California's Great America Coaster Report

Park date June 21st 2013

Demon: This coaster opened with the park in 1976 (albeit with a different outbound track layout). It's an Arrow with a double vertical loop and a double corkscrew (into a rock demon's mouth). Not a bad ride. Worth riding once. Rode it once.



 Grizzly: One of the lamest wooden roller coasters ever built. Drops are gradual, turn-arounds are slow, and pacing is casual. This is more of a scenic railway than a thrill ride. Rode it once.



 Psycho Mouse: This is a wild mouse ride from Arrow. Back in the old days, wild mouse (mice?) rides would throw riders from side to side on fast unbanked hairpin turns with the illusion of falling off the tracks. Now, courtesy of litigation, many wild mouse rides are plagued with brakes that continually slow cars down (to reduce lateral forces). To Great America's credit, I only noticed one of the multitude of brake runs slowing the car significantly. A decent ride (although I would like to do it completely brakeless). Rode it once.



 Woodstock's Express: A 1984 kiddie coaster from Intamin (renamed in 2010 to match the Peanuts theme). Riders must be less than 60 inches tall or accompanied by a child. Age discrimination I say. Could not ride.

 Taxi Jam: A kiddie coaster from Miler with a fun-looking twisted track. Once again, riders must be less than 60 inches tall or accompanied by a child. Could not ride.



 Flight Deck: Opened in 1993 (as Top Gun), this is B&M's second inverted coaster. Though short, it's still one of my favorite inverted rides. It's intense throughout, well paced, and has a great finale helix over water. Ride it in the front row for the view or in the back row (on an outer seat) for the most extreme physics. Rode it twice.



 Vortex: People scream on most roller coasters out of fear. On Vortex, people scream out of pain. This stand-up ride from B&M (their second coaster ever) is a 1900 ft long torture track through ear-bang hell. Here is a condensed personal narrative of the course: "Ouch ouch Ouch OUCH Ouch ouch Ouch" (and this coming from a guy who tends to like rough rides). Worth riding once (with ear protection and plenty of aspirin). Rode it twice - yes, I'm a masochist.



 Gold Striker: This is Great America's first new coaster in twelve years. It's a wooden ride from Great Coasters International. I've been on eight GCI coasters and this is my current favorite. It's fairly tall at 108 ft and fairly fast at 54 mph but the statistics don't matter. What I like is the relentless non-stop action all the way from the lift hill to the final (and only) brake run. The only negative thing is that the operators assign seats and will not let riders choose where they want to sit. Fortunately, we got lucky and scored the back car twice. For the best experience, ride this one in the back at night. Rode it five times.



Other Rides of Note: Take a spin on the double decker carousel. You can choose upper or lower level. And there are all kinds of animals to ride - not just horses.