SA’s last giant theme park
GOLD REEF CITY: NEW RIDE, THE HIGH-FLYING MAVERICK, SIMULATES BEING IN STUNT PLANE
With Ratanga Junction closing, this is where you can get your adrenaline rush.
Atrip to the theme park is as South African as Mrs Ball’s Chutney, Lion matches or skaftiens at work. It all usually culminates in an unforgettable day, the euphoria aided by copious amounts of sugar from those giant dummy suckers everyone sports around their neck.
Behind the scenes, your experience is tailor-made. Parks work on mass attraction and to keep these entertainment cells alive, new drawcards need to be added.
Soon to be South Africa’s biggest theme park, Gold Reef City, launched their latest attraction, The High-Flying Maverick, in pure Gold Reef City magic last week.
The aeroplane-themed ride is a looping spintacular that simulates what it feels like in a stunt plane.
Designed by Italian ride developers Zamperla, which has developed rides for parks like Disney World and Universal studios, The High-Flying Maverick lets riders experience the sensations of an acrobatic aeroplane flight, including banks, loops, dives and weightlessness.
A total of 24 riders in six, four-seater aeroplanes are locked in before experiencing the 6rpm central ride rotation motion with a motor-driven arm rotation that allows for the various movements.
Reaching a height of eight metres, riders experience accelerations of 3G.
The new ride, with a fear rating of nine out of 10, joins the theme park’s staple roller-coasters: Anaconda, Jozi Express, Runaway Train, Tower of Terror and thrill rides like Miners’ Revenge and UFO, as well as Africa’s highest coaster, The Golden Loop.
With more than 30 rides, Gold Reef City will be the country’s largest theme park when Cape Town’s Ratanga Junction shuts its doors on May 1.
The Cape Town park features 30 attractions. When it opened 20 years ago, it had groundbreaking ride experiences, including the country’s first suspended roller-coaster, Cobra.
The park’s land will be redeveloped into a mixed-use development for Century City.
Rabie Property Group, the developer of Century City, has applied to the Cape Town Municipality to amend the Century City Development Framework and Bridgeways Precinct Plan to enable the redevelopment to take place.
Rabie director John Chapman said the closure of Ratanga and the redevelopment of the land had been in the offing for a long time.
“When Rabie bought into Century City in 2004, acquiring the undeveloped land and associated rights, Ratanga was part of the package.
“Since then we are on record as saying the theme park would be redeveloped in due course and that time has now arrived.
“The oversized facility, lack of consistent demand for a theme park, seasonal weather, expensive maintenance and running costs as well as the ageing equipment all contributed to an unprofitable facility when we acquired it.”
Waning attendance was offset by seasonal closures and the very last operational season is currently under way.
Once it’s closed, Gold Reef City and Fun World on the Durban beachfront will be the last two permanent theme parks in the country.
On the continent, Egypt and Nigeria are making waves developing similar properties. Egypt is leading the way with Dream Park.
The Gaza-based theme park is said to average two million visitors annually and has 48 rides to accommodate all ages.
Gold Reef City’s ongoing success is not by accident though. The Tsogo Sun property also features a casino, a Jump City Trampoline Park, new restaurants, movie cinemas and 10-pin bowling.
Last year, Euromonitor, the world’s leading independent provider of strategic market research, cited Johannesburg as the 37th-most visited city.
Gold Reef City offers newcommers or those on a short stay one of the best tours of the City of Gold, which leave from the resort.
The precinct is also home to the Apartheid Museum, an important spot for tourists and South Africans.
During the launch of The High-Flying Maverick, Kiran Singh, director of operations and complex general manager at the theme park, mentioned that Gold Reef City was set for ongoing expansion.
This is good news for those who love the sugar rush only those giant theme park candies can provide.