Park News
www.parkworld-online.com
Leviathan
This coming spring, Canada’s Wonderland near Toronto will unveil the 306-feet-tall (93m) Leviathan, one of the biggest and tallest rollercoasters in the world.
The $28 million (€20m) ride will dominate the
park’s landscape, taking riders to breathtaking heights and speeds never experienced before at Wonderland. Leviathan is the first coaster designed and manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) to exceed 300ft in height. B&M also constructed the 230ft-tall (70m) Behemoth, which premiered at Canada’s Wonderland in May 2008. The excitement on Leviathan will begin on the first lift hill as riders, seated in one of three 32-passenger trains with four-abreast seating, climb to that breaking height of 306ft (93.3m). What follows is an exhilarating 80º drop. Reaching a top speed of 92mph (148kmh), riders will experience extreme thrills on 5,486ft (1.67km) of track, including a series of giant camelback hills of up to 180ft (55m) and an
BALPPA backs EAG International
The British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions (BALPPA) has given its endorsement to a new UK trade show, severing its links with Leisure Industry Week (LIW) in Birmingham. BALPPA will now support the EAG International exhibition, which will take place from January 24 to 26 at ExCeL in London. The event, now in its third
overbanked hammerhead turn at 115º that will cross above the park’s front gate at 147ft (44m) high. We will go higher, longer and faster than ever before when we launch Leviathan in 2012," says the park’s vice-president and general manager Raffi Kaprelyan. “Leviathan will be our 16th coaster and now positions Canada’s Wonderland as one of the top three coaster destinations in the world.” Construction is well underway at the park, with a completion date of May 2012.
year, was founded by the coin-op trade association BACTA after the old ATEI exhibition at Earls Court was replaced by a casino show (ICE).
Arguably neither of these events will be as of much interest to park operators as, say, Euro Attractions Show, however there should be plenty of BALPPA members in town as it will be hosting its 75th anniversary dinner in London on the eve of the show The association has also planned for its AGM plus a number of other activities to take place during EAG International. “We are very proud to be working with BAALPA,”
says EAG International chairman Martin Burlin. “There is so much that our associations and industry sectors can share and learn from one another. EAG International is the ideal venue to build upon that.” London has hosted a major amusement exhibition in the last week of January for over 70 years and EAG organisers now hope their show can expand beyond its coin-op routes to embrace a broader market.
www.eagexpo.com
Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada
Ripley Entertainment is to build a $130-million (€95m) aquarium at the base of the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada. Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada, now under construction, is set to open during the summer of 2013 and is expected to draw nearly two million visitors each year. It is billed as Toronto’s most exciting new family attraction since the Hockey Hall of Fame opened in 1943. “Toronto is a world-class city and we are building a world-class aquarium,” says Jim Pattison Jnr, president of Ripley Entertainment Inc. “It’s about fish, family and fun, education and entertainment – along with a commitment to conservation and animal welfare. Ripley’s Aquarium will attract families from across Toronto, Canada and worldwide, and will generate significant jobs and economic activity in both the short- and long-term.” The City of Toronto will provide property tax incentives estimated at between $8 million and $12 million over a 12-year period. Canada Lands Company, which owns the land on which the aquarium will be built, will invest more than $10 million to redevelop the John Street corridor around the CN Tower.
Covering 135,000 square feet (12,500 sq m) the aquarium will be one of the largest in North America, and the third operated by Ripley’s following its existing outlets in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
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SEPTEMBER 2011
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