Kong, Inverted steel roller coaster in Vallejo, California, United States.
Kong is an inverted steel roller coaster at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, California. Built by Vekoma as a Suspended Looping Coaster, it has a 35-meter lift hill, a 31.5-meter drop, and a layout with a rollover, sidewinder, turn, and back-to-back inline twists. Riders sit beneath the track in a train of ten cars.
The ride debuted in 1995 as Hangman at Opryland USA before relocating to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and taking its current name in 1998. This move brought the attraction to a park with significantly higher visitor numbers in Northern California.
Kong is a Vekoma Suspended Looping Coaster (SLC 689), a standard model built in many copies worldwide. Its name refers to the giant ape, and the ride opened under the name Hangman at Opryland USA in Nashville, where it stood in the American West area on the site of the former Tin Lizzies antique car ride.
The ride enforces height requirements between 132 and 198 centimeters and draws large crowds during afternoon peak hours. Arriving early in the day or visiting during quieter evening times helps minimize waiting periods.
Kong's entrance has moved twice: it once sat near the iWerks theater, shifted to Oasis Plaza in 2007 so guests walk under the ride to the platform, and by 2024 the old entrance reopened as an accessible one. The park also removed the orange train in 2021, cutting capacity to 460 riders per hour; its plastic pieces still lie under and around the transfer track.
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