June 14 wasn’t just Flag Day this year. It is also the day that ended 10 months of anticipation, culminating with 5 days of passholder previews for California’s Great America’s new groundbreaking single rail coaster RailBlazer, first of its type in the west and one of only 2 in the world. Brought to you by the same talents at Rocky Mountain Construction that gave us the wood steel hybrid, the unique design has riders sitting single file with feet at the same level as the wheels on each one person vehicle. With the opening occurring on a normal operating day, media representatives were invited to enter the park at 6AM, where local members of the American Coaster Enthusiasts had already been riding since 5. Not often one gets to see the first rays of sunlight kissing a track, and clear skies foretold a great time was a comin’.
No matter the park or ride, these gatherings always raise an important question among the attendees; there’s food, right? So we didn’t take long to check out the offerings displayed by some creative ice sculptures. In addition to the impressive array of fruit, we had themed items like pork wings (that looked suspiciously similar to the port shanks at May’s Backyard BBQ, and even Pink Floyd’s flying pig doesn’t have wings) to single rail funnel cake wrapped sausages that your cardiologist will hate, but your tongue will adore. Maple syrup? Yes, please. And since it doesn’t really fit with anything I’m writing, I’ll put in a merch pic at this point.
There is an infusion of live music in Great America this summer, and by this ride that means the RailBlazer Big Basin Bluegrass Band (Big Basin is California’s 1st state park in the nearby Santa Cruz Mountains, dedicated to its old growth redwoods). The group performed three sets on a platform erected for the speechifying and ribbon cutting, but have their own permanent, shaded stage that will become their home. Voices were in tune, instruments were in rhythm, and a cute girl plus a guy with a Pepsodent smile meant eye candy for all. They started with some Old Crow Medicine Show, but the song choices moved beyond anything remotely bluegrass with covers of anything from Fleetwood Mac to that awful Love Shack.
Food and music are critical for a healthy soul, but that track in the background reminds your humble narrator of our primary mission, riding a brand new roller coaster. Barring a trip to Texas in the past few weeks, this is an experience unlike any you previously had. The idea is that one is riding an ATV (hence the handlebars), so feet straddle the seat as if piloting a quad through the terrain.
The design eschews a lap bar for a shoulder harness and lap bar combo, but it isn’t like an Arrow headbanger. The metal frame doesn’t make contact with the rider, who is held in the seats with a more comfortable seat belt type of strap. Sure, shoulders may get a bit sore after a dozen rides, but with a capacity that will struggle to hit 500 riders per hour, that is unlikely to be an issue unless you know a ride operator willing to sneak you in at 2AM. Show these good people the restraints, Colin.
Let’s get to it! Between the single rail and low center of gravity, this track makes incredibly tight turns and twists. After a small dip at the top of the lift, there is a slight hesitation before the 90° plummet into the rock tunnel below. There is no hesitation whatsoever from that point forward. The flow is fantastic, the 3 inversions perfectly executed, natural instead of jarring. Like other RMC creations, this isn’t float out of your seat air time, but pop out in a manner that makes one eternally grateful for the restraints, since one’s eternity wouldn’t be so long without them. It packs quite a wallop into a small footprint as this space previously held Invertigo, an inverted variation of the standard Boomerang layout. After one ride, the guy behind me said it was too fast, a concept unfamiliar to me. It was finally determined that he meant it was too short in ride time. But that, and capacity, are the only downside. Part of my brain is desperately trying to keep me from typing this, but the only way I can see to get the numbers up is to ban anything loose from the platform since the ride ops are ready to secure and dispatch well before items can be put into the cubbyholes and riders get into their seats. I suspect that lockers would not be free as at Universal, so it would be hard for it to not be seen as a mere cash grab, but I can’t see any other way to get the capacity numbers up. Well, I have a few ideas, but they’re not much help since all would have to be incorporated into the station’s design. But it is what it is, so I shan’t dwell on it. Let’s ride!
Shortly before the park’s scheduled 10AM opening, the trains temporarily halted for the official dedication. I’ve seen Santa Clara Mayor Susan Gilmor at enough of these that I no longer have to look up here name to write this, and her words, along with those of Cedar Fair’s Senior VP of Planning and Design Rob Decker promised, vaguely, of much more to come. She even spoke of a desire to see 365 day park operations. Ultimately the pair, along with Great America general manager Raul Rehnborg and America’s favourite beagle joined forces to cut the ribbon.
Hmmmm, securing a spot on this camera platform isn’t helping much. Take the backup camera, and see if you can get a bit closer, laddie (photo by Colin Ricketts).
The first train ran empty as daytime fireworks pierced the sky as it traversed the rail.
Yeah, I knew the angle of the son would be an issue for this part. Son? (photos by Colin Ricketts, my son).
After that the mob arrived, and the only question was if the first into the queue would be the girl in the pink shirt, or the boy in the burgundy one. They’re likely to sell a lot of Fast Lane wristbands because of this one.
I’ll return shortly with the opening of the Harley Quinn Crazy Coaster at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, but that will be another Day By The Bay.