Overview
Goliath is a steel roller coaster at La Ronde amusement park in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Designed by Bolliger & Mabillard, it reaches a maximum height of , a speed of and a track length of . Construction commenced in September 2005, and the roller coaster opened to the public on May 13, 2006. Goliath was the tallest and fastest roller coaster in Canada until it was surpassed by Behemoth (another Bolliger & Mabillard roller coaster), at Canada's Wonderland in 2008. Six Flags announced in 2016 that Goliath would be hooked up with Virtual Reality for a New Revolution experience for the 2016 season.
History
Speculation that La Ronde would be building a new roller coaster began in the second half of 2004. Rumors that the roller coaster would be manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard emerged in September 2005. Construction for the roller coaster by Martin & Vleminckx began in September 2005 with land clearing and foundation pouring. The $18.7 million Goliath was announced on October 26, 2005. Once testing was complete, Goliath opened to the public on May 13, 2006.
Ride experience
After being dispatched from the station, the train immediately begins to climb the lift hill. Once at the top, the train drops back down at a 70-degree angle. The train then makes a banked right turn leading into the first of three consecutive camelback hills; each at a height of , and (every hill is smaller than the previous one). Following the third hill, the train enters a left hand turnaround that makes the train face the opposite direction that it came. After dropping back down to the ground, the train goes over another three camelback hills; each at a height of , and . Then, the train makes an upward right banked turn, immediately followed by a downward left banked turn. After another left banked turn, the train rises back up and goes over a small bump before entering the final brake run. The train then makes a 180-degree right turn leading back to the station.
One cycle of the ride lasts about three minutes.
Track
The steel track of Goliath is approximately long, and the height of the lift is high. It is made up of 150 foundations, 300 pilings, 106 supports and 850 anchor bolts. The track is painted red with yellow rails, while the supports are painted blue. It was manufactured by Clermont Steel Fabricators located in Batavia, Ohio. Though Goliath is a B&M Hyper Coaster (the model name for this type of B&M roller coaster), the roller coaster is technically not classified as a Hypercoaster. A Hypercoaster is any roller coaster that reaches a height over ; Goliath reaches only .
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.
Awards
In Goliath's opening year, it was voted the 37th best steel roller coaster in Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Awards. The roller coaster peaked at position 23 in 2011. It did not place in the top five new roller coasters for 2006.