News Project 2027/Purple: Delayed “World Record Breaking Coaster" (Phantom Spire?)

[amperedragon]

I get the disappointment of this ride not being in the same height category as Kingda Ka, but to be honest on this style of ride it matters a lot less. If 400 ft. is the standard of really f***ing tall, then a ride that is only 93.75% of really f***ing tall is still going to feel just as really f***ing tall to anyone who rides it. Nobody is going to be whipping out a measuring device while twirling around at the top of the tower, read a height lower than they expected, and suddenly decide a pretty kick-ass ride is mid just because it's a little shorter than they wanted it to be. This is still the second tallest coaster on the continent and the tallest that has been built domestically in over two decades.

Could the coaster have reached that 400 ft point? Absolutely. Were there likely logistical reasons why they chose to go with the height they did rather than push the limit even further? Absolutely. Is it valid to feel a bit bitter that this coaster isn't quite as big as expected, especially when the 400 ft number was (if I recall correctly) explicitly mentioned in surveys regarding the ride? Absolutely. Should this have an appreciable impact on the ride experience of the final attraction, assuming all other design aspects are as we currently expect them to be? Absolutely not.

And for those saying "they should have got a normal giga," I'd be willing to bet this is still only half to two thirds the price of an Orion-sized giga in 2026 dollars, which half of the enthusiasts don't even consider a giga. Personally, I'd much, much, much rather have this thing at SFGAdv than a ride like that.

 

[chris123678]

I know this opinion is going to be controversial, but the amount of hate and complaints is sad.
Almost makes me feel like people would be satisfied with nothing, and tbh, that's maybe what we should have gotten, nothing, for all the complaints this is getting.

Ka is gone. It was a landmark ride but this ride could be so much better. This ride doesn't need to be 400 feet to be a landmark thrill attraction. We can rest assure it's not the 200 foot model. We have no clue why it couldn't be 400 feet but it really doesn't matter. This is a massive massive coaster that any other park would be thrilled with.

 

[northdetective]

Some of you are hopping on the hate train pretty quickly for people who gave me shit for saying the exact same things over these past few months. Happy to have u aboard anyways

Almost makes me feel like people would be satisfied with nothing, and tbh, that's maybe what we should have gotten, nothing, for all the complaints this is getting.

Awww thank God Mr. Reilly Claus is continuing to bless us by not canceling the coaster We might get coal next year if we don't listen to Chris

 

[BGWfan]

Truly just a head scratcher of a decision. Hopefully someone can ask Ryan some challenging questions during an interview for a legitimate explanation and hopefully he understands how disappointing this is to fans

Ya'll realize that Ryan didn't come anywhere close to making this decision, right? He's the front man who has to figure out how to put the spin on decisions made by higher ups that he might not even agree with. Tough job - I think he's a good guy and doing the best he can with a rough situation with the SFGadv fan base. Maybe give him some grace and focus your ire on Six Flags corporate execs.

A while back I heard through the grapevine that Mack was saying it would be taller than TT2, so its definitely a bit disappointing to not at least match the Ka removal with a new strata. I could still see it be more fun than Ka.
I'll forgive them if they install a truly elite coaster in the Ka plot - I think an Intamin multi-launch is the only way to do that, so it's very unlikely given they don't like awarding them new ride contracts. A Mack sit down multi-launch could work too - the Hyperia and Stardust layouts are pretty great. Can be under 200' and still be incredible. Vekoma smooths out their forces a little too much and doesn't have good enough trains to make something elite yet, imo.

 

[RDL]

I’m just thinking back to how everyone trashed TT2 because it wouldn’t have a hydraulic launch, and even with its disaster first season, it was able to overcome it all because people finally saw how good it was after riding it.

I’m confident the same will happen for Phantom Spire, and that hasn’t changed.

Also, if there’s a stall section at the top, then yes, it’s going to reach the 375ft mark.

 

[Tacky3663]

I mean…this is still the third tallest coaster on earth at 375. But yeah I agree it’s pretty disappointing they didn’t do 400.

