Leviathan (roller coaster)

Leviathan /lɪˈvaɪ.əθən/ is a steel roller coaster at Canada's Wonderland in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. Located in the Medieval Faire section of the park, the Hyper Coaster model from Swiss firm Bolliger & Mabillard is the first roller coaster manufactured by the company to exceed a height of 91.5 metres (300 ft), putting it in a class of roller coasters commonly referred to as giga. At 1,672 metres (5,486 ft) long, 93.3 metres (306 ft) tall, and with a top speed of 148 kilometres per hour (92 mph), Leviathan is the tallest and fastest roller coaster in Canada, taking the records previously held by Behemoth on the opposite side of the park.[5][6][7] As of July 2020, Leviathan is ranked as the eighth-tallest roller coaster in the world and the fourth-tallest traditional lift-style coaster in the world.[1][8]

Leviathan
A picture of Leviathan's sculpture, plaza, station, and lift hill.
Canada's Wonderland
LocationCanada's Wonderland
Park sectionMedieval Faire
Coordinates43°50′40.22″N 79°32′32.76″W
StatusOperating
Soft opening date27 April 2012 (2012-04-27)[1]
Opening date6 May 2012 (2012-05-06)[2]
CostUS$28,000,000
General statistics
TypeSteel
ManufacturerBolliger & Mabillard
DesignerWerner Stengel[3]
ModelHyper coaster
Track layoutOut and Back
Lift/launch systemChain lift hill
Height93.3 m (306 ft)
Drop93.3 m (306 ft)
Length1,672 m (5,486 ft)
Speed148 km/h (92 mph)
Inversions0[4]
Duration3:28
Max vertical angle80°
Capacity1650 riders per hour
G-force4.5
Height restriction137–203 cm (4 ft 6 in–6 ft 8 in)
RestraintsLap bar and seat belt
Fast Lane Plus only available
Must transfer from wheelchair
Leviathan at RCDB
Pictures of Leviathan at RCDB

Leviathan was the 16th roller coaster to be built at Canada's Wonderland.[9][10] The ride was announced in August 2011,[11] its track was completed in February 2012,[12] and the first test run was completed on 15 March 2012. The coaster opened to season pass holders on 27 April 2012,[13] and to the general public on 6 May 2012.

History

In the early planning stages of Leviathan, had Bolliger & Mabillard declined to make a roller coaster over 91.5 metres (300 ft), the park would have gotten another manufacturer to design the roller coaster. Walter Bolliger admitted that he "owed" the park, as an inverted roller coaster could not be built several years earlier because of an exclusivity clause with Cedar Point.[14]

Speculation about a new roller coaster at Canada's Wonderland began in early 2011, when construction work started around the Dragon Fire ride and the Go Karts.[15] On 3 July 2011, Canada's Wonderland launched a teaser website featuring a countdown clock to 18 August 2011, 7:00 am.[16] accessible through the park's Facebook page.[17] The website also featured quotations from online theme park reporters and Cedar Fair's CEO.[16]

Announcement and construction

Canada's Wonderland announced Leviathan at 7:00 am on 18 August 2011,[18][19] and the ride was also announced live on Breakfast Television Toronto.[20][11] Erection of the track began during the week of 11 September 2011;[21] the brake-run and station portions of track were completed by the end of September.[22]

On 18 October 2011, the coaster's longest and heaviest lift hill track piece, standing at 36.6 metres (120 ft) long, was installed.[23] By mid–November the lift hill and drop were finished and the overbank turn was nearing completion.[24] Construction continued through December and January,[25][26] and the track was completed on 7 February 2012.[12] The first test run was completed on 15 March 2012,[27] and on 18 April 2012, Canada's Wonderland announced on its Facebook account that a 30.5-metre (100 ft) tunnel would be placed at the bottom of the ride's first drop.[28]

First rider auction

On 19 January 2012, Canada's Wonderland launched an auction in which bidders around the world competed to be one of the first ninety-six public riders on Leviathan on 27 April 2012, a week before the park officially opened the ride. The auction raised over C$40,000, which was donated to the Hospital for Sick Children.[1][29] The highest bid in the auction for a single seat was $1,000.[1] When bidders got to ride the roller coaster, the tunnel at the bottom of the first drop was not yet installed.[30]

Ride experience

It's fast, it's smooth and it's got an incredible thrill.[13]

— Dineen Beaven, manager of Public Relations and Events at Canada's Wonderland

As of 2017, Leviathan is Bolliger & Mabillard's second tallest and fastest roller coaster, and the company's first giga coaster – a class of roller coasters with a height or drop that exceeds 91.5 metres (300 ft).[4][31][32] One cycle of the ride lasts about 3 minutes and 28 seconds.[33][34]

Leviathan at dusk as seen from the parking lot.

Layout
The hammerhead turn on the Leviathan.

After leaving the station, the train turns 180 degrees to the right, then begins to climb the chain lift hill. Once at the top of the 93.3-metre (306 ft) lift, it drops to the ground at an 80-degree angle, reaching 148 kilometres per hour (92 mph).[34][35] Following the first drop, the train goes through a 30-metre (100 ft) tunnel next to the Wonderland Terminal, then curves upwards into a 50-metre-tall (164.0 ft) overbanked banked turn to the right. This is followed by another drop that enters a speed hill, which makes a high speed turn slightly to the left at approximately 122 kilometres per hour (76 mph).[28][34][35] The exit of the first high speed turn leads directly into a 56-metre-tall (184 ft) camelback, followed by a 44.8-metre-tall (147 ft), 115-degree hammerhead turn.[11] Both of these elements are located above the guest parking lot and in front of the park's main entrance.[34][35] After leaving the hammerhead turn, the train enters a second high-speed curve at approximately 96.5 kilometres per hour (60.0 mph). The train then traverses a smaller, 37.8-metre-tall (124 ft) camelback, leading to a third high-speed turn[34][35] which bends to the left and leads into the brake run and into the station.[34][35]

Trains
The front of Leviathan's open-air train, with orange and red lapbars used to restrain the rider.

