Playland’s opening weekend will welcome Vancouverites with a new and globally unique way to experience stomach-dropping fear.
“The Beast” is the park’s new ride this season. A pendulum that both swings and spins, it holds 20 riders for three minutes as it reaches heights of just over 12 storeys and speeds of 90 km/h.
“Half the people are brave enough to ride it, it seems, while the other half are brave enough to watch the other half ride it,” said Playland president and CEO Michael McDaniel Wednesday at a media unveiling of the ride.
He called it part of the park’s attempt to bring something new every year.
“It’s what we describe as an extreme ride — something that probably not everyone will ride, but you have to bring in thrill rides like that for the customer base that does like that sort of thing.”
The ride was designed and built by Europe-based engineering firm KMG International.
Robert Tucker, an installation and service representative with the company, said the project was a huge undertaking.
“This ride is the only one in the world. What makes it unique is that half of the gondolas face in and the other half face out,” he said.
Tucker said going from the idea of the ride to a reality was a long one.
A ride like the Beast takes about two months to design and another month to assemble.
“You get [the ride] in and assembled, then our chief engineer comes in and he’ll be in the booth for days, checking every switch and safety feature, repeatedly,” Tucker said.
The ride is the centrepiece of Playland’s opening this year.
McDaniel called it one of the biggest additions to the park in recent years.
“It’s our largest investment that we’ve done probably in a decade-and-a-half in Playland, for a single ride,” he said. He added the cost was “in excess” of $2.5 million.
McDaniel admitted he has not braved the ride quite yet.
“My official statement is that I will ride it at some point,” he said, laughing.
Playland opens Saturday through to Sept. 20. See pne.com/playland for more information.
Riding the Beast
As I stepped onto the platform, I questioned how scary the ride could actually be. Two minutes later, I had my answer.
I rode “The Beast” twice, once each on the inwards and outwards facing seats. Maybe I was just feeling more fragile the second time around when I sat on the outside, but I definitely preferred the inside seats. They allowed less time spent staring straight down at the park 125 feet below.
I was left painfully aware of my own mortality. I both questioned and thanked human ingenuity, the force that allowed this ride to happen to me.
No question about it, “The Beast” definitely provides a stomach-dropping thrill. I loved it, but I’ll definitely be giving myself a break before I ride again.
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