Photo TR- Playland in Vancouver

[VegasCoaster]

I really want to go out there some time, the Coaster looks fabulous. This might be the engineer in me, but did anyone else notice how they mix English and metric units on the sign? 70 ft. tall and hitting 90 km/h.

[Scaparri]

I remember seeing Coaster ranked fairly high up, I wanna say Top 25, in the Mitch Hawker poll and was quite surprised, simply because I had never heard much of anything about it. Well, I guess this explains it!

 

I wish Playland had Japan-style operations. I'm contemplating a trip to the 2010 Winter Olympics and it would be wicked awesome if the park was open, but I'm sure that's just a fantasy.

 

Nice TR!

[Goliath513]

This Wild Mouse was without a doubt the scariest ride in the park. Possibly the scariest thing I've ridden ever. No exaggeration. A Mouse is supposed to provide you with a feeling of controlled mayhem on the turns. This was a whole 'nother enchilada. I have not closed my eyes on a ride since I was 11. Today, I did.

That sounds just like the 50 year old "Wild Chipmunk" at Lakeside Amusement Park in Denver. That entire ride is literally built on grass with almost no solid foundation. Every time I ride it I'm surprised the whole thing doesn't just collapse.

 

Overall, Playland is a quirky, pretty little park that somehow juxtaposes clean family charm with a carnival deathtrap vibe. Points for the mountain views and friendly staff. No points for the ghetto Corkscrew-- come on guys, let's get in there with a coat of paint!

+180 points for the Final Destination reference!

 

It's almost scary how similar this park is to Lakeside. They both have the classic woodies, wild mouse of death, ghetto fair rides in a permanent location, that erie feeling throughout the park, the single S&S tower, and everything in between. Now all Lakeside needs is a Vekoma death machine! Sorry to go back and forth between parks, but as a FD fan the connection is almost too much for me to handle.

 

 

Back to Playland now... Looks like a great park in the day too. Nice PTR and I agree with what Robb said about the captions. They are awesome. Too bad my family and I didn't have an extra day to go here when we were in Vancouver a few summers ago.

[Nosferatu]

Great trip report! I think it's great to see old rides, that can still deliver a much wilder ride than most new coasters! Not that many 50 year old coasters left that still delivers this kind of rides!

[televisedconfession]

See, to me, there is nothing.... what's a good word... sexier, than a rusty, live-or-die small compact steel coaster. I get excited by the danger of it all. When I lived in Mexico, I would go to the smaller, no saftey regulations type theme parks. Talk about a thrill! MMMMMM Heaven.

 

Great report.

[thecoasterkid]

I definitely have plans to visit Vancouver in the winter (okay...more like Whistler) but now I'll have to head out there in the summer too. Playland looks like it's definitely worth the stop if you're in the area, but not a place to go miles out of your way for.

 

Great TR, hope you can squeeze in time for more parks between projects!

 

Shawn "massive Juno fan" Goode

[DCody]

Thanks for all the nice replies!

 

Call me lame (I am) but I didn't even realize Corkscrew was a Vekoma. No wonder it made me think of Whirlwind. Duh.

 

You'd think Final Destination 3 would have used a TOGO.

[montezooma]

Great trip report. Love your pics, Love your comments, Love your style!

[Nrthwnd]

Overall, Playland is a quirky, pretty little park that somehow juxtaposes clean family charm with a carnival deathtrap vibe. Points for the mountain views and friendly staff. No points for the ghetto Corkscrew-- come on guys, let's get in there with a coat of paint!

 

 

Can I adopt you, and be your quirky stoner Canadian Gay Uncle?

 

 

(Some nice landscaping would certainly help, too IMhO)

[cosmic hearse]

My friend-- a big dude-- was yelling "FAT MAN OVERBOARD!" and gripping the lap bar for dear life.

 

Great TR, I'm at work slacking off and half awake and I just starting laughing so loud when I read that. All these people in the lobby looked over at me like I was crazy.

 

"Coaster" sounds amazing! My friends and I are planning a trip to Vancouver and I'm going to tell them we have to make a stop at Playland.

[jackskellington101]

Thanks for all the nice replies!

 

Call me lame (I am) but I didn't even realize Corkscrew was a Vekoma. No wonder it made me think of Whirlwind. Duh.

 

You'd think Final Destination 3 would have used a TOGO.

 

Or at least used that Wild Mouse. The seems to be more the death machine than the Corkscrew.

 

Call me lame (which I am) but please to be explaining the hilarity of the sign, outside that one haunted house is now two.

 

Loving the TR! Sounds like a both charming and horrifically terrifying park.

[Corkscrew]

Sorry for bumping up a semi-old topic, but I figured it's okay because the last post was less than a month ago.

 

Anyways, great TR. Playland is my home park and is a lot of fun, so I recommend you guys try to get there. Wild Mouse is scary, I thought the thing was going to collapse on me when I rode it. It screeches, rattles, and shakes like it's going to explode! Corkscrew is fun, and although I've heard it's much better than Alton's Corkscrew, there is still quite a bit of headbanging if you don't push your head back. Coaster is really cool. The seats are nice, but that doesn't matter when you're launched over the lap bar the entire ride, heh. Kettle Creek Mine is a nice family coaster, not much to say other than that. And finally, it has some nice other rides... a Breakdance, Top Spin, Log Flume, Space Shot, an enterprise, and a Frisbee to name a few.

 

Oh, by the way, the reason there are two names for the Haunted House is because there is two different sides to it, if I remember correctly.

[TheRapidsNerd]

You'd think Final Destination 3 would have used a TOGO.

The movie execs wouldn't stand for it?

[DATman]

Great TR! Would be excellent to get out there someday.

[downunder]

From the photos that have been in our news about Jennifer's Body (well, it was more about Megan's body), I think the entire male demographic is definitely nailed. I have to admit I am keen to see Dcody's take on the horror genre.

 

That wild mouse makes me think of that weird coaster contraption that looks like it has been contructed from scrap metal in that rather unusual Chevy Chase/John Candy/Dan Ackroyd film Nothing But Trouble.

[Nrthwnd]

Wild Mouse is scary, I thought the thing was going to collapse on me when I rode it. It screeches, rattles, and shakes like it's going to explode!

 

Hmmm. The last time I tried to ride the Mouse solo, they wouldn't let me. Even with all those sand weight bags they have in (most of) the cars, lol.

 

How long ago did you ride it, solo? I would really like to ride it again, but I just put it off, after that incident happened. This was two seasons ago too, so they may have changed their policy.

 

It still boggles your body and throws you around in a framework you think won't hold the track up, LOL!

 

A good scare. Love it.

[Corkscrew]

Wild Mouse is scary, I thought the thing was going to collapse on me when I rode it. It screeches, rattles, and shakes like it's going to explode!

 

Hmmm. The last time I tried to ride the Mouse solo, they wouldn't let me. Even with all those sand weight bags they have in (most of) the cars, lol.

 

How long ago did you ride it, solo? I would really like to ride it again, but I just put it off, after that incident happened. This was two seasons ago too, so they may have changed their policy.

 

It still boggles your body and throws you around in a framework you think won't hold the track up, LOL!

 

A good scare. Love it.

I've never tried riding it solo, but I'm sure they would let you if you went to it when it's not busy. I've seen people riding solo before. Last time I rode with one of my friends... not the most comfortable thing I've done!