I still don’t think this would take them out of the running for a traditional Giga Coaster at some point in time

 

[Tacky3663]

I’m just thinking back to how everyone trashed TT2 because it wouldn’t have a hydraulic launch, and even with its disaster first season, it was able to overcome it all because people finally saw how good it was after riding it.

I’m confident the same will happen for Phantom Spire, and that hasn’t changed.

Also, if there’s a stall section at the top, then yes, it’s going to reach the 375ft mark.

If it’s got free spinning too like Ride to Happiness, this will be insane

 

[kmaster805]

I mean…this is still the third tallest coaster on earth at 375. But yeah I agree it’s pretty disappointing they didn’t do 400.

I still don’t think this would take them out of the running for a traditional Giga Coaster at some point in time

I’d also like to make the argument going for the tallest giga makes a bigger splash marketing wise than a 400footer. Although strata-spinner had a nice ring to it…

 

[Tacky3663]

I’d also like to make the argument going for the tallest giga makes a bigger splash marketing wise than a 400footer. Although strata-spinner had a nice ring to it…

You could market a full circuit Giga completely differently too. Could make that like 350….and keep Spire as the tallest coaster at the park

 

[chris123678]

Some of you are hopping on the hate train pretty quickly for people who gave me shit for saying the exact same things over these past few months. Happy to have u aboard anyways



Awww thank God Mr. Reilly Claus is continuing to bless us by not canceling the coaster We might get coal next year if we don't listen to Chris

Sure would get coal.
With an economy like this, and the state of the Six Flags parks, this is truly a blessing of a coaster to receive. Imagine people getting their knickers in a bunch because it's not 400 feet tall. I literally can't imagine any park besides Great Adventure complaining at the prospect of a near 400 foot tall coaster. Maybe Great Adventure should use that language, "Near 400 foot tall" instead of saying 375, that way people don't lose their minds.

 

[RDL]

I mean…this is still the third tallest coaster on earth at 375. But yeah I agree it’s pretty disappointing they didn’t do 400.

I still don’t think this would take them out of the running for a traditional Giga Coaster at some point in time

To tell you the truth I’d rather have a 200ft tilt coaster, and part of me thinks that might be what they’re looking to build next maybe? Not based off of anything as its just me speculating, but I think it’d be a great addition

 

[Zachary]

With an economy like this, and the state of the Six Flags parks, this is truly a blessing of a coaster to receive.

Again, an economy like this and the state of the Six Flags chain is an argument for having never blown up one of the country's only two stratas—and the country's tallest and fastest coaster.

Imagine people getting their knickers in a bunch because it's not 400 feet tall. I literally can't imagine any park besides Great Adventure complaining at the prospect of a near 400 foot tall coaster.

I can imagine two parks reasonably complaining about the prospect of no longer having a strata. It's no mystery why those parks are Cedar Point and Great Adventure.

 

[xenithwav]

I get the disappointment of this ride not being in the same height category as Kingda Ka, but to be honest on this style of ride it matters a lot less. If 400 ft. is the standard of really f***ing tall, then a ride that is only 93.75% of really f***ing tall is still going to feel just as really f***ing tall to anyone who rides it. Nobody is going to be whipping out a measuring device while twirling around at the top of the tower, read a height lower than they expected, and suddenly decide a pretty kick-ass ride is mid just because it's a little shorter than they wanted it to be. This is still the second tallest coaster on the continent and the tallest that has been built domestically in over two decades.

Could the coaster have reached that 400 ft point? Absolutely. Were there likely logistical reasons why they chose to go with the height they did rather than push the limit even further? Absolutely. Is it valid to feel a bit bitter that this coaster isn't quite as big as expected, especially when the 400 ft number was (if I recall correctly) explicitly mentioned in surveys regarding the ride? Absolutely. Should this have an appreciable impact on the ride experience of the final attraction, assuming all other design aspects are as we currently expect them to be? Absolutely not.

And for those saying "they should have got a normal giga," I'd be willing to bet this is still only half to two thirds the price of an Orion-sized giga in 2026 dollars, which half of the enthusiasts don't even consider a giga. Personally, I'd much, much, much rather have this thing at SFGAdv than a ride like that.

