Austin is now home to a 30-acre amusement park with nail-biting roller coasters, towering drop and swing rides, a Ferris wheel, carousel, shows and more.
COTALAND held its grand opening celebrations over the weekend. The park, located next to turns 19 and 20 of Circuit of the America’s race track, features more than 30 attractions that range from high-intensity coasters to kid-friendly mini rides.
Lorianne Willett
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KUT News
Visitors walk around COTALAND during a preview day on Friday ahead of the grand opening weekend.
The property was designed to keep families together, said Griffin Tendler, vice president of marketing for COTALAND.
“Where there’s one thrill ride, there’s three or four kids’ rides right next to it,” he said. “You get to experience the whole park as a family.”
Lorianne Willett
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KUT News
Azalea Garcia rides the Grand Carousel at COTALAND.
The major attractions include Circuit Breaker, which COTALAND says is Texas’ first tilt roller coaster, and Palindrome, a coaster that goes both forward and backward over an active road.
COTALAND is also the only amusement park in the country where attendees can ride on a real Formula 1 track, according to a park press release. People can experience the circuit in a sports car alongside a professional driver; the Hot Lap experience starts at $175 in addition to park admission.
Lorianne Willett
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KUT News
Park visitors line up for Hot Lap, an add-on experience that takes people onto the COTA circuit.
Single day tickets currently range in price from $39.99 to $75 depending on the day, according to COTALAND’s website on Monday. There are additional fees for parking, certain experiences and premium passes to skip lines. An annual pass starts at $199.
Non-ride attractions include arcade games, restaurants, shows with park mascots and fireworks on certain nights.
Lorianne Willett
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KUT News
The Cloud Flyer is a swing ride that takes people 150 feet above the park, according to COTALAND’s website.
The park opening “marks the beginning of new opportunities for our community — creating jobs, supporting workforce development, strengthening local businesses, and bringing new visitors and tourism to Travis County,” said George Morales, Travis County commissioner for Precinct 4, at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday.
The park is expected to employ around 1,300 people and eventually see 1.5 million visitors a year, Tendler said.
Lorianne Willett
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KUT News
Park mascots Buck and Turbo greet visitors after the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
COTALAND has been years in the making. Plans for a full-scale theme park became public in 2021. Weather and shipping delays pushed back the opening, Tendler said.
Certain attractions have been available to COTA visitors in the past. But the weekend marked the official opening of the park.
KUT News attended a media preview day on Friday. Though the park was mostly in operation, construction materials were visible in some areas, and “coming soon” signs stood in front of a couple of rides.
Lorianne Willett
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KUT News
COTALAND also has water rides like the Soggy Logger.
Earlier this year, park visitor Matthew Cantu sued COTA and a roller coaster manufacturer for more than $1 million. The Travis County lawsuit claims that Cantu and a friend were stuck on the Circuit Breaker coaster for more than an hour in December 2025. They were positioned looking down at a 90-degree angle, were not evacuated and eventually had to finish the ride to get off. This caused serious injury to Cantu’s head, neck and back, according to the lawsuit.
In a statement, COTALAND said it was reviewing the claims in the lawsuit, but it couldn’t comment on details because of the ongoing litigation. “The safety and well-being of our guests remain our top priority,” it said.
Lorianne Willett
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KUT News
When it gets dark, COTALAND rides like Spin Out light up the night.
The park is part of a yearslong expansion of COTA experiences beyond racing. The 1,500-acre property hosts concerts, the Peppermint Parkway holiday event, bike nights for cyclists and more. Plans are also in motion for a hotel and convention center.
“The park is part of Circuit of The Americas’ broader vision to evolve beyond a world-class racetrack into a full-scale experiential entertainment campus,” a park press release states.
Lorianne Willett
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KUT News
COTALAND lights stand out against a dark sky on Friday.
The opening comes about a month before the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix.
COTALAND’s operating hours vary. Find the latest information on the park’s website.