People ask me: “What are some of your guilty pleasures?” And I reply “Goliath at Six Flags Magic Mountain😞” and they just stare at me in awkward silence cause I don’t have any enthusiast friends
I remember watching this coaster documentary back in the early 00's where they hooked up this lady to a heart monitor while riding Goliath. They made this coaster out to be so amazing that as a kid I just had to go ride Goliath. Well, after my first ride in 2013, let's just say it never lived up to the hype...
Sometimes it´s just like that. Anaconda at Walygator Parc is the only coaster I didn´t ride as a kid. Back in 1996 it was the first wooden coaster I had seen in my life and with 118ft of height it was also the highest coaster I have ever seen at that point. I never watched a POV of it and when I visited the Park in 2017 it was so much of a letdown for me with it´s boring layout, pacing issues and at the time very rough condition that I still consider it the overall worst coaster I have ever ridden. At least their retracking efforts are working out that it is now at least smoother in the retracked sections and a noticable bit faster compared to my 2017 ride, my last ride on it in 2019 had a small hint of fun in it.
My biggest pro on this coaster if the entrance: The giant “GOLIATH” letters in the foreground while the first drop in the background just sells the ride to guests. As for the ride itself, it’s fine. Not my favorite or my worst at the park, just fine.
@@jordantownsend4906 Disagree. Desperado was much better despite the jankiness. Drop is almost identical but so much better and it has legitimate airtime. Steel Eel type of airtime.
@John Lorton Exactly. Just rode them in December. Titan has a really kick ass drop into a tunnel and those intense helixes. But NTG has a wild amount of airtime and some really fun series of elements.
Ntg scares me after the lady fell out. I know that was a fluke, but if it can happen once...And the first hill is...uncomfortable for me, even before the accident. Everything past the first drop I enjoy. I enjoy everything about titan. But it’s been almost 20 years since I’ve been to another park...titan & Batman are my preferred rides. So if your only coaster experiences are what 6fot offers...there’s not a whole lot of options. How often does 6fot get mentioned for having a great ride in ANY category? Every other 6 flags seems to have a good ride that gets mentioned. 6fot has a bunch of clones, shockwave, judge Roy, ntg, runaway mountain, 2 mine trains. Their most “unique” coaster might end up being aqua man and that doesn’t look overly special to me. Judge Roy & shockwave are classics & I don’t see them being removed anytime soon, same with the mine trains, la vibora is the most likely candidate for removal, but it’s been there for so long already...although I think I’d almost prefer flashback to the the joker clone...
@John Lorton I know its safe, I know there were reasons why she fell out, but knowing someone died just makes it a mental battle to get on. Falling out of the vehicle is a far different death than heart attack for a mental battle for ride "safety". I have ridden it since the accident, but its not a must ride every visit ride for me. Don't ask me why Mr freezes drop is less scary... But maybe I'm less inclined to ride it because before the rmc treatment, it quit being a must ride ride because of how rough it got, my hips got quite sore. So for me, I think it's just a bunch of mental battles to get past.
@John Lorton well I quit having a season pass because we rarely get new rides at 6FoT, so when I do go now I make it a point to ride everything once. So until I can travel & try other parks, batman & titan are my preferred rides. I will ride ntg before Mr freeze, but I'm not upset if I can't ride them. 6FoT is fine, the rides aren't terrible, but for being the first 6 flags...its a bit disappointing that it's just fine. Why do other parks get better rides and we have the tallest land oil derrick or 2nd tallest swing ride as claims to fame? Like whoop de do.
In Planet Coaster, I recently built a Giovanola hyper not realizing how awful it would be to work with. My thoughts, when finished, were just "I should have built a B&M." So the game is pretty realistic!
The thing I love most about Goliath is that it’s almost 300 feet. Then there’s the dive into the tunnel, followed by a great airtime hill. I’ve heard you say it doesn’t always slap but I’ve never been disappointed myself. Then there’s the memories of the original mid-course break and even more insane downward helix. It sure is short for how big it is but still like it just fine in comparison to B&Ms these days. I wouldn’t mind if it held up a Giga for another decade.
Goliath is one of my guilty pleasures. Might not be the best, but it's still fun and really smooth. Also, the slow tilt over 80 feet of nothing when you're exiting the midcourse is really unique and really scary in it's own way. I honestly like it better than tatsu, and I think it gets a bad rep for no reason.
I think that positive G-forces are EXTREMELY under appreciated. People rave about the raven turn on X2 but they ignore the insane constant positive Gs in that final helix. I just think that it’s extremely hot or miss. You either love the insane gs or hate them. I also think that build up of the first drop is great. I genuinely don’t think it needs that much airtime in the back when it has probably 4 gs worth of positive force at the bottom. Edit: I worded this pretty bad.
I honestly love Goliath. I’m one for the lengthy drop because of the speed. And I don’t mind the mcbr because sitting on the left side is pretty awesome dropping back in. I love the twister section as well, to me it seems like you’re getting flushed down a toilet bowl.
The funny thing about this coaster is when I was a kid and I’d play Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 I always wanted to make my way to magic mountain and ride this coaster more than any other......then I started riding real hypers
Okay Lowkey I LOVE the Giovanola hyper coasters. I mean they are fast, smooth, and I love the intensity as well as the one airtime hill. Plus I do love that first drop. I can see how people would be let down by them, but can we appreciate that Giovanola’s 2nd and 3rd coasters that they built by themselves were hyper coasters, one of which was a record breaker when it opened? I can only imagine how their layouts would’ve improved had they not gone bankrupt.
Imo its a fun ride with nothing overall that's too bad about it. Ive been on a lot better but I've also been on a lot worse. Fun middle of the pack coaster thats worth it for the helix's forces alone honestly (if the queue isnt long anyway)
I mean its not horrible, and definitely could be worse. SFMM is my home park and I very rarely get on goliath, while I do love the helix, the rest of the ride is just eh. Its kinda mediocre when you compare it to other rides in the park like tatsu or twisted colossus which is right next to it.
