California Great America (CGA) Discussion Thread

[Angry_Gumball]

Sorry to double post, just got back from the park. Overall, it was a pretty steady day. Not like any of the described Saturdays on here but has been pretty solid in terms of crowds. To my knowledge, there wasn't any real special event going on other than some running event (which I only saw a handful of guests out there for that). You can thank the very nice weather for bringing everyone out today

 

So anxious to check out the site, I told myself to wait and I'll make my way around and see the area as I gradually get closer. Walking into the park, you can already see how 'exposed' the theater already is. I did my usual loop starting at Flight Deck as that's my traditional first ride of the day. From there, I took advantage of the minimal lines and rode the Flying Scooters ride (which I finally acquired a new skill actually scared me a bit at first!). From there, I rode Firefall where we balanced upside down on the downswing for several seconds...very disorienting, very fun! From there I took my first ride of the season on the rapids and back over to the flying scooters for another ride. Getting hot and drying off, I headed to the log ride (which was surprisingly very soaking today) where I again noticed from the side how much of the Pictorium building is exposed and how open it was behind it.

 

Now to Grizzly and my input on what is done (and where I ran into Flagg o' Dim and his brother). Actually, minus the whole waiting at the bottom thing to keep the ramp clear for handicapped and fast lane users, operations were actually pretty smooth. Not faster than without the seatbelt modification but it wasn't that noticeably slower. In the end, it is in fact 1 more step for us to have to do but it only takes a few seconds to do so. In theory that's great but the reality is that those belts are extremely short, just barely meeting the buckle, making it quite difficult to put on. 1 half is looped on the lapbar and the other half is bolted onto the seat divider (no retracting belt, just a shortie fastened to the train). And those lapbars only have 1 position.

 

In the end, (this is 100% guesswork but makes sense to me) I'm going to say that this was done as a verification that the bars are in fact fully down and secure. I've seen a few instances previously when a larger guest tried to board but the bar wasn't able to lock properly. Also the new staircase is fully built (as it appears) and the path leading up to it. I'm going to guess that this would be the line for non fast lane users to use, eliminating the whole pulsing guests up to the station.

 

One other annoyance on Grizzly: the linked lapbars. As I was still trying to get into the train, guests behind me were attempting to pull the lapbar down, only jamming into my leg. I quickly pushed it back up and unfortunately (well maybe fortunately) their arm got crunched. From there I used my leg to help keep it up while I got my seatbelt on (as it was still being pulled downward. Finally when I got mine on I held it up as my cousin got secured. Finally, I was hearing them saying that their lapbar got stuck and complaining about how their poor hand and arm got crunched...well, my leg got crunched so how 'bout that! I think future rides, my cousin and I will take our own rows so that we can avoid this annoyance.

 

Over to Demon, which offers some good views of the new prep work. Due to respecting park rules involving cameras on rides, no images from this angle. Demon itself was running pretty good, both trains, towards front, middle, and rear. White Water Falls offered even more close up views of the site and how far back they've gone.

 

Finally, the moment I was waiting for, a ride on Sky Tower to get some photos. One thing I noticed were some orange markers in the ground. They were all running in a straight line however so I'm guessing it's all part of their rough grading they're doing. The area is pretty huge. I never realized how much space was actually back there. The rest of the day was just a relaxing day riding rides and (trying not to) see GP-ish actions...some being walking, carrying their toddler on a moving carousel to switch spots, parent who was holding their kid jump up and hang off the side of a horse while in motion, the usual hop the rails to skip the lines, and impatient guests hopping the exit gates as they were still magnetically locked (they missed on unlocking the gates, I was patient and waited for them to unlock).

Traditional first ride of the day...How much longer could this last?

CGA's gotten very "sports-friendly" lately...

Quick shot of the new lapbar mod, too snug if you ask me.

Though it can't be any worse than this

Staircase: The Ride!

Something strange with Cabin 4... notice how the carrier's parked. Hello unnecessary wear and tear on the flapping cables!

Now for the hot stuff...Looks a lot different now, standing by where the new entrance could be based off the renderings.

A wider shot of the open-ness

More daylight!

Just thought I'd throw this in there since we were walking about it a few pages back...looks pretty nice, better than the weird flag setup they had.

A unique shot of the construction site. Nobody's ever seen this before! (not!) Really though, this goes pretty far back.

Slightly backed off the zoom for a wider shot.

Not sure how much longer you'll be hiding there Mr. Elephant! Perhaps we should petition to save him!

