Orbiter (Canada's Wonderland)

Last updated

Orbiter
Orbiter (Canada's Wonderland) 1.jpg
Canada's Wonderland
Area Action Zone
Coordinates 43°50′24″N79°32′29″W / 43.839944°N 79.54150°W / 43.839944; -79.54150 Coordinates: 43°50′24″N79°32′29″W / 43.839944°N 79.54150°W / 43.839944; -79.54150
StatusRemoved
Opening date1981 (1981)
Closing date2018
Ride statistics
Attraction type SkyLab
Manufacturer HUSS Park Attractions
Capacity1200 riders per hour
Vehicles15
Riders per vehicle2
Duration1 minute and 53 seconds
Height restriction137 cm (4 ft 6 in)
Cedar Fair Fast Lane availibility.svg Fast Lane Was Available

Orbiter (formerly known as Sol Loco) was a HUSS SkyLab at Canada's Wonderland in Ontario, Canada. The ride opened in 1981 for the park's first operating season. [1] The ride closed in 2006 and was partially dismantled but was re-built and re-opened later that season following the sale of Paramount's amusement park chain to Cedar Fair. The ride last operated during the 2018 season and has been completely dismantled and removed as of February 2019.

Contents

History

When Orbiter first opened in 1981, it was called Sol Loco and featured a Mexican theme. In 2002, the ride's name was changed to what it is known as today, Orbiter. After 25 years in operation, Orbiter was closed during the 2006 operating season. The ride had been removed from the park map [2] and was surrounded by signs stating "Please excuse our appearance as we are preparing for your future enjoyment". [3] During this closure period, several parts of the ride were dismantled including the ride carriages. [3] This led many people to wonder if the ride would be demolished completely. That same year, it was announced that Cedar Fair would buy all Paramount Parks. [1] Later on in the season, the ride began to be re-assembled and was re-opened to the public. [4]

On 4 February 2019, the attraction was fully dismantled and removed from the park.

Structure

Orbiter is mainly made up of 4 different parts. The first part is the yellow "arm" which supports the entire ride whether it is in operation or not. The second part is the centre red "wheel" which is attached to the "arm". The wheel supports the structure of the ride. The third part(s) is / are the number of white metal supports that support the 15 carriages where riders sit. The fourth and final part are the carriages themselves. This is where the riders sit when the ride is in operation. [5]

Ride experience

Riders take a seat in one of the 15 carriages which hold 2 riders each (for a total of 30 riders). There is no seat belt or restraint system on the ride, only a cage to hold on to during the ride as when the ride is in operation, gravity will keep the rider in place. Once the ride operators give the all clear, the ride begins to spin in a circle constantly picking up speed. It can take about 20 to 25 seconds for the ride to reach its top speed and lift off of the ground. After the ride lifts off the ground, the ride keeps rising eventually coming to an almost-vertical position. A few seconds later, the ride begins to descend back to the ground. The rides braking system is activated and the ride comes to a complete stop by the time it reaches the ground. One ride cycle is about 1 minute and 53 seconds. As of 4 February 2019, Orbiter will not reopen for the 2019 season, this was confirmed by the park. [5] [6]

Related Research Articles

Paramount Parks Former amusement park owner and operator

Paramount Parks was the operator of Paramount's Kings Island, Paramount's Kings Dominion, Paramount's Great America, Paramount's Carowinds, and Paramount Canada's Wonderland, which annually attracted about 13 million patrons. National Amusements-owned Viacom assumed control of the company as part of its acquisition of Paramount Pictures in 1994. On June 30, 2006, Cedar Fair acquired the company, and the deal included a ten-year license to use the Paramount Parks name and theme, and a four-year license to use Nickelodeon names and themes.

Canadas Wonderland Amusement park in Vaughan, Canada

Canada's Wonderland, formerly known as Paramount Canada's Wonderland, is a 134-hectare (330-acre) amusement park located in Vaughan, Ontario, a suburb approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) north of Downtown Toronto. Opened in 1981 by the Taft Broadcasting Company and the Great-West Life Assurance Company, it was the first major theme park in Canada and remains the country's largest. Cedar Fair purchased the park from Paramount Parks in 2006, and in 2019, it was the most-visited, seasonal amusement park in North America with an estimated 3.9 million guests.

