As you can see in the latest video update posted on September 20, by Lake Erie Lifestyle, the rear main supports for the spike are now in place with the last section which was waiting in the midway area, expected to have been installed by the end of yesterday.

Majority of the diagonal braces are now in position and we expect further to be added before Cedar Point opens for the weekend as well as extra track sections up the spike.

In the exciting update posted on September 13, to YouTube by Lake Erie Lifestyles, we get to see the latest developments on Top Thrill 2. More track sections had been installed for the switch track, the track had been laid in the station and work continued on the train covered storage building. We can also saw that the roof of the station building had been cut out to allow for the curvature of the spike track.

The final supports leading to the spike had been put into place and curved track sections installed. The big news was the arrival of a huge crane to the Top Thrill 2 site in preparation for the 420ft rear spike to go vertical. We expected to see track sections being moved from the Breakers Express Storage lot in the near future to begin this exciting task.

In the update on September 5, we got to see what we have all being waiting to see, the first supports have now been installed for the 420ft rear spike! We expect to see further progress having been made on the rear spike in the next update.

The concrete forms on the launch side of the track infield are now transforming into an actual structure that can be seen on the official Top Thrill 2 animation created by Cedar Point. This structure is expected to house the electrical vault for the LSMs. 

In the official announcement on August 1, we found out the new name for the iconic Top Thrill Dragster and long awaited details regarding the layout for this highly anticipated reimagining coming to Cedar Point in 2024. Top Thrill 2 was confirmed as being the world's tallest and fastest triple-launch coaster with a 420ft rear spike.

In the latest construction update from Lake Erie Lifestyles posted to YouTube on September 2, we get to see that the launch track has now been fully installed and the concrete footings for the switch track have been revealed. Further sections for the switch track have been delivered to the Breakers Express Storage Lot as well as new sections of track for the 420ft rear spike.

The most exciting development on Top Thrill 2 is that a number of the supports for the 420ft new rear spike are now on site and we expect these will begin to be installed in the very near future as Cedar Point begins its weekday closures (Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays). We will continue to update you with further news on the construction of Top Thrill 2 at Cedar Point.

There is good news on the construction site of Top Thrill 2 as regular work resumes after flooding following the tornadoes and inclement weather which hit Sandusky last week. In the latest video update posted to YouTube on August 29, by Lake Erie Lifestyles we get to see the current developments on site at Cedar Point.

Installation of LSM motors continues and the remainder of the launch track is being put in place. More track and electrical components have been delivered to the Breakers Express Storage Lot with the launch side track being transported to the construction site at Cedar Point.

Work continues on preparation for the installation of the transfer track and on the station area where another concrete form has been added. We are still eagerly awaiting news that the rear spike is going vertical and we will continue to update you on the construction progress of Top Thrill 2 as it develops. 

Unfortunately, tornadoes and flash floods hindered progress on Top Thrill 2 last week with the track infield area housing a lot of water but there was good news at the Breakers Express storage lot where there had been a new shipment delivered.

In the video posted to YouTube on August 26 by Lake Erie Lifestyles, we saw that there had been a new delivery of support structures for the rear spike. There also appeared to be new track sections which are believed to be for the lower part of the rear spike. Further track components had also arrived which could also be for the spike or for the station area.

In the construction video posted to YouTube on August 23 by Lake Erie Lifestyles, we can see painting on the top hat remains to be halted. The entire cat walk along the launch track has been assembled and the iron workers are continuing to install the LSMs onto the tracks. Electricians will then be responsible for completing the wiring of the LSMs. Electrical control technicians will work on the control systems including the sensors and Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) which are needed in order to make the ride run smoothly.

A number of new concrete forms have appeared on the switch track with further concrete being poured and concrete pads have been revealed in the station.

Regarding the rear spike, we still await vertical construction which is expected to begin in September when Cedar Point reduces their opening hours and closes Monday, Tuesday and Wednesdays each week. 

In the latest previous update, painting still remains at a halt on Top Thrill 2 and most of the developments have been happening on the station and track infield where numerous concrete forms have been erected inside the station. At the back of the station concrete is being poured into further forms which shows progress is being made on what will be the two-storey station building.

Concrete forms have been constructed where the switch track will be positioned and in the middle of the track area a large concrete pad has been created which could form part of the queue system. Electricians continue to install the wiring for the LSM staters and we will bring you further updates on the construction of Top Thrill 2 as they happen at Cedar Point.

Cedar Point had been hit by inclement weather and subsequently suffered some flooding in the track infield area. Having said that according to the latest Top Thrill 2 construction update posted to YouTube by Lake Erie Lifestyles on August 13, we can see that work continues to progress on the launch track where workers are currently in the process of installing LSM Staters onto the track.

There will also be a range of tasks happening behind the scenes including programming the new control system, laying immense lengths of necessary cables and other technical tasks imperative to the construction of the new Top Thrill 2 triple launch coaster.

In the video update posted on August 4, to YouTube by Lake Erie Lifestyles, we get to hear further details regarding Top Thrill 2 including the queue line location, ride capacity, length and capacity. 

To recap, Top Thrill 2 will have an LSM swing launch to replace the former hydraulic launch system. The 1st launch will accelerate riders forward to 74mph travelling approximately half way up the top hat before rolling back and experiencing the 2nd launch which will be a backward launch reaching 101mph taking guests approximately 350ft up the 420ft rear spike. Finally the 3rd and final launch will be a forward launch and will be  the fastest reaching 120mph cresting the 420ft top hat and heading into the station.

Top Thrill 2 will keep the high speed racing theme but no longer focuses on drag racing. Based on the animation Top Thrill 2 will last almost 2 minutes compared to the 17s ride duration of Top Thrill Dragster.

Surprisingly, the queue line will remain in the same location as it was formerly positioned prior to it being shut down after a woman was hit by falling debris whilst standing in the queue in 2021. There will now be a new configuration and structure to protect guests as well as fencing which will be installed along the systems edges to provide further protection. The covered queue will also protect guests from the sun whilst waiting in line.

We know the control booth is now going to be positioned above the station track and loading and unloading will now happen in the same station building. Riders will exit through a tunnel.

In regards to capacity on Top Thrill 2, the video explains that there will be three trains which although is half of what there was on Top Thrill Dragster, each train will hold 20 riders instead of 18 riders and will utilize Zamperla's fast switch meaning it will able to quickly switch from accepting new trains to connecting the launch track. 

There is also a staging position before the track switch meaning that a train can be dispatched into the staging area whilst another train completing the launch cycle.

Originally Top Thrill Dragster had a ride per hour capacity of 1080 with releasing the 18 passenger trains every 60 seconds. To ensure the same rider per hour capacity Top Thrill 2 would have to release a train every 66 seconds. The key point here is that the LSM launch will be more reliable and safer than the former hydraulic launch, meaning overall the capacity will be higher but we await confirmation of exactly how many riders per hour Top Thrill 2 will accommodate.

Performance on Top Thrill 2 with the LSM launch appears to be from the animation, significantly less than on Top Thrill Dragster which had the hydraulic launch. Acceleration on Top Thrill Dragster saw riders go from 0-120mph in 3.8s where Top Thrill 2 will take 7s to get from 0-74mph on the first launch. Again, as in the case of the capacity we will have to wait for confirmation on the acceleration of the LSM launch on Top Thrill 2.

Another difference on Top Thrill 2 is that the seats are higher up from the track which could affect the thrill factor of this reimagining and the video suggests that 270 degree top hat roll should be more intense because of it.

It has been brilliant to learn about Cedar Point's plans for Top Thrill 2 and we will continue to bring you construction updates on Top Thrill Dragster...