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

[b.mac]

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.

The park will not come out and state anything about it, similarly to Ka, Zumanjaro, Lantern, and Twister. There was non-destructive testing performed both by a third party and the park themselves over the summer that unfortunately deemed multiple towers structurally deficient to operate. There's more to this whole story I'll talk about at a later point for safety of jobs and all but as of right now some details I'm aware of are a bit too specific to be comfortable to share.

 

[Tacky3663]

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.

I don’t like the plans this company may have for this park if it starts with removing a fan-favorite, record breaking, bucket list coaster. Any replacement under 400 feet would probably be a downgrade.

 

[MaxxForceFan]

I don’t like the plans this company may have for this park

If you think this is bad, watch what they do to a park like Magic Mountain that has high operating costs and some of the lowest in park spending in the chain. At least Great Adventure has growth potential and will continue to receive major investments.

 

[MrBradferd]

I don’t like the plans this company may have for this park if it starts with removing a fan-favorite, record breaking, bucket list coaster. Any replacement under 400 feet would probably be a downgrade.

How do yall figure anything under 400ft is just a downgrade? None of the youtube enthusaists gave a shit about ka on their rankings until it was deemed to go away. They all put Ka and dragster in the 30 ish rank. Meanwhile something like fury or hell orion are top 10s of coasters. Height doesn't mean anything.

 

[twoyutes92]

No one who’s been following/attending the park for any amount of time is naive to the fact that KK has been a huge headache for years now. I also get that new management needs to straighten things out and clearly has big plans for the park. But my question is, at what cost?

As much as we all love Toro, any time I talk to one of my local gp friends they all complain about how rough it is, and especially after the last few years, I know a lot more people who steer clear. KK is THE marquee attraction for this park, its icon, and by far its most well known element. Getting rid of that to “save” the rest of the park would be like Disney knocking down the EPCOT ball. Any effort to save the park should’ve started with figuring out how to keep Ka and Toro first and foremost.

Now, you’re dealing with a PR nightmare, and an unaware gp who are just gonna be mad that the most iconic part of the park is now gone. This just seems like a disastrous move that’s gonna come back to bite them in the ass. They’re going all in on this resort bullshit trying to make Jackson New Jersey a destination location, which simply it is never going to be with this current iteration of the park.

 

[the_pantsmith]

Let's be real, the trajectory both chains were on post pandemic was not good. These next couple of years will be a pretty massive shakeup, but again if theming and guest experience are emphasized moving forward, I'll let them cook.

Also, not to bring up politics, but y'all better prepare for parks to severely cut their budgets for new additions if Trump's tariff plan goes through. 50% of Americans being economically illiterate is about to fuck up the industry.

 

[GAcoaster]

I heard from someone that it came down to losing KK or El Toro and park level management chose to keep the bull.

 

[warfelg]

METGA!

 

[twoyutes92]

they need to get back to having more going on in the parks than just the rides. bring back concerts, shows, etc. obviously the old dolphin show was unethical but at least it added some variety. the whole place just feels so lifeless compared to 10 years ago. especially if the skyway is gone, there's just not as much leisure activities to do, and the park just becomes "how efficiently can i jump between coasters and get out"

 

[b.mac]

they need to get back to having more going on in the parks than just the rides. bring back concerts, shows, etc. obviously the old dolphin show was unethical but at least it added some variety. the whole place just feels so lifeless compared to 10 years ago. especially if the skyway is gone, there's just not as much leisure activities to do, and the park just becomes "how efficiently can i jump between coasters and get out"

You can thank Fitzgerald for that. First thing that got cut after the bankruptcy was entertainment. It didn't help any that Fort Independence got condemned in like 2015 but the removal of shows really screwed over the atmosphere in the park.

 

[twoyutes92]

You can thank Fitzgerald for that. First thing that got cut after the bankruptcy was entertainment. It didn't help any that Fort Independence got condemned in like 2015 but the removal of shows really screwed over the atmosphere in the park.

its just extra hilarious that there's all this talk of optimizing the parks and getting rid of dead weight when so much of SFGA's footprint is just wasted land. Three massive unused arenas/theaters, the whole go-kart/right stuff/slingshot area, houdini, the former panda express next to skull mountain, the buildings where the escape room used to be, twister, the list goes on. guarantee none of that gets touched for half a decade but sure kingda ka is our most pressing concern.

 

[bill s]

^^-- Twister is next to parachute drop which exactly in line with Ka. I could see them filling the whole area. Also can rip out more pavement.

