The Troubled History of Déjà Vu at Six Flags Great America (Vekoma's Giant Inverted Boomerang)
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- Опубликовано: 15 июн 2021
- In this video I explore the mystery behind the issues and frequent downtime of the Vekoma Giant Inverted Boomerang models while operated by the Six Flags park chain. Although based around Déjà Vu at Six Flags Great America, this video discusses all Giant Inverted Boomerang models in this deep dive for answers. What was the deal with Déjà Vu?
I love how the reviews of the ride went from it breaks down more then a McDonald’s ice cream machine to some one died and legs were torn off. 🤣
I'm so happy to see a video talking about one of the déjà vu's becoming aftershock! Silverwood is my home park and we've always been proud to have it running, it's definitely the most popular coaster of the few we have (excluding the new raptor track prototype)
Aftershock and stunt pilot are definitely out most popular 😅 two coasters I can’t bring myself to ride 😂😅
Yeah Silverwood having basically a whole manufacturer that works with them rocks, they fixed all the issues and it’s amazing!
I know I'm really late but you were trying to put this puzzle together. Gary Norton the owner of Silverwood talks about Aftershock in his book American Theme Park. You're right the programming is very complicated (He is a computer programmer and has programmed a ton of stuff at Silverwood like the log flume and POS system BTW). What he basically said is that there are many variables like wind, weight, etc and getting the catch car right is complicated and apparently those catch cars kept getting destroyed at the Six Flags parks. However when Aftershock was built, it was built so perfectly by the maintenance staff and Fred (RMC), Vekoma got it to work correctly almost on the first try. I paraphrased it of course but there's a chunk of the answer that I know you've been after.
I run this rollercoaster at silverwood theme park and it is a blast to run and glad we are still running it and It’s the last of its kind
I rode Déjà Vu at Magic Mountain back in the early 2000s. It was the only coaster at the park that actually pushed me from "fun-scary" to "actually-scary". Even X and Goliath didn't bother me as much as Déjà Vu did. There was just something profoundly unsettling about laying on the chest restraint as you were pulled backward up the initial lift tower; I remember feeling like I would just slip out of the seat if the crotch strap somehow snapped :p
Déjà Vu was some of the most fun I've ever had on a roller coaster.
same❕❕
Rode this many times during its run at Six Flags Over Georgia. My first ride was at night and was by far the best experience of all. The trick to riding was visiting on Sunday when the park was pretty much empty or getting a flash pass (then called Q-Bot) to avoid the wait in line on busy days. I was very sad to see it go.
Déjà Vu was surprisingly one of my favorite rides at the park. At the time, it was the only truly intense coaster at Great America and probably the first coaster I ever went on where I was like WHOA, that was intense. This is what a big kid ride feels like. It was also exciting to get to finally ride it since it was down all day during my first couple attempts. When I was a kid, the rumor was that they had to close the ride depending on the amount of electromagnetic activity in the air, whatever that means. I think I actually remember that Déjà Vu RIP video you showed and there was this other video of Déjà Vu's last ever ride at Fright Fest, and it ends with a fade out and you just hear the Halloween Theme playing in the background ominously. I still associate the Halloween Theme with Déjà Vu to this day.
Other fun fact: This ride had an awesome color scheme and I themed my MySpace layout around it. Now to read this comment... IN REVERSE!!
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If you ever got a chance to go on Shockwave at Six Flags before it closed in 2002 I found that more intense than Deja Vu. Very intense ride.
Is Great America your home park?
Nerd
@@amyleemarieshush
Home boi Batman is very intense. In the 1990s and still to this day. I'd say more than deja vu ever was. Crazy seeing CZsWorld Here!
Vekoma reprogrammed aftershock and it runs amazing.Six flags built there own in house program which made have massive downtime
I almost died on this damn ride! the harness didn't lock and the only thing holding me in was my arm strength and the strap that kept the harness from fully opening. almost flew out the side multiple times. We had many rides break down with us on them that day which didn't really bother me until this one and that was the end of roller-coaster for me.
I managed to ride this one twice. I did enjoy the part where you were brought up in reverse looking down on the track waiting for the fall. The best part of any rollercoaster is the anticipation, then the drop. The rapid transition of mental states is exciting.
