Experience Based Learning

Last updated
Experience Based Learning, Inc.
Type Private
Founded1993
FounderSteve Gustafson
Headquarters Rockford, Illinois, USA
Key people
Steve Gustafson, President & CEO
Products Zip-line tours and installation
Website www.ebl.org

Experience Based Learning, also known as EBL, is an Illinois-based Zip-line tour and installation company founded in 1993 by Steven Gustafson. [1] Gustafson served on the board of directors for the standards developer for zip-lines, the Professional Ropes Course Association, as its president until 2015. [2] [3]

Contents

History

EBL was founded in 1993 by owner Steve Gustafson. He obtained his degrees in Recreation, Parks and Tourism and Geology from Western Illinois University. [4] Gustafson has been participating, operating and building ropes challenge course, zip-lines and zip-line courses since 1986. He is considered by some to be the founder of the modern day zipline. [5] EBL installed the first commercially promoted zip line tour with cables in the United States, alongside the client installing their own platforms, and has erected numerous courses since. The first went up in 2002 in Hawai'i. [6] Part of the concept for the touring originated in Costa Rica, as an Ecotourism adventure. [7]

Operations

EBL has installed zip-line courses at numerous locations throughout the US and also has installations in South Korea and Canada. [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] In 2014 EBL opened a zip-line in its founder's home town of Rockford, Illinois. [20] EBL, along with other zipline operators, has called for stricter self-policing in the light of numerous deaths from those other zip-line courses. [21] [22]

Related Research Articles

Zip line Transportation system

A zip-line, zip line, zip-wire, or flying fox is a pulley suspended on a cable, usually made of stainless steel, mounted on a slope. It is designed to enable cargo or a person propelled by gravity to travel from the top to the bottom of the inclined cable by holding on to, or being attached to, the freely moving pulley. It has been described as essentially a Tyrolean traverse that engages gravity to assist its speed of movement. Its use is not confined to adventure sport, recreation, or tourism, although modern-day usage tends to favor those meanings.

Universal Studios Florida Theme park in the United States

Universal Studios Florida is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. Primarily themed to movies, television and other aspects of the entertainment industry, the park opened to the public on June 7, 1990. It is owned and operated by NBCUniversal and features numerous rides, attractions and live shows. Universal Studios Florida was the first component of the larger Universal Orlando Resort to open, ranking eleventh in the world and sixth in North America for attendance among amusement parks in 2019 while hosting approximately 10.9 million visitors.

Skycoaster Amusement park ride

Skycoaster is an amusement park ride produced and managed by Skycoaster Company, LLC.. On the Skycoaster, riders in groups of 1 to 3 are harnessed in specialized Flight Suits, winched to the top of a launch tower, pull the ripcord to engage flight, swing from a cable tether back and forth until brought to a rest. The attraction is often compared to a combination of skydiving, bungee jumping, and hang gliding.

The Incredible Hulk Coaster Roller coaster at Islands of Adventure

The Incredible Hulk Coaster is a launched roller coaster located at Universal's Islands of Adventure within the Universal Orlando Resort. Designed by Werner Stengel and manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M), the roller coaster is themed after Marvel's Hulk and opened to the public on May 28, 1999. It is the first B&M coaster themed to a Marvel Comics superhero character and the first to feature a launch design, a system that was primarily implemented by Universal Creative and MTS Systems Corporation.

Kraken (roller coaster) Steel roller coaster at SeaWorld Orlando

Kraken is a steel roller coaster located at SeaWorld Orlando in the United States. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, the ride opened as the second longest floorless coaster in the world on June 1, 2000, with a track length measuring 4,177 feet (1,273 m). It features a total of seven inversions and reaches a maximum speed of 65 mph (105 km/h). The coaster was named after a fictional sea monster of the same name. In late 2016, Kraken underwent a refurbishment and reopened as Kraken Unleashed in June 2017. A virtual reality experience was added to the ride, but due to technical difficulties and extensive wait times, the feature was permanently removed the following year.