Not to take sides or anything, I've read the forum up to this point, but this is the post I feel the most similar too. I think the amount of hate and complaints is a bit unnecessary.

The "strata" classification is only important to enthusiasts. The general public, the vast majority of people going to this park, are not going to be able to the difference between 375 feet, 400 feet, and 456 feet visually. If you had them all side by side each other yeah, of course. But Ka's tower has been gone for over a year now. This ride will have the same presence Ka did. It's 81 feet shorter. Most people (a) aren't going to be able to tell the difference between 81 feet in height, and (b) probably don't care. It's big, tall, and has a commanding presence. That's the whole point, and that's always been the point. We were not promised explicitly another strata, the only reason people are disappointed is because of their own expectations and inferences. The point isn't the "strata" title, the point is the presence of the ride.

I also think the "we should've just got a normal giga" argument is flat. The height of this ride being shorter than 400' doesn't make it any less of a ride than what it is, categorically speaking. It's still a triple launched tower spinning coaster. That wouldn't change if it was 200' tall. This style of ride is so different from anything we've ever seen. Saying we should've got a normal giga if we knew it wasn't gonna be 400'... why? Because some people argue Orion isn't 300', would you rather have gotten a normal hyper coaster since Orion isn't a giga? The height categories are just categories. It's all made up, it really doesn't matter at the end of the day.

As long as this ride is fantastic (which I have no doubt it'll be crazy), that's all 99% of the people riding it are going to care about, regardless of the height in feet, speed in mph, length, etc.

 

[Tacky3663]

Again, an economy like this and the state of the Six Flags chain is an argument for having never blown up one of the country's only two stratas—and the country's tallest and fastest coaster.



I can imagine two parks reasonably complaining about the prospect of no longer having a strata. It's no mystery why those parks are Cedar Point and Great Adventure.

Watch them get B&M to build a 400ft tall full circuit Strata Coaster

 

[Tacky3663]

To tell you the truth I’d rather have a 200ft tilt coaster, and part of me thinks that might be what they’re looking to build next maybe? Not based off of anything as its just me speculating, but I think it’d be a great addition

If they go 200ft Tilt and 350ft Full Circuit Giga as the next two coasters

I’m cool with it

 

[bill s]

I can see the height being limited by the trains. Between the weight of spinning cars being a lot to launch and an even faster taller one needing even bigger heavier cars it reaches a limit. Also LSMs without a swing launch is a limitation. It could be a lot bigger increase for this to be over 400' than, say, it would have been to make I305 a full mile long without trims.

Also with Ka part of the appeal was being the record holder, the actual height was a negative as well as a positive.

Ka is gone. It was a landmark ride but this ride could be so much better. This ride doesn't need to be 400 feet to be a landmark thrill attraction. We can rest assure it's not the 200 foot model. We have no clue why it couldn't be 400 feet but it really doesn't matter. This is a massive massive coaster that any other park would be thrilled with.

Yes it does confirm it's not even less.

As to should they have gotten a giga, I've said they should have gotten a launched full circuit, full featured coaster at giga speeds, which would be a hyper. But a giga with inversions would also differentiate from Nitro.

 

[Clear]

at least we can all agree

This leaves room for the Larson Strata Loop

 

[mikexrated]

Well im looking forward to a construction update tomorrow! I want to see how much progress was made and hopefully we see how long the stall is.

 

[CoasterMac]

^Same. I think people are going to be blown away at how much space that stall will take up. If my footer placements are correct, from the first support that boxes over top of the track to the last, we're talking like 250ft of completely inverted track. Cannot wait to see how it looks.

 

[Suspense]

Well im looking forward to a construction update tomorrow! I want to see how much progress was made and hopefully we see how long the stall is.

To be honest I’ll be right back on the hype train tomorrow if the upside down launch is installed. I’m a sucker for these construction updates

Also if it is 250ft long that would definitely make it the worlds longest inversion I assume, correct?