PW NOV08 P58-60 v4.qxd:PW NOV08 P58-60 v4.qxd 4/11/08 10:32 Page 60
Ride Profile
www.parkworld-online.com
be sold out on a daily business has been
basis. tremendously
"A zip line is successful," reveals
affected by the Caughey. "Sales are
weather," he confirms. ahead of budget by
"It is not just a 20% year-to-date in
machine that delivers what has been the
the same capacity wettest summer on
continually. The record. We have folks
riders, wind and calling all day asking
precipitation have an about reservations."
effect on the capacity. In addition to the
Our first season the installation at Wildcat
wait was two hours Mountain, ZipRiders
during peak times. currently operate in
This season, with four the US at Utah's Park
cables, the wait during peak was about 30 minutes City Mountain Resort; Heavenly Valley in Lake Tahoe,
or less if all environmental factors were good. You Nevada; Icy Strait Point on Chichagof Island, Alaska;
need enough crew to keep everyone smiling and as well as Bobrovy Log Fun Park in Krasnoyarsk,
moving smoothly to avoid delays. Staffing was as Siberia. New installations are planned for the
expected when we bought the ride." Grindelwald Resort in Switzerland and Sno Mountain
As you’d expect from a man that also represents Resort in Scranton, Pennsylvania, with more on the
Wiegand, Hays recommends pairing the ZipRider way. According to Cylvick, several amusement parks
with the German company’s Mountain Coaster are currently looking into the ZipRider system too.
(reviewed in these pages last
summer – search for it at
parkworld-online.com).
"Having a ZipRider fly over
the top of a Mountain
Coaster is excellent synergy
because people will want to
do both. These two rides
operate together at the Park
City Mountain Resort in Utah
and the financial success for
both rides has been
tremendous. The Mountain
Coaster paid off in 18
months and the ZipRider has
a similar payoff."
The impact ZipRider has
had on Wildcat's business is
notable. "Our summer
Sky Safe Travel
capacity at small incremental increase in cost. Unlike a classic zip
line, the ZipRider trolley has a constant brake that prevents excessive
speeds and is automatically controlled by the rider's weight and
Compared to other zip line systems, Wildcat Mountain general
aerodynamics. It can operate year-round, and does not require
manager Tom Caughey found ZipRider to be, "by far the most well
highly trained operators.
thought out and engineered system for smooth safe operation. The
"Traditional canopy tour zip lines suspend cables between trees
design of the trolley, the terminal brakes, and the ability to handle
and typically have a big ‘belly’ in the middle of the cable," explains
the volume of riders we experience were key. There are very few
Terra-Nova president Eric Cylvick. "Riders accelerate down into the
moving parts and it can stand the weather we have here –
belly and decelerate as they climb back up. Our ZipRider cables are
including the world's highest recorded surface wind speed (almost
tensioned in a manner where there is no belly; it is a straight shot
231 miles per hour on nearby Mount Washington)!”
down to the bottom towers.”
Opening up a whole new world of sky travel, ZipRider can be
“Multiple safety redundancies are included,” he continues, “and
adapted to almost any location from level terrain to mountainside
every aspect of the ride is patented in the US and Europe. Our
and can even be retrofitted to pre-existing towers or structures. It is
terminal braking system at the end of the ride brings riders to a safe
compliant to ASTM amusement ride codes, ANSI-B77 tramway
and complete stop, for example. Our equipment retrieval system
codes, and is currently being reviewed by the TÜV for upcoming
brings the riding equipment back up to the top tower after each
installations in Europe.
ride so our equipment only comes off the cables for routine
Cables are tensioned, which eliminates any horizontal oscillation.
inspection and spare part replacement. This greatly reduces the
Multiple lines can be installed parallel to each other increasing
chance of operator error."
60
NOVEMBER 2008
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