Goliath to short?

[Chitown]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I can't understand this thinking that Goliath is to short. Based on other RMC coasters, it doesn't make sense.

Goliath = 3100 ft
Iron Rattler = 3266 ft
Medusa Steel Coaster = 3000 ft
New Texas Giant = 4200 ft
Outlaw Run = 2937 ft
Wildfire = 4265 ft

Based on this, Goliath is right there for the length of RMC coasters. As long as the elements are non-stop, it really doesn't matter.

[diggerg56]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I can't understand this thinking that Goliath is to short. Based on other RMC coasters, it doesn't make sense.

Goliath = 3100 ft
Iron Rattler = 3266 ft
Medusa Steel Coaster = 3000 ft
New Texas Giant = 4200 ft
Outlaw Run = 2937 ft
Wildfire = 4265 ft

Based on this, Goliath is right there for the length of RMC coasters. As long as the elements are non-stop, it really doesn't matter.

I think some people characterize "short" by time, not distance when it comes to coasters. This thing is decent length and it carries lots of speed so the ride may seem short, even though it packs a heck of a punch.

[Tardis1972]

I don't think Goliath is too short. All the coasters at GA are short with the acceptation of RB.

[skibum101184]

Let the complainers complain. If someone says it's 'too short' then tell them 'good, then don't ride it'. One less person in line

[aesthyrian]

Maybe if it had a lift hill that took a whole minute, like Raging Bull's then people would think the ride was long enough?

Nah, probably not.


Guess they all miss Iron Wolf?

[tp41190]

I wouldn't use track length as the best way to measure the length of a ride. Dragster is 2,800ft and the duration is only about 16 seconds. If you watch the Medusa POV, there is much more to that ride over Goliath.

Goliath only has 6 true elements, and there isn't any filler between the elements. Some prefer that and I'm sure that is why a lot of people have liked the ride so far. I personally enjoy longer coasters, so I would be shocked if this ride will get into my top ten/fifteen, but I bet it's good for what it is.

Out of 500+ roller coasters, the only short coaster I have in my top list is Excelerator. Again, I'll wait to ride before I make the call. I suppose the ride length is very similar to X2 if you want to count out all the elements, and that ride is in my top 5.

I would just like to point out that I don't understand why enthusiasts get all defensive about other people’s roller coaster preferences. If some think the ride is too short, they think the ride is too short. If someone hates it, they hate it. Usually the whole war of subjective coaster preferences is pretty tame, but for some reason this ride has created such polarized opinions. All of this stuff is subjective. The fun of this hobby is discussing other peoples opinions on what they like and don't like. For some reason with this ride, if you don't love this coaster and RMC, you are wrong and a bad person.

[[jonrev]]

[CoastsToCoasters]

As mentioned, most people will look at the length of the ride as the overall time spent after a train drops off the lift hill. Few look at it as the entire time spent sitting in the train after X amount of time waiting in line. I'm with the "most" crowd. Goliath is a short experience BUT I will be completely honest - It doesnt matter!

Goliath made me scream. I haven't ridden a coaster that shocked me like that in a while, it was refreshing to have that again! Every single element on this ride delivers some level of craziness. Hell, even those last banks (twist n' shout) had fantastic sideways headchopper action & as time went on they weren't as slow as they looked. The only time the pacing seems to dull out are at the times you want them to! You hang in the dive loop & zeroG stall just slow enough that it doesnt feel slow yet it doesn't blur to the point of you asking "What just happened?!". & that airtime hill... my god that airtime hill is fast. Really fast. It is the kind of airtime so many if you have been wanting here & now we have it.

The quick ride experience may be the only thing that people will "complain" about, if at all. But I'll guarantee you, they're gonna love it & want to ride it again. It is truly our best coaster here in my opinion. I cannot wait to see it get the attention it deserves.

If you want, go on my instagram - Jaymesanthony1 & I have a quick video of the stall on there that you show you what I explained above

[coasterlove]

I'll wait to ride it to come to a full decision but from what I've seen, it is short. Now it might be exciting enough that I won't care and that probably is the case. I wouldn't have minded if it had a couple more elements since it does finish with so much speed.

[Tardis1972]

Same here, once I ride Goliath then I will decide if it is too short.

[Coaster Justin]

It's short in a good and bad way.

Good in that it doesn't let up and your either upside down, dropping, or both and it leaves you wanting more.
Bad in that the brake area reminds me of Leviathan's brake run where it feels like it could do 4-5 more hills before the brakes.

[coasterlove]

So I went there earlier and I can say that "Yes, I think it is too short." Now, that isn't to say it's a bad ride. In fact it's already in my top ten most likely (out of 120+ coasters) and in my top three wooden coasters, maybe even #2, just behind The Voyage. The reason I think it's too short is because I didn't feel done and could have used a few more elements. I would have loved it if it swept around and made a left turn around the dive inversion. It would have been a nice counter to the two right banked turns. Then maybe a could out of control bunny hills with ejector air and a turnaround over the lower areas (tunnel, etc) back into the station. I might be in the minority but wouldn't have minded a midcourse break run if it meant for a third train.

