Six Flags Great America (SFGAm) Discussion Thread

[robbalvey]

Goliath looks like a metric ton of fun, but it doesn't look like my kind of coaster.

I would have to say that as more of an airtime guy, I wish this ride had one more airtime hill and one less inversion... BUT... having said that, I felt the same way about Outlaw Run and it totally blew me away...

 

--Robb "Rides not open yet...can't really judge by a video..." Alvey

[Kyle Coleman]

I think the only question left now is where is this going to end up in the top ten wood coasters poll.

[robbalvey]

I think the only question left now is where is this going to end up in the top ten wood coasters poll.

Higher than Hades 360!

[coasterfansince1999]

The POV looks so amazing. Thanks a bunch Robb for posting!

[CPSFMMCW]

Yeah I 100% agree with robb about the airtime part. I would've like to see a bit more. But I'm personally fine with the two inversions. I don't think there necessarily NEEDS to be any more inversions on this coaster.

[JonnyRCT3]

The drops off the overbanked turns, first drop, zero-g stall, and a camelback hill. I think this coaster has plenty of that sweet stuff.

[coasterfreak101]

Definitely looks slow, but most testing videos do. Can't wait to see how it runs when it opens, and to ride it in a few weeks!

[EricGarbo]

I think the only question left now is where is this going to end up in the top ten wood coasters poll.

Higher than Hades 360!

 

Alright, the bar has been set. I don't think we can go much lower.

 

Gah, I really love the layout for Hades 360 and I think the new section really keeps the intensity going and makes it stellar. Every spot with proper retracking is awesome and when it was new it blew all of us away. Such a shame.

[ZeroGravity55]

I fall into the category of those who prefer airtime over inversions as well. While I would have preferred another airtime hill, I think the hang time on that zero-G stall will make up for any lack of airtime this coaster might have. Judging the response to Outlaw Run, I suspect that that there will be some airtime in some weird spots where you will least suspect it.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

I fall into the category of those who prefer airtime over inversions as well. While I would have preferred another airtime hill, I think the hang time on that zero-G stall will make up for any lack of airtime this coaster might have. Judging the response to Outlaw Run, I suspect that that there will be some airtime in some weird spots where you will least suspect it.

Sideways airtime is my favourite part of Outlaw Run, totally unlike anything else at all. I've been watching the construction here and I am very impressed with the results. This should be one fantastic ride, and I cannot wait to be there next month.

[The Geek Mojo]

I've had plans to visit this park on June 20th for months now. I thought for sure this ride would be open by then...But I wasn't expecting such a delay. Stuff happens, understandable, but I can't reschedule my trip and I'm really worried that I won't get to ride this on my trip. I see the commercial is being filmed on the 14th and media day is the 18th. If it does open on the 20th...I guess I can get ready for a 5 - 6 hour wait...but whatever...I just want to ride it. Has anyone heard of an official opening date to the public yet?

[EricGarbo]

I fall into the category of those who prefer airtime over inversions as well. While I would have preferred another airtime hill, I think the hang time on that zero-G stall will make up for any lack of airtime this coaster might have. Judging the response to Outlaw Run, I suspect that that there will be some airtime in some weird spots where you will least suspect it.

Sideways airtime is my favourite part of Outlaw Run, totally unlike anything else at all. I've been watching the construction here and I am very impressed with the results. This should be one fantastic ride, and I cannot wait to be there next month.

 

The sideways airtime hill is amazing! It's my all time favorite ride moment. The trick is that it actually pops outwards to eject you out of the seat still while you're on your side. It's so subtle that it's hardly noticeable, but looking at the photographs you can see it.

 

I remember my first ride thinking, "Holy crap this is amazing but the double barrel roll is coming up. First we have this sideways things. WHOA. What the hell was that? I need to do that again!"

[DoinItForTheFame]

Okay... So I agree... This ride looks AMAZING... But I too wish I could have seen at least 1-2 more airtime hills. I has so much energy left when it hits the brakes... Well... It is what it is... Still a great looking ride.

[robbalvey]

"Holy crap this is amazing but the double barrel roll is coming up. First we have this sideways things. WHOA. What the hell was that? I need to do that again!"

This sums up my feeling on Outlaw Run completely, which is why I most certainly cannot judge Goliath before riding it, because it very well may have weird, bizarre airtime all over it that you just cannot see from watching a POV video!

