Posted on by Coaster Kings

NorCal Early Summer Recap

Byron: The Northern California theme parks have undergone some pretty significant changes, and in this article we aim to address the goings on at California’s Great America and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. With the opening of a new exciting ride behind us and the announcement of another in the near future, there’s a good bit of ground to cover so let’s get started.

– Over the years, many of our images have popped up on other sites and forums, awesome that our coverage spreads, not so awesome that not everyone mentioned where they got the images from. We are totally fine with our audience using our images, BUT ONLY IF credit is given to californiacoasterkings.com. Thank you! –

Wonder Woman: Lasso of Truth opens at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom

The Six Flags chain has rolled out several of Zamperla’s Giant Discoverys to their parks, Discovery Kingdom being one of the two latest recipients. Having ridden the exact same ride at Six Flags Over Texas, I came in prepared for what I recalled to be a great but not overly intense flat ride.  Boy, was I wrong. Wonder Woman: Lasso of Truth is the real deal.

As the ride warms up, it sways almost gently with very little force of any kind. It spins relatively slowly in contrast to other Frisbee type rides from manufacturers such as Huss or Mondial, something that I love for reasons I’ll explain later. 

As the relatively long ride cycle starts to develop however, things start to change. As the swings start to hit 90 degrees or so, riders start to get a taste of the three things this ride offers in spades: intense sustained air on the up swings, punishing positive g’s as it bottoms out, and some very real speed. 

At its peak, Wonder Woman swings up to 135 degrees at a height of 150 ft. This not only has it tied for the tallest ride in the park, but depending on positioning, riders may find themselves technically inverted as the it reaches its highest point, catching a glimpse of the side of the park that is behind them as they hang upside down in their restraints. At this point the airtime is absurd, the forces in the troughs are immense, and the 70 mile per hour top speed is no joke. 

The minimal spinning allows for real uninterrupted moments of pure air at the top of each and every swing. Unfortunately this also means seat position does play a big roll in your ride experience as your relative position doesn’t change much throughout the ride.

That being said, Wonder Woman: Lasso of Truth is a fantastic flat ride, and arguably the most intense ride at the Kingdom.  It may cause some motion sickness, but on the whole I found it to be more forceful than dizzying. It’s a great addition to the park, and at the very least well worth a try.

California’s Great America 2018 Project

California’s Great America has been rumored to be getting a roller coaster next year, but those rumors have been effectively confirmed with the discovery of   this case , showing permits have been filed for a 110 ft tall roller coaster. 

With these rumors have come multiple indications throughout the park that the ride is indeed coming. Markers have been seen in relatively large area including some we came across in the old Invertigo spot.

Also part of the process could be this crane found just behind Whitewater Falls which is within the assumed area.

Of Course, we can’t forget the good old stick,  marked project sr 1, between the three point challenge and invertigarden.

Speaking of that spot, markers have reportedly been seen stretching from Demon up to the three point challenge, so this coaster is certainty not limited to the old Invertigo space. Also, if you have any theories on why the tiling, let us know, I honestly don’t know what it’s for.

With the clear signs that the ride is coming, the question shifts to what it will be. The short answer, we don’t know. 110 ft is too short for the impulse coaster that the ten year plan indicates will be coming at some point. My personal favorite ideas are a Chance Hyper GTX a la Lightning Run, or a Mack Giant Dipper Model such as Lost Gravity over in Europe. Lastly, it could very well be the first ever RMC Raptor model, a smaller sized single rail design. This fits in line with Cedar Fair’s statement regarding a world’s first. If it were to happen, that would be a real treat and a huge win for the park and area.

Still, a new coaster at Great America is welcome no matter what it is, and I personally can’t wait to find out.

That’s all for this time, make sure to check out the recent work by Alex on his coaster con adventures, and of course Sean’s articles on the Brand New Justice League: Battle For metropolis.  Thanks for reading, and take care.

Make sure to follow us on our social media for exclusive coverage!  Facebook–Twitter–Instagram

Check out the follow recent CCK and CCCK reports:

2 Replies to “NorCal Early Summer Recap”

  1. I feel like whatever it is, it’s gonna be full of inversions.

    With the hyper (probably) coming next, the public will no doubt complain hardcore if two major rides are installed back to back without inversions (Cause they are dumb)

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *