Daredevils and roller coaster enthusiasts will be flocking to Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Ill., this summer for a chance to experience the thrill of Goliath, the world's tallest, steepest and fastest roller coaster, which officially opened up Thursday morning.
"I think everyone here is just so excited and there's a lot of anticipation before we open our gates," said Six Flags spokesperson Katy Enrique just an hour before the opening on Thursday, a delay in the originally planned May 31 debut due to this year's harsh winter.
The triple record-breaking throwback wooden roller coaster will take brave souls on a ride that is expected to plunge down a near-vertical 180 foot drop while speeding through twists and turns at 72 miles per hour, ABC News reported. The course of loops, rolls and a spiraling section that includes an inverted zero-G stall, where the ride twists upside down, takes just one minute and 15 seconds to complete.
An innovative track system made by Rocky Mountain Construction, the company behind the planning and building of Goliath, was used to construct the design of the wooden roller coaster, making Goliath less rickety and as smooth a ride as possible.
"It's very smooth," said Enrique, who had already ridden the ride over 20 times. ABC7 Chicago Reporter Jessica D'Onofrio, who attended a special preview Wednesday, agrees, saying Goliath was "[the] smoothest ride of any coaster I have been on."
"The twisting is unbelievable. The first drop is great but the first drop is nothing. It's the twisting and the turning and the acceleration and the feeling of being thrown out of the thing," said said John Murman - a youthful 88-year-old - who was one of the first people to experience the ride after it opened. "Thank God they had you pinned in there," he said.
Goliath is the latest attempt by Six Flags to push boundaries and create innovative coasters.
"We're always looking for rides that spark innovative new concepts in the roller coaster world," said Enrique, "We're constantly looking for concepts out there that will keep us as the leader of roller coaster innovation."
Chicago's Six Flags currently sports 14 roller coasters, an additional water park and an entertainment section for children.