Vancouver Playland is getting a new ride

[KingOfNynex2003]

^

Yep. I was there near noon, and stayed till after 2 pm.

 

I got just one ride on Atmosfear, wearing my newly-bought

white "What Fear?" t-shirt from the Playland Gift Shop.

($20 - not included with their current 50% off Everything Sale, lol)

 

It was great in "normal weather" too, heh heh. (Compared to all the

rain I put up with yesterday, on it's Opening Day.)

An adrenalin rush, I must say. And an excellent view of the city and

mountains, if you could focus quick enough, whirling around so fast.

 

That is so funny, I actually was sitting right behind you when you were on the bleachers at Atmosfear, I actually got onto it 3 times today, I got there around noonish as well and left at 3pm.

[tesla500]

I found out around midnight on Saturday that Atmosfear was open, so I went to Playland on Sunday. Lineup wasn't bad in the morning, got on 3 times. Awesome ride and spectacular views. However...

 

They freaking reduced the swing height of the Pirate ship!!! It seems to be about 3m less than it was before. It barely has any airtime now I bet the safety inspector forced them to do that because they're so close. I hope they can adjust the ride program for Atmosfear and get the Pirate going at full speed again.

[KingOfNynex2003]

I found out around midnight on Saturday that Atmosfear was open, so I went to Playland on Sunday. Lineup wasn't bad in the morning, got on 3 times. Awesome ride and spectacular views. However...

 

They freaking reduced the swing height of the Pirate ship!!! It seems to be about 3m less than it was before. It barely has any airtime now I bet the safety inspector forced them to do that because they're so close. I hope they can adjust the ride program for Atmosfear and get the Pirate going at full speed again.

 

You noticed that too huh? It really shouldn't affect that ride because of the fact that by the time Atmosfear starts actually spinning they're already above the height of the Pirate Ship.

[Nrthwnd]

^^ and ^

 

That's a shame, if they're now doing that with the Pirate Ship Swing.

 

I've been so busy riding other rides in the park, and waiting and

waiting (and waiting) for Atmosfear to open, and now that it has,

not even noticing the 'height difference' with the swing of the Pirate, since then.

 

Am going this morning, when the park opens,

so will check that out for myself.

 

Still...

[Crazy_Behemoth_Lady_Jess]

I'm actually not surprized they're doing that to the pirate ship.

 

EVERY ride at Playland has been watered down to some extent for a while now. You probably know that with Breakdance, Gladiator, Crazy Beach Party, and Music Express (it used to go forewards and backwards). I asked the rides manager why those rides aren't running at full speed, and the "excuse" he gave me was that "if we run them any faster, we'll have to raise all the height limits". They've even taken out the music for the Merry-Go-Round for a couple of years now. Even though I don't go on that ride, what is a Merry-Go-Round without music?!

 

Is AtmosFEAR running at full speed? If so, will they be toning it down anytime soon? I'd hope not.

[Nrthwnd]

Got back from the park, earlier.

Atmosfear felt to be running just as good,

and as fast, as it was for my first two rides on it.

 

As for the Pirate Ship, the ride ops on the Skywheel

were just talking about that same thing, when I asked

them about whether they knew about it, etc.

 

The explanation they'd been given (from management?),

was that with the swings on Atmosfear,swinging out

when the speed was up but still low on the tower,

"caused concern" as to how close the Pirate Ship's south 'swing'

was coming to the swings on Atmosfear.So - they decided

to amp down the "max swinging height" on the Pirate.

 

But your new info. ^ leads me to believe management is trying to get

more families to ride all of the rides at the park, than just making

it all (uh) "thrill rides, with a kiddie's ride area."

 

Too bad to hear about the merry-go-round music being off that long, too.

I guess I had't ridden it enough times back then,

to notice there ever was any music playing on it.

[tesla500]

Just got this email back from Playland:

Thanks for your inquiry. The swing height of the ride is not due to Atmosfear being opened. The pirate ship is undergoing a computer upgrade that temporarily restricts the height of the ride.

 

It will be resolved shortly and be restored back to the original height. If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me directly.

 

So hopefully the Pirate ship will be back to normal soon.

[KingOfNynex2003]

that's good, I was kind of worried there because I love that Pirate Ship, it's one of the best flat rides in the park.

[Nrthwnd]

^^ Am glad to read that.

 

The ride ops I spoke with earlier,

will probably be glad to find that out, too.

 

Rode Atmosfear earlier today - still running great.

[Nrthwnd]

Well, it's been a couple of weeks since Atmosfear opened to the public,

on Saturday,July 16th.

 

And it was also our annual Gay Day at Playland, the same day!

 

And - true to Vancouver weather being the way it can be - it rained most of the day.

