Kingda Ka Closing Prediction at Six Flags Great Adventure - B&M Giga Coming? - Chris Mercaldo

[@alexalbin1187]

Great video. These closures, especially Ka, will definitely change my family’s theme park vacation plans for next year….

[@chrismercaldo]

Thanks so much Alex; and I totally get it. Where's home base for you? I might be able to recommend some Six Flags and non-Six Flags alternates for you depending on how far you're willing to travel, what's close to you, etc.

[@alexalbin1187]

@ Oh hey man, Chris? Yea we live in Idaho, Boise area. I mean we have Silverwood up north, and Lagoon in SLC, both about 6 hours away. But for coasters and a big family trip, they aren’t the heavy hitters. My “home park” is Magic Mountain. I used to live in antelope valley. So we’re looking for something with plenty of coasters and attractions for at least a 4 day vacation. Cedar Point has been on my radar but it’s always so busy… thanks for the reply man!

[@chrismercaldo]

@ It would be a lot of roadtrippin, but Kings Island, Cedar Point, Kennywood, and then Hersheypark would make a killer sequence. Hersheypark really is amazing. We can definitely talk about it; if you have to use some of those days driving or flying, either both OH parks or both PA parks would be great.

[@alexalbin1187]

@ Yes, that would be a pretty cool coaster trip, expensive but cool! We usually go in the off season to avoid crowds, like when school is in session. But none of the parks have next years dates updated yet. So we will have to see. I’ve heard good things about the Herchend parks though.

[@chrismercaldo]

@ I can definitely do a video on the Herschend Parks. Both are amazing, but I prefer Silver Dollar City over Dollywood.

[@mattkopp2346]

Chris, such an insightful video! Had a question regarding your immense experience in the field and was wondering where I could contact you.

[@chrismercaldo]

@@mattkopp2346 Matt! Thanks so much for the kind words! Find and add me on LinkedIn and then send me a message!

[@MATTMRN]

Great video I love these long form discussions. Just curious do you plan on doing more roller coaster commentary like this?

[@chrismercaldo]

@@MATTMRN Absolutely and thank you so much for the kind words! What would you like to hear more about? Anything in particular, could be any park ride attraction or really anything in entertainment

[@MATTMRN]

@ I like things like this. Any coaster I’m not picky. Long form discussions like this is my favorite to listen to when driving. You bring an interesting perspective to the topic given your experience. Subscribed. I’ll see you in the next one.

[@chrismercaldo]

@ Thanks so much, Matt!

[@Kjphsuubsjf]

This is the best video I’ve seen on the matter and I’d love to see more coaster related content in the future. As a local to GAdv, a B&M giga would be definitely a huge draw given Nitro still seems to be the favorite ride amongst the general public and it’s also the safe option. However, personally I’d love to see a large scale coaster from Mack given they’ve made coasters in the last decade that are headliners for their respective parks and have received universal praise.

[@chrismercaldo]

@@Kjphsuubsjf Thanks so much for the kind words! Is there any particular content you’d love to see me cover? I think Cedar Fair management loves the financial impact of adding B&M Gigas to their “1A” parks that already have B&M Hypers. I’d love to see Great Adventure get something from the Mack portfolio eventually but definitely see a B&M Giga heading their way first. I’m just following the pattern of Carowinds, Canada’s Wonderland, and Kings Island + my sources on this one.

[@trevorweinstock4867]

Really enjoyed the conversation and hearing about your work experience. Former Premier Rides Intern, now an Operations Manager at one of big Orlando parks. Good stuff!

[@chrismercaldo]

@@trevorweinstock4867 Trevor!! Thanks so much for the kind words here. Any particular topics you’d like to hear more about?

[@chrismercaldo]

Also, had a few friends work for Premier when I was living in Maryland!

[@restlessbohemian26]

What a great video. Interesting perspective - thanks for sharing. Keep it real!

[@chrismercaldo]

Thanks so much! If there are any particular topics you want to see or hear about, let me know!

[@AnnIBowman]

Great video! I've seen a lot of takes, but yours is the first one that mentioned insurance cost and liability as a reason to shut Ka down quickly and quietly. I don't think we'll have info as soon as you suggest, though. The Flash is opening in 2025, plus we're entering Ka's regular off season, so I'm not expecting an announcement from the park for several months. Hope I'm wrong! 🤞

[@chrismercaldo]

If I were Tim Fisher and Richard Zimmerman, I think they would be afraid that The Flash isn't significant enough of an addition to the park to be a meaningful driver on its own. I'm sure they're looking at sales/attendance drive/per cap lift historically for something like Jersey Devil and The Joker versus something like a Nitro or a Kingda Ka; they have the historical data for their other "A" Parks too like Carowinds (how much of a driver was Fury 325 versus a smaller addition to the park, even if it was also a coaster add?). So, I wouldn't rule out a surprise 2025 extra announcement given B&M's capacity at the moment and Wall Street really wanting to see the new Six Flags perform. 2026 more likely, but I wouldn't rule out 2025 at all. From what I heard, the Ka tower is coming down ASAP.

