Six Flags Great Adventure is building a roller coaster expected to rank among the five tallest in the world, rising on the same patch of New Jersey skyline where Kingda Ka stood for nearly two decades before its demolition last year.

Construction is underway at the Jackson Township park, with track sections already on site and going vertical. The ride, currently going by the working name Project Purple, is scheduled to open in 2027 and is being marketed as a record-breaking multi-launch experience.

Park officials have not confirmed the final branding, but Six Flags Entertainment Corporation has filed a trademark application for the name Phantom Spire, fueling expectations that the new attraction will carry that title when it opens.

Guest surveys circulated during the planning phase described a launched coaster with a tower exceeding 300 feet and a top speed approaching 100 mph, with the train spiraling around the central spire. Industry observers believe the manufacturer to be Mack Rides, the German firm behind several of the most acclaimed launch coasters in recent years.

The new ride sits on the footprint adjacent to Kingda Ka, the 456-foot strata coaster that opened in 2005 as the tallest in the world and held that record throughout its operational life. Six Flags closed Kingda Ka in November 2024 and brought down the structure in a controlled implosion in 2025, alongside the adjacent Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom.

Mike Fehnel, park president at Six Flags Great Adventure, said the project’s working name reflects more than a placeholder. Six Flags has partnered with Project Purple, a national nonprofit that funds pancreatic cancer research and patient programs, with the partnership running through June 1, 2027. Fehnel lost his father to the disease.

“This partnership is especially meaningful to me personally, having lost my father to pancreatic cancer,” Fehnel said in a news release. The park plans to use signage and QR codes throughout the grounds to direct visitors toward pancreatic cancer awareness resources as the coaster rises on the skyline.

Ryan Eldredge, director of sales and marketing at Six Flags Great Adventure, told NJ.com that riders should expect a fundamentally new experience rather than a straight Kingda Ka replacement. He said the train design alone will be unlike anything the vast majority of the public has ever ridden.

The park has not released the full ride statistics, layout or final naming, with a formal announcement expected ahead of the 2027 season.

Jackson has been the home of Six Flags Great Adventure since 1974.