A Blast From The Past - It's Déjà Vu All Over Again! Pt 2

At Six Flags Magic Mountain the trains were valleying between the the loop and the cobra roll. And, there were major issues with the vertical lift. This was however the first Déjà Vu to open, the date was August 25th. Another problem with the ride was the locking mechanism on the shoulder restraints.


The solution required the use of a battery pack to unlock each restraint in the event of a power loss. Many modification have been made and the ride has become much more reliable over the years, so much so that it's the only Déjà Vu operating at its original location.


During initial testing on Six Flags over Georgia's Déjà Vu, the device that catches and holds the train, known as the catch car, derailed on the first tower, damaging the train beyond repair.

The ride opened September 1st, operated sporadically and closed at the end of the 2007 season and was replaced by Thomas Town, which is now known as Whistlestop Park. In November 2009 Mirabilandia in Brazil purchased the ride, it will be opening 2011 as Sky Mountain.

More restraint issues, some riders complained the restraints had too much room for the riders to "fall forward" during the lift. And, larger riders complained of chest compressions during the moments that they were on the main lift.

Another issue was the belt attached to the bottom of the restraint would occasionally un-latch, causing a safety issue, if the restraint lock would somehow malfunction there would be nothing else to keep the rider from falling out of their seat.

Last but not least Six Flags Great America's Déjà Vu had clearance issues. After the trains were mounted to the track, it was quickly discovered that riders could reach out and touch the track, while the train was in motion. New bars were added to the original over the shoulder restraints to limit riders reach.

The ride finally opened on October 7th and shortly after the ride opened to the public, riders were stranded on the back spike due to the emergency brake engaging. Déjà Vu gave its last rides on October 28, 2007 and was removed shortly after. In September 2009 the Buccaneer Battle water ride opened on the rides former site.

In January 2008, Silverwood Theme Park in Idaho announced they had purchased Great America's Déjà Vu. The ride was renamed Aftershock and after an overhaul by Vekoma, it officially opened July 21, 2008

The fourth giant boomerang, Stunt Fall benefited greatly from the Déjà Vu coasters, After all the problems they had, Six Flags allowed Vekoma to work out all the problems before and during its construction. Vekoma also made the changes to the Déjà Vu coasters, which did allow the rides to run more consistently

While the Déjà Vu coasters were great rides, they were not a success for Vekoma; in fact they were considered a flop. Six Flags stooped doing business with Vekoma. And, Vekoma lost so much money that it temporarily drove the company into bankruptcy.

We were lucky (or diligent) enough to ride all three Déjà Vu coasters in their original location. Six Flags over Georgia was first, then Six Flags Magic Mountain and last but not least, the one closest to us, Six Flags Great America. They were all great rides; in fact we made sure to ride the Déjà Vu at Magic Mountain when we visited California in 2009.