I may just have a soft spot for it but I personally think Goliath is extremely underrated. Even though it doesn’t have much airtime and has bad pacing, the first drop makes up for it because it gives such a huge stomach-churning feeling/sensation that I dont get on many other B&M hypers like Nitro. Plus, it’s still very intense with all the twists and that helix!
I’ve never ridden Goliath but I recently rode titan during my trip to Texas and I had such low expectations, I actually loved it. It made me feel like not every hyper has to be an airtime machine the speed and g forces make for a good hyper in a different kind of way.
Pro: The entrance. I love that the entrance sign is so large you have to walk through it. It makes a serious statement: This is a BIG coaster. Which it certainly was for when it was built, and still kinda is now.
I understand why people who dislike Goliath and Titan just because they prefer airtime on coasters, but this coaster is super underrated and gets a little too much hate. It’s so smooth and fast, and that’s what makes Goliath so much fun. The positive Gs you feel on the coaster is amazing. Lastly it’s theme is pretty cool. The entrance of Goliath in my opinion is the coolest entrance out of any coaster at Magic Mountain. Its my number 5 coaster at Magic Mountain.
Just want to say that the mid course break run in the front left seat is a pretty insane experience. With only the lap bar and the train crawling, I always feel like I am going to fall out! I know it’s still a design flaw, but just making the most of it!
I rode this a lot its first year, and I loved it. It was the first hyper I had ever been on, and I just remember going up the lift hill, looking over my shoulder, and seeing the top of Colossus' lift hill a hundred feet below and being freaked out. The first drop was only good because it was the highest drop I'd ever experienced like that. You hit that first turnaround with real speed, and it was terrifying. Then, that floater air I got on the camelback after that won me over. The rest of the ride was pretty meh, until the helix. Yeah, I greyed out, and this was back when I didn't know that could happen. When I got off and walked back to the front of the ride, my wife leaned into me and whispered, "I think I blacked out," and I felt so much relief. "Oh thank god," I said, "I thought it was just me." Some dude was walking behind us and he said, "Yeah, me too." Every time I've ridden it since that first year, the ride sucks. I never get airtime, the speed and height no longer wows me, and so the weak layout really stands out. All I get for waiting in line is a chance to lose my vision for a few seconds. I get that that happens...but I'm not waiting in a line to gray out. Do like the lap bars though.
You are spot on with every analysis of every part of this stinker. My main wish with MM is they replace this with a B&M Hyper. I also hope they send scream off to a park that could really benefit from that coaster, and then turn riddler's into a floorless or sit down. That's about it really for me.
I enjoy Goliath for what it is. It's a fun ride, kinda relaxing, and butter smooth. But I definitely prefer almost every other hyper I've ridden, including the Arrows.
The brake run used to not be as strong.I think it used drop off that steep left pretty good. I have a soft spot for Goliath because I’ve ridden it so much but it really could use some 110degree overbanks like millennium force and a better airtime hill. I love the helix towards the end, you gotta pump the muscles in your legs. Maybe Giovanola got the engineering for smoothness right because they had just made so many coasters for other manufacturers before.....
Always thank you for good video. Remembered South Korean TV show "Infinite Challenge" episode 493: 2 members ate spaghetti, and other members sang with karaoke machine while riding this coaster, and they all flew their spaghetti away while in 1st drop and helix.
It really erks me as a 40 year old who’s an armchair enthusiast to see people who complain about coasters like this. You guys don’t know how lucky you are to be able to do what you do. I’d do anything to be able to go on that ride. You really are spoiled . I must say mr airtime thrills your content is top notch and I love every second of it buddy.
Goliath is my favorite hyper, but I do agree about the mid-course break run. While I understand why it's there, it kills the momentum. The first time I ride it was in the front and we crawled into the drop out of it and with it turning at the slow speed, I was convinced I was going to fall out.
They completely toned down this ride to prevent blackouts as mentioned in con 3. The first few years were really gloriously harsh for that final section.
The one thing I really wish other coaster manufacturers would take from Goliath is that smoothness it has after all these years… scream is just a bit newer than Goliath and yet it’s not aged as well at all, becoming quite an uncomfortable ride depending what train you end up getting a seat on
I'm right there with you on every point you brought up. So much wasted potential, but I still go for a ride and appreciate it for what it does. I especially love how smooth it rides, with no rattle at all, not even during the strong positive-G moments. If only we could combine that with several airtime moments!
I agree - Goliath was amazing when it first opened. I don't think it's all a matter of better rides becoming more prevalent though - there's something to be said for slowing the train to a crawl over the lift and practically stopping on the MCBR. Its pacing used to be so much better.
I agree that the shape of the drop does make it seem to last forever, which is cool. But the angle is just too shallow. If they'd gone up to like 70 degrees, that would make a big difference. I think the major issue with Goliath is that SFMM wanted a humongous record breaking coaster, but they didn't really have the space for one. So that's why it switches gears after the midcourse brake from a hyper layout to a twister layout (and why they needed to kill so much speed on the midcourse).
I rode this in 2000 when it opened, and I remember when the MCBR didn't bring you to a grinding halt. I actually remember rolling through it and that end Helix was INSANE.
Haha you have a high tolerance for intensity, because I still lose my voice on Titan. This was a great list out. Funny enough Goliath was the only one I didn’t ride only because I already had an idea of it from Titan at my home park.
Six Flags Magic Mountain is my home park! Been goin since i was 12. First time FrightFest 2001. Goliath has always been my favorite. De Ja Vu is cool too. X2 is a beast.. Metallicas Fuel blasts in the speakers and the flames shoot out im goin in may,
The design is due to the space they had available to put a ride of this magnitude . It’s a fairly small footprint . But that midcorse break , that just kills it .
