FlyOver is a
flying theater attraction. The first FlyOver attraction, FlyOver Canada, opened in 2013 at
Canada Place in downtown
Vancouver, British Columbia. The ride takes guests on a virtual flight across Canada, utilizing ride equipment that launches up to 61 people at a time into a 19m (62 foot) diameter spherical screen and employs wind, mist, and scents to enhance the experience.
It has since opened at the
Mall of America
Mall of America (MOA) is a large shopping mall located in Bloomington, Minnesota, United States. Located within the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, the mall lies southeast of the junction of Interstate 494 and Minnesota State Highway ...
in the US, and downtown
Reykjavik, Iceland, and in
Las Vegas with plans to open a ride in
Toronto.
History
FlyOver Canada
FlyOver was conceived by Vancouver entrepreneurs Stephen Geddes and Andrew Strang, who wanted to bring a new tourist attraction to downtown Vancouver. They were inspired by the
Soarin' Over California
''Soarin, also known as ''Soarin' Around the World'', ''Soaring Over the Horizon'' and ''Soaring: Fantastic Flight'', is a flight simulator, motion simulator attraction at Disney California Adventure, Epcot, Shanghai Disneyland, and Tokyo Disn ...
ride located at Disneyland and Epcot. They wanted to create a ride that would attract a wide demographic and showcase the diversity of Canada.
In 2013, they, along with financier Aquilini Developments, formed a partnership called Soaring Attractions. The ride is located in an old
Imax theatre at
Canada Place.
Soaring Attractions invested $16 million to develop the ride
On June 29, 2013, the ride opened as FlyOver Canada. The ride takes guests on a virtual flight across Canada, utilizing ride equipment that launches up to 61 people at a time into a 19m (62 foot) diameter spherical screen and employs wind, mist, and scents to enhance the experience.
It became the largest new tourist attraction to open in the region at the time.
FlyOver America
Soaring Attractions then went on to open a similar ride in
Bloomington, Minnesota
Bloomington is a suburban city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, on the north bank of the Minnesota River, above its confluence with the Mississippi River, south of downtown Minneapolis. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 89,987, ma ...
’s
Mall of America
Mall of America (MOA) is a large shopping mall located in Bloomington, Minnesota, United States. Located within the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, the mall lies southeast of the junction of Interstate 494 and Minnesota State Highway ...
with the title FlyOver America in 2016. The estimated cost for the second ride was $20 million US.
The ride opened on April 19, and includes footage of Minneapolis, Lake Calhoun, Red Wing, Alaska, Hawaii, and Maine. Beginning in June 8, 2017, the FlyOver Canada film was featured as an alternating attraction at FlyOver America. Currently, as of February 10, 2020, a FlyOver Hawaii film has occupied the alternating attraction slot.
FlyOver Iceland
FlyOver Iceland was opened on September 1, 2019 in Reykjavik’s Grandi Harbour District. FlyOver Iceland was Pursuit’s first FlyOver attraction located outside of
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
. FlyOver Iceland provides a similar experience to FlyOver Canada with multi-sensory
special effect
Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual wor ...
s and a 20-metre spherical screen. FlyOver Iceland showcases the film Legends of Iceland, along with a series of films available at the other locations.
FlyOver in Las Vegas
On September 1, 2021, the ride opened as
FlyOver in Las Vegas
FlyOver in Las Vegas is a flying theater attraction and is the third FlyOver location operated by Pursuit, a subsidiary of Viad Corp. FlyOver in Las Vegas opened on September 1, 2021, on the Las Vegas Strip next to the Hard Rock Cafe on Las Vega ...
. The ride’s film, “The Real Wild West”, uses a moving platform with six degrees of motion as well as wind, mist, and location-specific scents to elevate the experience as the seats are suspended above landmarks across the
United States.
Acquisition by Pursuit and Expansion
In December 2016, Soaring Attractions sold FlyOver Canada to the
Phoenix based travel and events company, Pursuit, a subsidiary of
Viad Corp.
In 2017, Pursuit announced it would be developing a FlyOver ride in downtown
Reykjavik, Iceland in cooperation with Esja Attractions. FlyOver Iceland opened in September 2019.
In February 2019, Viad announced plans to develop a FlyOver ride in Las Vegas, which opened on September 1, 2021 with a FlyOver The Real Wild West ride film with the Iceland film being an alternating attraction.
In July 2019, Viad announced plans to develop a FlyOver ride in Toronto.
Awards
Strang and Geddes were previous winners of the Business in Vancouver Forty under 40 award.
References
External links
* {{Official website, https://www.flyovercanada.com, FlyOver Canada official website
''In Park Magazine''
Tourist attractions in Vancouver
Amusement rides introduced in 2022