Specific Type: Mega Coaster
|
On February 11th, 2000, Six Flags Magic Mountain opened a coaster of Goliath proportions looming over the park’s skyline. This coaster became another milestone, not for height, but for being the first major coaster to open in the new millennium and for its short lived record as the world‘s fastest roller coaster at eighty-five miles per hour. Just like other coasters in the park’s holding of many claims to fame, Goliath was one of the four brand new coasters to transform Six Flags Magic Mountain into “The X-Treme Park.” Alongside Goliath, two coasters afterwards were added: Déjà Vu, a Giant Inverted Boomerang clone from Vekoma, and the world’s first Fourth Dimension coaster, X.
Dominating the park's skyline, Goliath is the third-tallest structure in the park next to the historicSky Tower attraction, and Superman: Escape From Krypton. But Goliath towers over the park’s classic wooden coaster, Colossus (which is pretty ironic because it doesn't seem very colossal anymore) and greets visitors as they enter the parking lots. The ride is one of only two Giovanola-designed hyper coasters, the other being Titan at Six Flags over Texas which opened two years after Goliath. © Six Flags Magic Mountain Throughout the winter of 1999, orange track and teal supports rising over 235 feet in height and 4,500 feet in length looked like one of the most intense thrills on the planet. Entering through giant stone letters into the waiting lines, future riders enter into the stony and Romanesque station. Puny Davids ready to take on Goliath board the two-across, fifteen-row train and secure restraints before taking on this giant. After departing the station, the train slowly goes around a 180-degree turn into the lift hill. Climbing suspensefully towards the top, at 235 feet riders are at over twice the height of Colossus. Suddenly you’re at the top and you descend a giant, 61 degree, 255 foot drop, sending you into a fog-enshrouded tunnel as you go at speeds of over eighty-five miles per hour. After the tunnel, you head back up toward the skies into a turnaround, taking place over Colossus. After the turn around, you go down another drop at 186 feet, flattening out over the tunnel. You little David’s thought that was enough? Not quite, after that, you will encounter some serious airtime on a camelback hump. After the camelback, you go up a left turned ascent into the mid course brake run. At last a short breather, but not for long when you gain more speed after the brakes. After the brakes, you go down a drop around a left handed U-turn, gaining back speed. Then it rounds a banked curve down into another drop back down before encountering one of the rides’ most thrilling and forceful parts. Yes, so forceful it causes people to black out. The high speed downward helix giving you over four and a half positive G-forces on the element. After one heck of a helix, you encounter a carousel curve to head back toward the helix and another 180 degree banked turnaround into the brake run before conquering this giant. You little Davids finally survived Goliath and can conquer more extreme thrills at “The X-Treme Park”. But who says Goliath's thrills are only for big kids? One year later on March 31st, 2001, Goliath Jr. opened. A standard Bradley and Kaye Little Dipper coaster, the ride is nothing more but the parks’ old Wile E. Coyote coaster with new paint and supports, for the little ones to conquer their own Goliath. Although it had a short-lived ego as the world’s fastest coaster, it still remains a park icon and a smash hit ride. Giving you a twisted and high speed adventure, Goliath is one coaster you should not miss out on when you visit Six Flags Magic Mountain. |
©1998-2016 COASTER-net.com, All Rights Reserved.