[@chrismercaldo]

And thank you for the kind words! We'll keep these kinds of videos coming!

[@tylerstooksbury3050]

Great video! Thanks for the insight. I think this new potential B&M Giga needs to be a 100+ MPH coaster and break fury’s height. If somehow it could be 400ft so it could remain a strata that would be AMAZING but I’m not holding my breath for that. I think they need differentiate the new coaster from Nitro.

[@chrismercaldo]

Thanks so much for the kind words, Tyler! I hope we see it break Fury's record too; with the Cedar Fair Corporate HQ (now Six Flags HQ) being in Charlotte, we'll see if the "pride" of 325 at the home CF park will be lifted a bit as I think a minimum of 350 FT is what will really, really drive the general public interest. Totally agree about needing to differentiate from Nitro but we've seen it before of double B&M Hyper and Giga at Canada's Wonderland, Carowinds, and Kings Island. It's a page out of the CF Playbook for their big market parks. In those cases, the Gigas generally focused more on speed whereas the Hypers focused more on airtime.

[@lilduckie7703]

This was such a dope video! I really loved your insight and Im REALLY looking forward to more videos from you :)

[@chrismercaldo]

Thank you so much! We'll keep them coming! Is there anything in particular you want to see or hear or learn more about?

[@x-coasters]

Great video I immediately subscribed to the channel, you have a great insight and clear communication!!! Excited to see where the channel goes happy to be one of the first 140 people :)

[@chrismercaldo]

Thanks for the kind words! We'll keep these coming! If you want to hear any specific topics, ideas, etc. let me know!

[@x-coasters]

@ i’d like to hear about what legacy six flags parks you think will be heavily invested in, what parks will be sold off and some predictions on investments!!!!

[@chrismercaldo]

@@x-coasters Great request!! Can do!

[@MLDesigns]

Great video, love the insight here! Just based on all the timelines here (ex. when the merger completed, when the decision would have been made, the fact the rides are still standing (as of right now, lol), the minimum lead time for B&M to design and produce something of Fury's scale, and the fact it's already November), I would genuinely be baffled beyond all earthly comprehension if they announce a B&M Giga specifically for 2025. I do think that should be the obvious candidate for the replacement of KDK & GL, I just feel like 2026 is the earliest that could be done. Would love to be proven wrong though!😆

[@chrismercaldo]

@@MLDesigns *2026, just updated in the video title as well. I totally forgot about The Flash sitting but not opening this year. I do know B&M had capacity though, but likely a 2026 open. I think Six Flags will want a big attendance driver ASAP and realizes that Flash won’t really move needle. So don’t rule out 2025 completely, two coasters for two coasters, but likely Flash 2025 and Giga 2026 And thanks for the great comment! Just because the merger was completed recently, CF CEO and COO (now SF CEO and COO) would have been looking at expenses and accounts way earlier before the actual close of the merger. This was likely in the works for some time.

[@ES-hd8xy]

So was SF already planning to remove Ka if there was no merger? ​@chrismercaldo

[@Themeparkanxiety]

​@@ES-hd8xyI believe so. But I believe things were expedited after the merger.

[@AnnIBowman]

Before the merger, it was rumored that Great Adventure was working on something big for their 50th, but they weren't going to have it ready in time, so they added Flash for now (which was also not ready in time, but at least it's built now). It looked like the big new coaster was going to go at the back of the park where an old arena was being removed, so I'm guessing this plan was in the works for years, but just got shifted to the front of the park.

[@AnnIBowman]

Also, El Toro Ryan's Ka closing video discusses recent investments in Ka that indicate this was most likely a post-merger decision. Recently printed marketing for The Flash even shows Ka and Zumanjaro operating in the background.

[@fishels3895]

Man screw the Six Flags merger I likely will never come because of this. If they had given me a warning I’d absolutely have made the trip and countless others would as well. It feels like I was robbed of a bucket list coaster experience. No hate to you. It’s just a very sad experience. At minimum it has to be a B&M strata or something like Falcons flight. If they care about the enthusiast at all they will make its replacement an insane ride. But I have little faith in that That green tower is ICONIC

[@chrismercaldo]

I totally get the sentiment. I was MAD when I was working for Cedar Fair and we were sending Volcano off with no warning AND no meaningful replacement immediately.

