Goliath (Six Flags New England)

Roller coaster in the United States
Watch the on-ride POV
Goliath
Déjà Vu at Six Flags Magic Mountain
Six Flags New England
Location Agawam, Massachusetts, USA
Status Defunct
Operated May 25, 2012 to 2019
Replaced Shipwreck Falls
Six Flags Magic Mountain
Name Déjà Vu
Location Valencia, California, USA
Operated August 25, 2001 to October 16, 2011
Statistics
Manufacturer Vekoma
Product Giant Inverted Boomerang
Designer / calculations Stefan Holtman
Type Steel - Inverted - Shuttle
Hourly capacity 870
Propulsion Catch car vertical lift
Height 194 feet
Drop 177 feet
Top speed 65.6 mph
Length 1204 feet
Track inversions 3
Rider inversions 6
Drop angle 90°
Duration 1:32
G-Force 4.5
Rolling stock
Manufacturer Vekoma (2001-2012)
Premier Rides (2013-2019)
Riders per train 32
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Goliath was a steel inverted shuttle roller coaster located at Six Flags New England in Agawam, Massachusetts, USA. The ride was one of six Giant Inverted Boomerangs built by Vekoma. The design is similar to Vekoma's Boomerang design, but riders instead hang from below the track, and there are vertical lifts on both ends. The ride opened August 25, 2001 at Six Flags Magic Mountain as Déjà Vu.

History

Goliath at Six Flags New England in 2013

In December 2000, Six Flags Magic Mountain announced that Déjà Vu would be added to the park, along with X. This was a part of a plan to spend up to $30 million on new rides.[1] Déjà Vu originally opened on August 25, 2001.[2]

In 2011, Six Flags New England announced they were adding Goliath, a boomerang type coaster. The only Déjà Vu left at a Six Flags park was at Six Flags Magic Mountain.[3]

After ten years of operation, Déjà Vu closed on October 16, 2011 and was dismantled.[4]

Déjà Vu was relocated to Six Flags New England, where it opened on May 25, 2012 as Goliath. The ride was located right across from Flashback, a standard Vekoma boomerang model.

After moving to Six Flags New England, Goliath faced many maintenance issues and mechanical issues. It could not operate in the rain or in temperatures below 60° and suffered from constant downtime.[5] Moreover, the ride received worse reviews than at Magic Mountain, as many guests disliked the new Premier Rides trains. These trains were added shortly after Goliath moved to Six Flags New England, and many said the new trains made the attraction much rougher and less comfortable.[6]

Goliath closed after the 2019 season. It did not operate in the 2020 or 2021 season.

In 2021, Six Flags New England removed Goliath from their map, and a representative of the park confirmed it would not operate for the rest of the 2021 season.[7]

In October 2021, the ride's removal begun.[8][9] The attraction was completely scrapped by early 2022.[10] A car from the ride was used as Halloween decor in late 2022 and again in 2023.[11][12]

Design

Elements

Goliath featured the standard Giant Inverted Boomerang layout, with two vertical towers, a cobra roll, and a vertical loop. The train moved out of the station backwards, up one vertical spike, then went through the layout forwards. A second tower then dropped riders backwards through the layout. Finally, riders ascended the first vertical spike halfway, before being slowly lowered back into the station.

Color scheme

Light green track and blue supports.

Trains

Single train with 8 cars. In each car, riders are arranged 4 across in a single row, for a total of 32 riders per train.

When Goliath was relocated to Six Flags New England, it sported the original Vekoma trains.[13] However, the trains were soon swapped with trains made by Premier Rides. This was to increase rider capacity and to make boarding less confusing and complicated.[14] They sat four riders per row as opposed to the traditional staggered seating trains built by Vekoma.

Images

References

  1. "Magic Mountain to Add 3 New Rides in Bid to Become Coaster Capital".
  2. Six Flags Magic Mountain Announces Opening of Deja Vu - Ultimate Rollercoaster
  3. "Pol calls for stiffer regs as Six Flags eyes Goliath coaster".
  4. "Six Flags Magic Mountain to remove Deja Vu coaster".
  5. 15 Roller Coasters That Could Be Gone Within The Next Five Years (2021)
  6. "Lost Coasters of California - Part 10: Déjà Vu - The Coaster Kings".
  7. "Six Flags New England". Screamscape. Archived from the original on 2021-09-28. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
  8. "Goliath, Six Flags New England It appears demolition has begun, I'd say it's going to the scrapyard". bizarrosfne1. 10/30/2021. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. Goliath is Being Demolished at Six Flags New England
  10. "Six Flags New England sloopt achtbaan Goliath".
  11. jackacase (2022-09-26). "one car from [Goliath, SFNE] being repurposed as Halloween decor". Reddit. Retrieved 2022-09-26.
  12. "[SFNE] Saw this setup for Fright Fest. What coaster is this car from?". Reddit. RusticDrums. 2023-10-25. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
  13. "Six Flags New England - New Coaster, GOLIATH!". VisitMassachusetts.
  14. "...new train for Goliath?". Facebook.

External links

  • Goliath on the Roller Coaster DataBase.


Articles on Six Flags New England
Articles on Six Flags Magic Mountain