Sorcerers Hat Former icon of Disneys Hollywood Studios

The Sorcerer's Hat was a structure and the thematic icon of Disney's Hollywood Studios, the third of four theme parks built at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, from 2001 to 2015. The structure was inspired by The Sorcerer's Apprentice segment in Walt Disney's 1940 animated film, Fantasia. Mickey Mouse's gloved hand and ears underneath the hat are visible emerging from the ground. With its opening on September 28, 2001, it replaced the Earffel Tower as the park's icon in marketing material. It was used as a venue for pin trading and sales, and also served as a backdrop to many special events and shows. High School Musical:Live culminated several dances from several Disney Channel shows that performed several times daily in front of the hat. Disney characters made meet-and-greet appearances around the hat throughout the day.

Go Ape Provider of tree top ropes courses

Go Ape! is an outdoor adventure company which runs tree top ropes courses under the names Tree Top Challenge, Tree Top Adventure and Zip Trekking, as well as ground-based Forest Segway Safaris, at locations across the United Kingdom and the United States.

Adventure park

An adventure park is a place which can contain a wide variety of elements, including but not limited to, rope climbing exercises, obstacle courses, bouldering, rock climbing, target oriented activities, and zip-lines. They are usually intended for recreation and embody the spirit and activities often found at outdoor camps and educational facilities, without the facilitated educational component.

Zipline Safari is a zip-line course in Florida. It is the only zip-line course in the state, and is claimed to be the world's only zip-line created for flat land. Zipline Safari opened on 16 January 2009 in Forever Florida, a wildlife attraction near Holopaw, Florida. The zip-line cost $350,000 to build, and consists of nine platforms built up from the ground and traveled between by zip-lining. Forever Florida built the course to promote ecotourism and interaction with the natural environment of Florida.

Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts Ride at Universal Studios Florida

Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts is an indoor steel roller coaster designed by Universal Creative and built by Intamin at Universal Studios Florida, a theme park located within the Universal Orlando Resort. Similar to dark rides, the roller coaster utilizes special effects in a controlled-lighting environment and also employs motion-based 3-D projection of both animation and live-action sequences to enhance the experience. The ride, which is themed to the Gringotts Wizarding Bank, became the flagship attraction for the expanded Wizarding World of Harry Potter when it opened on July 8, 2014.

Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin Theme area at SeaWorld Orlando

Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin is a theme area at SeaWorld Orlando featuring a motion-based, trackless dark ride and a penguinarium. The Antarctica-themed area is spread across 4 acres (1.6 ha) inside SeaWorld Orlando.

Falcons Fury Drop tower attraction at Busch Gardens Tampa amusement park

Falcon's Fury is a free-standing Sky Jump drop tower attraction at Busch Gardens Tampa amusement park in Tampa, Florida, United States. Manufactured by Intamin subsidiary Intaride, the ride reaches a maximum height of 335 feet (102 m), making it North America's second tallest free-standing drop tower. Riders experience about five seconds of free fall, reaching a speed of 60 miles per hour (100 km/h). The ride's name was chosen to invoke a falcon's ability to dive steeply at high speed to capture prey.

Ride Entertainment Group

Ride Entertainment is a firm based in the United States specializing in the construction, sales, service, and operation of amusement rides and attractions.

Fun Spot America Theme Parks Amusement park in Orlando, Florida

Fun Spot America Theme Parks is a group of amusement parks. Since 1979, the group has owned and operated a number of small amusement parks over the years and currently has three locations in Orlando, Florida, Kissimmee, Florida, and Fayetteville, Georgia.

Mako (roller coaster) Steel roller coaster in Orlando

Mako is a steel roller coaster located at SeaWorld Orlando in Orlando, Florida. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, the hypercoaster model opened to the public on June 10, 2016. Mako is named after the mako shark and is located in the Sea of Mystery section of the park. It reaches a height of 200 feet (61 m), a maximum speed of 73 mph (117 km/h), and features a track length of 4,760 feet (1,450 m).

Cobras Curse Steel roller coaster in Tampa, US

Cobra's Curse is a steel spinning roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in Tampa, Florida, United States. The roller coaster, opened in 2016, was manufactured by Mack Rides, features an elevator-style lift, and was the first new ride to open at the park since Falcon's Fury opened in 2014. Cobra's Curse presents a fictional story about the ancient Egyptian ruler the Snake King Venymyss and his curse upon his lost kingdom. The roller coaster has a track length of 2,100 feet (640 m), reaches a height of 70 feet (21 m), and has a maximum speed of 40 mph (64 km/h).

