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Gold Striker
Wood Twister at California's Great America, Santa Clara, California. Opened 2013.
- Height
- 108 ft
- Drop
- n/a
- Top speed
- 54 mph
- Length
- 3,197 ft
- Inversions
- 0
- Ride time
- 2 min 30 s
- Designer
- Great Coasters International
Gold Striker is a wooden roller coaster at California's Great America in Santa Clara, California, themed to the California Gold Rush. It was designed by Jeff Pike and built by Great Coasters International. RCDB gives a height of 108.2 feet, a top speed of 53.7 mph, a track length of 3,197 feet and a ride time of 2 minutes 30 seconds, with two trains of 12 cars that seat 24 riders each. The first drop runs through a tunnel that the park calls the longest initial descent tunnel on any wooden coaster. Riders must be at least 48 inches tall.
History
Gold Striker opened to the public on May 31, 2013 and cost about $10 million. In early July 2013 it was closed for a few days after nearby offices complained that riders' screams exceeded the city's noise limits; it reopened on July 4 with a second, 70-foot tunnel. The park says the coaster has been named a top-10 wooden coaster in Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Awards every year since it opened.
Sources
- sixflags.com/cagreatamerica/attractions/gold-striker (Park page: Gold Striker, wooden coaster; longest initial descent tunnel on any wooden coaster; Golden Ticket Awards top 10 wooden coaster every year since launch; debut 2013; Great Coasters International; 48-inch minimum height.)
- rcdb.com/10857.htm (RCDB: Gold Striker, California's Great America, operating; Great Coasters International, custom; length 3,197 ft, height 108.2 ft, 53.7 mph, 0 inversions, duration 2:30; designer Jeff Pike; 2 trains of 12 cars, 24 riders.)
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_Striker (Opened May 31, 2013 (soft opening April 30); GCI, designer Jeff Pike; 108.2 ft, drop 103.3 ft, 53.7 mph, 3,197 ft, 2:30; 174-ft first-drop tunnel; closed July 1, 2013 over noise and reopened July 4 with a 70-ft tunnel; cost $10,000,000.)
Numbers are from the ride's manufacturer and park where published; "n/a" means we have not confirmed that number yet. Spotted an error? Tell us.