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Six Flags Great Adventure: General Discussion

Skyscraper said:
If not there's always Jinma.
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You joke, but Jinma/Noble have actually made some half decent stuff recently. I’d trust them more than SBF or Zamperla right now 😂

Interesting thing I noticed - nothing is mentioned in the announcement about Zumanjaro closing (which if the structure was coming down you would expect to also be announced).
 
Rob said:
Well there we go, Kingda Ka’s closure has been confirmed:



And in 2026 the park will get a new multi-record breaking coaster!

The end of an era, but I am looking forward to seeing what replaces it. I’m sure they’re very aware that it needs to be iconic.
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It's sad to hear that a rollercoaster of such significance is closing, but it was expected.

I'm interested in this new coaster, as Kingda Ka has a fairly large footprint, so something built there could be (as well as multi-record breaking) a substantial ride as long as it has an out and back layout.

It would probably not be hard to create a ride there considered by most to be better than Ka, given that Ka itself was never considered the best of the best, although that was partially due to the OTSRs seemingly making the ride more restrictive than its fellow full-circuit stratacoaster in Top Thrill Dragster.
 
What records are we talking about then considering Falcons Flight, Formula Rossa and TTD2 will presumably all exist in 2026?
 
Bowser said:
What records are we talking about then considering Falcons Flight, Formula Rossa and TTD2 will presumably all exist in 2026?
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Yeah they might exist but I wouldn’t want to bet on how much uptime those three rides will all have…

With regards to Kingda Ka’s replacement there are probably quite a few metrics that they could go far that would make it a record breaking coaster. For example what is the current record holder for most inversions on a launched coaster? Fastest LSM launch? Etc
 
Leigh said:
You joke, but Jinma/Noble have actually made some half decent stuff recently. I’d trust them more than SBF or Zamperla right now 😂

Interesting thing I noticed - nothing is mentioned in the announcement about Zumanjaro closing (which if the structure was coming down you would expect to also be announced).
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Zumanjaro is also closing, according to ElToroRyan on Twitter.

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Makes sense, as you can't really have Zumanjaro without Kingda Ka given it's attached to the tower with no other supports.
 
When you look at how much space they have with Green Lantern, the parachute tower, and Kingda Ka they could be doing anything.

Initially I thought another Top Thrill 2 style conversion but with Intamin which would break all the 'records' that TT2 set. But now with the news Zumanjaro is done as well seems to imply the tower is coming down.

So I'd currently guess at something like a Toutatis but faster, longer, and more launches.
 
Given that Zumanjaro has been shut for at least the entirety of 2024, I don’t think it’s necessarily a given that Zumanjaro going means that Kingda Ka is being wholly demolished instead of revamped Top Thrill 2-style.

I still wouldn’t count out a Top Thrill 2-style revamp of Kingda Ka rather than full removal, personally. There were no demolition permits filed for Kingda Ka, which could indicate that the structure is staying in some capacity, and the removal of Green Lantern would also still be essential for a revamped Kingda Ka so that they could fit in a spike behind the current launch track.
 
They haven't ruled out that they're sticking a swing launch spike to the back of it the existing coaster...
 
The park have handled this terribly. Its a shame they couldn't keep it open for its 20 years and give it a send of it deserves.
 
My only thinking of them not accounting it is two fold.

If they'd announced a few weeks ago it would've been bad press for the park, putting out statements and what not. Whilst instead today they've announced the ride closures whilst also confirming a new for 2026 ride at the park, hinting at other future ride options. And a chain wide list of 2026 additions.

Secondly if they did announce it was closing and intended to make a big song and dance about it's last days of operations you just know a launch cable would've been snapped or an issue with the trains or the tower would've shuttered it. The statement said 12 million riders, which in 20 seasons of operation really isn't that great. And shows how unreliable it was.

Glad I got to ride it a few time in 2019, I look forward to seeing what they do with the space. I'll just have to try and avoid looking at the tower when I visit next June.
 
