Playland (PNE) Vancouver Discussion Thread

I found another ad from the 2013 series.... and it's the one that features Coaster on it!

I called it the "Half & Half" series. (o; (See previous page for the other two ads.)

...But Back Then, The PNE Called It The SkyGLIDER!

It was 1450 feet in length, and ran from Playland to the Exhibition Buildings at the opposite corner of the PNE grounds. And it was very "open" with no restraints whatsoever on the seats. And from past history, nobody reportedly "fell out" of it. There is a story about some poor woman's wig flying off, lol. But there was no lock on the safety bar to hold it down. And all the riders were smart, even the teenagers(!), and stayed on the thing.

It operated mainly during the PNE itself. But for a few years, during the Playland season, they would operate the SkyGlider as a there-and-back ride. They had ride ops at the other end, making sure, along with a sign saying "KEEP YOUR FEET UP", that nobody got off at the other end. This worked out alright.

It operated from the mid-1970s to just before Vancouver's world's fair, EXPO86, opened in 1986.

All the photos are from the net.

The Playland Station. Photo taken, from the Spiro-Tower queue/exit ramp.

Gliding over Playland. Again taken from a Spiro-Tower queue/exit ramp. And behind the big blue pole...

Playland's original Haunted House. Taken from the SkyGlider. (o;

One of the many "event shows" that SkyGlider traveled over.

Not the best view of it, but one can see where it traveled to....

...The West Station. With the (then) new Spiro-Tower in the background, in Playland.

Hey ladies! Great hair!

At night, and wet. Not many riders on it, but still a nice back & white shot.

...or "Shake, Rattle & Roll"!

Three sets of past Playland ads to show. Which essentially targeted

the head, parts of the body...or both. Wheee.

The first set's year I can't find, at this time. The second set is from 2017.

And the third set is from 2015 "The Beast Arrives" Series I posted a few days ago.

Only back then, I only had two ads. But I finally found that Whac-A-Mole one. Yay!

Enjoy.

(2017)

EDIT To Add To The Above: I meant to add this set along with the above sets. But

somehow I couldn't get the photos to copy and work, here. Till now. Yay for small miracles.

By the way, these are from the 2009 Playland Season.

(2009)

Well... This was supposed to be Opening Day of Playland.

But right now, and all afternoon, IT - IS F-ing POURING BUCKETS of RAIN Outside!

Gee. Glad they decided to postpone the date. For now.

Something that made me go...huh.

From RCDB.com

Corkscrew

Playland (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)

 

SBNO since 2019 (Should be now listed as TORN DOWN and REMOVED)

Roller CoasterSteelSit DownExtreme

 

Make: Vekoma

Model: MK-1200 / Corkscrew with Bayerncurve

I did not know that that was what, that ill-shaped helix ending of Corkscrew, was....a Bayerncurve.

June, 2019. SBNO, before the eventual tear down, late fall. RIP. Bayerncurve behind the corkscrew.

Right off the top, and through several descriptions of this past PNE attraction, everything points to the

PNE Spiro-Tower being designed and built by Mercedes Benz, in Europe. A car company! Who knew?

It opened in 1968, the same U.S. Election year, that Richard Nixon picked his Vice Presidential running mate...

....Spiro Agnew. Pronounced "Speero". And after that, American visitors were known to call the attraction

the "Speero Tower" not 'Spy-Row' as it should be pronounced. Stuff happens. And it was 330 feet tall.

The tower stayed put until 1979. I think the main problem with having it, was the upkeep of it, during at least

six months of off-season, both for Playland and the PNE Itself. Of course, nowadays, all parks are having this

non-operating problem. And they're having ride operators here and there, running the rides just to keep

them in running order.

But for the Spiro-Tower (and the SkyGlider,too) this wasn't being done. And that was that. Down came the tower. And eventually the SkyGlider followed, with it's dismantling in the early 1980s.

The first posted image is a page taken from a book published for the 100th Anniversary of The PNE,

in 2010. ("100 Years of Fun") A page is mentioned about both attractions, as well as the funny story about

"the wig that blew away."

(All photos are from the net. And a book.)

The Mercedes Benz logo on top, for everyone to see from afar.

That is so cool. I love those sort of towers, and a double decker one at that!

And yeah, I would pronounce it Speero, but I know a lot of Greeks....

^ Noted about the Greek (language). And I did find four black and white photos I took....who knows when?

Two were of the tower itself, but in either photo, you can just barely see it in back. The other two were take from high above, in the tower.

