Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom at Six Flags Great Adventure is the world’s tallest drop
tower. Standing 415 feet or 126 meters tall, Zumanjaro is attached to the world’s tallest
roller coaster in Kingda Ka. But is bigger better? Find out in my review of Zumanjaro.
Zumanjaro’s conception owes itself to the prior two record-holders as the
world’s tallest drop towers. In 1998, Intamin built Giant Drop at Dreamworld in Australia.
This drop tower stood 390 feet or 119 meters tall and it was attached to Tower of Terror,
which was an Intamin shuttle coaster that opened as the world’s tallest roller coaster.
Giant Drop would hold its record until 2012 when Six Flags Magic Mountain copied Dreamworld’s idea.
They had a very similar coaster to Tower of Terror in Superman: Escape from Krypton.
So Six Flags contacted Intamin who delivered Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom, a 400 foot or 120
meter tall drop tower attached to Superman. This drop tower was extremely well received,
so it was no surprise Six Flags was eyeing doing the same thing to the only coaster in the chain
taller than Superman in Kingda Ka. In 2014, Six Flags Great Adventure
opened Zumanjaro. Attached to Kingda Ka’s support structure, Zumanjaro would claim the record as the
world’s tallest drop tower, a record that it has held for 7 years until Icon Park in Orlando opens
their 430 foot or 131 meter tall drop tower later this year. However, Zumanjaro is still colossal.
Zumanjaro would have several issues during its construction and operation.
The ride’s opening was delayed a few months due to inclement weather slowing the ride’s construction.
This is understandable considering the ride’s height and that was small in the grand scheme
of things. The bigger issue is that the state of New Jersey prohibited both Zumanjaro and Kingda
Ka from operating simultaneously. New Jersey has a law that amusement rides that share the same
structure cannot operate simultaneously. This would neuter the capacity
of both Zumanjaro and Kingda Ka. The reason for this law was to protect riders
from loose articles. Both Kingda Ka and Zumanjaro have strict no loose article policies and riders
are required to place all their belongings in a locker prior to boarding. This includes phones,
wallets, and keys. Zumanjaro tends to be more lax on this enforcement than Kingda Ka,
but I would recommend heeding the park’s policy. That’s especially true because if you get turned
around from Zumanjaro’s station, you have a long walk ahead of you, but more on that in a bit.
The frustrating thing about this shared structure rule is that rides like Shredder and TMNT
Shellraiser at Nickelodeon Universe and then Gale Force and Wild Waves at Playland’s Castaway Cove
can operate simultaneously. While those coasters do have separate structures,
most likely because of what they observed at Six Flags Great Adventure, I think those rides
have closer near-misses. Gale Force has a strict loose article policy enforced by metal detectors,
but TMNT Shellraiser and Shredder rely on the honor system to prevent
guests from bringing loose articles aboard. Whenever Kingda Ka or Zumanjaro dispatches
with riders, the other ride is locked out. The only time both rides can operate simultaneously
is if one or both rides are testing, which I have seen. Zumanjaro is far more prone to
downtime than other drop towers. Along with it being an Intamin, there are two other factors.
One, it sometimes has to go down if Kingda Ka has a mechanical issue
due to its location on the ride’s tower. Two, the ride is one of the most likely to be closed for
staffing because of its isolated location. Zumanjaro’s queue line starts adjacent to
Kingda Ka’s entrance, but if you’re familiar with Great Adventure, you know Ka’s entrance
is quite a ways from its tower. It makes sense for Kingda Ka since you’re launched towards the tower.
But it’s a nuisance for Zumanjaro. You have a long walk that occupies the former location of the
Rolling Thunder wooden roller coaster. The walk does at least offer some unique views of El Toro
and Kingda Ka, but it’s among the longest queue lines of any attraction in terms of distance.
In terms of time, Zumanjaro usually has one of the shortest lines in the park.
Along with the ride scaring the daylights out of a lot of guests, it’s location seems to deter a
lot of people from riding and reriding it. The longest line I have ever seen for Zumanjaro
was 15-20 minutes and this was on a day when the major coasters all had 1-2 hour waits.
