California's Great America: General Discussion

[Spike]

Looks more appealing until you realise two train operation with those trains.......

I'm not sure which video Rob's posted (cant watch YouTubes at work) but the full on-ride only POV shows a 3 train operation.

 

[Benzin]

Sure I read somewhere that it was only going to have two trains, not that having three will make a blind bit of difference at this place since the operations were pretty poor...

 

[Rob]

I think Screamscape reported rumours of it only having 2 trains. But yes, these coasters are really more suited to smaller parks that do not need coasters with at least half decent capacities.

 

[Rick]

I know it's almost a duty of enthusiasts to be concerned about capacity, but I don't forsee it being too much of a problem - especially at this park.

 

[Rob]

Got to be honest, this does look pretty cool:

And looks like it is being topped off today:

 

[Brad97]

It looks massive at first glance, but then compared to the surroundings you can see how small it is. Still looks cool, though! Will be interesting to see how it rides.

 

[Rojo]

I don't know if it's the lack off of supports, but it looks amazingly terrifying.

 

[Dar]

That logo looks like something I smashed together in year 7 ICT!

I can't help but get the feeling this is going to be a bit rattly? To be honest, I'm struggling to think of a single car coaster that isn't rattley?

 

[Brad97]

This coaster will have 8 car trains.

In theory it should be very smooth, a lot of roughness is caused by misaligned rails I believe, and since this coaster is a monorail that won't be an issue.

 

[Matt N]

In typical Six Flags fashion, Wonder Woman, which is a mirror image of this, was once marketed as the "world's smoothest roller coaster" due to the fact that it's a monorail.

 

[Rob]

The layout is now pretty much complete:

Source

So weird but I quite like how it looks!

 

[Rob]

So, it turns out the trains for these are, well, erm pretty ugly:

Lots of lovely cheap plastic and horrible looking restraints!

In better news, CGA are starting on the rockwork for the coaster:

Source

 

[Matt N]

So, it turns out the trains for these are, well, erm pretty ugly:

Lots of lovely cheap plastic and horrible looking restraints!

In better news, CGA are starting on the rockwork for the coaster:

Source

Are those... OTSRs? I didn't think RMC did OTSRs! I thought we were expecting lap bars like the ones on their woodies and hybrids!

The rockwork looks to be coming along nicely, though!

 

[Rob]

Well, they're more like lap bars with vests to provide extra comfort when riding.

 

[Brad97]

That's an interesting train design.The restraints look like Tempesto's.

 

[Dar]

Obviously I'm totally ready to proven wrong, but I can't help but think these are going to be quite rattley?

 

[Rollercoasters4Life]

The railings in front of you look like they come up pretty high too. So facing forward you'll get half the train front-age and half of everything else. Would of been better if they were a little lower down. They look a pretty, plastic fantastic...I don't think it helps with the garish green against the grey with the added tinge of orange logo/restraint.

Very interested to find out how these ride.

 

[Alastair]

RailBlazer officially opened a couple of day ago - here's the first POV. Have to say looks pretty impressive and quite intense. Would not object to a UK park investing in one of these, particularly given the size constraints.

 

[AstroDan]

I am shocked that a CF or SF park are adding these. Throughput looks dire. Duration is like 31 seconds.

Don't get me wrong, they look great fun but rather ill informed.

 

[Matt N]

In rather sad and unexpected news, it has been announced that California's Great America will be closing within the next 11 years, as Cedar Fair has sold the land it sits on to a company planning to develop it for real estate: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220623005938/en/Cedar-Fair-Capitalizes-on-Opportunity-to-Sell-Its-Land-at-California’s-Great-America-Amusement-Park

SANDUSKY, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cedar Fair, L.P. (NYSE: FUN), a leader in regional amusement parks, water parks and immersive entertainment, today announced it has sold the land at its California’s Great America amusement park and plans to close the park. Cedar Fair elected to sell the land to Prologis, Inc. (NYSE: PLD), a Bay Area-based logistics real estate company, for approximately $310 million with a lease agreement. The Company will continue to operate the park for a period of up to 11 years and then will close existing park operations at the end of the lease term.

The land sale, which was marketed by CBRE, was the outcome of a strategic review initiated by Cedar Fair in 2021 to explore potential avenues to maximize the value of the Company’s extensive asset portfolio. Cedar Fair purchased the land at California’s Great America in 2019 from the City of Santa Clara after the State of California dissolved redevelopment agencies, requiring the city to cede its ownership of the property to pay off existing debt. Prior to that transaction, the Company leased the land from the City for more than 40 years.

Cedar Fair intends to use proceeds from the land sale transaction to accelerate progress on its strategic priorities of reducing debt to achieve its $2 billion target, investing in high-return projects within its portfolio such as upgrading resort properties, and reinstating a sustainable unitholder distribution. Based on the strength and pace of the recovery since reopening its parks in 2021, and due to the additional capital raised through the Great America transaction, Cedar Fair expects to reinstate quarterly unitholder distributions by the third quarter of 2022, subject to review and approval by the Cedar Fair Board of Directors.

“We chose Prologis as our partner because of their deep ties in the Bay Area and their reputation for working closely with local communities on large developments,” said Cedar Fair President and CEO Richard A. Zimmerman. “For our investors, the sale and lease agreements allow us to monetize a high-value asset in the heart of Silicon Valley at a very attractive multiple. The transaction also provides us with a substantial sum of incremental capital which we intend to use to further advance our strategic priorities and generate enhanced returns for our unitholders.”

This money is being used to reduce Cedar Fair's debt.

I don't know about you, but this comes as a big surprise to me; CGA had a very elaborate masterplan only a few years ago, if I'm remembering correctly, so something must have changed drastically.