Goliath (Six Flags Over Georgia)

History

On September 1, 2005, the park officially announced Goliath, a $20,000,000 steel Hyper Coaster. By the end of the 2005 season, the rides Great Gasp and Looping Starship were closed and removed from the park to make room for the new roller coaster. Foundations for Goliath's supports began to be poured in September 2005. In early October, track began to arrive at the park; erection of the supports and track began soon after. In November and December, construction on the lift hill was complete. In March 2006, Goliath's trains were delivered to the park. After construction on the track and testing was complete, the roller coaster opened to the public on April 1, 2006.

Ride experience

After being dispatched from the station, the train makes a left hand turn towards the 200-foot (61 m) chain lift hill. Once at the top, the train drops back down 170 feet (52 m) reaching a maximum speed of 70 miles per hour (110 km/h). Following the drop, the train goes over the first of its camelback hills, where the train experiences the ride's tallest drop at 175 feet (53 m). As the train exits the park boundaries, it enters a banked left turn then its second camelback hill with a 129-foot (39 m) drop. Next, the train rises back up and enters a 540-degree downward helix before passing through a set of trim brakes and going over the third camelback hill, this time with a 118-foot (36 m) drop. The train then enters a horseshoe leading back into the park, followed by the final three camelback hills with a drop height of 79-foot (24 m), 56-foot (17 m), and 48-foot (15 m), each lower than the previous one. Following a banked left turn, the train makes a quick drop before entering the final brake run leading back to the station. One cycle of the ride lasts about three and a half minutes.

Track

The steel track of Goliath is approximately 4,480 feet (1,370 m) long and covers an area of about 8.5 acres (3.4 ha; 0.0133 sq mi). The height of the lift is 200 feet (61 m). The roller coaster has no inversions, though it does feature six camelback hills and a 540 degree helix. The track is painted orange while the supports are painted teal. Goliath was manufactured by Clermont Steel Fabricators located in Batavia, Ohio.

Trains

Goliath operates with two steel and fiberglass trains. Each train has nine cars which can seat four riders in a single row, for a total of 36 riders per train; each seat has its own individual lap-bar restraint. This configuration allows the ride to achieve a theoretical hourly capacity of 1,220 riders per hour. The structure of the trains are painted orange and teal, with matching colored restraints and seats.

Reception

Joel Bullock from The Coaster Critic and Mike from NewsPlusNotes both praised the g-forces experienced while going through the helix, and the amount of airtime Goliath has. Bullock described Goliath as, "not only the park’s best roller coaster, but arguably the best coaster in the South East (south of Virginia)." Mike Collins from Coaster Radio particularly enjoyed the section of the roller coaster that takes riders outside of the park boundaries. He also said that, "[Goliath is] a fun and fast coaster. It’s all about the airtime... and you get a lot of it."

In Goliath's opening year, it was voted the fourth best new ride for 2006 and the ninth best steel roller coaster in Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Awards. The roller coaster peaked at position four in 2009 and 2011.

In Mitch Hawker's Best Steel Roller Coaster Poll, Goliath was voted as the tenth best steel roller coaster in the world in its first year; it peaked at position seven in 2007.

Incidents

On July 27, 2006, a 45-year-old man was found unresponsive and not breathing on Goliath after losing consciousness during the ride. Park employees began to treat the man before he was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead. After an inspection of the ride showed that the roller coaster was operating properly, it reopened to the public.