I rode this in Silverwood where it's now called aftershock, and has become one of my favorite Rollercoaster, right behind space mountain
One of the rumors with park maintenance staff is that the ride could only run in certain good weather conditions. Deja Vu now sits as Aftershock in Idaho at Silverwood amusement park, so go figure on the weather issue. I worked security there when they opened it or try to. The ongoing joke at the time with us was placing bets and when it would actually be open. No one wanted to put down solid money.
It turned out to be humidity! The Magic Mountain one ran the most consistently.
@@ZeroCreditsRemaining don't know if this is of any interest but Great America has the best safety record of all the parks. Sometimes when the other parks are having issues they give the maintenance guys Great America call. If they can't figure it out then it's on to the manufacturers and well good luck dealing with the manufacturers.
One more thing well b&m built Batman Jim Winthrop who was six flags Great America GM had a hand in the designing of Batman.
I was so excited to see a new video from you! It was an audible gasp of excitement! (Take that as the highest compliment) I absolutely love your style of commentary! I grew up near SFGA so I personally experienced the history of Déjà vu and of the downtime. I liked it but I maybe only rode it 5 ish times. I too preferred V2!
I realized I should watch some of your older videos. I had avoided the reviews on the rides at SFGA that I have not ridden yet but I decided forget it I will watch them. The random one I picked was Max Force. At the end of that video was we don’t need another Déjà vu debacle. That is for another video. THIS VIDEO! Haha
Deja Vu at SFMM looked awesome in SFMMs line up and skyline. Really gave a thrilling, extreme rollor coaster ride vibe
Silverwood is my home park, and they honestly take really good care of Aftershock. It always runs super smooth, and the only real downtime is when it’s windy. I’m assuming because a gust could cause the trains to stall on the cobra roll? Idk but damn it’s a killer ride.
I agree
"The Vu" was me & my friends' *favorite* coaster when we spent our middle school summers at SFGAm-- it rarely ran, literally a handful of days per season, so whenever it was open the line was like a party vibe. Ride Ops and guests alike were just excited-- they'd often have music playing. It was wild. That ride inspired me to seek a job at the park after high school and keep it until the year after I graduated college. Thanks for inspiring a walk down memory lane!
i went to Six Flags Great Am twice during the lifetime of the coaster. It was closed both times lmfaooooo
i hated that Deja Vu replaced the Sky Whirl. I loved the Sky Whirl, although the more i learn about it...that ride was not going to survive long, the parts were outdated and it was a maintenance nightmare
I remember seeing the online advertising for this on the Six Flags website in 2001. We took our 8th grade class trip there in late May 2001 and I remember being disappointed it was not operating. I did get to ride it eventually maybe 4 or 5 years later and I do remember it was pretty intense!
Side note, as part of the promo for Deja Vu on Six Flags website they had a digital animation of the ride that was accompanied by the song “Porcelin” by Moby, anyone remember that? I can remember looking at the video online with my classmates at school!
i absolutely love this channel! i always love to see channels centered around my homepark! if you ever find yourself at x-flight or goliath, be sure to say hi! i'm an op there!
I frequent those a lot when im there.
Awesome, and hello!! Feel free to say hi if you see me as well. I love both battling Goliath and being an X-Flight recruit.
yayyy six flags great america rules!!
Great video! I was one of the "lucky" few that got to ride it at Six Flags Great America.
It's great you made that point about speculation :) and that it's not just a problem in the coaster enthusiast community.
I remember the hype of v2 and Deja vu when they were being built but the latter was never running when we went
When I went to six flags following the opening of the duo of coasters, Deja Vu *was* running but, if I remember correctly, I and some friends ended up getting out of line when we saw how long it was and just did V2. I loved V2 and am glad it still has a life at Great America
I rode it at fright fest in 2001. I thought it was fun. It needed to be reset several times while I was in line... it took determination to not give up.
@11:20 in the video it shows the train stuck going into the first loop and that happened to me at Great America the last year they had it, we where stuck there for 25 minutes until they got the brakes released and we rolled back into the station, and yes the staggering of the seats was always comical with everyone confused on where to actually sit🤣🤣
Another great video!