Rode Goliath once, a long time ago, and hated it. Yesterday I rode SFOT Titan for the first time with zero expectations and it absolutely blew me away. Is it really just because of the extended helix before the mid-course?
I rode Goliath in 2016 & 2018, and it was perfectly smooth. Then I rode it late last year, and wow, what a terrible rattle!!! Orion's light rattle doesn't bother me. Diamondback's rattle is far worse. If Fury 325 is riding rattly, then look out! You will become the jackhammer. If it's riding smooth, then it's like butter. It just goes to show that the B&M rattle on individual rides is very fickle.
IDK I like that slow crawl of drop, to me it builds the anticipation of that first drop. It's not great, but I like the feeling of the moment you go "wait a minute, why am I on this, can I leave now?"
Most of the time the train slows down at the MCBR, if you're unlucky it stops at the MCBR for 10 seconds until the train moves, and yes it happened to me.
On a poll of how many times can I ride Goliath. I had to choose between 3 or more and 10 or more and I chose the 2nd one. I rode Goliath 10 times. 3 times in the front and 7 times in the back.
Goes to show one man's trash is another man's treasure. Been dreaming of riding Goliath/Titan since playing RCT2 as a kid. It's been almost 20 years....
When I road on this, I was being stupid and didn’t know I had to keep my head back on the headrest, so i got extreme whiplash and almost suffocated in the drops
Chris ik how you feel man. In 2009, I saw Goliath for the first time and was intimidated by its large appearance and looked at it like "Who would ever ride that?". Viper wasn't too scary looking for me and was one of my first major coasters behind Montezooma's Revenge, Batman, Scream & Silver Bullet.
Even as a guy who hasn't been on many roller coasters outside of Southern California (though that changes in the first week of June when I go to Cedar Point and King's Island), I've always felt Goliath was a giant letdown. I admit I thought it was amazing back when it first opened. I'm older than you by around 10 years. But I was still pretty young at the time and it was really intimidating to me back then. I'd say my boredom with it started by around the late 2000's. I love that final helix. But that shallow drop and stopping halfway at the midway brakes... Not cool. My sister was intimidated by it a few years ago when we visited the park. But when I finally got her on it again, she couldn't figure out why she thought it was so bad!
I completely agree with you on this one. I was fortunate to ride this in 2000 or 2001 and the midcourse brake run was set at about 1/2 speed - dude, the last part of that ride was insane and the helix was legit forceful. Now it's trimmed so bad it makes the ride boring.
Really long story on goliath: I live in Seattle, and there are literally no roller coasters anywhere close to where I live. My "home park" is Silverwood which is a good 7-hour drive. Every year, I go on a roller coaster trip where I spend a few days at basically any park I choose. Because I'm riding roller coasters once a year, my family always makes sure we buy a fast pass to make the most out of our time at the park. My most recent trip was a couple years ago to Cedar Point, the year before that, I went to Magic Mountain. For me, it's important that whatever park I end up visiting has a ride that can be marathoned. At Cedar Point, their fast lane plus covers every ride, so I could marathon whatever I wanted. That isn't the case at Magic Mountain. When I visited in 2017, Superman, X2, and Twisted Colossus all were not covered by the flash pass. Luckily, Superman didn't have a line, so I marathoned that. But X2 and Twisted Colossus both had insane lines and I got 1 ride each day because of that. I ended up marathoning Tatsu, but it gets really uncomfortable when they stack trains and you're just sitting there in that flying position. That being said, Goliath seemed like my best bet to marathon. It was smooth, comfortable, and covered by the gold flash pass. Long story short, Goliath was the biggest waste of time and the most pathetic ride I had ever ridden. I honestly should have just waited in the long line for twisted colossus because 1 ride on that would have been more worth it than doing goliath a bunch of times
Thats funny, i also have that thing where a park needs a ride i can marathon, and in 2015 i spent 1 day at SFMM with a flash pass with the same dilemma as you, and ended up marathoning Goliath cuz..that was my best option lol
I just wish they’d bring in someone to do a bit of a redesign. Basically “RMC” it. RMC made such a great business of updating and converting older woodies, I wish they’d come along and redesign some outdated steel coasters. Look how great Kennywood did with having Morgan step in and changing Steel Phantom.
Titan at SFOT is gloss smooth, has comfortable restraints and seats, and is an intense ride but, the boring layout has limited the experience. I think I would have more fun on thigh crush at Hershey Park. I heard a lot of bad things about the thigh crush lunch tray lap bars on thigh crush.
SFMM is 15 minutes from me. Spent a lot of my year there pre-pandemic. Goliath would always be my first coaster cause if I didn't grey out on the helix. I knew it was gonna be a good Rollercoaster marathon day lol. You'll love the Gs on it if you ever get a chance to ride it.
LOL I always look forward to this ride. I think one of my favorite moments was climbing up the stairs and off to the side on the dirt road was Superman that used to be at the top of the superman ride laying in bush. Superman looked like a degenerate drunk that had given up on life. I still laugh thinking about it. He lay there for months same place, hilarious.
I don't get the hate. Yeah, it doesn't have much airtime. Compared to RMCs, B&M hypers don't either. But that helix is absolutely crushing, and from what I've heard (I've never actually ridden a B&M hyper) B&M hypers are kind of underwhelming force-wise, especially compared to, say, B&M inverts which will attempt to rip your legs off with their intensity. Airtime is good, if it's intense airtime like on an RMC, but floater airtime is just kind of boring, and if I had to choose I would choose no airtime and crushing positive g's over floater airtime but unremarkable intensity every time.
