GayCoasterGuy

Yikes, I hope the guy is ok. The last time I was there, I waited while some friends rode Opa (I didn't want to wait in line again). One of the cars spun, one of the cars spun part of the time and another never spun. It was very strange. But I was surprised they were running 3 separate cars.

Most ludicrous height restriction? Me having to be under 52" to ride a slew of kiddie coasters. I'm just big for my age because we live near the power lines.

I would bet a lot less Imagine if RMC got their hands on Eagle?

I've never been on one. But I've heard stories... I wouldn't enjoy a shutdown while on one of those (admit it, we enjoy coaster shut downs while on coasters! As long as you can move a bit.)

Love this: haha! I would say B&M are the most "successful" in that they build rides that are reliable, stand the test of time, and they probably make good money. But my personal opinion is completely opposite; I would vote for Anton. But he wasn't successful as a businessperson. B&M build very nice "rides," or flight simulators. They're technically coasters, but so much is lost in the translation (4 across seating pods, etc etc...) Don't get me wrong - some make great fun rides, but I much prefer stuff with more soul.

Looking good. Think they'll make the May opening?

Tour the Ark dark ride where you can... shoot the animals? Find the Alien? Where's Waldo?

That first drop is going to project some crazy screaming. It's not too close to the neighbors, but you never know. Maybe we'll eventually get a drop top/tunnel like Ghost Rider or Gold Striker (On second thought, maybe not. Shockwave didn't need any sound blocking, but it's fun to imagine isn't it!)

Good It will look "once pretty but now dirty and rough" like a roller coaster is supposed to look. (And then we have B&M rides. Which always look the same. Best of both worlds!)

Are you confusing that Starship with Mind Bender or Dare Devil Dive? I've never seen a looping starship with just a lap restraints. (Now I'm thinking of the old Ring Of Fire carnival rides. Good memories!)

The ultimate rain coaster used to be The Beast... but that experience is a thing of the past I vote for Phoenix or Kennywood Thunderbolt. And anything Anton, of course.

Magic Mountain stacking one coaster train (when they are only running one coaster train on a track). Stacking is annoying most of the time, no matter the number of trains.

Looking at the construction, I see that the bridge will be good for stuff going under the "lift half" of the ride, but not good for where the crane currently is. The crane is now inside the first turn, so when a good part of that is done, I would imagine they'll drive the crane out and build the rest of that high curve from the outside of the curve.

There is no comparison. We all know which will be the stellar ride

^It folds up and goes under this here bridge: Or the other bridge on the other side of the ride

I was trying to stay out of the camera's way, and I end up on channel 9 taking a picture of a coaster. I feel like a total nerd. And proud of it I'll be a coaster nerd to the end! I'm surprised they used a picture of a same-name ride that clearly looks completely different. A picture of Texas Cyclone would have been closer. But I'm sure it has more to do with the Goliath logo?

I think it might count as half of a new station credit for anyone who might be wondering

If they weren't busting their backsides trying to make something crazy work, they'd just be a generic amusement park and not what they are. Save the mediocre production model something-or-others for Cedar Fair. Hopefully whatever it is ends up being patently absurd. ^Thank you for saying that. The Knoebel's family is too smart to attempt either. Maybe so... but you know they'd do a fine job if that was what they wanted. Imagine an Anton back at Knoebels Or a brand new Anton via Gerstlauer. A new Mind Bender, with mag brakes of course.

Bummer. The charm on this Galaxy was through the roof. Not to mention 2 killer drops in the back seat... if you like air time where you leave the seat, anyway. Something similar would make a nice replacement. Or just a new model of the same ride

That does make a lot of sense, now that I think about it. Thanks for bringing up the clarification. Maybe the IW/Goliath station uses the same footers from the Z-Force station? They were in the same spot. Z-Force... hmmm... what a wicked ride. Painful wicked.

Wow! So impressive to see a park build a coaster and use most of it's potential energy. Not to mention the fly throughs, tunnels and trenches. All that with a B&M to boot! Why can't we have something like this here?

I was confused by that as well; I'm thinking Brandon may have been mistaken on a couple finer points of the track. The wood stack is 6 high; on top of that is the steel "box track*" (where a traditional woodie would have the top 2 layers of wood). All this is reinforced with clamps from the top steel layer to the track ties. On top of that coaster track sandwich sits a wide steel rail where the coaster wheels roll. I heard this top steel rail will be painted orange (or has that been confused with an orange tarp? I think someone from the park said that rail will be orange.) *This box track is filled with a composite material. Check out the RMC site: http://www.rockymtnconstruction.com/ You can see the detail in this now "classic" shot of Outlaw Run (before the top steel running rail was added): (note the "Anton-like" hinges!)

Had a great time at the Goliath construction tour today. Thanks to Robb/TPR and Six Flags Great America for making it happen. What an awesome privilege! I got a few shots (other than Goliath) that we don't normally see, so I'm posting them too. As I was pulling into the employee lot, I could smell fresh cut wood (in my closed and warm car!) Building a cathedral of bents; these 2 were very close together. Snow whizzing (as in Whizzer) past. Former Z-Force and Iron Wolf station. I have a feeling this will be home to Goliath for a long time. The station will be elongated to accomodate the longer trains. Hinges where track will be fastened. (As a big Anton Schwarzkopf fan... these hinges remind me of Anton's coasters!) You can keep your coaster nerd card if you like this... and this. We took a quick shortcut through the maintenance building, twice. The first time, people got pictures of various cool things. The second time, we were asked to move quickly as to not disturb the guys working. I got these pictures the first time through. Sentimental favorite for me! But black train is the best... I'm so happy Great America has spent the time and money to take care of many classic rides so we can enjoy them for a long time. Eagle and deep snow. There were aerial pictures of the park along the office hallways, seemingly from every year. I figured some folks would like to see this view of Shockwave. Who misses it? I do! And one of Tidal Wave. Great America had two "wave" coasters before another park had to "streak" coasters. hmmmm.... If you look near the front spike, you can see the Yukon Yahoo - an Anton Bayern Kurve. Someone was playing in the snow.

Wow! All I can say. Looking good!

^I would guess that having a 2nd, completely separate restraint is the reason. If the lap bar isn't down far enough, a belt attached to the bar isn't going to help. The seat belt should go around a bigger person's waist, while the lap bar may still be resting on their belly