~ NEW RIDE IS A HIT ~
This is the new Topple Tower ride at Marineland in Niagara Falls Canada. It opened for the first time this past Saturday, and is only the second of its kind in North America. It was fun to ride, but not at all what you thought it would be. However it is still a nice addition to the park.
~ MARINELAND ADDS NEW FAMILY THRILL RIDE ~
Marineland visitors are going head over heels for the newest ride at the theme park. Or at least that's how they feel after a twirl aboard the Topple Tower, only the second ride of its kind in North America. "It's like a rocking chair," said Sonia Devin, who was visiting Marineland with her family from Mirabel, Que. Sort of. Imagine rocking the chair to the point where it's about to fall over. But then imagine the chair spinning like it's on a giant turntable. Giving riders that rocking, rolling, spinning and swaying sensation is the idea behind the Topple Tower. A ring of 40 red, plastic seats circles a 25-metre tower. Riders are harnessed in and the ring is lifted to the top of the tower. When the ring of seats starts revolving around the tower, the tower itself leans forward, then backward and from side to side again. The tower tilts 60 degrees from its upright position, forming a 30-degree angle with the ground. A 200,000-pound steel weight at the base of the tower prevents it from actually falling all the way over. "It's constantly changing centripetal force in a reverse-pendulum motion," said John Holer Jr., a Marineland vice-president who looks into new developments for the park. Or a rocking chair. A sculpture of an oversized, cartoonish walrus sits atop the ride, paying tribute to the amusement park's water theme. Topple Tower is intended as a thrill-ride for families - more exciting than some of the other family rides, but not quite as scary as the Sky Screamer, which plunges riders toward the ground from 137 metres in the air. "When I choose the type of ride I buy, it's based on the kind of visitor we have. All our rides are designed to go with family usage," said Marineland owner John Holer Sr. Anthony Tizzrad, a young rider from Newfoundland said: "It's fun. It's very exciting." But his uncle, John St. Croix from Mississauga, said some speed would enhance it "It could be a lot faster. Could get the kids screaming a little more," St. Croix said. As the park's owner, Holer Sr., hand-picks the new rides he adds to the 46-year-old park he founded. He goes to an annual convention of amusement park operators in Orlando, Fla., to check out the latest in ride technology. "People want to see something different from what they have seen before. If you don't expand continuously, your business will go down," Holer said. Holer doesn't talk publicly about how much he spends to build new rides. But Topple Tower was built by a German company, Huss Park Attractions and shipped to Canada by boat. Only four others have been installed worldwide, Holer said. Topple Tower is located a little north of where Holer has been working on his River Country attraction for years. It will be based on a four-kilometre man-made river running through Marineland property. Eventually, a boat and train will take passengers through the area. Many of Marineland's animals now in pens will be moved to the River Country territory where people will be able to view them."In three years, our River Country should be completed," Holer said.
Files from the Niagara Falls Review