Actually, since the tower existed between 1968 and 1979... these photos

were taken when I was "somewhere between" 15 and 26 years old.

p.s. Pardon the quality of the photo....of the photos, heh. I don't have access to a scanner

at this time, so I photograph what I can of these old pix, as best I can.

The four photos I found.

In the distance....there it is!

Looking over the PNE Grounds.

Lots of flat rides down there in Playland(PNE). And FYI, we used to have a wonderful outdoor covered carousel.

It's located in the upper right corner, there. Dark roof. Held up by several columns. It was great!

* ...Together!

In searching for the various sets of ads that Playland has used through the years, I have four here

that (so far) have no other ads from the same series. I'll keep looking, but for now, here they are.

And three ads that do go together. These three are from last year. I remember seeing one of them

in a bus stop, but I honestly thought it was for some Exercise Programs, lol. Wrong on that. And these are

supposed to be a throwback to those 1980s workout videos (think VHS, if you remember such things).

Enjoy these.

(2013)

I love this one. Wish I could find the other related ads. RIP Corkscrew.

(2019)

It was just announced today, that the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) over in Toronto is officially cancelled,

and not expected to return until the following year. It runs the same time period as the PNE, here in Vancouver.

(Pacific National Exhibition) The last two weeks of August, through Labour Day weekend.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/cne-cancels-2020-fair-1.5566318

And the announcement on the CNE site: https://theex.com/2020-cne-message

Makes me wonder if the PNE is going to be cancelled as well.

Nothing announced here yet, but time will tell.

Here's some more past PNE Ads. The first three involve snacks on rides. (A no-no in the real world, lol.)

The second three ads answer the question, "What if the ride sign was more....personal?"

Enjoy.

(2016)

(unknown year)

The PNE posted a video recently. While it thanks it's patrons who come every year to the annual fair, it doesn't

exactly say 'yes' or 'no' about whether the PNE is actually going to be happening, this August. Whatever the case, and this is just my opinion, since they've still been advertising July 1st (our Canada Day) as Playland's Opening Day, I have the feeling they will cancel the fair, and run Playland through the entire summer.

Just a guess, but who knows? And I took a screenshot from the video, to show where Playland started out. It's on the east side of the Race Track now, but back then, it was on the west side of the track, and called Happyland. And where Happyland was, is now just parking lots for anything that happens on the PNE grounds. The shot shows Happyland's (then) two E-Ticket attractions: the Shoot The Chutes (then called Water Chutes) and their original coaster, called the Giant Dipper.

Here's the link to the video: https://www.pne.ca/ And it's called We Can't Wait to Welcome You Back

(Video is half way down the page)

Screenshot from the video. Chutes and Coaster in back. All of it West of the Race Track.

Giant Dipper and Water Chute on a postcard.

Oops - Double post. Bad bear.

...might as well post another pic of the late Happyland Giant Dipper...

Were there 2 different Giant Dippers?

^ Not sure. I realize that the two old photos do resemble 2 different coasters. That they're both listed as the Giant Dipper, and in Happyland at the PNE, it's possible one was demolished and a similar one built in it's place. Will look into that, soon.

Just checked and found two of them, in Happyland...

Dip the Dips

Happyland Park (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)

Removed, Operated from 1915 to 1924 - Roller Coaster; Wood; Sit Down.

---------------------------------------

Giant Dipper

Happyland Park (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)

Removed, Operated from 1925 to 1947 - Roller Coaster; Wood; Sit Down.

---------------------------------------

I now believe that b/w photo I posted ^^ is the Dip the Dips Coaster.

And the one in the postcard and screenshot, is the Giant Dipper.

And it looks like, between 1947 and 1958, we had no coaster at all, during that time period!

Thanks to rcdb.com for all the information. And thanks DBru ^ for that "coaster check".

From the 1950s: Ferris Wheels must have been a Big Deal back then. But, THREE of them at the PNE???

The PNE is pretty much NOT going to happen this August. Although they haven't exactly said it, they are offering tickets to next year's Fair, if you buy tix online, with current "Events" planned through this summer. Such as this weekend's "Taste Of" Event...

 

~ A Taste of The PNE ~

 

A mini donut drive thru experience

May 22-24, 2020

1-7pm daily

Enter off Hastings Street, West of Playland

.

A celebration of the almighty mini donut! We can’t believe we don’t get to see you all at Playland right now so we’d like to bring one of our favourite food items to you this weekend.

