On May 21, 2005 Six Flags Great Adventure introduced Kingda Ka – the tallest, fastest roller coaster on the planet – to the public. This $25-million Swiss designed "rocket coaster" uses hydraulic motors to launch the trains along a horizontal section of track from zero to 128 miles-per-hour in an impressive 3.5 seconds!
With all of that momentum the trains then begins a straight vertical climb up a steel tower to reach a height of 456 feet or 45 stories. Crossing over the apex the vertical descent plunges rides straight down through a 270-degree spiral twist again reaching speeds in excess of 100 mph. Kingda Ka concludes with one final trick, a 129-foot tall camelback hill, that offers plenty of negative G's or "airtime" before the brake run.
| Year | Track | Type | Designer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Steel | Launched, Out and Back | Intamin AG |
Launch: Zero to 128 mph in 3.5 seconds.
Elements: 90 degree twist on ascent and 270 degree spiral on descent, plus a 129-foot camelback hill
Side-by-side dual loading station with switch track allows four trains to load and unload at once.
Opening date: May 21, 2005
Estimated cost: $25 million
Train has five cars with two rows each, seating two abreast per row, except the last car which has only one row.
Height requirement: Riders must be at least 54 inches tall
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