La Ronde (amusement park)

La Ronde (Round) is an amusement park in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, built as the entertainment complex for Expo 67, the 1967 world fair. Today, it is operated by Six Flags under an emphyteutic lease with the City of Montreal, which expires in 2065. It is the largest amusement park in Quebec and second largest in Canada.[1]

La Ronde

Location	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Coordinates	45°31′21″N 73°32′06″W
Owner	City of Montreal
Operated by	Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (since 2001)
Opened	April 1967
Operating season	May – October
Area	146 acres (59 ha)
Attractions
Total	40
Roller coasters	8
Water rides	3
Website	La Ronde

It is on 146 acres (59.1 ha) located on the Northern tip of Saint Helen's Island. This is a man-made extension to the island in the space where the small Ronde Island had been.[2] The park hosts L'International des Feux Loto-Québec, a highly regarded international fireworks competition. La Ronde is one of three Six Flags parks not to be officially branded as a Six Flags park, Great Escape in Queensbury, New York, and Frontier City in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma being the other two.

Park

The park opens from mid-May to late October, with peak admissions in July. Toddlers aged 2 and under receive free admission. Family rides require a height of 36 in (0.91 m), while most intermediate rides require 44 in (1.12 m) and high-thrill rides require 48, 52, or 54 inches (1.22, 1.32, or 1.37 m).

La Ronde closes its season in the last weekend of October. To celebrate Halloween, in the month of October, the park hosts its annual La Ronde's Fright Fest. The festival has four haunted houses, and many costumed performers who roam the park.

The park has 40 rides, including ten roller coasters; among them is Le Monstre, a 40-metre (131 ft) high wooden double-tracked roller coaster which holds the record for highest double-tracked roller coaster in the world.

History

La Ronde during Expo 67. The amusement park was built as an entertainment complex for the world's fair.

La Ronde was the entertainment complex built for Expo 67, the world fair held in Montreal from April 27 to October 29, 1967.[1] The exposition was located on 400 hectares (ha) of man-made islands in the St Lawrence River adjacent to Montréal, and comprised six "theme" pavilions, 48 national pavilions, four provincial pavilions, 27 private-industry and institutional pavilions, and La Ronde – a 54-ha entertainment complex with theatres, midway attractions, drinking and dining.[3] Visitors could experience the rides, restaurants and beer halls of La Ronde until 2:30 a.m. nightly. The rest of the Expo site closed down at 10:30 p.m.[4] After Expo 67 World's Fair, the City of Montreal continued to run the amusement park for the next 34 years.[5]

The City of Montreal sold La Ronde to Six Flags, an American theme park chain, in a deal completed on May 4, 2001. It acquired all of the assets of the park for $20 million USD and has a long-term contract to lease the land from the city. Before the announcement of the Six Flags purchase, the city had considered offers from other bidders including Paramount Parks, Cedar Fair, and Parc Astérix. Since then, Six Flags has invested around $90 million in new rides and improvements,[6] such as Le Vampire, Splash, Le Goliath and Ednör - L'Attaque as well as a new main entrance.

First logo used by La Ronde after its acquisition from Six Flags, from 2001–2012.

The amusement park was used as a backdrop in the Are You Afraid of the Dark? episode "Laughing in the Dark" (season 1, episode 2) and was given the fictional name "Playland". The episode featured the park's iconic giant roller coaster, haunted house with a dragon on the front and its old-fashioned carousel.

La Ronde had a Nintendo-sponsored video game centre with the latest Nintendo video games and attractions. Since 2009, the former 3D theatre has housed Nintendo DS and Wii consoles, advertisements and a Nintendo Store.

In May 2002, La Ronde announced the installation of a Bolliger & Mabillard inverted roller coaster called Le Vampire, which was the first major investment by Six Flags.[7] It is a mirror image of the "Batman – The Ride" roller coasters found at many other Six Flags parks.