Kings Dominion Cedar Fair amusement park in Doswell, Virginia

Kings Dominion is an amusement park located in Doswell, Virginia, 20 miles (30 km) north of Richmond and 75 miles (120 km) south of Washington, D.C. Owned and operated by Cedar Fair, the 280-acre (1.1 km2) park opened to the public on May 3, 1975, and features more than 60 rides, shows and attractions including 13 roller coasters and a 20-acre (81,000 m2) water park. Its name is derived from the name of its sister park, Kings Island, and the nickname for the state of Virginia, "Old Dominion."

Freestyle (roller coaster) Roller coaster

Freestyle is a stand-up roller coaster operating at Cavallino Matto in Tuscany, Italy. It opened as the park's fifth roller coaster on July 18, 2015. Freestyle originally opened at Canada's Wonderland in 1985 as SkyRider and closed in 2014. Built by TOGO, it was the second stand-up roller coaster from the company following the now-defunct King Cobra, which opened the previous year at Kings Island.

Wonderland Sydney Theme park in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Wonderland Sydney, was an amusement park in Eastern Creek, Sydney, Australia. Officially opened in December 1985 by the Premier of New South Wales, Neville Wran, the park was the largest in the southern hemisphere. It remained open for over 18 years and was the premier theme park in New South Wales for much of its life until its closure in 2004.

Monster (ride) Amusement ride

The Monster is an amusement ride manufactured by Eyerly Aircraft Company. The ride spins while moving up and down at a slow pace. Each car spins while giant arms move up and down in a circular motion. Riders may experience the feeling of weightlessness when going in the air and coming back down to ground level.

The Bat (Kings Island; opened 1993) Suspended roller coaster at Kings Island

The Bat, formerly called Flight Deck and Top Gun, is a suspended roller coaster at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio. Built by Arrow Dynamics, the ride was known as Top Gun when it opened in 1993. It is the park's second suspended coaster following an earlier prototype from Arrow Development — also called The Bat – that operated at Kings Island from 1981 to 1983. The layout is designed to give riders the illusion they are narrowly missing track supports and other elements while swinging through sharp turns.

Action Theater Motion simulator ride

The Action Theater is a motion simulator ride that debuted in 1993. It is currently only operating at California's Great America. Located formerly at Canada's Wonderland, Carowinds, Kings Dominion and Kings Island. The attraction was previously known as "Paramount Action F/X Theater" before being renamed following the purchase of the Paramount Parks chain by Cedar Fair in 2006.

Flight Deck (Canadas Wonderland) Roller coaster in Ontario, Canada

Flight Deck is a steel inverted roller coaster located at Canada's Wonderland in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. It originally opened in 1995 under the name Top Gun until it was renamed in 2008 to Flight Deck, after Paramount Parks sold Wonderland to Cedar Fair which necessitated the gradual removal of all Paramount names and trademarks from the theme park.

Freefall (ride) Type of amusement ride

The Freefall is an amusement ride developed by Giovanola and marketed throughout the world by Swiss company, Intamin.

Scooby-Doos Haunted Mansion Scooby-Doo themed interactive series

Scooby-Doo's Haunted Mansion is a Scooby-Doo-themed interactive dark ride series created by Sally Corporation based on Hanna-Barbera's long-running animated television series. The ride transports guests in a vehicle equipped with light guns that are used to shoot at various targets to collect points throughout the ride. At its peak, the ride model was located at seven amusement parks around the world including Canada's Wonderland, the location of the first installation that debuted in 2000. Initially known under a variety of names, the ride's Scooby-Doo theme has been replaced by Boo Blasters on Boo Hill at several locations and removed from others. The last remaining installation is La Aventura de Scooby-Doo at Parque Warner Madrid in Madrid, Spain.

Drop Tower (Cedar Fair) Drop towers at Cedar Fair parks

Drop Tower, formerly known as Drop Zone: Stunt Tower, is the name of five drop tower amusement rides located at Cedar Fair amusement parks in the United States and Canada. Each installation varies in size and capacity.

