10 easy ways to enhance your Goliath ride!!!

10.) Keep the lap bar about 3-5 inches from your lap.  Anymore and you could fly out.

9.) Help out the ride ops if you are riding alone, close the one next to  you to help out load time.

8.)KEEP YOUR HANDS UP even in that tunnel dont worry you wont hit it.

7.) Smile smile smile

6.) if riding with some on make sure they are scared to death.

5.) Half  way up the lift turn your head around and yell  at the people in the back make sure their hands are up.

4.) Buy that on ride photo

3.) Hold on to the lap bar on the camel back if you followed number 10.

2.)Ride in the back and front.  Its worth the wait for the front.

1.) When riding with some one try and punch them in the helix.  Trust me you cant do it., but its funny to see their face when your fist starts going towards them and then slowly going back.  You be out of breath but wasnt that worth it.

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Hart High. Indian Pride.

Goliath is my #2 all-time steelie, beating out MF, AC, and Nitro.  Can't wait to get back to SFMM and try this coaster again.  BTW, re: #9, all riders should do what they can to try and speed up dispatches - more rides for everybody!  The only coasters I've ridden that are harder to keep your hands up throughout are the Schwarzkopf shuttle-loopers...the positive Gs in that helix are INCREDIBLE!
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PoTP acolyte - remove fear to reply
Son of Drop Zone - PKI CoasterCamp I Champions!!!

Yup, i was very skeptical of Goliath, but it really is a masterpiece.  I know a lot of other ohioans/southerners/east coaste people like me are still really skeptical, but i'll tell you what, this thing blows every B&M speed coaster i've ridden out of the water. 
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*** This post was edited by ravenguy98 on 1/16/2002. ***

Well, I flew to San Diego last year, and then from there convinced my relatives to make the 2-hour-plus drive from there to SFMM, only to find that Goliath was closed all day.  I didn't care about any other rides because I had been there in 1998. 

Honestly, that ranks up there as only one of two regrets in my life, the regret being that we didn't go to Knott's Berry Farm instead (and the other is non-coaster related).

So anyway, back to the topic at hand, I wish I would have gotten to try out some of your suggestions!

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You can't spell "dishonorable" without "honorable."

Thanks for the tips. I'll try anything to make Goliath more enjoyable. I wasn't impressed in the least. Nice first drop, but otherwise, it's clunky. It's suprisingly short, too, considering its height.

Give me a Superman from DL, SFA or SFNE any day.

Love Goliath. Smooth, fast and intense. After 100+ rides on it I still haven't tired on it. Front seat rides are the absolute best.Your suggestions are good ones, I've done about eight out of ten.
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"Conviction is a luxury for those who sit on the sidelines"-A Beautiful Mind(best film of 2001)

*** This post was edited by DWeaver on 1/16/2002. ***

Clunky?  Explain. 

*** This post was edited by ravenguy98 on 1/16/2002. ***

Here's a tip... Pray before the final helix.. Pray that you don't black out...
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It's conflict that shows who a person really is!

Not to rain on this Goliath "love thread", but I did numbers 10, 8, 7, 6, 4, 3 and 2 and found it to be my least favorite hypercoaster. Just my opinion!

Goliath has always gotten mixed reviews, it's just different from the rest. The emphesis is not on airtime but speed and high banked turns. Different strokes, I love the ride personally.

BTW, check out Giovanola's site under Amusement rides!

http://www.giovanola.ch/

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"Conviction is a luxury for those who sit on the sidelines"-A Beautiful Mind(best film of 2001)

Wow, I didn't realize people actually like this coaster that much, other than SoCal enthusiast (no offense in that remark, that's just usually the only group I see glowing about this ride).

While it's not my least favorite hyper (Wild Thing), it's probably second or third least favorite.  All three Beemers are [miles, light years, unbelievably] better than Big G, not to mention all four Intamin designs. 

LOL, other than Wild Thing, I can't think of a worse hyper.  I'd rather ride the two Arrows or the other three Morgan hypers instead.  Even Titan, with its extra helix is better, but not by much.

Not to say I didn't like it the first two times I rode it -- I actually loved it!  I rode it seven more times (hey, the line was hellashort and I had been on everything else a million times) and with each passing ride enjoyed it less and less.  One of the only coasters that's ever done that to me, I honestly don't know what it was.

The first drop is surprisingly good, the second drop is neat and the third hill really launches you!  But after that, there is zero (and I mean zero) airtime, and for me, a great hyper will mix airtime with different forces throughout the entire ride.  Goliath doesn't do that, unfortunately.