The insurance speculation in that video could explain some rumors it would operate to the end of the year (doesn't say closed on the website yet either). One possibility is a LSM extension conversion where they don't change the name and that's why they don't feel any need to do last rides. They do have a similar proposal from Intamin already.

Going to a giga there would be most comparable to the trade of Hypersonic for Dominator. Less extreme but a more complete experience and a LOT easier to get a ride on. Some of the talk about "saving money" threw me off. In the short term it definitely doesn't save money. It gets them more for their money though. The downside to a another regular B&M giga, no matter how large, is that will be 4 parks with that combo, plus CP with similar. At least give it a stall or something. I do see 100 MPH would be possible from a drop around 350', for the world's tallest lift hill coaster. A full-circuit giga could be launched but more likely would be a hyper or just a very large multi-launch.

Incidentally, maintenance at GrAdv is unionized. I won't speculate lest I end up in the dumpster fire, but suffice to say this could increase costs compared to some other parks. Don't know how common it is.

 

[Fishels]

How do yall figure anything under 400ft is just a downgrade? None of the youtube enthusaists gave a shit about ka on their rankings until it was deemed to go away. They all put Ka and dragster in the 30 ish rank. Meanwhile something like fury or hell orion are top 10s of coasters. Height doesn't mean anything.

Well for one I think Ka and Top Thrill are looked at as more unique rides but they are still one trick pony’s. Where as Something like Fury is a more solid ride all over.


In terms of height I personally can’t agree

Fury 425 would be better than the 325 it is now. A strata B&M will come one day and make all these Gigas look silly (I hope)

Unless the ride was so intense that it was uncomfortable or something

 

[Fishels]

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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

I’m not so sure the president of the park is walking around giving those kind of details out lol. I mean that tweet is a thread where he shared a lot of information from this alleged interaction

The reasons are probably true but I’m not sure I believe this actually happened

 

[twoyutes92]

this is pure speculation and probably a reach, but part of this feels targeted from the cedar fair side of the company. they obviously treat CP as their flagship, and eliminating KK makes TT2 the tallest and only strata in the US. i feel like they wouldn't open a giga that beats fury 325 either. most optimistic hope is that they keep the top hat somehow and extend the layout into the green lantern footprint and parking lot.

 

[MrBradferd]

Well for one I think Ka and Top Thrill are looked at as more unique rides but they are still one trick pony’s. Where as Something like Fury is a more solid ride all over.


In terms of height I personally can’t agree

Fury 425 would be better than the 325 it is now. A strata B&M will come one day and make all these Gigas look silly (I hope)

Unless the ride was so intense that it was uncomfortable or something

Im saying if they evem built a clone of orion where ka is, it would be more liked and considered a better ride than ka

 

[Fishels]

Im saying if they evem built a clone of orion where ka is, it would be more liked and considered a better ride than ka

Yeah I get you. I just think bigger would really result in better most times.

 

[twoyutes92]

Im saying if they evem built a clone of orion where ka is, it would be more liked and considered a better ride than ka

the whole reason KK was great was how much it added variety to the park. for better or worse, GA had one of the best lineups because no ride was really exactly the same. i know people get caught up in the exact heights and everything, but functionally what would an Orion clone serve aside from being "slightly bigger nitro on the other side of the park"

 

[MrBradferd]

the whole reason KK was great was how much it added variety to the park. for better or worse, GA had one of the best lineups because no ride was really exactly the same. i know people get caught up in the exact heights and everything, but functionally what would an Orion clone serve aside from being "slightly bigger nitro on the other side of the park"

Well with that idea in mind then how did fury fit into carowinds with Intimidator in there. It's essentially the same ride but bigger. If a B&M giga won't fit in their lineup then what could possibly do Ka justice? Or do they pull a KD and just build a solid ride that doesn't hold any resemblence to what it's replacing? (Not that a B&M would either lol)

 

[Fishels]

the whole reason KK was great was how much it added variety to the park. for better or worse, GA had one of the best lineups because no ride was really exactly the same. i know people get caught up in the exact heights and everything, but functionally what would an Orion clone serve aside from being "slightly bigger nitro on the other side of the park"

Yeah sometimes I feel like Fury makes Intimidator (the Carowinds version) feel a little redundant even though one is a airtime machine vs a way more intense experience .

I think unique rides add some much needed character to park. I feel like most parks would benefit from a ride so different that you can’t say I’ve done that in my home park before