Green Lantern (Six Flags Great Adventure)

History

Chang (1997–2009)

Chang ("long" in Mandarin Chinese) opened at Kentucky Kingdom on April 4, 1997, setting world records for this type of coaster in height, drop, speed, length and number of inversions. The ride was constructed by Martin & Vleminckx.

When it debuted, Chang had a yellow track and supports. Around 1999, after Six Flags acquired Kentucky Kingdom's operating rights, the coaster's track was painted lime green and the support columns violet. In early 2006, the track was returned to its original yellow, while the supports were re-painted blue. Six Flags originally announced that the ride would have a Batman theme, along with its T2 coaster. T2 was expected to be known as "Batman: The Ride" and Chang "Riddler's Revenge", but those plans were later canceled.

Chang was removed over the weekend of September 19, 2009, for a proposed expansion of Splashwater Kingdom which was soon cancelled as Six Flags later announced plans to dispose of its Kentucky Kingdom property. The removal of Chang and the closure of Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom caused the owners of the park land (the Kentucky State Fair Board) to sue Six Flags for ownership of the rides. Kentucky Kingdom opened under new operators in 2014.

Green Lantern (2011–2024)

In June 2010, Six Flags was considering moving Chang to Six Flags Great America for the 2011 season. The park obtained approval to exceed the 125 ft height limit imposed on the park, but plans were later dropped in favor of a water park expansion.

On July 5, 2010, Six Flags Great Adventure announced that its Great American Scream Machine would close on July 18 to make way for a new attraction the following year, In August, a first look at the park's new-ride layout from the Jackson Township zoning board meeting was posted on the JTown Magazine website, and the layout was identical to that of Chang.

On September 16, Six Flags Great Adventure announced that it would open a Green Lantern-themed roller coaster in 2011 in honor of the 2011 film Green Lantern starring Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan. The specifications released for the new ride matched those of Chang. As part of the relocation, the ride would receive technical renovations and a new coat of paint.

Footers were poured for the ride in December 2010, with track installation beginning the following month. In January 2011, construction of the lift hill was completed. In April 2011 the final pieces of track were put in place. On May 19, 2011, Green Lantern soft-opened to a select group of season-pass holders, media and families from Children's Miracle Network. The ride opened to the public on May 25.

On November 13, 2024, Six Flags Great Adventure officially announced the removal of the Green Lantern coaster following the conclusion of the 2024 season. This announcement coincided with the confirmed closure of Kingda Ka and several other attractions to make way for future developments.

The demolition of Green Lantern began between November and December 2024, with scrap material set aside for later use in other projects. By March 2025, the ride had been fully removed - including its station and the queue line originally used by its predecessor, Great American Scream Machine. The final piece to be dismantled, a segment of the lift hill, was taken down by the end of the month.

Characteristics

Location

Green Lantern was located in the Boardwalk section of the park. Green Lantern was the third roller coaster to occupy this plot of land, following the Sarajevo Bobsled (which ran at Great Adventure from 1984 to 1988 before moving to Six Flags Great America and Great Escape) and the Great American Scream Machine (an Arrow Dynamics looping coaster which had occupied this area from 1989 to 2010). Like the Great American Scream Machine, the infield of Green Lantern was covered with gravel. The coaster also reused the Scream Machine's queue area building.

Manufacturer

Green Lantern was Six Flags Great Adventure's fifth Bolliger & Mabillard roller coaster, joining Batman: The Ride, Medusa, Nitro and Superman: Ultimate Flight. The coaster was the park's second standup coaster; the first was a smaller coaster manufactured by Intamin, Shockwave, which operated from 1990 to 1992. Before Shockwave arrived at Great Adventure, the coaster was previously installed at Six Flags Magic Mountain from 1986 through 1988, preceding Riddler's Revenge.

Theme

As its name suggests, Green Lantern was themed to the DC Comics character of the same name. The theme was chosen to coincide with the Green Lantern film scheduled for release in 2011. The track was painted green, with the exception of the yellow vertical loop. The second corkscrew was originally the track section which was going to be yellow, but it was decided to switch the scheme to the first loop. The loop was yellow because Green Lantern's enemy is the yellow fear entity Parallax. In June 2011, a Parallax cutout with clutching arms through which the train passes was placed at the bottom of the first drop. The ride's queue area featured a series of comic-book-style boards relating the story of Hal Jordan (the Green Lantern) and the Green Lantern Corps. An F-104 Starfighter was located in the queue area, referencing Jordan's occupation as a pilot. It was previously used as a prop for the former The Right Stuff: Mach 1 Adventure motion simulator ride.

Trains

Green Lantern operated with two steel-and-fiberglass trains. Each train had seven cars with four seats in a single row, for a total of 28 riders.

