Can I still hope this addition won't be a 400 foot tall shuttle spinner? 
News Project 2027/Purple: Delayed “World Record Breaking Coaster" (Phantom Spire?)
- Thread starter Zachary
- Start date
Do we know of any permits/dig tickets filed for Top Thrill 2’s spike structure when that was being built? If I had to guess, even if we won’t be seeing a spike, I feel a Mack tower coaster might follow a similar construction style with the foundation (specifically with the use of piles and large caissons).
Might do some rummaging. Could give us an indication of the progression of construction to expect if we’re seeing a large tower structure.
Last edited:
Honestly, anything at this point is encouraging. The silence has made me feel like this won’t happen until 2027, whatever it ends up being.
Only thing I was able to find is Cedar Point’s permits for phase one of TT2’s foundations (above) that were filed on February 10, 2023. Piles to block off earth for the spike caissons were put in the ground a little over a month later (sometime in February-March, first public photo was released March 23, 2023). By this point, it’s probably safe to assume Cedar Point’s had already conducted any boring tests needed (would assume this was done especially since two of the foundations were in the Iron Dragon lake).
Definitely worth it to keep an eye on any further permits filed, especially if we don’t catch the actual boring being done or evidence of it is concealed by construction fences.
Although given the date of February 26th on the original One Call, it’s a possibility the boring has already occurred, and maybe foundation work could happen any day…
I mean, the silence isn’t anything new for Great Adventure at this point in the year.
Demolition of Aqua Spectacle and Great Lake Grandstand for Joker didn’t begin until the August before it opened. Jersey Devil was teased in late summer before anything was on site, as far as I’m aware. Dark Knight’s plot also wasn’t prepped until the end of 2007 when we knew the Chiller was done.
Really, the only coaster since El Toro I can think of that had its site prepped ahead of time and had shipments arrive early (though not this early) was Green Lantern, and that was a unique situation as GASM closed permanently in July 2010 and was gone by that September, not to mention GL was a relocation and had already been disassembled by late 2009.
Demolition of Aqua Spectacle and Great Lake Grandstand for Joker didn’t begin until the August before it opened. Jersey Devil was teased in late summer before anything was on site, as far as I’m aware. Dark Knight’s plot also wasn’t prepped until the end of 2007 when we knew the Chiller was done.
Really, the only coaster since El Toro I can think of that had its site prepped ahead of time and had shipments arrive early (though not this early) was Green Lantern, and that was a unique situation as GASM closed permanently in July 2010 and was gone by that September, not to mention GL was a relocation and had already been disassembled by late 2009.
Thank you. I was also talking to a friend who works at the park and he was saying Ka’s footers were about 50ft. Decently could be them making sure that whatever they put there next can withstand.
Also if anyone is interested this is the link where I found it
Agreed. Thanks for the link! Looks like only Jersey Central Power & Light has marked interference with the boring operation, which is consistent with the red 3-phase electrical markings we’ve seen pop up near the site (assuming the boring operation this ticket references hasn’t occurred yet).
What’s also interesting on that site is there were many calls (4) for the installation of conduit by Tiffany Electric. These calls were in February and March around the time of the soil boring ticket. We already know this is a launch coaster, so we can definitely expect to see heavy electrical work with conduit to support a large power supply. This is starting to add up with what we’ve already assumed; lots of conduit/electrical for the launch, and soil boring for a potential tower structure.
