Freedom Flyer is a

Vekoma Vekoma Rides Manufacturing is a Dutch amusement ride manufacturer. Vekoma is syllabic abbreviation of Veld Koning Machinefabriek (Veld Koning Machine Factory) which was established in 1926 by Hendrik op het Veld. History The company originally ...

Suspended Family Coaster A Suspended Family Coaster is a steel inverted roller coaster built by Vekoma designed for families with no inversions. Just like all inverted roller coasters the train runs under the track with the seats directly attached to the wheel carriage. ...

at the

Fun Spot America Fun Spot America Theme Parks is a group of amusement parks. Since 1979, the group has owned and operated a number of small amusement parks over the years and currently has three locations in Orlando, Florida, Kissimmee, Florida, and Fayettevil ...

Amusement Park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

. It has yellow track and blue supports. Opened in May 2013, it is long.

History

On December 31, 2010, Fun Spot Action Park announced that they purchased an additional adjacent to the park, with plans to triple the size of the park adding a number of new rides. In April 2011, Fun Spot Action Park surveyed park guests about what types of attractions they would like at the park. Consensus published by the park indicated they wanted

water ride Water rides are amusement rides that are set over water. For instance, a log flume travels through a channel of water to move along its course. Notable types *AquaLoop *Bumper boats * Fishpipe * FlowRider *Lazy river *Log flume *Old Mill *River ...

s and

roller coasters A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...

. In August 2011, the ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune P ...

'' revealed that the park had contacted at least three roller coaster manufacturers. In November 2011, it was confirmed that the park would receive two roller coasters: one wood and one

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

. The coaster soft-opened in May 2013. During the 2015

International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) represents over 6,000 amusement-industry members in more than 100 countries worldwide and operates several global attractions-industry trade shows. Its annual IAAPA Expo in ...

(IAAPA) Trade Show in Orlando, the Freedom Flyer was used to demonstrate Virtual Reality Technology on roller coasters. By wearing a

VR headset A virtual reality headset (or VR headset) is a head-mounted device that provides virtual reality for the wearer. VR headsets are widely used with VR video games but they are also used in other applications, including simulators and trainers. VR ...

during the ride, speed, dimensions as well as

theming Theming refers to "the use of an overarching theme...to create a holistic and integrated spatial organization of a consumer venue.” A theme is “a unifying or dominant idea or motif”, so theming is the process of designing and constructing an ...

can be vastly extended in the simulated environment, while still experiencing the real

g-force The gravitational force equivalent, or, more commonly, g-force, is a measurement of the type of force per unit mass – typically acceleration – that causes a perception of weight, with a g-force of 1 g (not gram in mass measure ...

s and

air-time In the context of amusement rides, air time, or airtime, refers to the time during which riders of a roller coaster or other ride experience either frictionless or negative G-forces. The negative g-forces that a rider experiences is what create ...

moments of the actual ride. As of the December 16, 2016, the Virtual Reality aspect was introduced permanently to the attraction.

Ride Description

Freedom Flyer's layout starts with a 90 degree turn into a short,

Lift hill A lift hill, or chain hill, is an upward-sloping section of track on a roller coaster on which the roller coaster train is mechanically lifted to an elevated point or peak in the track. Upon reaching the peak, the train is then propelled from th ...

. after ascending the lift hill, the ride transitions into a curved drop and an upward hill, then turning into a series of Banked turns Overlooking the entrance to the park. After that, the ride proceeds into a

Double helix A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

, concluding the ride and sending the ride vehicle to the station. Across the ride, there are multiple "Foot Choppers" (support beams that draw near to the rider's feet, giving the illusion that the rider's legs are going to be chopped off, hence the name "Foot Chopper"). Additionally, Freedom Flyer's layout is almost entirely made up of turns, typical for the roller coaster model.

References

Roller coasters in Orlando, Florida Roller coasters in Florida {{amusement-ride-stub

History

Ride Description

See also

References