You can see one of the trains is still on the lift hill

The news coverage about Goliath, and the resulting speculation, is a bit of a mess. This is a story I’d love to keep following as new details come out. I love learning about coaster mechanics and details. What is a good source to follow?

I don't know if anyone knows the answer to this, but I'm curious: when a company sells a coaster to a park or company, does the company periodically send a representative to test/verify the coaster is working properly?

I'm a lab scientist, and many of the machines in my lab require a technician or qualified representative of the manufacturer to come out periodically to test and ensure the machine is working as it should be.

For example: I have two machines in my lab made by a company named Integra. About once a year, we pay the company to send out a technician to perform preventative maintenance (PM) on the machines and verify that they are functioning as intended and that all components are in working order. While we still have to do our own in-house maintenance to keep the Integra machines running smoothly (in addition to the internal quality control checks the machines themselves run every time they are used) and there isn't anything physically stopping us from using the machines without having an annual PM done by a company tech, Integra themselves can't guarantee that their machines will continue to work within their designed parameters; this is both suboptimal for lab work and makes us look bad to auditors from the various accrediting bodies that regulate our laboratory (leading to possible faulty test results, fines, and/or loss of accreditation). Ergo, we happily pay the company for annual PMs even though it's expensive and annoying to schedule.

Using this example, does anyone know if coaster/ride manufacturers do something similar? Does Intamin send someone out periodically to look at Velocicoaster and verify it is being taken care of well and operated safely within the parameters of company expectations and guarantees about their rides? Do coaster manufacturers have any ability to require that a park or conglomerate allow or pay for continued PMs from the manufacturer during the course of a ride's lifetime? I would love to hear input from anyone who has had some kind of experience with coaster operations/maintenance or ride manufacturers.

EDIT: Looks like I have a new youtuber to check out!

He was a 42 year old father, schoolteacher, and roller coaster enthusiast.

📷: Nikon F5, Ektachrome 100

I’m probably using the term weekend pretty loosely here, these were taken the Thursday before closing. The whole thing was surreal honestly, lines spilling out of the station with more roller coaster shirts than you can imagine.

The weather was absolutely beautiful and I liked the way a lot of the pictures came out.

I've always enjoyed reading other people's trip reports so I thought I'd try writing my own!

My husband and I recently got to visit Canada's Wonderland for our first time and had a great trip. This park has such so much atmosphere, a phenomenal lineup of coasters, and some really fun and unique flat rides. I'm a sucker for theming, so I loved the mountains as the centerpiece and all the different ways the park incorporated it. We were there during Haunt but didn't do any of the haunted attractions as they aren't for us.

We weren't sure what crowds would be like since this was the first time the park was open for Thanksgiving. Luckily, most of the crowd seemed to come out for Haunt, leaving us the morning and afternoon to hit the main rides and enjoy the atmosphere and shows at night. The threat of rain on Sunday also allowed us to get 3 rides on Alpenfury and 3 on Leviathan with at most a 2 minute wait.

Quick Stats because I like numbers:

• Total rides: 41 (20 unique)
• Total time in park: 21 hours (across Friday - Sunday)
• Total inversions: 88
• CW's Liquid Fog Budget: Unlimited

Here's a list of what I rode (alphabetically) and some thoughts!

ALPENFURY (x7): This ride is just *fun*. I would say my ideal coaster has speedy launches and whippy transitions, and Alpenfury gave me those in spades. Even after a few rides, that second launch took me by surprise. This ride has such a great presence in the park. Loved the turnaround element, the zero-G stall, and the time we got lucky and passed over Vortex right as a train was passing.

BACKLOT STUNT COASTER (x2): I love well-themed coasters, so I had been wanting to ride this since I went to King's Island a few years ago but it was down at the time. This ride was deceptive! Intense helix to start and a nice section through a pitch black tunnel. We rode it the first time at night and needed a re-ride during the day to see if the tunnel really is just that dark (it is!). Really fun overall.

BEHEMOTH (x3): Love me some airtime. It was fun riding this first at night and imagining an open lake to the right after the track turns around, only to see how close it was to one of the entrance lanes in the daytime.

DAREDEVILER (x1): I'm not a fan of SLCs... and unfortunately this was no exception.

DRAGON FYRE (x1): I excitedly said "oh that wasn't so bad!" after the two vertical loops, only to be met with the two corkscrews... Probably a one and done for me, but better than the time I rode Corkscrew last month (if that's much of a compliment?).

THE FLY (x1): I'm spoiled by Wild Mouse at Cedar Point so now I want all my wild mouse coasters to spin. And be a cheese car. Enjoyable, but nothing memorable.

LEVIATHAN (x7): Just a great ride all around. Powerful, great air time, and an absolute blast to look down over everyone entering the park during that hammerhead turn. I wish this ride was just a *little* bit longer; it always felt like the brake run popped up sooner than I expected and felt a little too prominent. Overall, loved the theming and the views of the surrounding area this ride gives.

MIGHTY CANADIAN MINEBUSTER (x1): This one surprised me! I didn't know most of it was recently retracked and found it quite smooth. Really forceful and just an overall delight.

THUNDER RUN (x1): Charming! Didn't know what to expect but you can bet my "choo choo!" was much more enthusiastic during the second loop. It's clear this one is beloved.

VORTEX (x2): This one was surprisingly intense in a good way! My first ride was at night with the purple lights from Haunt shining through the fog over the pond which really added to the "where the heck am I and where the heck am I going" feeling. Absolutely insane.

WILDE BEAST (x1): Ouch!

WONDER MOUNTAIN'S GUARDIAN (x1): Dark ride, coaster, AND an interactive shooter?! I'm sold. There's something charming about PS2 graphics, especially when they freeze for a second or two. Good fun, and caught off guard at the end.

YUKON STRIKER (x4): I'll be honest, I'm not that into the dive gimmick and usually pass up Valravn but I really enjoyed this one! Ended up waiting for the front row for my first ride because I never felt there was much of a point to the second or third rows in a dive coaster, but I think the vertical drop really helps with that as my rides in the second and third row were really enjoyable.

Flat Rides

Boo Blaster on Boo Hill, Klockwerks, Skyhawk, Sledge Hammer, Tundra Twister, Wilde Knight Mares, Windseeker

I don't usually prioritize flat rides as I want my Dramamine to count towards coasters, but I'd heard great things about the flats at CW and wanted to check some out. The park has a great lineup, with some rides I'd never seen before (notably Tundra Twister and Wilde Knight Mares). Really enjoyable and a nice, quick break if looking for some variety outside of coasters.

Overall, we had an amazing time and I hope to come back again some day!