News The King Is Dead: Kingda Ka (& Zumanjaro) Closure & Demolition Confirmed

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Energy around the ride this weekend was infectious. Ride ops were straight up saying that it was the last weekend. One employee was saying that corporate was eyeing El Toro for the chopping block, Great Adventure said hell no, and they settled on Ka instead. Idk about that but just what I heard.

Ride ops for Ka were absolutely hauling though, best operations I’ve ever seen anywhere. They wanted to go out with a bang. Enthusiasts came from all over. I’ve never been to a coaster event but it really felt like thoosies took over the park.

All in all, I’m glad I got to experience that launch if it really was the last chance to do it.
 
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guy305 said:
One employee was saying that corporate was eyeing El Toro for the chopping block, Great Adventure said hell no, and they settled on Ka instead. Idk about that but just what I heard.
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After the high-profile incidents with El Toro in 2021 and 2022, it's plausible to see this on a short list for removal. Also likely more expensive than a traditional wooden coaster for upkeep.
 
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paintervision said:
After the high-profile incidents with El Toro in 2021 and 2022, it's plausible to see this on a short list for removal. Also likely more expensive than a traditional wooden coaster for upkeep.
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But didn't they just retrack/Overhaul alot of Toro the past 2 years?
 
guy305 said:
Energy around the ride this weekend was infectious. Ride ops were straight up saying that it was the last weekend. One employee was saying that corporate was eyeing El Toro for the chopping block, Great Adventure said hell no, and they settled on Ka instead. Idk about that but just what I heard.

Ride ops for Ka were absolutely hauling though, best operations I’ve ever seen anywhere. They wanted to go out with a bang. Enthusiasts came from all over. I’ve never been to a coaster event but it really felt like thoosies took over the park.

All in all, I’m glad I got to experience that launch if it really was the last chance to do it.
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really frustrating because shows that they can make this park’s ops run well they just choose not to. all these coasters running with single train ops and slow turnaround has been such a frustration and the fact that for the last weekend they demonstrated they can just turn it on whenever they want makes it that much more aggravating
 
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Probably a unpopular opinion but best on what I saw and experienced Saturday and what I have heard from people about Sunday maybe a no announcement was the way to go. The people that where there were people for the mist part that were there because they loved the ride and wanted to be a part of it not because they wanted the attention of being the last rider. It was a happy upbeat kinda New Orleans jazz funeral vibe. It was really something to experience and I was glad to be there for at least some of it.
 
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I'm still of the opinion that they have a plan in place to extend the layout. That's the only way I can see them justifying not having a proper send-off/selling merch/last rider raffle/etc. This is typical thoosie behavior of thinking we know more than we do.

Nothing against the people who traveled to get their last rides in, but I REALLY feel like this is part of a bigger plan that none of us are aware of.

Also hot take but I'm okay with losing money pit rides like Ka if they use the extra budget for upkeep/theming/guest experience improvements
 
snowman6996 said:
We've all seen how that extended layout has worked out for Cedar Point.
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If they're stupid enough to call up Zamperla again they deserve to go bankrupt. The hype for TT2 was through the roof. Get a legitimate manufacturer with reliable engineering and you're guaranteed a ride that will overshadow Falcon's Flight on social media. I'm sure intamin would be happy to retrofit their most iconic coaster.
 
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Tacky3663 said:
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Welp. This is the nail in the coffin (at least for me) for any glimmer of hope I still had left
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The first few years under the new overlords is going to be weird. There's going to be a lot of people singing the song about the fall of Great Adventure and all but a lot of people don't realize this isn't even the first or second time Great Adventure's been in a slumped state in terms of additions and attendance. I've already seen it in this very thread and all I have to say about it is that Great Adventure is a park that operated on almost zero budget for 13 years, out of a bankruptcy, and still hit 3+ million visitors in a season from 2015 through 2019.

The park has needed paint and attention to its appearance for the better part of a decade now and old corporate fucking with the prices after COVID did not help the attendance come back. But with some time and attention to the smaller details Great Adventure is absolutely a park that can stand above the rest in the company.
 
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b.mac said:
The first few years under the new overlords is going to be weird. There's going to be a lot of people singing the song about the fall of Great Adventure and all but a lot of people don't realize this isn't even the first or second time Great Adventure's been in a slumped state in terms of additions and attendance. I've already seen it in this very thread and all I have to say about it is that Great Adventure is a park that operated on almost zero budget for 13 years, out of a bankruptcy, and still hit 3+ million visitors in a season from 2015 through 2019.

The park has needed paint and attention to its appearance for the better part of a decade now and old corporate fucking with the prices after COVID did not help the attendance come back. But with some time and attention to the smaller details Great Adventure is absolutely a park that can stand above the rest in the company.
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Just looking at KD’s transformation in the last 10 years, pretty much every aspect of the atmosphere was improved. Great Adventure will look beautiful in 10 years if it gets the same love.
 
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  1. The park got rid of the dead end where the 4 tents are, opening up that space again.
  2. The park streamlined their security check
  3. The park expanded the entrance
  4. They just refurbished their Ferris wheel
  5. They just refurbished their log flume
  6. They're working on fixing up their Skyride vs removing it
  7. They have a new coaster opening next year
  8. They're removing problem rides that are either abandoned, maintenance heavy, and/or unpopular.
  9. It looks like Golden Kingdom is getting some kind of expansion soon.
It's pretty clear corporate sees major potential in this park otherwise they wouldn't be getting this much investment. Previous SF management either didn't see that potential or KK was taking away enough of the budget that the rest of the park had to suffer to keep it open. Like Chiller before it, KK is a problem child for the park so I think they're trying to fix that problem so they can put more money towards bigger improvements and future new coasters.
 
b.mac said:
Idk where you heard this because it's also gone. Skyride was deemed structurally deficient a few months ago which is why it hasn't been operating.
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Has the park actually come out and stated this was the reason it's closed this year?

I tried doing research and I'm not hearing any confirmation from the park about the skyride leaving. I have seen a couple news articles stating that it could be leaving, but no actual confirmation from the park.

Then again the refurbishment rumor was something I picked up on a couple Reddit posts too. Sounds like a bunch of rumors floating around.
 
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