If you’re a thrill seeker, Six Flags Great Adventure will be your perfect destination this spring. Just months after the fall of Kingda Ka (we haven’t even had time to mourn), Six Flags has debuted a new coaster, THE FLASH: Vertical Velocity.
Though it doesn’t come close to Kingda Ka’s 128mph speed (THE FLASH: Vertical Velocity at a mere 60mph), it takes riders into micro-gravity as the feeling of weightlessness hits you when you’re upside down almost 100 feet above the ground.
THE FLASH: Vertical Velocity will shoot passengers up 172 feet through a 180-degree twisted drop and a Zero-G roll, before doing it all again in reverse! The coaster gets its name after taking design inspiration from the suit of THE FLASH with its red and yellow coloring.
It’s the first coaster of its kind in North America, and the second in the world, as a Super Boomerang coaster. The other is at China’s Xuzhou Fantawild Wonderland, known as the Cloud Shuttle. A Super Boomerang coaster uses a swing launch system with Linear Synchronous Motors. Riders get the unique chance to experience the entire coaster in forward and reverse, all loops, inversions and verticals included.
THE FLASH: Vertical Velocity is manufactured by Vekoma. This Dutch manufacturer is the only manufacturer of Super Boomerang coasters and is the same one that created the Cloud Shuttle that opened in 2023.
According to Six Flags Great Adventure, riders must be a minimum 48″ tall. The coaster will debut this spring in the park’s Movietown. Guests at Six Flags Great Adventure will be able to ride THE FLASH: Vertical Velocity as soon as opening day (April 5th, 2025).
Learn more about what you can expect for the first-of-its-kind coaster on this continent on Six Flags Great Adventure’s website.
If you weren’t aware, one of the park’s most famous coasters, Kingda Ka, was recently demolished after nearly 20 years of operation. The closure was to make way for two new coasters (including THE FLASH: Vertical Velocity as one), in addition to Kingda Ka’s high maintenance cost and technical issues posing problematic.
If you’re still upset about Kingda Ka, you can honor the legendary ride at this funeral in Bushwick.