Volume 1, No. 17. September 21, 2001
It's
a Deja Vu again!
Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, announces the arrival of
Déjà Vu August 25, 2001. Measurements: 196 feet high (59
meters), 1,204 feet of track (365 meters), 90-degree first drop. Delivered by
Vekoma.
Del Holland, vice president and general manager of Six Flags Magic Mountain,
was giving his opening remarks at the media day press conference August 24 when,
on cue, the Déjà Vu train was let loose from its upright
tower and sent tearing through a banner, sending large pieces of confetti floating
down on Holland's head. It was a most pleasing paper rain after on-again, off
again media events had been scheduled since spring. The first of Vekoma's new
generation of boomerang—the tallest boasting a 102-foot vertical loop (31
meters) and fastest with the V seating inverted trains reaching 65 mph (104
k/h)—was finally open.
For the occasion the park invited twins to be among the first riders. About
50 sets showed up, said Publicist Amy Means, ranging in age from pre-teens to
twins in their 60s. Members of the American Coaster Enthusiasts accepted the
media day invitation, too, many impersonating twins by wearing matching Hawaiian
shirts or park paraphernalia.
As it would in Georgia a week later, Déjà Vu opened to
immediate acclaim. Public guests got their first chance at the ride the next
morning, and the rush from the gate to the ride's queue has been repeated every
weekend since, Means said. "It's right next to the Cyclone at the back
of the park," she said of Déjà Vu. "People used to run
the front way toward Goliath. Now they all run the back way." For her
part, the ride exceeded expectations. "The most thrilling part is when you are
pulled out of the station backward 23 stories up, and you are hanging there,
and then you instantly start to free fall. When you look at it from the ground
you think, 'Oh yeah, that's going to be fun.' But when you get on it, it takes
your breath away."
Have we heard this before, or is this Déjà Vu?