Forwards and backwards like a bat boomerang...
Forwards and backwards like a bat boomerang...
| Theme Park | Canada's Wonderland |
|---|---|
| Park Area | Medieval Faire |
| Type | Rollercoaster |
| Audience | Thrillseekers |
| Opened | 1987 |
| Manufacturer | Vekoma |
| Model | Boomerang |
| Height | 117 ft |
| Length | 935 ft |
| Inversions | 3 |
| Max Speed | 47 mph |
Vekoma Boomerang
Bat at Canada's Wonderland is the park's boomerang shuttle coaster.
The ride has been at the park since 1987 and is a Vekoma Boomerang rollercoaster, painted in red with supports having been both black and yellow at various points during its lifetime.
Standard Boomerang coasters all follow much the same design: From the station, the train is hauled backwards up a spike. It is released at the top, racing forwards back down the spike, around a cobra roll and through a vertical loop, ending up climbing a parallel spike. A catch car mechanism pulls the train to the top of this second spike, releasing it at the top to run through the layout again ... but this time in reverse.
Bat's train was not new when the ride opened, but instead came secondhand from the Canada's Wonderland's Dragon Fyre rollercoaster which originally had three trains.
Once a rare concept, Vekoma Boomerangs are now found at parks across the world, although they still offer a different experience from other rollercoasters. Unfortunately, Bat shares common issues with other boomerangs, offering an uncomfortably rough ride with plenty of headbanging - although it is far from the worst offender here. That, together with the limited capacity afforded by the necessarily restricting single train operation, makes it a good candidate to skip in favour of other coasters in Canada's Wonderland's extensive lineup.
The train is pulled to the top of the spike
Hanging at the top
Racing downwards
Through the vertical loop
Up the second spike
Back through the layout in reverse
