RIP Kingda Ka — A Look Back at the Coaster Wars of the 90s and 2000s

The King of Coasters has abdicated the throne. Becoming an icon for the general public and thrill seekers alike, Kingda Ka will go down in history as the winner of the coaster wars. Spanning from 1989 to 2005, let’s take a look back at the thrilling race that saw parks worldwide fight to have the biggest and baddest coaster in the world.

Photo by Dusso Janladde

The roller coaster community is mourning this week with the announcement that Kingda Ka, the tallest and second fastest coaster in the world, has been permanently retired at Six Flags Great Adventure. Becoming a symbol of thrill around the world, Ka held the record for the tallest coaster at 456 feet throughout its entire nearly 2 decade run at the New Jersey park. The Intamin Accelerator was truly a symbol of innovation in coaster design, but the King didn’t get the throne on his own.

Back in 1989, Cedar Point debuted Magnum XL-200, the world’s tallest, fastest, and steepest full circuit coaster in the world. The addition, which was allegedly inspired by Bandit at Yomiuriland, was the first large-scale tubular steel coaster that emulated the traditional out-and-back layout of a wooden coaster. Standing at 205 feet and hitting 72 miles per hour, Magnum XL-200 skyrocketed Cedar Point’s attendance and put the coaster on the map worldwide. Magnum XL-200 was built by Arrow Dynamics, and was the first full-circuit coaster to break the 200 foot barrier, dubbing it the first hyper coaster. Throughout the ‘90s and into the 2000s, hyper coasters became a staple for every major amusement park.

Detre Library & Archives, Sen. John Heinz History Center

Seeing the success and media attention that Magnum XL-200 received, parks around the world wanted to get in on the action. In 1991, Kennywood near Pittsburgh, PA debuted Steel Phantom. The Arrow Dynamics custom looping coaster didn’t steal all of Magnum’s records, however, the terrain coaster did take, arguably, the three biggest. Utilizing the hillside of the park, Steel Phantom boasted the biggest drop on a coaster at 225’, the steepest coaster, and also the fastest full circuit coaster with a top speed of 80MPH. Steel Phantom was not technically a hyper coaster, as it doesn’t stand above 200 feet tall, but some argue it was the first hyper looping coaster. Originally featuring 4-inversions and over-the-shoulder restraints, the coaster was notoriously rough. During the 2000-2001 off season, Morgan, a coaster manufacturer that built hyper coasters at several Cedar Fair parks, was brought in to re-imagine the coaster and is now named Phantom’s Revenge.

Three years later, Pepsi Max Big One took the title of tallest full circuit coaster in the world from Magnum at 213’. Located across the pond at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, the Arrow Dynamics coaster took its first public riders in May of 1994 and held the record for the tallest coaster in the UK until the opening of Hyperia at Thorpe Park this year.

In July of 1996, Fuji-Q Highland unleashed Fujiyama. Translated in English as King of Mountains/Coasters (many languages refer to coasters as Russian Mountains), the Togo manufactured giant took the record for both tallest and fastest full-circuit coaster in the world at a height of 259.2’ and a speed of 80.8MPH. It was also dubbed the first hyper-twister, which means it features a more compact and intertwining layout compared to the out-and-back designs of other hypers.

Less than a year later in January of 1997, Tower of Terror debuted downunder at Queensland, Australia’s Dreamworld. The Intamin Reverse Freefall coaster shattered both speed and height records worldwide. The shuttle coaster, which means the car travels the same track forward and backward, had a structural height of 377.3’ and was the first coaster to hit a top speed of 100mph. The coaster launched riders out of the station using LSMs, which saw riders hit the ride’s top speed in 7 seconds, before ascending straight up towards the sky. Reaching a max height of around 328’, riders would experience nearly 7 seconds of weightlessness before falling backwards towards the station. The ride only lasted around 28 seconds. In 2010, Tower of Terror was transformed into Tower of Terror II, which saw the addition of new trains that would launch riders backwards up the 377’ spire. In 2019, the attraction closed permanently.

