Adventure City is expecting installation of a roller coaster believed to be a first-of-its-kind for the younger crowd to be completed in early 2015.
Construction crews began working in September on the $2million Rewind Racers, the first family shuttle coaster built in North America by German-based Gerstlauer Amusement Rides GmbH. Gerstlauer has other rides in U.S. theme parks, including Coastersaurus at Legoland, according to the Roller Coaster Database website.
“It’s not going to be super fast or super tall or scary,” said Allen Ansdell, general manager of the theme park, which straddles the Anaheim and Stanton border and caters to families with kids up to age 12. “For our crowd we are just looking for fun, and going backward on a roller coaster is fun.”
The new ride will replace Tree Top Racers, which was installed in 1999 and no longer operates. Crews have put in 57 concrete underground columns that will support the seven-car coaster. Two people will be able to sit in each car.
Crews are expected to begin assembling the coaster in December. The coaster was initially expected to open in the summer.
“Once the coaster is installed, it will require many tests and approvals from various agencies and inspectors prior to opening to the general public,” Ansdell said, adding that the ride could begin operating as early as March.
Opened in 1994, the 2-acre park at 1238 S. Beach Blvd., has the motto of “Little Theme Park That’s Big on Family Fun.” The park features 10 rides as well as an arcade, a children’s theater and a petting farm.
“We are trying to be a well-rounded park,” Ansdell said. “We are taking the small children family section and building a park around that.”
Rewind Racers will be 45 feet tall and stretch 190 feet, sitting at Beach Boulevard and Starr Street. The height requirement for the ride will be 39 inches, allowing children as young as 4 to experience their first roller coaster ride.
