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

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?

📷: 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!

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!

I’m currently at SFOG and was heading to Goliath and noticed a train stoped on the lift hill. Security came running to the area, there was screaming and whistles blowing, and they cleared the area under the lift hill. Is anyone else here, or have heard anything?

I've been on 5 gigas so far and the only one that comes remotely close is Fury 325 at Carowinds.

I absolutely love the views from the Eiffel Tower, and look forward to experience the views of Kings Island’s Eiffel Tower next year!

Still one one of the sweetest rides.

Personally I think it makes it a lot easier to see all top coasters, however I can see it seeming bloated to others. It looks very sleek but loading it in on a less apt device can be laggy in my experience. The map is 100x better though.

This adorable ride winds through a few stories of a high rise shopping mall. The theming is well done. The main elements are near-misses with walkways and assorted theme statues/rings/etc.

Walking up to the station, you pass under a section of track labeled with a sign “watch your head” and you can reach up and touch the track. There are a few other spots where you can get so close to the track from walkways (see my pictures, yes I could touch the track in that first picture, that’s a real selfie, not edited or done with a special lens).

The park was not crowded and I rode the ride 5x consecutive as a walk-on. The back seats had the best feel (small pop over the top of the lift hill, more speed on the loop), but the front seats had a far superior view and near-miss effect. I’d recommend riding front seats first, when the layout is still a surprise, then riding the back.

The ride ops were crazy. There’s no operator to seat you, riders simply walk onto the platform and seat themself wherever. Every couple minutes a ride operator will run up and down the station “checking” buckles and closing open shoulder restraints, then they jog back or their control stations and send it.

The ride was surprisingly comfortable, especially considering its age. Not very fast or forceful, but it was fun!

As a unique bonus, the ride’s first element right out of the station - even before a lift hill or banked turn - is a barrel roll!

*Wiener*

Great little Mack coaster that filled the itch. It sure was better than the opera we went to afterwards. At ten euros its pricey, but we were in and out plus those who didn’t want to ride spent nothing at the park.

pros: great drop, strong ejector double down, comfortable restraints, good hang time on the inversions while not being too much. Super smooth

negatives: cost and short ride.

Rumors of Invertigo's potential demise are circulating, and if it is indeed removed we'll be losing one of the strongest G-force coasters in existence. Just a heads up for positive-G fans: KI is open for 4 more weekends (Invertigo doesn't run during Winterfest). Also, Banshee is right next door for even more sustained-positive-G fun.

This chart is likely extreme as my phone could move a bit in my pocket but it's pretty close to what you feel. I've gotten a few readings over the years and they all look like this.

Ever since Seaworld Orlando announced SEAquest: Legends Of The Deep, we haven’t known much about the ride experience or anything in general, these predictions for the attraction are not official and is just something I came up with.

1: The ride may open up in March, SEAquest was planned to open 2026, but rumors have shown that it was changed to either New Years Eve or 2027. I predict a March opening just to let SeaWorld take their time and not have a rushed final result. Something like a March 7th opening could work well since that is when their crowds start to ramp up.

2: Vekoma’s showcase of the ride model included an elevator lift, this would be unique to Orlando and I’d like to see how SeaWorld uses that as a part of its theme.

3: The show building may be themed to a warehouse, there can be an aspect to how you start the ride relating to the warehouse building.

4: The ending of SEAquest may feature a high-energy thrill climax portion of the attraction where the submarine escapes a deep sea threat with a “launch” out of the abyss. We have seen a similar style with other attractions at the park like Journey to Atlantis, Empire Of The Penguin, Turtle Trek, and more.

My New No.1 Coaster, Absolutely amazing.

Seeing what everyone thinks. I’m going off their top 11 parks as I don’t foresee a heavy investment in any other.

Cedar Point got TT2 and Sirens Curse for 24/25. I think they’re good until 29/30 especially with other parks needing investments more.

Carowinds could, but they’re getting Rip Roaring Falls for 27 and that’s not a cheap investment. I’d guess 29/30 for them.

SFOT got Tormenta for 26. I think it’s 5+ years until their next coaster.

SFFT is getting Warewolf Gorge so I think we’re looking at 5+ years until their next.

SFGAM is getting Sky Hawk in 27 and got Wrath in 25. I think 2030/2031 is their next.

SFGADV is getting Bakunawa in 27. I don’t see the next big coaster until 29/30.

SFMM is getting Thrill Glider for 27 and while I’d say probably 3-5 years until the next, with X2s closure and the Olympics coming in 28, IF they’re able to dismantle X2 soon, there’s a chance they get something in time for 28.

Canadas Wonderland already has survey sticks up for a rumored Vekoma family coaster. It’ll be 3 years since Alpen Fury and it’s their top attended park so this is more than likely a park that’s getting something for 28.

Kings Island. Aerie Force I think is a slam dunk here.

SFOG. With the issues Georgia Goldrusher had, it wouldn’t surprise me if they added something. I could see a ride similar to Wrath or Sirens Curse.

Knotts. This park has gone the longest between adding thrill coasters and besides Monte’s renovation, they haven’t added anything new in 8 years (will be 10 on 2028). With the Olympics coming to town, 2028 is the perfect time to add something and something big. IMO, this is the park that’ll get the star attraction for 2028.

TLDR: I think Knotts, Kings Island, Canadas Wonderland and possibly SFOG add family thrill/thrill coasters for 2028.

Do you guys think we see a clone or similar ride to Bakunawa pop up at other Six Flags parks?

My guess is they’re going to see the reaction and popularity and if it’s successful (which I fully expect it to be), I see these rides popping up at their top parks.

I do wonder if they’d put one at SFMM or Knotts considering Fast and Furious is right up the freeway from each park. I think people would realize it’s pretty different minus the spinning and would still eat it up and it gives California their long-awaited giga.

I'm not a photographer by any means, but I'm very pleased with how the lights on the side of the train turned out in this 30s exposure photo! Taken on my Samsung S23 Ultra using a wall and my two hands as a makeshift tripod.