 

But, I went with red (!) kneeboots on and my red Nagashima Spaland rain poncho

and red Steel Dragon 2000 t-shirt on (red t-shirts are usually worn at these events)

and rode the new attraction, though while I was in line it had a 'minor glitch,'

as it stopped twenty or so feet above the loading floor while coming down.

And then (after finally getting it to the ground level and the riders off it),

had to be shut down for several minues for checking and adjustements, etc.

Then, it was up and twirling again, LOL!

 

Photos here besides the ride, also include some of the great volunteers who helped make

Gay Day at Playland a memorable (although somewhat soggy) day for all, including

us first Atmosfear riders.

 

And - it's Vancouver's Pride Weekend this weekend - the big parade's tomorrow - so Happy Pride Everybody!

These were a few of the volunteers who helped you have a great Gay Day at Playland.

And this nice volunteer was at the entrance to the Special Events area of the park. And ooooo, Atmosfear's running!

In the Special Events area, information booths for Vancouver's Pride Week, with more great people helping out.

A shot of Atmosfear, from the Special Events area. With the Hellevator tower in front.

This Special Events area also came with a bar and two great bartenders here. Hi guys!

Another shot of you-know-what, lol! Looks great doesn't it, even with overcast, rainy-filled skies?

Me in my Gay Day Outfit. I also had my red Theme Park Review backbag with me, too! And we got a First Riders button! Wet, but happy that Atmosfear is open.

I like this shot I took of Atmosfear, the best - with a bit of BLING along side it. Happy Pride everyone!

[Crazy_Behemoth_Lady_Jess]

A little update.

 

I was just at The Fair at the PNE today and I got to ride Atmosfear for the first time. It was a lot better than I expected. It wasn't thrilling, but I didn't really expect it to be, but it was definately quite forceful especially spinning when at full speed. This year, Atmosfear AND Hellavator are included in the ride pass. The only thing is, Hellavator only runs on turbo drop mode now.

 

I am guessing from Atmosfear being included in the ride pass this year that it is going to become a pay-per-ride next year. I can't quite see that working out, because the ride holds 24 passengers each load and I'm not sure how many people are willing to pay to ride it. That would mean quarter or half full loads on most Playland days.

[Nrthwnd]

I remember when they turned Hellevator into an "upcharge ride" during the PNE run, and hardly anybody rode it during the fair.

 

Now "the word I heard" is, that Atmosfear gets to be an upcharge for next year's fair, and Hellevator, won't.

 

But - why can't they drop the upcharge idea for both of them in the first place? I mean, the Evolution and the Drop Zone are so low capacity, I fully understand there be a (possible) need for such a thing as upcharging for them. Maintenance, ride ops and all.

 

But still - I think this will definitely be a Big Mistake at next year's fair, if management goes thru with that idea.

 

Tune in and find out...

[KingOfNynex2003]

BUMP

 

I went to Opening Day of Playland a few weeks ago now and I am thankful it was overcast and eventually started raining later in the day because I got on to Atmosfear 6 times and I didn't even need to use my Exit Ride Pass a single time to get on to it anyway so far it isn't an upcharge ride, but that might change during PNE, I doubt it though because it seems to have lost some of its popularity since last year, it might be better as the season progresses, I might be going down there on May 19th, if anyone is interested in coming let me know, I'll be wearing my Paint With Passion And Purpose shirt and sitting on the Atmosfear benches for most of the day getting some pictures of the ride. Also I've got an iFly Backpack, let me know if any of you would want to meet up, I want to use my Seasons Pass as much as I can. Oh I also forgot to mention that I'll be wearing Khaki Pants and something like these shoes http://etnies.com/shop/fader-15-rockstar/black-yellow-grey/alt1/ only they'll have yellow laces instead of black laces, so they'll be easy to see. Hope to see some of you out there, oh and I'm most likely going to be the only fat guy at the park

 

EDIT: I also got my first time lapse video this year after many years of being lazy and not wanting to make one, and it's up on Youtube now, it's an Atmosfear time lapse, now I did something strange to the video, I'm hoping one of you will be able to catch it, it happens before the POV, so you'll know what to look for, hopefully.

 

EDIT2:

I really need to start getting better sleep at night

[Nrthwnd]

^

 

Hey - am planning to also be at Playland on Saturday.

I usually go between 1100 and noon.

I like to see the games arcade open (they open at noon),

even though I rarely play any of the games. Silly, but to me,

it makes the park look more complete, after noon.

 

My main arcade enjoyment is those capsule machines, heh heh.

It's from the massive number of machines in Japan I discovered, on TPR Tours.

 

And The Best Day (in the season) to visit the park - sorry moms - Mothers Day!

Practically deserted and everything was a literal walk-on.

 

You see the pic above of me at the Gay Day, last year.

Probably not the red shirt, though.

 

See you there, at AtmosFEAR.

