A few years ago, the 20 Year Plan for California's Great America was released. This shows the tentative ideas for what may be added to CGA, and it is packed with tons of information. I think that not enough people are speculating about what CGA may be adding, so I would like to do that.
Hyper Coaster:
The first thing that they describe is a Hyper Coaster. They showed a picture of Diamondback at Kings Island. They say that it will be 250 Feet Tall, which is near the exact height of Shambhala at PortAventura. I think that this ride will be something similar to Shambhala, if it is from Bolliger and Mabillard.
Something I want to note is that, in 1997, California's Great America and D.H. Morgan Manufacturing (a company known for Steel Force, Phantom's Revenge, and Steel Dragon 200) were working together to build a 200 foot tall Hyper Coaster. Its station would be elevated 100 Feet, but plans fell through. While the elevated station makes no sense, I think they may buy a Chance Rides Hyper (Chance Rides now owns D.H. Morgan) since Chance Rides still makes Hyper Coasters. Since the success of Lightning Run at Kentucky Kingdom, I think that Cedar Fair may be willing to add more Chance/Morgan Hypers.
Launch Coaster:
The Master Plan states that this ride is close to 225 Feet tall and 70 Miles per Hour. It is said to use Linear Induction Motors and it is said to take up a small footprint. This same description applies to an Intamin Impulse Coaster. The photo on the document shows Wicked Twister at Cedar Point, making some people believe that it could be a relocation of Wicked Twister. I think that is incorrect. I think that they were just giving an idea. Who knows if Intamin even makes Impulse Coasters anymore? I think that they would rather go with a more reliable option: Buying an upscale version of Turbo Track at Ferrari World.
Turbo Track is 215 feet tall and 63.4 Miles per Hour. I think that they would increase the height, increase the speed, and give it an original theme, but it would be a near exact clone, otherwise.
Family Rides:
Under "Family Rides", they list 2 coasters. The first one is listed as "Mini Steel Coaster". The way they describe it, it sounds like a Vekoma or S&S Family Suspended coaster. I think that it will be a Vekoma Suspended Family Coaster with its own custom layout. They show Flying Ace Aerial Chase at Kings Island as a reference, so that makes me thing more that it will be a Vekoma. It could be a clone of Flying Ace Aerial Chase, but I doubt it. They actually confirm that it will be called "Aerial Chase", which makes me think that it will be a similar model to the clones at some Cedar Fair parks, but I think that they'll go for an original layout, as those clones were added by Paramount.
They also mention a wooden family coaster. For this, they show Woodstock Express at Kings Island. This would make me think that it would be a PTC wooden coaster, but PTC hadn't made a new coaster for 40 years before this 20 year plan was made, so I doubt that they will make a new coaster out of nowhere. They list the height of the ride being 35-40 feet, so that makes me think of The Gravity Group. They make family coasters at similar heights, so I predict a Wooden Coaster similar to Wooden Warrior at Quassy.
Wood Roller Coaster:
When I first saw this and the stats, I thought it was referring to Gold Striker, so I originally would have left it off this list. However, the 20 year plan was written 3 years after Gold Striker was opened, so I think that this is another wooden coaster. The coaster is listed as being around 100 feet. I think that this rules out an RMC Topper Track Wooden Coaster, as those are meant to be close to 200 feet. Because they already have Gold Striker and the Wooden Family Coaster, I doubt this would be a GCI, however, it is listed as an Out-and-Back Wooden Coaster. Gravity Group only makes out-and-back family coasters. GCI would have already built 2 similar coasters, and I doubt that they would do it again. This leaves the option I think is most likely: Intamin. While Cedar Fair hasn't ever installed an Intamin Prefabricated Wooden Coaster, I think they might be willing to. With El Toro, T-Express, Colossus, and Balder all having amazing reviews, I think that Cedar Fair may give it a try. El Toro is an Out-and-Back coaster, so it makes some sense. El Toro was widely considered the best coaster in the world until Steel Vengeance was opened. I think that Cedar Fair wants to add another coaster people will be considering the best in the world, and an Intamin Prefab will do just that.
Final Thoughts:
I feel like I should mention that they may add more coasters than just this. For example, RailBlazer wasn't on the original 5 year plan. I feel that they might also RMC Grizzly.
We may see more than just what is mentioned. The 20 year plan was originally published on September 8, 2016. If they add 6 new coasters over the course of 20 years, that means they will add coasters on an approximate 3-4 Year Basis.
I think that they will add an Intamin Prefab in 2022, a B&M Hyper in 2024, the Family Suspended Coaster in 2027, the Family wooden Coaster in 2030, and the Intamin Launch coaster in 2034.
I think that, overall, California's Great America has a bright future ahead of it, so I think that people should look forward to the future of this growing Cedar Fair Park. With more attention in that area, in general, I think that CGA may get more attention than even Kings Island or Carowinds. Let's look to the future of this park and think about what will come. Think about how big of a park this is.
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