Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey is amping up its roller coaster game with plans for a new, record-breaking coaster, the Jersey Devil, a ride that taps into the folklore of the Pine Barrens.
The Jersey Devil Coaster will tower 13 stories high, stretch 3,000 feet long, speed up to 58 mph, and feature two dramatic inversions. When it makes its debut in the summer of 2020, it will be the tallest, fastest, and longest roller coaster in the world, according to Six Flags officials.
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The new ride gets its name from the legend of South Jersey's Jersey Devil – the demon-spawn creature that is said to look partly like a kangaroo with a goat-like head and cloven hooves.
According to the mythology, the Jersey Devil was the 13th child of a woman who lived in the Pine Barrens in 1735 known only as Mother Leeds. Upon learning she was pregnant again, Leeds, shouted to the heavens, "Let this one be the devil." Months later her baby was born, and within moments it transformed into the Jersey Devil, killed its mother and father and escaped up the home's chimney ... if you believe that kind of stuff.
According to Six Flags Great Adventure – which located in Jackson Township on the edge of the Pine Barrens – the Jersey Devil folklore "places this beast near the theme park's Great Lake, with its menacing, curled horns manifesting under a full moon."
“Six Flags Great Adventure is home to the best and most innovative roller coasters on the planet, and we are thrilled to expand our unrivaled collection with the Jersey Devil Coaster,” park president John Winkler said a press release. “Jersey Devil folklore has been a source of fear and intrigue here in the Pine Barrens for more than 200 years, and this iconic piece of New Jersey history inspired the design for this monstrous scream machine.”
The roller coaster will feature four trains each with 12 seats for passengers, who will sit single-file, one person per row. The first drop hits at 87 degrees and goes as high as 130 feet into the air, roughly 13 stories. The ride will have five special elements, including two inversions with an 180 degree stall and a zero-gravity roll.
Check out the video and more images of the Jersey Devil Coaster below.
The Jersey Devil Coaster is Six Flags Great Adventure's 14th ride. It will be located on the lakefront near Safari Kids and Congo Rapids.
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