Six Flags Magic Mountain to remove Deja Vu coaster

Well, that didn’t last long.

Six Flags Magic Mountain will relinquish sole ownership of the coveted title of “Roller Coaster Capital of the World� later this year when the Valencia, Calif., amusement park removes one of its record-setting 18 coasters.

Magic Mountain boasted of nabbing the coaster title when the Green Lantern: First Flight spinning coaster officially opened in July. The removal of Deja Vu will move Magic Mountain back into a statistical tie with Cedar Point in Ohio, which also has 17 coasters.

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Deja Vu is expected to close in October, meaning Magic Mountain will have held the uncontested coaster crown for a mere four months.

Built in 2001, the Vekoma boomerang-style Deja Vu coaster with suspended cars features a 102-foot-tall loop and a 110-foot-tall cobra roll, with riders traveling along the 1,200-foot-long track twice, once forward and once backward, according to Roller Coaster Database.

Prone to down time and rough rides, Deja Vu is one of my least favorite coasters at the park and will not be missed. Similar versions of the outdated ride have been disappearing from bigger parks around the world, finding new homes and extended lives at smaller parks.

Deja Vu is expected to be relocated to Six Flags New England, with an official announcement anticipated in early September. The local planning board recently approved plans for a giant inverted boomerang coaster at the Massachusetts amusement park.

The move is a curious one, considering Six Flags New England already has an older, smaller, shorter and slower model of the Vekoma boomerang-style inverted shuttle coaster called Flashback.

Deja Vu will replace the Shipwreck Falls shoot the chutes water ride at Six Flags New England. The park has no plans to remove Flashback.

Deja Vu is expected to open with a new name at Six Flags New England in summer 2012. Expect to see Six Flags relocate more old rides to new parks within the amusement chain for 2012.