Photo by Joe Schwartz

Only two months later in March of 1997, Six Flags Magic Mountain flew to the skies with Superman The Escape. Also an Intamin Reverse Freefall, Superman The Escape matched Tower of Terror’s speed record at 100MPH. Located on top of a hillside, Superman did claim the title of tallest coaster in the world at 415’, however, the ride experiences and 328’ drop height were identical. Superman The Escape did feature two tracks side-by-side in comparison to Tower of Terror’s singular track. Similar to Tower of Terror II, Superman The Escape was transformed into Superman: Escape from Krypton in 2011 with new backwards facing trains. Over the past few years, Superman Escape from Krypton has started operating one track forward facing and one track backwards. Currently, Superman: Escape from Krypton is standing but not operating (SBNO). It is unknown whether the attraction will reopen.

Six Flags Magic Mountain continued their record streak three years later in February 2000 with the aptly named Goliath. While the attraction didn’t beat Fujiyama’s record for tallest full circuit coaster, the attraction’s first drop dives into a tunnel, giving the hyper a 255’ drop and the record for fastest full circuit coaster in the world at 85MPH. Goliath is also a hyper-twister, known for its insane positive G’s and is one of only three coasters worldwide to have been manufactured by Giovanola.

Unfortunately for Goliath, Cedar Point re-entered the coaster wars in May of 2000 with Millennium Force. Dubbed as the first Giga Coaster, the Intamin-designed attraction was the first full circuit coaster to cross the 300’ mark at 310’ feet and also stole the record for fastest full circuit coaster from Goliath at a speed of 93MPH. Millennium Force used a unique cable lift hill, which made climbing up to the apex of attraction extraordinarily quick. Millennium Force is still regarded as one of the world’s best coasters. It also marked Cedar Point as the park that broke both the 200’ and 300’ thresholds for full circuit roller coasters.

Photo from Coasterpedia

Three months later, Japan’s Nagashima Spa Land opened Steel Dragon 2000, which took both of Millennium Force’s records and a longstanding record held by The Beast at Kings Island. Manufactured by Morgan, Steel Dragon 2000 climbs 318.2’ into the air and plummets riders down a 306.8’ reaching a speed of 95MPH. Steel Dragon 200 claimed both the records for tallest and fastest full circuit coaster in the world. The four minute long coaster traverses 8,133.2’ of track, which also broke the record for longest coaster in the world beating The Beast’s 1979 record setting 7,361’. Steel Dragon 2000 still holds that record. While using a traditional chain lift, Steel Dragon 2000 actually features two separate chains. Because of the length of the lift hill, a singular chain would have been too heavy and slow. The lift hill has a motor and chain for the bottom and top halves of the lift. The ride closed in 2003 after a wheel from one of the trains broke off and injured 2 guests. The ride was SBNO until 2006 when it reopened and has operated since. In 2013, Nagashima Spa Land replaced the Morgan trains with new B&M trains, providing a more open air experience on the Giga coaster.

Also in Japan, Dodonpa rocketed guests to new speeds at Fuji-Q Highland. Named after the sounds of traditional taiko drummers, the S&S Thrust Air Coaster propelled rides to 106.9MPH in just 1.8 seconds making it the fastest coaster in the world and the fastest acceleration in the world. The ride originally featured a top hat that stood at 180’. In 2017, the coaster was reimagined into Do-Dodonpa, which saw the coaster’s top hat removed in favor of a 160.8’ vertical loop and the launch speed increased to 111.8MPH in 1.56 seconds. It maintained the record for fastest acceleration during both iterations of the attraction. In 2021, Do-Dodonpa was quietly shut down after several complaints were made about bone-breaking injuries from the coaster's intense launch. It stood SBNO until March of 2024 when Fuji-Q announced the attraction would remain closed permanently.

