Acrophobiacs Need Not Apply: Great Adventure’s Latest Thrill

Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom, the new thrill ride at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, gives fresh meaning to the words “heart-dropping.” When it opens Memorial Day Weekend, Zumanjaro will be the world’s tallest drop ride—at a bone-rattling 41 stories. Riders strap into an eight-person gondola and rocket to the top of the 415-foot tower in about 30 seconds. After providing a quick bird’s-eye view of the fun park—on a clear day you can see Philadelphia—the gondola plunges back to earth in less than 10 seconds. Gulp.

The ride is built under the arch of Kingda Ka, Great Adventure’s behemoth 456-foot-tall roller coaster. As if plummeting hundreds of feet weren’t blood pumping enough, riders do so as Kingda Ka’s cars zip along the adjacent tracks at a stunning 128 miles per hour. Double gulp.