It’s possible site prep or underground rerouting/conduit work happened quietly already, but not certain on that. The lack of responses from the utility operators on the conduit calls in particular is something to note as well (especially since the boring ticket got all necessary responses), which could indicate they’re still working with utilities for approval or prepping to resubmit more detailed plans once more accurate utility mapping is confirmed. That being said, the Tiffany Electric calls have a much longer list of operators than the soil boring one. But lack of responses here could explain the presence of responses for the soil boring:
Because the soil boring in question likely relates to the ride foundation, it’s possible the boring occurred before Six Flags officially placed an order for the ride. This could have been part of preliminary site analysis to determine if a ride is possible at the chosen site. Even though a ride of very similar footprint and size occupied the same site, they’re doing due diligence to ensure the site can physically support the ride they intend to order. Assuming the site has been deemed fit, the park likely didn’t officially “order” the ride until after this was done. This lines up with comments made around Flash’s opening in late March by Ryan Elderedge (Six Flags East Region PR Manager) that they have a replacement for Kingda Ka “in mind.” It’s possible the park started vendor negotiations and detailed designs by this point (late March) and had a frontrunner design they liked to win the bid for this project, but needed the green light from the soil boring test and other preliminary site tests to place an order officially. This would subsequently spur steel production and put things in motion. The production process takes several months, especially if the rumored scope of this project is accurate, and it’s a long production process even for veterans like Intamin. If an official order for the ride wasn’t placed until late March/early April the earliest, then it makes sense why parts haven’t arrived yet between welding, finishing/painting, and shipping, especially if it’s coming from overseas. But we’re definitely on the brink of something coming soon. Maybe digging more into the past might inform the future more than we know.. maybe we have to learn the story of this project backwards until we see or hear new information.
Whether they’ve completed a lot of these items quietly or are just getting started on them, they’ve done a pretty good job keeping this all under wraps.
Last edited:
I am always surprised by what they can get away with for foundations in some parts of the country. Due to soil conditions in Gurnee, the largest caissons for Maxx Force go down 80 ft.
Here is list of the remaining Jackson Township Planning Board meetings for the year:
- June 9 - Meeting Canceled
- June 23
- July 7 and 21
- August 4 and 18
- September 8 and 22
- October 6 and 20
- November 3 and 17
- December 1 and 29
I can confirm that, as of today, construction definitely is not imminent. I'm in-person at an agency that needs to approve plans before significant new site work can take place at SFGAdv (note: NOT the township) and, per their in-person fulfillment of my FOIA, they still don't have anything filed relating to new construction at SFGAdv. Approval process here isn't insignificant so... just something to keep in mind.
Broadly speaking, I still believe budget is definitely an enormous factor in construction speed, but that's often far less true for required governmental approvals ahead of construction activity.
I won't pretend to be familiar with the timelines up here, but I know that if you told me Busch Gardens Williamsburg was building an enormous new coaster for 2026 and local agencies with oversight didn't have any material on-hand by this point reflecting that project, I'd be a little concerned about the timeline.
Will definitely be interesting to watch.
PS: This post was brought to you by an entire day of travel for an in-person FOIA fulfillment that looked incredibly promising from afar but surfaced essentially nothing new. We really gotta do something about these archaic public information laws that permit the prohibition of remote record reviews...
Broadly speaking, I still believe budget is definitely an enormous factor in construction speed, but that's often far less true for required governmental approvals ahead of construction activity.
I won't pretend to be familiar with the timelines up here, but I know that if you told me Busch Gardens Williamsburg was building an enormous new coaster for 2026 and local agencies with oversight didn't have any material on-hand by this point reflecting that project, I'd be a little concerned about the timeline.
Will definitely be interesting to watch.
PS: This post was brought to you by an entire day of travel for an in-person FOIA fulfillment that looked incredibly promising from afar but surfaced essentially nothing new. We really gotta do something about these archaic public information laws that permit the prohibition of remote record reviews...
Last edited:
2026 is looking incredibly unlikely at this point, even if they're just being slow to get started we would've heard whispers or seen something by now. That leaves me with two questions, namely if the scope of the project is increasing, be it a longer layout or coming with ride package for 2027, and if they'll still reveal more about the ride this summer like was promised.
that's a option if that mack spinning coaster got delayed to 2027 (I think is because six flags didn't want to make a kingda ka replacement announcement that seems too soon) (maybe if they gonna do a flat ride package similar to war on lines, maybe threw in vekoma tilt coaster in it)
According to the FAA's pre-evaluation tool, a coaster over 200ft on the Ka site will require an FAA waiver. Per my searching, we still don't have one of those for this project yet either. That's super concerning given that "You must submit notice at least 45 days before the start of the proposed construction or alteration or the date an application for a construction permit is filed, whichever is earliest."
