Parks That Should Get A Hyper Coaster

Honestly, Six Flags Magic Mountain. Superman is fine, but that's really more of a vertically launched drop ride than a true coaster experience. At least top hats crest over a hill before returning. And at 255 feet and 21 years old, Goliath isn't drawing the way a modern hyper/mega would.

So you’re suggesting Magic Mountain remove Goliath?

I kind of agree with Robert. Goliath isn't your typical hypercoaster that has wide appeal by delivering oodles of airtime. Let's not forget that the coaster was designed and built rapidly (and under a cloak of secrecy) at the turn of the century in an attempt to break records that were eventually claimed by Millennium Force just months after Goliath's debut.

Goliath is still a solid coaster, but doesn't fill the same role as a typical hypercoaster in the park's lineup. SFMM would be served by considering a more traditional B&M hypercoaster that maximizes airtime, which is conspicuously absent from the entire state of California (closest true hyper coaster is Desperado, which only operated intermittently until Buffalo Bill's closed at the start of the pandemic).

I agree with Robert that SFMM's Goliath lacks compared to most other hypers but I got to go with Knotts, CGA, Dollywood, Six Flags St Louis, and Elitch Gardens.

I don't see why both SFMM and Knotts can't have one considering Knotts built a B&M invert way after the invert craze in the USA was over. Norcal needs one and with the height restriction on SFDK (I am old enough to remember the V2 debacle lmao) Six Flags won't be doing that unless that rumor of them moving to Fresno has teeth to it. Dollywood seems to want to be a big boy player in the destination park stage with all the growth in the region so that seems to make sense, and the way Six Flags has treated SFSTL in the past decade has been abysmal. It used to be a really good park in the late 90's/early 2000's but it seems like they forgot it exists, their only major addition in the last 8 years was a used Boomerang which is easily the worst coaster in the park.

And hey if La Ronde can have a hyper why not Elitch Gardens haha. It seems like the city wants to make this park condo's but if not why not have at least one thing that's going to draw people there.

Goliath at Six Flags Magic Mountain may not be a typical hypercoaster, but I don't think that means the park needs another. The ride is still in the top five coasters in terms of popularity at the park, and if a regular hyper were to be built it would likely struggle to attract the attention of the public unless it was significantly larger than Goliath, so if anything SFMM could benefit from a giga.

Internationally, I'd say pretty much any park that is comparable sizewise to the average Six Flags property could probably benefit from a hyper if they don't already have one. In the US, however, most of the parks that I'd consider good fits for that type of ride currently feature one (or have something close enough that a hyper would be redundant). However, there are five parks that come to mind that I could see benefitting from one in the near future (i.e. this decade)...

Six Flags Fiesta Texas: I'm not sure if this park has a height limit and I'm doubtful Six Flags would spend that type of money, but even if the ride wasn't 200 ft tall I'd say this is the park that would most benefit from a hyper-style ride as they don't have a major non-inverting coaster.

Busch Gardens Tampa: A huge park that definitely has the space for a hyper, with the main strike against one being the presence of Mako an hour away. However, a hyper or even a giga would be a great next coaster here after Iron Gwazi opens next spring.

California's Great America: This park almost got one before Cedar Fair decided to go in a different direction, and I still say it's the most likely option for a traditional hyper on the west coast. Some might say Knott's Berry Farm is more likely, but personally I think that park has too small of a footprint for a hyper coaster (a mini-hyper, however, would be an excellent fit).

Six Flags St. Louis: Realistically, they could use any big coaster, but a hyper would probably be the most crowd pleasing and a better fit for the more family-friendly style of this park than something with more intensity.

Dollywood: This one is tough due to the terrain, but that could allow them to get very creative with a hyper-sized coaster. They've supposedly got something big planned for 2023, so maybe this one is coming sooner than later.

I'd love to see SFMM finally get the hyper it deserves, but that's not realistic. SF isn't gonna pay to tear down a perfectly good ride (in the GPs eyes) and build a new 20+million B&M Itamin or Mack hyper.

I really hope that that rumored Knotts giga is true. SoCal needs a good modern B&M hyper and the only park I could see is either Knotts or SFDK. However, I could see a mack hyper go to California's Great America but there's honestly not much space at all. I'd love to see a hyper that focuses on inversions and tighter turns instead of just having big airtime sustained hills. Add that Hybrid Train with a spinning row and that sounds like an awesome ride for SoCal