Giant Inverted Boomerang

A Giant Inverted Boomerang is a type of steel shuttle roller coaster manufactured by the Dutch firm Vekoma. The ride is a larger, inverted version of Vekoma's popular Boomerang sit down roller coasters. As of February 2021, five installations of the model are operating, with another one under construction.

Giant Inverted Boomerang
Stunt Fall at Parque Warner Madrid
StatusIn Production
First manufactured2001
No. of installations6
ManufacturerVekoma
Height59 m (194 ft)
Drop54 m (177 ft)
Length367 m (1,204 ft)
Speed105.6 km/h (65.6 mph)
Capacity870 riders per hour
Vehicles1
Riders per vehicle32
Rows8
Riders per row4
DurationAbout 1:32 minutes
Restraint StyleOver-the-shoulder
Giant Inverted Boomerang at RCDB

History
Goliath when it was originally at Six Flags Magic Mountain as Déjà Vu from 2001-2011

Giant Inverted Boomerangs were slated to open for the start of the 2001 season at three Six Flags parks, however, sudden errors and malfunctions occurred during testing and caused the openings to be delayed. The first to open was Déjà Vu at Six Flags Magic Mountain on August 25, 2001. Déjà Vu at Six Flags Magic Mountain has since been removed and relocated to Six Flags New England as Goliath.[1][2] This was followed by the opening of a further two Giant Inverted Boomerangs named Déjà Vu on September 1, 2001, at Six Flags Over Georgia[3] and on October 7, 2001, at Six Flags Great America.[4] The opening of the fourth Giant Inverted Boomerang was delayed even more after the problems were discovered with the first three. Stunt Fall opened on August 8, 2002, at Parque Warner Madrid (then known as Warner Bros. Movie World Madrid).[5]

In 2007, Six Flags announced the removal of Déjà Vu from both Six Flags Over Georgia and Six Flags Great America. They announced that the Six Flags Over Georgia ride would be replaced with a new themed area called Thomas Town (since rethemed to Whistlestop Park).[3][6][7] After the Six Flags Great America ride gave its last rides on October 28, 2007,[4] it was removed and replaced with the Buccaneer Battle ride.[8]

In January 2008, Silverwood Theme Park in Idaho announced on its website that it would install the Déjà Vu from Six Flags Great America with a projected opening date of July that year.[9] They later announced Déjà Vu would operate as Aftershock.[10] Before opening at its new location, the ride was overhauled by Vekoma in order to make the ride more reliable. The ride officially opened July 21, 2008.[10] Rocky Mountain Construction, an Idaho-based manufacturing firm, assisted with the construction of the ride.[11]

In November 2009 it was announced that Mirabilandia in Brazil had purchased Six Flags Over Georgia's Déjà Vu. The ride was renamed Sky Mountain and is yet to open, but remains in storage at the park.[12]

Quantum Leap at Sochi Park, 2020

On August 16, 2011, Masslive reported that Six Flags New England was planning on building a Giant Inverted Boomerang for the park's 2012 season where the Shipwreck Falls attraction was located.[13] On August 18, 2011, the ride was approved by the Agawam Planning Board,[13] with the Los Angeles Times confirming one day later that Déjà Vu from Six Flags Magic Mountain would be relocated to Six Flags New England and would begin operation under a new name in 2012.[14] An official announcement from Six Flags representatives was made on September 1, 2011, confirming previous reports and announcing that the relocated ride's name would be Goliath.[14][15][16][17] On October 16, 2011, Déjà Vu operated for the final time.[18] At around the same time, Shipwreck Falls was removed from Six Flags New England to make way for Goliath.[19] Goliath at Six Flags New England was topped off on February 29, 2012.[20] Goliath opened to the public on May 25, 2012.

