Kingda Ka, The King of Coasters, Comes Crashing Down
Six Flags Great Adventure's skyline will never be the same.
It’s the end of an era in roller coaster history, as Kingda Ka officially comes crashing down.
What’s Happening:
- ABC News has shared a clip on X of Kingda Ka’s final moments as the tallest roller coaster in the world before it came crashing to the ground in a controlled implosion.
- The Intamin Accelerator located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ opened in 2005 as the tallest and fastest roller coaster on the planet.
- Launching from 0-128 miles per hour in just 3.5 seconds, Kingda Ka propelled riders up a 456 foot tall top hat before sending them straight back down and into an airtime hill before hitting the brakes.
- While its speed record was topped by Ferrari World’s Formula Rossa in 2010, the coaster had maintained the crown for tallest roller coaster on the planet during its nearly 20 year long run at the park.
- Last summer, rumors swirled in the coaster community that the 2024 season would be Ka’s last.
- Thanks to insider information, many enthusiasts were able to head out to the park for its last day of operation on November 10th.
- The Six Flags park announced the attraction’s closure via statement on November 14th with permits for implosion being filed just weeks later.
- Originally, the coaster was set to come down between February 12th and 16th, but was delayed and officially came down on February 28th.
- Kingda Ka, dubbed the king of coasters, officially ended a streak of roller coaster additions worldwide that attempted to one-up records set by other parks.
- You can read more about the Coaster Wars here.
- After the Cedar Fair and Six Flags merger last summer, many parks throughout the chain saw major attraction closures for expensive and unpopular rides. Kingda Ka was rumored to cost the park around $1 million to maintain a year, which absolutely played a huge part in the coaster’s demise.
- Another major factor probably lies within a major accident on a similar ride at Cedar Point back in 2021.
- Top Thrill Dragster, a 420 foot tall Intamin Accelerator that opened in 2003, saw a piece of metal break off of the coaster while it was launching, hitting a guest in the head. The coaster was closed immediately and transformed into Top Thrill 2, utilizing an LSM swing launch in lieu of the original hydraulic launch.
- The Zamperla reimagined coaster opened briefly in May of 2024 before closing down due to issues with both the trains and track. The coaster is set to re-debut this season.
- Top Thrill 2 has continued to prove problematic for the park, probably deeming a similar transformation of Kingda Ka unsustainable.
- Regardless of the reasons for the king of coasters closure, it is a sad moment in coaster history to see such an iconic attraction come tumbling down.
- Six Flags Great Adventure has promised a new, world-record-breaking, multi-launch coaster for the 2026 season. What are those world records? Who knows, but it’ll be tough to beat Kingda Ka.
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