Pros: Goliath is probably my favorite hyper. Cons: The only other one I've been on is Raging Bull. Raging Bull probably has a better layout, but Goliath has nearly 50 ft more on the first drop.
personally i like the brake run i think it’s kinda cool cause if you’re sitting on the left you just get tilted so far and you feel like you’re going to fall off the ride
Great video . Nailed it . I’ve had a reverse relationship with this coaster I used to mehh on this coaster ( never hated it but was not a fan) the more I ride it the more I appreciate it for what it is. I have ridden way better hypers but it’s different I give it that and truly I feel it fits a gap in magic mountains line up. Magic mountains coasters are mostly all very flippy and after a day of constantly being inverted. A glossy smooth , meandering layout with a few intense moments coaster isn’t that bad. And this ride is just that. I enjoy it . Never going on the pantheon of hypers but doesn’t deserve to get shit on as much as it does. Going there later today! Might give it a ride if there is no line haha
I will admit I've never ridden Goliath but I can still give everyone a very honest review of it. She has speed, she has grace, she lets you catch your breath, before crushing you in your seat with the helix. Except in my case, SHE HAS 2 OF THEM! Goliath is the older sister to the younger, more rambunctious sister, Titan. It's definitely a guilty pleasure since she's still my favorite coaster of all of them. Despite me technically riding other coasters that are in your top 51 (NTG, Iron Rattler, WWGLC, and even Steel Eel), I still have Titan over them. It's due to nostalgia and for being a childhood coaster. Steel Eel is 2nd for those same reasons but is a mini version. Still, she has the power to pass her. But chooses not to. I would love to ride Goliath to compare and contrast the siblings. :)
Speaking of the way the midcourse kills the speed, I was standing at Viper the other day where I was working. From the where I was standing, I get a perfect view of Goliath's first drop as well as the midcourse. I could have sworn that I saw the train moving BACKWARDS as it got to those breaks. Maybe it was just a long day, but I am convinced that it happened.
I recently got a better ride and I found this rides magic seat car 4 back of the car and it has decent airtime over the first drop and sometimes the trims won’t hit as hard nowadays especially if it gets quite windy and even though it’s a hyper that doesn’t have what I personally want in a hyper I can respect that it’s a good ride even though it’s flawed design wise
People ask me: “What are some of your guilty pleasures?” And I reply “Goliath at Six Flags Magic Mountain😞” and they just stare at me in awkward silence cause I don’t have any enthusiast friends
Same, but I say Titan at Six Flags Over Texas and... I don’t have any friends at all ;-;
Same but Scream at Six Flags Magic Mountain....
This is me, but with Firebird at Six Flags America... At least my non-enthusiast brother agrees with me.
My guilty pleasures are Green lantern at great adventure and wildcat at Hersheypark
I love Goliath at six flags!
GoliathRocks. One of those usernames you wish no one finds out about, but it was just directly told to us for our entertainment. Nice.
@Ken Norcott Mine was thecrack2, childish shit when i was a child lol
@@daftturnip51906 DaftTurnip is a very mature name
@@HarryPorpise Yeah idrc about others opinions tho
@Ken Norcott my first channel was MarioGameing32 (not a typo it was actually spelt like that lmao)
@Texas Thrills Yeah that's pretty bad...
"Goliath is the worst hyper"
Big apple coaster and desperado: allow us to introduce ourselves
Ive heard big apple is better because of the new premier trains
Yeah but the layout alway sucks
Also Pepsi Max.
Big Apple is considered a hyper?
@@gojewla that’s a good ride idk what you’re talking about
I remember watching this coaster documentary back in the early 00's where they hooked up this lady to a heart monitor while riding Goliath. They made this coaster out to be so amazing that as a kid I just had to go ride Goliath. Well, after my first ride in 2013, let's just say it never lived up to the hype...
Coasters have gotten bigger and faster. When Goliath came out it was a big bad coaster
Sometimes it´s just like that. Anaconda at Walygator Parc is the only coaster I didn´t ride as a kid. Back in 1996 it was the first wooden coaster I had seen in my life and with 118ft of height it was also the highest coaster I have ever seen at that point. I never watched a POV of it and when I visited the Park in 2017 it was so much of a letdown for me with it´s boring layout, pacing issues and at the time very rough condition that I still consider it the overall worst coaster I have ever ridden. At least their retracking efforts are working out that it is now at least smoother in the retracked sections and a noticable bit faster compared to my 2017 ride, my last ride on it in 2019 had a small hint of fun in it.
@@cruzloera4931
Exactly,,thats like seeing "Terminator" in 1999 and going "whats the big deal"?
@@newclothes8165 Terminator is a classic and only gets better as films become more and more dumbed down
@@cruzloera4931 But compare it with coasters of its time. Nitro, Raging Bull, even Batman: The Ride. Goliath just doesn't compete.
My biggest pro on this coaster if the entrance: The giant “GOLIATH” letters in the foreground while the first drop in the background just sells the ride to guests. As for the ride itself, it’s fine. Not my favorite or my worst at the park, just fine.
I love that sign entrance.
*laughs in picnic tables*
Soo true tho
I love Goliath! Who cares if it doesn't have traditional hyper elements, it's still a fun ride.
I know right? People who hate this ride just don't appreciate the work people put in just to satisfy guests
Keep your opinion but what other hypers have you ridden
@@gamerboi9000......hell yeah Goliath was my favorite ride
2:08 me looking at the operator who stapled me in
Enthusiasts: Goliath is the worst hyper
Airtime Thrills: Uh NO - Skyrush is
Airtime Thrills doesn’t hate Skyrush anymore but he still thinks it’s very very overrated
Nah Desperado
@@jordantownsend4906 Disagree. Desperado was much better despite the jankiness. Drop is almost identical but so much better and it has legitimate airtime. Steel Eel type of airtime.
