Magic Mountain kiddie-coaster makeover

Six Flags Magic Mountain plans to re-theme the Goliath Jr. mini-roller coaster as Percy the Small Engine to fit into the new Thomas Town kiddie land opening in summer 2008.

For the non-toddler-toting set, Percy is an anthropomorphic Avonside saddle-tank steam engine and friend of Thomas the Tank Engine. The Valencia amusement park’s new kiddie land will include a Harold the Helicopter ride, a Bertie the Bus ride and a train with passenger cars Annie and Clarabelle.

Goliath Jr., which will get a new train theme and Percy’s green paint with red trim, has a long history of makeovers. Reborn in 2001 as the tame 10-mph version of the truly terrifying 85-mph Goliath, Junior’s previous incarnations include the Wile E. Coyote coaster from 1985 to 1998 and the Clown coaster from 1971 to 1984, according to Roller Coaster Database.

Before that, Junior/Wile/Clown spent a quarter of a century at the now-defunct Beverly Park at the corner of LaCienega and Beverly boulevards in Los Angeles, where the coaster originated in 1946, according to RCDB.

For theme-park buffs, Beverly Park is notable for being visited frequently by Walt Disney before he built Disneyland in 1955. Beverly Park rides included the Autopia miniature car ride and the Fantasyland boat ride.

Find the latest amusement and theme park news at the
Los Angeles Times Funland blog: www.latimes.com/funland

— Brady MacDonald, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

[Photo: Thomas & Friends]

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This entry was posted on Friday, January 18, 2008 at 2:00 am by Brady MacDonald and is filed under Disneyland, Family & Kids, Los Angeles, Magic Mountain, San Diego, Theme Parks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.