[CoasterDave316]

I was originally one of those people who was wondering if it was too short after watching the video. After riding it yesterday I think it is perfect. It feels a lot longer when you are on the ride, it also feels like you are upside down for quite some time! When I hit the brake run for the first time yesterday my first thought was "that was incredible I want to do it again." The length of the ride never crossed my mind.

It is easily my favorite coaster at Great America. It has a great mix of speed, airtime, turns and hang time that no other coaster at Great America has. The first drop is great, I rode Raging Bull back row right after Goliath and in my opinion Goliath's drop is much better then Bull's drop. (Raging Bull's first drop has always been one of my all-time favorite's)

I am definitely a fan of Rocky Mountain Construction now, they have built an amazing ride on very small footprint. I think those complaining about ride length need to realize that they fit as much as they could into the small footprint that they had to work with, and they definitely made the most of it!

I am incredibly happy to have this amazing ride so close to home at Six Flags Great America.

[jackparanoia]

I wish it lasted 457822894683 minutes longer, but then I'd die on it. I'm extremely happy with this one.

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[Coaster Justin]

I wish it lasted 457822894683 minutes longer, but then I'd die on it. I'm extremely happy with this one.

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FYI, That is over 14,517 years for anyone interested.

[JimPanky]

That would be a world record for sure. lol

[rct2wizard360]

The desire for more seems to be because of the ride's outstanding pacing. It comes into the brake run at a pretty ridiculous speed. You do get a pop of airtime coming into the brake run, and that's not something that I believe was "advertised" by PR when listing the ride's features. (e.g. Kingda Ka having an "airtime" hill)

For anyone getting their first look at the ride, waiting in line, and taking it in at face value, it may definitely seem short. The same can be said about Batman. But I think the elements, the pacing, and the shock factor are certainly much better than having a random helix thrown in before the end of the ride.

[franksilk32]

could it be longer? would we like longer? OF COURSE but too short no way... this ride kicks you in the ass from an intensity standpoint from start to finish. Loved the stall were you just hang there with nothing but the ground to look at!

[super7]

It is slightly too short for being the "biggest, fastest," etc. It is shorter than Viper. It is way shorter than AE. It is the same exact length as Whizzer! It was a 35 minute wait for this ride at the end of the night last Thursday. It was worth a 35 minute wait, not a 2 hour wait.

Defintiely a good ride and rerideable. Not a top 10 by any means, mainly due to its length. The high overbanked turn on this coaster is the best element in my opinion. Wish it has more of these turns like Texas Giant. The final turn with the dip in the middle feels like they tried to cram too much into one turn

It appears budget is definitely an issue with this park these days as the landscaping and buildings are looking very shoddy. They basically built a "biggest, fastest," etc on a budget. They got a good ride, not a great ride.

[sfgam-fan]

I agree. I think Goliath is par for the course. SFGAM tends to build the first version of everything, and the best version of nothing. I'm not judging that choice, but it's clear that it's what they tend to do. Batman, Iron Wolf, Raging Bull, and Superman were the first or among the first versions of all those ride types. All of them are now considered to be pretty average in terms of quality, because much better versions were built after them. No doubt Goliath is a great coaster now, but RMC will find someone with more money and more real estate who will build a bigger, faster, longer version.

I'm happy to have Goliath in the park. It'll give SFGAM an attendance boost for a couple of years until its competitors catch up. But part of me wishes the park would decide to build the best version of something, rather than the first.

[Guy_With_A_Stick]

Superman was a clone...

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[anewman35]

I'm happy to have Goliath in the park. It'll give SFGAM an attendance boost for a couple of years until its competitors catch up. But part of me wishes the park would decide to build the best version of something, rather than the first.

SFGAm also seems more constrained on heights than most other major parks, so they're never going to set height records like a Cedar Point or some of the other Six Flags will. I'm sure some/most of that is due to the 330 ft airport restrictions, but some of it seems to be self imposed for some reason, too, because it's not like they've done a bunch of 300 foot things. Part of me wonders if they're worried about Village approval. If we do get a Skyscreamer, I think it'll be very interesting to see how big they try to go with it...

[anewman35]

Superman was a clone...

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It was a clone of one of the first ones, built a year later. I don't think it being a clone invalidates his point.

[AirTimeDaz]

Am I the only one that chuckled at the inherent irony in the statement "Goliath is too short" ?

[sfgam-fan]

Superman was a clone...

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It was a clone of one of the first ones, built a year later. I don't think it being a clone invalidates his point.

I know that Superman was a clone. My point is that SFGAm tends to build version 1 of each coaster type while other parks tend to wait a few years and build versions that are bigger/better.