At the beginning of July, we brought you these photos posted by ElToroRyan of the new supports for Top Thrill Dragster which confirmed 100 per cent that Zamperla is the indeed the manufacturer put in charge of this extensive reimagining. If any one still had doubts this is what you needed to see.

You guys believe me now? 😂 Dragster’s new supports shipped straight from Zamperla pic.twitter.com/9HUZs9J4Nj

— ElToroRyan (@ElToroRyan) July 1, 2023

In the newest video update posted by Life Erie Lifestyles which is embedded below, we get to see that a lot of work is currently being done on the infield and station on Top Thrill Dragster. Track painting continues with almost the whole of the lower track having received a fresh coat of white paint. Extensive groundwork is being done and it appears that an elongated horse shoe shaped foundation is being dug half way down the launch track and a new concrete foundation has been laid in the old loading area.

With the recently filed permit coupled with the work that is taking place on the infield it is safe to say that the current focus appears to be on the construction of the two story load/unload station. 

Top Thrill Dragster fans are still trying to digest the news that Zamperla, not Intamin will be carrying out the extensive reimagining of Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point. In this newly posted video we get to see further footage of the new white track and dark gray supports which were delivered this week.

Rumors and speculation have been rife in recent months and earlier this week we brought you actual confirmation that new track had arrived on site for Top Thrill Dragster, news of the color scheme, theme and updates on the ride manufacturer!

In the video posted to YouTube on June 27 by Lake Erie Lifestyles we got to see footage of the new white track in the staging area which is rumored to be for the new rear spike. This is the first glimpse we had got of the track since the news of the reimagining of this iconic roller coaster back in September 2022.

As well as the new white track, we also saw more gun metal gray supports. It had been predicted, based on the keychain handed out at the Q&A session with Tony Clark that red and gray would be the new colors. White is definitely featured with the newly delivered track and so far there isn't any red in sight but we assume that this could change as further sections of the track are delivered over the coming weeks. There may be hope for the iconic red color yet, watch this space. 

We are not surprised to see new white track as the existing Top Thrill Dragster track is being painted white as we reported in a recent update.

We also see what appears to be brand new racing flags which could further hint that Top Thrill Dragster will keep its existing racing theme. Yesterday, Cedar Point posted a photo on their twitter account of a delivery which is rumored to be a support for the potential rear spike. The hashtag, #CP24PHP is included. This has led to speculation that PHP could hint at the new name. Nothing more has been announced on this as of yet.

First shipment.

Signed. ✅
Unsealed. ✅
Delivered. 🏁#CedarPoint #CP24PHP pic.twitter.com/e4UlTBpNGG

— Cedar Point (@cedarpoint) June 27, 2023

The huge news which was aired at the beginning of the week was in relation to the manufacturer put in charge by Cedar Point to carry out one of the most highly anticipated roller coaster reimaginings in history. Well, it will have certainly come as a surprise to majority of Top Thrill Dragster fans to hear that after thinking Intamin was almost certainly the right manufacturer for the job, that Zamperla has indeed been the manufacturer of choice.

Now, let's just take a moment. Zamperla, really? Well, according to the video posted on YouTube by Theme Park Predictions earlier this week, majority of us got it wrong, it will be Zamperla, not Intamin who will carry out the reimagining of the legendary Top Thrill Dragster.

It is obvious from reports online that a lot of fans are very unhappy about this decision with frequent downtime being predicted already. It certainly seems an interesting choice, considering the attraction was manufactured by Intamin and Intamin would seem like the best choice to give this iconic coaster the new lease of life it needs.

Zamperla has stated that their lightning trains can be used on the world's fastest roller coasters but according to Theme Park Predictions, Zamperla has built 374 different coasters with only 17 of them considered extreme or major coasters and the fastest offering a maximum speed of 56mph.

Cedar Fair has worked with Intamin since 2010 and although tensions have ensued since the 2021 accident, it looks like the decision has come down to cost as both manufacturers put in bids for the project.

