Freestyle (roller coaster) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Freestyle |
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| Previously known as SkyRider (1985–2014) | |
Freestyle when it was known as SkyRider at Canada's Wonderland
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| Cavallino Matto | |
| Coordinates | 43°10′56″N 10°32′41″E / 43.1821°N 10.5447°E |
| Status | Operating |
| Opening date | July 18, 2015 |
| at at RCDB | |
| Canada's Wonderland | |
| Coordinates | 43°50′25″N 79°32′34″W / 43.840209°N 79.542890°W |
| Status | Relocated to Cavallino Matto |
| Opening date | May 1985 |
| Closing date | September 1, 2014 |
| Replaced by | Yukon Striker |
| General statistics | |
| Type | Steel – Stand-up |
| Manufacturer | TOGO |
| Model | Stand-up |
| Lift/launch system | Chain lift hill |
| Height | 26.8 m (88 ft) |
| Drop | 25.6 m (84 ft) |
| Length | 390.99 m (1,282.8 ft) |
| Speed | 82 km/h (51 mph) |
| Inversions | 1 |
| Duration | 1:32 |
| Height restriction | 140 cm (4 ft 7 in) |
| Trains | 2 trains with 6 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 24 riders per train. |
Freestyle is an exciting stand-up roller coaster located at Cavallino Matto in Tuscany, Italy. It opened as the park's fifth roller coaster on July 18, 2015. Before moving to Italy, Freestyle was known as SkyRider and operated at Canada's Wonderland from 1985 to 2014.
This thrilling ride was built by a company called TOGO. It was actually the second stand-up roller coaster ever made by TOGO. The first one was called King Cobra, which opened a year earlier at Kings Island. SkyRider was very popular, carrying almost 23 million guests during its time at Canada's Wonderland.
On September 1, 2014, SkyRider closed permanently at Canada's Wonderland. Later that year, it was taken apart and shipped all the way to Cavallino Matto. It was put back together and reopened in 2015 as Freestyle. Today, a different roller coaster called Yukon Striker stands where SkyRider used to be at Canada's Wonderland.
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SkyRider's Farewell Contest
In August 2014, Canada's Wonderland held a special contest to say goodbye to SkyRider. It was called "SkyRiderMemories" and took place on their official Twitter page.
- Twenty-four lucky winners were chosen to have the very last ride on SkyRider.
- This final ride happened on September 1, 2014, at 8 PM.
- As a special souvenir, each winner also received one of SkyRider's actual roller coaster wheels!
Roller Coasters Like Freestyle
Freestyle is one of the oldest stand-up roller coasters still running today. Let's look at some other rides that are similar.
King Cobra and Shockwave
The first TOGO stand-up coaster, King Cobra, was stored away in 2002 and later taken apart in 2008. Another ride, Shockwave at Kings Dominion, had a track layout similar to SkyRider. However, after a certain point, Shockwave turned left and went over a small hill before stopping. Shockwave was the last TOGO stand-up coaster in North America. It closed in August 2015 to make room for a new ride called Delirium.
Pink Typhoon Standing Coaster
In Japan, there's a ride called the Pink Typhoon Standing Coaster at Washuzan Highland. It also has a layout similar to Freestyle. But its path back to the stopping area is shorter. What's really interesting about the Pink Typhoon is that only one of its two trains is a stand-up train. The other train is a regular TOGO sit-down train, and riders face backwards throughout the ride!
