Status Operating Designer Ron Toomer Height 57 m Height restriction 1.22 m Duration 4 minutes | Opening date 1983 Model Custom Looping Coaster Max speed 80 km/h Opened 1983 | |
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Similar Vortex, Viper, La Vibora, Moto Coaster, Drachen Fire | ||
Dragon mountain front seat on ride pov marineland theme park
Dragon Mountain is a steel roller coaster located at MarineLand near Niagara Falls, Ontario in Canada Built in 1983 by Arrow Huss, it was the tallest roller coaster in the world before the opening of Magnum XL-200 at Cedar Point. Although Dragon Mountain reaches a maximum elevation of 186 ft, the first drop is only 80 ft. It covers 30 acres (12 hectares) of land. It is also the only roller coaster with a bowtie element.
Contents
Dragon mountain at marineland
Theming
The riders are first welcomed at the base of the mountain by a long path. At the end of the path lies the Dragon's cave which is carved to look like an actual Dragon's head. The queue and station inside are almost in complete darkness. The station however is lit up more than the queue because it would make operating the ride extremely difficult for the ride operators and attendants. Upon exiting the station, the riders are brought back outside climbing up the lush-green hill. Throughout the most of the ride, the track follows the terrain closely.
For most of the coaster's lifetime, this was all the theming it had. This was because Marineland did not have enough money to execute the ride's initial plan. Upon the opening in the early 80's, the ride was missing the proposed Volcano facade around the helix, and the miniature waterfall built around the stretch of track after exiting the first tunnel. These unthemed parts of the ride had nothing but the framework, which was constructed along with the track. In 2006, Marineland decided to complete the volcano to improve the ride's appearance. Whether the park would like to add more to the facade to make it look more like a volcano is unknown. This has been the only improvement to the ride's theming, as the other incomplete section has remained untouched.