Déjà Vu (roller coaster)

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Déjà Vu
Déjà Vu at Six Flags Over Georgia is one of four Giant Inverted Boomerangs
Location	Numerous
Type	Steel roller coaster
Manufacturer	Vekoma
Model	Boomerang (Giant Inverted Boomerang variant)
Height	191.7 ft.
Drop	177 ft.
Length	1204 ft.
Max speed	65.6 mph
Inversions	6 (3 forward, 3 reverse)
Duration	1 min 32 sec
Capacity	870 riders per hour

Déjà Vu is a steel roller coaster located at three Six Flags theme parks: Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, Six Flags Over Georgia in Austell, Georgia, and Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois. These rides are modified versions of Vekoma's popular Boomerang roller coasters. Slated to open for the 2001 season at the three Six Flags parks, sudden errors and malfunctions occurred during testing. Oftentimes, the trains would "valley" between segments of the rides and the vertical lift hill was not reliable. The rides finally opened in August, September, and October of 2001.

Déjà Vu is a departure from Vekoma's earlier Boomerang designs. These versions of the ride feature a vertical chain-driven lift hill that slowly lifts the train up a vertical spike. Also, these rides are bigger than previous Boomerang designs. Another modification was using 4-across seating, similar to Bolliger & Mabillard's Inverted roller coasters. However, the seating on Déjà Vu is "staggered" such that the outside seats are pushed back slightly behind the middle two seats in each row.

Enthusiasts often criticize these rides due to the constant downtime and reliability issues and as a result, this coaster design was not a success for Vekoma. Six Flags purchased four of these rides in 2001 (the three Déjà Vu coasters in America and Stunt Fall at Warner Bros. Movie World Madrid in Madrid, Spain). Due to the reliability issues of the existing rides, the product was considered a flop for Vekoma compared to the success of the base-design Boomerang.

When Six Flags ordered their four Giant Inverted Boomerangs (GIB's), Stunt Fall was the last to installed. When Six Flags saw the issues that the first three had, they allowed Vekoma to go and work out all of the problems before installation. This is why Stunt Fall ran on a more consistent basis. Vekoma has since implemented this system on their other three GIB's. Now all of these coasters run on a regular basis, possibly due to the removal of sensors to monitor speed.

During initial testing on Six Flags Over Georgia's Déjà Vu, the catch car (a small device that catches and holds the train) on Tower One derailed, breaking parts and destroying the components of the train beyond economical repair. The ride got a new train, the one that was originally supposed to go to Stunt Fall.

Because of the problems with Déjà Vu at the three parks, Six Flags has stopped purchasing rides from Vekoma, the rides were also so costly that they temporarily drove Vekoma into bankruptcy.

[edit] Layout and Experience

The ride begins when the train slowly backs out of the station on to the vertical lift hill. Once reaching the top of the lift, the train goes through the station and heads into the cobra roll (also sometimes called a butterfly roll or boomerang) inversion. This element contains two of the three inversions found on the ride. After twisting through the cobra roll inversion, riders then go through a single vertical loop and hit the second vertical spike of the ride. Riders then go up the second vertical tower. After the train reaches the top of the tower, it is released to coast backward through the layout. The train then goes through the station and heads up the vertical lift hill again. The ride then slows down and stops at the station.

[edit] Criticism

Déjà Vu in Gurnee, with passengers waiting mid-ride after emergency brakes engaged.

The Deja Vu that opened at Six Flags Great America has been highly criticized by roller coaster enthusiasts because it takes the place of the Sky Whirl ride that used to operate in its spot. It has also been the target of criticism by park patrons of Six Flags Over Georgia for frequently being shut down, giving most the impression that it had been officially closed.

There were also several major problems that were discovered well after the first three GIB's were built. One problem was clearance between the riders and the track overhead. After the trains were mounted to the track, it was quickly discovered that riders could easily reach up and touch the track while the train was in motion, posting the risk of a severe amputation injury. Vekoma has to improvise, adding new bars to the original shoulder restraint to prevent guests from reaching up too high.

During tests it was discovered that trains would stall in the middle of the cobra roll. Unplanned, the parks installed emergency unloading scaffolding in this location, similar to other Boomerang roller coasters.

Another problem of the ride is the locking mechanism for the shoulder restraints. The GIBs required the use of a battery pack to unlock each restraint in the event of a power loss. Virtually all other roller coasters have a quick manual release system to unload in unusual locations or emergency situations.

[edit] Trivia

• Déjà Vu at Six Flags Over Georgia has its computer room built on supports well above ground level. This is due to the ride being on the Chattahoochee River floodplain.

[edit] External links

• Listing of Giant Inverted Boomerang roller coasters at RCDB