That was awesome!" said one man as he emerged from Vancouver's newest tourist attraction Wednesday.
"Mind blasting!" added his friend.
They were just two of the 2,000 test passengers this week for the FlyOver Canada virtual flight ride that will open at Canada Place June 29, just in time for Canada Day.
The virtual flight not only features spectacular images of Canada on a 20-metre half-spherical screen but augments the experience with wind, scents and mist.
Visitors on three tiered levels strap themselves into 60 seats that thrust them forward to hang, feet dangling, over the edge of rushing rapids, deep valleys and staggering cliffs.
Soaring Attractions developed FlyOver Canada. Its president Stephen Geddes said when he and CEO Andrew Strang sold their tax refund service for tourists in 2002 they knew they wanted to work on a new urban attraction.
Strang returned from a visit to Disneyland where he'd experienced the Soarin' Over California ride, and he and Geddes decided a similar attraction could take off in Vancouver.
Some opined their virtual journey should focus solely on B.C. but Strang says they always knew their ride should highlight Canada countrywide. "There's probably something in all Canadians and in tourists in the idea about crossing Canada," Strang said. "It's romantic."
In 2009, the pair heard the Imax theatre at Canada Place was closing and successfully pitched a virtual ride to Canada Place Corporation. The Aquilini Investment Group contributed $16 million along with its entertainment and construction expertise to bring the concept to life. The attraction is the first of its kind in Canada.
FlyOver Canada starts with an audiovisual show created by Montreal-based visual media Moment Factory, which has created shows and installations for clients that include Microsoft, Jay-Z and M.I.A. After a lighthearted safety video, visitors strap themselves in for the Fly-Over film produced by Whistler-based Sherpas Cinemas. Visitors of all ages have experienced FlyOver Canada and Strang said the youngest and the oldest have been the most awed. "We had a group over here from Victoria. They were all in their 80s and early 90s and they were just thrilled," he said. "I had a woman beside me who tearing up because she'd never seen so many places in Canada."
Thirty-year-old Adriana Rodriguez, who was visiting B.C. from Mexico, hooted and hollered throughout the ride Wednesday. "We're going to be in Niagara Falls this year," she said. "When we saw [it] there, we are like oh my God, we need to be there."
The original music score for the main attraction was composed by Andrea Wettstein of Six Degrees Music of Calgary and performed by the Vancouver Film Orchestra.
Custom manufacturing and installation took more than a year and involved almost 200 tons of steel. FlyOver Canada is powered by Bullfrog Power which uses sources its power from wind and hydro facilities.
An operator with rolls of paper towels tucked under his arm waited for the fast-paced aerial journey from coast to coast to end so he could soak up the excess water accidentally sprayed from a nozzle onto three of the attraction's seats. Working out such bugs were the reason for the free trials.
FlyOverCanada plans to host seasonal films at Christmas and Halloween in 2014.
Admission prices range from $14.95 to 19.95.
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