In 2011, the first new Giant Inverted Boomerang since 2002 was constructed. Jinjiang Action Park opened the aptly named Giant Inverted Boomerang in September 2011.[21] In 2014, Sochi Park Adventureland opened Quantum Leap, another Giant Inverted Boomerang.[22]

Installations
Coaster nameAmusement parkOpening dateStatus
Aftershock
Formerly Déjà Vu		Silverwood Theme Park
Six Flags Great America		July 21, 2008
October 7, 2001
Operating
Closed on October 28, 2007
[4][10]
Mountain PeakJinjiang Action ParkSeptember 30, 2011
Operating
[21]
Goliath
Formerly Déjà Vu		Six Flags New England
Six Flags Magic Mountain		May 25, 2012
August 25, 2001
Operating
Closed on October 16, 2011
[2][14][23]
Sky Mountain
Formerly Déjà Vu		Mirabilandia
Six Flags Over Georgia		2018[24]September 1, 2001
Under Construction
Closed in October 2007
[3][12]
Stunt FallParque Warner MadridAugust 8, 2002
Operating
[5]
Quantum LeapSochi Park Adventureland2014
Operating
[22]

Ride
The basic track layout of a Giant Inverted Boomerang.

Layout and design

The Giant Inverted Boomerang is a departure from Vekoma's earlier Boomerang designs. This model features a vertical cable lift hill that quickly lifts the train up a vertical tower. Also, this model is larger than previous Boomerang designs. From above, the track layout looks like an 'X'.

The chevron seating shown on the Great America ride.

Train

As a Giant Inverted Boomerang is a shuttle roller coaster, each installation only operates with a single train. Each of these trains has 8 cars, each utilising 4-across seating, similar to that on Bolliger & Mabillard's inverted roller coasters. However, the seats on Giant Inverted Boomerangs are "staggered" such that the outside seats are pushed back slightly behind the middle two seats in each row. Train caters for a total of 32 riders.

Goliath at Six Flags New England was set to feature new a train by Premier Rides (different from the originals built by Vekoma). This train will have 4-across seating, exactly like that on Bolliger & Mabillard's inverted roller coasters. The new train design was chosen in an attempt to make the lines in the station less complicated to navigate and also to give the ride a higher capacity.[25][26]

Experience

The ride begins when the train slowly backs out of the station and up the vertical lift, pulled by a catch car. Once reaching the top of the lift, with riders facing straight down, and their legs dangling in the air, the train is released and zooms through the station heading into a 110-foot (34 m) tall boomerang. This element contains two of the three inversions found on the ride going forward. After twisting through the Boomerang, riders then go through a 102-foot (31 m) tall vertical loop which crosses over the station and hit the second vertical tower of the ride. A catch car there pulls the train up the second vertical tower, this time with riders facing the sky. After the train reaches the top of the tower, it is released to cycle backward through the layout. The train then goes through the station and heads up the first vertical lift again, where it is caught once more by the catch car and then very slowly lowered back into the station.

Problems
The former Déjà Vu at Six Flags Over Georgia was relocated to Mirabilandia where it is in storage today.

Six Flags had originally ordered four Giant Inverted Boomerangs in 2001 (the three Déjà Vu coasters in U.S.A. and Stunt Fall at Warner Bros. Movie World in Madrid, Spain). However, following the installation of the 3 Déjà Vu coasters and the discovery of several problems, Six Flags allowed Vekoma to resolve these problems before installation of their fourth coaster, Stunt Fall. Vekoma has since upgraded the original three rides to use this system.

One problem was clearance between the riders and the track overhead. After the trains were mounted to the track, it was quickly discovered that riders could reach and touch the track while the train was in motion, posing the risk of injury. Vekoma had to improvise, adding new bars to the original shoulder restraint to prevent guests from reaching up too high.

During initial testing on Six Flags Over Georgia's Déjà Vu, the catch car (a small device that catches and holds the train) on the first tower derailed, breaking parts and destroying the components of the train beyond economical repair. The ride received a replacement train shortly after.

Déjà Vu at Six Flags Great America, with passengers waiting mid-ride after emergency brakes engaged.

During tests it was discovered that trains would stall in the middle of the boomerang. Unplanned, the parks installed emergency unloading scaffolding in this location, similar to other Boomerang roller coasters.

Another problem of the ride is the locking mechanism for the shoulder restraints. The Giant Inverted Boomerangs require the use of a battery pack to unlock each restraint in the event of a power loss. Virtually all other roller coasters have a quick manual release system to unload in unusual locations for emergency situations.