@@coasterhockygamingboy9549 nah he still hates it but not as much
@Ken Norcott very true but I never found skyrush to painful. You also feel really open on skyrush which I really like lol
I still can't believe that Titan beat New Texas Giant in their coaster madness tournament 🤦♂️
@John Lorton Exactly. Just rode them in December. Titan has a really kick ass drop into a tunnel and those intense helixes. But NTG has a wild amount of airtime and some really fun series of elements.
Same here the giant is 10x better than Titan
Ntg scares me after the lady fell out. I know that was a fluke, but if it can happen once...And the first hill is...uncomfortable for me, even before the accident. Everything past the first drop I enjoy.
I enjoy everything about titan. But it’s been almost 20 years since I’ve been to another park...titan & Batman are my preferred rides.
So if your only coaster experiences are what 6fot offers...there’s not a whole lot of options. How often does 6fot get mentioned for having a great ride in ANY category? Every other 6 flags seems to have a good ride that gets mentioned. 6fot has a bunch of clones, shockwave, judge Roy, ntg, runaway mountain, 2 mine trains. Their most “unique” coaster might end up being aqua man and that doesn’t look overly special to me.
Judge Roy & shockwave are classics & I don’t see them being removed anytime soon, same with the mine trains, la vibora is the most likely candidate for removal, but it’s been there for so long already...although I think I’d almost prefer flashback to the the joker clone...
@John Lorton I know its safe, I know there were reasons why she fell out, but knowing someone died just makes it a mental battle to get on. Falling out of the vehicle is a far different death than heart attack for a mental battle for ride "safety".
I have ridden it since the accident, but its not a must ride every visit ride for me. Don't ask me why Mr freezes drop is less scary...
But maybe I'm less inclined to ride it because before the rmc treatment, it quit being a must ride ride because of how rough it got, my hips got quite sore.
So for me, I think it's just a bunch of mental battles to get past.
@John Lorton well I quit having a season pass because we rarely get new rides at 6FoT, so when I do go now I make it a point to ride everything once. So until I can travel & try other parks, batman & titan are my preferred rides. I will ride ntg before Mr freeze, but I'm not upset if I can't ride them.
6FoT is fine, the rides aren't terrible, but for being the first 6 flags...its a bit disappointing that it's just fine. Why do other parks get better rides and we have the tallest land oil derrick or 2nd tallest swing ride as claims to fame? Like whoop de do.
I'm not a fan of Goliath at SFMM. But, yesterday I made it to SFOG for the first time. Wow, that Goliath really does rock!
Bonus pro: One of the best entrances in all of coasterdom.
props to Giovanola for creating one of the smoothest coasters on the planet.
still better than some of those Morgan sleepers though!
"Should've gotten a B&M..."
Damn it you stole my line!
In Planet Coaster, I recently built a Giovanola hyper not realizing how awful it would be to work with. My thoughts, when finished, were just "I should have built a B&M." So the game is pretty realistic!
The thing I love most about Goliath is that it’s almost 300 feet. Then there’s the dive into the tunnel, followed by a great airtime hill. I’ve heard you say it doesn’t always slap but I’ve never been disappointed myself. Then there’s the memories of the original mid-course break and even more insane downward helix. It sure is short for how big it is but still like it just fine in comparison to B&Ms these days. I wouldn’t mind if it held up a Giga for another decade.
I’m gonna sob
Goliath is one of my guilty pleasures. Might not be the best, but it's still fun and really smooth. Also, the slow tilt over 80 feet of nothing when you're exiting the midcourse is really unique and really scary in it's own way. I honestly like it better than tatsu, and I think it gets a bad rep for no reason.
In my opinion, not better than Tatsu, but better than Viper, Full Throttle and Superman at least.
@@itsgeorgiejoe agreed, Tatsu might be one of, if not the best flying coaster out there
ight yall but x2 is #1
I think that positive G-forces are EXTREMELY under appreciated. People rave about the raven turn on X2 but they ignore the insane constant positive Gs in that final helix. I just think that it’s extremely hot or miss. You either love the insane gs or hate them. I also think that build up of the first drop is great. I genuinely don’t think it needs that much airtime in the back when it has probably 4 gs worth of positive force at the bottom.
Edit: I worded this pretty bad.
I really don't care what anyone says, I truly love Goliath. One of my favorite rides.
I honestly love Goliath. I’m one for the lengthy drop because of the speed. And I don’t mind the mcbr because sitting on the left side is pretty awesome dropping back in. I love the twister section as well, to me it seems like you’re getting flushed down a toilet bowl.
The funny thing about this coaster is when I was a kid and I’d play Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 I always wanted to make my way to magic mountain and ride this coaster more than any other......then I started riding real hypers
Okay Lowkey I LOVE the Giovanola hyper coasters. I mean they are fast, smooth, and I love the intensity as well as the one airtime hill. Plus I do love that first drop. I can see how people would be let down by them, but can we appreciate that Giovanola’s 2nd and 3rd coasters that they built by themselves were hyper coasters, one of which was a record breaker when it opened? I can only imagine how their layouts would’ve improved had they not gone bankrupt.
I can’t be the only one that thinks this thing looks underrated!
It’s eh. Very comfy restraints and easy to get room. Terrible pacing, 1 mediocre floater moment and pretty good positives
I think it is extremely underrated
It’s better than magnum
Imo its a fun ride with nothing overall that's too bad about it.
Ive been on a lot better but I've also been on a lot worse.
Fun middle of the pack coaster thats worth it for the helix's forces alone honestly (if the queue isnt long anyway)
I mean its not horrible, and definitely could be worse. SFMM is my home park and I very rarely get on goliath, while I do love the helix, the rest of the ride is just eh. Its kinda mediocre when you compare it to other rides in the park like tatsu or twisted colossus which is right next to it.
I didn’t get any airtime on this drop, but I did get a stomach-dropping free fall feeling on it.
