Great Coasters International

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Great Coasters International, Inc. (GCI or GCII) is a Sunbury, Pennsylvania-based roller coaster manufacturer which has created several award-winning rides since its formation in 1994. Starting in 2006 with Thunderbird at PowerPark in Finland, the company expanded beyond the United States and began building coasters in Europe and Asia. Günter Engelhardt GmbH handles the company's marketing rights in Europe. In addition to building new roller coasters, GCI also refurbishes and re-tracks existing roller coasters, regardless of manufacturer.

Since its founding in 2014, American company Skyline Attractions has provided its design and engineering services to GCI and now designs and engineers all of GCI's roller coasters.[1][2] The coasters are known for their often curved drops, twisted layouts, and perception of high speed. Exciting elements such as the station fly-by and station fly-through have been incorporated in many of their layouts.

History

GCI was founded in 1994 by Mike Boodley and Clair Hain, Jr. Boodley was a coaster designer previously with Custom Coasters International and Hain had gained a reputation throughout the industry as a master coaster builder. In 1996, the firm opened Wildcat at Hersheypark which contained many of the signature elements the firm would soon become known for: tight sweeping curves, reminiscent of designs from the turn of the century by such noted coaster designers as Fred Church and Harry Traver. In 2005, Boodley retired and assigned Jeff Pike with the responsibility as lead designer for the firm. The first coaster that Pike is credited with is the Kentucky Rumbler at Beech Bend Park near Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Though GCI is capable of re-tracking roller coasters, they have not conducted many re-tracking projects. One of their most notable re-trackings was in 2016 for GhostRider at Knott's Berry Farm.

In November 2019 at an after party during the IAAPA convention, the company revealed a steel track prototype.[3] The track is designed and engineered by Skyline Attractions and was later named Titan Track.[4] The first installation of the track was a test section on White Lightning at Fun Spot America in September 2020.[5]

Millennium Flyer trains

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File:Toverland Troy.jpg
Troy at Toverland is one of GCI's roller coasters that runs Millennium Flyer trains

Most GCI-designed roller coasters run with in-house–designed articulated Millennium Flyer trains. The only exception is Roar at Six Flags America, which runs with Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters–designed trains, Gwazi at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (This coaster has since been converted to an RMC I-box hybrid coaster, Iron Gwazi) and GCI's first roller coaster, Wildcat (which was also converted to an RMC I-box, Wildcat's Revenge) at Hersheypark, also operated with PTC trains when they first opened, but both coasters were later modified to run with the Millennium Flyer trains. In 2016, when GCI retracked GhostRider, a Custom Coasters International wooden coaster at Knott's Berry Farm, they provided new Millennium Flyer trains. The following year, Wildcat at Lake Compounce also received Millennium Flyer trains, even though the coaster was made by Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters or PTC.

These trains are known for their cushioned seats, allowing riders to be comfortable during rides. These trains also contain individual lap bars which automatically lower and lock into a position to accommodate the rider, allowing quicker dispatch times. With their easily identified open, gate-like fronts, usually customized with the logo for the respective ride on which they are running, Millennium Flyer trains are styled similarly to trains seen during the golden age of rollercoasters.

GCI unveiled a new train design, the Infinity Flyer, at the 2018 IAAPA Expo in Orlando, Florida. The new train design was designed and engineered by Skyline Attractions and is capable of performing inversions and other elements. Zambezi Zinger at Worlds of Fun was the first rollercoaster to use these trains.[6][7]

List of roller coasters

As of 2024, Great Coasters International has built 32 roller coasters around the world.[8]