Much needed video. I was a passholder from 99-07. I think the lowpoint for the ride was after sitting with no life its entire opening year (01), it finally had its media day on Oct. 5 and was advertised as opening Saturday Oct. 7. I made the 90 minute drive that day and it never opened - "too cold and windy"-and it was in the 50s and not that windy. That's when I knew this ride had real problems. However, when it operated it was, to me, the best and most thrilling coaster there. I stopped getting a pass when they took it down. Not sure the newbies realize what a horrible exchange Buccanneer Battle for this was. Still think it was a HUGE mistake.
Good news Buccaneer Battle is no more in 2023
Roller coaster companies really need to take into consideration women's body types when making restraints. Between restraints leaving bruises all over our chests a lot of women don't have the height for a better fit. I rode both the v2 and deja vu and each one hurt me. I feel the same way about Superman too. I'm pretty average in size for a woman. My SO is 6" 2. He never has trouble with bruising and sore muscles around his chest like I do. This seems to be a fairly common complaint among my female friends after a long day at the park.
It's not all over head restraints either. Batman's restraints don't do that. X-force is fine. And while the Demon hurts everyone in some way it's not the restaints. I love riding coasters but it does suck knowing that if I get on a coaster with certain types of harnesses I might feel like I was in a car accident the next day. I was at sfga 3 weeks ago wouldn't ride the Joker because of it.
With all that said I like your channel. Not for sure why it didn't pop up before in my feed.
I'm only a 5ft 3" 120lbs lady and I've never had problems with coaster harnesses. Not to mention many coasters are made so kids as short as 4ft 6" (some only 4ft) can ride. I rode a bunch of coasters as soon as me and my little sister were tall enough and never had any problems. None of my friends who are girls complained either when we went as teens/young adults. Maybe you just bruise easily?
I've never had problems with the restraints and I have very large breast. Hell, I went to six flags right after my car accident, which left me sore and very bruised... Call me crazy, I went any ways and had a blast.
That was the best ride to ever be at the six flags great America park.
Definitely a top contender, no argument here.
"Tiiight... Pulsating... Cuuuurves..."
Talk rollers to me. 😅
Six Flags? More like S#X Flags. 🤣
Looks like whoever wrote that release, knowing their sup didn't bother read them, wanted to see how much they could get away with.
The wheel of speculation is amazing 🤣
You shoulda mentioned how the holding break on the vertical spike of V2 operated for 1 year and was shut off forever (neglected now will never be functional again), while steel venom at valley fair still uses it.
I went to 6flags Georgia as a kid in 2001 with my mom's conference and they booked the park for the few kids that came along for the conference. We were able to go back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back on Deja Vu I remember after the 3rd consecutive time momentarily blacking out during the up-shot part LOL. that ride was dope af.
Glad we met the lead and you were able to release this!
Glad Maxx Force didn't go Deja Vu on you!! I'm glad we met too, it was awesome.
Nice research!
The best things about Deja Vu at SFGAM were the color scheme and removal from the park. It's broke again was the deja vu. Opening day 2002 I got on the first train of the day and rode it. Then it broke down. It looked good but that was about it. Z-Force, Iron Wolf and Deja Vu didn't last in the park for a reason. SFGAM doesn't keep bad rides.
I almost fell out of this ride when I was 11
Can't watch yet but looking forward too. Used to love vu, when it worked that is!
This ride is now at an Idaho park and frankly it’s stellar, seems RMC, the local manufacturer and de facto partner of Silverwood really fixed it up
I remember the first time I rode Déjà Vu I was first in line with my friends that day and after we got off it broke and got shut down for the rest of the day. Watching this video really brought me back especially @9:30 LMAO so true haha
i had an exact similar experience❕ it opened late, we saw it was testing, we got on, rode, and it shut down 🥴
I remember SFNE advertised Goliath's new Premier trains as being smoother and more reliable; somehow it managed to be so much worse in both categories. I'm glad that Great America's Déjà Vu continues to live on and demonstrate what a great ride the Giant Inverted Boomerangs are (with the original Vekoma trains).
And the videos keep getting better and better and better and better and I will keep coming back for more
Just started watching channel, and I subscribed. Great America is my home park too
Love the channel
Yep every year as a kid my family and me tried to get on. I think one time and even then halfway through we had to get off. This and the bumper cars near the condor were always out of service.
I have been to great America at least 25 times. I got close to riding dejavu as it was only operating once when I was there. The one time I got close I was next in que and it got stuck once again and shut down for the day. I will always wonder how great this ride was.
