Austin has been talking about a theme park for years, and it's finally open. COTALAND opened on September 26 at the Circuit of the Americas in southeast Austin, tucked right next to curves 19 and 20 of the F1 track. It's about 30 acres with more than 30 rides, themed around Austin and Texas with local-animal mascots, seasonal wildflower landscaping and plenty of shade. The whole thing is part of a larger entertainment complex that already runs concerts, Peppermint Parkway and cycling nights, with a hotel and convention center planned down the road. The park is expected to employ around 1,300 people and pull in 1.5 million visitors a year.
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The big names are the coasters. Circuit Breaker is Texas' only tilt coaster, a Vekoma supercoaster that stands over 130 feet and drops you 90 degrees; it opened for preview rides in October 2025 and takes riders between 48 and 80 inches. Palindrome is the first infinity shuttle coaster in the U.S., a Gerstlauer steel coaster that's the only one of its kind to soar over an active road, with a 77-inch maximum height. For something wetter, Soggy Logger is a hill-country log flume that ends in a big splashdown, and Safari Adventure takes you on an off-road expedition to spot exotic wildlife. Cloud Flyer swings you 150 feet above the park, and the COTALAND Express is a garden train for the little ones.
Because it's built at a racetrack, the driving experiences are a big part of the draw. Hot Lap is the only purpose-built F1 racetrack experience in the country, a 15-turn outdoor track that runs 2.4 miles in the NASCAR configuration; you need to be 16 with a license to drive, and anyone younger rides with an adult. COTA Karting is a world-class outdoor track with 15 turns, and Kiddie Karting is a smaller version for ages 5 to 11. Both come with an extra fee. There's also a 27-hole championship-style mini golf course and a Soaring Eagle zip line 180 feet above the circuit's main straight, both also extra.
Beyond those, the park fills in with a lot of family rides: Baby Buccaneer, Buck's Silly Soakers, Checkers' Sky Flyer, Cosmic Glider, Doggy Dash, Downforce, Fang's Flight, a Grand Carousel, Jackhammer, Lil' Logger, Medusa, Retro Rambler, Smugglers Curse, Spin Out, Spindletop, Turbo's Tilt-N-Twist, Turn N' Burn, a Victory Wheel Ferris wheel, Wacky Worm and more. Most have height requirements, so it's worth checking those before you go.
On price, a one-day ticket runs between $39.99 and $75 depending on the day, with extra fees for parking, certain experiences and premium passes. Annual passes, the Champion Pass and Pro Pass, start at $199. It's not without its hiccups, though: Circuit Breaker stopped twice during opening weekend, leaving 19 people hanging at a vertical tilt for about nine minutes on Saturday, and again for about two minutes on Sunday, with no injuries. A more serious incident happened in December 2025 when two people were trapped at a 90-degree angle 130 feet up for over an hour, which COTA blamed on a sensor pin failure. One of them sued in May 2026 for more than $1 million, alleging negligence and a lack of an emergency response plan. Still, as Austin's first real theme park, it's the new big thing in town.
Published Date
27 October 2026
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