Leviathan operates with three open-air steel and fibreglass trains[34] coloured red, orange and yellow, respectively.[36] The face of Leviathan, a theme element, covers the front of the trains.[34][37] Each train has eight cars with four seats per car, which are styled after Bolliger & Mabillard's traditional hyper coaster cars, as opposed to the staggered seating used on Behemoth. Each train seats 32 riders, who are restrained using lapbars and seatbelts.[4][34]

Track

The steel track of Leviathan is over a mile long at 1,672 metres (5,486 ft), the height of the lift hill is 93.3 metres (306 ft) and the angle of the first descent is approximately 80 degrees.[34] The color of the track is cyan and its supports are blue. Leviathan uses a single chain for the lift hill.[38]

Station and plaza
The ride's station and plaza is located in the Medieval Faire section of Canada's Wonderland.

Leviathan's station has an elevator near the exit, wooden guard rails with slanted railings and two queues, one of which is the Fast Lane queue for pass holders.[12][39][40] In front of the station is a rock fountain with a sculpture of a Leviathan on top. To the right of the sculpture, there is an arcade building that was renovated during the construction of the roller coaster.[41] Unlike most of the park's attractions, Leviathan has its own gift shop.[42]

Awards

Leviathan was ranked in the Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Awards for best new ride of 2012 with 14% of the vote, to come in third place.[43]

Golden Ticket Awards: Best New Ride for 2012
Ranking
3[43]
Golden Ticket Awards: Top steel Roller Coasters
Year20122013201420152016201720182019
Ranking 22[44]15[45]6[46]8[47]7[48]6[49]8[50]9[51]

See also

References
  1. Hunter, Paul (27 April 2012). "Canada's Wonderland's new roller coaster, Leviathan, tallest, fastest in Canada". Toronto Star. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  2. Lem, Sharon (18 August 2011). "Canada's Wonderland to debut new coaster". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  3. "News Release :: Leviathan". Canada's Wonderland. 18 August 2011. Archived from the original on 25 September 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  4. MacDonald, Brady (18 August 2011). "Canada's Wonderland to add Leviathan coaster in 2012". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  5. Marden, Duane. "Roller Coaster Search Results  (Canadian roller coasters by height)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  6. Marden, Duane. "Roller Coaster Search Results  (Canadian roller coasters by speed)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  7. Lem, Sharon (18 August 2011). "Canada's Wonderland to debut new coaster". Edmonton Sun. Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  8. Er-Chua, Gloria (18 August 2011). "Roller derby". Toronto Star. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  9. "Must-see video: Wonderland unveils new ride". CP24. 18 August 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  10. Marden, Duane. "Record Holders  (Speed)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
  11. Criger, Erin (18 August 2011). "Wonderland to offer Leviathan roller coaster ride". CityNews Toronto. Archived from the original on 19 January 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  12. Switzer, Peter (8 February 2012). "Last Piece of the Puzzle". Canada's Wonderland. Archived from the original on 11 February 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
  13. "Wonderland unveils its tallest roller-coaster". CTV News Toronto. 27 April 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  14. Baldwin, Tim (2013). "B&M Strikes the 300-foot-Barrier with Leviathan". RollerCoaster! Magazine. Zanesville, Ohio: American Coaster Enthusiasts. 34 (2): 18–20. ISSN 0896-7261.
  15. "Canada's Wonderland 2012: A Big Surprise?". NewsPlusNotes. 8 July 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  16. "Canada's Wonderland 2012". Canada's Wonderland. 2011. Archived from the original on 18 August 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  17. Canada's Wonderland (1 July 2011). "2012...Are you ready?". Retrieved 18 August 2011 – via Facebook.
  18. Canada's Wonderland (17 August 2011). "Want to be the..." Retrieved 18 August 2011 – via Facebook.
  19. Canada's Wonderland (18 August 2011). "Canada's Wonderland to unleash Leviathan in 2012!". Retrieved 18 August 2011 – via Facebook.
  20. Breakfast Television Toronto (18 August 2011). "BTtoronto's Photos – Wall Photos". Photo. Retrieved 18 August 2011 – via Facebook.
  21. Switzer, Peter (15 September 2011). "Ready For Steel". Leviathan Blog. Canada's Wonderland. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
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  25. Switzer, Peter (12 December 2011). "Continuing the Track to New Heights". Leviathan Blog. Canada's Wonderland. Archived from the original on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
  26. "Leviathan's First Test Run at Canada's Wonderland". 15 March 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2012 – via YouTube.
  27. "Canada's Wonderland "Dark" announcement". Canada's Wonderland. 18 April 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  28. ""Canada's Wonderland Opens May 6!" Newsletter". Canada's Wonderland. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  29. Cravak, Stephen (29 April 2012). "First Ride: Leviathan Unleashes Its Fury". Cravecoasters. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  30. Elkins, Ken; Wilson, Jen (19 September 2013). "New documents shed light on Carowinds negotiations, attractions". Charlotte Business Journal. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  31. "What's in store for Great America in 2014?". Lake County News-Sun. 16 August 2013. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  32. Marden, Duane. "Roller Coaster Search Results  (Bolliger & Mabillard Coasters by Height)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  33. "Leviathan Statistics". Canada's Wonderland. 18 August 2011. Archived from the original on 25 September 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  34. "Track Layout :: Leviathan". Canada's Wonderland. 18 August 2011. Archived from the original on 25 September 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
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  48. "2017 Top 50 Steel Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
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