• Goliath @ Six Flags Magic Mountain | Coaster Reviews

  Written by The Coaster Critic 10 Comments
  Last Updated: May 12, 2009

  Blacking out. I’ve heard coaster enthusiasts mention that they’d experienced such intense g-forces that they blacked out. I’ve ridden many coasters in my time, but I couldn’t recall ever blacking out (nor did I want to). Until I rode Goliath last summer. It had other plans.

  Six Flags Magic Mountain’s Goliath (not to be confused with Georgia’s Goliath) is one of the tallest roller coasters in the United States and the World. It features a climb of 235’ feet and a plunge of more than 25 stories into an underground tunnel. The hyper coaster was designed by the now defunct Giovanalo company. With many B&M and Intamin hyper coasters under my belt, but no Giovanolas. I was excited to ride Goliath for it’s height, speed, and maker. At any other park, Goliath would likely be the star attraction, but Six Flags Magic Mountain has a deep lineup of extreme rides. Goliath probably comes in third after X2 and Tatsu on the park’s popularity scale.

  Just past the huge Goliath letters lies the massive steel coaster. You board the Giovanalo trains in the temple-themed station and your journey begins. The train takes a right u-turn out of the station and begins its long, slow climb. You feel like you’re climbing for a lifetime. After the seemingly never-ending trip to the top, you look down to see a small black hole at the bottom of the peak you’ve crested. That’s the tunnel way down at the bottom of the first hill. Finally, all of the trains creep over the edge and start their descent. Unfortunately, the drop was somewhat unsatisfying.

  To me, the drop felt way too shallow. I checked it out after my trip and it was only 61-degrees. I don’t like to mention other roller coasters in a coaster review, but the drop into the tunnel is reminiscient of Six Flags Great America’s Raging Bull. Sure, Raging Bull’s drop is 30 feet shorter, but at 65- degrees the drop is steeper and more exciting.

  After the drop, the train climbs up to a banked turn probably more than 100′ in the air and then drops again. The following hill is Goliath’s only parabola-shaped hill (those camelback shaped hills made for airtime) and I don’t recall any substantial airtime if any at all. Next, Goliath gets all twisted. The train dives out of the mid-course brake run and into its twisted second half. The train traverses a twisted course near the ground. Twice the train dives really low to the ground. The g-forces were so intense that I blacked out for a spilt second. I’m all about g-forces and intensity in doses, but if it’s that strong, I’d have to say it’s too much. Before I get comments calling me a wimp, which you’re completely entitled to say, I just don’t think roller coasters should be that intense. It’s the same way I feel about ultra-rough wooden roller coasters.

  Overall, Goliath is still a good roller coaster. It’s height, speed, and that drop into the tunnel will easily set it a part from most roller coasters out there. Compared to the other hyper coasters I’ve ridden though, it falls a bit short with it’s lack of airtime and subpar first drop. Final Rating – 7.0 (Good)
  

  What’s Your Take?
  What do you think of Goliath at Six Flags Magic Mountain? Chime in by leaving a comment below.

  

  Related Posts:

  1. Tatsu @ Six Flags Magic Mountain | Coaster Reviews
  2. X2 @ Six Flags Magic Mountain | Coaster Reviews
  3. Six Flags Magic Mountain’s 2010 Roller Coaster

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10 Comments

1. #1 Anonymous says:
   May 18th, 2009 at 7:00 pm

   Just a little question. If you blacked out on Goliath, then shouldn’t you have blacked out on Tatsu? You said the pretzel loop was the most intense element you have ever gone through.

   Reply
2. #2 The Coaster Critic says:
   May 18th, 2009 at 9:31 pm

   That’s a fair question. I’m no physician and can’t explain what about the g-forces causes a person to black out. I would imagine it would have something to do with the position riders are in throughout the elements. You’re flat on your back during Tatsu’s pretzel loop. Maybe that keeps it intense, but not too the point of Goliath’s helix.

   Looks like About.com’s Arthur Levine blacked out too. He gave it a 1/5.

   Thanks for reading!

   Reply
3. #3 Anonymous says:
   May 22nd, 2009 at 12:53 pm

   That may be it. A Blackout is when there is not enough blood in your brain (I think. Correct me if I’m wrong.) On Tatsu, your lying down. The blood just goes to the lower half of the brain. Also, on Goliath the G’s are for a longer period of time.

   Reply
4. #4 coria says:
   May 28th, 2009 at 4:55 pm

   THE BEST ROLLER COSTER

   Reply
5. #5 Jake says:
   July 8th, 2009 at 8:42 pm

   I agree with you, the coaster is way too large for all those Helixes at the end. I think the entire thing is very poorly designed (the designer went out of business.) The First drop was subpar (like you said) and the coaster had virtually no airtime (airtime is lacking in almost all of MM’s coasters.) I have to give it a 3/5.

   Reply
6. #6 Jonathan says:
   July 22nd, 2009 at 2:15 pm

   Good review. I go to MM at least once a month, and Goliath is by far my favorite coaster there. Depending on where I sit in the car, I will start seeing “stars” at the end of the ride, but I’ve never blacked out (but I’ve heard of it happening).

   Most people I go with prefer Tatzu, but for some reason, no matter how many times I go on it (30+), I still have the feeling that the restraints will fail and I am going to DIE, and instinctively push back on the arm rests to try and reduce pressure on the restraints, so my arms are killing my by the end of the ride. Obviously, the feeling of impending doom lessens my enjoyment of the ride considerably .

   But it is fun to ride at night, when you can see the lights of Valencia “barrel roll” like in the Superman movies. And I do love the feeling of the reverse-loop (when the pressure is away from the restraints). But in the end, it’s Goliath for me.

   Reply
7. #7 JESS says:
   September 6th, 2009 at 5:18 pm

   The blacking out is something called a G-LOC aka Gravity Induced Loss of Conciousness. You may have heard it happen to fighter pilots or astronauts before. The forces are equivilent to being under 4.5 times earth’s gravity, in which the blood from your brain gets pooled in the lower body therefore making your vision go funny and your body go numb for abit. You might also feel a sudden intense “rush” feeling right before everything goes black. That is euphoria (aka “the natural high”) from the lack of blood going to the brain.

   Is it preventable? In some ways it is. Riding while tired, sick (even if it’s just a cold), hungry, thirsty, or not at full health or energy lowers your G tolerance. Keeping healthy helps alot, that’s why pilots and astronauts have in top shape. Pilots and astronauts may sometimes use something called a “g suit” to prevent passing out from the forces. You can sorta achieve the same effect as a g suit by being stapled, to the point where it hurts basically. Yes it will be uncomfortable, but it may provide some g force protection.

   http://aeromedical.org/Articles/g-loc.html

   I ain’t no aerospace physiologist, but I have personal experiances with partial instances of G-LOC including a pretty scary experiance.

   Reply
   • #8 The Coaster Critic says:
     September 13th, 2009 at 2:36 pm

     Thanks for the info, Jess. The part about your current condition ie. tired, sick, thirsty, etc. makes a lot of sense. That day I had to be dehydrated as I was marching around the park trying to ride everything I could. I didn’t stop very often for drinks or even food until later in the day. Maybe I wouldn’t have blacked out if I was in better shape that day. That’s something I’ll have to keep in mind in the future.

     Reply
8. #9 8G3 says:
   November 15th, 2009 at 2:54 pm

   Does the drop feel unnaturally long?

   Reply
9. #10 Quil says:
   November 15th, 2009 at 7:48 pm

   dosen`t look like it. CC, would you say it`s a ride worth skipping?

   Reply