Backlot Stunt Coaster Amusement ride

Backlot Stunt Coaster is a launched roller coaster located at three Cedar Fair amusement parks. The first two installations opened at Kings Island and Canada's Wonderland in 2005 under the name Italian Job: Stunt Track, while the third opened at Kings Dominion in 2006 as Italian Job: Turbo Coaster. All three were themed to the climactic chase scene at the end of the 2003 film The Italian Job. Special effects were incorporated throughout the ride to reproduce the scene, although some of the effects were removed in later years. The Italian Job theme was also dropped in 2008 following Cedar Fair's acquisition of the amusement parks from Paramount.

Through its history, Hanna-Barbera has operated theme park attractions, mostly as a section in Kings Island, Carowinds, California's Great America, Kings Dominion, Canada's Wonderland, and recently, Six Flags Great America.

Childrens attractions at Canadas Wonderland Childrens areas at Canadas Wonderland

There have been several children's areas at Canada's Wonderland since opening in 1981.

WindSeeker Swing ride at several Cedar Fair parks

WindSeeker is a 301-foot-tall (92 m) swing ride at several Cedar Fair parks. The rides are Wind Seeker models manufactured by Mondial. They opened for the 2011 season at Canada's Wonderland in Ontario, Cedar Point and Kings Island in Ohio, and Knott's Berry Farm in California. Carowinds in North Carolina and Kings Dominion in Virginia opened their WindSeekers in 2012. The first four each cost US$5 million, and the next two each cost $6.5 million. Cedar Fair relocated the Knott's Berry Farm WindSeeker to Worlds of Fun in 2014, where it is known as SteelHawk.

Riptide (Canadas Wonderland) Thrill ride at Canadas Wonderland

Riptide is a thrill ride at Canada's Wonderland manufactured by Mondial. The ride is similar to the park's Shockwave ride in terms of how the riders are spun. At the base of the ride there are a number of fountains that shoot up towards the riders as they are spinning and soak them. When the weather is cool, the fountains shoot up but go back down before the water hit the riders. Over the past couple of years, the ride cycle has been cut down and riders don't get as wet as they did in the past. Unlike the 'Topspins' made by Huss which feature one gondola, Riptide features two gondolas.

Night Mares (Canadas Wonderland) HUSS UFO at Canadas Wonderland in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada

Wilde Knight Mares is a HUSS UFO at Canada's Wonderland in Ontario, Canada. The ride is an original at Canada's Wonderland as it opened along with the rest of the park in 1981. This ride is similar to Orbiter, which is also at Canada's Wonderland.

Boo Blasters on Boo Hill Cedar Fair dark ride

Boo Blasters on Boo Hill is an interactive family dark ride designed and manufactured by Sally Corporation. The ride is located at four Cedar Fair amusement parks — Canada's Wonderland, Carowinds, Kings Dominion, and Kings Island. The ride was previously themed to Hanna-Barbera's Scooby-Doo, but Cedar Fair rebranded the rides shortly after purchasing the parks from Paramount. Each ride's new theme debuted in 2010 at all four parks.

Wonder Mountains Guardian 4D interactive dark ride roller coaster at Canadas Wonderland amusement park

Wonder Mountain's Guardian is a 4D, interactive dark ride roller coaster at the Canada's Wonderland amusement park located in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. Park management first proposed a dark ride located inside Wonder Mountain around 2004. Technology and budget limitations at the time delayed the project's planning and design stages until 2011. The steel track was manufactured by Art Engineering; it is approximately 304.8 metres (1,000 ft) long and has a maximum height of about 18.3 metres (60 ft). The ride also features one of the largest drop tracks in the world reaching a height of 9.1 metres (30 ft).

References

  1. 1 2 "Canada's Wonderland Timeline". CW Mania. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
  2. ↑ "2006 Canada's Wonderland Park Map". CW Mania. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
  3. 1 2 "Orbiter Closed". Thrill Network. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
  4. ↑ "2008 Canada's Wonderland Park Map". CW Mania. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
  5. 1 2 "Orbiter POV". Metacafe. 21 May 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  6. ↑ "Canada's Wonderland Orbiter Description". Theme Park Insider. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.