Canyon Blaster (Great Escape) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Canyon Blaster |
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Loading station, both lift hills with flume of the Desperado Plunge in right foreground.
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| Great Escape | |
| Park section | Ghosttown |
| Coordinates | 43°21′6.71″N 73°41′29.93″W / 43.3518639°N 73.6916472°W |
| Status | Operating |
| Opening date | June 27, 2003 |
| Opryland USA | |
| Park section | Doo-Wah Diddy City |
| Coordinates | 36°12′29″N 86°41′42″W / 36.208°N 86.695°W |
| Status | Relocated to Great Escape |
| Opening date | 1972 |
| Closing date | 1997 |
| General statistics | |
| Type | Steel – Mine Train |
| Manufacturer | Arrow Dynamics |
| Model | Mine Train |
| Lift/launch system | Chain lift hill |
| Height | 56 ft (17 m) |
| Length | 2,000 ft (610 m) |
| Speed | 45 mph (72 km/h) |
| Inversions | 0 |
| Duration | 2 min. 30 sec. |
| Height restriction | 42 in (107 cm) |
| Canyon Blaster at RCDB | |
The Canyon Blaster is a fun steel roller coaster located at Great Escape in Queensbury, New York. It's a family-friendly ride that takes you on an exciting journey, like a runaway mine train.
Contents
History of the Canyon Blaster
From Timber Topper to Canyon Blaster
This roller coaster first opened in 1972. Its original name was Timber Topper. It was located at a theme park called Opryland USA in Nashville, Tennessee. An awesome company called Arrow Dynamics built the ride.
Timber Topper was Opryland's only big roller coaster for a few years. It had a cool mine train theme. But unlike some other mine train rides, it didn't go into tunnels or underground.
Name Changes and New Themes
In the late 1970s, the park changed the coaster's name to Rock n' Roller Coaster. This happened when its area was updated to "Doo-Wah Diddy City." This new theme celebrated the doo wop music of the 1950s. The trains and buildings around the ride were painted in bright, fun colors.
Moving to Great Escape
Opryland USA closed down in 1997. The roller coaster was taken apart and sold to a company called Premier Parks. It was stored for several years at a place called Old Indiana Fun Park.
Finally, in 2003, the ride found a new home! It was moved to The Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom in Queensbury, New York. That's when it got its current name, Canyon Blaster.
A Backward Ride Experience
On May 30, 2013, Great Escape made a special announcement. They said that the Canyon Blaster would run backwards for a short time. This special backward ride happened during the summer of 2013.
What's the Ride Like?
A Gentle Family Adventure
The Canyon Blaster is a gentle roller coaster perfect for families. It's designed to feel like a runaway mine train. The ride features two exciting lift hills. It also has a cool double helix section, which is like a spiral turn.
The track of the coaster is bright red, and its supports are a light beige color. The ride used to have three trains: blue, brown, and red. But in recent years, usually only the brown train is used. When the coaster moved to Great Escape, the system was changed to work best with just one train.
Old West Theming
The Canyon Blaster is located in the Ghosttown section of the park. This area has an Old West theme. The coaster is decorated with items that look old and broken. You can see a stagecoach and a broken steam train. There are even fake bones of dead animals!
The fence around the ride has warnings about "mine blasts." It also shows notices about when the "last accident" happened, which are just for fun. Many of these decorations used to be part of the old Ghost Town Railroad. The broken steam train you see is actually one of the engines from that old railroad.
