Jump to content
  TPR Home | Parks | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram 

California Great America (CGA) Discussion Thread


Recommended Posts

So are you guys confirming that a flourless conversion to the vortex at Carowinds would be ok considering the layouts are almost similar? I think Carowinds' version is shorter tho.

I could easily see them do a butterless conversion

That would be great for the lactose intolerant guests. I don't know about flourless, though, as the gluten free fad is pretty much over. I would think a gluten free roller coaster would go over much better in Silicon Valley.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've noticed Patriot is running very slowly. This may be because it has just opened and needs to warm up a bit or the trains are that light and don't allow for the speed Vortex had. Either way, I've set up a way to watch both POVs at once just so you have an idea of how slow Patriot is in comparison to Vortex.

 

The one of Vortex was shot with a full train (as you can hear), the one of Patriot was shot (I believe) by the park with an empty train before media day (note the load platform at the end still under construction and with absolutely nobody in sight).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So are you guys confirming that a flourless conversion to the vortex at Carowinds would be ok considering the layouts are almost similar? I think Carowinds' version is shorter tho.

I could easily see them do a butterless conversion

That would be great for the lactose intolerant guests. I don't know about flourless, though, as the gluten free fad is pretty much over. I would think a gluten free roller coaster would go over much better in Silicon Valley.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've noticed Patriot is running very slowly. This may be because it has just opened and needs to warm up a bit or the trains are that light and don't allow for the speed Vortex had. Either way, I've set up a way to watch both POVs at once just so you have an idea of how slow Patriot is in comparison to Vortex.

 

The one of Vortex was shot with a full train (as you can hear), the one of Patriot was shot (I believe) by the park with an empty train before media day (note the load platform at the end still under construction and with absolutely nobody in sight).

 

You hit the nail on the head. When the train is full of riders, I highly doubt there is any noticeable difference in speed / duration.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've noticed Patriot is running very slowly. This may be because it has just opened and needs to warm up a bit or the trains are that light and don't allow for the speed Vortex had. Either way, I've set up a way to watch both POVs at once just so you have an idea of how slow Patriot is in comparison to Vortex.

 

The one of Vortex was shot with a full train (as you can hear), the one of Patriot was shot (I believe) by the park with an empty train before media day (note the load platform at the end still under construction and with absolutely nobody in sight).

 

You hit the nail on the head. When the train is full of riders, I highly doubt there is any noticeable difference in speed / duration.

 

Exactly. At season pass preview night on Friday it was actually running a little faster than Vortex with a full train.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If Patriot goes over well (which seems to be the case), I am almost certain we will see the Carowinds Vortex get converted in 2018. I don't see why Cedar Fair would convert two of their stand-ups and leave out the third.

 

Yep. The pattern over the last handful of years for CF regarding their stand-up coasters has become crystal clear:

 

2014 - CW's Skyrider is closed and sold to some park in Italy

2014 - CP's Mantis is closed and is reborn in 2015 as floorless Rougarou

2015 - KD's Shockwave is closed and scrapped

2016 - CGA's Vortex is closed and reborn in 2017 as floorless Patriot

 

It's quite clear that CF is making a concerted effort to get out the the stand-up coaster business by converting their B&M's and removing their Togos.

 

I'll be shocked, SHOCKED, if we don't see a floorless conversion for Carowinds Vortex within the next year or two. If Carowinds already had a floorless or traditional sit-down looper from B&M, the issue might be more complicated, but it doesn't, so it's not.

Edited by Steely Dan
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think a Carowinds Vortex conversion is almost a foregone conclusion. At this point they do have a virtually endless supply of "free" spare parts for the existing trains which might make it kind of appealing for them to keep it running in it's current state but that doesn't seem like something this chain is overly interested in doing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Honestly it kinda sucks how SF will probably never convert their stand ups. Although I really liked Scorcher, Green Lantern and Riddler are stuck as they are because of Bizarro and Scream. I could only barely see Apocalypse being converted and that's a stretch based on how SFA is treated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Honestly it kinda sucks how SF will probably never convert their stand ups. Although I really liked Scorcher, Green Lantern and Riddler are stuck as they are because of Bizarro and Scream. I could only barely see Apocalypse being converted and that's a stretch based on how SFA is treated.

 

I'm actually happy that Six Flags will likely not convert theirs (okay, maybe Apocalypse would be okay...). I think that stand-ups need to live on at least in some places. And it helps that Six Flags generally has better stand-ups than Cedar Fair does. I hope they stay as they are for a good, long time.

 

Honestly if I were Cedar Fair I'd keep Vortex at Carowinds as it is too. I think it's fine. But I'm sure they'll get around to converting it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It would be fun to see B&M modify their hyper trains to include some sort of shin restraints like RMC. A set of those trains of Riddler would be pretty damn amazing.

