Kingda Ka- Coaster Review

By -
Kingda Ka truly is The King Of Coasters. This Intamin Strata-Coaster stands 456 feet all and travels at 128 mph, making it the World's Tallest Coaster, and the Fastest Coaster in North America. Kingda Ka opened in 2005 at Six Flags Great Adventure, located in Jackson, New Jersey. In this review I will be going through different categories and scoring them 1-10. Then, at the end I will give my overall opinion of the ride.

  • Theming and Scenery- Kingda Ka is the star attraction of the parks Golden Kingdom section. The ride itself is themed to a mythical tiger. To pull this theme together, both the sign and station have an African/ Jungle style. The queue is complete with a lot of foliage and bamboo fences also. There is no on-ride theming. Scenery wise, the ride looks very nice from inside the park. There really is not much that they could have done to enhance to look of the in field. For Theming and Scenery, Kingda Ka will receive a 5/10.




  • Trains- Kingda Ka features four trains with Over The Shoulder Restraints (OTSR). The trains feature the rides logo on the front, but during my visit, Six Flags had one of the trains wrapped with an Impractical Jokers advertisement. I did not mind the trains. I felt that I had a pretty good amount of room, but I really didn't like the restraints. I found the OTSR unnecessary, seeing as a similar attraction, Top Thrill Dragster, runs with a simple T-Bar. I also did not like how the restraints got tighter throughout the ride. Hopefully Six Flags will refurbish this ride in a few years and possible switch the OTSR with lapbars of the same style of Taron, a new Intamin Launch Coaster. 6/10

  • Smoothness- Before I rode Kingda Ka, I had heard about every row but the front having a rattle. I found this to be true. But it was not too bad. The front was very smooth. Further back, the rattle was noticeable during the launch, but it didn't bother me too much, as I was not expecting a glass smooth ride at 128 mph. 7/10

  • Speed/ Launch- Kingda Ka is the fastest coaster in North America. I launches the riders from 0 to 128 mph in 3.5 seconds, which produces about 5 g's. The launch is incredible. I have ridden launch coasters before, but this is by far the most intense launch I have every experienced. The ride is 20 seconds long. It is very quick. The only complaint that I have about the speed category is the trim brake on the Top Hat element. I do not think it is necessary, and believe without it, riders could experience airtime. 9/10




  • Height- Kingda Ka is the Tallest Roller Coaster. It stands 456 feet tall. That is the equivalent to a 40+ story building.  There really is not a lot to say about its height other than that its as intimidating as it is fun. Staring straight down is a very unique experience. 10/10





  • Unique Elements- While technically not part of the ride experience, Kingda Ka has the Worlds Tallest drop tower attached to it. Only two other coasters in the world, Tower of Terror and Superman:Escape From Krypton, have this element. 8/10
Kingda Ka exceeded my expectations! This ride is intense. The title of "The King of Coasters" is true. While this ride is great, it could be better. If Six Flags refurbishes this ride with a little bit of track work and new restraints, Kingda Ka would be indescribable. 
Kingda Ka will be receiving an 8/10


Take a virtual ride on Kingda Ka below!


Photo Credits to: New England Coaster News, Theme Park Overload, and From The Grapevine

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Universal Studios Florida: Revenge Of The Mummy Production Tour

By -
Image
This is a report about the Production Tour on Revenge Of The Mummy at Universal Studios Florida. This report may contain spoilers for those who have not yet done the tour, but are planning on doing it. Disclaimer: All Backstage photos and videos were taken with permission from my tour guide. Apparently some tour guides do not allow for photos, so be sure to ask the Team Member accompanying on the tour. The Mummy Production Tour takes guests through both the overflow and regular queue, paying attention to the props and explaining everything. The overflow queue is only used during peak times, so it is not usually seen by the public. The theme of the queue is that the riders are extras for the Mummy movie, and there is a huge debate regarding if the "curse" is real or not. The first big room in the overflow queue is the "Blue Room"  The "Blue Room has many blueprints of movie props and photos from the movies on the walls.
Read more

The Incredible Hulk Coaster- Review

By -
Image
The Incredible Hulk Coaster is truly... Incredible . This one of a kind B&M Launch Coaster stands 110ft above the lagoon at Universal's Islands of Adventure. The ride originally opened with the park in 1999, but recently just reopened from a total rebuild. In this review, I will be going through different categories and rating the ride on a 1-10 scale.. Theming and Scenery The Hulk is themed to a science experiment led by    General Thaddeus Ross . It explains that the volunteers (riders) will be exposed to Gamma radiation, and become a Hulk. The queue has some detailed physical sets and a really  interesting CGI video. The launch tunnel is also enclosed inside of a Gamma Ray Gun of sorts, which looks really good from the outside. Also, every time a train launches, the roar of Hulk is played through a speaker outside the tunnel. The rides location over the lagoon does look amazing too! Queue/Off Ride Theming: 8/10 The ride vehicles are typical B&M Sitdown t
Read more

King's Island Photos

By -
Image
Back in September I was able to take a trip out to Ohio to visit Kings Island. Since I only had a few hours at the park, I focused more on my experience than taking photos.  This park was incredibly nice, and I found it to be a great mix of Knott's Berry Farm, Kings Dominion, and Carowinds! This park is home to some incredible coasters.  Banshee is an incredible inverted coaster that flawless mixes the old, snappy style of B&M coasters, with their new subdued and smooth style rides.  Mystic Timbers , the parks terrain GCI wooden coaster was relentless from start to finish, while still providing a smooth ride experience. The Racer was a fun, classic wooden coaster, who's experience was brought up a level with the side-by-side racing aspect, and was just pure fun! Adventure Express , the parks Arrow Mine Train, was actually a highlight. This ride is just plain fun in all of its quirky glory! Invertigo is the parks Vekoma Inverted Boomerang
Read more