Chang Roller Coaster at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom

Chang was a stand-up roller coaster that operated at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville, Kentucky, from April 4, 1997, until September 19, 2009. Built by the Swiss engineering firm Bolliger & Mabillard, it was named for the Mandarin word for “long,” reflecting the fact that it opened as the longest stand-up coaster layout in the world.

Upon its debut, Chang immediately became one of the most decorated rides of its era, claiming simultaneous world records among stand-up coasters for height, drop, speed, length, and number of inversions. Those records stood for about a year before being surpassed by Riddler’s Revenge at Six Flags Magic Mountain in 1998, but Chang remained Kentucky Kingdom’s signature thrill ride for more than a decade.

Stats at a Glance

Park: Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom (Louisville, Kentucky)
Manufacturer: Bolliger & Mabillard
Opened: April 4, 1997
Closed: September 19, 2009 (dismantled for relocation)
Height: 155 feet
Top speed: 63 mph
Length: 4,155 feet
Inversions: 5 (vertical loop, diving loop, inclined loop, two corkscrews)

The Ride Experience

As a stand-up coaster, Chang locked riders into a bicycle-seat-style restraint that kept them upright through the entire circuit, intensifying the forces of its 144-foot first drop and record-setting vertical loop. The layout packed a vertical loop, a diving loop, an inclined loop, and two corkscrews into a ride lasting about two and a half minutes, running two 28-passenger trains along more than 4,150 feet of track.

The stand-up format made Chang notably more physically demanding than a typical sit-down looping coaster, and its tall vertical loop in particular was singled out on debut as the tallest of any coaster in the world at the time, giving riders a uniquely disorienting sense of the drop below their feet.

Relocation and Legacy

Chang was dismantled over the weekend of September 19, 2009, to make room for a planned water park expansion at Kentucky Kingdom that was ultimately never built. The park itself kept operating through the rest of the 2009 season, but Six Flags shut it down in February 2010 after the Kentucky State Fair Board rejected an amended lease agreement, ending the company’s run operating the park. The dispute over Chang and other removed rides was later settled with the Fair Board that July.

The ride’s steel structure and trains were shipped to Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey, where they were rebuilt and reopened in 2011 as Green Lantern, themed to the DC Comics superhero and the contemporaneous feature film.

Green Lantern operated at Great Adventure until it closed for good on November 10, 2024, and was demolished by early 2025, bringing an end to the ride’s 27-year run under its two names and two homes.

Explore more: more roller coasters.

Chang Photo Archive: July 2002

These are original ThrillZing photos of Chang taken at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom on July 2, 2002, restored and upscaled from the original camera files. They show the B&M stand-up coaster’s lime-green track and purple supports from the midway, the water park and the Giant Wheel, its sign, a train in the station and riders through the loop. Chang moved to Six Flags Great Adventure as Green Lantern in 2011. All photos are free to reuse under a CC BY 4.0 license with credit to ThrillZing and a link to this page.

Close-up of Chang ride sign with train and riders, Chang, July 2002 — Close-up of Chang ride sign with train and riders, July 2, 2002. *Photo: ThrillZing (CC BY 4.0)*

Chang-branded entrance archway and walkway with visitors and track loop, Chang, July 2002 — Chang-branded entrance archway and walkway with visitors and track loop, July 2, 2002. *Photo: ThrillZing (CC BY 4.0)*

Coaster lift hill and drop, purple lattice supports, roadside, Chang, July 2002 — Coaster lift hill and drop, purple lattice supports, roadside, July 2, 2002. *Photo: ThrillZing (CC BY 4.0)*

Coaster lift hill with purple supports, hazy overexposed sky, Chang, July 2002 — Coaster lift hill with purple supports, hazy overexposed sky, July 2, 2002. *Photo: ThrillZing (CC BY 4.0)*

Green coaster loops behind red and white striped tent, Chang, July 2002 — Green coaster loops behind red and white striped tent, July 2, 2002. *Photo: ThrillZing (CC BY 4.0)*

Green steel coaster train cresting hill, purple supports, Chang, July 2002 — Green steel coaster train cresting hill, purple supports, July 2, 2002. *Photo: ThrillZing (CC BY 4.0)*

Green looping coaster track over plaza and kiosk, Chang, July 2002 — Green looping coaster track over plaza and kiosk, July 2, 2002. *Photo: ThrillZing (CC BY 4.0)*