[KingOfNynex2003]

Cool, see you there Nrthwnd

[Nrthwnd]

^ Hey, sorry if we missed each other.

 

I was at the park around 1130-ish, and

stayed to after 1 pm.

 

Tried to see if I could find you, but

except for your t-shirt and backpack

description, I didn't see many (if any)

guys at the AtmosFEAR benches that

fit the 'description.'

 

Not to mention it was very crowded today.

I only got a ride on the SkyWheel and

the Gladiator. And a couple of capsule toys, lol.

 

Maybe another time, hmm?

[KingOfNynex2003]

^ Hey, sorry if we missed each other.

 

I was at the park around 1130-ish, and

stayed to after 1 pm.

 

Tried to see if I could find you, but

except for your t-shirt and backpack

description, I didn't see many (if any)

guys at the AtmosFEAR benches that

fit the 'description.'

 

Not to mention it was very crowded today.

I only got a ride on the SkyWheel and

the Gladiator. And a couple of capsule toys, lol.

 

Maybe another time, hmm?

 

Yeah definitely, I actually got to the park around 1ish, I went straight to Atmosfear, got on it 4 times today, gotta love that Exit Ride Pass, and I got onto the Coaster twice, once in the front, once in the back, good practice for when me and my friend do the Fundraiser for the Make A Wish and Give Kids The World Foundations on July 11th, if you're free you should come by, I heard they'll be closing down the Coaster for 3 hours just for us so we can do this Marathon, unless we can't get enough people to fill the entire Coaster train.

[Nrthwnd]

^ Okay, cool.

 

Does this mean I can join you in riding Coaster

for the Marathon, on July 11th, a Wednesday?

 

Will do my best - but need to know what the rules (& time)

of it all are. I donate to a lot of other charities,

but am glad others locally, are taking up The Challenge.

 

So - will help where I can that day for you guys, okay>?

No problemo!

[KingOfNynex2003]

^Yes of course you can help us out, we've been trying to find some people who could handle staying on the Coaster for 3 hours, but as you can imagine, not many people can handle going onto that monster for that long. The rules are simple, we just need to stay on the Coaster for 3 hours, we can change seats as much as we want to, but we will be taking a 15 minute break for some of the people. The times are hopefully going to be 11am-2pm, I haven't got an e-mail back from Playland yet, but I'm going to be calling Kate on Tuesday and asking her to tell us if we can do this, I'll convince her any way I can.

[KingOfNynex2003]

This just finished uploading, took me 3 hours to adjust the time for it so that it was close to how long Atmosfear runs for, this one goes a little fast, instead of 3 minutes from start to finish, this one is 2 minutes 42 seconds, so it's a tiny bit faster than the real version, but nobody would be able to tell the difference anyway.

[Nrthwnd]

^^ Cool, I am in, buddy!

 

I ride The Beast like a bucking bronco so

if I can ride solo in the third seat,

I'll be great! Otherwise, will adjust

accordingly, heh heh.

 

[KingOfNynex2003]

Thanks Nrthwnd, now we're that much closer to getting an entire train filled. Also could you check out that Time Lapse video please? I'm about to make another one, this one will be of the Coaster, I took my camera on to it in the front row and I'm trying to figure out how many seconds I'll want each photo to be seen for to make it look like the 163 photos I took while on that ride is the same time as the ride time itself from when I started the ride to where I get off of the ride, I'm pretty sure the average ride time is about 1 minute 55 seconds. So I took 163 photos, hypothetically speaking let's say I had each photo shown for 1 second, that'd be just under 3 minutes, which is far too long, so let's see, 1/2 second would make it a little over 1 minute 21 seconds, which is too fast, so let's see, 3/4 of a second would make it 2 minutes 2.25 seconds, I think I'll try it at .70 seconds per photo, that way it'll be a tiny bit faster than the Coaster.

[Nrthwnd]

^ Thanks. Am almost 60, but can still ride it like a 20 yr.old, lol!

 

As for my own checking on Coaster's timing per ride....

 

I have done it by a plain watch and second hand - and

usually always come up with a two minute ride.

 

From out of the station to back into it. Simple.

 

Will look at your vid though.

[Nrthwnd]

 

A bit jerky in the presentation of

still photos ~ and no soundtrack -

but still pretty good with the

start-to-finish aspect of it.

 

And - much better than what I could

ever come up with. Congrats.

[KingOfNynex2003]

Thanks Nrthwnd, I did put on some Royalty Free Music on there, I've got a few warnings from Youtube about Matched Third Party Content so I'm trying to use some Royalty Free Music right now, unfortunately it's not easy finding some good one's that I can put onto my iTunes account.

 

edit: I have now finished the Coaster Time Lapse video and it's at 1 minute 54.80 seconds long, which is running at around the same time as the Coaster normally does.