Vonni Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 ^^ Interesting, I thought they were done with the tunnel already. I'm really excited to see that lift hill peaking up from the trees! I think this for the other side of the retaining wall which is the tunnel for the bottom of the zero-g stall beside the bottom of the first drop. Oh ok! I forgot Goliath will have two tunnels! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. M Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Does anyone know why they decided to break the record for tallest drop, but not tallest overall? I was picturing the tunnel being necessary due to terrain issues, but it appears to basically be sitting on a flat piece of land. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarheel1231 Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Does anyone know why they decided to break the record for tallest drop, but not tallest overall? I was picturing the tunnel being necessary due to terrain issues, but it appears to basically be sitting on a flat piece of land. Height limits imposed by the town of Gurnee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willthegolfer Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Technically the height limit is 125 ft, but the park can request to exceed that. The absolute height limit is 330ft due to the park's proximity to Waukegan airport. I think the reason they didn't go for tallest overall is size. To break the record, it would have to be around 200 ft, which would be extremely difficult to fit in that space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. M Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 ^I think you're definitely right. I didn't realize there was such a large discrepancy between tallest wooden coaster and tallest wooden coaster drop (I just looked it up, definitely need more space to go for the height record). It's funny to me how most coasters seem to have a drop significantly shorter than their overall height, but this coaster is tunnelling underground just for the sake of beating the record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcjp Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 ^I guess it is normal that the drop is usually slightly shorter than the overall height. Still, I like when that difference is kept to a minimum, unlike Kingda Ka which, after the top hat, comes nowhere near the ground. Although it might not make much of a difference given that this ride will have the tallest drop I think it is undeniable that the "tallest overall" record has a bigger impact, especially with the GP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. M Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 ^Honestly, I doubt the difference between "tallest coaster" and "tallest drop" really registers in most people's minds. I'm sure SF is banking on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerstlaueringvar Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 ^^ GP wouldn't mind I guess. It's a wooden coaster that goes upside down! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ytterbiumanalyst Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 ^^ GP wouldn't mind I guess. It's a wooden coaster that goes upside down! Well, considering that at this time last year there were exactly zero wooden coasters that go upside down, I'd say that's the real selling point for everybody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anewman35 Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 ^Honestly, I doubt the difference between "tallest coaster" and "tallest drop" really registers in most people's minds. I'm sure SF is banking on that. And SF really isn't being very clear on this, anyway. Like, on the park's home page right now is the line "See the tallest, steepest, fastest wooden roller coaster" (and the promo video uses a similar phrase). The vast majority of people are going to assume it is the tallest wooden coaster in the world (and then probably assume it also has the world's tallest drop). I'm not entirely sure that it'll really matter to people that much anyway, given that there's already a taller, faster roller coaster in the same park - the steepness may end up being the big selling point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcjp Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Just one thing, now that wooden coasters have been getting really steep, why do they do this: one degree steeper..., a little bit more, just one more..... and gradually make rides that are one degree steeper than the previous instead of making a vertical drop right away? Is is that much more expensive or tricky to build? Or is this some sort of strategy? I'm pretty confident that RMC, which are able to turn woodies upside down, would be able to make a 90 DEGREES drop, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GayCoasterGuy Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Skyrocket from Luna Park, Houston, Tx, 1924. Looks like parks may have been challenging each other for steepest drops back then! Looks fun, huh!!? I love a coaster that makes me hold on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoBears Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Here's the latest from this morning. More work is being done on the tunnel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted January 13, 2014 Author Share Posted January 13, 2014 (edited) UPDATE! We have selected the people for this tour. If you were selected, you will get an email from us. If you didn't, I'm sure there will be more tours soon! Want to go on a GOLIATH Tour? Of course you do! Six Flags Great America has given us a great opportunity for NINE of our members to tour the Goliath Construction Site on the morning of January 22nd. If you are interested, follow the instructions