California Great America (CGA) Discussion Thread

[JJnCFL]

Build it and they will come.......

[vacoaster09]

With the Noise issues, seeing at though Europa Park had GCI use non-steel wheels on their wooden coaster, CGA could do the same and keep the sound from the ride down. They can also add tunnels or sound barriers (i.e. Silver Star first drop at Europa Park) to also help reflect or dampen screams.

[thrillgeek]

Good to see work being started on a parking garage for the 49ers and CGA. I knew they could finally work something out.

[Flagg O'Dim]

Better late than never...

 

Fast Lane seems pretty out of place, and it's obvious that the park wasn't originally designed for it. I'm hoping they paint the redwood walls to match the specific rides, because it looks horribly out of place. I'm confused about Vortex's and Drop Tower's Fast Lanes, all they do is lead you right into the middle of the line.

 

I was surprised by Demon's Fast Lane. Honestly, I think that's the most construction (excluding the Invertigarden) I've ever seen at CGA in the last five years.

 

Disappointed in the half-paint jobs for Demon and Flight Deck, but that's already been said.

 

Drop Tower's cabin #4 is once again down...and #1 went down during the afternoon, leaving only four operating.

 

It was cool meeting Angry_Gumball! Had a great ride on the (slightly slower?) Rue le Dodge.

[Sunfire]

^To answer about Drop Tower and Vortex's Fast Lane lines, it actually does make sense. Here's how it works:

 

On Vortex, the attendant stands at the top of the stairs, limiting access into the station. They can then group the standby line accordingly. If any Fast Lane guests come up, the attendant will check their wristband, and let them in before the standby guests. On Drop Tower, the attendant stands where the line splits to the left or right (Cabins 1-2-3 or 4-5-6) and stops guests there. Fast Lane once again gets priority over Standby, and the attendant should group guests to the 6 different cabins.

 

It may seem confusing, but considering it wasn't the park's decision to put in Fast Lane, I think management figured out a decent way to run it.

[Angry_Gumball]

^Yea, was nice meeting you too. I'm sure we'll see each other again over the course of the season, depending on the days you go. I typically go on Sundays as that's easiest for me.

 

Back to GA and Fast Lanes/Improvements:

I'm sure the barriers will be painted. That raw wood won't survive the elements very long. I do agree, the Drop Tower Fast Lane doesn't make much sense as it puts guests right where the lines typically start anyway for us 'normal' guests, just by the yellow operator booth. Flight Deck and Demon's seem to make the most sense. I actually like how Flight Deck's line has already been there; it's just now being put to use, an easy solution. I guess we'll see how it all actually works as the season unfolds, as the park was too empty to even need a Fast Lane last Sunday (I feel sorry for anyone who may have purchased them, I heard that a couple people actually did).

 

Edit: Thanks Sunfire for clearing this up (I was writing up my post as you posted )

 

My concern, especially with the Demon's line is stupid guests running through the fast lane to pass up us 'slower' people to get ahead, or to meet up with their group on a busier day...which probably explains the high barriers as the queue gets up toward the station (nobody being able to hop over it to meet up with their party in the station).

 

Ride repainting... To me, it seems like they got a late start at this (Late January? I remember seeing the post about Flight Deck getting some work back in February). I'm not sure how long it takes to repaint a ride, especially if it's being hand-rolled. As we already know, Cedar Fair's certainty with the park didn't kick back in until around December, have a feeling that probably delayed lots of things. Hopefully the rides will have their entire fresh coat of paint to complement that new GCI coaster At least Demon's chipped spot is now gone as the bottom of that first drop's been painted. To me, it seems that the areas painted are the areas most visible (for Demon anyway).

 

Random note about Flight Deck: I like how the vertical loop is with the silver rails, a nice contrast (I believe the loop was painted). I do however like the solid black track as shown on the corkscrew and helix over the pond...so I'm split on which way I like it.

 

Lastly, I totally forgot to mention about the hard work being put into Grizzly. The second turnaround is taken a lot quieter now, and produces very little vibration in the station. Last season, it felt like an earthquake. Not to mention, the structure looked like it swayed outward as the train entered the turn. While it's got its bumps (expected with a wood coaster), it's a lot smoother now. I don't feel like I'm riding a bike down a set of stairs. The bottom of the first drop is still pretty smooth, though not quite as 'fresh' as last season...but definitely way better than it's been in the past.

 

Ending with a Vortex riding tip that made it bearable for a couple rides Sunday. I found riding the inner seats on the front row saved my head and ears. While I still braced myself for that snap into the corkscrew, my head had very little contact with the restraint, thus making me a happy rider.

[XYZ]

If the GCI coaster was built where it was supposed to be, would the enterance be where the Mount Rushmore replica is now?

[Angry_Gumball]

According to the original plans, the 3rd turnaround by Rushmore was to have the queue wrapping it, so yea, what you said seems about right. So, right next to the new Slaughterhouse entrance.

[robman]

I thought this was intresting it's the old Great America site from 1997!

 

web.archive.org/web/19970601180912/http://www.pgathrills.com/virtualset.html

 

 

Oh and if you think Gold Passes are expensive now, a individual pass then was $80!

[Angry_Gumball]

Drop Tower to take on serious modifications:

The popular Drop Tower attraction at California's Great America in Santa Clara will take on a serious modification. The reasoning behind this were due to concerns regarding the neighboring airport, residential, and businesses. It has not been confirmed when the tower will take on this modification so it is best to enjoy the 220-foot version while you can.

Hmm....that's some unfortunate news. I guess it's time I start riding the tower more while I can.

