Guest reviewer, Trent from the Coasterblog, gives us his review of Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point. It was shut down right before I got to ride it, so here’s his review of the former speed and height World record holder.
[divider]
Cedar Point was already known as the Coaster Capitol of the world before 2003. With 15 roller coasters they had more than their fair share of thrills. Then, in the summer of 2003, the park opened what would become their most insane coaster, Top Thrill Dragster. The ride would break the record of tallest and fastest coaster in the world. It would be the first continuous circuit coaster ever to reach above 400 feet into the sky and launch at an incredible 120 mph.
The ride’s position on Cedar Point’s midway is perfect. There are a set of bleachers from which non-riders can watch their friends and family be blasted off. Inside Top Thrill Dragster’s station there are checkered flags all over the place. The attendants load two trains at a time and launch them off with incredible efficiency. Even though the ride lasts all of 17 seconds they manage to run five trains at a time.
Top Thrill Dragster uses the same type of restraints as Millennium Force, a seat belt a small lab bar. Once the trains move out of the station they are stopped near a row of lights. A voice tells us to keep our arms down, head back, and hold on. Then the lights count down to green and then we’re off!
The launch is possibly the most forceful I’ve ever experienced. There is hardly any time to think about how fast we are going before the train goes vertical. Traveling up Dragster’s tower, we are convinced that the ride want’s to throw us into Lake Erie. At the top there is a brief moment to look around at Cedar Point from 420 feet up. Then, we drop. Nothing will get your heart racing like spiraling straight down toward the Earth at 100 
mph. At the bottom, the track levels off before magnetic brakes bring us to a halt.
Sure it was only 17 seconds, but they were possibly the most insane 17 seconds of your life. If Top Thrill could only keep up the intensity and have a few more elements after the launch, something like Storm Runner at Hersheypark, it would be perfect. Trent’s Final Rating – 9.0 (Excellent)
Here’s a POV video of Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point:
Top Thrill Dragster is rated ‘EX’ for Extreme. It is an insane 5 out of 5 on the Thrill Scale, thanks to its intense launch and incredible height.
Also, check out the most controversial Roller Coaster Showdown ever: Top Thrill Dragster vs. Kingda Ka.
And here are more Cedar Point coaster reviews:
Millennium Force, Magnum XL-200, Maverick, Mean Streak, & Mantis
Have you ridden Top Thrill Dragster? What do you think? Please comment. Awesome image courtesy of CoasterImage.
July 7, 2012 at 08:30
A little fun fact I learned talking to a worker at Top Thrill Dragster is that if the wind is over 35mph they have to stop the ride. (This is the same with wind seeker)
July 7, 2012 at 08:37
If I remember correctly, the stopped it for rain when I was just about to enter the station after a long wait. Very frustrating, but I'm sure rain would hurt at over 100 mph.
July 7, 2012 at 10:45
Dragster and Kingda Ka have about equal launch force, but it wasn't the most powerful launch I've been on. When I rode Hyper Sonic XLC the launch was extremely powerful. That was my most powerful launch. However, Dragster and Kingda Ka have a much more lengthy launch.
July 9, 2012 at 06:44
What I would love, is for that top hat to be taken slightly faster, so as to offer the riders aitime, like some of the smaller Intamin accelerator coasters do. I'm thinking of iSpeed and Stealth, I don't remember if Storm Runner or Xcelerator do that, but it's awesome
July 9, 2012 at 08:12
Changed my shirt between the cameras on either side of the hill on Top Thrill Dragster (did it 3x before I was satisfied with the pic)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v510/DogInYello…
July 10, 2012 at 12:51
I didn’t expect the launch of TTD to be so good as I’ve become slightly jaded with launches over the years, that and the view is amazing. It’s one of those rides where I didn’t really care it was so short because of just how much fun it is. Also, I’m totally not some Cedar Point fanboy or anything, but I must say TTD really IS much better than Kingda Ka. Aside from the minimalist lapbars and stellar views, it just rode much better. There’s too much vibration on Ka, though I like the camelback brake run better than TTD’s hard, flat stop.
July 12, 2012 at 03:05
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: TTD is a one-trick pony, but it’s one cool trick!
July 12, 2012 at 09:21
Because I have rode KK but not TTD, I'm going to assume that TTD is better purely for argument's sake. In my opinion, Top Thrill Dragster should probably get an 8.5. (Kingda Ka got an 8) I don't think that any ride under 30 seconds long is really worthy of a score of 9 or higher, regardless to how amazing those seconds were.
August 21, 2012 at 22:14
I gave KK an 8 out of 10 too so we agree on that. Before riding TTD I would have said the same thing but afterwards my mind was completely changed.
July 23, 2012 at 01:10
I haven't been to Cedar Point in years. Looking forward to checking this one out when we are there later this summer.
August 21, 2012 at 21:50
This coaster is 10/10 and super extreme
March 28, 2013 at 23:02
awesome coaster! i wish it were longer