Cedar Point is closing Top Thrill Dragster for good

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After over an extended period of theory, Cedar Point has made it official.Top Thrill Dragster, at least in its current form, is closing for good.

"After 19 seasons with 18 million riders experiencing the world's first plastic coasters, the Top Thrill Dragster as you know it is retiring," Tony Clark, director of communications for the Cedar Point theme park, wrote Tuesday. 

“However, Cedar Point's legacy of travel innovation continues. Our team is hard at work creating new and reimagined driving experiences.”

The choice was to a great extent anticipated. The coaster has been closed since August 15, 2021, when a woman waiting in line was seriously injured after being hit by a flying piece that broke off from one of the high-speed trains.

In February, the Ohio Department of Agriculture found that the park did not violate state law or department regulations in operating the ride. The report outlined a number of steps Cedar Point had to take before reopening the ride. Instead, the park decided to close it for the entire 2022 season.

• Previous coverage: Top Thrill Dragster's future up in the air as Cedar Point prepares to open without iconic rides

Top Thrill Dragster opened in 2003 as the tallest roller coaster in the world at 420 feet and the first full roller coaster to exceed 400 feet. The records were held until 2005. The ride took park visitors up a giant 90-degree hill before plummeting down. down at a top speed of 120 mph. These specifications, however, came at a price in the form of maintenance issues, intermittent outages and weather-related issues.

Clark said the park will release more details on exactly what will replace the Top Thrill Dragster ("as you know it") in its central location midway between the Corkscrew and Magnum XL-200 at a later date. The recreation area has a past filled with reviving "resigned" rides. 

Torrential slide Run became Disaster Transport, Mantis became Rougarou, and Mean Streak became Steel Vengeance with each new experience utilizing the greater part of the current construction. But it's not entirely clear whether that will be the case here, as the park's reference to a " new and reimagined ride experience" is open to interpretation.

Cedar Point has already announced plans to debut a new Wild Mouse roller coaster for the 2023 season in the park's new boardwalk area.