Name Model Park Country Opened Status Ref
Wildcat Wood Support Structure Hersheypark Template:Flagicon United States 1996 Converted
Now known as Wildcat's Revenge		 [9][10]
Roar Wood Support Structure Six Flags America Template:Flagicon United States 1998 Operating [11]
Roar Wood Support Structure Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Template:Flagicon United States 1999 Converted
Now known as The Joker		 [12]
Gwazi Wood Support Structure Busch Gardens Tampa Template:Flagicon United States 1999 Converted
Now known as Iron Gwazi		 [13]
Lightning Racer Wood Support Structure Hersheypark Template:Flagicon United States 2000 Operating [14]
Ozark Wildcat Wood Support Structure Celebration City Template:Flagicon United States 2003 Removed [15]
Thunderhead Wood Support Structure Dollywood Template:Flagicon United States 2004 Operating [16]
Thunderbird Wood Support Structure PowerPark Template:Flagicon Finland 2006 Operating [17]
Kentucky Rumbler Wood Support Structure Beech Bend Template:Flagicon United States 2006 Operating [18]
Renegade Wood Support Structure Valleyfair Template:Flagicon United States 2007 Operating [19]
Troy Wood Support Structure Toverland Template:Flagicon Netherlands 2007 Operating [20]
American Thunder
Formerly Evel Knievel		 Wood Support Structure Six Flags St. Louis Template:Flagicon United States 2008 Operating [21]
El Toro Wood Support Structure Freizeitpark Plohn Template:Flagicon Germany 2009 Operating [22]
Prowler Wood Support Structure Worlds of Fun Template:Flagicon United States 2009 Operating [23]
Apocalypse The Ride
Formerly Terminator Salvation: The Ride		 Wood Support Structure Six Flags Magic Mountain Template:Flagicon United States 2009 Operating [24]
Joris en de Draak Wood Support Structure Efteling Template:Flagicon Netherlands 2010 Operating [25]
Wood Coaster Wood Support Structure Knight Valley Template:Flagicon China 2011 Closed
Standing but not operating		 [26]
Wodan Timbur Coaster Wood Support Structure Europa Park Template:Flagicon Germany 2012 Operating [27]
White Lightning Steel Support Structure Fun Spot America Orlando Template:Flagicon United States 2013 Operating [28]
Gold Striker Wood Support Structure California's Great America Template:Flagicon United States 2013 Operating [29]
Python in Bamboo Forest Wood Support Structure Nanchang Sunac Land Template:Flagicon China 2016 Operating [30]
Jerome's Wooden Dragon
Formerly Jungle Dragon		 Wood Support Structure Happy Valley Chongqing Template:Flagicon China 2017 Operating [31]
Heidi: The Ride Wood Support Structure Plopsaland Template:Flagicon Belgium 2017 Operating [32]
InvadR Steel Support Structure Busch Gardens Williamsburg Template:Flagicon United States 2017 Operating [33]
Mystic Timbers Wood Support Structure Kings Island Template:Flagicon United States 2017 Operating [34]
Great Desert-Rally Wood Support Structure Happy Valley Chengdu Template:Flagicon China 2017 Operating [35]
Wicker Man Wood Support Structure Alton Towers Template:Flagicon United Kingdom 2018 Operating [36]
Wilkołak Wood Support Structure Majaland Kownaty Template:Flagicon Poland 2019 Operating [37]
Texas Stingray Steel Support Structure SeaWorld San Antonio Template:Flagicon United States 2020 Operating [38]
Roaring Timbers Wood Support Structure Sun World Hon Thom Nature Park Template:Flagicon Vietnam 2022 Operating [39]
Zambezi Zinger Steel Support Structure Worlds of Fun Template:Flagicon United States 2023 Operating [40]
Hala Madrid
Formerly Bombay Express		 Steel Support Structure Real Madrid World Template:Flagicon United Arab Emirates 2024
SBNO from 2020 to 2024		 Operating [41]
Wild Buffalo Wood Support Structure Mer de Sable Template:Flagicon France 2025 Operating [42]
Colossus Steel Support Structure Six Flags Qiddiya Template:Flagicon Saudi Arabia 2025 Template:Maybe [43]
Mad Racers Steel Support Structure Fantasy Valley Template:Flagicon China 2025 Template:Maybe [44]
Unknown Wood Support Structure Happy Valley Xi'an Template:Flagicon China 2025 Template:Maybe [45]
Unknown Titan Track / Wood Support Structure Isla Mágica Template:Flagicon Spain 2026 Template:Maybe [46]

Retracking

References

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  8. ↑ Great Coasters International - rcdb.com
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External links

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Template:Roller coaster manufacturers

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