Santa Clara - Gold Striker began with a soft opening, promotions and 
other events, to publicize the ride.  Gold Striker features an old West 
theme.  The ride is 108 feet tall.  When Gold Striker opened in 2013 it 
had been one of the most anticipated additions to California Great 
America in the park's history.  Gold Striker reaches speeds of up to 54 
miles-per-hour and a maximum fifty-degree angle.  Gold Striker is 3,200 
feet long and lasts over two minutes.  Gold Striker is California Great 
America's eighth roller coaster and is located in the Celebration Plaza 
area, it wraps around Star Tower, with views overlooking the new 49ers 
stadium.  The roller coaster is  California Great America's wooden, 
chain-lifted (versus launched) coaster with a maximum height of  108 
feet and a maximum drop of 103 feet.  Gold Striker has a top speed of 
53.7 miles per hour and length of 3,197 feet, with a ride length of two 
minutes and thirteen seconds.  Gold Striker is the first roller coaster 
built at California Great America since 2001.  Trains are 12 cars with 
two across seating, for a total of 24 riders per train.
     When
 opened Gold  Striker was the tallest and fastest wooden roller coaster 
in Northern California.  Gold Striker is a wooden, twisting, coaster 
that features, an eighty-degree banked curve, and a station fly-by.  The
 name Gold Striker was chosen to recognize the pioneering and 
adventurous spirit of the California gold seekers who rushed the area in
 1849.  California Great America is an amusement park owned and operated
 by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company.  California Great America is one 
of four major amusement parks that operate around the Bay Area.  
California Great America is the only amusement park in Northern 
California that has a water park within the park grounds.  According to 
Wikipedia, a permit was issued to Cedar Fair Entertainment Company in 
May 2012.  Cedar Fair filed a trademark for the name Gold Striker.  Gold
 Striker was officially announced on August 29, 2012, as being the 
tallest and fastest wooden roller coaster in Northern California.  
Representatives of the San Francisco 49ers were on hand at the ceremony,
 since the ride is themed and named after what built the city of San 
Francisco, the California Gold Rush.  February 20, 2013, California 
Great America announced the first drop will be fully enclosed, setting 
the record for world's longest initial drop tunnel on a wooden coaster. 
 March 6, 2013, the park announced it would be holding a, first rider, 
auction for Gold Striker.  The public could spend money to be first to 
ride until April 28, 2013.  However, California Great America made it possible for the public to 
take some early rides on April 30, 2013, while a commercial for the park
 was being done.  Gold Striker officially opened June 1, 2013.
   See full story, www.greatamericaparks.com   
         
 
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