Six Flags Great Adventure today clarified future plans for its popular Jackson Township amusement park, with two new coasters coming (2025,2026) and the removal of several long-term rides including the globally known and respected Kingda Ka launch coaster, as well as the Green Lantern coaster.
For 2025, The Flash: Vertical Velocity coaster is set to open as North America’s first super boomerang coaster. The Flash was actually expected to open in 2024 but experienced delays which has pushed the opening to 2025’s season opening day. A very positive sign for The Flash is that full coaster testing was taking place at the end of this year’s 2024 season.
The bigger surprise is that for 2026, Great Adventure will unveil an all new multi-record breaking launch coaster which they expect to be a must ride attraction!
To make room for the landmark addition, the park has retired the Kingda Ka and Green Lantern coasters, which will be removed from the park to make room for the new 2026 launch coaster.
It is not clear if either (or both) of the removed attractions will be relocated to other Six Flags Parks. Commentary from Great Adventure leads one to believe Kingda Ka at least will not resurface elsewhere.
Additionally, Six Flags Great Adventure is removing the Twister and Parachutes rides… also necessary to make space for the new record breaking signature 2026 attraction.
The Sky Way “Skyride” attraction did not operate this year, and in an unrelated decision it will also be removed.
The 2026 launch coaster does not have a lot of details provided as of yet, and in fact has not been presented to the Jackson Township Planning Board.
We do know that the four attractions being removed are all situated in the northern “Movietown” section of the park which runs along the parking lot, so these removals will create a significant space for the new launch coaster (and maybe more!).
If you haven’t been to Great Adventure in many years, the space where Green Lantern is located (for now) was home to the Great American Scream Machine.
Kingda Ka – World Records, Worldly Known
Opened in 2005, the Kingda Ka launch coaster for many years held the record the fastest coaster in the world, reaching speeds of up to 128mph… as well as reaching a height of 456 feet!
The two facts combine make for a ride that launched riders from 0 to 128mph in THREE seconds!
In the 19 years the ride has been in operation, Kingda Ka has delivered more than 12 million rides!
Over the last week or so coaster enthusiasts on the Internet had noticed something was going to take place with Kingda Ka in the offseason… and had even gone as far as checking Jackson Township building permits to find out that the two smaller rides (parachute and twister) already had active demolition permits filed with the township!
Not seeing and demo permits for Kingda Ka led many to speculate the 20-year old mega-launch coaster was actually going to be retrofitted… similar to a process that was done for Top Thrill Dragster in Cedar Point.
But no… Kingda Ka is being removed!
The official Six Flags Corporate press release today does announce for Great Adventure the opening of the Flash in 2025, and the planned coaster for 2026.
But in a supplemental local press release, the Six Flags Great Adventure President provided additional details which confirmed the status of Kingda Ka and the Green Lantern, as well as other details on the two new coasters.
“What was cutting-edge roller coaster technology 20 years ago has been surpassed by more modern advancements”
The press release goes on to state “We understand that saying goodbye to beloved rides can be difficult, and we appreciate our guest passion. These changes are an important part of our growth and dedication to delivering exceptional new experiences. We look forward to sharing more details next summer”
The Flash : Vertical Velocity
Opening in 2025, The Flash: Vertical Velocity is billed as a super-boomerang coaster featuring DC Comics Superhero “The Flash” who is known for is amazing speed.
The Flash coaster is the first of its kind in North America, and only the second in the world.
The coaster features a 60 mile per hour trip where you’ll launch both forward and backwards, ascending a towering 172 feet before speeding off into microgravity as you’re turned upside down nearly 100 feet off the ground.
Riders will feel the rush as they zoom through a 180° twisted drop followed by a Zero-G roll that leads the stylizes coaster car to the end of the track… where you then get to experience the ride all over again, but in reverse!
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Links and Location
Six Flags Great Adventure
Six Flags Boulevard
Jackson Twp NJ