I’m fairly certain I mentioned this already, but I do have a friend who used to work in PR for the park, now works elsewhere in the industry. He told me that he was hearing a rides package similar to Aeronautica was likely, I thought initially that was in combination with the 2026 launch coaster but it’s possible that plans have been delayed/changed and they’re doing a flat package in the meantime
Thanks for the updates. This definitely sounds concerning, I think by this point it's probably more reasonable to assume it's been pushed out to 2027, even though we probably have the smallest window of hope still left for 2026.
I'd be curious what the root of the delay is, and also the evident fallout when/if they announce the delay. If there's an announcement though, I'm sure we'd just get a general statement "Due to [xyz]/unforeseen issue..."
The more I think about it, the more I can understand corporate's thought process here.
Let's be real, a 400ft mack shuttle tower, something that has never been done before, was never a realistic possibility for just one year after Ka's closure. Mack has never built anything like it, heck, nobody has. If it's like what we saw in the survey? An upside down launch hill? Yeah this project wasn't ever going to get done in a single year. I'm almost certain corporate knew of this when Ka closed.
So why didn't they just come out from the start and say that this a 2027 addition from the start?
Because Ka closed way sooner than they had hoped.
Remember, 2025 was supposed to be the final operating year for Ka, where it'd get the send off it deserved. But alas, as fate would have it, Zumanjaro had structural issues that prevented the ride from every reopening, and in order for Ka to pass inspections going into this season, that issue needed to be resolved. The reason it wasn't was because of corporate not wanting to spend the money, sad but expected.
So a timeline involving this shuttle coaster being in production currently (very early stages of planning) WHILE Ka is still operating this season, and then having both that offseason and the next to announce it and build it makes a ton of sense. Zumanjaro and CF being greedy just ruined it, that's all.
It's honestly ironic that Zumi ended up being the reason things played out the way they did, because to me it's the amusement ride embodiment of the corporate greed of and absolute clownshow that was Six Flags under Jim Reid Anderson. The ride was a gimmick that wasn't well thought out at all and only meant to be a money maker, as shown by it not even being to run with Ka for several years, and the fact that the ride wasn't even interesting to the GP as shown by it never having a line. Looks like we'll be paying for the mistakes that old regime made until 2030 the absolute earliest I imagine.
Let's be real, a 400ft mack shuttle tower, something that has never been done before, was never a realistic possibility for just one year after Ka's closure. Mack has never built anything like it, heck, nobody has. If it's like what we saw in the survey? An upside down launch hill? Yeah this project wasn't ever going to get done in a single year. I'm almost certain corporate knew of this when Ka closed.
So why didn't they just come out from the start and say that this a 2027 addition from the start?
Because Ka closed way sooner than they had hoped.
Remember, 2025 was supposed to be the final operating year for Ka, where it'd get the send off it deserved. But alas, as fate would have it, Zumanjaro had structural issues that prevented the ride from every reopening, and in order for Ka to pass inspections going into this season, that issue needed to be resolved. The reason it wasn't was because of corporate not wanting to spend the money, sad but expected.
So a timeline involving this shuttle coaster being in production currently (very early stages of planning) WHILE Ka is still operating this season, and then having both that offseason and the next to announce it and build it makes a ton of sense. Zumanjaro and CF being greedy just ruined it, that's all.
It's honestly ironic that Zumi ended up being the reason things played out the way they did, because to me it's the amusement ride embodiment of the corporate greed of and absolute clownshow that was Six Flags under Jim Reid Anderson. The ride was a gimmick that wasn't well thought out at all and only meant to be a money maker, as shown by it not even being to run with Ka for several years, and the fact that the ride wasn't even interesting to the GP as shown by it never having a line. Looks like we'll be paying for the mistakes that old regime made until 2030 the absolute earliest I imagine.
this could very well be part of the toro project, but still exciting
Intamin doesn’t fabricate track for the prefabricated wooden coasters, so it’s possible Toro track would show up under a different name.