It seems risky to trust Zamperla with this project and in order to bring Top Thrill Dragster 2.0 to fruition it is going to now involve the replacement of the entire operating system and to marry up 20 year old existing Intamin track with new Zamperla trains. I will say it again, it certainly sounds very risky!

In June, further information was revealed regarding the construction progress of Top Thrill Dragster from Lake Erie Lifestyles. The painting of the track supports continues in the dark gray color which is now being predicted as one of the main colors being used in the reimagining. 

The old track is being painted white and a moveable platform has been erected which we assume will be used to paint the rest of the top hat. 

In the last update from June 20, there was news of a permit filed with Sandusky which is now revealed to be for a 2 story load/unload station with an elevated control booth as the second story. It is likened to the station used for the steel winged roller coaster, Gatekeeper at Cedar Point station where the operators look down on the guests below.

More heavy machinery has been moved to the infield and loading areas and with water having been removed from the pit which was dug in front of the old station this could signal that they are ready to start working on building the station.

Work certainly appears to be moving fast and we are looking forward to bringing you further updates on the station and ride layout as construction work continues on this epic reimagining.

In the previous video update from June 20, which is embedded below, we heard that Cedar Point has still not filed any FAA Construction permits to build any structure over 200ft tall. However, Cedar Point has filed several construction permits with Sandusky for upgrading electrical and foundation for a building associated with the ride. We speculated correctly that this was indeed for work to be done on the station building.

The biggest news was that contractors are currently on site at Top Thrill Dragster, prepping, priming and painting the base track supports. As can be seen in the video they have been painted gray. Many are speculating that this is a primer rather than the end color but so far this has not been confirmed. 

From a Q&A session where keychains were given out and guests were told they would need them to ride in 2024, the rumor that there will be two top hats has come about. You can check out the video embedded below which was posted two weeks ago by Coaster Freak Jr. giving you more information on the possibility of this theory. 

At the beginning of June we posted a theory which had been rumored, Rumor - Top Thrill Dragster To Get A NEW Top Hat Hitting 500ft! If you haven't already done so, check it out and then let us know what you think by leaving us a comment below or on our Facebook page.

Will there be two top hats, a rear spike, will it break the record to be the tallest again, will it have a new space theme? So far, there are a lot of rumors and speculation but still no confirmation from Cedar Point. We will continue to update you on this hugely exciting reimagining of the iconic Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point.

It was back in mid-May that we were talking about the large crane that had appeared onsite at Top Thrill Dragster near to the Top hat and we were speculating what it may be used for.

Although it was suggested that the most plausible idea was for this huge crane to be used to build a tower crane for use in the reimagining of this iconic coaster, it has now been confirmed that this was not the case at this point as the huge crane was taken down a couple of weeks later.

We can now only assume that the crane was in place to either take measurements or test welds or a combination of the two. This information will be needed to make an application to file for a permit from the FAA.

According to the latest update posted to YouTube by Lake Erie Lifestyles on May 21, there appears to have been nothing obvious done to the Top hat whilst the crane was in place. It is thought that it was taken down between Tuesday evening and Thursday morning. 

From the FAA's database it currently looks like there are no permits on file from Cedar Point to build any structures. It is Federal Law to file if you want to build or alter any structure 200 feet or higher above ground level, meaning the Top hat on Top Thrill Dragster. This revelation seems quite odd considering we are certainly expecting something to happen on Top Thrill Dragster with a vertical spike still seemingly being the most likely.

It is certainly puzzling and leaves us to ask, why hasn't Cedar Point filed any permits for Top Thrill Dragster as of yet? Is it to keep everyone guessing and to build suspense further or is it simply that they haven't got all the measurements needed hence the large crane that was in place last week.

We will update you with further information as soon as we have it. We expect there to be news on the filing of permits for Top Thrill Dragster in the coming weeks if it is going to be checked and authorized and give Cedar Point enough time to complete the work ready for an opening in 2024.