I may just have a soft spot for it but I personally think Goliath is extremely underrated. Even though it doesn’t have much airtime and has bad pacing, the first drop makes up for it because it gives such a huge stomach-churning feeling/sensation that I dont get on many other B&M hypers like Nitro. Plus, it’s still very intense with all the twists and that helix!
For me it’s a helix and into the breaks
I’ve never ridden Goliath but I recently rode titan during my trip to Texas and I had such low expectations, I actually loved it. It made me feel like not every hyper has to be an airtime machine the speed and g forces make for a good hyper in a different kind of way.
Pro: The entrance. I love that the entrance sign is so large you have to walk through it. It makes a serious statement: This is a BIG coaster. Which it certainly was for when it was built, and still kinda is now.
I understand why people who dislike Goliath and Titan just because they prefer airtime on coasters, but this coaster is super underrated and gets a little too much hate. It’s so smooth and fast, and that’s what makes Goliath so much fun. The positive Gs you feel on the coaster is amazing. Lastly it’s theme is pretty cool. The entrance of Goliath in my opinion is the coolest entrance out of any coaster at Magic Mountain. Its my number 5 coaster at Magic Mountain.
Just want to say that the mid course break run in the front left seat is a pretty insane experience. With only the lap bar and the train crawling, I always feel like I am going to fall out! I know it’s still a design flaw, but just making the most of it!
I rode this a lot its first year, and I loved it. It was the first hyper I had ever been on, and I just remember going up the lift hill, looking over my shoulder, and seeing the top of Colossus' lift hill a hundred feet below and being freaked out. The first drop was only good because it was the highest drop I'd ever experienced like that. You hit that first turnaround with real speed, and it was terrifying. Then, that floater air I got on the camelback after that won me over. The rest of the ride was pretty meh, until the helix. Yeah, I greyed out, and this was back when I didn't know that could happen.
When I got off and walked back to the front of the ride, my wife leaned into me and whispered, "I think I blacked out," and I felt so much relief. "Oh thank god," I said, "I thought it was just me." Some dude was walking behind us and he said, "Yeah, me too."
Every time I've ridden it since that first year, the ride sucks. I never get airtime, the speed and height no longer wows me, and so the weak layout really stands out. All I get for waiting in line is a chance to lose my vision for a few seconds. I get that that happens...but I'm not waiting in a line to gray out.
Do like the lap bars though.
“I understand the park doesn’t want people coming back to the station unconscious. This made my list of buzz kills”. 🤣🤣🤣
You are spot on with every analysis of every part of this stinker. My main wish with MM is they replace this with a B&M Hyper. I also hope they send scream off to a park that could really benefit from that coaster, and then turn riddler's into a floorless or sit down. That's about it really for me.
I enjoy Goliath for what it is. It's a fun ride, kinda relaxing, and butter smooth. But I definitely prefer almost every other hyper I've ridden, including the Arrows.
Goliath is perfect for that kid who is deathly afraid of inversions
1:02 You can still use that screen name for Over Georgia version, just don't be that "I'm not proud" kind of guy.
The brake run used to not be as strong.I think it used drop off that steep left pretty good. I have a soft spot for Goliath because I’ve ridden it so much but it really could use some 110degree overbanks like millennium force and a better airtime hill. I love the helix towards the end, you gotta pump the muscles in your legs. Maybe Giovanola got the engineering for smoothness right because they had just made so many coasters for other manufacturers before.....
I love how some of the ‘pros’ have negative caveats.
Always thank you for good video. Remembered South Korean TV show "Infinite Challenge" episode 493: 2 members ate spaghetti, and other members sang with karaoke machine while riding this coaster, and they all flew their spaghetti away while in 1st drop and helix.
3:50 Got the full floater last week riding 4th from the back, was fantastic.
The trains on Goliath look like they have lower center of gravity then the B&M hypers which maybe reduces some unwanted train rattle?
“The final con is the layout”
Oof
It really erks me as a 40 year old who’s an armchair enthusiast to see people who complain about coasters like this. You guys don’t know how lucky you are to be able to do what you do. I’d do anything to be able to go on that ride. You really are spoiled . I must say mr airtime thrills your content is top notch and I love every second of it buddy.
Goliath is my favorite hyper, but I do agree about the mid-course break run. While I understand why it's there, it kills the momentum. The first time I ride it was in the front and we crawled into the drop out of it and with it turning at the slow speed, I was convinced I was going to fall out.
They completely toned down this ride to prevent blackouts as mentioned in con 3. The first few years were really gloriously harsh for that final section.
That brake run wasnt originally so harsh. Love that sustain g force. Closest thing to a fighter jet in SoCal
Thanks to RCT2, Goliath has been at the top of my coaster bucket list for nearly 20 years now. I can't wait to be disappointed one day...
Discord gang always on top of those uploads let’s goooo
Eyo
no-life thoosie gang rise up
Hey
The one thing I really wish other coaster manufacturers would take from Goliath is that smoothness it has after all these years… scream is just a bit newer than Goliath and yet it’s not aged as well at all, becoming quite an uncomfortable ride depending what train you end up getting a seat on
I'm right there with you on every point you brought up. So much wasted potential, but I still go for a ride and appreciate it for what it does. I especially love how smooth it rides, with no rattle at all, not even during the strong positive-G moments. If only we could combine that with several airtime moments!
It seems very similar to Titan at Over Texas. I've ridden that one, but not Goliath. How do they compare?
You should also do a pros and cons of Thighcrush where all the cons are the restraints.
That’s the only con. The ride itself is phenomenal. I didn’t believe it until I rode it. I’ve never marathoned another coaster so much.
I agree - Goliath was amazing when it first opened. I don't think it's all a matter of better rides becoming more prevalent though - there's something to be said for slowing the train to a crawl over the lift and practically stopping on the MCBR. Its pacing used to be so much better.
