News The King Is Dead: Kingda Ka (& Zumanjaro) Closure & Demolition Confirmed
- Thread starter Python_Survivor
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Maybe not, but one thing it definitely isn't is a "museum," which by definition it isn't. "Preservation Society," maybe, but not a museum, which has to actually display things. Keeping everything locked up in a warehouse isn't "display."
Definitely wouldn’t consider it a museum, but I do at least appreciate the preservation. Knowing GASM’s sign wasn’t tossed in a dumpster is good enough for me.
I probably wouldn't recommend donating money to them if your hope is that it helps them someday open to the general public, so in that way, maybe. They're doing their best with what they've got though, and the hate they get isn't deserved imo. They're trying to run a museum on a niche topic in the middle of rural Texas that 100% will not be able to sustain itself if it ever seriously attempted to open. I've never personally donated to them and never will, but I know they run events there fairly often for enthusiast groups and are a non-profit, so imo it's not fair to call them a scam.
They should consider moving their warehouse to a location near an amusement park. The best way to profit off of a niche topic is to set yourself up near a place of interest for said topic. For example, the carousel museum is in Sandusky so people going to Cedar Point can stop in. I know real estate in bigger cities is more expensive, but even a rural area outside of Dallas or San Antonio would be better than where they are now in Plainview which isn’t anywhere close to any major cities or points of interest.
I just want to address this topic a little from a different perspective. For many years I have volunteered with and gone to events for an organization call The Americans in Wartime Experience museum. They are 100% percent a legitimate museum group with links to the Smithsonian and Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. I hold them up as an example because despite being in existence a full 8 years longer then the rollercoasters museum they have yet to be able to build and open a facility to the public. The cost and effort to do so is extremely high and time consuming. The rollercoasters museum also holds an American Alliance of Museums membership and certification so yes I would consider them a museum. That said are they a good organization to donate to a that uses there money wisely to reach there goal? I personally don't know and recommend anyone do that to do their own research and form their own opinion.
Colin’s video that tours the facility really kinda shows why exactly they haven’t reached the point where they can open yet. The building is incredibly unfinished and they keep getting more artifacts that they need to find space for (expanding the structure) and transport down to texas. I can’t imagine they receive a lot in donations unless it’s for instances where a historic ride needs to be transported like with what happened to Ka. It seems to me that they are serious about opening one day but that’s still a long ways away from happening.
Shout out to the single person who donated to save Time Warp’s sign and car lmfao
And I do agree. Regardless of the intent and end result, there’s clearly no lack of passion there. I could sit in those archives for weeks, seeing the proposal for an Arrow hyper at SFOT was insanely cool.
Just had it pop up in my Facebook memories that I rode Ka for the first time 17 years ago today. There were certainly times I took it for granted, and I do believe there’s been a LARGE overreaction to its removal (and I do think it would’ve been this way even if it had been announced in advance), but I will forever be grateful that it was essentially in my backyard for so long, that I got easily 300+ rides over the years, and that something told me to marathon the hell out of it when I last visited the park in 2022.
Jackson Day 2025. The township did a terrific job with the display.
Kingda Ka, Skyride, and Green Lantern have hit the boneyard. Some pieces of Ka’s track and its trains (wrapped in white), Skyride’s gondolas, Lantern’s trains, and seemingly the answer to the Lockheed F-104’s fate (looks pretty dead to me).
I’m not surprised to see Ka and Lantern’s trains there with the way they’ve used Rolling Thunder’s trains for whatever they can possibly think of, but the track segments definitely stick out.
The top hat survived the fall reasonably intact. The National Rollercoaster Museum wanted it, but the park apparently has plans for it.
I'd like if they rebuilt it as an archway somewhere in the park
Ka’s top hat at the front gates would be absolutely incredible.
I just recently visited Thorpe Park and their entryway used track from what I believe was Colussus (probably when it was retracked), and they had flowers growing on it. It was honestly such a nice touch
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Another somber one year anniversary. Long live the king and may its successor do what Ka should’ve been able to do for the park.