Space Probe (Wonderland Sydney)

Last updated

Space Probe
Space probe 7.jpg
Wonderland Sydney
AreaTransylvania
Coordinates 33°48′04″S150°50′51″E / 33.80119°S 150.84754°E / -33.80119; 150.84754
StatusRemoved
Cost AUD$10,000,000
Opening dateNovember 1995 (1995-11)
Closing date26 April 2004 (2004-04-26)
Ride statistics
Attraction typeGiant Drop
Manufacturer Intamin
Height67 m (220 ft)
Drop61 m (200 ft)
Speed120 km/h (75 mph)
G-force 4
Capacity600 riders per hour
Vehicles3
Riders per vehicle4
Duration40 seconds max
Height restriction52 in (132 cm)

Space Probe was a Giant Drop ride located at Wonderland Sydney in Australia. It was manufactured by Intamin and opened as the world's tallest and fastest free-fall ride. The ride opened in November 1995 and closed on 26 April 2004.

Contents

Ride experience

The ride consists of 3 vehicles around a central tube which is 67 metres (220 ft) tall. Once passengers arrive at the front of the queue, they pass through a turnstile and enter a debriefing room via a sliding-door airlock. Once they are debriefed they leave through a second door and enter the launch bay area, guests then take their seat in their given vehicle. Riders are four abreast and are brought to a height of 61 metres (200 ft) by a coupler.

Traveling at a speed of 20 kilometres per hour (12 mph), riders reach the top of the tower in 25 seconds. The vehicles slowly enter a large umbrella as they climb the last few feet. Within, twelve TV units laid out as 4 per vehicle, each display a 10 second countdown.

Once the countdown is finished, the coupler detaches, letting riders free-fall 61 metres (200 ft) in 3.8 seconds. Each vehicle is stopped by a fail-safe magnetic braking system and arrives back into the station.

Facts

The ride was originally known as Space Probe 7. The Seven Network were involved in the lead up to the ride's opening, donating the network's logo and credibility. They were contracted as major sponsors, helping with advertising, promotion and the ride's title. After this contract expired the '7' was removed from the title and was thereafter known as Space Probe.

Space Probe was the second Giant Drop ride manufactured and installed by Intamin. The first opened in October 1995 as Hellevator at Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. The Intamin Giant Drop was the world's tallest free-fall ride for approximately 4 months and the fastest until December, 1998. In March 1996, it was surpassed in height by the Drop Tower: Scream Zone at California's Great America by 1.2 metres (3 ft 11 in), at 68.2 metres (224 ft).

In December 1998, it was surpassed in speed by the Giant Drop at Dreamworld. The ride and queues were intensively themed around an alien invasion, in order to fit in with the horror themed area of the park (Transylvania).

The queue area was heavily themed to look like an escape hatch from a futuristic space-station. It featured a long and dark, snake-like tunnel, with TV units and lighting effects placed periodically throughout the queue. The entire conscious of the ride was based on an alien life-form infecting our planet and thus leading to evacuation. The ride starts at the entrance of the tunnel, where in queue TVs informed guests of the current situation. The TVs constantly played a roughly 30-60 minute news broadcast about an alien invasion. As the guests progressed throughout the tunnel they would be informed of the current situation, divided by which part of the tunnel they were occupying. As the guests moved closer to the front of the queue they would then be told to evacuate. The broadcast was filmed and designed to look like a modern version of a Seven Network news report.

Once the vehicle reached the top of the tower, it would then be dropped at random - a few seconds before the countdown reached zero, or held until after the countdown had finished. The first on-ride photos were taken using cameras placed at the top of the tower, inside the umbrella. The photos were taken as the vehicle was detached from the coupler. A few years later, new on-ride photo cameras were installed on the roof above the launch bay area, taken as the vehicle came to a stop.

The ride opened in 1995, three years after the opening of The Demon. It was the second and only new ride installed in the park. The official cost to build the tower was published at AUD$10 million.

