Bakunawa: Six Flags Just Dropped a Sea Serpent That Breaks 6 World Records — and It's Not Even Open Yet
On July 28, 2026, Six Flags Great Adventure did something that should terrify and exhilarate every coaster enthusiast in equal measure: they unveiled Bakunawa, a ride so absurdly ambitious it breaks six world records before a single train has rolled out of the station. It opens in 2027. The hype train has already left the stratosphere.
What Even Is This Thing?
Named after a mythical sea serpent from Filipino mythology, Bakunawa is a spinning launch coaster that hits 382 feet tall and 100 mph. That alone is enough to make you pay attention. But here's where it gets unhinged: the train climbs a 90-degree spike, pauses at the top — spinning unpredictably so you could be face-up, face-down, or sideways depending on the phase of the moon, basically — and then plummets back down the same spike in reverse. At 100 mph. While still spinning.
Let me repeat that: a spinning train, hauled up a 382-foot vertical spike, paused at apogee just to let the terror marinate, and then dropped backward down the same structure at highway speeds. This isn't a roller coaster. This is a mythological punishment that happens to have lap bars.
The Six World Records
Here's what Bakunawa is about to snatch from the record books:
- Tallest spinning coaster — smashes the current record by roughly 250 feet
- Fastest spinning coaster — because, obviously
- Tallest reverse-drop coaster — that backward 382-foot plunge has no competition
- Fastest reverse-drop coaster — 100 mph backward, still spinning
- Longest drop on a spinning coaster — at this height, the math works itself
- Most inversions on a spinning coaster — though the exact count is still under wraps
Six Flags Is in a War and They're Winning
This isn't happening in a vacuum. Earlier this year, Six Flags Over Texas opened Tormenta Rampaging Run, the world's first giga dive coaster. That ride also claims six world records. Now Great Adventure fires back with Bakunawa. It's the most aggressive intra-company coaster arms race since… ever, actually. Cedar Point is watching nervously. Universal is pretending not to notice. And the rest of us are just buying season passes.
The best part? Bakunawa won't even open until 2027. That means a full year of anticipation, construction updates, track leaks, and POV animation breakdowns. If you need me, I'll be refreshing r/rollercoasters every four minutes until opening day.
Six Flags Great Adventure — already home to Kingda Ka, El Toro, and Nitro — is about to add a genuine monster to the lineup. The Garden State just became the most terrifying place on Earth.
Postscript: If any Six Flags executives are reading this and need someone to ride Bakunawa 47 times on opening day for "research purposes," I am available. No charge. Just let me know what time to be there.