Six Flags has blazed an admirable path. Many observers were concerned that the amusement park chain would have a hard time getting back on top after emerging from bankruptcy, particularly given the public's appetite for a new big-ticket ride each year. But it has devised clever ways to economically satisfy America's hunger for big projects.
Great Adventure, a Six Flags park midway between New York City and Philadelphia, will create the world's tallest drop ride by simply affixing it to the structure of an a 45-story-tall roller coaster, Kingda Ka.
The new ride, Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom, will raise benches 415 up, twice the height of the Statue of Liberty, before letting them drop at 90 mph.
The space- and budget-saving tactic was previously employed by Six Flags Magic Mountain in Southern California, which in 2012 affixed Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom to the existing Superman: Escape from Krypton structure.
The new addition comes at a cost: Rolling Thunder, a dual-track 1979 wooden coaster, will be dismantled. Fans have just a week left to ride it; the last day for it is Sept. 8, 2013.
