California Great America (CGA) Discussion Thread

[Rollercoaster RiderI own the website www.donkey.com]

How about Scrap Grizzly and add a Hyper there?

[XYZA village is missing its IDIOT!]

How about Scrap Grizzly and add a Hyper there?

Even though most coaster enthusiasts hate the coaster, it still is very popular with the GP. It would be difficult to cram a hyper in there as there isn't that much space where Grizzly is. Also, Yahoo & the Marriott are right next door and I don't think they'll approve that location.

When the new woodie will be built, it won't be a replacement of Grizzly as WoF & VF both have old woodies there with the new GCI coasters and the old woodies are still there.

So, Grizzly will probably stay in CGA for a long time.

[sfmman2000What would donkeys be like on the moon?]

Well, the park needs a claim-to-fame if it wants to get back on it's feet again.

What does CGA have that makes it tic? I'm sure Flight Deck and Vortex are good rides but it needs something to make it known. Something that tells people "Holy crap I GOT to ride that!"

Yeah, it's an odd situation. I'm mostly speculating, but I think CGA pulls in pretty decent attendance numbers in the summer. And the greater San Jose area still loves CGA's "historical" roller coasters and rides (read: nearly all of CGA's rides). And you know why? Because they don't know any better! There's practically no bay area competition for theme parks. Between CGA and SFDK, I would wager that most guests go to both parks over the course of a season. Yeah, some may prefer one park over the other, but the parks are both doing good business. Another point, is that I would consider CGA more of a regional park than a destination. Meaning, that for a theme park, they don't get a high level of tourists visiting the park. Which means they can rest easy with all of the locals who continue to patronize the park in the summer no matter if a new ride is added.

It's the same reason why Raging Water San Jose went almost 10 years without adding a new slide. Because it's the only water park in the area. Yes, it sucks for anyone who has been to any other water park across the country and realizes what a dump it is, but for the park visitors, they don't know any better! They've been going there for years and don't have anything better to compare it to. The park is still hitting the marks, so why put more capital into it?

^I've always visioned both SFDK and CGA more of parks geared towards those of us in the area. Not that this should be an excuse to skimp out on adding attractions. It probably wouldn't hurt to throw at least 1 gimmick/must ride if they want to extend their market even just a little bit beyond the bay area/northern CA.

With this said, the question remains: Will CGA see a hyper? Honestly, I don't see it anytime soon but I do see the park getting some more TLC pumped into it now that the 49er hurdle's been jumped over. I wouldn't say that we will see another coaster come in the following year after Au13, but maybe a flat ride...and maybe a few years down the road perhaps maybe another coaster. In the mean time, I'm excited for Au13...it's going to be a huge boost for the park, and definitely not a coaster that can be jacked from us and relocated elsewhere (like Stealth and Invertigo).

[JeffyJosephNorCalI teach at the school of donkey!]

I'm just relieved we're finally getting a new ride, a major coaster that's long overdue. I guess I'm just so used to seeing what the new attraction would be every year being a passholder since '95, plus the 4 seasons working there, and then after getting nothing from '09-'12 (I don't count Planet Snoopy), it's just a big relief.

[Rollercoaster RiderI own the website www.donkey.com]

How about Scrap Grizzly and add a Hyper there?

Even though most coaster enthusiasts hate the coaster, it still is very popular with the GP. It would be difficult to cram a hyper in there as there isn't that much space where Grizzly is. Also, Yahoo & the Marriott are right next door and I don't think they'll approve that location.

When the new woodie will be built, it won't be a replacement of Grizzly as WoF & VF both have old woodies there with the new GCI coasters and the old woodies are still there.

So, Grizzly will probably stay in CGA for a long time.

I was talking about going through Demon where the train used to go through and then a U-Turn around Whitewater Falls. I'm sure a sand-filled B&M Hyper coaster will keep Marriott!! and yahoo quiet.

[MrSum1_55I just swallowed a whole donkey!]

CGA is going to keep Grizzly, strictly because Grizzly is a family ride. It is already one of Cedar Fair's tamest woodies; yet, they retrack it every offseason. This is because they want to keep it tame. There are several other CF coasters that need some love (Ghostrider is absolutley horrendous, now).

The only possibility for Grizzly being removed would be if popularity significantly drops once Au13 opens, but even this does happen, the park will probably still keep it for reasons listed above.

Grizzly is probably the least intense wood coaster I have ridden, even less so than the kiddie woodies at KD and Carowinds (actually, these coasters, particularly the Carowinds one, are surprisingly fun rides! Way more fun than Grizzly)

[SLUSHIEIt's hot outside, and I have a headache]

I grew up in the Sacramento area and while being a coaster enthusiast, I think I have only ever been to this park twice (once as an adult). SFDK is just closer and better in my opinion, and CGA has removed some of the better reasons to go there.

This new woodie will be a nice addition and I know we don't know everything about it and its features, but it is essentially a class of coaster that SFDK has had for over 10 years now.

Hopefully things continue at CGA, and with the way things looks for SFDK (no space), maybe it will be the one looking old and outdated in the near future.

[154bmagI love donkeys more than me.]

Since there aren't any Intamin mega-lites in the US. I think CGA would be the perfect place for the 1st US mega lite. They're awesome rides, and they don't take up to much space. I think if one was put in CGA, they could remove Vortex and use the old Tidal Wave station.

If they want to do it they will find a way to put a Mega Lite in no doubt about it, which would be awesome. Now the question is do they want to do it?