I guess it just ain't my cup of tea, but you'll still see me riding it come March...after all, it's still a 235' tall coaster.  :)

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"That's BS you MF! They're WT!" -- CP's R&D team

Well, there is something to that So-Cal connection to Goliath, mainly because there isn't another hyper to compare it to, and far more Eastcoasters travel West than visa versa. But I think it mainly comes down to what you mentioned, lack of airtime hills which for some people is unforgivable in a hyper. So I can see how a B&M or Intamin might be more appealing. S:ROS is my favorite hyper precisely for this reason. Still, for what Goliath is, the forces this thing throws at you more than makes up for the lack of air, at least in my mind.
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"Conviction is a luxury for those who sit on the sidelines"-A Beautiful Mind(best film of 2001)

*** This post was edited by DWeaver on 1/16/2002. ***

It's funny how people's opinions vary on coasters.  I personally loved Goliath and although I don't keep a personal favorites list, it would rank near the top.  It offers some great airtime in the beginning of the ride and then some extreme lateral forces at the end of the ride.  Best of both worlds in my opinion, although it would be better if the elements were more mixed together (air hill, laterals, air hill, laterals, etc.. instead of air, air, air and then laterals galore to finish up).  The layout could be better and I felt it was lacking in some areas, but then again there aren't many coasters that you can't say that about.  But back to my first statement, why complain about these coasters for what they don't have, enjoy them for what they do have.  Almost every other hyper out there are just air time machines, this one (and a couple of others) offer a different take on the hyper coaster.  It still provides some air, but that isn't it's calling card.  If you think about it, SFMM has very little airtime on it's coasters.  Collosus is a shell of it's former self (supposedly, but I believe it) and I found almost no airtime on it.  Psyclone gets NO good comments about it.  And the rest are steel loopers for the most part.  Now there is airtime on almost every coaster made, but SFMM doesn't have an airtime machine.  With that in mind, it is kind of a shame that their hyper isn't an airtime monster, and maybe the overall lack of airtime is a reason people wish Goliath was something that it's not.  But I love it for what it is.

*** This post was edited by Incidentalist on 1/16/2002. ***

Are you sure you think Goliath has *laterals* and not *intense positive G's*?  I found no laterals to mention, let alone "extreme lateral forces" that you mention.

In fact, I could almost see it as impossible to have laterals on Goliath's ending, seeing as how banked the track is.

Did you mean positive G's instead of laterals then, Incidentalist?  If so, I completely agree with you, Goliath has a ton of those. :)

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"That's BS you MF! They're WT!" -- CP's R&D team

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Chad said:
"Thanks for the tips. I'll try anything to make Goliath more enjoyable. I wasn't impressed in the least. Nice first drop, but otherwise, it's clunky. It's suprisingly short, too, considering its height.

Give me a Superman from DL, SFA or SFNE any day."

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Ditto.

I would also add, give ME a ride on Nitro, MF, Superman SFA, or Magnum any day of the week.

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Did I mention, that I like coasters...

Legendary, I am quite certain that Incidentalist was refering to the immense positive G's that are on the final helix. However, the point where the train turns into the mid-course brakes does have a quick but hearty lateral G-force (especially in the front seats).

For those of you wondering, Goliath really has only one great hill with airtime. So if airtime is all you seek, then Goliath is not for you. But it is THE SMOOTHEST running coaster on Earth (IMO), and the helix is amazing. The first drop into the mist filled abyss is great too, along with the ultra high first turnaround.

I am under the impression by the amount of braking in the middle that this coaster could've easily supported twice the length of track that it was layed out with. I hope to see other Giovanola hypers in the future. Although I will admit that Goliath's layout is somewhat sub-par, the design and engineering of the ride (track and train) sets it above most others. I rank Millenium Force as heads and shoulders above all others, but cant help but wonder what a Giovanola coaster (just like Golaith) would be like if it had the EXACT same layout as Millenium Force.......

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My other car is a Giovanola!

What I like about the Giovanola rolling stock and track is how beautifully smooth and free from vibrations it is. Your right, it's the smoothest coaster I have ever ridden. An incredible piece of engineering from Gio. I'm also quite interested to see what they could do with an S:ROS type layout.(drooling as I type).  ;)
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Have you ever considered that it may not be the park that's the problem, but YOU???

Well, I have never been on either of the Giovanola big boys, but I have heard nothing but good things from my local coaster buds, so I just can't wait to try one.

It would be nice to see one of these at SFWOA

Oh, God, no, please let the SFWoA hyper be the rumored Intamin version!

For every Gio built, it's another B&M or Intamin lost. :(

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"That's BS you MF! They're WT!" -- CP's R&D team

Ahhhh...yes, Goliath, my very first hyper. Come to think of it, my only one. I've done #2-10 on IntaminAG1@school's list...although at #9, I try to go one step further if I'm going alone, I try to find another single rider so the seat doesn't go empty. And I'm notorious for making first time riders scared to death on this ride.

You have to love Goliath for what it is. It lacks airtime which I guess most hypers ought to have. But it's a positive-g machine throughout the second half, and you can't help but love that helix. And on top of that, it's smooth all throughout. The layout may not be the best, but maybe they were opting for something different (who knows). All I can say is that it's short but sweet.

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Off season too long...can't go on...must ride coaster...