Six Flags Great America (SFGAm) Discussion Thread

[rcjp]

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.

I get the feeling that it would be nearly impossible to have a beyond vertical drop without using a little bit of steel, but then many wood coasters do.

[Randomman295]

Skyrocket from Luna Park, Houston, Tx, 1924. Looks like parks may have been challenging each other for steepest drops back then!

Forget Goliath, I want to know more about this thing.

So sad I could only find one other picture of it:

[eddie200330]

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.

I get the feeling that it would be nearly impossible to have a beyond vertical drop without using a little bit of steel, but then many wood coasters do.

 

Also a shorter train would more than likely need to utilized.

[GoBears]

Looks like they are just about done with the tunnel, at least for now. They are putting their focus back to assembling bents. They already have quite a few stacked up so I think we'll see some bents raised into place by the end of this week. They haven't put any up since before Christmas.

[gerstlaueringvar]

Skyrocket from Luna Park, Houston, Tx, 1924. Looks like parks may have been challenging each other for steepest drops back then!

Forget Goliath, I want to know more about this thing.

So sad I could only find one other picture of it:

This coaster was built by john Miller and was moved to a park near Playland Park after Luna Park closed in 1935. I think part of it was used to construct Rocket (now known as Phoenix at Knoebels) after the park closed.

[yay101]

^Woahhhh that is so cool!!

 

Steep drops aside, I like this coaster for one other reason: it looks like all of the bottoms of the drops go to the ground. I wish more coasters were like this!

[GoBears]

^Just about all of the drops it seems and the bottom of the first drop and the bottom of the zero-G stall go underground. Speaking of underground, it appears they are working on the tunnel once again and assembling bents so ignore my previous post.

[yay101]

^I was talking about Skyrocket from Luna Park, not Goliath.

[GoBears]

My bad. I didn't even notice that last post on the previous page.

[yay101]

Seriously though, I am very proud of Goliath! I mean, it will definitely bring huge crowds to the park! All they need is a good dark ride or two and it'll be on the map!

[robbalvey]

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!

[Rollercoaster Rider]

Seriously though, I am very proud of Goliath! I mean, it will definitely bring huge crowds to the park! All they need is a good dark ride or two and it'll be on the map!

 

 

I'd rather an Interactive Dark Ride and a Return of Bugs Bunny National Park (Scrap the Go Karts!)

[GoBears]

There's more pre-cast footers sitting next to the tunnel. I'm wondering if these are for the inside of the tunnel for the bottom of the first drop and the bottom of the zero-G stall.

 

[yay101]

Seriously though, I am very proud of Goliath! I mean, it will definitely bring huge crowds to the park! All they need is a good dark ride or two and it'll be on the map!

 

 

I'd rather an Interactive Dark Ride and a Return of Bugs Bunny National Park (Scrap the Go Karts!)

 

I agree! Bugs Bunny National Park was SFGAm's best kiddie park in my opinion! I was so sad to see it go. Honestly, I think the best places for a dark ride are the Southwest Ampitheater and Kidzopolis, because of space reasons (a dark ride will not work well in the Go Kart's location).

 

^I don't think those are inside the tunnel. I think those are for the turn-around before the brakes, but I'm not sure.

[Rollercoaster Rider]

Seriously though, I am very proud of Goliath! I mean, it will definitely bring huge crowds to the park! All they need is a good dark ride or two and it'll be on the map!

 

 

I'd rather an Interactive Dark Ride and a Return of Bugs Bunny National Park (Scrap the Go Karts!)

 

I agree! Bugs Bunny National Park was SFGAm's best kiddie park in my opinion! I was so sad to see it go. Honestly, I think the best places for a dark ride are the Southwest Ampitheater and Kidzopolis, because of space reasons (a dark ride will not work well in the Go Kart's location).

 

^I don't think those are inside the tunnel. I think those are for the turn-around before the brakes, but I'm not sure.

 

 

I would put it in the former Trailblazer/Arcade next to it and theme it to Wile E. Coyote.

[GoBears]

Footers are being placed at the bottom of the tunnel.

 

[yay101]

You have no idea how excited I am for Goliath now!

 

At the same time just looking at this area of the park is so awkward for me. I know it has been gone for over two years, but I'm so used to seeing Iron Wolf being located by Spacely's Sprocket Rockets. I mean I'm glad its gone and is being replaced by a record-breaking ride, but it is hard to get used to!

[Woodie Warrior]

Footers are being placed at the bottom of the tunnel.

 

[attachment=0]Screen Shot 2014-01-16 at 3.14.14 PM.png[/attachment]

 

Damn that tunnel is going to be really big. It looks almost 25 feet deep!

[gerstlaueringvar]

Are people becoming smaller or something? The tunnel seems huge

[Vonni]

I'm so excited about Goliath! I just wish that stupid Chicago weather would stop slowing down progress lol! I get too antsy for all of that lol!

[GoBears]

They have a crane in motion over towards the other end of the ride. I wonder if they're working on the second half of the floater hill or something.

 

 

EDIT: It was actually a concrete pumper, not a crane.

Edited January 17, 2014 by GoBears

[Cameron]

The forecast for Wednesday (for the construction tour) is 10 degrees .. the overnight low (Tuesday night) is -4, so really on Wednesday morning it'll probably be 0-5 (and then there's wind-chill on top of that). Fortunately the forecast is calling for sun, so the photos will look great - but dress very warm!

 

Cameron.

[coasterbill]

This coaster is looking more and more impressive every minute.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

This coaster is looking more and more impressive every minute.

I'm actually almost as excited about this one as I was for Outlaw Run, tempered only a bit by the fact that Chicago is 500 miles from me and not 30. Still, the world needs more RMC coasters, and I love that all of them have been built in the Midwest. I've been wanting to get back to Chicago since X-Flight was built, but the last couple of years plans have fallen through. Now with X-Flight and Goliath both, we're going to have to make this happen.

[rcjp]

^That actually reminds me of how they got two big coasters within a 2 year period!