July 29, 2025
Tanya Breen/USA TODAY NETWORK
Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey, will no longer hold its annual Holiday in the Park winter festival that began in 2015. The theme park also says a project to replace the Kingda Ka rollercoaster demolished in February will not be finished in 2026 as originally planned. Above, Kingda Ka in 2005.
Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey is pulling the plug on its Holiday in the Park seasonal event and pushing back the timeline to complete a new roller coaster that will replace the recently demolished Kingda Ka ride, theme park officials said Tuesday.
Holiday in the Park has been held from late November to January each of the last nine years at the amusement park in Jackson Township and at other Six Flags parks. The event celebrates the winter holidays — usually Six Flags' slowest period — by turning the park into a festival with Christmas lights, holiday shows and themed rides.
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"We’ve made the strategic decision to focus on delivering exceptional experiences during our core operating seasons, spring through fall," a Six Flags spokesperson said in a statement about the cancelation.
Moving on from Holiday in the Park will enable Six Flags to plan for more activities during months when the weather is more consistent, the spokesperson added. The event also will be canceled at Six Flags Over Georgia, which is located outside Atlanta, in favor of a new Heroes Fest in November that celebrates superheroes alongside "everyday heroes" in the local community. No plans were revealed for a replacement event in New Jersey.
Fright Fest, the Halloween-themed fall season at Six Flags Great Adventure, will not be impacted by the changes.
Six Flags also said that it will delay the 2026 timeline to debut a "multi-world-record-breaking" roller coaster that's slated to replace Kingda Ka, the beloved ride that was demolished at the park in February after 20 years in service. The 456-foot-tall, jungle-themed ride had a national following and held a longstanding record as the world's tallest roller coaster before it closed last year.
The theme park has not shared details about what the new ride will be, but said construction on the project recently started. The goal is to have it ready for the start of a future spring season to allow guests to get months of rides in during the year it debuts. The park did not provide an updated timeline.
"We’ve realized that the world-class size and scope of this project means that it will take a bit longer to complete than originally anticipated," the spokesperson said.
Six Flags completed an $8 billion merger last summer with rival amusement park chain Cedar Fair, creating a combined company that spanned 42 theme parks, water parks and resorts in North America entering this year. The combination drew skepticism from rollercoaster enthusiasts who shared fears that parks would become more expensive and popular rides could be shut down.
Six Flags Entertainment Corp.'s first quarter earnings call in May included a reported net loss of $220 million for the combined company since the merger. About $134 million in losses were attributed to legacy Six Flags operations that were added in last year's deal.
Before the merger, Six Flags' stock had dropped 40% over a five-year span, CNN Business reported. When ticket prices were raised from $28.73 to $35.99 for admission starting in 2022, the move led to a 26% drop in annual attendance across Six Flags parks.
Earlier this month, Six Flags announced it will close two of its U.S. parks at the end of this season — California's Great America in Santa Clara and Maryland's Six Flags America, which includes the Hurricane Harbor water park. The company said the two parks are "not a strategic fit" with long-term growth plans, but gave no indication that any other parks are under consideration for closure at this time.
Six Flags said it expects to provide updates on its plan to replace Kingda Ka as construction on the project advances.
