Top Thrill's brother

In May I will be going out east to visit the sister in Jersey. She is a half hour from Six Flags Great Adventure so I would be remiss not to go check out Kingda Ka. I have heard from different people that it is very hit or miss if it is even running; it seems to have a lot of mechanical issues. Some say more than what is normally expected.

I am wondering if anyone has ridden it? That and and since I will already be in the park are there any other rides I should especially take note of?

I live outside of Chicago and avoid Six Flags Great America like the plague. It's generally ditry, the rides are so- so and I refuse to go to a park that has security go over you with metal detector wands before entering. I am hoping this is just this location and not an indication of all SF parks.

Although I'd feel more secure if everybody got metal detected, I would still stay away from SFGreatAmerica. Anyways, I've been close to riding Kingda Ka, but never got a chance to go on because of a mechanical breakdown.

The topic is titled brother but your post refers to it as a sister, does Kinda Ka have a gender crisis?

Yes,6FGANJ has/uses entrance security,no big deal !

Great park,CP #1,6FGANJ #2.

Nitro and El Toro are GREAT,with Nitro being my favorite 4 across coaster,sorry Diamondback and Dominator.

Now to Kingda Ka,Great like TTD,but 2nd to TTD. No place to watch Kinda Ka as you can with TTD,top of the hill on the downward side has track mounted tires to control down speed,TTD doesn't,the return hill does nothing for the ride-I rather feel the intense braking.

Rode it twice in 2010,front seat both times. 2011 had flooding from a storm/hurricane-wasn't operating when I was there,2012 was runnng.

It has rollbacks like TTD. Do it first at park opening,if it's operating.

Green Lantern is a mirror image of Mantis

Oops, what I meant was I am going out to visit my sister. But you bring up a valid thought. Much like boats are always a "she" I realized over the years we did gender-fy the coasters. For some reason we have always called Magnum "Old Girl",and Millenium "Big Girl"

Thank you, I will definately check out the 2 you mentioned.

Unfortunatley, we will be getting into town mid morning then heading to the park in the afternoon so my chance of a roll back is about nill. I was looking forward to the second hill for the weightless feeling but not if it is at the loss of the good brake. Either way after the 12 hour drive I will be ready for just about any adrenaline rush.

Dennis Urban said:
,top of the hill on the downward side has track mounted tires to control down speed

Those are actually a set of magnetic fins that slow the train down.....not tires. Just though I'd point that out.:)

Unfortunately Kingda Ka does have a lot of malfunctions during the day. But if you're already in line and they shut it down for a moment, I would recommend waiting it out.

I've been to SFGAdv several times and I decided to wait. There were two malfunctions which closed the ride for about 10-20 minutes each, but I didn't want to get out of line after waiting for so long. It took around two hours for me to get on, painful at times, but I enjoyed the ride.

The lines are usually ridiculous at the park but I don't think there'll be much of a problem in May. I went in April last year and there was a ten minute wait for Kingda Ka. I wish I had felt better that day because the line looked like a miracle.

Nitro is DEFINITELY worth waiting for but the lines have always been long when I've ventured over. Bizarro and El Toro are also fun. Batman is really compact and intense and superman always seems to shut down when I'm in line.

Also, if you want to watch Kingda Ka, there is one spot that gives you a really nice view. Enter through the exit of the ride and there's a balcony-like place you can watch people load the car and you're right in front of the whole ride. You can get some nice pictures there.

Have fun!

I have never been to SFGA but the main reason I want to go is for Nitro and especially El Toro. I would like to compare Kingda Ka to TTD and overall I have heard Top Thrill is better. Im surprised no one has said what the biggest different between the two is the fact Kingda Ka uses over the shoulder restraints while TTD is just a lapbar. Just seems like the ride would feel more "out of control" the less restraint you appear to have.

I hear/read that the launch is not as forceful on Ka as it is on Dragster due to it's extremely long launch track. People I've talked to say it launches in bursts and doesn't have the kind of constant acceleration that Dragster has. That, the t-bar, theme and location seem to really give Dragster the edge with those who have been on both.

Despite that, there's no reason to NOT go on it. You're there so just go on it. It doesn't seem like an completely dreadful ride. :)

When I went to New Jersey, I rode the Kingda Ka. I felt that it was too fast. I couldn't even keep my eyes open which lessened the experience for me, plus with the restraints, it changes the experience up too. I've been going to Cedar Point for the past seven years so obviously I'm a bigger fan of the Dragster... but I did feel that Kingda Ka was just thrown up in the park to rival the Dragster. I like that the Dragster has a theme to it, and it seems more organized with the loading.

El Toro and Nitro ARE amazing! El Toro is one of the best coasters I have been on. It was insane! I also loved the themes in that park.

Kingda Ka has a theme too, it's themed to a Bengal tiger...somehow hahahaha.

