You thought the rebranding of Mr. Potato Head was big news? Well, Six Flags just said, “Hold my beer.” The amusement park chain made the decision this week to rebrand six of their rides, giving them all-new, totally distinguishable names. None of the original names were offensive, but I’m sure CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC could find some reason to tell you they are and that Joe Biden or Donald Trump are behind this whole ordeal.
The reason for the rebranding is to help visitors and enthusiasts identify which coasters they’re talking about on popular social media platforms like Facebook. Do you know how many times Chris D. of Coaster Appreciation Society (CAS) has literally had to explain which Loch Ness Monster, Alpengeist, or Verbolten he’s talking about? Those standard, reused names are just so bland. Six Flags knows better to use unoriginal names like those to begin with. Still, a few of their rides could use an update when it comes to their names.
Ride of Steel
Six Flags Darien Lake
In 1999, Six Flags Darien Lake (SFDL) opened Superman Ride of Steel. One year later, a mirrored image twin of the ride would open at Six Flags America (SFA) with the same name. Talk about a missed opportunity to paint that one blue and purple and call it Bizarro. You know, the Superman’s opposite? Thanfully, the chain would use that name for two coasters, rebranding Six Flags New England’s (SFNE) Superman the Ride and Six Flags Great Adventure’s (SFGAdv) Medusa to Bizarro. That really helped differentiate the coasters, with the first one being widely considered one of the best coasters in the world.
The two Superman Ride of Steel coasters would operate under that name until 2006 when Six Flags dropped Darien Lake from its chain. The ride would then take on the clever name, Ride of Steel. It has operated under that name ever since. Although Six Flags came back into the picture with Darien Lake in 2019, the coaster’s DC branding was never restored. Until now.
Six Flags finally realized it’s time to give Ride of Steel its Superman name back. But that’s not all. As much as naming a coaster after a DC Comic book property it totally original, they want to make sure you know that the ride and Darien Lake are back under Six Flags operations. What better way to do that than to double down? So for 2021, SFDL will now be home to, Superman – Goliath. Can you get anymore “Six Flags” than that?
Rebrand: Superman - Goliath
Goliath
Six Flags Great America
Over the last few months enthusiasts everywhere watched as Dollywood converted a large portion of Lightning Rod’s topper track to Rocky Mountain Construction’s (RMC) I-Box steel counterpart. Well, it looks like RMC has gotten another call. Six Flags is seeking RMC to give their wooden coaster, Goliath, at Six Flags Great America (SFGAm), the RMC treatment. That’s right, another conversion of one of their own creations.
Wanting to make sure people know that Goliath has been upgraded, the chain has decided to rebrand the coaster to go along with its re-tracking. Once the ride is ready to reopen later this year, it will most likely be known as either Twisted Goliath or Iron Goliath. There appears to be some infighting within the company on which one fits in better with Six Flags’ coaster branding ideals. There are rumors also hovering that a third person in management wants to combine both those ideas and go with Twisted Iron Goliath, but add “The Ride” at the end. This is a developing story, so be sure to check back for more updates.
Rebrand: Twisted Goliath, Iron Goliath, or Twisted Iron Goliath The Ride
Flashback
Six Flags New England
Six Flags has never been known for its theming, but that is all about to change. With the rebranding of the coaster, Flashback, at SFNE, employees will finally have an answer for visitors who are constantly asking, “Why is Goliath down?”, “Is Goliath going to be open?”, or “Why is Goliath always closed when I come?”
By taking the parks original Vekoma Boomerang, Flashback, and renaming it “David,” the park will now be able to tell a story. That story is none other than how David conquered Goliath. Yup. That’s what they’re doing to explain away Goliath always being down. I personally would have changed it back to Deja Vu since it’s like Deja Vu every time you come back and it’s closed.
Rebrand: David (as in David & Goliath)
X²
Six Flags Magic Mountain
In 2002, Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) opened the Arrow 4th Dimension coaster, X. That’s right. X. So edgy! The ride certainly looked the part too with its mustard yellow supports and dark pink track. People everywhere couldn’t wait to experience this coaster and get roughed up. What else would you expect from a coaster named X?
Eventually, Six Flags’ new the coaster was just too much of an edge lord for the general public. A call was made to repaint it in 2008 to have dark gray supports with red track. New trains were also put on the coaster. It was then renamed X² when an intern accidentally pressed ALT and typed 0178 on the keyboard after typing the coaster’s name his cover sheet of his TPS report. Yeahhhhh.
In recent years X² has become a well-liked ride among enthusiasts, but Six Flags is ready to rebrand again. Since no one at Six Flags knows how to type the cubed symbol on the keyboard, they’re going to keep the squared symbol. Instead, the ride will lose the X portion of its title and from this point forward be known as Goliath².
Rebrand: Goliath²
Goliath
Six Flags Fiesta Texas
When Six Flags decided to move the Batman the Ride clone from Six Flags New Orleans (SFNO) after hurricane Katrina, Six Flags Fiesta Texas (SFFT) ended up being the lucky recipient. Naturally, renaming the ride to Goliath made perfect sense to the Six Flags thinktank.
For those of you saying, “Fiesta has another coaster named Batman the Ride,” you’d be right. That one, an S&S 4D Free Spin, was added in 2015, a good seven years after Goliath debuted. Thankfully the park used that one-of-a-kind name to help make sure people knew which ride they were talking about.
In 2021, a call to restore Goliath’s name back to Batman the Ride was made during a Zoom call. At first, the management team loved it and was excited to have two coasters at the park with the same exact, one-of-a-kind name. That’s when they received the news that Batman the Ride, however, was going to be relocated. This saddened the team and they began work promptly to remove it from the property.
It was about 10 days into the dismantling that they realized they were taking down the wrong Batman the Ride. Once they realized their mistake, they fixed it and sent off the actual Batman the Ride to its new home SFA.
Rebrand: Batman the Ride
Batman the Ride
Six Flags Fiesta Texas
Relocated: Six Flags America
When SFA heard they were getting a clone called Batman the Ride, they were excited. There would be two inverts at the park and now, Firebird wouldn’t have to be the best B&M in Maryland. When they opened the truck doors in the parking lot, that’s when they realized they had the other Batman the Ride – the 4D Free Spin. A visitor walking by the truck named Sam, told them they could just toss it back in the field where the old Togo Pipeline Coaster was left to rust.
You could imagine the park’s surprise when they received this one-of-a-kind, clearly better ride. I mean, you’d have to drive a whole 2.5 hours north to SFGAdv, or soon, 2.5 hours south, to Kings Dominion to find another one. That’s so far away. As a matter of fact, when the news broke of Batman the Ride’s arrival at SFA, Knoebels, Hersheypark, Adventure Park USA, and Dorney Park all ordered one for their parks too. Sadly, none of them are coming up with amazing ride names like Batman the Ride, or the one SFA decided upon – Goliath!
Rebrand: Goliath
For those who could not tell, this entire article is an April Fools Day spoof. None of this is real, although it is safe to assume that Six Flags will most certainly be naming a few dozen more coasters, and maybe even a flat ride or two, Goliath, in the decades to come.
