California's Great America 2018 - Railblazer RMC Raptor

[Paradox]

Just after 1am on the morning of January 25th, 2017, the Santa Clara City Council unanimously approved the 20-year master plan for California???s Great America. The plan includes an outside-the-park shopping district known as Great America Marketplace, along with a rezoning of the park from Thoroughfare Commercial (CT) to Commercial Development (CD) that would increase the park???s maximum ride height limit of to 250???. Below is a direct quote from pp. 6-7 of the meeting packet describing what exactly the Santa Clara City Council approved

D. Great America Theme Park, 1 Great America Parkway (also 4701 Great America Parkway) ??? approximately 112-acre site:

Adoption of a Resolution to certify an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and adopt California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Findings and a Statement of Overriding
Considerations and the Mitigation Monitoring or Reporting Program (MMRP), and
Adoption of a Resolution to approve the rezoning from Thoroughfare Commercial (CT) to Planned Development (PD) to allow development of a Park Master Plan project that would continue to allow existing attractions, rides and operating practices and would provide flexibility to allow the development of new rides and replacement of rides and attractions, extension of the operating season, modified operating practices, additional hours of operation, and construction of a year-round commercial/entertainment district that would comprise up to 250,000 square feet of building space (100,000 new square feet beyond existing) that would be open to the general public outside of the theme park gates of the Great America Theme Park and amphitheater, subject to Master PD Zoning Use and Development Standards and conditions of approval.
A rough idea of the Great America Marketplace can be seen in the below concept rendering as found on p. 898 of the meeting packet.

HYPE

IS

F*CKING

REAL

Wow they're really making "good" progress! Like step 0.5 out of 100!

[Paradox]

According to this permit, CGA has applied for a 100 foot tall coaster.

RMC Raptor confirmed!!!

^ Maybe we'll see Kilolite coaster coming which is a tad smaller than Megalite lol!

Damn, what happened to the 245 ft one? I hope that's still in the works.

^ The era of "Bigger is better." is already over - tiny or "compact" layouts, they rock!

Jcoasters wrote:

Damn, what happened to the 245 ft one? I hope that's still in the works.

I'm just guessing that big hyper is still a few years away, hopefully after they reap the benefits of a few smaller additions to boost attendance.

[Paradox]

[Mikey]

Mystic Timbers clone.

but they already have a better gci

That video doesn't show it, but the other side of the marker reads SR1. Based on everything that could stand for, I've got a feeling this coaster will likely be themed to driving along CA-1 when something goes terribly wrong. Also, I think there's a fair to good chance it may be a RMC Raptor (Single Rail One).

[Paradox]

Or it could be a clone of Sky Rocket at Kennywood which is a "sky rocket 1" model.

^ Oh not bad at all! It's still a great launch coaster!

[Paradox]

So it seems we know where the name Railblazer is going.

OMG I'm so glad it's not going to Mean Streak lol

Two questions:
1. where was this found
2. If the date on the bottom of the picture is for an announcement and anyone is going to be at the announcement can someone please PM me as i have a favor to ask!

^this was sent out to the media list.

^^ Do the Rocky Mountains in the image above, imply RMC? Clearly shown! +

^ Yep. Either CF is trolling again, or CGA is getting the Raptor coaster.

[Paradox]

Hopefully RMC Grizzly.

Yes, they're clearing land in the center of the park so they can do RMC Grizzly

In all seriousness I wish they would, but I'm optimistic whatever they actually do build won't disappoint.

[Paradox]

Coming in 2018
California???s Great America will introduce a groundbreaking new single rail steel coaster, RailBlazer, for the 2018 season. RailBlazer will be the first coaster of its kind on the West Coast featuring a single rail track throughout; the design requires the rider to straddle the rail, creating an extremely low center of gravity that amplifies every move and enables more dynamic turns and rotations than have ever been possible on a coaster. With an eight-passenger single file train hugging the rail, the coaster will give riders an unobstructed view of the ground and air as they speed smoothly over the twisting track.

A Revolutionary Roller Coaster Concept
RailBlazer will lift riders to a height of 106 feet before plunging them face down at a 90-degree angle. Throughout the 1,800 feet of track, riders will travel 52 miles per hour, experience an abundance of airtime and steeply banked turns, undertake three inversions and twist through a zero gravity roll.

???RailBlazer is a revolutionary roller coaster concept that will be an intense and exhilarating ride experience for our guests,??? said Raul Rehnborg, vice president and general manager, California???s Great America. ???In addition, it marks the company???s initial investment in the park following the City of Santa Clara???s approval this year of the new park master plan, and kicks off a multi-year transformation of California???s Great America into a world-class destination for everyone in the Bay Area and beyond.???

An Immersive, Off-Road Adventure
The design spirit of the ride is reflective of an off-road adventure, with immersive sensory theming that embraces the great outdoors of the Bay Area and Central Coast. Once on board, riders will ascend a 45-degree climb, dive into a ravine and encounter steeped embankments representing an extreme four-wheeling journey. Imposing physical elements during the ride and queue line include a natural waterway, rocky surroundings and a trailhead marquee sign designed to mark the beginning of the journey. The unique design of RailBlazer will include a silent rollback lift hill that eliminates the traditional sounds of the train moving up the track.