{"id":448200,"date":"2026-09-26T06:10:08","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T06:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/448200\/"},"modified":"2026-09-26T06:10:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T06:10:08","slug":"ribbon-cut-at-cotaland-as-thrill-seekers-get-first-look-at-new-theme-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/448200\/","title":{"rendered":"Ribbon cut at COTALand as thrill-seekers get first look at new theme park"},"content":{"rendered":"

AUSTIN, Texas \u2014 Thrill-seekers and families poured into COTALAND at Circuit of the Americas after a ribbon-cutting ceremony, getting an early look at the new theme park and its more than 30 rides and attractions.<\/p>\n

Mariah Mann, who lives in New Braunfels, said the park\u2019s opening felt like a major moment after she had been counting down the days to visit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI almost feel like I’m in Disney World, but it’s just something unique,\u201d Mann said. “My dad, he loves F1 racetracks. So when he sees this, he’s going to freak out.”<\/p>\n

She said she’s been waiting to get inside since she drove by while the park was under construction.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m just super excited for all the rides, the food, just the newness of it. I don’t even know what to expect at the same time,\u201d Mann said.<\/p>\n

Among the attractions is the Circuit Breaker, which COTALAND says is the state\u2019s first tilt coaster.<\/p>\n

Bobby Epstein, chairman of Circuits of the Americas\/COTALAND, said the park is designed to appeal to both thrill-seekers and families with young children.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere there\u2019s a big thrill, there\u2019s a little thrill too. We have a big coaster, and a coaster for the kids,\u201d Epstein said.<\/p>\n

ALSO| Austin airport expects 35,000 travelers ahead of Texas-Tennessee game<\/a><\/p>\n

KEYE<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

COTA is typically at its busiest in October for the Formula One race, but Epstein said the theme park expansion is intended to help draw visitors throughout the year. He also said the theme park is creating over 1,000 jobs.<\/p>\n

“The community we’re in is part of what gives us confidence to do this,” he said. “We’ve got a great labor force in Southeast Austin, and it’s often an overlooked amazing part of our city.”<\/p>\n

Travis County Judge Andy Brown said the potential for jobs and economic development is important for the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they will have more local employees, which is great. They’ll hopefully bring in more folks to visit here year-round, so hopefully it’ll be good economic development for the county. Have a lot of good opportunities for folks that live in the area to,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n

COTALAND\u2019s official Grand Opening Celebration Weekend will take place September 26\u201327, 2026, with two distinct experiences for guests. <\/p>\n

Saturday, September 26, will run from 4\u201310 p.m., with tickets now on sale for $99 per person and including:<\/p>\n

Complimentary food and beverages throughout the eveningA \u201cFirst Ride Ceremony\u201d and ribbon cutting with celebrity guests and VIP attendeesExclusive Grand Opening Celebration activities and family-focused entertainment programming throughout the parkFireworks celebration<\/p>\n

On Sunday, September 27, COTALAND will be open from 10 a.m.\u20137 p.m., with tickets available for $65 per person.<\/p>\n

Sunday admission will include access to the park\u2019s rides, attractions, and family-focused entertainment programming.<\/p>\n

For those looking for the true F1 experience, COTALAND is offering the “Hot Lap” add-on, which gives guests the opportunity to ride in a high-speed car around the F1 track. That experience costs an additional $175.<\/p>\n

COTALAND said the experience marks the only permanent attraction in the United States where consumers can participate in a hot lap on an active Formula 1 track.<\/p>\n

COTA is a sponsor of CBS Austin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AUSTIN, Texas \u2014 Thrill-seekers and families poured into COTALAND at Circuit of the Americas after a ribbon-cutting ceremony,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":448201,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133],"class_list":["post-448200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=448200"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448200\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/448201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=448200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=448200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=448200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}