World’s Tallest Roller Coaster Closes After 20 Years for New Mystery Ride — and It's Not in Fla. or Calif.

Mar. 15, 2025

Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure.Photo:STAN HONDA/AFP via Getty

Riders approach the summit of the “Kingda Ka” roller coaster 19 May, 2005, at Six Flags amusement park in Jackson, New Jersey. Jeremy Delong bid 1,692 USD on the Internet auction house eBay for the right to be on the first run on the rides maiden flight 19 May. With the entire ride lasting under a minute, the thrill cost Delong 33 US per second. “I was willing to pay up to 2,000 USD if necessary,” said Delong, a member of the American Coaster Enthusiasts club, who has ridden 146 other coasters across the United States. The monster ride uses a hydraulic launch system to slingshot riders horizontally from 0 to 205 kilometers (128 miles) per hour in 3.5 seconds. The momentum flings the 18-seater train into a 90 degree climb to a height of 139 meters (456 feet), followed by a vertical plunge through a three-quarter spiral and a final jaunt over a 39-meter (129-foot) high “camel hump.

STAN HONDA/AFP via Getty

The world’s tallest roller coaster,Kingda Ka, has officially closed to make way for a new game-changing attraction.

The record-breaking ride isn’t located in one of the country’s theme park hubs. It’s at New Jersey’s Six Flags Great Adventure, which announced in a press release on Thursday, Nov. 14 that the beloved ride has been retired after nearly 20 years of holding the title of “world’s tallest and fastest coaster.”

The closure comes as the park prepares for the construction of a “new signature attraction” that will take Kingda Ka’s place.

While details on the new ride have yet to be announced, Six Flags has shared that it will be a “multi-record-breaking launch coaster” that will officially make its debut in 2026.

Kingda Ka.Debbie Egan-Chin/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images

Roller coaster enthusiasts ride Kingda Ka, the world’s tallest and fastest roller coaster, at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, N.J.

Debbie Egan-Chin/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images

The park’s president, Brian Bacica, said that more information on the mystery ride will be shared next summer.

Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey.PitK / Alamy

Guests having fun at Six Flags Great Adventure a famous amusement park located in Jackson township New Jersey

PitK / Alamy

The park also shared that another new ride, The Flash: Vertical Velocity, will launch in 2025 as part of Six Flags Entertainment Corporation’s more than $1 billion investment into its theme parks. As a result of the upcoming changes, Six Flags Great Adventure’s Green Lantern coaster is also retiring alongside Kingda Ka.

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Kinda Ka first opened in 2005 and immediately became a “bucket-list attraction” due to its record-breaking engineering, per the park’sofficial website. It took thrill-seekers up 45 stories (456 feet) and launched them at 128 mph, all in just 50 seconds.

source: people.com

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