Europe coasters

Rob,

I was just using junior hyper as what I believe best describes what it actually is. Isn't Steel Eel considered a junior hyper by Morgan? That's probably where I got it from. I really don't care what Intamin calls it, I call it something I'd love to ride. I'm suprised that some of the slightly smaller parks and those with height restrictions don't build similar coasters (SFKK, SFStL, SFMW, etc...).

It seems that the "Goliath"-named rides are more about positive g-forces and less about airtime.

I am actually slightly underwhelmed by the dutch Goliath. The first drop is really lacking a few feet/meters for my taste.

The second hill offers only a short, abrupt shot of airtime. It is much steeper than the parabolic hills found on the other Intamin "mega cost rollers". It is actually astounding how the train negotiates this hill as it seems to be only a tiny bit smaller than the first drop.

I absolutely love the curve that leads into the third hill and the Stengel-dive is either sensational or blah. It really depends on your position in the train.

The rest of the ride is not the best that Intamin/Stengel have to offer. The two helices are long and jarring, while the two "EGF-Flips" lack the speed and the exitement of the original element on EGF.

The setting over water and the great headchoppers in the second helix make up for this, but I still consider Goliath to be a bit behind the Darien Lake/SFA Supermen.

BUT IF you are in Amsterdam, I would suggest to go to SFH/Walibi World before venturing to Holiday Park (which is in the middle of nowhere and has not much to offer besides EGF). SFH is not too far away from Amsterdam anyway.

There are a few other gems at this park: The great Robin Hood Woody, which is an absolute gem of a wooden coaster. It is far better than Goliath and should be rated higher in the ICP.

The open-air version of Rock n´Roller Coaster isn´t too shabby either and the chance to ride the mother of all SLCs should not be missed. ( believe it or not, this is the best SLC out there!)

OK, here's the contrary review of Goliath at SFH :)
The train really gets somehow shot down the first drop - no slow crawling there, it kicks you into some airtime right there --- the second hill had the most intense airtime moment I ever experienced on a coaster. Must have been around -1 G.
The Stengel Dive was absolutely sensational in my case, but I hated the helixes - the Gs are pretty intense, but they are much too long and made me feel nauseous.
I will never understand how such helixes could be considered "fun" elements.
The two "EGF" type flips are great though --- not as intense and popping as on EGF, but with nice airtime and a great feeling of weightlessness.

SFH is nowhere close to EGF or other intamin MEGAs, if you ask me - if it wouldn't be for the airtime portions and the Stengel Dive, it would just be useless.

Oh... BTW, I guess it must be around a 7h drive from SFH to Holiday Park.
It took 5h for me to get to SFH from Cologne .. and Holiday Park is another 2.5h from Cologne.

rollocoast - Terrorists having the freedom to hijack trains or bring weapons on them is no different than them being able to do the same thing in cars. I don't see how security is the reason there should be less trains. If it DID somehow became a serious issue and people were constantly being killed on trains, I'm sure they would increase the security. A better reason for not building trains is cost/benefit.

Goliath looks fun. I believe I said in another post there should be more steal coasters designed like wood.

RolloCoast: You are letting George Bush get to you.

Other countries have been dealing with terrorism for years. The U.S gets attacked once, and everyone goes paranoid.

I understand that there should be better security measures, but I do not think improving America's mass transit system is going to cause more terrorist attacks. More so, it will make American's lives a little easier with an alternative to driving.

The U.S.(I am Canadian) really needs to improve their continential rail system. So far AMTRAK is on the right track, but the Bush Administration needs to provide more funds.

The country doesn't have a shortage of trains, but rather a shortage on trains that transport people.

I can think of about 900 other things that should get federal money over trains, and with the republican government we have, there isn't going to be a whole lot of federal money going toward unnecessary things.

Maybe we could use the money to fix main street. Or we could build a monorail. . .

I'd like to end this with my favorite quote that offends Canadians. "Canada, the third best country in North America." - Me

Sheesh, Lewis............. how DO you get around so often? I thought I was well travelled! Glad to hear such a glowing review of Goliath. We don't hear too much about it here in the states, obviously. It doesn't get the play that EGF does, but it doesn't look like it offers up the delectable ride that EGF does either.

Count me as jealous either way. I want to go there terribly bad. I just have to wait until a few more policies go my way, I guess. ;)

Mike, I'm in agreement. I don't understand why Intamin doesn't garner more "purchase support" in the smaller parks. Granted, I understand the bottom line, which is available capital, but there are years when purchases are made, and they're typically "B&M" years. I guess B&M offers a tad more reliability per purchase. I guess I answered my own question.

If you land in Amsterdam, there are trains heading north towards the Flevoland province, where Walibi World is located.
HolidayPark is quite far away and I suggest using the "Die Bahn" website (www.diebahn.de). Most easy way to get to it. It's about 100 euro (75 dollar ?) for a 5 to 6 hour journey with both a normal train and the ICE highspeed line.
Use the Amsterdam Airport or Schiphol to Speyer or Holidaypark connection.

As for Goliath, it's a superb coaster, but as superman said:
- too fast low to the ground (the horizontal loop and the final turn are véry véry intense)
- too slow on the bückels (the zigzag hills), not fun enough

Expedition GeForce is just the best of the best. No flaws here...

Other suggestions:

• Plane to Madrid, Spain for Warner Bros. Madrid and Parque de Attraciones. And the train to Barcelona for Port Aventura.
  
• To London for Thorpe Park and train to Alton Towers.
  
• To Paris for Disneyland Paris, the Studios and Parc Astérix.

*** Edited 12/29/2004 10:06:41 AM UTC by Belgian***