Kingda Ka and Green Lantern's removal for new 2026 record-breaking coaster
- Thread starter JoshC.
- Start date
JustLarry
Roller Poster
"They are rumors" ??
Uhh, not trying to fuel the flames, but if it wasn't true, then the pr person would say, "this is not true" or "those are baseless rumors/those rumors are untrue" .... but instead, you got "Hey, those ARE rumors!"
Hmm
Aaron Smith
Mega Poster
Whatever is happening to this ride has yet to be seen. Just in case, I got 8 more rides on Friday and they were some of the best yet. I only ride in the first 4 rows but this coaster has been giving some of the best rides I've had in years over the past few seasons.
After the sudden closing of La Vibora I wouldn't put it past the new Six Flags company to just close it and never say anything. I feel like they would be leaving a TON of money on the table regarding ticket sales, merch, etc... by not announcing final rides.
After the sudden closing of La Vibora I wouldn't put it past the new Six Flags company to just close it and never say anything. I feel like they would be leaving a TON of money on the table regarding ticket sales, merch, etc... by not announcing final rides.
rideguy70
Mega Poster
I don't know if I buy that this is closing either, but the fact that every 400+ coaster in the world is currently down (TTD and Superman) certainly makes it seem ominous for all of those rides.
I don't know about the status of TTD, but rumors are Superman aren't looking great either.
I don't know about the status of TTD, but rumors are Superman aren't looking great either.
Boodangy
Mega Poster
^ Does anybody actually like Superman anymore though? It barely goes up the tower at all and the launch isn't enough to be a selling point. They could even keep the drop tower on that unlike Zumanjaro, since Dreamworld did that in Australia.
^^ One of the trains was completely dismantled a while back and another only recently got back onto the track, maybe they were worried about capacity? Albeit I don't know if Six Flags cares about capacity as much as money lol.
^^ One of the trains was completely dismantled a while back and another only recently got back onto the track, maybe they were worried about capacity? Albeit I don't know if Six Flags cares about capacity as much as money lol.
LightningColossus46
Mega Poster
I was watching a livestream last night from SFGrAd and everyone including the staff seemed to be saying their goodbyes
This included staff getting a final ride and taking some pictures after the last train was sent. There also seemed to be a lot of management hanging around. It all seemed too similar to the way Colossus was closed before it got RMCd
Of and about Superman, according to some Ninja ride ops it may be pretty well dead as of July. It hasn't seen action since Spring, and all mention of it from workers aside from one stating "Welcome to Ninja, the best ride left on the mountain now that Superman is gone" This was the quote from said ride op, so Takei with a grain of salt, but it is near a large active construction site right behind what used to be the Golden Bea theater
This included staff getting a final ride and taking some pictures after the last train was sent. There also seemed to be a lot of management hanging around. It all seemed too similar to the way Colossus was closed before it got RMCd
Of and about Superman, according to some Ninja ride ops it may be pretty well dead as of July. It hasn't seen action since Spring, and all mention of it from workers aside from one stating "Welcome to Ninja, the best ride left on the mountain now that Superman is gone" This was the quote from said ride op, so Takei with a grain of salt, but it is near a large active construction site right behind what used to be the Golden Bea theater
Peet
Giga Poster
So what you're confirming to us here is that we're getting RMC Kingda Ka?
It's one bombshell after another on this topic - Superman is down too? So of the World's super fast coasters as of a few years ago we have:
Kingda Ka - rumoured to now be permanently closed
TT2 - general disaster
Dodonpa - getting torn down as we speak
Tower of Terror - long gone
Superman - SBNO since spring
Formula Rossa - SBNO since February
Ring Racer - SBNO since 2013 (just included for a laugh)
Leaving the current World's fastest coasters being:
1) Red Force
2) Fury 325
3) Steel Dragon 2000
Geeky Pastimes
Mega Poster
It's crazy what's happening to all these tall and fast coasters.
Almost like them losing titles to Falcon's Flight has made the operators not bother with any more maintenance. I wonder if we'll see any of the parks work on something ridiculous to try and get one of the titles back. It's hard to imagine anyone doing it unless we get one of those crazy 1000ft+ towers they were going to build with a coaster going down the outside.
Almost like them losing titles to Falcon's Flight has made the operators not bother with any more maintenance. I wonder if we'll see any of the parks work on something ridiculous to try and get one of the titles back. It's hard to imagine anyone doing it unless we get one of those crazy 1000ft+ towers they were going to build with a coaster going down the outside.
Dan Nguyen
Mega Poster
Hail to the king! A couple observations about KK and SFGAdv
SFGAdv's anniversary year was a bit of a miss. Nothing opened on time, and there were budget cutbacks everywhere!