I can sort of understand why they'd take it down.

1. It costs a fortune to run and maintain and isn't that reliable. I visited the park 4 times in 2009 when I lived in NY and it was closed all day for two of those visits. Been like that pretty much throughout its life really.

2. Already lost its world's fastest coaster tag to Formula Rossa and will lose the height record to Falcons Flight next year so it's hard to justify the huge expense to keep it going.

3. Believe it or not but lots of people wouldn't ride it either when I was there due to it's sheer size and intimidation factor. Whenever I was at the park and it was operating it was always El Toro with the 1-2 hr queues and Ka was always under 20 mins. I, myself, was actually a bit nervous on my first ride too which is rare for me as coasters aren't something I usually get scared by at all.

Just glad I got to ride both Ka and Dragster V1.0. I still haven't done Red Force yet either annoyingly. I need to get back to PA and complete the set.
 
I’ve read an interesting theory about what could potentially be replacing Kingda Ka from roomraider on CoasterForce, as well as another member, CedarPoint6.

For those not aware, Six Flags has announced a spate of new capital investments for the 2026 season, with the announced Kingda Ka replacement being among them:
Matt N said:
This is not expressly related to the merger itself, but we’ve had an interesting announcement from the new merged Six Flags.

The company is investing $1billion into its parks over the next two years. The investment will total between $500million and $525million in both 2025 and 2026, and will be spent on a variety of things, including new attractions, themed areas, dining upgrades and technology enhancements.

In terms of large capital investments, some announcements have been made of projects planned for the 2026 operating season:
  • Carowinds will introduce a new record-breaking water ride.
  • Canada’s Wonderland will add a new record-breaking water attraction.
  • Kings Island will introduce a new family thrill attraction.
  • Knott’s Soak City will receive a water park refresh and aesthetic enhancements.
  • Six Flags Magic Mountain will debut a coaster that is the first of its kind in North America.
  • Six Flags Great America will celebrate its 50th anniversary, debuting a new kids’ area, commemorative events and park enhancements.
  • Six Flags Great Adventure will unveil a record-breaking launch coaster.
  • Six Flags Over Texas will unleash a record-breaking dive coaster.
  • Six Flags Mexico will introduce a family thrill boomerang coaster.
Source: https://coasterforce.com/forums/thr...ir-merger-announced.46571/page-8#post-1180566

Doesn’t this all sound very exciting? It certainly sounds like the new Six Flags is not messing around!
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Source: https://towersstreet.com/talk/threads/six-flags-and-cedar-fair-to-merge.5224/page-3#post-492453

Now, the actual theory itself comes from a survey previously conducted by Cedar Fair, and by the new Six Flags post-merger, into new rides at the parks.

An interesting discovery by roomraider and CP6 is that many of the announcements made would seemingly tally up with ride concepts mooted within the survey. For example:
  • The survey talked about “the world’s first 300-foot Dive Coaster”… which would tally up quite nicely with the announcement that Six Flags Over Texas is building a record-breaking Dive Coaster.
  • The survey talked about a Super Flume with “the world’s tallest plunge”… which would tally up quite nicely with Carowinds and/or Canada’s Wonderland’s record-breaking water attractions.
  • The survey talked about a Water Coaster that appeared to be a launched Mack, similar to the one recently announced for Freizeitpark Plohn. This would be a North American first… which would tally up quite nicely with Six Flags Magic Mountain’s first-of-its-kind coaster for North America.
  • The survey talked about a Tilt Coaster… which would tally up quite nicely with Cedar Point receiving Siren’s Curse for next year.
  • The survey talked about a Family Thrill Coaster that goes backwards… which would tally up quite nicely with Six Flags Mexico’s family boomerang (or possibly Kings Island’s family thrill attraction, in my view, but roomraider and CP6’s view is that this tallies up with SFM rather than KI).
Now I hear you asking; where does Six Flags Great Adventure and the Kingda Ka replacement fit into this equation?

