Just over a month ago, at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World, demolition began on Primeval Whirl after it was announced it would be permanently closed last year. The small coaster in Dinoland USA did not reopen following the pandemic and continues to be slowly deconstructed. In honor of this defunct Disney coaster, we are going to look at 4 other coasters across the United States that also met their demise in 2021.
1. Wicked Twister
The first coaster we are saying goodbye to is Wicked Twister. Wicked Twister was located at Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH. This double-twisting impulse coaster opened in May of 2002. At its time of opening, the coaster was the tallest and fastest inverted coaster in the world. Its two twisted towers stood at 215 feet and riders would reach a speed of 72 mph. After being launched forward up the first tower, riders would plummet backward, back through the station, and up the back tower. Next, riders would zoom back up the front tower, backward up the back tower again, and up the front tower a third and final time. Over its 20 seasons in operation, Wicked Twister had over 16 million riders. The ride closed on September 6th, 2021.
2. Cheetah
The next coaster to meet its demise was Cheetah. Cheetah was located at Wild Adventures in Valdosta, GA. Cheetah was a wooden coaster that opened in 2001. It boasted a 95 ft drop. Much like Primeval Whirl at Animal Kingdom, Cheetah closed due to the pandemic and never reopened. It was announced earlier this year that the ride would remain permanently closed.
3. Goliath
Goliath was the first of its kind. This Giant Inverted Boomerang coaster was originally opened in 2001 as Déjà vu at Six Flags Magic Mountain. It was one of three of this exact coaster to be built in the Six Flags parks. The other two were built at Six Flags Great America and Six Flags Over Georgia. Déjà vu closed in 2011 and it was decided it would be relocated to Six Flags New England where it opened in 2012 under the new name of Goliath. It featured two 194 ft towers, a 110 ft cobra roll, and a 102 ft loop. Riders were lifted backward up the first tower before being dropped and gliding through the cobra roll and loop then up the second tower. After that, they did it all again, but backward. The Déjà vu coasters opened in Six Flags Over Georgia and Six Flags Great America only lasted 6 years before being closed. Speaking from experience, the coaster—at least at Six Flags Great America—regularly experienced issues and downtime. After having the ride removed from their map in 2021, Six Flags New England announced Goliath would not reopen.
4. Harley Quinn Crazy Coaster
Finally, rounding out the coasters lost in 2021 is Harley Quinn Crazy Coaster. The Harley Quinn Crazy Coaster was located at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, CA. It was innovative at its time of opening as the first “dual-looping coaster.” The coaster featured two trains running simultaneously on a figure-8 double inverted track. Riders would fly by one another as they continuously traveled along the two inversions, both forwards and backward. The ride was notorious for being a very rough ride and was frequently closed. It was confirmed earlier this year that the coaster would permanently close after only two years of operation.
Though it is sad, we must say goodbye to old coasters to make room for new coasters, rides, or other exciting attractions. Which of these coasters will you miss, and which are you glad to see go?
