Leviathan Construction Progress January 21 , 2012

Well, It has been a while since I have had a chance to go to Canada's Wonderland to see how Levaithan is coming along.  I have gone by the park several times since my last post, however it has either been in the middle of the night, or it has been raining (it has been a mild winter here).

Anyways, enough with the excuses, here are the pictures!  As always, click on the pictures to see them all nice and big.

 

 As you can see , the major bunny hop on the way to the hammerhead is complete .

And, for that matter, so is the hammerhead!  Just look at that!

There is that first turn.  In a matter of three months, trains will be whipping around that.

From there they will go over this low hill.

Drool..........

This is where construction is at right now......

...with some more pieces on the ground awaiting the crew....

...to connect that section to the brake run here.  Really, there is not that much left to do.  I imagine that my next update will be of a full track.

I have many pictures of this drop.  It will never cease to impress me.

Here are the three major drops of the ride.

Another look at hammerhead goodness.....

 ...and onto things not so good, like Flight Deck.  If the ride was not so damn popular, I am sure Wonderland would ship it out.

Looking below, we got a little bit of snow overnight, and Wonder mountain looks all nice and pretty covered in it.

More airtime goodness!

Time to show some love to what has been my favourite coaster at Wonderland.... Behemoth

The Mighty Canadian Minebuster looks eerie as it sits dormant.  There is just something about the wood coasters.  To me, they are living, breathing organisms, and this one is in hibernation until spring.

Theres a nice shot of Behemoth with Leviathan lurking in the background.  We are now halfway through the long offseason.  Not too much longer until Behemoth rides again - and Leviathan takes flight!

Leviathan Construction Progess December 3, 2011..............

As I posted on my Facebook today, I was headed up north to visit my parents.  On the way, I decided to stop by Canada's Wonderland to shoot some coaster porn......

Now, on my last update there was one piece that had yet to be put in place on Leviathan's drop.  Apparently, not too long after I was there that day, they put that piece in place.  And, let me tell you, seeing the hill in its' complete form was awe inspiring!

Click on the photos for larger view.....

Thats not water on the ground.  Thats the collective drool from all the coaster enthusiasts who have come to gawk at Leviathan.

As you can see, the overbanked turn is coming along quite well:

Over near the front gate, track was going in place for the turnaround :

Meanwhile, back at the overbanked turn, workers were preparing to put the next piece in place:

Five months from now, I will be speeding down this drop:

I mean, like, seriously, why can't it be May now?  Look at this! :

Just imagine a train cresting over the top of this hill........

.....and zipping down........

 

.......and zipping through this overbanked turn.  From this angle... it almost seems you go upside down!

 

At this point in time, I could not take the teasing anymore, and headed up north.  Until next time........

Yet Another Leviathan Update.....

I had some free time yesterday, so I took a drive to Vaughan to see how construction on Leviathan is doing.

As I got off the highway, I was greeted with this view.  The drop is almost complete!

With the park being closed for the year, I decided to try taking photos from the hill that separates the park from Major Mackenzie Drive.  One thing I noted from the hill was that there was nothing stopping me from going  into the parking lot and into the area right under the drop.  Fencing was around the bottom of the drop, but everything else was wide open.  This all said, I decided to behave and stay on top of the hill, and kept back of the property line (marked with stakes in the ground).

Here is another view of the first drop (and, once again, click on the photo for a larger view):

And here you can see the rise out of the trench, with the track starting tobank towards the front gate:

I decided to play with my zoom lens and I got this shot of the top of the lift.  Looks like there is only one piece to go!

Here is a shot of the drop and rise out :

This shot shows how Leviathan towers over Dragon Fire.....

There is still a lot of coaster to be built.  Nothing is in place yet for the run to the front gate and back.  All that track lies in wait......

I made the mistake of heading towards Canada's Wonderland in the middle of the afternoon, totally forgetting that the sun starts to set at about 4 PM this time of year.  So, I had to be quick in taking my shots.  While many did not come out well due to the setting sun, I did manage a few good shots of Leviathan with the sun going down behind it.

Now you just know that ACErs from all over will be taking shots from the same angle when they come to town next year, be it in their own, or when ACE holds their annual event there next September!

Hersheypark 2012

I have been on vacation for the past week..... sadly, it ended tonight.  My travels took me to Montreal, New York, Maryland....and, for the purposes of this blog.... Hershey, PA.

Chocolate World, as always (this was my third trip there), was fun.  We did the free ten-minute Disney-esque ride through a simulated chocolate factory, and then loaded up on chocolate:

It might not be the best chocolate... but its good stuff and my nieces really appreciated the Cookies N Creme bars.

Well... what else could I do while I was there?  Time was limited, as I still had to make the trek back to Toronto that day.  Outlet shopping was essential (no sales tax on clothes in PA)..... and also a trip to visit the local amusement park.... Hersheypark!

But.. you say... is it not November?  Well... yes.  So, the park is closed.  That did not stop me from taking pictures around the outside of the park, which is what I wanted to do.  For, you see, I wanted to get a sneak peek of next year's new roller coaster...... SkyRush!


On to the photos... click for a larger view........

First, I took a look at the front entrance.   Everything is getting spruced up for their Christmas event:

The view in the last picture surprised me.... the front gates were completely open.  And, while it was tempting... I did not enter.  Trespassing is a no-no, no matter how inviting.

So, I walked around the exterior...... and saw the SkyRush construction:

This coaster is going to interact well with the others in the area, especially Comet.

After the walk, we went back to the car and drove out front to where the track is being stored across the street  in a field:

I am told that vertical construction will begin within the week.

I wanted to spend more time photographing the outside of the park, but the rain started kicking up, so I managed a couple of Lightning Racer shots before I took off.