Great Coasters International

Great Coasters International, Inc.

Company type	Private
Industry	Roller coaster manufacturing
Founded	1994 (1994)
Founder	Mike Boodley, Clair Hain, Jr.
Headquarters	Sunbury , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Jeff Pike (lead designer since 2005)
Products	Wooden roller coasters, roller coaster refurbishment and re-tracking
Parent	Skyline Attractions (design and engineering since 2014)
Website	greatcoasters.com

Great Coasters International, Inc. (commonly known as GCI or GCII) is a roller coaster manufacturer headquartered in Sunbury, Pennsylvania. Since its establishment in 1994, the company has gained recognition for producing award-winning wooden coasters. GCI extended its reach beyond the United States starting in 2006 with the introduction of Thunderbird at PowerPark in Finland, marking its entry into European and Asian markets. The European marketing rights for GCI are managed by Günter Engelhardt GmbH. In addition to constructing new rides, GCI also specializes in refurbishing and re-tracking wooden coasters originally built by other manufacturers.

Since 2014, design and engineering responsibilities for GCI have been handled by the American company Skyline Attractions, which now oversees all coaster designs for GCI. GCI’s roller coasters are distinguished by features such as curved drops, intricate twisted layouts, and high-velocity thrills, often including unique aspects like station fly-bys and fly-throughs.

History

GCI was founded in 1994 by Mike Boodley and Clair Hain, Jr., combining Boodley’s design background from Custom Coasters International with Hain’s expertise as a master builder. Their 1996 creation, Wildcat at Hersheypark, exemplified their style with tight, sweeping curves inspired by early 20th-century designers including Fred Church and Harry Traver. Following Boodley’s retirement in 2005, Jeff Pike took over as lead designer, making his debut with the Kentucky Rumbler at Beech Bend Park.

Although GCI has the capability to perform re-tracking projects, these have been relatively rare; a prominent example is the 2016 re-tracking of GhostRider at Knott's Berry Farm.

At the IAAPA convention after-party in November 2019, GCI revealed a prototype of a steel track developed in collaboration with Skyline Attractions, later named Titan Track. The initial installation of this steel track occurred as a test segment on White Lightning at Fun Spot America in September 2020.

Millennium Flyer trains

The majority of GCI’s roller coasters utilize their proprietary articulated Millennium Flyer trains. An exception is Roar at Six Flags America, which operates with trains from Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters (PTC). Some early GCI coasters, such as Gwazi at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, also featured PTC trains. In 2016, when GCI re-tracked GhostRider at Knott's Berry Farm, they supplied new Millennium Flyer trains. The following year, Wildcat at Lake Compounce, originally equipped with PTC trains, was updated to use Millennium Flyer trains.

These trains are designed with padded seats and individual lap bars that automatically adjust and lock for quicker dispatch times. Their open-front design resembles gates and is often customized with logos reflecting the ride’s branding, evoking the classic era of roller coasters.

At the 2018 IAAPA Expo, GCI introduced the Infinity Flyer train model, developed by Skyline Attractions. This train design accommodates inversions and other advanced ride elements. The first coaster to feature Infinity Flyer trains was Zambezi Zinger at Worlds of Fun.

List of roller coasters

By 2024, Great Coasters International has completed the construction of 32 roller coasters across the globe.

Name	Model	Park	Country	Opened	Status	Ref
Wildcat	Wooden Support Structure	Hersheypark	United States	1996	Transformed Currently operating as Wildcat's Revenge
Roar	Wooden Support Structure	Six Flags America	United States	1998	Closed
Roar	Wooden Support Structure	Six Flags Discovery Kingdom	United States	1999	Modified Renamed to The Joker
Gwazi	Wooden Support Structure	Busch Gardens Tampa	United States	1999	Converted Now called Iron Gwazi
Lightning Racer	Wooden Support Structure	Hersheypark	United States	2000	Operational
Ozark Wildcat	Wooden Support Structure	Celebration City	United States	2003	Removed
Thunderhead	Wooden Support Structure	Dollywood	United States	2004	Operational
Thunderbird	Wooden Support Structure	PowerPark	Finland	2006	Operational
Kentucky Rumbler	Wooden Support Structure	Beech Bend	United States	2006	Operational
Renegade	Wooden Support Structure	Valleyfair	United States	2007	Operational
Troy	Wooden Support Structure	Toverland	Netherlands	2007	Operational
American Thunder Previously Evel Knievel	Wooden Support Structure	Six Flags St. Louis	United States	2008	Operational
El Toro	Wooden Support Structure	Freizeitpark Plohn	Germany	2009	Operational
Prowler	Wooden Support Structure	Worlds of Fun	United States	2009	Operational
Apocalypse The Ride Previously Terminator Salvation: The Ride	Wooden Support Structure	Six Flags Magic Mountain	United States	2009	Operational
Joris en de Draak	Wooden Support Structure	Efteling	Netherlands	2010	Operational
Wood Coaster	Wooden Support Structure	Knight Valley	Template:Country data ChinaTemplate:Namespace detect showall China	2011	Closed Still standing but not in use
Wodan Timbur Coaster	Wooden Support Structure	Europa-Park	Germany	2012	Operational
White Lightning	Steel Support Structure	Fun Spot America Orlando	United States	2013	Operational
Gold Striker	Wooden Support Structure	California's Great America	United States	2013	Operational

Retracking

• Roller Coaster located at Lagoon
• Wildcat found at Lake Compounce
• The Legend situated in Holiday World
• Yankee Cannonball operating at Canobie Lake Park
• Wolverine Wildcat at Michigan's Adventure
• GhostRider positioned in Knott's Berry Farm
• Predator installed at Darien Lake
• The Racer present at Kings Island
• Grizzly located within Kings Dominion
• Timber Wolf at Worlds of Fun
• Regina II found in Tobu Zoo

External links

• Official site of GCI