June 30 16:00 ET – Kingda Ka is now being listed as open on the official Six Flags Great Adventure App having been closed due to a launch cable malfunction on June 5. This is fantastic news and we hope the reopening is successful and we see Kingda Ka operating smoothly over the coming days and weeks. We will keep you posted on any further updates.
June 30 – All eyes are still on the headlining attraction Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure, where we continue to wait patiently for the roller coaster to reopen after having closed on June 5, due to a confirmed launch malfunction. The roller coaster is still listed as “closed” on the official Six Flags App.
On June 16, a spokesperson for Six Flags Great Adventure, Staci Wheeler apparently said “The ride will reopen soon after its state inspection which is scheduled to happen following this weekend and the Juneteenth holiday on Monday,”.
This statement, coupled with the continued testing on Kingda Ka which was captured in the video footage embedded below by J Bushnell, we are hopeful of a reopening imminently. In the video it was rumored from an associate at the park that we should see the roller coaster reopening June 28 or 29. Well, that didn’t happen but we assume the park is waiting for the final safety inspection to be signed off before this coaster gets the green light to resume operation.
We expect Six Flags Great Adventure is doing all it can to get Kingda Ka back open again for guests to enjoy. We hope to update you very soon with a reopening date.
June 29 – We have been eagerly waiting to hear news of a reopening for Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure. We brought you an update yesterday that extensive testing was continuing on June 27 at the park with water dummies and from reports online the roller coaster was looking to be running smoothly and without any issues which is certainly a good sign.
A video had been posted to YouTube by J Bushnell, which showed this testing from June 27 and states that according to an associate, a reopening was expected yesterday, June 28 or today. Although a number of the attractions at Six Flags Great Adventure were temporarily closed yesterday due to weather, they are all now listed as open for today which is a good sign. Seeing Kingda Ka testing and running well is certainly a great step in the right direction. We just still await news regarding whether a reopening of Kingda Ka is planned for today. We will update you regarding this as soon as soon as we have further details.
June 27 – We have been following the closure of Kingda Ka and unfortunately there is still no news from Six Flags Great Adventure regarding its reopening. It remains labelled as “closed” on the official app. The roller coaster was seen testing at the weekend and we assume the park is still awaiting the all clear from the safety inspection so the ride can operate again. We will continue to follow this and will bring you an update as soon as further details are announced.
At least on a positive note, any rumors that were being floated of a closure for the rest of the season have certainly been quashed and we hope to bring you news of a reopening imminently.
June 24 – There is great news to start the weekend for all Kingda Ka fans, the roller coaster was seen testing yesterday. The footage can be seen below in the video posted by Coliwood Studios showing that whatever malfunction there was certainly looks to be fixed as Kingda Ka appears to be cresting the top hat with no problems at all.
We are unsure if the safety inspection has been completed and signed off as of yet but we are expecting to hear news of a reopening very soon. The weather for this weekend is looking stormy which would hinder its reopening as it would not be able to run if there is thunder and lightning anyway. We will update you as soon as there are further details but this is certainly brilliant news and gives us hope that this headlining attraction will be up and running again imminently.
June 23 – Kingda Ka unfortunately continues to remain closed at Six Flags Great Adventure. At the time of writing there still currently isn’t any official update from Six Flags Great Adventure regarding the ongoing investigation into the cause of the malfunction which shuttered this headlining attraction on June 5.
We had been told that there was going to be a state inspection of Kingda Ka earlier this week and we eagerly await news regarding the reason for the closure and most importantly when we are likely to see this roller coaster reopening. We will inform you as soon as an announcement is made.
Kingda Ka temporarily closed on June 5 after what was initially rumored to be a launch cable snap. In a recent update from nj.com it now appears that the closure is actually down to a “malfunction earlier this month which remains under investigation by New Jersey officials.”
The spokesperson from the state Department of Consumer Affairs, Tammori Petty-Dixon said the closure is due to a “mechanical failure of a component of the launch system which meant that the train did not accelerate to the required speed to transition over the apex and instead returned back through the launch track to the station.” This is known as a rollback and would not usually result in the closure of the ride.
A state inspection was expected to take place early this week and the active investigation remains underway which will consult with ride manufacturer, Intamin, to try to determine the reason for this malfunction in order to rectify the problem and get Kingda Ka back up and running again.
So far, the initial theory that the launch cable had snapped now seems unlikely. Roller coasters are complicated structures and with an investigation underway to find the reason for the malfunction with a launch component we originally thought that we could unfortunately be looking at a lengthy closure for this record breaking Strata coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure.
We are currently very sceptical that a reopening for Kingda Ka is imminent considering there has hasn’t been any word from the park this week. Unfortunately we can not therefore give you more of a concrete idea of exactly when it will return as of yet. Some reports online are speculating a reopening at some point this summer whilst others are saying it will likely be closed for the rest of 2023.
We are hoping to bring you further news regarding how long Kingda Ka is going to be closed for and when a reopening is likely after the inspection has taken place this week. We will update you as soon as further information is announced.
At least El Toro has now reopened at Six Flags Great Adventure and so far initial reports are great, El Toro Is BACK And Better Than Ever At Six Flags Great Adventure!
According to the video embedded below which was posted on YouTube by Coliwood Studios on June 11, Kingda Ka had been experiencing downtime since May 31, when the ride was operating normally until an empty train launched and only made it half way up the top hat and then rolled back. The ride didn’t reopen the rest of the day.
On June 9, the launch cable was seen laying on the ground which began the rumor that Kinda Ka’s cable had snapped which is exactly what happened to sister coaster, Xcelerator at Knott’s Berry Farm in 2009 when two people were unfortunately injured.
Another theory was that the closure is due to damage to the brake fins during a roll back but again there has been no confirmation on this as of yet as we await news of the results of the investigation and inspection.
Kingda Ka opened in 2005, becoming the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world (it remains the tallest). It uses a hydraluic engine to launch trains up to a top speed of 128 miles per hour in just 3.5 seconds, with the track topping out at 456 feet.
Very similar to Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point (which opened two years earlier), Kingda Ka features a basic circuit that consists of little more than the launch ramp and a tower. However, it does pack in an extra “airtime” hill at the end. We are closely monitoring the progress of Top Thrill Dragster’s extensive and exciting reimagining at Cedar Point.
We will update you with further details regarding the reasons for the closure of Kingda Ka and when this headlining attraction at Six Flags Great Adventure will reopen as soon as they are announced.