Preceded by World's Tallest Vertical Drop Ride
1995
Succeeded by

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intamin</span> Liechtensteiner design and manufacturing company

Intamin Amusement Rides is a design and manufacturing company in Schaan, Liechtenstein, best-known for designing and constructing thrill rides and roller coasters at dozens of international theme parks, amusement parks and other establishments. The Intamin brand name is a syllabic abbreviation for "international amusement installations". The company has corporate offices across the world, including three in Europe, three in Asia, and two in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Millennium Force</span> Steel roller coaster at Cedar Point

Millennium Force is a steel roller coaster located at Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio, United States. Manufactured by Intamin, it was the park's fourteenth roller coaster when it opened in 2000, dating back to the opening of Blue Streak in 1964. Upon completion, Millennium Force broke five world records and was the world's first giga coaster, a term coined by Intamin and Cedar Point to represent a roller coaster that exceeds 300 feet (91 m) in height. It was briefly the tallest and fastest in the world until Steel Dragon 2000 opened later the same year. The ride is also the third-longest roller coaster in North America following The Beast at Kings Island and Fury 325 at Carowinds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drop tower</span> Type of amusement ride

A drop tower is a type of amusement park ride incorporating a central tower structure with one or more gondolas attached. In a typical modern configuration, each gondola carrying riders is lifted to the top of the tower and then released to free fall back down to ground level. This produces a feeling of weightlessness followed by rapid deceleration. A magnetic braking system, or a variation that relies on pistons and air pressure, is used to safely bring the gondola to a complete stop. One of the earliest drop towers configured as an amusement ride was a parachute ride that debuted at the 1939 New York World's Fair, which was inspired by paratrooper training devices used by the Soviet Union in the 1920s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Superman: Escape from Krypton</span> Shuttle roller coaster at Magic Mountain

Superman: Escape from Krypton, originally known as Superman: The Escape, is a steel shuttle roller coaster located at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. When it opened in 1997, it was the tallest roller coaster in the world, and its maximum speed of 100 mph (160 km/h) was tied for the fastest with Tower of Terror II, a similar roller coaster which opened two months earlier at Dreamworld in Australia. Both were the first to utilize Linear Synchronous Motor (LSM) launch technology to propel vehicles, although the intended opening date in 1996 at Magic Mountain was postponed due to issues with the launch system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Giant Drop</span> Amusement ride at Dreamworld Australia

The Giant Drop is a drop tower ride located at the Dreamworld theme park on the Gold Coast, Australia. Manufactured by Intamin, the ride was added in December 1998 to the existing Dreamworld Tower which housed the Tower of Terror. For fourteen years, The Giant Drop held the record for the tallest drop tower in the world.

<i>Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster</i> Enclosed steel wild mouse roller coaster

Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster is an enclosed steel wild mouse roller coaster located at Warner Bros. Movie World on the Gold Coast, Australia. It is based on the 2002 live action film Scooby-Doo, which was filmed at the studio adjacent to the park at the same time the ride was being constructed. In 2018 the ride underwent a significant theming overhaul and reopened in December under the name Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster: Next Generation with a new ride storyline, new theming and new special effects. It closed for refurbishment in January 2023 and is set to reopen in 2025.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wonderland Sydney</span> 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.

The Dreamworld Tower is a 119-metre-high (390 ft) tower located in the Dreamworld theme park on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The Giant Drop and the former Tower of Terror II uses this tower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tower of Terror II</span> Roller coaster at Dreamworld Australia

The Tower of Terror II was a steel shuttle roller coaster located at the Dreamworld amusement park on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. When the Tower of Terror opened on 23 January 1997, it was the first roller coaster in the world to reach 100 miles per hour (160 km/h), making it the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world of its time. The ride was situated on the Dreamworld Tower, which also houses The Giant Drop free fall ride. The ride was originally known as the Tower of Terror until it was modified and relaunched in September 2010 as Tower of Terror II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freefall (ride)</span> Type of amusement ride

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acrophobia (ride)</span> Drop tower at Six Flags Over Georgia

Acrophobia is a free-fall tower ride located at Six Flags Over Georgia in Austell, Georgia. The attraction was designed by Intamin of Switzerland, and is marketed by Intamin's Liechtenstein-based subsidiary Ride Trade. When Acrophobia opened to the public on May 12, 2001, it became the first free-fall attraction of its kind in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drop Tower (Six Flags)</span> Drop towers at Great America

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Superman: Tower of Power</span> Drop tower at Six Flags parks