I agree that the shape of the drop does make it seem to last forever, which is cool. But the angle is just too shallow. If they'd gone up to like 70 degrees, that would make a big difference.
I think the major issue with Goliath is that SFMM wanted a humongous record breaking coaster, but they didn't really have the space for one. So that's why it switches gears after the midcourse brake from a hyper layout to a twister layout (and why they needed to kill so much speed on the midcourse).
I rode this in 2000 when it opened, and I remember when the MCBR didn't bring you to a grinding halt. I actually remember rolling through it and that end Helix was INSANE.
Me too. I was 11 & on the verge of blacking out lol
2019 fright fest they were having trouble with the brake run. Their solution was to turn it off. It was a good day
@@jaya1000 that sounds amazing!
yup....I actually got sick on that helix back then.
@@firebirdlover4460 it caused my dad to retire early from roller coasters. Said he thought he was going to have a heart attack.
Well for those of us who cannot travel the world to experience a plethora of coasters, Goliath is a great ride.
5:12 a lot of people say that i have never grayed out on that helix
Haha you have a high tolerance for intensity, because I still lose my voice on Titan. This was a great list out. Funny enough Goliath was the only one I didn’t ride only because I already had an idea of it from Titan at my home park.
This thing is basically a giant family coaster
The best part about Goliath is the way Sam with Expedition Theme Park pronounces "Giooovanooolah." I can listen to him said all day 🤤 lol
Six Flags Magic Mountain is my home park! Been goin since i was 12. First time FrightFest 2001. Goliath has always been my favorite. De Ja Vu is cool too. X2 is a beast.. Metallicas Fuel blasts in the speakers and the flames shoot out im goin in may,
The design is due to the space they had available to put a ride of this magnitude . It’s a fairly small footprint . But that midcorse break , that just kills it .
Rode Goliath once, a long time ago, and hated it. Yesterday I rode SFOT Titan for the first time with zero expectations and it absolutely blew me away. Is it really just because of the extended helix before the mid-course?
Goliath at Over Georgia really made me rethink the Orion rattle hate lmao. That is a true B&M rattle!
I rode Goliath in 2016 & 2018, and it was perfectly smooth. Then I rode it late last year, and wow, what a terrible rattle!!! Orion's light rattle doesn't bother me. Diamondback's rattle is far worse. If Fury 325 is riding rattly, then look out! You will become the jackhammer. If it's riding smooth, then it's like butter. It just goes to show that the B&M rattle on individual rides is very fickle.
I have been on Titan at Six Flags Over Texas, and it was amazing, and forceful as well as my first Hypercoaster, I see Titan as Underrated.
IDK I like that slow crawl of drop, to me it builds the anticipation of that first drop. It's not great, but I like the feeling of the moment you go "wait a minute, why am I on this, can I leave now?"
Most of the time the train slows down at the MCBR, if you're unlucky it stops at the MCBR for 10 seconds until the train moves, and yes it happened to me.
GoliathRocks lmaoooooooo
On a poll of how many times can I ride Goliath. I had to choose between 3 or more and 10 or more and I chose the 2nd one. I rode Goliath 10 times. 3 times in the front and 7 times in the back.
Goes to show one man's trash is another man's treasure. Been dreaming of riding Goliath/Titan since playing RCT2 as a kid. It's been almost 20 years....
Nice job I subbed
Thanks for the video, GoliathRocks!
When I road on this, I was being stupid and didn’t know I had to keep my head back on the headrest, so i got extreme whiplash and almost suffocated in the drops
Agree with the general feeling you get, but that helix tho ! It really did struck me when I rode it !
Chris ik how you feel man. In 2009, I saw Goliath for the first time and was intimidated by its large appearance and looked at it like "Who would ever ride that?". Viper wasn't too scary looking for me and was one of my first major coasters behind Montezooma's Revenge, Batman, Scream & Silver Bullet.
I agree. There USED TO be more airtime,, but maybe we just got older and bigger. Goliath used to be top 3 for me when it first came out.
At this point, Six Flags might as well rename an SLC to Goliath, just to spite enthusiasts.
But also, new trains.
Even as a guy who hasn't been on many roller coasters outside of Southern California (though that changes in the first week of June when I go to Cedar Point and King's Island), I've always felt Goliath was a giant letdown. I admit I thought it was amazing back when it first opened. I'm older than you by around 10 years. But I was still pretty young at the time and it was really intimidating to me back then. I'd say my boredom with it started by around the late 2000's. I love that final helix. But that shallow drop and stopping halfway at the midway brakes... Not cool. My sister was intimidated by it a few years ago when we visited the park. But when I finally got her on it again, she couldn't figure out why she thought it was so bad!
I completely agree with you on this one. I was fortunate to ride this in 2000 or 2001 and the midcourse brake run was set at about 1/2 speed - dude, the last part of that ride was insane and the helix was legit forceful. Now it's trimmed so bad it makes the ride boring.
“Goliath, the worst hyper”
Big Apple Coaster: Am I a joke to you?