Some smaller or younger riders complained that the restraints give too much room for the riders to "fall forward" during the lift. People who were barrel-chested, overweight or obese complained of chest compressions during the moments that they were on the main lift.

On July 11, 2016, Goliath at Six Flags New England suffered a cable snap on tower one, shutting down the ride for months until replacement parts were obtained and installed.[27]

Criticism

Since the announcement of Goliath on September 1, 2011, U.S. Representative Ed Markey, with S.I. Sheikh and A.B. Singhal from the Massachusetts General Hospital, told the Boston Herald that “Fixed-site amusement park rides like those at Six Flags New England are exempt from federal oversight due to a 30-year-old special-interest loophole. This means that even as these rides get faster and taller, safety rules remain stuck in a state-by-state patchwork that leaves riders vulnerable. Also, the jerky motions of these rides have been linked to small tears in arteries or a spike in blood pressure, but we aren’t sure if there is necessarily a cause-and-effect relationship.”[28]

Rankings

All Giant Inverted Boomerang models currently hold the records for the second biggest drop on an inverted roller coaster;[29] the third highest inverted roller coaster;[30] and the fifth fastest inverted roller coaster.[31]

See also

References
  1. Marden, Duane. "Roller Coaster Search Results  (Giant Inverted Boomerangs)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  2. Marden, Duane. "Déjà Vu  (Six Flags Magic Mountain)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  3. Marden, Duane. "Déjà Vu  (Six Flags Over Georgia)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  4. Marden, Duane. "Déjà Vu  (Six Flags Great America)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  5. Marden, Duane. "Stunt Fall  (Parque Warner Madrid)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  6. http://www.screamscape.com/html/six_flags_over_georgia.htm
  7. http://www.sixflags.com/overGeorgia/info/news_thomastown.aspx
  8. http://www.coastercrew.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=104&pos=0
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-01-27. Retrieved 2008-01-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. Marden, Duane. "Aftershock  (Silverwood Theme Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  11. "Clients & Portfolio". Rocky Mountain Construction. Archived from the original on November 10, 2013. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
  12. Marden, Duane. "Sky Mountain  (Mirabilandia)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  13. Constantine, Sandra (August 16, 2011). "Six Flags New England working to add new roller coaster ride to its Agawam amusement park". News Article. MassLive.com.
  14. MacDonald, Brady (19 August 2011). "Six Flags Magic Mountain to remove Deja Vu coaster". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  15. Hagist, Jenna (August 18, 2011). "Six Flags Adds New Coaster". News Article. Wggb.com. Archived from the original on October 2, 2011. Retrieved September 12, 2011.
  16. Six Flags New England (September 1, 2011). "Six Flags New England Announces Goliath – A Coaster Of Epic Proportions For The 2012 Season". Six Flags. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
  17. Six Flags Great America (September 2, 2011). "Hey Déjà Vu fans!..." Facebook. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
  18. Six Flags Magic Mountain (September 13, 2011). "Déjà Vu fans..." Facebook. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
  19. Six Flags New England (September 3, 2011). "Last Chance to ride..." Facebook. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
  20. Six Flags New England (February 29, 2012). "Topping off Goliath..." Facebook. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
  21. Marden, Duane. "Giant Inverted Boomerang  (Jinjiang Action Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  22. Marden, Duane. "unknown  (Sochi Park Adventureland)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  23. MacDonald, Brady (September 1, 2011). "Six Flags unveils new attractions for every park in 2012". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  25. Six Flags New England (October 2, 2011). "...new train for Goliath?". Facebook. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
  26. Six Flags New England (December 7, 2011). "...Goliath created Premier Rides". Facebook. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
  27. "Roller coaster cable malfunction prompts Six Flags New England to close ride indefinitely". Retrieved 2016-07-12.
  28. Sperance, Cameron (3 September 2011). "Pol calls for stiffer regs as Six Flags eyes Goliath coaster". Boston Herald. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  29. Marden, Duane. "Record Holders  (Largest Inverted Roller Coaster Drops)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  30. Marden, Duane. "Record Holders  (Tallest Inverted Roller Coasters)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  31. Marden, Duane. "Record Holders  (Fastest Inverted Roller Coasters)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
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