California Great America (CGA) Discussion Thread

[robman]

I just bought my Gold Pass at Costco for only $64! They are a lot cheaper there compared to online. If you are a Costco member I really recommend buying the Gold Pass there to save some money.

[154bmag]

I know I'm going invertigo or not, I didnt like that ride anyways

[Angry_Gumball]

I plan on going. I'm going to look at it this way: Invertigo was down most of the 2010 season. It will pretty much be the same thing this year minus the lawn ornament tormenting us as we can't ride.

[Flagg O'Dim]

I'll probably go. There's a good chance that it will be raining though, probably keep the crowds down. I'm most looking forward to riding the Grizzly!

 

Things I'll be looking for:

 

-If Firefall will be running on opening day, for the first time in its existence at CGA.

-Will there be six cars working on the Drop Tower?

-Fence: The Ride

-New Tiki Twirl sign

-Maybe Vortex will be running the other train that was in rehab all last season, possibly smoother?

-The appearance of the orange Demon train, with the yellow one in rehab

 

Should be fun. The off-season went by fairly quick!

[BobMan01]

Hello,

Small Update mainly what Flagg O'Dim commented on.

 

FireFall is still undergoing rehab and probably won't be open till May-ish (Don't hold me to this, things can change). Waiting on a replacement part.

Drop Tower is currently operating with 6 cabins and should hopefully stay that way for opening day.

I have yet to see the new Tiki Sign, last I checked it wasn't up yet.

Vortex's second train was added this week and the plan is to open with 2 trains.

FlightDeck aka Top Gun (My ride ) , the shark train received some nice new harnesses.

 

As for riding the coasters around the park, I have yet to do cause I'm mostly working or they don't allow us too.

I shall be the first on my ride in the morning for a test ride. *Excited* Can't wait......

 

Invertigo aka dirt patch, the final second half of the station including the safety booth was removed, "clean-up" of the area has been ongoing.

[robman]

^Thats a real bummer about FireFall although it is not my favorite type of ride. It always seems that it is waiting for replacement parts for something.

[John Peck]

Firefall (Texas Twister from Geauga Lake) was the first Top Spin built in the U.S. (1993) That's probably a good reason why they have to replace parts so often, since it is an older model.

[Flagg O'Dim]

Thanks for the updates BobMan!

 

It's good to see improvements on the existing rides (although I'm disappointed with Firefall, always seems to be closed for the first month of the season). Now that Invertigo is gone, it appears that the mechanics have a lot more time to work on the other rides...

 

I'm definitely riding on Cabin #4 on the Drop Tower! The line should go a lot faster with all six cabins.

[Tmcdllr]

Is cabin #4 your favorite?

[Sunfire]

Cabin 4 has been out of service since at least 07. It pretty much became a parts donor for the other 5 cabins. So now that all 6 are (hopefully) running again, he wants to ride on it.

[CGA_88]

Thanks for the updates BobMan!

 

It's good to see improvements on the existing rides (although I'm disappointed with Firefall, always seems to be closed for the first month of the season). Now that Invertigo is gone, it appears that the mechanics have a lot more time to work on the other rides...

 

I'm definitely riding on Cabin #4 on the Drop Tower! The line should go a lot faster with all six cabins.

 

The Demon orange train is also making its return with the yellow train in rehab now.

[Angry_Gumball]

^good. That yellow train was getting quite rough. Red was smooth last season all through the last day. So we should have a fully smooth Demon now.

[ScottBrown]

Define smooth I dont think I have experienced a "smooth" ride on Demon in at least 10 years the corks can be ok but the loops seem to always beat the hell out of me

[Flagg O'Dim]

Cabin 4 has been out of service since at least 07. It pretty much became a parts donor for the other 5 cabins. So now that all 6 are (hopefully) running again, he wants to ride on it.

 

Yep, that's why I want to ride on Cabin #4, just so I can say that I rode on every seat.

 

The Demon orange train is also making its return with the yellow train in rehab now.

 

Nice, that yellow train was a neck-snapper, even in the "magic" seats! They did a good job with the red train, I'm hoping for the same with the orange one.

[Angry_Gumball]

Well, last season, the red train didn't jolt me around as much as the yellow train when going through that second loop. It all really depends on where you sit though. I found that the back of the Demon's train runs smoother than up towards the front. Only part I dread is that odd coat hanger engineered transition into the corkscrews regardless of train color or row. Maybe I just have a higher tolerance of rough rides, not sure. I was one of the few (My brother who was just getting into 'loop-de-loop coasters' and myself) that enjoyed Zonga when it was at SFDK while the rest of my party hated it as it was too rough for them.

 

 

Pretty much, my definition of rough is that if I get off the ride with red-hot ears and hurting a little, than it's rough. On the other hand, if I don't suffer any kind of pain then I don't consider it too rough and is something I will reride.

 

I'm hoping that maybe Vortex will be a little more well behaved this season as last season, I would only ride it once per visit, being one of my lower priority rides to do due to it's snappy transitions, shakiness, and rock-hard restraints for my poor ears to smash into.

Edited March 20, 2011 by Angry_Gumball

[ScottBrown]

^ no you are not the only one I loved Zonga and Flashback as well . . . however I draw the line at Kong

Edited March 21, 2011 by ScottBrown

[Tmcdllr]

I really liked Zonga too, whenever we went I would MAKE everybody ride it...lol.

[ScottBrown]

Last time I was there I ended up riding it 19 times I couldn't get enough of it

[chickenbowl]

I have a question:

Why are most of the coasters at CGA without station/maintenance shed roofs?

Is rain and weather no issue?

It just seems weird that almost every park, even in California, has roofs, but not CGA.

[DJeXeL]

Something Marriott/Paramount didn't believe in. HaHa

[BobMan01]

^

 

Indeed they didn't like roofs and coverings, some rides do shut down in the rain cause the drive tires get wet (Vortex & Psycho Mouse)

But most others just go down to one train operation.

[Ace Of Spades]

But then it makes one wonder: Why does Grizzly's station have a roof?

[gforce532]

And Demon partly has a roof.

 

I too think it is strange that most of the coasters don't have roofs but the only ones that really feel ocward are Vortex and Flight Deck.

[ScottBrown]

But then it makes one wonder: Why does Grizzly's station have a roof?

 

Not to mention the entire brake run as well

[R.C.]

I have always wondered why CGA's coasters don't have any kind of roof or shade structure over their stations. I almost always get sun burnt when I'm at CGA, but rarely do when I go to SFDK. It would be nice if CGA would at least build shade structures over the stations like SFDK did over Medusa's station. This would benefit the guests, employees, and the drive wheels/other ride equipment in the station. Plus most of the park lacks shaded areas. The park has some trees, but they tend to not provide shade to the pathways.