GoBears

The last time people came running to that corner was probably when Wolf first opened which has been almost 25 years. Here comes some track! At least I think it's track...

The large ties that connect the top of the Zero-G stall track to the arch are back up again (as they were removed a few weeks ago) so we should see track go up either today or tomorrow for the stall.

I went today and it was somewhat busy. There weren't many cars there, in fact the front lot didn't even fill up but there were dozens and dozens of buses there. It also didn't help that 95% of everyone there were crazy teenagers on a field trip from school. On top of that, Raging Bull, X-Flight, V2, and Superman were all having difficulties in the morning. At one point, all 4 attractions were broke down at the same time which meant all the students swarmed Batman, Demon, Whizzer, and even Eagle's queue was half way full when I got off a little around 11:10 I think. There were a lot of kids that stayed and waited for the other rides to open and X-Flight, Superman, and Bull eventually started running. Not sure about V2 since I left the park pretty early after my head started hurting really bad. In other news, Goliath looks amazing in person! You can see it easily from all sections of the park. I went opening day but it was cool to how high it really is since it's topped off now.

Hmm... well, they just took that piece back down to the ground about a minute ago.

Both trains used to have them, then it was just one train. Now, both sets (or maybe just one set?) of wheel covers are sitting in the transfer/brake run area in the bat cave nice and neat waiting to be put on.

^^They'll probably just have a few lights on the catwalk that will light up at night. I believe this is also required in case they need to evacuate a train on the lift while it's dark out. Update: It's 7:10 and they're still out there working. I have a feeling they will be staying late the remainder of this week and next to finish this up.

That's good to hear. Most schools in my district finished last week or finish this week but I wasn't sure about the Gurnee/northern Chicagoland schools. Sounds like this Wednesday or Thursday may be the best days to go for quite a while.

Last Wednesday I heard there was no one there except a few school buses. Apparently the longest line someone waited in was X-Flight and was just under 10 minutes because the dispatch was slow. I'm going this Wednesday and I'm hoping there's not too many buses. This will probably be the least busiest week day for the rest of the year until maybe late August.

Rest of the track for the drop is going on now. All that's left is the very top section of track, a couple more pieces for the lift, and zero-G stall.

^Agreed. It blends in well with the surrounding wood structures. New track is being added to the drop...

I think it was painted a dark brown back in Idaho (or wherever it was manufactured) but I'm not 100% positive.

I think that's just the Orlando one since that's the only one with the 5th dimension room. Do they still have that gust of wind blow at you when the doors open after the stars merge together? I can't remember exactly, but I thought I there was wind that blows at you when it opens. Perhaps I'm confusing that effect with another dark ride I rode a long time ago. Also, what's Tokyo's story about exactly? I've watched some videos but I don't know what they're saying so I can't follow the story.

The roof of the tunnel looks like a giant mattress.

Here comes the final piece!

I know I replied to this post on SFGAm World, but I too had an issue with the park's newsletter today. They sent me one saying something like "Exclusive Ride Time for Pass Holders" and sent me this. Unless I'm missing something, I don't see a single mention of a season pass holder ERT in there.

My favorite part of the ride was the 5th dimension room that you move through! It built up the suspense leading to the drop sequence.

Photo from SFGAm's Twitter:

Yesterday... Today... They removed the beams that stick out from the arch that will connect the track for the top of the zero-G stall.

I've only been on Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios (or MGM when I went) and loved it, even though I was pretty young. I was just curious, out all of the Tower of Terrors, which one is the best? It's more of an opinion I suppose, but it would be interesting to hear from people who have ridden multiple ToT's and how the fun factor compares. Hopefully I covered all of them in the poll.

Should be topped off tomorrow. Also, the remaining track should be installed fairly quickly because most of the nodes that connect the track to the supports are in place for the zero-G stall and drop.

I normally agree with this sentiment when people post things about safety or structural integrity of a ride but I don't think there's anything wrong with coming to the reasonable conclusion that a record breaking permanent coaster can't go from the state it's in now (the lift hill isn't done, most of the first drop isn't there and the signature barrel roll element isn't there) to being open with riders in 2 weeks. We've all seen coasters progress greatly in just a day. I think this thing could be completely tracked by the weekend. Testing mid week next week. A week or so of testing... This is assuming they have everything done. It's safe to assume that trains will be put on any day now,if they haven't been already But I think we would have seen that. Unless I missed it. The chain could be coiled at the bottom and ready to be fed up. The sensors, brakes, etc could all be done and all that's left is the grunt work of topping off and finishing track work. I think the park would have already announced that this coaster won't be ready by medi day if they thought that was the case. They'd want to give members of the press ample time to not only cancel their travel arrangements but also to reschedule for a new date. The fact that they haven't, makes me believe this coaster is still on schedule to open as originally scheduled. "Believe in Fred and Hank" They also have the next couple Sundays to work too. The whole off season they didn't work on Sundays (and rightfully so since everyone should get at least a day off from work) but they worked last Sunday. I'm assuming that means they'll work the next couple Sunday as well to finish this thing up so they can head home.

Timeline of Goliath. Late September and the webcam goes online. First batch of footers going into the ground in early November. First set of bents going up in early December. First pieces of track go into place right before Christmas. Twist & shout progress in early February. More twist & shout, floater hill, and brake run progress. Lots of progress made on the overbank turn and the start of the dive loop has begun in mid March. Dive loop structure is nearly finished and the start of zero-G stall has begun. First section of the lift is up in mid April. And not quite a month later brings us to present day...

It's about 30 feet taller than the overbank turn right now. EDIT: Whoops, I was referring to the drop structure. The lift right now is a little lower than the overbank turn, but it won't be for long! The drop structure though is around 150 feet at the moment, I think. I'm not great with estimates but I'm comparing the steel structure from the webcam based on the renderings. Keep in mind that the lift will only be 165 feet, if I recall correctly. I don't know the exact height of the overbank or the current height of the incomplete lift structure, but I'm sure it has at least another 15 feet to go, if not closer to 30. The overbank is about 120-125 feet. Basically it's the same height as X-Flight.

It's about 30 feet taller than the overbank turn right now. EDIT: Whoops, I was referring to the drop structure. The lift right now is a little lower than the overbank turn, but it won't be for long! The drop structure though is around 150 feet at the moment, I think. I'm not great with estimates but I'm comparing the steel structure from the webcam based on the renderings.