| Playland Amusement Park | |
| Slogan: | Come and join the fun! |
| Location: | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Owner: | Pacific National Exhibition |
| Status: | Operating |
| Previous Names: | Happyland (1929–1957) |
| Visitors: | 378,000 |
| Season: | May–September |
| Area: | 15acres[1] |
| Rides: | 40 |
| Coasters: | 4 |
| Water Rides: | 1 |
Playland Amusement Park is an amusement park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The amusement park is located at Hastings Park and is operated by the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE), an organization that hosts an annual summer fair and exhibition adjacent to Playland. Playland opened at its current location in 1958, although its predecessor, Happyland, operated at Hastings Park from 1929 to 1957. Playland was formally made a division of the PNE in 1993.
Playland operates seasonally, opening from May to September every year. The park also reopens in October for its annual "Fright Nights" Halloween themed events. As of 2018, the park operated 39 attractions, including three roller coasters. Additional rides are brought in from West Coast Amusements during the PNE's annual summer fair from mid-August to Labour Day; nearly doubling the number of rides at the park.
The Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) has hosted a number of amusement rides since it opened in 1910; with an early roller coaster installed in 1915. However, a permanent amusement complex was not built until the 1920s. Built at Hastings Park, several rides were opened by 1926, including a Shoot the Chute ride and a new roller coaster, the Giant Dipper, to replace the one built in 1915.
Although the first rides were opened by 1926, Playland's predecessor, Happyland, did not fully open for its first regular season until 1929. Happyland was operated by several companies while it was open, including the British Columbia Amusement Company; and the Pacific Amusement Company. The park continued to operate until 1957, when amusement park operations were moved to its present location. The original site was demolished after the amusement park's relocation;[2] with the site later being used for Pacific Coliseum.[3]
Construction for the modern amusement park occurred from December 1957 to 1958, with the park opening in time for that year's PNE exhibition. Reopened as Playland, the park featured several new attractions including the Wooden Roller Coaster, the country's largest at the time of its opening.[4]
Although it was located adjacent to the PNE's fairgrounds, the amusement park did not formally become a division of the Pacific National Exhibition until January 1993.[2]
In 2001, the park begain operating Halloween-themed events or "Fright Nights" during the month of October. During this time, haunted houses are set up inside the amusement park and employed monsters are roaming the park scaring patrons. Most of the parks regular amusement rides are in operation. The haunted houses have been owned and managed by ScreamWorks Inc., a Calgary-based company. Fright Nights event and its including the haunted houses were managed by the PNE and Playland beginning in 2009.
In 2009, the Wooden Roller Coaster was designated with "classic" and "landmark" status by the American Coaster Enthusiasts.[5]
As of 2018, Playland is home to 39 attractions. Interactive attractions at Playland including a climbing wall, face painting, the Glass House funhouse, and mini golf.[6] Playland also has a haunted house attraction and shooting gallery, although these attractions are not included in the park's admission fee and require an additional fee for entry.[6]
The amusement park also has an arcade and a number of carnival games; including a balloon popping darts game, ring toss, Skee-Ball, and Whac-A-Mole.[7]
In addition to interactive attractions, the park also holds a number of amusement rides, including three roller coasters. In November 2022, the PNE announced it acquired a launched roller coaster from Zamperla for $9-million,[8] with plans to open the new roller coaster in 2024.
| Name | Ride manufacturer | Year opened | Type or model | Ride class | Ref(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ThunderVolt | Intamin (original); Zamperla | 2024 | Accelerator Coaster | Thrill | [9] | |
| Bug Whirled | SBF Visa Group | 2017 | Spinning figure 8 roller coaster | Family | [10] [11] | |
| Kettle Creek Mine Coaster | E&F Miler Industries | 2004 | Mine train roller coaster | Family | [12] [13] | |
| Wooden Roller Coaster | Designed by Carl Phare & Walker LeRoy; Built by Carl Phare | 1958 | Wooden roller coaster | Extreme | [14] |
| Name | Ride manufacturer | Year opened | Type or model | Ride class | Ref(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atmosfear | Funtime | 2011 | 218feet swing ride | Extreme | [15] | |
