Cotaland announces its opening date
Cotaland, the amusement park at the Circuit of the Americas race track, has announced its official opening date.
The park has been in development for five years, and during which time it has opened several of its attractions. Among them is Circuit Breaker, the Vekoma tilt coaster that opened last year. But the entire park will open to guests officially on September 26.
Circuit Breaker in front of the COTA observation tower. Photo courtesy Cotaland.
Cotaland's Grand Opening Celebration Weekend will see the park open from 4-10pm on September 26 and 10am–7pm on September 27. The park, which is located trackside between turns 19 and 20 of the Formula 1 circuit, has posted operating hours through mid-October for Fridays through Sundays, plus Monday, October 12. Cotaland has promised to be open year-round.
"Cotaland was created to be far more than a traditional amusement park," Found Bobby Epstein said. "This is where theme park thrills, world-class racing, live entertainment and family experiences come together in a way that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the country."
In addition to Circuit Breaker, the park's other major coaster is Palindrome, a 1,230-foot-long Gerstlauer Infinity coaster with two inversions, a height of 95 feet and a top speed of 51 mph. The shuttle coaster will travel both forward and backward - thus the name. While Circuit Breaker opened last year, Palindrome will open officially with the rest of the park next month.
The park also offers Retro Rambler, a relocated Schwarzkopf Wildcat, along with two kiddie coasters. Visitors to Cotaland will find a variety of other carnival and kiddie rides, as well as:
- Cloud Flyer, a Funtime Star Flyer
- Cosmic Glider, an S&S Screamin' Swing
- Downforce, a Funtime Drop Tower
- Soggy Logger log flume
Cotaland also will offer a $175 upcharge Hot Lap Experience, where visitors can ride along in a high performance vehicle on the COTA F1 track. That will be the only permanent F1 track experience attraction in the United States. The other current F1 tracks in the US - in Miami Gardens, Fla. and Las Vegas - are on temporary circuits. Ferrari World Abu Dhabi in the UAE offers a variety of driving and ride-along experiences on its Yas Marina F1 track. [See What is it like to drive around a Formula 1 race track? for my trip report and in-cockpit video from that experience.]
Developers said that Cotaland will be "the most shaded and botanically colorful amusement park in Texas," with approximately 850 trees when the entry and plaza areas are complete, along with seasonal floral displays, including Texas wildflowers, bluebonnets, Indian paintbrushes, sunflowers... and, of course, yellow roses.
The Soggy Logger flume ride. Photo courtesy Cotaland
Opening day tickets are $99 and include complimentary food and beverages and a fireworks celebration. Tickets for subsequent days start at $65. Annual passes start at $199. A "Podium Pass" one-time line skip on each participating ride starts at $39, while an Podium Pass Unlimited starts at $69. Parking starts at $30.
Like Theme Park Insider? Sign up for more travel and theme park news by subscribing to our free weekly newsletter, or upgrade to a paid subscription for exclusive monthly content.
Replies (5)
TBF, the bar is low. No question at all that Cotaland wins the "the most shaded and botanically colorful amusement park in Texas that opened this year."
Glad to see this park is finally opening. Now to see if I can squeeze in a trip when I'm in Texas later this year.
This is awesome! Austin is a good place to visit and this park seems like a fun offering. The prices also seem reasonable. I'll be sure to visit next time I'm in the capital.
The shade at Universal :-D
This article has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.
>> the most shaded and botanically colorful amusement park in Texas
Bit brave taking shots before the first ticket is sold…