Volcano Bay Amusement park in Orlando, Florida, United States

Universal's Volcano Bay Water Theme Park, or Volcano Bay, is a tropical-themed water park at Universal Orlando Resort in Orlando, Florida. Owned and operated by Universal Parks & Resorts, Volcano Bay replaced Wet 'n Wild as Universal Orlando Resort's water park, and it was the first constructed by Universal itself. The park, themed around a 200-foot-tall (61 m) volcano named "Krakatau," opened on May 25, 2017.

<i>The Muppets Present...Great Moments in American History</i> Live show at the Magic Kingdom

The Muppets Present ... Great Moments in American History was a live show located in the Liberty Square area at the Magic Kingdom, performed daily and featured the Muppets presenting abridged accounts of notable milestones from the Colonial era of American history and its majority unfolded from the second-story windows of the Heritage House, adjacent to the Hall of Presidents attraction. The show premiered on October 2, 2016 and went on a brief hiatus on October 5, 2019, before temporarily returning three months later for a brief holiday run from December 23 to 31, 2019 before closing for good on February 17, 2020. This was the last Muppets production to feature Steve Whitmire before his dismissal from the role of Kermit and other characters sometime in the same month of October 2016.

Infinity Falls River raft ride at SeaWorld Orlando

Infinity Falls is a river raft ride manufactured by Intamin located at SeaWorld Orlando in Orlando, Florida. The ride opened on October 4, 2018, holding the record for tallest drop on a river raft ride.

<i>Guardians of the Galaxy</i>: Cosmic Rewind Future enclosed roller coaster at Epcot

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is an upcoming roller coaster attraction coming to Epcot at Walt Disney World. The ride will be manufactured by Vekoma. Based on the Marvel Cinematic Universe Guardians of the Galaxy films, the attraction will be the first at Walt Disney World to feature characters from the Marvel Universe. It will replace the Universe of Energy pavilion, which closed on August 13, 2017.

References

  1. "EBL.org - The Nation's Premier Zip Line Installer - Professional Canopy Zip Line Tour Designer, Builder, and Operator". www.ebl.org. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  2. "PRCA Leadership".
  3. Mummert, Roger (16 October 2008). "Zipping Through the Treetops" via NYTimes.com.
  4. "Zip Chicagoâ"¢ > About EBL". www.zipchicago.com.
  5. Phillips, Bryce (31 March 2016). "A Thrilling Good Time: Off the Grid Mountain Adventures set to open Monday". www.elizabethton.com.
  6. "Zip line tours a fast growing outdoor sport". www.knoxvilledailysun.com. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  7. Bevil, Dewayne. "Central Florida's Zipline Safari takes riders atop the trees". OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  8. "New England's Most Thrilling Zip Line Tour is Now Open". www.businesswire.com. 3 September 2009.
  9. "New England's Most Thrilling Zip Line Tour is Now Open. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com.
  10. Vela, Susan. "Slice: Steve Gustafson off to a zipping good start in hometown Rockford". Rockford Register Star.
  11. "Zip-line could draw thousands to Marseilles | The Times". www.mywebtimes.com. Archived from the original on 2019-01-30.
  12. Lewis, Kim (16 July 2017). "Zip Boise, Zip Line Adventure. Get Ready to Launch!". Our Travel Moments.
  13. "Zip McCall Adventures Prepares to Open in May". 19 February 2018.
  14. "World Botanical Gardens & Waterfalls". Hawaii News and Island Information.
  15. Bevil, Dewayne. "Zipline over the wetlands at new Osceola attraction". Orlando Sun Sentinel.
  16. Wheatley, Lois Carol. "Adventure company offering some high-flying, zip line fun near Boone". The Independent Tribune.
  17. "Elizabethton park features one of nation's longest zip lines". timesfreepress.com.
  18. "Ziplines offer a flight through the treetops". charlotteobserver.
  19. Sewell, Kristina. "Taking the plunge - Sports Lead - Santa Maria Sun, CA". www.santamariasun.com.
  20. Taft, Jay. "Slice: Steve Gustafson brings ziplining fun to Rockford". Rockford Register Star. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  21. Dineen, Caitlin. "Ropes-course industry leaders want stricter self-policing". OrlandoSentinel.com.
  22. "Safety concerns rise with zipline popularity". ABC News. 20 June 2008.