Happy April First guys!

[kidcoaster 2]

Drop Tower to take on serious modifications:

The popular Drop Tower attraction at California's Great America in Santa Clara will take on a serious modification. The reasoning behind this were due to concerns regarding the neighboring airport, residential, and businesses. It has not been confirmed when the tower will take on this modification so it is best to enjoy the 220-foot version while you can.

Hmm....that's some unfortunate news. I guess it's time I start riding the tower more while I can.

Happy April First guys!

 

HAHA That is a good one.

[asimowalk]

HAHA, that looks worse than those S&S frog hopper rides.

[robman]

I'm at the park now, so far the only Fast Lane wood they painted was Barney Olfield's which is the parks car ride.

 

EDIT: Grizzly's line is a Liitle strange today; they are holding people in the courtyard area and letting one train load of people up at a time.

[Angry_Gumball]

^Be sure to do Logger's and look behind Didgeridoo Falls for the markers while you're there!

[MrSum1_55]

I'm at the park now, so far the only Fast Lane wood they painted was Barney Olfield's which is the parks car ride.

 

EDIT: Grizzly's line is a Liitle strange today; they are holding people in the courtyard area and letting one train load of people up at a time.

 

How many train loads of people are let in the station at a time? Stations like Grizzly's always get on my nerves. You think you are almost there, only to realize you still have a half hour left. This actually seems like a good solution.

[KDCOASTERFAN]

With the Noise issues, seeing at though Europa Park had GCI use non-steel wheels on their wooden coaster, CGA could do the same and keep the sound from the ride down. They can also add tunnels or sound barriers (i.e. Silver Star first drop at Europa Park) to also help reflect or dampen screams.

 

Don't the intamin pre-fabs use nylon wheels? if so then GCI or any designer can use them just as easily.

[Angry_Gumball]

This reminds me of what SFDK did last season, stopping guests at the bottom before the steps leading to the station. Something to get used to, but makes picking out a row a lot easier.

 

Not sure why they're pulsing that little into the station as it was made to hold people...unless it has to be kept clear for the time being for ADA requirements.

[KDCOASTERFAN]

This reminds me of what SFDK did last season, stopping guests at the bottom before the steps leading to the station. Something to get used to, but makes picking out a row a lot easier.

 

Not sure why they're pulsing that little into the station as it was made to hold people...unless it has to be kept clear for the time being for ADA requirements.

 

Man I'm not liking the sounds of this & hope KD isn't gonna run theirs like this...with Carowinds now open I'm suprised no opening day TR's have been posted yet.

[Angry_Gumball]

It's only the Grizzly that's experiencing this, from what I saw on opening day. Probably because Flight Deck already is ADA compliant (Has an elevator lift, boarding guests from the exit side of the platform) , and Vortex also to be compliant with a similar lift that FD has (Where its elevator lift will sit, I'm not sure). I believe guests also enter from the exit side of Demon since there's no ramp from the queue side and it's relatively level exiting the Demon station.

 

Since Grizz can technically accommodate disabled guests in its current state, though boarding via the entrance side as opposed to the exit, my guess is that they have to do things this way. From my observations, using the exit ramp for a disabled guest could be a hassle as 1: people tend to hang out there, waiting for the rest of their group to get off and 2: the almost constant flow of traffic as guests leave the coaster.

 

I never paid attention to it, not sure if Grizzly even has an alternate path for a wheelchair to go through as the main air gates are far too narrow for one to pass. I wouldn't be surprised if there were some line re-routing in the station to separate the disabled, fast lane, and regular guests, so perhaps the station can be put back to full use again.

[robman]

Since Grizz can technically accommodate disabled guests in its current state, though boarding via the entrance side as opposed to the exit, my guess is that they have to do things this way. From my observations, using the exit ramp for a disabled guest could be a hassle as 1: people tend to hang out there, waiting for the rest of their group to get off and 2: the almost constant flow of traffic as guests leave the coaster.

 

Angry_Gumball is correct, the reason they hold guests is so they can accommodate a wheelchair up the entrance ramp. As I saw this happen today unlike what I thought earlier there is still a wait in the station. For what ever reason today Grizzly was having some very slow dispatches and both trains were even running! I also was not able to check out the markers because I wasn't really in the mood to get wet today since im a little sick and it was windy out. About those markers I mentioned that I saw on opening day, I wasn't even able to find them today, which was a little strange.

 

 

Other than that it was a mild day, seemed like there were more people at the park this Sunday compared to last. There were only a one-two train wait for most of the coasters. I also saw only two people who purchased the Fast Lane, don't even know why you would buy it on a quiet day.

Now I have a few random pictures:

Here is the freshly painted white wall for Fast Lane as I mentioned above.

A stuck Flight Deck.

Last but not least a stoned penguin, no idea why this is even a prize.

[Angry_Gumball]

The penguin... Reason why is because you're in CA

Yea, Im making stereotypes of Californians

[invisibleinthedark]

http://smartpermit.santaclaraca.gov/tm_bin/tmw_cmd.pl?tmw_cmd=StatusViewCase&shl_caseno=PLN2012-09049

 

The coaster has been [APPROVED]

[Tmcdllr]

Yes!

[Angry_Gumball]

Awesomeness! About to dig up those minutes to see what the conditions it's subject to. If you were dying to know what happened during the meeting, here it is.

http://santaclaraca.gov/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=7096

Just as I suspected, noise concerns... I have a feeling it will breeze right through this time around.

[gromithere]

I am certain everyone else here knows, so pardon my ignorance, but where is this coaster to be located in the park?