Ride experience

The first section of Green Lantern was a near mirrored clone of the first half of Rougarou at Cedar Point. Leaving the station, the train started by climbing the 155 ft chain lift hill, on which the Green Lantern oath was played over loudspeakers along the steps. At the top, the train went through a pre-drop before making a slightly banked 180° turnaround. After this, the train went down a 144 foot drop into a 121.6 ft vertical loop.

Records

At its opening, Chang claimed the record for the tallest vertical loop of any roller coaster in the world. At the time, it was the world's tallest, fastest, and longest stand-up coaster. It also claimed records for the largest drop and the most inversions on a stand-up roller coaster. All of these records had eclipsed those set by Mantis, which opened at Cedar Point in 1996. In 1998, The Riddler's Revenge opened at Six Flags Magic Mountain, surpassing every title held by Chang.

Reception

After Chang's 1997 opening at Kentucky Kingdom, the park saw a rise in attendance to a record of more than one million visitors. The previous record of about 730,000 was set in 1996. The ride was Kentucky Kingdom's marquee attraction.

After the ride's relocation to Six Flags Great Adventure, Brady MacDonald of the Los Angeles Times ranked it 8 of the park's 13 roller coasters. Mekado Murphy of The New York Times highlighted the different forces at play on a stand-up roller coaster, compared with a traditional one: "Other coasters create pressure mostly in your upper body; Green Lantern creates pressure in your legs, making them a much more active part of the experience". Both JTown Magazine and The Star-Ledger interviewed a number of park guests and coaster enthusiasts when Green Lantern opened; all gave favorable reviews.

Notes

References

References

1. (April 4, 1997). "Across the USA: News from every state". [[Gannett Company]].
2. Sloan, Gene. (June 6, 1997). "New coasters offer superlative thrills". [[Gannett Company]].
3. (July 4, 1997). "Busiest travel weekend of season". [[Turner Broadcasting System]].
4. "Bolliger & Mabillard". Martin & Vleminckx.
5. "Chang – Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom". CoasterGallery.com.
6. "1999". Theme Park Timelines.
7. (September 21, 2009). "Chang Comes Down At Kentucky Kingdom". [[WLKY-TV]].
8. (February 5, 2010). "Six Flags closes Kentucky Kingdom theme park". [[NBCUniversal]].
9. Leonard, Connie. (February 24, 2010}}{{Dead link). "Bankruptcy judge to decide who owns rides at Kentucky Kingdom". Wave3.
10. (June 17, 2010). "Six Flags seeks OK for super-sized coaster". Daily Herald.
11. (July 9, 2010). "Six Flags pulls plans for new roller coaster". Daily Herald.
12. (September 2, 2010). "Great America plans to expand water park -- Daily Herald". Daily Herald.
13. Six Flags Great Adventure. (July 5, 2010). "Hey guys, Scream...". Facebook.
14. (August 6, 2010). "First look at the new Six Flags Great Adventure rollercoaster to be built in 2011". JTOWN Magazine.
15. (August 7, 2010). "Chang coming to Six Flags Great Adventure {{!}} JTOWN Magazine – Jackson Township NJ's Family Magazine".
16. Ruscitti, Keith. (September 16, 2010). "Great Adventure to add new Green Lantern roller coaster". [[Gannett Company]].
17. (September 16, 2010). "Six Flags Great Adventure: GREEN LANTERN". Six Flags.
18. Levine, Arthur. (September 16, 2010). "You May Want to Sit Down for This". [[The New York Times Company]].
19. "Green Lantern Construction". Six Flags Great Adventure.
20. Williams, Damon C.. (November 14, 2024). "Why did Six Flags Great Adventure shut down Kingda Ka and what's next".
21. Kausch, Katie. (2024-11-14). "Kingda Ka closed to make way for 'record-breaking' mystery ride at Six Flags Great Adventure".
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31. Lobo, Sue. "Green Lantern Roller Coaster Debuts at Six Flags". Atlas Travel.
32. (August 25, 2008). "What is a stand-up roller coaster?". The Coaster Critic.
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34. (September 27, 1997). "Premier buys Kentucky Kingdom". Daily News.
35. MacDonald, Brady. (July 24, 2011). "Top 10 roller coasters at Six Flags Great Adventure". Los Angeles Times.
36. "Biz Buzz".
37. (April 1, 1998). "Six Flags Once Again Breaks the Extreme Thrills Barrier With The Riddler's Revenge – World's Tallest, Fastest and Most Powerful Stand-Up Roller Coaster!". [[Business Wire]].
38. Haeberle, Bennett. (October 29, 2010). "Kentucky Kingdom will not re-open until 2012". WDRB-TV Fox 41 News.
39. Genovesse, Matt. (May 19, 2011). "Green Lantern "Stand-Up" Coaster Debuts Today At Great Adventure". JTown Magazine.
40. Galante, Meredith. (May 19, 2011). "Green Lantern ride opens to roller coaster enthusiasts at Six Flags Great Adventure". [[The Star-Ledger]].