Six Flags New England
As it will become apparent to anyone who visits Six Flags New England this season, the Goliath roller coaster has been removed from the park.
This roller coaster last operated during the 2019 season, as the park did not open in 2020 with rides. Demolition of this ride started during the latter days of 2021 and it was completed before the park opened for the 2022 season.
So why did this happen, and what comes next for Six Flags New England?
Why Did This Happen?
Goliath has been a notoriously troublesome roller coaster ever since it opened at Six Flags New England, and even before that.
Goliath, when it originally operated as Deja Vu at Six Flags Magic Mountain was one of three giant inverted boomerang roller coasters that Six Flags opened up within the US at roughly the same time. The other two models immediately began having problems that caused Six Flags to remove them. The version of the ride that would eventually be relocated to Six Flags New England did not initially have problems so it stayed operating at Magic Mountain.
Eventually, this version of the ride was relocated to Six Flags New England, which is where the problems started. While at Six Flags New England, the park decided to replace the trains on this ride, mainly due to the fact that the original trains did not have a straight row of seating, staggering the seating and making loading more difficult. The new trains that they replaced them with had traditional four across seating. Reportedly these trains made the ride significantly more uncomfortable for riders causing the ride to become rougher.
This was not the only problem the ride would face while at Six Flags New England with various maintenance problems causing issues with the ride and causing it to be down a significant portion of most seasons, sometimes for months at a time while repairs were done. Prior to the pandemic, it was already rumored that this was going to be the next major ride at Six Flags New England to be removed to make way for a major new attraction.
However, that is not why it was removed. In the aftermath of the pandemic, to help Six Flags recover financially from their losses due to a lost season, they made a choice to remove or relocate one ride from every single one of their parks. They stated that this was going to be a ride that either had significant maintenance problems or cost more to operate than it was worth.
Goliath really fits both of these categories. It was a ride model that had largely failed, with few being built after the initial ones Six Flags had built. It was likely difficult to get replacement parts as the years continued. It was unfortunately the natural fit to be the ride to close at Six Flags New England, even if nothing is currently slated to replace it.
What Comes Next?
Now, what is going to be the future of this section of the park, as the removal of Goliath leaves a giant empty space in one of the park's busiest areas.
The answer is no one publicly knows.
For a hint at what might be next, let's look at what Six Flags is doing right now for a hint at what the future might be for this land.
In the aftermath of the pandemic, Six Flags ended their long-standing policy of adding one new ride to every single one of their parks every single year, and they have stated that they are going to be focusing more on major expansions and quality of life improvements for their guests. A lot of the quality of life improvements within Six Flags New England can already be seen this season, and a lot of the signage has been replaced throughout the park. This was desperately needed especially after a year of being left largely abandoned.
This can also be seen in other Six Flags parks with different rides being repainted, and significant refurbishments happening on major rides. What this also likely means for the Goliath plot of land is that when something replaces Goliath it will be something major, as this is the priority of Six Flags at the moment. They would rather only add one major ride every few years than add something every year.
As for what that ride will be, it is uncertain, and rumors point towards too wide a number of options to clearly point one out.
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