Six Flags closes the world's tallest roller coaster

This could have been handled much better. I personally find it unconscionable that the park did not make a formal announcement in time for more people to ride this record-breaking coaster. Of course FB was deluged with rumors of its closing but nothing was written in stone. When Rolling Thunder was about to close, the park made patrons well aware of that. It's possible that policies have changed as a result of the Six Flags Cedar Fair merger, as La Vibora at SFOT apparently closed without any fanfare. When Kings Island decided to remove Firehawk, that fact was well advertised and I made a special trip to the park to get in some final rides. It was the least the park could do to treat guests with all due respect but lamentably, things have changed.

lots of rides closures announced but no mention of zumanjaro on that list so that has me thinking a swing launch just like TT2, which will hopefully be up and running successfully next year. KK2 could still be a record breaker. my 2 cents.

I think what needs to be noted is the way in which Six Flags has handled this entire situation. The lack of comment from both the park and chain when rumors of Kingda Ka's demise started setting the coaster community abuzz was inexcusable for a closure of this magnitude. While there were plenty of enthusiasts at the park over the weekend reacting to the rumors (including myself), the park probably could have realized even greater attendance on what was the last normal operating weekend of the year. It's one thing when a coaster breaks irreparably or has some other sudden issue that necessitates a permanent closure (safety incident or lawsuit)., but that's not what happened here. Kingda Ka was operating more efficiently than I'd seen in years (though just 1 load platform and 2 trains) with the excellent ops pumping out trains every 60-90 seconds with just a few intermittent periods of downtime lasting between 5-10 minutes. From all indications, this decision was made at a higher level to mitigate the liability that the coaster represents (there have been multiple reports of guests dropping/losing objects on the ride despite the "empty pockets" requirement, though metal detectors were never used to screen guests in the queue to mitigate the issue) and the cost to maintain the attraction, particularly given so many Intamin hydraulic launch coasters are being phased out. However, to not officially give the enthusiast community an opportunity to get a final ride on such an iconic attraction is ridiculous. People complained when BGT gave guests a 2-week notice ahead of the closure of Scorpion - while likely a memorable coaster to some, it doesn't have anywhere close to the cache that Kingda Ka had.

Also, what should not be lost in this is the closure of La Vibora at SFoT, one of the last operating Intamin bobsled coasters in the world, with no notice too.

To soften the blow, Six Flags announced a bunch of nebulous additions the replace the lost attractions and to provide guests an idea of what will be coming at many of the parks in the next few years.

1. SFGAdv is getting a world record breaking multi-launch roller coaster in 2026 to replace Kingda Ka, Green Lantern, Cyclone (Huss Top Spin), and the previously closed parachutes. SF didn't provide any other information, but I wouldn't be surprised to see something similar to Velocicoaster/Pantheon/Toutatis or perhaps a coaster that breaks the North American inversion record (currently held by Steel Curtain, but will be tied by Alpen Fury next year).

2. SFoT is getting a world record breaking dive coaster in 2026 to replace La Vibora. Given the location, I doubt they'd be able to top Yukon Striker for height/drop, so the world record would have to be either inversions or length (again would be tricky without going into the parking lot) or perhaps the drop angle (currently held by Iron Menace I believe).

3. SFMM is getting a "first of its kind in North America" coaster in 2026. This could be literally anything and could be placed anywhere, so I think it's impossible to speculate on this, though early rumors are that it could be an "Axis Coaster" from S&S, a prototype coaster that is being built at a small park in Saudi Arabia.

4. Six Flags also indicated new attractions and coasters for a number of other parks in the chain to be installed over the next 2 years that will be part of a chain-wide capital investment exceeding $1 billion.

@mbrussmco - The SF release is pretty clear that Kingda Ka is being removed to make way for the new 2026 coaster, so that would include Zumanjaro and not allow for a TT2-like makeover. FWIW, I was at the park on Sunday, and the drop ride was not open and the sign at the attraction's entrance had been removed.

good to see that the "new six flags" is just as incompetent as the old six flags. very good stuff.

As long as whatever replaces it lives up to what was there before I 100% agree with what they are doing. As much as I absolutely loved Xcelerator and TTD (KDK not so much due to roughness), the engineering was awful on these things and the reliability has always been unacceptable. I have gotten in line for Kingda Ka probably 10x and only ridden in 3x. TTD has been closed all day the last 3.5x i've been to CP and the other times i've been there it was up and down constantly all day. And Xcelerator is pretty much always closed, I swear that thing has been SBNO more than its been open in the last 10 years. I knew since the day Xcelerator was built and I looked at that hydraulic launch contraption these things were going to be a nightmare...like what were these people smoking when they designed that?

Rides being closed, especially these big hugely marketable ones, is a big deal. People from all over the country and around the world go to GADV just for Kingda Ka, you can't deliver that experience. The LSM launches are just way simpler and more reliable and I think if they build something that lives up to its predecessor it will be a great decision for the park and company long term.

I also agree with taking out Green Lantern and most of the rest of the godawful Boardwalk area. That coaster was outdated from the start and never should have been rebuilt there. That area is like 25 years overdue for a major gentrification project. Its just unfortunate for SFGADV that they are stuck with that boring and pointless coaster that they just built and are opening next year...a carryover from the previous corporate train wreck. Its not really great show that they are taking out Kingda Ka and opening...that thing in the same year.
Sucks about the skyride, which in my opinion was one of the best rides in the park, but I can't say i'm surprised because its probably been neglected for decades.

I also 100% agree with pretty much every other announcement made for the other parks. SFGAm needs a kids area overhaul, SFOT needs a big new coaster, the parks that announced water rides need new water rides, and every park needs major investment into its food service. So props for common sense being restored to the Six Flags chain, at least in regards to capex.

i also think SFOT is getting the shaft yet again with a dive coaster when down the road at SFFT there's a really good one. why not a wing coaster or a mack multi launcher?

@mbrussmco - One word, space. Dive coasters have a pretty small footprint compared to other models. The area where LaVibora is doesn't really give SF a really big footprint to work with unless they expand into the adjacent parking lot, which is currently the Preferred Parking lot if I recall.

As far as Mack, having ridden Voltron this summer, I think it would be massive if Six Flags were to engage with the company to bring more of their products to the US, but there no indication that there is a relationship there and there are few Mack products currently in SF/CF parks (mostly wild mouse coasters). I secretly hope the record-breaking multi-launch coaster to replace Kingda Ka is a Mack Stryker coaster, but I expect it will be from Intamin.

@Russell, I'd assume they'd go with Premier Rides for something along the lines of AlpenFury. Still seems like CF, I mean SF, still goes out of their way to avoid Intamin.

Rocket coasters are being phased out. Wouldn't be surprised to see Xcelerator at Knotts to be the next Six Flags coaster to go.

@Court E - Cedar Fair just spent a good amount of capital to get Xcelerator up and running, so I would expect them to keep it running for at least a few more years unless something major breaks on it. I do think it is a flawed design that has high maintenance costs that will eventually get phased out, but it seems like the coasters that are not being pushed to the limits of their engines (i.e. >100 MPH), they should be able to operate relatively problem-free for years to come.

Now, there is something to say for Xcelerator since it was the working protype for the launch system, so it's possible that it will run into more issues moving forward that may not appear in other installations. FWIW, Storm Runner (72 MPH top speed) has had a few hiccups here and there, but has been about as reliable as other launching coasters built 15-20 years ago.