But the park is clearly making major changes to the park. The biggest being the new entrance setup. The old ticket booths are now the park's new entrance. A few years ago, they upgraded their security check making that a lot more efficient. Now they've expanded the entrance to accommodate larger crowds. If you haven't noticed yet, Cedar Fair loves upgrading their entrances and following those up with a large anchor attraction (Fury & Gatekeeper respectively)
I've heard a weak rumor that the park is planning a massive Golden Kingdom expansion with KK2.0/whatever they're planning to replace it with as the anchor and the park is still on good terms with Intamin. I'm taking that with a grain of salt right now until the park comes out to confirm it.
The park has made tons of other upgrades as well. They got rid of the dead end by the 4 tents opening up easier access to that side of the park again for the first time in years. They refurbished the log flume and the Ferris wheel and they're opening a new coaster. Corporate clearly wants this park to become a full fledged destination resort based on the name change to Six Flags Great Adventure Resort and the addition of the Savannah Suites. Kingda Ka might've been a huge obstacle in doing that if the ride really did cost $1 million in maintenance fees every year. Freeing up that budget with a more reliable ride would mean the park has more room to add worthwhile new coasters and make more large scale expansions in the future rather than funneling that money into a ride that's just gonna get more and more expensive each year and a drop ride that barely receives any foot traffic due to the terrible location.
I also heard a weak rumor about the park wanting to push Flash previews to Holiday, but I highly doubt that'll happen anytime soon.
So tldr: I can see the park starting demo on most of the closed rides early in the year so they can fast track opening up Golden Kingdom 2.0 on time in 2026. The park can't really become a full fledged destination resort if their star attraction is closed for too long. All these upgrades are pointing towards a huge expansion because the park wants to draw as many people and the park needs upgraded infrastructure to handle those crowds.
SFGAdv's anniversary year was a bit of a miss. Nothing opened on time, and there were budget cutbacks everywhere!
But the park is clearly making major changes to the park. The biggest being the new entrance setup. The old ticket booths are now the park's new entrance. A few years ago, they upgraded their security check making that a lot more efficient. Now they've expanded the entrance to accommodate larger crowds. If you haven't noticed yet, Cedar Fair loves upgrading their entrances and following those up with a large anchor attraction (Fury & Gatekeeper respectively)
I've heard a weak rumor that the park is planning a massive Golden Kingdom expansion with KK2.0/whatever they're planning to replace it with as the anchor and the park is still on good terms with Intamin. I'm taking that with a grain of salt right now until the park comes out to confirm it.
The park has made tons of other upgrades as well. They got rid of the dead end by the 4 tents opening up easier access to that side of the park again for the first time in years. They refurbished the log flume and the Ferris wheel and they're opening a new coaster. Corporate clearly wants this park to become a full fledged destination resort based on the name change to Six Flags Great Adventure Resort and the addition of the Savannah Suites. Kingda Ka might've been a huge obstacle in doing that if the ride really did cost $1 million in maintenance fees every year. Freeing up that budget with a more reliable ride would mean the park has more room to add worthwhile new coasters and make more large scale expansions in the future rather than funneling that money into a ride that's just gonna get more and more expensive each year and a drop ride that barely receives any foot traffic due to the terrible location.
I also heard a weak rumor about the park wanting to push Flash previews to Holiday, but I highly doubt that'll happen anytime soon.
So tldr: I can see the park starting demo on most of the closed rides early in the year so they can fast track opening up Golden Kingdom 2.0 on time in 2026. The park can't really become a full fledged destination resort if their star attraction is closed for too long. All these upgrades are pointing towards a huge expansion because the park wants to draw as many people and the park needs upgraded infrastructure to handle those crowds.
ViperGTS500
Roller Poster
Good write up Dan! The park may be on good terms with Intamin, but CF, who is now running the show; doubtly is on good terms with them.
Do you think we will finally see a B&M Giga?
Do you think we will finally see a B&M Giga?
Dan Nguyen
Mega Poster
There's enough space in the park for multiple new coasters in that corner without getting rid of KK. Not only do they have Green Lantern to work with but they also have the old Rolling Thunder spot as well.
Right now its still way too early to tell what they'll get but a giga is a possibility. If I were in control, I'd contract Intamin to rework KK into a swing launch as the first expansion, and then stick a large scale coaster on the old Rolling Thunder spot. Maybe a giga? Maybe an Extreme Spinner? Maybe a next gen Vekoma? Hell I wouldn't mind seeing a large scale family coaster like Juvelen, Big Bear or Thirteen over there.
I could see the old Green Lantern/Twister/Parachute Drop act as a new portal to the newly re-expanded Golden Kingdom. Expand the wild walkway, clean up the animal exhibits, maybe add new viewing areas.
So my educated guess is that Flash opens in 2025 and the park slowly makes more infrastructure improvements. Then 2026 is KK's replacement and a newly expanded Golden Kingdom. 2027 would be Rolling Thunder's replacement.
