February
7, 2005 Park
officials have stated that while the new Golden Kingdom
area will be open when the park opens in March, Kingda Ka
will not be ready. The new coaster is expected to open by
May.
February
7, 2005 It
is reported that both Scream Machine and Chiller will be
repainted for this season. Runaway Train will get new cars,
Viper will be removed from the park to make way for a future
project this year and every show facility in the park will
offer a new show this season. The park has also made some
big promises as far as guest service solutions this year
as well: all food locations will be open every day and every
ride will be open every day (weather & maintenance downtime
permitting) including both sides of Rolling Thunder. They
will also add more security to the park and return the large
lifeguard chairs to the queues of the major rides to prevent
line cutting. Select rides may also use a numbered boarding
pass system.
October
19, 2004 Kingda Ka went vertical
this week, with the first three column sections of the
tower being installed. The crane sitting at the tower
site is at a height of about 200' - 250' (the two BIG
cranes have not been assembled yet). The tower will be
positioned straight ahead as you drive down the main entrance
road.
September 29,
2004 New coaster is announced
along with an all new themed section to the park. Coaster
will feature a hydraulic launch that rockets riders horizontally
from 0 to 128 mph in 3.5 seconds, then vertically 90 degrees
into a quarter turn. Riders crest the coaster’s tower
an exhilarating 458 feet from the ground, then plunge vertically
into a 270-degree (three-quarter) spiral. The train will
swoop down a valley and climb a 129-foot second hill, leaving
guests feeling weightless before making a left turn back
into the station.
September 25, 2004 AmusementPics.com Update:
More sections of the parking lot have been marked with the
existing utilities. The two light poles in the middle of
the site have had the light rings dismantled in preparation
for their removal. The footers for the launch, brakes and
station continue to take shape. So many supports and track
pieces are on site now, including several of the tower supports.
From the look of the supports, this could be a more complex
layout than that of Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point.
There are several large supports which don't fit the Launch-Tower-Brakes
layout of Top Thrill.
September 21,
2004 A media invitation is uncovered
listing September 29, 2004 as the date that the coaster
will be announced. It features the text "Tallest...Fastest...Worldwide"
and then says "Witness history in the making".
The front says "This eats all records", with an
image of a white tiger. For images, visit Screamscape.com.
July 29, 2004 Parts for the all new coaster
have begun to arrive and sources say that they appear
to look similar to "Top Thrill Dragster". There
are some large steel tubular pieces as well as small pedestal
footers on site. Also new signs have started to appear
mentioning an all new attraction for next season. To view
photos, click
here.
July 19,
2004 Screamscape reports that
construction on the new coaster has begun. According to
several sources, the construction site is currently being
prepared, with possible new fence going up along Rolling
Thunder’s parking lot side in addition to work around
the exit to Wild Safari.
June 13, 2004 An anoynomous source for
Great Adventure Source has claimed that the park's new
roller coaster for 2005 will break two records; world's
fastest and tallest roller coaster. The title of both
fastest and tallest coaster is currently held by Top Thrill
Dragster at Cedar Point which reaches 120 miles per hour
and tops out at a height of 420 feet. The most probable
type of coaster to acheive this is an Intamin hydraulic
launch rocket coaster. Nothing, of course, is set in stone.
Given the track length, however, this current rumor holds
plenty of weight.
June
7, 2004 The Jackson Township planning
board held its monthly meeting on Monday night. One issue
discussed was a new coaster for Great Adventure. As a
result, several details about next season's big attraction
were revealed. The track length will be 2,480
feet and the location will be in Fronter Adventures
just next to Rolling Thunder. In order to make room for
the new attraction, the exit road to the Safari will be
moved back 30 feet as well as the pet kennel. The coaster
will be at least partially built in the parking lot next
to Rolling Thunder. The ride was approved by the board,
so as soon as the proper permits are filed, construction
can begin. The board also approved a 30 foot by 60 foot
prefabricated building for Tiger Island which will most
likely be located in Lakefront.
Information:
Speculated Name: Kingda
Ka
Designer: Intamin
AG
Ride Type:
Hydraulic Launch
Top Speed:
128 mph
Max Height:
456 feet
Track Length:
3,118 feet
Ride Length:
50.6 seconds
Number of Trains:
4
Passengers per Train:
18
Colors:
Aqua Blue, Lime Green, Dark Blue
Capacity:
1,400 riders per hour
Location:
The new coaster will be located
next to Rolling Thunder, partly in the Season Pass parking lot.
You can view the general area by clicking on the aerial shots
below.