Random construction shot of the newest inverted 4d floorless aquatrax 49er stadium!

Ending with some random shots of me riding Firefall

For some reason, the way that bar is lined up makes it look like my head is attached to the guy's body below, as though he had a giraffe neck

[THE ONE]

It looks like these are old footers, possibly left over from the Whizzer!

 

Anyone know.

[Angry_Gumball]

I think so. Is it me or does it seem to be like there's more footers shown now? I'm sure the brush and/or dirt may have been covering it up, only exposing a few of them.

[THE ONE]

^ Think so. I was looking on Google earth and it showed a bunch of brush there, amazing there is any footers left.

[Angry_Gumball]

I was just messing with my No Limits take on the GCI to see how she'd fit back there. I'm sure this isn't to scale but I just did this for fun and an idea on space usage... Almost fits like a glove!

 

Side note: this rendition of the ride does still have a few tweaks, not liking a couple of the turnarounds as they're too sharp and not very GCI-like.

[Shawnk]

That's a very cool image you put together! Even if it isn't perfect, it has myself imagining the new coaster already!

[Tmcdllr]

It looks like these are old footers, possibly left over from the Whizzer!

 

Anyone know.

 

Yes they are. And if I remember correctly that is the area where the double helix was at the end of the ride.

[XYZ]

I was just messing with my No Limits take on the GCI to see how she'd fit back there. I'm sure this isn't to scale but I just did this for fun and an idea on space usage... Almost fits like a glove!

 

Side note: this rendition of the ride does still have a few tweaks, not liking a couple of the turnarounds as they're too sharp and not very GCI-like.

 

 

This looks amazing, it seems like there is a lot of open space that the wooden coaster wouldn't take up.

[vacoaster09]

I was just messing with my No Limits take on the GCI to see how she'd fit back there. I'm sure this isn't to scale but I just did this for fun and an idea on space usage... Almost fits like a glove!

 

Side note: this rendition of the ride does still have a few tweaks, not liking a couple of the turnarounds as they're too sharp and not very GCI-like.

 

Awesome picture!!!

[rolercstrluvr]

I just saw this post on facebook from the Cedar Fair Parks page.

 

Remember this? A new GCI wooden Coaster's ground clearing has begun at California Great America for the new 2013 coaster. The ride height will be about 100ft. Further more details will be announced next month.

 

I guess this helps confirm it.

 

This is the response I got after commenting on it.

 

It is absolutely confirmed with Cedar Fair Entertainment Company. If you ridden a many wooden coaster before, wait till you try 100ft one in 2013!

 

I'm dancing around like a lil kid on christmas.

[Angry_Gumball]

The Cedar Fair Parks page you saw is just a fan page. I'm just waiting for an official press release now. I have a feeling it's just around the corner.

[robman]

I am an Admin of that page and I have no idea where they get the information they do. I don't know if they know someone in the higher ups at Cedar Fair or what.

 

 

Basically what im saying is, don't believe anything they post unless its confirmed. Although we all know the coaster is going to the park now, just by the pictures that have been posted.

[XYZ]

I am an Admin of that page and I have no idea where they get the information they do. I don't know if they know someone in the higher ups at Cedar Fair or what.

 

 

Basically what im saying is, don't believe anything they post unless its confirmed. Although we all know the coaster is going to the park now, just by the pictures that have been posted.

 

The permits page shows that a wooden coaster is built, and if they were to build a coaster that wasn't the 2008 proposed wooden coaster, I honestly would think it is a poor decision. They paid GCI to design this, it can be built, so why not build it?

[Angry_Gumball]

Further unofficially confirming the coaster were the meeting minutes Flagg o'dim posted. Reps from GCI were present at the meeting to discuss the measures taken to provide a quiet ride. So with this said we already know for sure, a bit indirectly however as a little digging is required to find stuff outside the old renderings and pure speculation.

[SharkTums]

This is almost as badly kept a secret as the Rocky Mountain coaster at Silver Dollar City!

[Angry_Gumball]

This is almost as badly kept a secret as the Rocky Mountain coaster at Silver Dollar City!

To most of the GP, they're absolutely clueless on the exact details...while most say that it's a new ride, you have a few who keep thinking it's prep work for the new stadium that's happening on the opposite end of the park...it's like, did they completely miss the news a few weeks ago/not follow bay area current events?

 

Going back to 2008, can someone refresh me on where the old renderings come from? Were they initially found at the IAAPA booth or something?