[Goooose]

Im hoping there is hangtime on the exit to thefirst overbank. And that there is enough speed to creAte side airtime on the entrance to the third overbank. That would be a prime location for a lateral float but it is hard to tell if itll provide, since it transitions so quickly into that right turn where itll pull positives. Given that it isnt labeled as such on te concept art, whereas outlaw run and wildfire both have them labeled, I am not holding my breath. I do think that in response to any cocerns that its "too slow"... Its the fastest wooden roller coaster on the planet. The elements are just massive so they look slow but they arent. It is going really fast! And the pov was shaking a lot. Vibrations may be worse than on an ibox, which would add to the rides insanity at high speeds.

[ZeroGravity55]

It appears that their might be a pop of airtime going into the huge overbank kinda like you see on GCI coasters when they go into their high-banking curves.

[glouthan]

And the pov was shaking a lot. Vibrations may be worse than on an ibox, which would add to the rides insanity at high speeds.

 

I think that the shaking might have just been from the camera mounting. Lightning Run's pov from a few weeks shaked, but the reviews came in and it was very smooth.

[robbalvey]

And the pov was shaking a lot. Vibrations may be worse than on an ibox, which would add to the rides insanity at high speeds.

 

I think that the shaking might have just been from the camera mounting. Lightning Run's pov from a few weeks shaked, but the reviews came in and it was very smooth.

Yeah, it's absolutely the camera mounting. The shaking comes from either not being secured enough to the train, or using some sort of camera mount. The rattling noise comes from the stock plastic casing being used instead of the "Frame" casing that GoPro sells. It always amazes me how people think that just because they have a GoPro they know how to shoot roller coaster videos, but it actually DOES take a certain amount of experience and skill to have them look like the stuff we shoot for TPR.

[CPSFMMCW]

I heard somewhere that there was a fire in the Goliath station earlier, and that there was a little damage to the roof. They had no proof, so I'm a little skeptical about it. Can anyone confirm if that's true or not?

[SFGAmFan1976]

^Here is the link to the story;

http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Fire-Reported-Near-Six-Flags-Great-America-Roller-Coaster-262149481.html

[rcjp]

And the pov was shaking a lot. Vibrations may be worse than on an ibox, which would add to the rides insanity at high speeds.

 

I think that the shaking might have just been from the camera mounting. Lightning Run's pov from a few weeks shaked, but the reviews came in and it was very smooth.

Yeah, it's absolutely the camera mounting. The shaking comes from either not being secured enough to the train, or using some sort of camera mount. The rattling noise comes from the stock plastic casing being used instead of the "Frame" casing that GoPro sells. It always amazes me how people think that just because they have a GoPro they know how to shoot roller coaster videos, but it actually DOES take a certain amount of experience and skill to have them look like the stuff we shoot for TPR.

Yeah, the camera mounting does look poor. It's better than nothing, I guess, but we probably will start seeing comments about it being rough (because all wooden coaster are rough ) soon.

As to the ride itself, looks great! I do suspect there might be some air entering and exiting those turns because of the way the transitions are done.

[robbalvey]

Yeah, the camera mounting does look poor. It's better than nothing, I guess, but we probably will start seeing comments about it being rough (because all wooden coaster are rough ) soon.

This is my biggest frustration about shooting video that isn't properly mounted. It's nice that it's there, and it's much better than some of the REALLY bad B-Roll we've been handed over the years, but it makes the ride look much rougher than I'm sure it really is. And especially for a brand new ride you want to make it look as close to the actual product as it is.

 

Thankfully, most people on our forum probably know that the shaking is just due to the camera mount but a lot of the general public will probably think the coaster is rough. I've already gotten several comments on our YouTube channel about how rough the ride looks.

[rcjp]

^Especially when quite a few people were already expecting it to be rough just because they think all wood coasters are so (I remember reading a comment like that just when the ride was announced).

Hopefully they will realize how good the ride is (or probably will be) once guests start riding it.

[Jodon]

Robb-

Will you be able to take your own POV on Media Day, or do you have to do that at a later date like with Firechaser Express?

[robbalvey]

Robb-

Will you be able to take your own POV on Media Day, or do you have to do that at a later date like with Firechaser Express?

We will be on the Scandi trip during media day, and traditionally at Six Flags media days, they only let you shoot rider cam with the mounted cameras they provide. I most likely would not have been allowed to shoot our own POV anyway.