[@Jcjc-lr4bf]

The only worthy replacement options for me would be - Ka, extended layout, spike - Worlds first B&M strata - Intamin Exa

[@StacyRayl]

I don’t see app number one happening or number three Maybe number two from b&m

[@redhawkshaman]

After #Orion, the reputation of boring and mild became historical fact. #SFGA should shock everyone and put in the first #RMC #TREX Penta coaster, oh wait, CF execs in charge now 🤔☕️🙄🎢that probably won't happen. OR first B&M Penta would be exciting. Anything else, ROI will be questionable. And good video, keep it up!

[@themeparklunatic1996]

Sad makes me wish I would’ve prioritized going to great adventure

[@JSXSProductions]

Man I'm so bummed. These rumors have been freaking me out all year. My wife and i have been wanting to do an east coast trip in the next couple of years and i have been saying i want to ride Ka and El Toro. But now idk of it'd be worth it to go out of our way to Great Adventure. Earlier this week i was lookimg at plane tickets but it pronably would've been like $1000 to fly out from phoenix, get tickets, get a hotel, and fly back.

[@alexalbin1187]

Exactly what I was planning for the family next year…. Ka was the main driving point for making Great Adventure our next amusement park vacation…

[@chrismercaldo]

This is one of those situations where a real, meaningful closure announcement ahead of time (and not just a PR newswire) would have been really helpful. There's still a lot of great things to do at Great Adventure, but it definitely feels like it just had a significant part of its lineup ripped out. Nitro is one of the best B&M Hypers (still my favorite after all of these years) but is it and El Toro enough to make the park a destination park anymore? I don't think so. Still a ton of great parks you could bundle in with a GADV visit like Hersheypark, Dorney Park, and even Busch Gardens Williamsburg or Kennywood depending on which direction you want to drive. I'd likely save that GADV trip for 2026, but still a lot of great things to do there and around the area.

[@Starlit43]

So you think it will be a giga? Interesting but I’ve heard people in the know tell me that’s off the table. I did hear rumblings about a mack extreme spinner but for the most part I feel like most of us just don’t know what it could be. I’m not sure how fast they will be with taking all of this stuff down because if they wanted a new coaster open by 2026 then they would need to start construction by the end of 2025.

[@chrismercaldo]

Definitely thinking a B&M Giga; my sources have confirmed that and so that's what I'm thinking as well. I'd say you can also look at Cedar Fair management/Tim Fisher and Richard Zimmerman's decision making at their "A" Parks, meaning, look to Kings Island, Carowinds, and Canada's Wonderland ("A" Parks by attendance, potential market size, revenue, etc.). All of them have a B&M Hyper and a B&M Giga. Given the size of the Great Adventure market, a B&M Giga fits right in with that pattern and honestly is one of the few worthy replacements for losing Ka.

[@josephmoore5949]

I believe a B&M Giga isn't what the park needs. We already have Nitro, which isn't a Giga, but it is close. If they are going to do a Giga, I'd rather see Intamin behind it at least. Park already has too many B&M's lol

[@chrismercaldo]

Major operational/cost savings for Six Flags to add another Beemer to the Great Adventure fleet. Manufacturer discounts, wheels/parts discounts, great relationship between B&M and Six Flags/Cedar Fair, etc. The Gigas have been major, major attendance/pass/per cap drivers for any of the Cedar Fair parks that already had B&M Hypers: Leviathan (Canada's Wonderland / Behemoth), Fury 325 (Carowinds / Intimidator), Orion (Kings Island / Diamondback). Fury 325 made sense to me, Leviathan and Orion surprised me. All three have been major attendance drivers for the 1A market/size Cedar Fair parks. Great Adventure fits right into that 1A sizing for the new Six Flags team.

[@jrueholidayburner2345]

@@chrismercaldo So are you predicting that a giga will come to GAdv or are you sure that's what's happening? Love the video by the way, this insight was great

[@Hallknowsall]

A giga coaster would not be able to be built by next season. I see the tower of kingda ka being saved and them extending it. By zamperla or intamin. Opening in 2026. Or it being scrapped and a giga being put in but for 2026. 2025 will be a transition year, luckily with a lame new coaster.

[@StacyRayl]

I don’t see nothing going in there until 2026 and the extended layout probably ain’t gonna happen because of a TT2 and how it’s gone I see them putting it in a giga coaster for the 2026 seasons 2025 will be an off year coaster will come in 2026 or 2027. I could definitely see them using some that land for a on-site hotel though.

[@chrismercaldo]

I had completely forgotten about The Flash and its delay before making this one quick; but I think Six Flags new management realizes it will not move the needle for pass sales or attendance for 2025. B&M does/did have capacity for 2026 and Orion was built very, very quickly due to a mild Ohio winter (not something you can plan for but did happen). I fixed in a comment and in the title likely a 2026 opening but 2025 is not completely off the table.

[@Raging_Red_Bulls]

They’re not getting there b and M giga till 2029 or 2030 if you ask me

[@chrismercaldo]

It's definitely going to happen sooner; Great Adventure attendance and season pass sales needs the pop.