Green loop track with spectators watching through chain-link fence, Chang, July 2002 — Green loop track with spectators watching through chain-link fence, July 2, 2002. *Photo: ThrillZing (CC BY 4.0)*

Inverted train banking through vertical loop against blue sky, Chang, July 2002 — Inverted train banking through vertical loop against blue sky, July 2, 2002. *Photo: ThrillZing (CC BY 4.0)*

Intertwined green loops of coaster with purple supports, Chang, July 2002 — Intertwined green loops of coaster with purple supports, July 2, 2002. *Photo: ThrillZing (CC BY 4.0)*

Upward view of purple support structure and green overbank loop, Chang, July 2002 — Upward view of purple support structure and green overbank loop, July 2, 2002. *Photo: ThrillZing (CC BY 4.0)*

Close-up of coaster track ties and green support beam, Chang, July 2002 — Close-up of coaster track ties and green support beam, July 2, 2002. *Photo: ThrillZing (CC BY 4.0)*

Riders in stand-up coaster train at station, Chang, July 2002 — Riders in stand-up coaster train at station, July 2, 2002. *Photo: ThrillZing (CC BY 4.0)*

Coaster train inverted going through loop element, Chang, July 2002 — Coaster train inverted going through loop element, July 2, 2002. *Photo: ThrillZing (CC BY 4.0)*

Coaster loops behind striped lighthouse tower and pizza stand, Chang, July 2002 — Coaster loops behind striped lighthouse tower and pizza stand, July 2, 2002. *Photo: ThrillZing (CC BY 4.0)*

Aerial view of lime-green looping coaster near airfield, go-karts below, Chang, July 2002 — Aerial view of lime-green looping coaster near airfield, go-karts below, July 2, 2002. *Photo: ThrillZing (CC BY 4.0)*

Aerial view of yellow looping steel coaster over midway, Chang, July 2002 — Aerial view of yellow looping steel coaster over midway, July 2, 2002. *Photo: ThrillZing (CC BY 4.0)*

Coaster loop/overbank turn beside midway building, Chang, July 2002 — Coaster loop/overbank turn beside midway building, July 2, 2002. *Photo: ThrillZing (CC BY 4.0)*

Close-up of coaster loop track against sky, Chang, July 2002 — Close-up of coaster loop track against sky, July 2, 2002. *Photo: ThrillZing (CC BY 4.0)*

Aerial view of yellow steel looping coaster over midway, Chang, July 2002 — Aerial view of yellow steel looping coaster over midway, July 2, 2002. *Photo: ThrillZing (CC BY 4.0)*

Close aerial shot of yellow steel coaster loop and corkscrew, Chang, July 2002 — Close aerial shot of yellow steel coaster loop and corkscrew, July 2, 2002. *Photo: ThrillZing (CC BY 4.0)*

Steel coaster loops above midway shops and trees, Chang, July 2002 — Steel coaster loops above midway shops and trees, July 2, 2002. *Photo: ThrillZing (CC BY 4.0)*

Coaster loops over midway with visitors walking below, Chang, July 2002 — Coaster loops over midway with visitors walking below, July 2, 2002. *Photo: ThrillZing (CC BY 4.0)*

Aerial view of green-and-purple looping steel coaster amid trees, Chang, July 2002 — Aerial view of green-and-purple looping steel coaster amid trees, July 2, 2002. *Photo: ThrillZing (CC BY 4.0)*

Green looping coaster above go-kart track and walkways, Chang, July 2002 — Green looping coaster above go-kart track and walkways, July 2, 2002. *Photo: ThrillZing (CC BY 4.0)*

Chang FAQs

What happened to the Chang roller coaster?

Chang was dismantled at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in September 2009 and relocated to Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey, where it reopened in 2011 as Green Lantern. It operated there until closing in November 2024.

What records did Chang hold?

When it opened in 1997, Chang set world records among stand-up coasters for height, drop, speed, length, and number of inversions, and briefly held the record for the tallest vertical loop of any coaster.

Why was the coaster named Chang?

The name came from the Mandarin Chinese word for “long,” a nod to the ride’s record-breaking length when it debuted at Kentucky Kingdom in 1997.

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Photo: Jim Capaldi from Springfield PA, United States of America / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Chang: The Record-Setting Stand-Up Coaster at Kentucky Kingdom