| This article is about the hybrid roller coaster at Six Flags Great America. For more uses of Goliath, see Goliath (disambiguation). |
Goliath is a Greek-themed wooden-steel hybrid roller coaster at Six Flags Great America, located in the County Fair section of the park. It opened on June 19, 2014, and was manufactured by Rocky Mountain Construction and designed by Alan Schilke.
History[]
On August 5, 2011, Six Flags Great America announced on their official Facebook page that Iron Wolf would be closed on September 5, 2011.[1][2] The ride was subsequently removed and relocated to Six Flags America where it operates as Firebird (formerly Apocalypse).
On August 1, 2013, Six Flags Great America began a teaser campaign entitled "Follow the Journey".[3][4] In mid-August 2013, it was revealed Six Flags Great America would be building a 165 foot high roller coaster, with plans being lodged with the local zoning committee to exceed the 125 foot height limit imposed on the park.[4][5][6][7][8]
On August 29, 2013, it was officially announced that Six Flags Great America would be adding Goliath, a wooden roller coaster by Rocky Mountain Construction, for the 2014 season. As part of the announcement, a concept computer-animated "point-of-view" (POV) and statistics of the ride were released.[9][10][11]
On February 21, 2014, Six Flags Great America posted a collection of pictures to its official Facebook page, revealing Goliath's final design.[12][13] This updated version includes a steel lift hill structure, rather than the traditional wooden structure. An updated animated POV was also released on the park's official YouTube channel.[14]
Concept art of Goliath at sunset
Construction for Goliath began in September 2013, with a team of 35 employed by Rocky Mountain Construction to erect the ride. The team worked 11-hour days, six days a week through the winter to early May 2014,[15] amounting to approximately 40,000 man hours.[16] Following the ride running hundreds of test runs, it officially opened to the public on June 19, 2014.[17][15] The lift hill was topped off on May 16, 2014 at 2:00pm. Goliath tested for the very first time on May 31, 2014.[18] On Friday June 6, 2014, a small section of the rides station caught fire and was extinguished without any reported injuries or major damage.[19] Goliath's soft opening date was June 18, 2014[19], While it opened to the public the next day.[17]
Experience[]
Queue[]
Guests first pass under the entrance and approach a switchback section. Portions of the queue feature shade and televisions. Following this area, guests walk through a straight path. This is followed by a left turn. On the right side is a chicken exit. Guests then climb the stairs and enter the station.
Layout[]
The ride begins with a left turn out of the station before ascending the 165-foot-tall (50 m) chain lift hill at a 45° angle. From the highest point, trains drop 180 feet (55 m) at an angle of 85°, 15 feet (4.6 m) below ground level, reaching their top speed of 72 miles per hour (116 km/h). After this, cars ascend to a height of 125 feet (38 m) for an overbanked turnaround, followed by a descent back to the ground and a small air-time hill. A dive loop is next, where riders are inverted before descending a half loop. The track then enters the second inversion, a zero gravity stall, where the train is suspended upside-down as it crests over a hill underneath the lift hill. This element is followed by a second overbanked turnaround, leading to the brake run and a short path back to the station. One cycle of the ride takes approximately 105 seconds to complete.
Records[]
Goliath holds the Guinness World Record for the steepest and longest drop in the world for wooden roller coasters. Formerly, it also held the record for fastest wooden roller coaster in the world, which was surpassed by Lightning Rod at Dollywood in Spring 2016.
Awards[]
| Golden Ticket Awards: Top Steel Roller Coasters | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | ||||
| Position | 23 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 19 | 27 | ||||
Gallery[]
Videos[]
Photos[]
References[]
- ↑ http://www.facebook.com/SFGreatAmerica/posts/10150252058661356
- ↑ Coasterholic14. Six Flags Great America Losing Long-time Stand-Up Coaster. Coaster-net. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016.
- ↑ Six Flags Great America Follow the Journey 2014
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Great America Planning to Add New Coaster in 2014
- ↑ Agenda of the Regular Meeting of the Gurnee Planning and Zoning Board - August 21, 2013
- ↑ Great America to pitch new wooden coaster to Gurnee
- ↑ Proposal for new roller coaster at Great America is on the table
- ↑ Great America gets OK on 150-ft.-high coaster
- ↑ New for 2014 at Six Flags Great America
- ↑ Six Flags boasts latest ride will be world's fastest wooden rollercoaster
- ↑ New Great America roller coaster Goliath due in 2014
- ↑ Drum roll please... Six Flags Great America unveils final design artwork for Goliath, The World’s Fastest Wooden Roller Coaster with Tallest and Steepest Drop! (February 21, 2014). Retrieved on March 21, 2014.
- ↑ Updated Artwork for Goliath
- ↑ Goliath New for 2014 | - Virtual Ride. Six Flags Great America. YouTube (February 21, 2014). Retrieved on March 21, 2014.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Goliath rises in Great America skyline
- ↑ Go Goliath: Record-setting wooden coaster opens at Six Flags
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Six Flags Opens Goliath, a Record-Breaking New Roller Coaster
- ↑ Goliath - Six Flags Great America FIRST TEST RUN. YouTube (May 31, 2014). Retrieved on June 1, 2014.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Minor Fire Reported Near New Six Flags Great America Roller Coaster
See also[]
- County Fair
- The Joker, an RMC hybrid roller coaster at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom.
External links[]
- Goliath | Six Flags Great America
Goliath (Six Flags Great America) at Wikipedia- Goliath - Six Flags Great America (Gurnee, Illinois) at the Roller Coaster DataBase