 

Until I got to the Riddler part, I was deathly afraid. Their hyper trains on gigas/hypers are perfect and shouldn't be modified.

 

Honestly if I were Cedar Fair I'd keep Vortex at Carowinds as it is too. I think it's fine. But I'm sure they'll get around to converting it.

 

Of the stand-ups, I thought Vortex at Carowinds was the most uncomfortable. The sooner it becomes a floorless like what happened with Vortex/Patriot, the better.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Honestly it kinda sucks how SF will probably never convert their stand ups. Although I really liked Scorcher, Green Lantern and Riddler are stuck as they are because of Bizarro and Scream. I could only barely see Apocalypse being converted and that's a stretch based on how SFA is treated.

 

I'm actually happy that Six Flags will likely not convert theirs (okay, maybe Apocalypse would be okay...). I think that stand-ups need to live on at least in some places. And it helps that Six Flags generally has better stand-ups than Cedar Fair does. I hope they stay as they are for a good, long time.

I agree. Riddler is the only good standup coaster I've ever been on (although I haven't been on that many standups tbh, and I thought Mantis was okay before it became Rougarou). The difference is quite interesting between CF and SF with their standups, and yeah it'd be a shame to see these types of coasters completely die out, so I'm at least glad SF is taking good care of them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just came from the park on Sunday, I've got a full review of Patriot for you. Here ya go!

 

The ride itself was more fun than I thought and, in my opinion, a great improvement. First off, of course, it's much smoother. There's no headbanging, pressure on your legs, and, most of all, the new wheels make for a glossy smooth ride with no rattling. I did get a little headbanging maybe twice during the ride, but it was nothing bad at all. Speaking of rattling, all of the elements almost feel nonexistant because of the smoothness. The result is that you can enjoy some of the lateral turns, specifically right after the vertical loop.

 

The corkscrew is an inversion for good hangtime, and while this was one of the two moments where I banged my head when exiting, it's much better than the whipping of Vortex. The only problem I have is that while it is smoother, it feels a bit more forceless. However, it's not supposed to be intense and more on just being fun and smooth. If I had to rate it, I'd give it a solid 7/10, compared to giving the original Vortex a generous 4/10.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Got on Patriot Sunday and it was a surprise how fun this was! Super smooth, nice layout.

 

First time at CGA... Such a beautiful little park. Everything was walkon which was awesome as well, except Gold Striker which maintained a smaller line all day. Fun GCI, but it was a little heavy on vibration (not roughness per say, but I had a nice headache following). Layout was killer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Got on Patriot Sunday and it was a surprise how fun this was! Super smooth, nice layout.

 

First time at CGA... Such a beautiful little park. Everything was walkon which was awesome as well, except Gold Striker which maintained a smaller line all day. Fun GCI, but it was a little heavy on vibration (not roughness per say, but I had a nice headache following). Layout was killer.

 

Agreed. I'm starting to get worried about the vibration, hopefully it doesn't turn into full out roughness anytime soon

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Any estimates as to how the line for Patriot has been? I'm visiting from the LA area next week, and was wondering if I should hit Gold Striker first thing or Patriot first thing. Will schools up there be on Spring Break?

 

You shouldn't have a problem getting on either. Gold Striker will have a longer line all day, but will never exceed 30-40 minutes, and Patriot hasn't been more than a 20 minute wait on it's opening weekend. Patriot has not been that reliable though so while it's open I would go there

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Park is dead today, it feels like other than me being here there's like 4-5 busses. But no one else came.

 

Thought I'd add this, went to the smokehouse today and had the full size kickin chicken sandwich. Even better than before, also the park no longer has lids or straws anymore. They said they're going green, only place that has straws would be Auntie Anne's now only because of their lemonades or if you buy a souvenir cup.

IMG_1515.thumb.JPG.e225960789f6657da86822056641bb1e.JPG

Edited by rolercstrluvr
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The more I go on it, the more I want to put Patriot higher on my list than Flight Deck.

 

The floatiness in the loop is awesome, the low-to-the-ground swooping turns in and out of the turnaround/helix are finally smooth and fun, and I can't get enough of that S-turn into Corkscrew. That weirdly banked turnaround prior to the breaks is different and neat too. The awesome trains/repaint are just icing on the cake.

Edited by Mater
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The more I go on it, the more I want to put Patriot higher on my list than Flight Deck.

 

The flatness in the loop is awesome, the low-to-the-ground swooping turns in and out of the turnaround/helix are finally smooth and fun, and I can't get enough of that S-turn into Corkscrew. That weirdly banked turnaround prior to the breaks is different and neat too. The awesome trains/repaint are just icing on the cake.

 

To be honest, I'm starting to have the same exact thoughts. That low sweeping turns is probably my favorite element at CGA outside of the double down on Gold Striker.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use https://themeparkreview.com/forum/topic/116-terms-of-service-please-read/