Usually Zumanjaro is a walk-on. And if the ride does have a wait, you also have a single rider
line that usually gets you on the next cycle. Zumanjaro has 3 separate carriages. Each carriage
holds 8 riders, giving the ride a capacity of 24 riders per cycle, which is pretty good for
a drop tower. All three face in the same direction. You face towards the park.
The ride has over-the-shoulder restraints, but they feel more like lap bars since the
shoulder bars are so far to the side. These are the same restraints you will find on Lex Luthor.
You will not come into contact with the shoulder bars at all on the ride. The lap
bar will come down quite tightly though, so it’s a bit harder to feel the airtime on this drop tower
compared to some of the other ones out there. Once secured, an alarm sounds and the shields
above you head move to the side. These shields are to protect boarding guests from anything
that could potentially fall off of Kingda Ka. You then ascend the 415 foot or 126 meter tall tower.
The climb starts off quite slowly until you clear the ride’s magnetic brakes. But once you’re level
with the pullouts on Kingda Ka, you rapidly start rising towards the top of the tower.
The full ascent takes almost a minute and at several points, you will keep asking
yourself if you’re already at the top. It’s really jarring how tall this attraction is.
Great Adventure is home to many tall coasters and it will definitely make your palms sweat when you
realize you’re twice as tall as El Toro or Nitro. This anticipation is the ride’s biggest strength.
Very few rides are as imposing as Zumanjaro. Drop towers are among the most intimidating rides in
the world, of any size. The height combined with the unknown of when the drop will start
make them psychological and intense thrills. So when you have one as tall as Zumanjaro,
it will frighten even the most avid of daredevils. I’ve ridden Zumanjaro several times, but I still
get those butterfly feelings in my stomach when I’m boarding this ride. Few attractions do that.
Because of the ride’s sheer height, the view of the park is spectacular. You have plenty of time
to appreciate this view on the ascent and a few seconds at the top while you’re awaiting the drop.
I believe you are able to see the skylines of both Philadelphia and New York City on a clear day,
but I have personally never been able to see them.
After the brief pause atop the tower, you drop with no warning.
The operator can speak to guests and tease them, but they’ll never spoil the exact moment you drop.
Despite the towering height of Zumanjaro, the drop isn’t as strong as a lot of other drop towers out
there. You don’t get any airtime. And there is only a weak, fleeting stomach dropping sensation
at the start of the drop. It’s surprising the drop isn’t stronger considering the stats.
Where the drop does excel though is in the speed department.
The drop lasts forever and reaches a maximum speed of 90 mph or 140 kph. That’s insane for any ride,
let alone a drop tower. The carriage starts to shimmy towards the end of the drop due to
this speed. This isn’t rough or anything. And I think it adds to the wild nature of this ride.
It doesn’t feel like you’re going to stop between that speed and the drop length. It
really messes with you if you’re used to the shorter drops on other drop towers.
The brakes then hit the vehicle quite hard and you experience 3.5 Gs while decelerating. The stop
is fairly sharp and intense, more so than other drop towers because of how fast you were falling.
You then slowly lower back to the station, the shields fold back out over your head, and you’ll
likely see Kingda Ka shoot off overhead. So what would I rate Zumanjaro:
Drop of Doom? I would give this drop tower a 7.5 out of 10. This is a unique drop tower.
The most notable thing about this ride is the colossal height. The anticipation is the ride’s
biggest strength. And the views are great as well. The drop itself is different than other
drop towers. While it may not have the airtime or force I would expect, the sense of speed and drop
length makes it standout. It just barely made my list for my top 25 favorite drop towers.
So those are my thoughts on Zumanjaro, the world’s tallest drop tower at Six Flags Great Adventure.
What are your thoughts on Zumanjaro? Are you a fan of this thrill ride?
I’d love to hear your thoughts down in the comments. If you enjoyed this review, I’d
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lot more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!