Superman: Tower of Power is a drop tower ride currently located at two Six Flags parks, and two former installments at Kentucky Kingdom and Six Flags St. Louis. Two of the four drop towers were manufactured by Intamin, while the Six Flags Over Georgia version was made by Zamperla, and the Six Flags Over Texas version was made by S&S. The installment at Kentucky Kingdom was demolished after an accident that severed a 13-year-old girl's feet. At Six Flags St. Louis, the ride was removed from the park's website in early 2021. Three additional drop towers of the same model by S&S are installed at other Six Flags parks Six Flags New England and Six Flags Fiesta Texas, each known as Scream and one more built at Six Flags Great Escape and Hurricane Harbor known as Sasquatch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space Mountain (Magic Kingdom)</span> Outer space-themed indoor roller coaster

Space Mountain is an outer space-themed, indoor roller coaster in Tomorrowland located at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom theme park in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. The dark ride, which opened on January 15, 1975, is the original version of the iconic attraction that has since been replicated at other Disney theme park locations worldwide, with the exception of Shanghai Disneyland Resort. Space Mountain is one of the first computer operated roller coasters and is also the oldest operating roller coaster in the state of Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Gold Coaster</span> Steel roller coaster at Dreamworld

The Gold Coaster is a steel roller coaster operating at Dreamworld. The roller coaster is one of the tallest in the Southern Hemisphere, after originally being the tallest when it was first built. Designed by Arrow Dynamics, built in Melbourne by Able Leisure Pty. Ltd the ride was originally installed at Luna Park Sydney in 1995 as the Big Dipper before being sold and relocated to Dreamworld on the Gold Coast in 2001. When it was brought to Dreamworld, the ride was the first roller coaster to be opened on the Gold Coast since 1997. The roller coaster was named Cyclone from 2001 until 2015 when it was refurbished and named Hot Wheels SideWinder as part of the new Motorsport Experience themed land from 2015 to 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocky Hollow Log Ride</span> Amusement park ride

The Rocky Hollow Log Ride was a log flume which took groups of 4 riders on a gentle four and a half-minute cruise through channels, in and out of buildings, before ascending the lift hill. The ride concluded with a 50 kilometres per hour (31 mph) drop causing all riders to become soaked.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leviathan (Canada's Wonderland)</span> Roller coaster

Leviathan is a steel roller coaster located at Canada's Wonderland in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. Located in the Medieval Faire section of the park, the Hyper Coaster model from Swiss firm Bolliger & Mabillard is the first roller coaster manufactured by the company to exceed a height of 91.5 metres (300 ft), putting it in a class of roller coasters commonly referred to as giga. At 1,672 metres (5,486 ft) long, 93.3 metres (306 ft) tall, and with a top speed of 148 kilometres per hour (92 mph), Leviathan is the tallest and fastest roller coaster in Canada, taking the records previously held by Behemoth on the opposite side of the park. As of July 2020, Leviathan is ranked as the seventh-tallest roller coaster in the world, the sixth tallest coaster by drop height, and the fourth-tallest traditional lift-style coaster in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom</span> Drop tower amusement ride

Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom is an amusement ride located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey. The 415 ft (126 m) attraction is attached to the Kingda Ka roller coaster and opened as the tallest drop tower ride in the world in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyperion (roller coaster)</span> Roller coaster in Poland

Hyperion is a steel roller coaster located at Energylandia in Zator, Poland. The ride was manufactured by Swiss manufacturer Intamin and opened on 14 July 2018. It is themed to a fictional mission to Saturn's moon Hyperion and reaches a height of 77 metres (253 ft), has a maximum speed of 142 kilometres per hour (88 mph), and features several hills and banked turns. As of 2021, Hyperion is the tallest, fastest, and longest roller coaster in Poland as well as the tallest roller coaster with an inversion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giant Drop (Six Flags Great America)</span> Amusement ride in Illinois, US

Giant Drop is a drop tower ride located at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois, United States. Manufactured by Intamin, the ride opened to the public on April 26, 1997, as part of a three-phase plan for the park's Southwest Territory area. The attraction opened alongside the defunct Dare Devil Dive, a skycoaster attraction, in the County Fair section of the park.

References