Talk about the old Hard Rock Park and the old Pavilion that once operated in South Carolina and mention if a big park ever gets built their
I was only one when deja vu was removed, so I didn’t ride it, but I’d really like to get to silverwood so I can
I wasn’t even born yet
They change into what new safe ride?
I had a great year at SFGAm that year. Went probably over 30 times. Sucks Deja Vu had a hard time running but I got some good rides on it. Still a great year
That article felt like someone writing fan fiction erotica about a vekoma boomerang. ((Because that’s basically what it was))
I must have been super lucky - it ran without breaking down at Great America the first time I visited!
Incredibly lucky 😆
ZCR MONETIZED BABY LETS GOOOOO
great video, sucks that i’ll probably never get to ride one of these :/ they look like such fun rides
Remember, kids, skipping ads is like skipping in line! (jk)
It is a shame honestly, it’s been too long for me to say I still have a feel for it. Silverwood just doesn’t have enough for me to go all the way out to Idaho. :(
Someone will probably try to persuade me to go, but my travel budget is low and I have a ton of parks prioritized over it. Also it’s Idaho.
Every time i went to 6 flags it was shut down, and it looked like so much fun. Wish i could have had one smooth ride
I actually rode this ONCE and I loved it... everytime I went back it was out of order and everytime it was a let down... I'm glad I got to ride it once though
I lived about 2.5 hours away so only made it to the park once a year. De ja vu was closed everytime I went. Eventually I just assumed I wouldn’t be able to ride it. I never was able to 😢
😆 great narration
I actually enjoyed riding the boomerang at SFNO, however the break run was a whiplash and concussion simulator.
I got to ride the Georgia one, once. It was a fun ride, but since it was a one train ride the line was SLOW.
Should put the deja vu song in the video.
I remember being there either with family or school and they put a sign out in front that read "temporarily closed" and even though I was GP im like "not surprised deja vu closed" I didnt get the chance to ride it @ silverwood (because i wanted pictures and video plus the line was long.
This was uploaded 7 months ago already!? It only feels like it’s been 3 months since this video was uploaded! Time can fly
For real!! Doesn’t help that the last 4 months I’ve been pretty unable to make any content. ☹️
Goliath is scrapped, so now there are 5 remaining GIB’s
this video is so drastically underperforming, it scares me. and it sucks because your content is so good and you put so much effort into it!!
Tbh my content for the last 8 months prior to this has been 3 commentary videos and a song. I knew that wasn’t going to be good. I’m grateful for my viewers’ patience as I get things back to normal. 🙂
@@ZeroCreditsRemaining yeah i heard from one of your videos that you were a little less enthusiastic about making videos because you havent been able to ride coasters for a long time, but seeing a full, research filled, coaster video makes me think you have plans to visit a or are interested in visiting a park! is that true?
I went to sooo many parks this month. It has been a busy but amazing time. I hope you’re having a good summer too!
Plans can always change, but I’m writing Indiana Beach content right now. ✌️
@@ZeroCreditsRemaining oh awesome! that sounds great for you! im going to great america tomorrow so im pretty excited for that, but im glad youre getting your long overdue fix of roller coasters, and im excited about the indiana beach video too!
Thank you, and have fun!
I remember going in 2007 and it was down, I wasnt tall enough yet (was 7 at the time) and I'll forever be sad I never got to ride this one as SFGAm is my home park :/
I rode dejavu at six flags in 2007 and that day I went on it 10 times! I am so happy I got that opportunity ❤ I really enjoyed this ride
I love the Banjo Kazooie music. Mumbo's Mountain!
Neat vid. I spent a lotta time there as a kid and was defs tough to ride Deja Vu. Why do you pronounce it "flaygs" btw?
Regional Wisconsin accent. :)
@@ZeroCreditsRemaining hahaha love it
“Another one, another one, another one, another one…” 🙌🌈🎢
Another Amazing Video! #déjàWHO?
I’m pretty sure the Intamin mega-coaster trains (Supermen: Rides of Steel, Millennium Force, etc) require a battery pack to release the restraints outside of the station.
I never got to ride Sky Whirl. I wish they kept it.
I remember this. I went there a lot as a kid.
What happen to deja Vu and change into what new safe ride?