"GoliathRocks" Every coaster enthusiast "Which one tho 🤔"
Really long story on goliath:
I live in Seattle, and there are literally no roller coasters anywhere close to where I live. My "home park" is Silverwood which is a good 7-hour drive. Every year, I go on a roller coaster trip where I spend a few days at basically any park I choose. Because I'm riding roller coasters once a year, my family always makes sure we buy a fast pass to make the most out of our time at the park. My most recent trip was a couple years ago to Cedar Point, the year before that, I went to Magic Mountain. For me, it's important that whatever park I end up visiting has a ride that can be marathoned. At Cedar Point, their fast lane plus covers every ride, so I could marathon whatever I wanted. That isn't the case at Magic Mountain. When I visited in 2017, Superman, X2, and Twisted Colossus all were not covered by the flash pass. Luckily, Superman didn't have a line, so I marathoned that. But X2 and Twisted Colossus both had insane lines and I got 1 ride each day because of that. I ended up marathoning Tatsu, but it gets really uncomfortable when they stack trains and you're just sitting there in that flying position. That being said, Goliath seemed like my best bet to marathon. It was smooth, comfortable, and covered by the gold flash pass. Long story short, Goliath was the biggest waste of time and the most pathetic ride I had ever ridden. I honestly should have just waited in the long line for twisted colossus because 1 ride on that would have been more worth it than doing goliath a bunch of times
Thats funny, i also have that thing where a park needs a ride i can marathon, and in 2015 i spent 1 day at SFMM with a flash pass with the same dilemma as you, and ended up marathoning Goliath cuz..that was my best option lol
I just wish they’d bring in someone to do a bit of a redesign. Basically “RMC” it. RMC made such a great business of updating and converting older woodies, I wish they’d come along and redesign some outdated steel coasters. Look how great Kennywood did with having Morgan step in and changing Steel Phantom.
It's a fun ride.
Do you prefer Goliath or Titan at SFOT
Titan at SFOT is gloss smooth, has comfortable restraints and seats, and is an intense ride but, the boring layout has limited the experience. I think I would have more fun on thigh crush at Hershey Park. I heard a lot of bad things about the thigh crush lunch tray lap bars on thigh crush.
I would rather Marathon this than Time Warp at Canada's Wonderland
I personally love titan at SFOT so I’d assume this would be pretty good
I love how you use the term chicken out. I doubt many of these kids know what that means haha
I love positive Gs so I'll probably be a fan of this ride
SFMM is 15 minutes from me. Spent a lot of my year there pre-pandemic. Goliath would always be my first coaster cause if I didn't grey out on the helix. I knew it was gonna be a good Rollercoaster marathon day lol. You'll love the Gs on it if you ever get a chance to ride it.
LOL I always look forward to this ride. I think one of my favorite moments was climbing up the stairs and off to the side on the dirt road was Superman that used to be at the top of the superman ride laying in bush. Superman looked like a degenerate drunk that had given up on life. I still laugh thinking about it. He lay there for months same place, hilarious.
I don't get the hate. Yeah, it doesn't have much airtime. Compared to RMCs, B&M hypers don't either. But that helix is absolutely crushing, and from what I've heard (I've never actually ridden a B&M hyper) B&M hypers are kind of underwhelming force-wise, especially compared to, say, B&M inverts which will attempt to rip your legs off with their intensity. Airtime is good, if it's intense airtime like on an RMC, but floater airtime is just kind of boring, and if I had to choose I would choose no airtime and crushing positive g's over floater airtime but unremarkable intensity every time.
Can we RMC this into a trex?
Pros: Goliath is probably my favorite hyper.
Cons: The only other one I've been on is Raging Bull.
Raging Bull probably has a better layout, but Goliath has nearly 50 ft more on the first drop.
Actually, I have also been on Xcelerator.
Welcome to the club! The only B&M hyper I rode was Raging Bull too
He probably calls raging bull a “bad hyper” too because it doesn’t follow the “traditional B&M out n back floater airtime hyper layout”
personally i like the brake run i think it’s kinda cool cause if you’re sitting on the left you just get tilted so far and you feel like you’re going to fall off the ride
💯💯
I used to think Titan was one of the most badass rides ever. Now it’s maybe 4th or 5th in my home park of SFOT.
I think B&Ms get rattles because they have 4 across seating so a lot of the weight sits over the sides of the track
Meanwhile diamondback witch 2 across and is the roughest b and m hyper (still not rough enough for me to give a fuck)
Great video . Nailed it . I’ve had a reverse relationship with this coaster I used to mehh on this coaster ( never hated it but was not a fan) the more I ride it the more I appreciate it for what it is. I have ridden way better hypers but it’s different I give it that and truly I feel it fits a gap in magic mountains line up. Magic mountains coasters are mostly all very flippy and after a day of constantly being inverted. A glossy smooth , meandering layout with a few intense moments coaster isn’t that bad. And this ride is just that. I enjoy it . Never going on the pantheon of hypers but doesn’t deserve to get shit on as much as it does. Going there later today! Might give it a ride if there is no line haha
I will admit I've never ridden Goliath but I can still give everyone a very honest review of it. She has speed, she has grace, she lets you catch your breath, before crushing you in your seat with the helix. Except in my case, SHE HAS 2 OF THEM! Goliath is the older sister to the younger, more rambunctious sister, Titan. It's definitely a guilty pleasure since she's still my favorite coaster of all of them. Despite me technically riding other coasters that are in your top 51 (NTG, Iron Rattler, WWGLC, and even Steel Eel), I still have Titan over them. It's due to nostalgia and for being a childhood coaster. Steel Eel is 2nd for those same reasons but is a mini version. Still, she has the power to pass her. But chooses not to. I would love to ride Goliath to compare and contrast the siblings. :)
The Boss is also guilty of the midcourse trimming the train so hard that it slams to a stop.
Did I ask
Speaking of the way the midcourse kills the speed, I was standing at Viper the other day where I was working. From the where I was standing, I get a perfect view of Goliath's first drop as well as the midcourse. I could have sworn that I saw the train moving BACKWARDS as it got to those breaks. Maybe it was just a long day, but I am convinced that it happened.
The protagonist must have wanted to ride Goliath while he was inverted
The drop feels like gliding on straight track I didn’t notice we were dropping until we went into the tunnel
I recently got a better ride and I found this rides magic seat car 4 back of the car and it has decent airtime over the first drop and sometimes the trims won’t hit as hard nowadays especially if it gets quite windy and even though it’s a hyper that doesn’t have what I personally want in a hyper I can respect that it’s a good ride even though it’s flawed design wise
Oh hey, Canobie Coaster did a video about Titan earlier today.