 

A Taste of the PNE – Mini Donut Edition is the first in an anticipated series of events celebrating some of our Playland and Fair favourites. In partnership with other donut food trucks, this mini donut drive thru event offers the ability to drive up to each of the participating donut stands, grab a variety of donuts to go for a bundled price.

 

Vote for your favourite to help us crown the BC’s Best Mini Donut!

https://www.pne.ca/a-taste-of-the-pne/ For more information on how to buy & vote for Your Fave Mini-Donut!

(I'm not planning to do it. Too many "mini-donuts" in my life, as it is.)

NOTE: Saturday (today) was SOLD OUT, so if you're planning to hit the trucks tomorrow,

better get the tix online. And get 2-1 Day Admission Tix to next year's PNE! (o:

NOTE #2: They decided to do one more day of it (today, Monday/25th) and it also SOLD OUT online!

I hope they've figured out other "PNE Taste Of" events to happen this summer. Cotton candy & candy apples, anyone? (o;

Yum!

...Or what was called... #PlaylandWisdom (2016)

From year to year, I sometimes find all of the ads that Playland puts out for that year. Such was my luck in 2016. The first ad, I actually found on the bus. The rest I found at bus stops and our rapid transit stations, which is where most Playland ads end up.

My first ad find!

It also works, online.

Noted. (o;

Now that we're one month away from hopefully opening, a reminder.....

 

In light of the COVID-19 global pandemic, we will be delaying the opening of Playland. We are fully committed to our mission of building social connections and bringing people together in a safe way and therefore, in the best interest of our guests and employees, we are proceeding with a delayed opening.

 

While we had been planning for a July 1 Opening, we recognize that we will need to continue to modify our plans. We are working with the current guidelines and recommendations from provincial health authorities to explore all options for you to enjoy our site this year.

We thank you for your support and will continue to communicate with you as we navigate through this ever changing time. In the meantime, we urge everyone to exercise the recommended preventative measures to keep your families safe, and we look forward to seeing you at the PNE soon.

Subject to change, of course. All the same, here's hoping.

A postcard.

"After Stuffed Animals Ride Coasters...."

So lately, several parks started posting videos of stuffed animals on one of their coasters. Walibi Holland did the first one (with teddy bears) I saw. Then, Grona Lund followed (with unicorns). Belmont Park in San Diego, too (variety). But.... what happens after these Arcade Game 'stuffies' get off that coaster?

This was one of my favourite Playland ad campaigns. And a lot of other people liked it too. So much so, they made a postcard set of it all! And I happily have a set, bought from the old gift shop Playland used to have. By the way, I do hope they come up with a new Playland Gift Shop, when the "New "Playland" opens in several years from now.

Here's the set. They came out in 2013. And also...doesn't that last one look a bit....familiar?

B--Arf!

Monkey See, Monkey Do....Monkey Regret.

This little piggy went a-coastering.

Turtle shell-shock.

Is... is that you, Grover?

I read somewhere the Corkscrew coaster has been sold. Any idea where it's going!?

Is Playland’s marketing director an 8 year old boy? So much of Playland’s marketing seems (or seemed) to revolve around vomiting. Strange since I don’t think most people find barfing to be a pleasurable experience or something the park necessarily wants people to associate with a visit to Playland, but maybe that’s just one more Canadian quirk to add to the list?

^^ At a Playland/PNE info.meeting several months back, I asked one of the PNE officials what was happening with Corkscrew. She told me that up to that time, there was no buyer for it, and so they took it all down. End of explanation. So, unless it has been sold since that meeting, the whole thing has been probably scrapped, and that was that.

^ Yeah, you would think that's what we Canadians love to do - throw up after riding coasters and rides, lol. It's just one way of attracting attention to Playland, itself. And since it's an independent park, they can get away with this kind of advertising. So far. Also, I have assembled all these ads together, for one ongoing showing. So it does point out the many various ways they can show one, how to "lose it".

Is Playland’s marketing director an 8 year old boy? So much of Playland’s marketing seems (or seemed) to revolve around vomiting. Strange since I don’t think most people find barfing to be a pleasurable experience or something the park necessarily wants people to associate with a visit to Playland, but maybe that’s just one more Canadian quirk to add to the list?

For the past 14 years, Rethink Communications has been creating many of the advertisements for Playland. They definitely create many advertisements that are not only interesting but ones that also capture people's attention. More of the work that they have done for Playland can be found on their website.

^Besides their print/outdoors ads, they do some pretty fun radio ads and videos for television , too.