A GREEN Bengal Tiger.......:P

If you think Dragster struggles with downtime, it's nothing compared to Ka. Although it seems that short of any major multi-day closures, most of its issues are limited to short intermittent delays throughout the day. As others have said, for two rides that look so similar, Ka gives a pretty disappointing experience compared to Dragster. The launch is noticeably weaker, and for some reason, rough enough to be a tad unpleasant. The airtime hump really didn't add anything to the ride in my opinion, although the brake slowing the train at the top was pretty cool.

The park does use the metal detectors and bag searches at the entrance. On my last visit it took nearly an hour just to get through security, although it was on a busy Saturday in the middle of summer.

The really stand out coasters that you must do at this park are El Toro and Nitro. I'd put them on a much higher priority than Ka, but that's just my opinion. Overall I found the park to be very attractive and clean, which is a stark difference from some other Six Flags I've been to.

Thanks everyone. I have been lurking around the SF site checking out the rides but wanted to hear experienced opinions. If we run into maintenance issues I will follow my standard 20 minute rule. If it isnt fixed (or at least showing signs of improvement) in 20 minutes , get out and come back later.

I am looking forward to the trip, we arrive in NJ Sunday am, do the park and visit with family until Thursday. On the way home stop and spend Memorial weekend in CP. What else can a girl ask for.

I went to SFGA for the first time this past summer, and I was very lucky. Due to rain in the morning and the threat of storms in the evening, and maybe considering it was a super hot day, the park was empty. After talking to some of the employees after getting off walk-on rides for ALL the major coasters, they said that the day before, the lines averaged two hours for the biggies. I know this probably won't happen to you but I still couldn't believe it.

I would go on Kingda Ka. I do like Dragster better due to its theme and lap bar, but I will say a few things about Kings Ka. I like how you have no clue when to launch. Unlike Dragster, there is no light or countdown. You just sit there waiting. Enthusiasts can probably tell when you are about to launch when the train slightly rolls backwards, but almost everyone who rides probably has no clue. But being surrounded by trees on the launch area instead of a busy midway waving to you and taking pictures was a downfall of it. Like I said, it was a walk-on for me but I've heard the lines can be pretty long so be prepared. It was also operating the whole day I was there except when the storms moved in during the evening.

You also need to go on Nitro. It's smooth, fun, and has a pretty intense helix. It's just a great ride.

Bizarro was also much better than I expected. I didn't think it would be too great but it ended up being one of my favorites. It's a fun B&M that's enjoyable throughout.

And I know I've acclaimed it many times before on PointBuzz, but El Toro is a must ride. Even if the line is really long, you HAVE to go on it. It is the most intense coaster I've ever been on, and I wish CP would get one just like it. There's no way else to describe it. Just go on it and see for yourself.

If you've never been on a flying coaster before I'd recommend going on Superman since it's a unique experience.

When you feel like you need a break from high thrills, you should go on the Log Flume. It's a calm, relaxing ride where you get a little wet, so it's a good way to cool off if it's hot. Plus once you go up the lift, you are about level with/just higher than the trees so it's a really cool perspective.

Another ride you should go on that I don't think gets enough attention than it actually should is Houdini's Great Escape. It's an indoor ride (not a coaster) that is really cool. I don't want to ruin it but it's definitely worth checking out.

Overall when I went to Great Adventure I was pleasantly surprised. While they don't have as large as a selection of coasters as CP, they don't have many rough ones. It was clean, the employees were much friendlier than the Point, and it's a nice setting tucked away in the middle of a forest. Have fun!

Ka's downtime is pretty bad! I was there two years ago just to ride it, and it broke down twice throughout the course of our wait. Although they were minor restraint malfunctions, it really added to our wait time.

It does have a lot of issues and seems to be down far more than Dragster. Have ridden it and if you get on...fine..if not, you're really not missing much. The launch is not as intense as Dragster and it vibrates like crazy-Dragster is smooth as glass.

The 'airtime hill" has, or at least for me, no airtime...it does nothing for the ride. Someone else mentioned the restraints taking away from the ride...it does-BIG TIME.

DON'T miss Nitro & El Toro...great coasters.

Interesting that everyone says the launch is noticeably less intense than TTD's when statistical Kingda Ka should accelerate slightly faster. Kingda Ka taking 3.5 seconds to get to 128 mph while TTD takes 3.8 seconds to get to 120 mph. Guess it is something you just have to experience yourself.

I believe both coasters, statistically speaking, have the capability to launch faster in that 3.8 or 3.5 second time frame. I've seen Dragster accelerate to over 128 in that same time frame(awesome to watch btw). In any case, that .3 second difference is not something that would make any kind of difference in terms of ride experience.

What makes both of them truly different is the length of their launch track. Ka's is much longer than Dragster's and I think there's a specific, mechanical reason for the "bursts" of acceleration in relation to its longer track. Perhaps the bursts are the hydraulics having to maintain a constant 128mph for the train. Dragster's has a much shorter distance to reach 120 mph, which is where the constant acceleration is brought up.

I'm no engineer but it's the explanation I've come to hear and know over the years.