Kingda Ka

Kingda Ka
Park	Six Flags Great Adventure
Park section	Golden Kingdom
Opening date	May 21, 2005
Closing date	November 10, 2024
Height	456ft
Drop	418ft
Speed	128mph
Replaced	Unknown
Replaced by	Unknown

Kingda Ka is a steel launched roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure's Golden Kingdom area. It is currently the tallest roller coaster in the world and the second fastest. 

Ride history

On September 29, 2004, the park announced its plans to build Kingda Ka at a media/roller coaster fans event. The coaster was said to be "the tallest and fastest coaster on Earth", reaching 456ft and 128mph in only 3.5 seconds. By mid-January 2005, the construction on the ride was complete and the attraction had its official opening on May 21, 2005. 

2014 Remodeling

On August 29, 2012, Six Flags CEO Jim Reid-Anderson announced the park's plans for Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom, a series of three 415-foot drop towers that would replace the park's Rolling Thunder dueling coaster. Jim Reid-Anderson also announced that the drop towers, much like Superman: Escape from Krypton at Six Flags Magic Mountain, would be attached to Kingda Ka's ride structure. The attraction was closed at the start of the 2014 season during Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom's construction. It later reopened on the Memorial Day weekend for weekend only operations and later fully reopened on July of that same year.

2024 Retirement

On November 14th, 2024 in a Press release by Six Flags Great Adventure, they announced the retirement of Kingda Ka, along with the removal of Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom, Green Lantern, The Twister, and Parachutes from the park to make way for a new signature attraction, a multi-record breaking launch roller coaster to debut in the 2025 Season.

Kingda Ka's sign for rollbacks.

Ride synopsis

Theme

Kingda Ka is themed to a mythical Chinese tiger and the park's Golden Tabby Bengal tiger who lived in a nearby exhibit. Shortly after, he moved to the park's safari ride. The ride also features Nepalese styles. The queue is surrounded and nearly covered by bamboo, which gives the queue a nice jungle effect. While guests wait to board, mythical jungle music plays. 

The Nepalese entrance sign to the ride.

Experience

When guests finally reach the station and board their train, the vehicle slowly pulls out of the station and into a safety check. After the safety check is cleared, the vehicle pulls into the launch zone. Several heartpounding seconds go by...and then the train is launched 128mph in 3.5 seconds up the top hat hill. The attraction then goes 90 degrees downwards and spirals down. Then, the train takes riders up a 129ft hill before heading into the final brake system.

Rollbacks

Occasionally, like Top Thrill Dragster, the trains do not completely make it up the track and rollback downwards. It stalls the ride sometimes. The attraction has special brakes to prevent the trains from pulling into the station if a rollback occurs. 

Trivia

Records

• When Kingda Ka opened, the ride was the tallest and fastest complete-circuit roller coaster, overtaking the four records Top Thrill Dragster overtook from Fuji-Q Highland's Dodonpa two years before.
• The ride has the world's fastest roller coaster drop.
• The ride formerly was the fastest coaster in the world, but Ferrari World's Formula Rossa overtook the record in 2010.

Statistics

• The ride is themed to the park's Golden Tabby Bengal, which had the name Kingda Ka.

Awards

Golden Ticket Awards: Best New Ride for 2005

• Kingda Ka was runner-up at the Golden Ticket Awards for 2005's Best New Ride. The coaster lost to Hades at Mt. Olympus Water and Theme Park.

Golden Ticket Awards

Year	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Ranking	31	28	31	25	31	27	33	38

Mitch Hawker's Best Roller Coaster Poll

Year	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Ranking	20	69	61	59	68	65

Photo Gallery