Haven't posted in this topic since I introduced myself sometime last year, so I had a LOT to catch up on. I live in Orlando and refuse to spend hours in line so I will just wait out the crowds this summer before I check out Diagon Alley.
HOWEVER, I did take a trip up to Chicago for the 4th of July and managed to check Goliath off of my list. Haven't seen anybody here post anything about riding it so I'll give my review of it (skip if you don't want to know the ride details):
First of all, dat drop. You can see Goliath's drop from anywhere in the park. It's worth every bit of the buildup leading up to actually experiencing it. An 85 degree drop on a wooden roller coaster is just crazy. One of the better drops I've experienced on a roller coaster. The overbanked hairpin turn was cool, but mainly because I was still getting over the crazy drop. The next part of the ride was just okay. The airtime hill gave a decent pop of airtime, but nothing near the insanity of rides like El Toro or any of the B&M airtime machines. The dive loop afterwards was cool and unique for being on a wooden coaster, but wasn't much different than your typical dive loop on a B&M looper.
However, it did set you up perfectly for the zero-G stall which was the highlight of the ride for me. The fact that it holds you upside down longer than a typical zero-G roll combined with only having a lapbar holding you in gives a crazy feeling. The smaller hairpin turn was similar to the first in that you're still recovering from the zero-G stall. But sadly, that's the last that the ride has to offer. Before you know it, you're heading back into the station.
So yeah, the ride felt incredibly short for as massive as it looks. For a woodie, there was an extreme lack of airtime, although more attention was obviously given to the inversions. I rode Outlaw Run at SDC last month, and it seemed to have the perfect mix of crazy elements along with pure airtime. Goliath is still a must ride though for any coaster junkie!