below, and we will contact you if you have been selected as one of the nine to attend this tour. PLEASE NOTE! - This tour is ONLY open to TPR Forum and Club TPR Members. - You may NOT bring a guest. - You MUST be available to attend the tour. If you sign up for the tour, and are chosen, and back out, you will be banned from any future tour opportunities or TPR events. - You MUST include ALL of the information requested below. Please send an email to robbalvey@themeparkreview.com with the subject of "Goliath Tour Applicant" with the following information: - Full Name - Email address - TPR Screen Name - Club TPR Member Number (if you are a member) - Mobile Phone Number - Age - Tell us a bit about you and why you'd like to attend this tour - Let us know if you will be taking photos and will be posting a trip report - Including a photo of yourself is helpful! We will contact you with further details about the tour if you are selected. Thank you for participating! It should be an exciting tour! --Robb Alvey Edited January 15, 2014 by robbalvey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrlittle Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 ^Wish I lived near Chicago. It be cool to take part in a RMC construction tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mohead Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 I hope I win!!! Crossing fingers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeroGravity55 Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Just one thing, now that wooden coasters have been getting really steep, why do they do this: one degree steeper..., a little bit more, just one more..... and gradually make rides that are one degree steeper than the previous instead of making a vertical drop right away? Is is that much more expensive or tricky to build? Or is this some sort of strategy? I'm pretty confident that RMC, which are able to turn woodies upside down, would be able to make a 90 DEGREES drop, right? I think it will eventually happen. A lot of it probably has to do with the length of the drop and the forces involved. The drop needs enough length to reach a 90 degree vertical drop and then have enough left to pull out of the drop without having high forces putting the track and structure under a lot of stress. This is a wooden structure were taking about, so it will always be tricky to do, but it's certainly not out of reach. RMC is close. I say they'll hit the 90 degree max vertical angle around the 190-200 foot drop range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vonni Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 ^ I wouldn't be surprised to see it on their next Coaster they build from the ground up! Or possibly even on their next renovation project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Don't forget that they could also use a little but of steel to reinforce the structure. Plenty of wood coasters feature steel supports (Comet at Great Escape, White Lightning at Fun Spot) and RMC has used steel beams for some of the supports on NTAG and Iron Rattler so I see no reason why they wouldn't do this on their wood coasters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoBears Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Six Flags has rolled out some new designs for their park websites and you can view them by clicking on "Choose Your Park". The only park that doesn't show the new design when you click on it is SFGAm. However, if you click here, you can view the new design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. M Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Personally I bet RMC has had the technology to build a 90° drop as long as they've had the technology to build an immelmann loop. Just depends which park builds a coaster tall enough, and pays enough money, to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yay101 Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 RMC can definitely build a wooden coaster with a vertical, or even a beyond-vertical drop! I think it is just for the sake of marketing that they just don't want to do it all at once. If they blew the most mind-blowing coaster right away, then the only place they can go is down. If they gradually build better and better coasters with crazier elements, then they can't go down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_koppen Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Can't wait for the day when we see a Maverick style first drop an a RMC coaster. Eventually it is going to happen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeroGravity55 Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Remember, these inversions are low force inversions that don't put the track or structure under any more stress than a normal wooden coaster element does. There is always going to be high forces involved in the drop and they probably do have the technology to do a vertical drop, it's just a matter of finding a park that is willing to build a coaster that big. As for a Maverick style drop, that just seems impractical. Anything beyond a 90 degree drop on a woodie would cause the track to dip back into the structure supporting the lift, essentially eliminating the structure supporting the top of the lift. I'm not saying it's impossible though. Nothing is impossible when Alan Schilke is the designer. I can see RMC installing dive drops like you see on the B&M wing riders on their future coasters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willthegolfer Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Here is a shot from today's webcam. Some more bents have been assembled to the left, and more tunnel work has been done as well. I think we'll see these bents go up soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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