 

Lastly, the way we've been finding out info on the project (through Santa Clara's permit site), have people been able to find such sites showing permits and whatnot for other parks to see what could be coming for that park? I've never really taken the time to look up say, Vallejo, and see what requests have been made/permits applied for with Discovery Kingdom.

[Blue Manta]

According to CGA's facebook page there's construction going on in the park.

[JJnCFL]

New construction pics from CGA's FB! https://www.facebook.com/cagreatamerica

[Angry_Gumball]

Now the Pixtorium really stands out! I'm going to say this will be the ride queue/entrance area.

[robman]

^That's what I was assuming also. I wonder if they are going to post hints or teasers on that construction wall. (Assuming thats what it is.)

 

 

 

Also looks like Club Blood is going to be re-routed once again. If it does return for this years Haunt.

[Tmcdllr]

This is the single most exciting thing to happen here in almost 20 years!

 

Even if this ride isn't super-fantastic, (which it will be), it will still be extremely fun and a giant people eater which will bring up attendance, which, is exactly what this park needs.....FINALLY!

 

Some of the random Facebook comments....

 

ewww...another wooden coaster?

...uninformed

 

49's store?

...lol

 

' And Wtf I CAlled GreatAmerica A Few Years Back And I Asked Why They Took Out Invertigo And If Theyre Going To Build A New RollerCoaster And They Said Yeah By 2O12 There Will Be A New Ride Theree And They Barely Buildin It Now:/ Im Impatient lol

- yeah they are really going to tell you that on the phone....NOT!

 

Yeah, but this new one would blow away Grizzly. I wish they would just tear down the Grizzly, but they obviously aren't. They are just re-tracking the turns to improve the ride.

^antonio, that's not entirely true..

... actually it is entirely true, again uninformed.

 

Intamin xcelerator would hae been a way better choice than another lame woody.. Just sayin'

... cables snapping is way lamer

 

FINALLY, Is this the wasted land that the Wizzard roller coaster used to be ? Gonna FINALLY build a New Roller coaster ? We only be waiting 18 years since Top Gun. You guys just keep removing our coasters and not replacing them with NOTHING. (i.e.; The Tidal Wave, Invertago, The Wizzard, Stealth, The Edge) this ride were fun and replace with nothing. Our beloved Train and Trolly Cars are gone. This New ride better be Bad ASS. There's a reason why I haven't been to California's Great America in 14 years. Nothing New worth a crap. Get on it Cedar Fair.

...sort of agree with that.

 

Obviously for the GCI wooden coaster that is going to be epic!

...that is correct Sir, you win!

[XYZ]

Mount Rushmore still lives on! I wonder if they're going to move that somewhere else but that would be pretty creative if they themed the whole coaster to Mt. Rushmore.

 

Anyways, I actually don't think it's bad how the Pictorium is sticking out as it is a really nice looking building. Also, this is going to be a pretty epic enterance as it's very visible and will definitely draw a lot of crowds.

[cal1br3tto]

A part of me will feel better once actual wooden coaster hotness starts going up. But still...EXCITEMENT!

 

I can't be certain, but something tells me I may revisit this park next year.

[Angry_Gumball]

I actually had a dream the other night that vertical construction had already began, being the lift and the station. I'm pretty excited for this and I don't think the park would be posting photos up of construction if nothing was going to be going up...would be bad marketing to lead people on. So with this said, I'm juiced. Some of us already know the 'poorly kept secret' while others are completely clueless. In the end, these guessing games are what will keep the GP (and us enthusiasts) interested in happenings at the park.

 

I'd love to see a construction webcam go up, especially once vertical construction begins (Does this construction barrier/whatever this is count as vertical construction? lol). After all, something of this level hasn't happened at the park in quite a while. It could be one of the park's longest coasters. Anyone know the length on this?

[XYZ]

I actually had a dream the other night that vertical construction had already began, being the lift and the station. I'm pretty excited for this and I don't think the park would be posting photos up of construction if nothing was going to be going up...would be bad marketing to lead people on. So with this said, I'm juiced. Some of us already know the 'poorly kept secret' while others are completely clueless. In the end, these guessing games are what will keep the GP (and us enthusiasts) interested in happenings at the park.

 

I'd love to see a construction webcam go up, especially once vertical construction begins (Does this construction barrier/whatever this is count as vertical construction? lol). After all, something of this level hasn't happened at the park in quite a while. It could be one of the park's longest coasters. Anyone know the length on this?

 

I forgot the exact length, but it was shorter than the Grizzly, I think it was around 3125' long, it's about what all GCIs are around.