In 2003 La Ronde opened 6 new rides including Auto Tamponneuses, Tour de Ville, Manitou, Vertigo, Grand Carrousel, and Toboggan Nordique. Some rides were replaced for these new rides.

In 2004 La Ronde opened Le splash a Shoot the Chute ride with another ride Spongebob 3D

In May 2006, La Ronde opened its ninth roller coaster, Goliath, a 53-metre (174 ft) high Bolliger & Mabillard mega coaster. It reaches speeds of 110 km/h (68 mph), making it the third tallest and the third fastest roller coaster in Canada. For the 2007 season, La Ronde painted its iconic observation tower bright orange to advertise Pizza Pizza, an Ontario pizza chain that, at the time, was just emerging into the Quebec market. All of the pizza stands inside the park were renamed from Pizza Ronde to Pizza Pizza.

2007 was La Ronde's 40th anniversary. The park celebrated with Expo 67 themed events commemorating the world fair.[8]

In January 2009, La Ronde announced its intention to become a Six Flags branded park, using the rights to Warner Bros. and DC Comics trademarks under the licensing agreement with Six Flags.[9] Le Vampire, a mirror image of Batman: The Ride constructed in 2002, carries no association to the Batman media franchise because the licence with Warner Bros. and DC Comics is not valid in unbranded Six Flags parks.[10] It is yet unknown if Le Vampire will be re-branded to Batman: The Ride once the branding of the park commences.

In 2010, Six Flags installed Ednör - L'Attaque, a Vekoma Suspended Looping Coaster at the park. This coaster was formerly located at Six Flags AstroWorld as "Serial Thriller".

The Serial Thriller, a Vekoma Suspended Looping Coaster that used to be located at the now defunct Six Flags AstroWorld, was shipped to La Ronde from the Great Escape, another Six Flags property where it lay in storage since 2005. The roller coaster, which opened in 1999 at Six Flags AstroWorld, has been installed over the Lac des Dauphins at the park for the 2010 season and is named Ednör - L'Attaque.[11] It features special effects and theming from an alleged sea monster that was reported to have appeared in the Lac des Dauphins.[12]

On March 9, 2010, La Ronde announced that Terminator X: A Laser Battle for Salvation, an interactive laser-tag attraction themed around the Terminator series, will also be featured in the park for the 2010 season.[13]

On January 19, 2012, Six Flags announced Vol Ultime at La Ronde; it is similar to the SkyScreamers and it is 45-metre (148 ft) tall.[14][15]

In 2013, the park opened a water-themed attraction, Aqua Twist.

On August 29, 2013, Six Flags announced the addition of Demon, a top spin ride, for the 2014 season.[16] As a world premiere, Goliath was the first roller coaster equipped and exploited with virtual reality headset.

On August 28, 2014, Six Flags announced Maison Rouge, a haunted house, for the 2015 season.[17]

On September 3, 2015, Six Flags announced Avenue Aventure, a section of the park which includes Bateau Pirate, Condor and two new rides ; Phoenix, a Larson flying scooters and Gravitor, a Chance Falling Star from Six Flags St. Louis.[18]

On September 1, 2016 Six Flags announced Titan, a Zamperla Giant Discovery. It is the park's second pendulum ride. It is identical to the Riddler Revenge at Six Flags Over Texas.

In 2017 Le Monstre had only one track open for mainly the whole season while the other track was retracked

In May 2017, on its 50th anniversary, La Ronde announced the permanent closure of one of its original rides, La Pitoune. The water log ride dated back to the days of Expo 67, and had its final season in operation in 2016. It has since been dismantled.

On Saturday, May 19, 2018, Six Flags La Ronde has opened its newest ride—a spinning, rising-then-dipping platform thrill ride called Le Tourbillon, a Larson International GX5 model (Waltzer-style) Tilt-A-Whirl, residing along L'Avenue across from the Phoenix. This thrill ride addition was supposed to have been amongst the proposed featured rides for a new family section, called Carnaval En Folie (the newly-added ride was to have been named La Torsade).

