In the loading station, riders are directed to one of three gondolas seating eight across. The restraints consist of overhead harnesses attached to seat belts. Once the riders are secured, catch cars descend from overhead and attach to the gondolas prior to dispatch. Riders are then lifted 415 feet up into the air. Initially, the ascent is slow, but as the gondolas get closer to the top they pick up speed. At the top, the riders hang there for a suspenseful 10 to 12 seconds or so before the inevitable plunge. This is the part of the ride that I found to be the scariest, being suspended at that altitude with my feet dangling and everything in the park, except for the top hat on Kingda Ka, far below me. Although the advance publicity said that from this vantage point it’s possible to see my home city of Philadelphia 52 miles to the south, I can assure you that I was not looking for Philadelphia but rather thinking about my impending doom. At this point I felt my gondola rock and dip slightly, a precursor of what was to come.
A second or two later the three cars plummeted almost to the ground at a speed of 90 mph. Awesome drop! And talk about a jolt! But not nearly as bad as I had expected; in fact it was very good and, while quite intense – of course!, I didn’t find it significantly more intense than the launch on Kingda Ka or the initial drop on El Toro. Not everyone seemed to be of the same opinion. I said to the guy in the seat next to me “That wasn’t so bad!” while the girl on my other side grabbed my hand and did not look like a happy camper. One guy remarked that the elevators in the Sears Tower were probably as fast but, baby, the elevators in the Sears Tower never felt like this!
One thing that proved to be a disappointment is that whereas the park’s press release said that Kingda Ka trains would be launching toward the riders on Zumanjaro, this did not happen during any of my four rides. In fact I saw Kingda Ka trains on the launch track but never saw them launch while I was riding Zumanjaro. A cast member suggested that this might be for safety reasons due to the danger of things falling from overhead although it might have just been a fluke. We shall see how it plays out for the remainder of the operating season. In any case, Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom is a novel, thrilling ride and a great addition to the park’s stellar ride lineup.
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Still, running both at the same time would have amplified the thrill of each, at least visually if not physically, so not being able to do that not only misses that opportunity, it will slow down and reduce the hourly capacities of each ride.
Someone who knows the data ought to do the math, but I wonder if the combined capacity of the two rides, operating one at a time, will end up being less than the capacity of Kingda Ka was before, when it could run without interruption. If so, this would have to count among Six Flags' bigger fails.
And thanks, Robert, for voicing some of the same concerns I have but was reluctant to put in my article. Your comment that "running both at the same time would have amplified the thrill of each, at least visually if not physically, so not being able to do that not only misses that opportunity, it will slow down and reduce the hourly capacities of each ride" is spot on. First of all, while on Zumanjaro I was acutely aware of the Kingda Ka trains on the launch track and getting impatient when they didn't launch, as this would have been both exciting and entertaining. Secondly, Kingda Ka usually has the longest queue of any ride in the park; the average wait time to get on, at least on a weekend, is 90 minutes. So with the trains stalled until a cycle on the drop ride is completed, you can see how this will result in significant delays for both rides. I was there this past Sunday, when the park was not at all crowded, and it still took an hour to get to the loading station on KK. Then something rather odd happened. An empty train was dispatched to the launch track, where it sat indefinitely. A second train was sent out of the loading station behind the first one and when neither one moved within the next 15 minutes I gave up and got out of line. I went back to Zumanjaro and guess what? It was closed. Coincidence?
But...
The Queue Sucks. I waited 2 and 1/2 hours for the ride. As good as it is, I wouldn't wait an hour in that queue. No diversions, no mist fans. It is a covered queue with tons of steel. That's it. Also the Flash Pass Line needs to go for now. The capacity is too brutal to support three lines.
It can get better...
Kingda Ka does not launch a train when Zumanjaro is in operation, but that is not true for loading and unloading.
Six Flags was foolish to install this ride in New Jersey.
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