Getting up close and personal with diggers
KITCHENER — The sharp sound of metal scraping against dirt.
The sight of enormous boulders being effortlessly moved aside for a new road or sewer. The unmistakable smell of a diesel engine.
It’s hard to say what’s behind the allure of oversized construction equipment, but the appeal is undeniable.
In just a few weeks, Bingemans will open its Excavation Station at its Kitchener recreation complex, giving the young (or the young at heart) the chance to operate a real excavator in a safe, controlled setting.
It will include three JCB 80-18 mini excavators and a series of challenges designed to test your ability to manipulate the boom (the long arm that holds the bucket and other attachments).
It’s the first attraction of its kind in Ontario, said Michelle Playfair, general manager of the park.
“It’s one of those things where you just have to try it,” she said.
“It’s just so unique and it’s not just for kids. There’s corporate team building, birthday parties, and everyone who has heard about it has said, ‘Oh my kid has always wanted to drive one of those.’ ”
Operators must be a minimum of 106 centimetres tall (42 inches) to handle the machine alone, but anyone at least 91 centimetres (36 inches) tall can ride on an adult’s lap.
Playfair said single admission tickets will cost $8 for about six minutes on the machine.
There will be three different challenges for operators:
• knocking down miniature
bowling pins with a small wrecking ball;
• navigating the boom arm and an attachment through a maze;
• moving different construction tools such as wrenches into appropriate slots, similar to a giant puzzle.
Bingemans has partnered with New Jersey-based Diggerland USA on the new attraction. Diggerland, which opened in 2014, is a 8.5-hectare amusement park with 25 attractions and 100 fullsized construction machines.
Ilya Girlya, CEO of Diggerland USA, said each of the mini excavators that will be used at Bingemans weighs about 2,000 kilograms, plus an extra 680 kilogram of added steel and safety equipment.
Many of the safety modifications they’ve made are proprietary, Girlya said, but he said the tracks are locked and the booms won’t have the full 360-degree spin radius.
The machines will also have a safety harness and an emergency shut-off button.
Girlya expects that the attraction will even appeal to seasoned operators looking for a challenge.
“We have a lot of adults in the business who do the challenges and they just chuckle and say it’s harder than it looks,” he said.
Girlya, 43, a former diesel engine mechanic, founded Diggerland with his brother, Yan, with the aim of bringing something new to the amusement park industry.
Girlya also once ran an indoor water park in New Jersey, which is how he got to know Bingemans president Mark Bingeman.
Playfair said they’ve spent more than a year ironing out the details.
The attraction is expected to open by the end of May or early June.
Diggerland employees will be in Kitchener over the May long weekend to install the machines and for training.
Playfair said Bingemans is open to expanding the attraction in the future if it proves to be popular enough.