Gold Striker is a

wooden roller coaster A wooden roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its wooden track, which consists of running rails made of flat steel strips mounted on laminated wood. The support structure is also typically made of wood, but may also b ...

located at

California's Great America California's Great America, often shortened to Great America, is a amusement park located in Santa Clara, California. Owned and operated by Cedar Fair, it originally opened in 1976 as one of two parks built by the Marriott Corporation. Califor ...

amusement park. Built by

Great Coasters International Great Coasters International, Inc. (GCI or GCII) is a Sunbury, Pennsylvania-based roller coaster manufacturer which has created several award-winning rides since its formation in 1994. Starting in 2006 with Thunderbird at PowerPark in Finland, th ...

and designed by Jeff Pike, Gold Striker was the park's eighth roller coaster which opened to the public on May 31, 2013. Its tunnel is the longest in the world to be featured on the first drop, and it was marketed as the "tallest and fastest wooden coaster in Northern California". The roller coaster takes on the theme of the

Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

and references the

California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...

of the 19th century.

History

California's Great America originally planned to build a new roller coaster for the 2009 season, but issues led to the project's cancellation. Plans were revived in 2012 when a permit was requested and approved to construct the new coaster in the northern half of the park. Construction began in May 2012, and the first pieces of lumber were delivered the following month in early June. On July 25, 2012,

Cedar Fair Entertainment Company Cedar Fair, L.P., formally Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, is a publicly traded master limited partnership headquartered at its Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. The company owns and operates eleven amusement parks, nine included-w ...

filed a trademark for the name ''Gold Striker''. Vertical construction began in early August 2012. Gold Striker was officially announced on August 29, 2012. Representatives of the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

were on hand at the ceremony, as the ride shares the same

Gold Rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...

theme as the football team. On January 30, 2013, Gold Striker reached its first milestone as the ride's lift hill was completed. On February 20, 2013, California's Great America announced that the first drop would be fully enclosed, setting a world record for the longest drop tunnel on a wooden coaster. The park auctioned seats on the first six trains for Gold Striker. Members of the general public were invited to participate in an early riding session on April 30, 2013, during the park's promotional shoot. Gold Striker opened on May 31, 2013 and had an official opening ceremony the following day. On July 1, 2013, Gold Striker was temporarily closed due to noise complaints. According to park management, the high thrill of the ride caused screaming passengers to slightly exceed city standards. Audio technicians had tested the sound levels at an office building located about away from the park at 4555 Great America Parkway and found them to be slightly above permitted levels. The attraction reopened on July 4, 2013 after a tunnel was added.

Ride experience

Layout

After departing the station, the

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pul ...

makes a slight turn to the right followed by another turn to the right, then the train turns left onto the

lift hill A lift hill, or chain hill, is an upward-sloping section of track on a roller coaster on which the roller coaster train is mechanically lifted to an elevated point or peak in the track. Upon reaching the peak, the train is then propelled from th ...

. After the train crests the hill, it enters a tunnel then drops 50 degrees to the right, followed by another slight drop, reaching a top speed of approximately . The coaster's first drop wraps around the park's signature Star Tower attraction. The train then turns to the left into a bunny hop, passing by the station and lift hill. It then makes a turn-around to the right followed by an 80 degree banked turn. After the turn, the train passes back under the track into a "Midway turn" which, being another 80-degree turn, faces the train towards the park's Celebration Plaza. Passing again back under the track, the coaster goes through the final flat turnaround before making its way to the

brake run A brake run on a roller coaster is any section of track meant to slow or stop a roller coaster train. Brake runs may be located anywhere along the circuit of a coaster and may be designed to bring the train to a complete halt or to simply adjust ...

Track

The wooden track of Gold Striker is long in length with the height of the lift being approximately .

Awards

Gallery

File:Roller coasters at Great America.jpg, Aerial view File:Roller Coaster at California's Great America.JPG, A view from the ground

References

External links

* * {{California's Great America California's Great America Roller coasters introduced in 2013 Roller coasters in California Roller coasters operated by Cedar Fair 2013 establishments in California