The Circuit of the Americas has spent years as a place you only visited when a race was on. That changed last week when COTALAND, a 30-acre theme park built on the grounds of the COTA racetrack, officially opened its gates on September 26. It is billed as part of a larger entertainment supercomplex centered around the track, but the park itself is a separate destination, with 34 rides and an expected 1,300 employees and 1.5 million visitors a year.
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The headliner is Circuit Breaker, a Vekoma tilt coaster that claims to be Texas' only tilt coaster. It is a steel sit-down coaster with onboard sound, reaching 131.2 feet and clocking 57.2 mph over 2,188.3 feet, with four inversions. The final bolt went in on August 27, 2025, and preview rides ran on a pay-per-ride basis in October of that year. The opening weekend was not without drama, though: the ride malfunctioned twice, once leaving 19 riders hanging in a vertical tilt for about nine minutes on Saturday and again for about two minutes on Sunday. No injuries were reported. It is not the first issue the ride has faced, either; a $1 million lawsuit was filed in May 2026 over a December 2025 incident in which two people were stuck in the air for about an hour after a sensor pin failed.
If you are not a coaster enthusiast, there is plenty else to fill a day. Palindrome is a Gerstlauer infinity shuttle coaster, the first of its kind in the U.S. and the only steel coaster to soar over an active road. The rest of the lineup rounds out the park for families: Soggy Logger is a classic log flume with a big splashdown, Safari Adventure is an off-road vehicle expedition, Cloud Flyer swings you 150 feet above the park, and there are a dozen or so smaller rides like the Cotaland Express train, the Grand Carousel, and a mini log flume for the kids. The park also leans into its racing roots with a few add-on experiences, most notably Hot Lap, the only purpose-built F1 racetrack experience in the country where you ride passenger in a genuine performance vehicle. There is also a 15-turn outdoor karting track, a kiddie karting circuit, 27 holes of mini golf, and a zip line that takes you 180 feet over the track's main straight.
On the practical side, a single-day ticket runs anywhere from $39.99 to $75, and annual passes like the Champion and Pro passes are available if you plan to come back. The Hot Lap experience is $175 on top of admission. The park sits at 9111 Circuit of the Americas Blvd, so it is easy to pair a day of rides with a visit to the track itself, which has been hosting races since 2012. Whether you come for the coasters or the racing connection, it is a big addition to the Austin area.
Published Date
2 October 2026
