| The Flash: Vertical Velocity | |
| Logodimensions: | 250px |
| Location: | Six Flags Great Adventure |
| Section: | Movietown |
| Coordinates: | 40.1371°N -74.441°W |
| Opened: | 2025 |
| Year: | 2025 |
| Type: | Steel |
| Type2: | Launched |
| Type3: | Shuttle |
| Status: | Under Construction |
| Manufacturer: | Vekoma |
| Designer: | Benjamin Bloemendaal |
| Model: | Super Boomerang |
| Lift: | LSM |
| Height Ft: | 172.2 |
| Length Ft: | 1,430.4 |
| Speed Mph: | 59 |
| Inversions: | 2 |
| Capacity: | 800 |
| Gforce: | 4 |
| Trains: | 1 |
| Carspertrain: | 6 |
| Rowspercar: | 2 |
| Ridersperrow: | 2 |
| Restriction In: | 48 |
| Rcdb Number: | 21088 |
The Flash: Vertical Velocity is an upcoming steel roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey, opening in 2025.[1] [2] [3] It will be a Vekoma Super Boomerang launch coaster themed to the DC Comics character the Flash.
Also a shuttle roller coaster, The Flash will feature a zero-g roll and a top speed of 59mi/h. The ride will be located in the Movietown section of Six Flags Great Adventure, near .
Dutch manufacturer Vekoma first unveiled their new shuttle launch coaster layout through the EAP Magazine in November 2021.[4] Dubbed the "Super Boomerang" as a tribute to their long-running coaster model, the coaster would use multiple banks of LSM launches to ascend spikes on either side of a tower. The design subsequently premiered in July 2023 as the Cloud Shuttle at Xuzhou Fantawild Wonderland in Tongshan, China.[5]
By November 2022, attendance had plummeted 33% across the Six Flags chain, with concerns that an ongoing corporate initiative to raise prices and cease investments had begun alienating park guests.[6] [7] Seeking to hastily reverse course, Six Flags sent representatives to the IAAPA Expo in Orlando, Florida that month, where a series of last-minute ride deals were signed off with multiple manufacturers.[8] Vekoma was among those approached by Six Flags, from whom they soon purchased a pre-manufactured junior coaster. Taking the form of Rookie Racer at Six Flags St. Louis, the project's delivery allowed Six Flags to conduct further business with Vekoma.[9]
In August 2023, Six Flags' Chief Financial Officer Gary Mick confirmed that a new roller coaster would be built at Six Flags Great Adventure in 2024, stating that, "We have a 50th Anniversary coming up at our park in New Jersey, and we had an opportunity to add a nice ride kind of late in the game. And that's a little bit rare because it takes generally a while to design and build a coaster. So we had a fortunate opportunity, and we decided to take it".[10] Concurrently, Great Adventure released a teaser presenting various numbers, which were determined to be statistics lining up with Vekoma's Super Boomerang model.[11] [12]
Six Flags Great Adventure officially announced The Flash: Vertical Velocity on August 30, 2023, set to become the park's 15th roller coaster and the first of its kind in the Western Hemisphere.[13] [14] Billed as a part of the park's largest investment in 20 years, it would be joined by the overhauled Safari Off-Road Adventure, Wild Safari Park luxury glamping, and various other park refurbishments.[15] Jackson Township Planning Commissioners officially approved the project on December 18, 2023. [16] Animated B-roll of the coaster was later released in March 2024.[17]
Deforestation and other land clearing work began behind Cyborg Cyber Spin in January 2024, with local contractors Force Concrete constructing its foundations the next month.[18] [19] Track and supports first began arriving from Vekoma in February, and assembly of the ride began at the end of April.[20] [21]
On August 12, 2024, the park announced on their social media accounts, that the roller coaster is delayed until 2025.[1] [2] [3]