Comments on: Goliath @ Six Flags Magic Mountain | Coaster Reviews

By: Quil

Quil — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:48:54 +0000

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

By: 8G3

8G3 — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:54:49 +0000

Does the drop feel unnaturally long?

By: The Coaster Critic

The Coaster Critic — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 18:36:32 +0000

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.

By: JESS

JESS — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 21:18:58 +0000

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.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 18:15:13 +0000

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.

By: Jake

Jake — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:42:59 +0000

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.

By: coria

coria — Thu, 28 May 2009 20:55:15 +0000

THE BEST ROLLER COSTER

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 22 May 2009 16:53:20 +0000

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.

By: The Coaster Critic

The Coaster Critic — Tue, 19 May 2009 01:31:41 +0000

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!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 18 May 2009 23:00:33 +0000

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.