SF is still opening 2 brand new Intamin coasters in Georgia Surfer and Quantum Accelerator in 2025 (not to mention they're behind a number of Quiddya coasters too) so, I'm not counting them out yet. Their newer projects seem much more reliable than before so who knows?
Right now its still way too early to tell what they'll get but a giga is a possibility. If I were in control, I'd contract Intamin to rework KK into a swing launch as the first expansion, and then stick a large scale coaster on the old Rolling Thunder spot. Maybe a giga? Maybe an Extreme Spinner? Maybe a next gen Vekoma? Hell I wouldn't mind seeing a large scale family coaster like Juvelen, Big Bear or Thirteen over there.
I could see the old Green Lantern/Twister/Parachute Drop act as a new portal to the newly re-expanded Golden Kingdom. Expand the wild walkway, clean up the animal exhibits, maybe add new viewing areas.
So my educated guess is that Flash opens in 2025 and the park slowly makes more infrastructure improvements. Then 2026 is KK's replacement and a newly expanded Golden Kingdom. 2027 would be Rolling Thunder's replacement.
SF is still opening 2 brand new Intamin coasters in Georgia Surfer and Quantum Accelerator in 2025 (not to mention they're behind a number of Quiddya coasters too) so, I'm not counting them out yet. Their newer projects seem much more reliable than before so who knows?
M91
Roller Poster
It just seems so illogical to me to not keep it open till end of season 2025, to celebrate its 20 years anniversary.
I went to look at some of their posts on Instagram and stumbled on this:
A sale for their gold/prestige passes to "experience Kingda Ka and all of Six Flags Great Adventure for the rest of 2024 and all of 2025"
Now if they were to close Kingda Ka now, wouldn't it be similar to Kennywood's story with Steel Curtain? (Link to the story/lawsuit)
Would they be at risk for a lawsuit?
I'm most definitly grabbing at straws, but I'd be so sad if I'd never be able to experience KK. It's my N°1 bucket list coaster.
I went to look at some of their posts on Instagram and stumbled on this:
A sale for their gold/prestige passes to "experience Kingda Ka and all of Six Flags Great Adventure for the rest of 2024 and all of 2025"
Now if they were to close Kingda Ka now, wouldn't it be similar to Kennywood's story with Steel Curtain? (Link to the story/lawsuit)
Would they be at risk for a lawsuit?
I'm most definitly grabbing at straws, but I'd be so sad if I'd never be able to experience KK. It's my N°1 bucket list coaster.
JuliOverbank
Roller Poster
What was the date of this post?
M91
Roller Poster
29th of August, so not that long ago
Direct link to post = https://www.instagram.com/sfgradventure/p/C_ROJpggJdN/
Changa
Mega Poster
As someone with a whopping zero years of business experience informing my opinion. Even if the $1m a year is true, I don't get how the combine value to the park of having the tallest rollercoaster in the world, formerly the fastest (which people will remember and still associate with the ride), and the tallest drop tower in the world doesn't justify it. Sure, they might not bring new people in after 19 years of operation. But surely they help sustain current visitor numbers and amplify the effect of a new addition ("oh, this park has this new ride and the tallest rollercoaster in the world?").
I'm probably idolising the ride a bit too much when considering the value of the attractions. But, to me, it's the core identity of great adventure followed by El Toro and Nitro. So scrapping it to save on maintenance fees (which, if eltororyan is to be believed, would be sustained rather than spiralling up further) seems like a very narrow-minded decision to me. Which is why I don't buy the rumour at the moment.
I would understand the 2025 deadline if it were to mean that they're closely monitoring the maintenance schedule over the next year if they can achieve a manageable ongoing cost that won't spiral out of control in future. Accelerators seem to be the most tweaked model in history, so so a comprehensive assessment of its current state might have been requested, with the end of 2025 season marking the decision point?
I'm probably idolising the ride a bit too much when considering the value of the attractions. But, to me, it's the core identity of great adventure followed by El Toro and Nitro. So scrapping it to save on maintenance fees (which, if eltororyan is to be believed, would be sustained rather than spiralling up further) seems like a very narrow-minded decision to me. Which is why I don't buy the rumour at the moment.
I would understand the 2025 deadline if it were to mean that they're closely monitoring the maintenance schedule over the next year if they can achieve a manageable ongoing cost that won't spiral out of control in future. Accelerators seem to be the most tweaked model in history, so so a comprehensive assessment of its current state might have been requested, with the end of 2025 season marking the decision point?
TPoseOnTantrum
Giga Poster
Should we be worried?
M91
Roller Poster
It just makes no sense to wait so long to announce a closure.. these things aren't decided last minute. They must've known for weeks/months.
Why not announce it a month or two before end of season? Make it so most enthousiasts are able to ride it one last time, and this way avoid backlash?
Fingers crossed they're just going to announce a "Year of celebration" for Kingda Ka, and announce a new version of it for 2026. (Retrack with new trains? Swing Launch? ..)
