one of the main headlines for roller coaster fans in the US will be the debut of Top Thrill 2 at Cedar Point. Initial testing of Top Thrill 2 at Cedar Point was completed back at the end of December.For those fans getting excited for the official opening of Top Thrill 2 there has been a new video posted to YouTube this week showing exactly how this highly anticipated roller coaster currently looks. The video footage was taken during the recent Winter Chill Out event at Cedar Point which gave guests the first look at Top Thrill 2.The Winter Chill Out event event gives guests an exclusive, sneek-peek inside Cedar Point in the middle of winter whilst also helping the event benefit A Kid Again which helps thousands of kids living with life-threatening illnesses as a portion of the proceeds goes to this cause.The Passholder Preview Event was confirmed back at the beginning of the year as being April 30 – May 2 so a May 4 official opening date for Top Thrill 2 does seem very likely and we will confirm this as soon as it is announced.Last week, a live TikTok post from Cedar Point, Director of Communications Tony Clark showed us all the latest developments on the construction site and confirmed some further details regarding the highly anticipated Top Thrill 2 which is opening soon. The first piece of information which has been confirmed is that there will be no bins to put your items in when boarding Top Thrill 2 as you will load and unload in different places. Lockers will be available but we still await confirmation on whether Top Thrill 2 will have a Loose article policy as is the case with Steel Vengeance and therefore will have in-queue lockers for items to be put into.We also found out that the Fast Lane queue will go right up to the station rather than merging with the regular line as is the case with a number of other roller coasters. In the video, Tony Clark kept using the phrase “more information is coming in a couple of weeks” so it appears Cedar Point is slowly releasing information and we look forward to bringing you further details regarding the Passholder Preview days, when you can get your hands on the new key chains and more.
Image: Cedar Point
Earlier in February, Cedar Point released information on their official website regarding Fast Lane options for Top Thrill 2. For those fans with Season Passes, you can get your hands on a Season Pass Fast Lane Plus from $950 which allows you unlimited access to Top Thrill 2.Many guests who do not have a season pass will be visiting Cedar Point in 2024 and will have the option of purchasing a single day Fast Lane Plus from $115 which will allow them to bypass the regular line on all Fast Lane attractions including Magnum XL-200, Raptor, Rougarou as well as the popular thrill rides Steel Vengeance, Maverick, Millennium Force and Valravn. This Fast Lane Plus option will also allow guests who purchase it to enjoy one-time access to Top Thrill 2.It is certainly clear that the demand for Top Thrill 2 will be immense and whilst we understand the reasoning behind it, for many fans who are used to unlimited access when purchasing the Fast Lane Plus option this one-time access to Top Thrill 2 will likely come as a shock and an annoyance.Will you still purchase the single day Fast Lane Plus ticket which gives one-time access for Top Thrill 2? Let us know your thoughts by voting in our poll and by leaving us a comment below or on our Facebook page.Loading Poll… In the recent Top Thrill 2 Pit Stop episode which was posted to YouTube on February 6 and is embedded below, we get to see all the latest developments on this hugely anticipated roller coaster which is set to debut at Cedar Point in May.Work is now focussing on area development as well as further modifications to the station. The biggest change to the station was the addition of the safety envelope for the spike. We can now see that another section of canopy structure has been added to the station itself in order to complete the new roof.The entry and exit ramps are being installed which will bring guests onto the loading platform and then lead them to the photo booth. The operations booth is also being constructed.In the coming weeks we are set to see further vehicle testing as well as area development including the installing of the queue lines and fencing. We will continue to bring you updates on Top Thrill 2 here at Theme Park Tourist. At the beginning of February Cedar Point released a new video showing an animation of all three trains which will be running on Top Thrill 2 when it opens this year.We had already seen the metallic-blue train which was revealed at the IAAPA convention last year. We now also get to see the metallic-silver train and the metallic-black train. Which do you like best? Let us know by voting in our poll or by leaving us a comment below or on our Facebook page.Loading Poll… There was very exciting news in mid-December when on December 11, videos began to appear of slow test runs with Cedar Point confirming on December 13 that it had completed its first full circuit test run. In the video posted to YouTube on December 20 by Cedar Flags we get to see on ride and off ride footage of this testing.In further updates there have now been three pre-season events confirmed by Cedar Point which include:Winter Chill Out, February 24
Image: Cedar Point
This event will give guests an exclusive, sneek-peek inside Cedar Point in the middle of winter whilst also helping the event benefit A Kid Again which helps thousands of kids living with life-threatening illnesses as a portion of the proceeds goes to this cause. It includes lunch and will give fans a first look at Top Thrill 2.Total Eclipse Of The Point, April 8
Image: Cedar Point
Guests will be able to enjoy food and drink at the Grand Pavilion Restaurant & Bar whilst enjoying the solar eclipse which sits right in Cedar Point’s path. Passholder Preview Event, April 30th- May 2nd
Image: Cedar Point
This is the official passholder preview event for Top Thrill 2 so get your passes at the ready and more details are set to be released very soon.For anyone wanting to get their hands on a Cedar Point season pass, Cedar Point is currently offering the Summer Pass which gives unlimited visits to Cedar Point in 2024 through Labor Day, free parking and exclusive discounts and more for $99. This price will go up on January 8 so be sure to purchase before then to guarantee this special price. For further details visit the Cedar Point website, here.
Image: Cedar Point
We now know that the first day of Cedar Point’s 2024 season will be Saturday May 4, this is also when Top Thrill 2 is expected to be debut.In further news, the positive and negative Gs are set to be intense on Top Thrill 2. Trim brakes have been confirmed as being at the top of the 420ft spike and we know the lightning trains will not reach the actual top which was to be expected.
Image: Cedar Point
Very exciting news came out of Cedar Point on December 11 when we saw the video posted by Beachcliff Studios to YouTube below that testing had begun on Top Thrill 2.As you can see, currently the new Zamperla Lightning Trains are shooting backwards about half way up the spike. When it is fully tested we are expecting it to go higher than this. The train can then be seen heading up the top hat but not reaching the top before rolling back.We assume Zamperla and Cedar Point are testing out the LSMs but the roller coaster is not currently being tested at the full speed at this time. When the ride opens the first launch will be a 74mph forwards launch taking riders up the top hat approximately 200ft. The train will then roll back and hit the second launch, this time a backwards 101mph launch taking riders up the 420ft rear spike. The final 120mph forwards launch will take riders over the crest of the top hat and down again and back into the station.Testing a ride well before the proposed opening date is always positive to see as it means there is plenty of time for Cedar Point and Zamperla to smooth out any potential issues there may be, meaning come opening day in spring 2024 we should see Top Thrill 2 running reliably without too much down time. We will continue to update you as testing continues on Top Thrill 2 over the coming weeks.Earlier in December it was confirmed that the new 420ft rear spike for Top Thrill 2 at Cedar Point was officially topped off! In the recent construction video posted to YouTube by Lake Erie Lifestyles you get to see the rear spike in all its glory. As hoped, the weather stayed favorable so construction crews managed to top off the huge 420ft rear spike at the weekend.The next big question is when will we see the first launch of Top Thrill 2? Work has been ongoing on the programming of the LSMs and controls and if the weather cooperates we could see the first launch before Christmas.
