Greatest Places for Photography USA - Kingda Ka in New Jersey - Roller Coaster History

StoodThere.com accepted nominations and gathered votes for their 2009 lineup of Greatest Places to Stand in America, UK, and elsewhere. These places are recommended for taking awesome photos and for finding thought-provoking views and interesting places for travel and adventures.

Number Two in the 2009 Greatest Places lineup for the USA is the Kinga Ka Roller Coaster in Jackson Township NJ. Opened at Six Flags Great Adventure around Mother's Day 2005, the coaster became the tallest and fastest globally for a time. No injuries have occurred on this ride. The Formula Rossa steel coaster in Abu Dhabi beat the Ka's speed records in late autumn 2010 and holds that record of 150 mph (slower NASCAR race speed) as of this writing. New coasters planned for use in 2013 may beat that record.

With summer hiring happening annually at Six Flags, this is an opportunity for individuals and families to find fantastic summer employment as well as astonishing travel selections. The Great Adventure park also contains a wildlife park and a water park.

Six Flags, as are other amusement parks, was built in an area that marketing studies showed to be effective for business success. It must be an exciting place, Because its New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island Metro Area ranks Number Two in sleeplessness among American cities and Number Three in proportions of single people living there (reference: bestplaces.net).

Job growth from 2008 - 2018 is forecast to be over 29% and 6-% of the population earns fro $50K to 150K annually. The population also grew over 26% from 2000 -2010, so those marketing studies look to have been correct. Located in a large metro area that attracts large numbers of travelers and vacationers, the Kingda Ka steel roller coaster sees a lot of riders every day during the amusement park season.

Plenty of sustainable outdoor activities are located near Six Flags Great Adventure, as you can see on the map below. A great many wildlife preserves and parks are nearby.

This short, exciting ride is rated Number Three among Greatest Places In the USA to for photography and the view,.

• Height: 456 feet with a Drop of 418 feet

• 128 mph for 28 Seconds

• Max Vertical Angle: 90 Degrees

• Max Acceleration: 0 - 128 mph in 3.5 seconds

• Length: 3118 feet

• G-forces: under 2

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1. Kingda Ka - 456 feet - Not quite 1/10 of a mile high!
2. Top Thrill Dragster - 420 feet, Cedar Point on Lake Erie
3. Steel Dragon - 318 feet; Nagashima Spa Land in Japan
4. Millennium Force - 310 feet, Cedar Point
5. Intimidator 305 - 305 feet, Kings Dominion in Virginia
6. Thunder Dolphin - 262+ feet, Tokyo Dome City in Japan
7. Fujiyama - 259 feet , Fuji-Q Highland in Japan
8. Eejanaika - 249 feet , Fuji-Q Highland
9. Titan - 245 feet, Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington
10. Silver Star - 239 feet , Europa Park in Rust, Germany

As a 4th Dimension Roller Coaster, Eejanaika is the second one to ever be built and surely must off some of the greatest views in Japan. Seats are arranged on either side of the track, the seat move forward, and the riders find themselves hanging in restraints and spinning forward and backward as they ride along the hills and curves.

Eejanaika Stats

• Height: 76 m or 249 feet
• Speed: 126 km/hr (78.3 mph) for 2 min
• Length 1,153 m or 0.716 mile or 3780 feet
• World Record holder for inversions with 14 at this writing

Kingda Ka is the highest steel coaster in the worlds to date in 2012. However, wooden roller coasters are still popular in the world and the video below shows us the Top 10 Tallest Wooden Coasters. The tallest one of these wooden monsters is located in my state just north of Cincinnati, Ohio at King's Island - SON OF BEAST, shown in action in the second video below. A complex ride, this coaster is a labyrinthine leviathan that rushes around and through itself on wooden tracks. It closed down in 2009 after changes and after nearly 30 people were injured in 2005 on the ride.

You can see the ride as you drive by the amusement park on I-71 in Ohio. The Son of Beast really looks horrid in silence and "too much" for a ride.

Son of Beast (2000 - 2009) was the world's

• Tallest wooden coaster
• Fastest wooden roller coaster
• Only modern-era wooden coaster to have a vertical loop (removed in 2006)
• Second longest wooden coaster after The Beast, also at King's Island
• (Reference: King's Island and Cedar Fair companies)

Son of Beast Stats

• Height: 218 feet with as Drop of 214 feet
• 78.4 mph for 2 Minutes 20 Seconds -- Much different than Kingda ka
• Max Vertical Angle: 55.7
• Length: 7032 feet -- More than twice the length of Kingda Ka.
• G-Forces: 4.5

At this writing, a dozen new roller coasters are under construction around the world and will open to the public from Florida to China in 2013.

While not yet as popular at 1/4 scale model train rides, home roller coasters are available in kits. Some people even design and build their own.

John Ivers,10 north of Vincennes, Indiana built two coasters in his back yard and named them Blue Flash and Blue Too. For John, the greatest place to stand is his own back yard, located about half way between St. Louis, Missouri and Louisville, Kentucky. Many people have taken photos and video of his back yard steel roller coasters.

Blue Flash Stats

• Height: 20 feet
• Speed: 20 mph
• One 360-degree Loop
• Length: 180 feet