Photo by Craig Lloyd

In May of 2003, Cedar Point became the first park to introduce a full circuit coaster over the height of 400’. Dubbed the first Strata coaster, Top Thrill Dragster launched riders at 120MPH up a 420’ top hat taking the titles of fastest and tallest roller coaster in the world. The Intamin Accelerator featured a hydraulic launch using a cable and catch car, the same technology used to launch planes off of military ships. The attraction became world renowned as the ultimate thrill ride. While the ride was often plagued with downtime, the attraction would constantly boast several hour long lines and crowds of bystanders watching in awe as the coaster launched. During Top Thrill’s first season, the attraction initially only had four car trains, but by mid season, the fifth car was added as originally intended. Also during the attraction’s debut season, the rear car featured a themed back row with an engine, tires, and fins, Top Thrill Dragster removed the theming to add an additional row of seats during the coaster’s first off-season.

In August of 2021, a guest waiting in line was struck by a piece of metal from one of the coaster’s trains, which, according to the lawsuit against the park, caused “permanent, disabling personal injuries, including skull fractures and traumatic brain injury.” The coaster was immediately closed for investigation. After several years of speculation, it was announced that Top Thrill Dragster would be transformed into Top Thrill 2. Replacing the hydraulic launch with an LSM swing launch and adding a 420’ spike, Top Thrill 2 was redesigned by Zampera. The ride opened this year on May 4th and operated for only one full weekend before closing for mechanical repairs. The attraction remained closed for the entirety of the 2024 season, but is expected to make its return in 2025.

Photo by Arthur Levine

And finally we return to the King of Coaster, Kingda Ka. Opening in May of 2005, Kingda Ka had a nearly identical layout to Top Thrill Dragster and added an airtime hill that also doubled as a magnetic break run. Launching riders at 128MPH up 456’, Kingda Ka snatched Top Thrill’s records for tallest and fastest coaster in the world. Earlier this summer, rumors began swirling around the future of the Intamin Accelerator. According to those rumors, the attraction costs Six Flags Great Adventure upwards of a million dollars a year to operate and maintain. The hydraulic launch system, which has proved troublesome to maintain and get parts for, is most likely the main factor of the high operation costs. Unceremoniously, Kingda Ka operated for its final time on November 10th, with the park confirming the attractions demise earlier this week. Kingda Ka held the record for tallest coaster up until its final day of ridership, ending a long held record in a disappointing and devastating end to the attraction.

In 2007, Cedar Point launched Maverick, an Intamin Blitz standing at a mere 105’ tall. The LSM multi-launch coaster broke the streak of the Point one-upping a current record holder. However, the coaster remains a smash hit for the park. Regarded as one of, if not the best, coaster at the park, Maverick ushered in a new trend of unique coasters that rely on ride experience instead of records.

While Kingda Ka’s speed record was topped in 2010 by Ferrari World’s Formula Rossa, which is an Intamin Accelerator that launches riders at 149.1MPH, the attraction made no attempt at Ka’s height record only hitting about 170’. The coaster has been SBNO since January, meaning Kingda Ka got to end its career the way it began as the tallest and fastest operating coaster in the world.

While the race to have the biggest and baddest coasters died back in 2005, a new Intamin creation is currently being built in Saudi Arabia. Titled Falcons Flight, Six Flags Qiddiya is creating an insane new creation that shatters every major coaster record in the world. With a total elevation change of 639.8’, a free standing hill at 535’, a drop height of 519’, a top speed of 155.3MPH, and a total length of 13,943.6’, Falcons Flight will be the tallest, fastest, and longest coaster in the world by significant margins. Could this mind blowing project spark a new coaster war? Probably not. People love roller coasters, regardless of whether they are the tallest and fastest in the world. But, in the wake of a tragic loss to the coaster community and amusement park history, it's exciting that another groundbreaking thrill ride is on the way.

Intamin shared a heartfelt send off to the iconic coaster on Instagram.

RIP Kingda Ka

Read More Theme Parks: