From The Vault: SkyRider at Canada's Wonderland - August 11th, 2014

Since I have not been able to visit an amusement park this year so far due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19), I decided to keep my blog active by looking back at photos on an older memory card that I had taken at Canada's Wonderland and a few fairs prior to the creation of my blog Amusement Views in the Spring of 2016. Today, I am going to share some photos of the former SkyRider stand-up roller coaster that were taken a few weeks before it ceased operation at Canada's Wonderland on September 1st, 2014.

For those who are unaware or have possibly forgotten, SkyRider was a stand-up roller coaster manufactured by Togo of Japan that operated at Canada's Wonderland from 1985 through 2014. When SkyRider debuted in 1985, it was advertised as Canada's first and only stand-up roller coaster and held that title until 1995 when La Ronde in Montreal, Quebec opened Cobra. La Ronde's stand-up coaster continued to operate until the end of the 2016 season.

Going back to SkyRider, it thrilled nearly 23 million passengers during its 29 years of operation at Canada's Wonderland! SkyRider featured an 84 foot drop, allowing the two 24-passenger trains to reach a maximum speed of 82 km/h (51 mph) before entering the coaster's only inversion a vertical loop, followed by a series of helixes, a trick track element, and airtime-filled hills all contained within 2,210 feet of track and all done while standing up! SkyRider's trains secured passengers using a unique and adjustable "butterfly" restraint system consisting of D-shaped shoulder bars with a seat belt, a lap bar, and a bicycle seat which passengers straddled to remain in a standing position throughout the duration of the ride. If a passenger where to not adjust the height of their restraint/seat properly, it could result in a rather uncomfortable ride for some as the seat was not meant to be sat on.

Despite being an uncomfortable ride for some, SkyRider created a love for stand-up roller coasters for others due to its immersive amount of airtime and only inversion, a vertical loop! I for one greatly enjoyed my rides on SkyRider as they were smooth and filled with airtime, something many amusement park and roller coaster enthusiasts crave! Prior to the 2014 season, I had not rode SkyRider due to being intimidated by its riding position. Luckily for me I had gotten over that fear in the early part of the 2014 season as I had greatly enjoyed my nine rides (eight of those done with my hands up) on SkyRider, for what we would later discover to be its final season at Canada's Wonderland.

After the park had made the announcement of its removal, I decided to capture some photos and a very short video clip of SkyRider on August 11th of that year. Be sure to enjoy the photos below!

The entrance to SkyRider was located just over the bridge in Action Zone on your way to Splash Works, Canada's Wonderland's water park.

The test 'seat' located just before the entrance sign of SkyRider stated "To Ride SkyRider you must be able to straddle the seat with your feet flat on the ground". In the above photo you can see that the seats on SkyRider resembled that of a bicycle seat.

Who in their right mind would go to an amusement park wearing high heeled shoes?!? I have heard that some visitors had over the years!

For the 2013 season, SkyRider received a blue coat of paint on its running rails. Prior to the 2013 season SkyRider featured a green and orange colour scheme.

SkyRider was quite compact when compared to other stand-up roller coasters. It was modeled after the former King Cobra at Kings Island, a stand-up coaster also manufactured by Togo. King Cobra operated from 1984 through 2001.

Here is a look at SkyRider's iconic vertical loop from the path in front of Splash Works.

SkyRider's station featured an elevated operators booth that was situated above the track, allowing the ride operator to have a clear view of the trains and passengers within the station.

As the train went up the lift hill, a ride attendant would start their safety spiel by saying "Welcome to SkyyyRiderrr!" The exaggerated pronunciation became quite iconic and memorable for many park-goers. Unfortunately during the time I had captured these photos, SkyRider had temporarily gone down resulting in many tests runs before reopening, hence the empty trains.

Once the train descended the 88 foot tall hill, it would quickly zip through the vertical loop!

Near the end of SkyRider's layout, the trains would enter a series of bunny hills before hitting the final brake run!

Here is the orange train ascending the lift hill.

Whether you rode on the yellow or orange train, you were still able to experience the thrill of standing up while going upside down through the vertical loop!

The final bunny hills were filled with pops of airtime!

Above is a very short clip of the yellow train going through the only inversion on SkyRider!

After the removal of SkyRider in the Fall of 2014, it would thankfully be sold and relocated to Cavallino Matto in Italy where it has been operating as "Freestyle" with a vibrant highlight yellow colour scheme since July 2015! Luckily this great stand-up coaster received a new lease on life!

For the next few seasons, the land where SkyRider had previously operated would sit vacant until the construction for Yukon Striker, the World's fastest, longest, and tallest Dive Coaster, began in January of 2018. In the Spring of 2019, Yukon Striker opened to thrill seekers.

While SkyRider has been making new memories in Italy as Freestyle for the past five years now, the memories of it at Canada's Wonderland still live on and will continue to do so for many years to come! I hope you enjoyed looking at these photos of SkyRider that I had captured on August 11th, 2014! Stay tuned for more From The Vault features in the following weeks and months! :-)