Funny enough… V2, Maxx Force, Goliath, snd Giant Drop also require battery packs to manually release riders.
Where did you hear this? I wouldn't know, but I didn't trust what that Wikipedia entry said either way.
@@ZeroCreditsRemaining I know this from personal experience as a member of the SFGAm Operations team.
Cool, thanks for clearing that up!
@@ZeroCreditsRemaining Of course, thanks for the great content!
My 8th grade end of the year school trip was to this six flags and we were all super excited try try these coasters. Until we got there and they were both closed lol.
To anyone that attended the Atlanta park in 2001…. Does anyone know why Atlanta’s model made so much noise?? I noticed the other parks did not have this issue. I feel like the cable lifts were installed poorly. If you been on the ride in that park you might remember a really loud noise coming from the 2nd tower. Almost sounded like someone yelling or a cat being strangled. That same cable car would often miss the trains causing major breakdowns. I remember asking one of the operators why Deja Vu was never working and they said it’s because the sensors always mis-fired causing the entire programming to malfunction.
So Zero Credits makes a good point when saying he believes Six Flags couldn’t comprehend the ride’s technology back in 2001. It’s actually disappointing considering GIB is a really good coaster, it was just (a little too) ahead of its time (maybe even for Vekoma lol). I remember our local Six Flags president saying the maintenance was overwhelming. It just sucks because I think we all wanted the ride to be successful because it was an amazing ride when it actually functioned properly. Lesson learned, don’t franchise a prototype until its been tested.
Vekoma couldn't get them to work right. Wasn't the park's fault they were plagued with problems.
At least there Batman and superman and also vertical velocity there upside down roller coaster rides too, right? But there safe but dont throw up, right?
They had one at six flags over Georgia too but it was almost always closed
Announcer: Ride closed for maintenance
Me: I just had Deja Vu
I remember this one always being closed. I managed to ride it once.
That’s one time more than most!
The big green lawn ornament. I’m glad I got to ride it 2x
I lived right next to the one in Illinois it always was shut down/ had issues. Lol although I was to scared to go on it at the time 🤣
I live 15min away from Six Flags Great America so I went there quite a few times as a kid. I wanna say I only rode Deja Vu 1 time. Nothing to brag about. The best two coasters of the park in my opinion are Superman & Raging Bull
I really hope Vekoma makes a new model with their new track
Sick six flags remix dude.
Thank you!
I made it and it’s only the 20 seconds you hear here. 😖
If it’s too cold or too windy, aftershock can’t run 😂 we call it our temperamental teenager 😅
It Was Called Aftershock And Was Placed In Silverwood In 2022
Thanks, but that’s not the year it was relocated. The actual year is in this video.
I'm from Brazil, bro!
And I can't wait to ride Déjà Vu (wich is now called "Sky Mountain")
Great video!!!!
I have riden stunt fall, and it`s incredible. Better than the superman, the floorles coaster un the same park, but no better than batman.
I dunno my thought was always that it was a prototype and that's why it broke all the time. I'm still ticked I never rode it at Great America since I was a passholder in 2001 and 02. Though I didn't go as much since "the man" wouldn't let a 12 year old drive to Gurnee by himself.
Every time I went to great America that shit was shut down. I never got to ride it.
It's a shame, because it was a beautiful coaster, and a lot of fun when it worked.
Rode Deja Vu once and it was great
Came to learn about a ride that I never got to ride and I'm glad I didn't and I'm staying for the commentary and hilarious memes
I been on v2 and it’s fun to ride
ngl that lil seatbelt they give you really feels thin when your hanging out up top of the world there...
it was fun, but the entire time i actually thought i could have died
in California in 2008 (i rode it my freshmen year)
I almost fell out of this ride once
Deja vu was better than any inverted shuttle I’ve ever ridden
The voice reminds me of Coaster Studios
Soooo maybe all the RCEs know this one, but what is the footage with that (not actually) Vincent Price looking guy and the kid on top of a loop inversion? Looks delightfully awful.
The movie is 3 ninjas high noon at mega mountain. The coaster is the arrow loop shuttle coaster at elitch gardens, so not even a boomerang. I really need to watch the full movie, the clips I've found are a sight to behold.
I operated Dejavu from 2005-2007
Poor deja vu had R.I.P in the grave yard right?
and i just went to 6 flags great america