Gold Striker • California's Great America

It obviously has not been maintained so it’s just painful no matter where you sit. I generally love GCI but this desperately needs new lumber. I haven’t felt this much pain on a wood coaster since Roa...

It obviously has not been maintained so it’s just painful no matter where you sit. I generally love GCI but this desperately needs new lumber. I haven’t felt this much pain on a wood coaster since Roar at Six Flags America.

This GCI woodie is an awesome coaster. Right after the first drop you are mainly somewhat low to the ground hitting turns and airtime hills all with excelent pacing. The only thing holding this back i...

This GCI woodie is an awesome coaster. Right after the first drop you are mainly somewhat low to the ground hitting turns and airtime hills all with excelent pacing. The only thing holding this back is the rattle. I personaly dont think the restraints are necessarily uncomfortable either.

As of right now, this is my favorite woodie. It was very nice airtime and aggressive banking which was flying me around. The banked covered first drop was great in the back row. The pacing was phenome...

As of right now, this is my favorite woodie. It was very nice airtime and aggressive banking which was flying me around. The banked covered first drop was great in the back row. The pacing was phenomenal and held the speed and intensity throughout the whole ride. The one big thing was the roughness, which wasn’t horrible but it could definitely be improved. Still not enough to affect where I rank this in my lineup. Between this, RailBlazer, and Flight Deck, the park has a very good top 3

This one was a total surprise to me. Probably the most intense wooden coaster I have done so far. Great pacing, the first drop in the tunnel is fun, and you get absolutely launched out of your seat at...

This one was a total surprise to me. Probably the most intense wooden coaster I have done so far. Great pacing, the first drop in the tunnel is fun, and you get absolutely launched out of your seat at times. Pretty rough in some spots though.

Gold Striker is an awesome wooden roller coaster. The first drop is great, as it is completely enclosed by a tunnel. The ride has great intensity and pacing, which is mainly because of the amazing lat...

Gold Striker is an awesome wooden roller coaster. The first drop is great, as it is completely enclosed by a tunnel. The ride has great intensity and pacing, which is mainly because of the amazing laterals and twisted layout. Also, this coaster gives legendary night rides. However, there are some potholes in the track that causes rattle, even after the recent retrack.

I have rode goldstriker over 70 times, and every time has been pure bliss. This is for sure a back row ride, don't let a front row ride in the morning fool you. In the summer this thing flies, and you...

I have rode goldstriker over 70 times, and every time has been pure bliss. This is for sure a back row ride, don't let a front row ride in the morning fool you. In the summer this thing flies, and you can't see anything when it is pitch black outside. A must ride at the park, and a top 50 coaster in the world

Great woodie, awesome first drop, feels like it's going much faster than it should be able to. The only fly in the ointment in the rattle, which is quite pronounced, even after the re-tracking. Perhap...

Great woodie, awesome first drop, feels like it's going much faster than it should be able to. The only fly in the ointment in the rattle, which is quite pronounced, even after the re-tracking. Perhaps this is affected by seating position, as I only rode this at the back.

After the re-track, this ride is still extremely intense, but it’s definitely a little less uncomfortable. For me, riding Gold Striker at night is up there for best ever night ride on a coaster. It’s ...

After the re-track, this ride is still extremely intense, but it’s definitely a little less uncomfortable. For me, riding Gold Striker at night is up there for best ever night ride on a coaster. It’s just so relentless in the dark. 5 stars. With the news that Great America is closing, I’m more emotionally attached to it, because I know it’s temporary. That probably helps it’s ranking too. Ride it while you can, ride after dark when you can, and the back is the best!

Un excellent wooden ! Le meilleur que j'ai pu faire à ce jour. Il détruit facilement nos gci européens pour les avoir presque tous ridés ! Je ne comprend absolument pas qu'il soit rank aussi bas, auc...

Un excellent wooden ! Le meilleur que j'ai pu faire à ce jour. Il détruit facilement nos gci européens pour les avoir presque tous ridés ! Je ne comprend absolument pas qu'il soit rank aussi bas, aucunes vibrations et bien plus confortable que les autres gci, les airtimes sont presque des ejectors et la vitesse ne faiblit pas !

Got my first ride back in June of this year and loved it. I think this has to be one of the top three GCI’s in North America. It has a few good airtime spots and great pacing. Only downfall is it is a...

Got my first ride back in June of this year and loved it. I think this has to be one of the top three GCI’s in North America. It has a few good airtime spots and great pacing. Only downfall is it is a bit rough as well as very loud. My ears were ringing after a mini marathon.

I rode this two times in the back row, and I was pretty impressed. GCI did a great job with this coaster. The pacing is great and the first drop in the back row is excellent. The layout is fantastic w...

I rode this two times in the back row, and I was pretty impressed. GCI did a great job with this coaster. The pacing is great and the first drop in the back row is excellent. The layout is fantastic with plenty of airtime and fun moments. All around, it is a great coaster that is intense and just plain fun to ride. The intensity comes from the violent dips and turns, which in my opinion makes it better. Great woody! Only downfall is that it can be a little rough in certain spots, but I think that it adds to the intensity more than actually hurting the experience.

This is probably my favorite wooden coaster I've ridden so far, and I'm not normally a wooden coaster person. This thing HAULS. I love the forces you experience riding it and it's extremely smooth for...

This is probably my favorite wooden coaster I've ridden so far, and I'm not normally a wooden coaster person. This thing HAULS. I love the forces you experience riding it and it's extremely smooth for what it is. It's definitely fun from the front--super enjoyable to see the surrounding track whizz by as you go--but the back man, the back. The trains are extremely long (9 cars/18 seats) so riding in the back is like experiencing a whole different ride. The intensity just slams by comparison. It absolutely WHIPS you over that first hill and THROWS you around every turn. There's lots of great airtime and it's just a joy to experience. Highly recommended.

Ride's gotten noticeably rougher and darker brown since the glossy opening-year experience but wow, Gold Striker gets me every time. That little bunny hill before the final banked turn is delightfully...

Ride's gotten noticeably rougher and darker brown since the glossy opening-year experience but wow, Gold Striker gets me every time. That little bunny hill before the final banked turn is delightfully forceful. Proud to have this at my home park :)

I am going to be honest and say I was disappointed by this coaster. Before I went to CGA this past summer, this was hyped up to be a top tier GCI with awesome pacing and airtime. While I agree with th...

I am going to be honest and say I was disappointed by this coaster. Before I went to CGA this past summer, this was hyped up to be a top tier GCI with awesome pacing and airtime. While I agree with that first description, the latter is what let me down. I did not get any good airtime on my ride (even on a warm day). The pacing was fast, and that was great, but the only forces I felt were some decent laterals, but no strong positive or negative Gs. I will admit that I only got one ride, so I am looking forward to going back and riding this more because I want to love this ride!

Really fun GCI woodie that hauls through its layout from start to finish. The tunneled first drop along with few other great near miss elements, along with some really intense but smooth sections, ma...

Really fun GCI woodie that hauls through its layout from start to finish. The tunneled first drop along with few other great near miss elements, along with some really intense but smooth sections, make this a pretty memorable ride. Definitely one of the best woodies on the West Coast.