Osvaldo Castillo
El Observador

The Great America theme park has been a landmark in the South Bay for several years and has entertained families for generations with its various rides and attractions.

This Spring, the theme park will be debuting its new ride, the Gold Striker, which will be Northern California’s tallest and fastest wooden coaster.

“We’ve been planning a signature addition to California’s Great America for quite some time and we felt this would be the perfect complement to our family of coasters,” says Roger Ross, Public Relations Manager at California’s Great America. “Gold Striker pays homage to California’s history and the role gold played, specifically in Northern California. The coaster’s logo features a gold miner, complete with a pick axe and mining lantern.”

Great Coasters International, which Ross considers to be a world-class company with an incredible reputation in the wooden coaster business, is constructing the Gold Striker.

Ross believes that wood coasters provide nostalgia harkening back to the early coaster rides, and are always a family favorite. They possess a unique element that separates them from their steel counterparts.

“When completed, Gold Striker will be the tallest and fastest wooden coaster in Northern California. It will feature an iconic drop of more than 100 feet that bends around the Star Tower observation deck, with speeds nearing 54 miles per hour,” Ross says. “Multiple banks of 85 degrees will make riders feel as though they are perpendicular to the ground, and the 3,197 feet of track will last more than two heart-pounding minutes.

Though it is a new ride, the riders still must be at least 48 inches tall in order to ride it.

Guests entering California’s Great America will find Gold Striker’s entrance to the right of the famous Carousel Columbia, the world’s tallest double Decker carousel. The new entrance to Star Tower will walk guests directly under Gold Striker.

Fans of the parks other wooden ride, The Grizzly, will not have to worry about the Gold Striker being its replacement.

“A long-time favorite at California’s Great America, The Grizzly will remain part of the park’s collection of thrilling coaster rides,” Ross says.