| Balloon Explorers | Zamperla | 2013 | Samba Tower Balloon Race (ride) | Family | [16] [17] | |
| The Beast | KMG Company | 2015 | Pendulum ride | Extreme | [18] [19] | |
| Breakdance | HUSS Park Attractions | 2005 | Breakdance | Extreme | [20] | |
| Cap'n KC | Kids | [21] | ||||
| Choppers | Hampton | Kids | [22] | |||
| Cool Cruzers | Hampton | Kids | [23] | |||
| Dizzy Drop | Moser Rides | 2017 | Rotating drop tower | Family | [24] [25] | |
| Enterprise | HUSS Park Attractions | 1984 | Enterprise | Extreme | [26] | |
| Flume | Mack Rides | 1985 | Log flume | Family | [27] | |
| The Flutterbye | Zamperla | 2017 | Magic Bikes | Family | [28] | |
| Gladiator | HUSS Park Attractions | 2005 | Troika | Extreme | [29] | |
| Hell's Gate | HUSS Park Attractions | 2000 | Top Spin | Extreme | [30] | |
| Hellevator | S&S – Sansei Technologies | 2000 | 60adj=midNaNadj=mid drop tower | Extreme | [31] | |
| Honeybee Express | Zamperla | 2008 | Train ride | Family | [32] | |
| Merry-Go-Round | D.H. Morgan Manufacturing | 1991 | Carousel | Family | [33] | |
| The Pirate Ship | HUSS Park Attractions | 1984 | Pirate ship | Extreme | [34] | |
| Rock-N-Cars | Majestic Manufacturing | 2018 | Bumper cars | Family | [35] [36] | |
| Scrambler | Eli Bridge Co. | 1979 | Scrambler | Family | [37] | |
| Sea to Sky Swinger | Zamperla | 2019 | Swing ride | Family | [38] [39] | |
| Skybender | Zamperla | 2022 | Gryphon | Extreme | [40] | |
| Super Slide | 2008 | Amusement park slide | Family | [41] | ||
| Teacups | Zamperla | 2013 | Teacups | Family | [42] | |
| Westcoast Wheel | Mulligan Engineering | 2007 | Ferris Wheel | Family | [43] |
Past attractions at Playland included the "Nintendo Power Zone", an area where guests could play the latest games for Nintendo and PlayStation video game consoles; and a maze built out of covered chain link fencing. Corkscrew was the last roller coaster removed from the amusement park, closing in 2018.
| Name | Ride manufacturer | Year opened | Year closed | Type or model | Ref(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calypso | Schwarzkopf | |||||
| Crazy Beach Party | HUSS Park Attractions | 2004 | 2021 | Frisbee | ||
| Corkscrew | Vekoma | 1994 | 2018 | Corkscrew with Bayerncurve roller coaster | [44] | |
| Dragon Coaster | Zamperla | 2003 | Powered roller coaster | [45] | ||
| Ferris Wheel | Eli Bridge Co. | 1924 | 2006 | Ferris Wheel | ||
| Drop Zone | Skycoaster Company | 1998 | 2022 | Skycoaster | ||
| Giant Octopus | Eyerly | 2004 | ||||
| Music Express | Mack Rides | 1980 | 2021 | Music Express | ||
| Raiders | 2014 | Jungle gym | ||||
| Rainbow | HUSS Park Attractions | 1984 | 2003 | Rainbow | ||
| Revelation | Gravity Works | 2000 | 2022 | Skyscraper | [46] | |
| Scooters | Floyd & Baxter | 1966 | 2013 | Bumper cars | ||
| Super Big Gulp/Jet Scream II | Anton Schwarzkopf | 1972 | 1994 | Jet Star 2 roller coaster | [47] | |
| Tilt-A-Whirl | Sellner Manufacturing | 2004 | Tilt-A-Whirl | |||
| Wave Swinger | Zierer | 1980 | 2018 | Swing ride | ||
| Wild Mouse | Princeton Machine | 1979 | 2008 | Wild Mouse roller coaster | [48] | |
| Zillerator | DPV Rides | 1996 | 1997 | Galaxi roller coaster |
In addition to the permanent rides installed at the amusement park, West Coast Amusements (WCA) also brings in temporary rides to Hastings Park for the PNE's annual fair from mid-late August to early September.[49] WCA operates a travelling carnival circuit whose inventory includes over 100 amusement rides such as Ferris Wheels, Hurricane, Music Express, and Scrambler.[49] [50] However, the lineup of rides that the WCA brings to the PNE varies from year-to-year.
The amusement park has been used for the filming of several films. The 1999 Canadian teen-drama film Rollercoaster, was shot at the park. The opening scenes of the horror film Final Destination 3 were also shot at the park, utilizing the now-retired Corkscrew roller coaster, seen in the film as "Devil's Flight", and the Hellevator tower as "High Dive". Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days was filmed at Playland for the boardwalk scene, where the Corkscrew and The Revelation ("Cranium Shaker" in the movie) rotating arm ride were shown along with many smaller rides. The Nickelodeon original movie Splitting Adam was also filmed at Playland's water park. The 2010 film was also filmed at Playland, highlighting the now-retired Wave Swinger ride.[51] The 1996 film, Fear was shot there in the summer of 1995. In 2016, The Edge of Seventeen starring Hailee Steinfeld filmed a scene with co-star Hayden Szeto featuring the Westcoast Wheel and mini-golf course along with the background scenery in screen.