Well, there was one other survey item that has not yet been accounted for… a “Tower Coaster”. In essence, this appears to be a Mack XTREME Spinning Coaster that launches out of the station, goes into another upside down launch track, and then flips back over and ascends a 200ft tower before doing a slow helix at the top and ascending back down backwards. This would be a “record-breaking launch coaster”, as SFGAdv have described (the world’s tallest and fastest spinning coaster), and it would occupy a long, thin and straight plot of land… fitting peculiarly well with the plot vacated by Kingda Ka. As such, roomraider and CP6’s theory is that Kingda Ka is to be replaced by this Tower Coaster concept, a 200ft shuttle Mack XTREME Spinning Coaster.

Now I should stress that this is purely a theory, and could be wrong. However, I can’t deny that it does seem to line up very nicely in many aspects…

What do we think?

For some further reading, here’s roomraider’s original post on CoasterForce: https://coasterforce.com/forums/thr...king-coaster-page-7.47176/page-8#post-1180597
 
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I can't help but think that with it being a multi record breaking coaster, a Mack Xtreme Spinning Shuttle Tower coaster would be the World's Tallest Spinning Coaster and no other records.

I'd say whilst it is a possibility, I think it would be something better.

I can't help think it would be a disappointment if it turned out to be one of those tower coasters.
 
owenstreet7 said:
I can't help but think that with it being a multi record breaking coaster, a Mack Xtreme Spinning Shuttle Tower coaster would be the World's Tallest Spinning Coaster and no other records.

I'd say whilst it is a possibility, I think it would be something better.

I can't help think it would be a disappointment if it turned out to be one of those tower coasters.
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Wouldn’t it likely be the tallest and fastest spinning coaster, thus making it multi record-breaking?

“Record-breaking” is a very open-ended term. Those would technically still be records, so it would not be untrue to call the Tower Coaster concept “multi record-breaking”.

Interestingly, I’ve also discovered from doing further reading that the concept was mooted at different heights to different parks’ passholders. For example, Six Flags Great Adventure pass holders had the concept mooted at 400ft, while Cedar Point pass holders had it mooted at 200ft. So if we did receive this Tower Coaster, it could be 400ft or 200ft.
 
Matt N said:
Wouldn’t it likely be the tallest and fastest spinning coaster, thus making it multi record-breaking?

“Record-breaking” is a very open-ended term. Those would technically still be records, so it would not be untrue to call the Tower Coaster concept “multi record-breaking”.

Interestingly, I’ve also discovered from doing further reading that the concept was mooted at different heights to different parks’ passholders. For example, Six Flags Great Adventure pass holders had the concept mooted at 400ft, while Cedar Point pass holders had it mooted at 200ft. So if we did receive this Tower Coaster, it could be 400ft or 200ft.
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Interesting point 🤔 It'd be absolutely insane if a spinning coaster went at over 60mph (especially if it's close to the speed of Kingda Ka). Time Traveller and RTH go at 50 and 55 mph respectively.

I'd be concerned if this was the replacement coaster for capacity and the signature status.

I personally think SFGAdv have made a mistake removing Kingda Ka (partly influenced by Top Thrill 2 and the trends for hydraulic launch coasters) and any replacement will need to be world class to ease any pain for the closure.

One out there idea though, what if it uses the Kingda Ka Top Hat for the tower? 😜 Now that would be iconic.
 
Matt N said:
  • The survey talked about a Water Coaster that appeared to be a launched Mack, similar to the one recently announced for Freizeitpark Plohn. This would be a North American first… which would tally up quite nicely with Six Flags Magic Mountain’s first-of-its-kind coaster for North America.
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I'd have thought Sea World already have this as the world's first launched flume coaster in Catapult Falls? I'm not sold on this being Magic Mountain's investment.

Regarding GA's coaster, I really hope they go all out and pull off a Falcon's Flight height/speed record. Length will be well out of the question, but if they're going to replace arguably the world's most iconic roller coaster, they ought to do it with some bang for their buck.
 
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