The History of The Bat at Canada's Wonderland
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.ย. 2024
- The Bat is a Vekoma Boomerang backwards looping coaster that opens as a major new attraction at Canada's Wonderland in 1987. Come take a trip into the past as we look at its opening and history. #canadaswonderland2021 #cedarfair
The crank sound The Bat makes when it goes up each side of the rollercoaster is iconic.
I remember the first summer The Bat was there, it was one of the only years that I did not get a season pass. I went for only one day to check out The Bat. The Minebuster didn't have rubberized floors and so all this loose pocket change slid across the floor on the lift hill and into the back seat. This was the very first time that I saw a Loonie $1 coin and it wad on this early July day of 1987 when I made the visit primarily for The Bat.
Well into the 90s the ride still had a 45 minute to 1 hour line-up. In summer 93 me and my friend got extremely high on the grassy hill and then invested 25 or 30 minutes in the line up. He had sunstroke or something and had to abandon line to get some water and relax in the shade for a bit, so we left the line-up after making it about halfway there.
In Louisville they had The Vampire at Kentucky Kingdom when that park was managed by Six Flags. It was the same, except it was purple/violet track instead of red.
The Vampire at Six Flags had terminal operational issues, and in the 1990s it was on RealTV after a rollback situation got the train stuck in the helix with the front and back of the train sticking up beyond vertical at both ends.
I don't know how many times The Vampire got stuck like that, but in the early 2000s it was removed for efficiency issues and was replaced with a lime green shuttle loop, which was possibly built by Schwarzkopf but I could be wrong about that.
It is possible that The Bat has survived the test of time because of the fact that it uses a train by Aero Dynamics. I wonder if The Bat used a Vekoma train, would it have had some of the well documented problems seen with The Vampire. The Vampire incident was recorded on tape, a rollback situation with Dragon Fire in 1989 or 1990 is very very very undocumented or forgotten. Rollback is a fascinating topic.
I wonder what were they thinking painting the support beams yellow. Maybe it was a type of primer for the purpose of doing a multi-seasonal durability test. Maybe it was a sealant.
In many shots you can see the Bayern Curve in the foreground. That was the park's only Schwarzkopf train ride. I heard it was removed years ago. Clökwurker is nearby and I know they changed that to Clockworks at some point. Originally all the rides in the medievel area had Old English spelling. IE: Fyre, Wilde. Several things near the bat were Swiss themed and named but by 1992 they started dropping all of the above and flattening accents to rebrand everything in plain/bland modern english.
It is impressive that The Bat has survived so many decades. They really need to hybridize The Wild Beast and give it a red or purple steel hybrid track, I think it would compliment The Bat if it was retrofitted for hybrid use and given a little bit of color on the track surface.
I came to Canada in 1987 and got to ride the BAT. Who also remembers the McDonald's themed Cups with Flintstones, Smurfs and Jetsons? Good times!
Don’t forget scooby doo to
In 2006 I worked at Canada's Wonderland as a ride operator and worked on the Bat.
worked as a caricature artist in the booth right across from this thing one summer it sure was shut down a lot 😂 thanks for all the wonderland videos!
I was a teenager when this ride came out and all I remember is that it was a HUGE wait to get on it and when you got on it was highly underwhelming. It was the first time I remember being hyped as hell for a roller coaster and then going "wait, that was IT?!"
Great review !! Had seasons pass at wonderland for a few years i think the first year i bought was $60 😮😂😂
Crawling and cranking up those steep inclines is awesome
Bro, your editing is on point. The 90s rainbrand takes 😂😂 I love it and
Coincidental The Bat uses the 3rd Train that Dragon Fyre never used and the coaster was built during the Vekoma & Arrow Development Deal where Vekoma would built the ride if they could use Arrow’s Trains.
What an interesting way to reuse something that already exists for another ride as well as doing it legally, great call on Canada’s Wonderland’s part.
Another interesting Fact: The Bat was 1 of 3 roller coasters in a row to open, starting with Skyrider in 1985, relocating Thunder Run in 1986, and of course… The Bat in 1987.
SO MUCH literally going on with this ride that I could go on and on but this video already covers it and this comment is becoming too long.
Great video BTW!
One of Wonderland’s most iconic rides!
@@more_bumps_ahead Your right about that
my parents first met while in line on the bat
Cool
great vid
Thank you - a favorite of mine!
With no storage track, I always wondered how/where on the track, they remove trains from track for scheduled/unscheduled maintenance ....
Ha! SCTV’s Count Floyd did a Bat commercial?
The unintentional humor for us enthusiasts today is that the running gag for Count Floyd was trying to hype non-scary films as if they were scary - much as he’s doing here for an ordinary Boomerang.
It's so true, everything about this ride, but the ride, was a masterful.
The first time I rode it in its inaugural year the backwards section seemed utterly terrifying, but that effect has somehow worn off over the years. Today the Bat doesn't seem to get anywhere near the insane numbers it did in its early years.
Really? It seems to me like it's always got a line up. There are never more than 1 or 2 open seats.
This ride is awesome
Love this ride!! Thanks for sharing! 🔥👌🥰
Will be sad when it’s removed
Has to be TH-cam’s best video about a Boomerang!
Achievement unlocked!
The 401 in Ontario and Highway 20 in Quebec are NOT the Trans Canada Highway.
From wiki: While by definition the Trans-Canada Highway is a highway system that has several parallel routes throughout most of the country, the term "Trans-Canada Highway" often refers to the main route that consists of Highway 1 (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba), Highways 17 and 417 (Ontario), Autoroutes 40, 25, 20, and 85 (Quebec), Highway 2 (New Brunswick), Highways 104 and 105 (Nova Scotia), and Highway 1 (Newfoundland).
I remember that my mom visit Toronto back in 1987 (she 10) and idk if she was going in Canada’s wonderland🤔
Your mom is a bat?
God I hate this ride lol but it's my buddy's favourite
The nod from the 'Count' of SCTV is a truly Canadian blessing for this ride at CWL. We can all do without the shyte liberal commercials of the mid 80s. Yet the actual ride was loved by park patrons in its day. 'The Bat' was NOT open in the inaugural year of CWL (1981), your commentary is confusing.
He clearly said The Bat was the park's third addition following Thunder Run in 86, SkyRider in 85, and White Water Canyon in 84. He also mentioned 1987 several times.