Goliath (Six Flags Over Georgia)

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Goliath
Goliath's 170 foot first drop
Location	Six Flags Over Georgia
Type	Steel
Status	Open
Opened	April 1, 2006
Manufacturer	Bolliger & Mabillard
Designer	Bolliger & Mabillard
Model	Mega Coaster
Track layout	Out and Back
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Height	200 ft (61 m)
Drop	175 ft (53 m)
Length	4,480 ft (1,370 m)
Max speed	70 mph (110 km/h)
Inversions	0
Duration	2:45
Max vertical angle	59°
Capacity	1200 riders per hour
Max g-force	4.1
Height restriction	4 ft 6 in (140 cm)
Goliath at RCDB Pictures of Goliath at RCDB
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Goliath is a roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia. Designed by Bolliger & Mabillard and opened in April 2006, Goliath reaches a height of 200 feet, and a top speed of 70 mph. Its 4480 feet of track is spread out over an 8.5-acre site. Goliath is classified as a hypercoaster, and is the second such attraction located in the Southern United States, the first being Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens Europe in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Contents 1 Attraction history 2 Theme 3 Track layout 4 Awards 5 Incident 6 External links

[edit] Attraction history

In August 2005, Six Flags Over Georgia announced it was closing down its long-standing Great Gasp attraction, as well as its lesser-known Looping Starship, to make way for a future attraction. Goliath was first hinted at in a teaser flier sent to media outlets, with the official announcement made in early September 2005.

Construction began in earnest after the removal of the two closed attractions, with the main structure completed in early 2006. After testing and media previews, Goliath debuted to the public on April 1, 2006.

[edit] Theme

Goliath is located in the park's USA section. In the early 1990s, the section was renovated and given a theme reminiscent of 1950s America, as evidenced by its Dee Jay's Diner restaurant and Drive-In theater. On the surface, an ultra-modern roller coaster would seem thematically out of place. However, the attraction's queue uses many novelty music tracks from the 1950s, all with science-fiction or outer-space themes (including both versions of the theme song to the "Lost in Space" television series). This would suggest that Goliath is a vision of the future as seen during the early days of the Space Age.

[edit] Track layout

Goliath begins as the roller coaster leaves the station and turns left to start up the 200-foot lift hill. Upon reaching the top, it drops 170 feet to the midway below. The roller coaster angles to the left slightly as it climbs the second hill, crossing over three other attractions in a single bound. The second drop, the tallest on the ride at 175 feet, travels down towards the park's entrance road and out of the park grounds. At the bottom of the hill, the roller coaster makes another left turn above a pond and climbs again. The third hill leads to a 129-foot drop, also over water.

Goliath starts its return trip by climbing to the top of a 540-degree spiral, making a full circle and half of another as it descends. After another hill, the roller coaster then enters a sharply-banked right turn, returning to the station via a series of smaller hills. Goliath's on-ride camera takes the riders' photographs before the train makes a final left-hand turn with a short hop into the magnetic brakes, ending the ride.

[edit] Awards

Goliath has been warmly received by the amusement park community. Amusement Today magazine honored Goliath by naming it #9 in its Golden Ticket Awards list of the Top 50 Steel Roller Coasters for 2006, its debut season. In the 2007 edition of the Top 50 list, Goliath moved up one spot to #8.

[edit] Incident

On July 27, 2006, a rider suffered a heart attack on the ride and later died. See Incidents at Six Flags parks for more information.

Goliath's 170 foot drop	Goliath's 170 foot drop from another angle	Goliath's first airtime hill	Goliath's second and third airtime hills
Goliath's 540 degree downward helix	Goliath's overbanked horseshoe turn	One of Goliath's final airtime hills	Goliath's hop-onto-brakes maneuver

References

[edit] External links

• Official Page From Six Flags Over Georgia

v • d • e Roller coasters at Six Flags Over Georgia Operating: Batman: The Ride · Dahlonega Mine Train · Georgia Cyclone · Georgia Scorcher · Goliath · Great American Scream Machine · Mind Bender · Ninja · Superman: Ultimate Flight · Wile E. Coyote Canyon Blaster Defunct: Déjà Vu · Mini Mine Train  · Viper  · Z-Force