why aren't we seeing more gci woodies being built?

I think that gci woodies are almost better then custom coaster internationals woodies. I think roar, wildcat and espiecially lightning racer and gwazi are excellent rides. Why do you think more parks don't install these rides???

My guess is that they take up quite a bit of space, but I agree GCI coasters are great (at least Roar is).
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Colorado Avalanche: Stanley Cup Champions!

Are CCI's cheaper?

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©Bruce's P:)sting Co.

Yes...and parks with less money, love those steel structures.

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Oops!...Ed Markey Did it Again.

I am personally not a GCI fan as of yet. The only one I have ridden has been Gwazi, and I did not like it one bit. I know alot of people here disagree with me about that one. It was just too rough. I get almost no airtime and a big headache every time I ride it. Maybe I just hit it at bad times or in the wrong cars or something. Anyone else think Gwazi is super rough?

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I'd Rather Be Riding Rollercoasters
www.mycoasters.homestead.com/mycoasters.html *** This post was edited by FloridaCoasterRider on 6/18/2001. ***

Glitch01, most of CCI's have wood structures (24 vs 10 steel).
Ah the debate of one company's product being better than the other...I won't get into that.
I don't know why CCI seems to get the approval of parks more so of late over GCI. Probably it is a money issue. You may think that CCI makes easier to maintain woodies (out and backs instead of twisters), which would be cheaper in the long run. It seems that isn't necessarily so.
The two woodies CCI built in New England are both wood structures and are excellent coasters of two different styles. Excalibur (Funtown, Saco, ME, 1995) is a twister and is a great ride thru the woods. Boulder Dash (Lake Compounce, Bristol, CT, 2000) is an out and back but it has intense laterals and one of the fastest turnarounds out there (not a helix). And they built it on a mountain, actually placed footers into rocks and boulders, and left trees all around! Not necessarily a cheap(er) way to go. Both of those coasters have much wood in their structures. And look at Shivering Timbers: how many forests were cut to build that thing?
Maybe it is a management style thing. I get the impression that CCI works very closely with the whims of the park, no matter the size and scale of the coaster being designed. Seems like their coasters are usually the ones being built as an extension of the existing topography.


*** This post was edited by MABrider on 6/18/2001. *** *** This post was edited by MABrider on 6/18/2001. ***

I've only been on Roar (SFA), and I really liked it. The thing I have to wonder is how a company can stay in business if it isn't building at least one ride per year.

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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com

Do they do anything other than build rides, such as sell trains, etc.?

The only GCI coasters I've been are Hersheypark's two (or three depending on your view of LR). I thought Lightning Racer was much better than Wildcat, which is also an incredible ride. The big difference? Trains.

With those beautiful yet freaky Millennium Flyer trains, I hope we end up seeing more GCI coasters. I'm not a laterals fan, but those trains make me think I should be.

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Matt Lynch
Co-Webmaster, Kennywood Boulevard
http://kennywood.coasterbuzz.com

GCI has done work on other coasters than their own recently. (Just as CCI has done work on many coasters that they didn't build.)

Also, First Drop magazine reported that GCI signed a huge deal with Mack (I think it was, if not, it was another overseas company) to be represented in Europe and Asia. Watch out for GCI coasters sprouting up all over the world soon.

- Peabody

I *LOVE* Gwazi. I really think its the best ride in that park. I wasn't really sure what laterals were until I rode this, and I was skeptical that anything could be better than airtime, but I was wrong. Especially on Tiger, you fly through the turns in the middle of the ride. Towards the end of my trip though, I had to avoid it. Its not too inviting when you have a headache. *** This post was edited by scanz on 6/18/2001. ***

i think it would be really awesome if we saw gci make a recreation (toned down of corse) version of the thunderbolt (i think that's the name) at coney island. Just a thought.

And also i think the millennium flyer trains are the best wooden coaster coaches out there. Alough i haven't riden it, lightning racer also looks like one of the most fun woodies out there. I really wish more parks would consider having a gci thrown into the mix becuase they are really nice (not to mention beautiful) rides.

After riding 3 GCI coasters, Roar, Wildcat, and Lightning Racer, I definitely believe the world should install more GCI coasters.

The GCI coasters put a twister coaster to a new level. Typically what in the past was deemed twister was the cyclone style coaster. But their coasters seem to feature even more twisting, crossing and wonderful higher banked curves. This gives parks a new type of wood coaster to install without duplicating something they already have, especially if they opt with the duelling type. These are without a doubt some of the most outstanding coasters to look at. I didn't think twists like that could be done with wood!

I went to Hershey earlier this month, and rode both Wildcat and Lightning Racer. They were both the unanimous favorites of everyone in my group (including two teenagers who usually prefer steel to wood).

I live in Chicago, and think it would be terrific to see a GCI creation pop up in these parts.

i would like to see a gci at six flags darien lake (racing dueling) that would be cool.

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"who needs drugs when you have coasters...they're like a natural high"

GCI is a much smaller operation than CCI. They have averaged only one coaster (or one dual coaster) per year, I think that is all that they can handle. I don't know for sure why 2001 is GCI-less. I LOVED Roar West, it is the second best woodie on the West Coast!

Maybe BGW will go with GCI for their first wooden?

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"X" marks the spot in 2001!

I've been on 4 GCIs: both Roars, Wildcat, and Lightning Racer, and have found them to be nowhere near as good as CCI. They are mostly curves with a significant lack of airtime.

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http://www.bolliger-mabillard.com

Yeah, I wondered why they aren't making anything either. I thought Roar west was awesome. I don't look for only airtime in a coaster, though, so I loved it. I hope they put something new on the west coast soon!

Perhaps they should do a remake (not exact copy) of the Crystal Beach Cyclone. Tone it down slightly and run their Millenium Flyer trains on it. *** This post was edited by boblogone on 6/20/2001. ***