coasterfanatic wrote:Goliath is short for a reason. It packs a punch like Batman and there is simply no more space for it.
I'm going to respectfully disagree on both of these points. Goliath has a couple intense spots (the speed bump and maybe the transitions); it looks much more intimidating than it is.
The park (and fans) keep talking about how Goliath had to be squeezed in, that there is not enough room for a longer ride. All you have to do is look around at a handful of other parks to see that is clearly not true. Coasters can go over, under and through other rides/walkways/etc.
Goliath is short because they didn't want to spend the money for a full, world-class ride.
Six Flags does not build that type of coaster anymore.
Take a look at the new Twisted Colossus at SFMM. The station should have been double with a track switch... with 4 train operation and dueling in mind. Six Flags would prefer to save money and promote Platinum Flash Pass.
Six Flags builds tall rides that are short; I call them "test track" coasters. They remind me of what Arrow used to build to see if a new concept would work. Even Colossus could have been SO MUCH more. A ton of energy is eaten up by magnetic brake runs at the end of each cycle.
Don't get me wrong - I have fun on these coasters and I love my home park SF Great America. Let's just keep it real and look at the truth.
500-600 an hour for a large park's premier new ride is pathetic. Not that comparing is the best thing to do, but Banshee at Kings Island beats it's own 1,650 capacity and has gotten over 1,800 people in an hour.
The only way an acceptable hourly capacity on Goliath would have happened is if they built a double loading station; in-line or parallel. Six Flags did that a few years ago on Tatsu, SFOG Superman and Kingda Ka, but now rarely use those extra loading areas. They don't have the staffing (that's what happens when you don't take care of your employees) or don't want to pay for the "extra" staffing.
Tbh, Six Flags is pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into its soon to be Dubain and Chinese parks. So it's only fair that they" cheapen up" a bit. Once those parks are open, and are making a profit, we should be able to see some more larger coasters. Not the chain's first giga, however. Lots of people are forgetting Dubai will do that. Same with the chain's first Dive coaster, and second Wingrider and Intamin Prefab.
Lots of activity being reported around Goliath's orange train. Also, red train has been brought back out from under the station. I'm heading up to the park now and will have an update when I get home.
Guy_With_A_Stick wrote:Tbh, Six Flags is pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into its soon to be Dubain and Chinese parks. So it's only fair that they" cheapen up" a bit. Once those parks are open, and are making a profit, we should be able to see some more larger coasters. Not the chain's first giga, however.
Height and speed rarely make a coaster better; but they do guarantee quick profits <<at first>> as people typically fall for the gimmick.
Look at Phoenix at Knoebels. 78 feet high and has more fans every year. It's not big. But it's a complete coaster; it's fun and people love it. They do over 1,000 people an hour on that little ride, too!
I'm at the park now and the Orange train just completed its circuit. I talked to the guy at the entrance and he said that they hope to have it open tomorrow.
Wow that would be awesome but I'm not holding my breath. Tomorrow's my annual Six Flags day with my 8 yr old son. We went 2 days before Goliath opened last year. I haven't had the heart to tell him it's been down the last week.
Both trains made several test runs early this evening. Last thing I heard is that Tuesday is the most likely day for reopening as they want to thoroughly test with the new parts.
CoasterDemon wrote:500-600 an hour for a large park's premier new ride is pathetic. Not that comparing is the best thing to do, but Banshee at Kings Island beats it's own 1,650 capacity and has gotten over 1,800 people in an hour.
Banshee's operations were insane. My mind was blown away they had a train in the station for no longer that 30 seconds when I was there. Insane.
I'm GLAD to hear that Goliath will most likely be open this Sunday (06/28/2015)! I'm going then with my two friends who have never been on it and I can't wait to show them what Goliath is all about and why it's my FAVORITE ride in the entire park and why it's my second FAVORITE roller coaster that I've ridden.
And people were expecting it to reopen in August. And if they get STT up and running by July 4th, I know for a fact that we have good maintenance when it comes to broken rides.
Has Goliath recieved new wheels this year? I remember last year as the train was rolling down that small hill out of the station and onto the lift hill it would make this odd noise. It sounded like the wheels wete squeaking and grinding. This year however, its not making that noise and if it does, its not as loud.
It seems like the other side always wins on American Eagle Also, I've ridden Goliath 23 times in one day. HBU? (Sorry in advance for unnecessary commas and parenthesis every where)
was one of the first on Goliath today and it ran great. Loved catching it just as they started second testing of day to be at front of line when they opened the line. was on and off in 5 minutes but by time i got off the line was already halfway full in the overfill makeshift line. word got around park fast when people were actually on it and i think most everyone in the park rushed on over.
side note anyone know why condor and orbit are closed again? and half the waterpark was closed today too.
Banky wrote:was one of the first on Goliath today and it ran great. Loved catching it just as they started second testing of day to be at front of line when they opened the line. was on and off in 5 minutes but by time i got off the line was already halfway full in the overfill makeshift line. word got around park fast when people were actually on it and i think most everyone in the park rushed on over.
About how long was the line when you got off? When did it open in the day?
it was a few minutes after 5pm on tuesday when it opened back up. i was # 67 on the ride which only took a few minutes to get on but when i went to get off the line was already backed up through the overflow. so 2 hours + i would reckon. on a side note EVERYTHING else in the park had like no lines right after that lol
My days of waiting for Goliath for an hour or longer are over. It is simply not worth the time investment. It is nothing more than another short, trick coaster, which will be eclipsed by something new in the next year or so. The installation of Goliath showed poor planning, and sloppy execution of the plan.
We should all remember to be thankful to have a world-class theme park like Six Flags Great America here in our local area!
