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Ultimate Rollercoaster > Roller Coasters > Where to Coast™ > Six Flags Great Adventure > Kingda Ka

Kingda Ka

Six Flags Great Adventure

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Rated: 3.0 out of 5 (5 votes)

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.

Roller Coaster Stats

Year Track Type Designer
2005 Steel Launched, Out and Back Intamin AG
  • Height
    456
    feet
  • Drop
    418
    feet
  • Angle Of Descent
    90°
    degrees
  • Length
    3,118
    feet
  • Top Speed
    128
    miles per hour
  • Launch
    Hydraulic
    propulsion
  • Ride Time
    50 seconds
    minutes : seconds
  • Ride Capacity
    1400
    riders per hour
  • Number Of Trains
    4 - 18 passenger
     

Kingda Ka Facts & History

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

Where to Coast

Visit Six Flags Great Adventure to ride this roller coaster.

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