On Saturday, May 18, 2019, Six Flags La Ronde opened its new ride Chaos, a Fire Ball ride by Larson International, which previously was in Six Flags Great Adventure from 2015 to 2018 and was named El Diablo. By the end of 2018, the ride was relocated to La Ronde and has been re-painted from red to black on the top of the ride. The ride also has new trains. Chaos is located in the former place of the ride Le Moulin de la Sorcière, which is located between the rides Manitou and Boomerang.

On Sunday, August 25, 2019, Super Manège closed. It was scheduled to close at the end of the day, but was abruptly closed when a rider's restraint failed. On August 29, 2019. Six Flags announced its new ride for La Ronde, Vipère, formerly Green Lantern: First Flight (from Six Flags Magic Mountain).

On August 3, 2020, after a three month delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic[19], La Ronde opened for its 54th operating season (a limited soft reopening began July 25th).[20] This was the first time in La Ronde's history that the park operated for only half a season, and with several events, attractions and rides closed. Rides closed in 2020 included: Monster rollercoaster, Vipere rollercoaster, Gravitor, Catapult, Aqua Twist, Ourson Fripon, Pirate Boat, Galopant Carousel, Minirail and Spirale. [21]

Features

Roller coasters

Goliath is one of several roller coasters located at La Ronde.

Ride Name	Opened	Manufacturer	Model/Type	Notes
Boomerang	1984	Vekoma Rides	Boomerang	Repainted to dark blue
Dragon	1994	INTAMIN Worldwide	Indoor/Family Roller Coaster
Ednör – L'Attaque	2010	Vekoma Rides	SLC (689m Standard)	relocated from Six Flags Astroworld
Goliath	2006	Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M)	Hyper Coaster
Marche du Mille-pattes	1967	Arrow Dynamics	Mini Mine Train
Le Monstre	1985	William Cobb & Associates	Wooden Roller Coaster	In 2017 track 2 was closed for mainly the whole season
Toboggan Nordique	2003	Zamperla	Wild Mouse Coaster
Le Vampire	2002	Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M)	Inverted Coaster
Vipère	TBA	Intamin	Zac-Spin	Formerly Green Lantern: First Flight at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Set to open: 2021[22]

Thrill rides

Vol Ultime is a star flyer located at La Ronde.

Name	Installation Year	Manufacturer	Ride Type
Bateau pirate	1988	HUSS Maschinenfabrik	Pirate ship
Condor	1990	HUSS Maschinenfabrik	Condor
Orbite	1999	S&S Power	Space Shot
Vertigo	2003	Zamperla	Hawk 24
Manitou	2003	Zamperla	Nitro
Vol Ultime	2012	Funtime	Star Flyer
Demon	2014	Mondial	Roll Over[23]
Maison Rouge	2015	ACMÉ Immersif	Haunted House
Gravitor	2016	Chance	Falling Star
Titan	2017	Zamperla	Giant Discovery
Chaos	2019	Larson	Fire Ball

Family and children

Opened in 1967, Le Galophant carousel ride is among the oldest attractions at La Ronde.

Name	Installation Year	Manufacturer	Model/Ride Type
Le Galopant	1967	Bairolle	Carousel
Joyeux moussaillons	1967	Arrow Dynamics	Boat ride
Tchou Tchou	1967	Arrow Dynamics	Train ride
La grande envolée	1990	Zamperla
Grand carrousel	2003	Chance Morgan	Carousel
Air papillon	2005	Zamperla
La danse des bestioles	2005	Zamperla
Monsieur l'arbre	2005	Zamperla
Marais enchanté	2005	Zamperla
Ourson Fripon	2005	Zamperla
Pommes d'Api	2005	Zamperla
Aqua Twist	2013	Mack Rides	Twist & Splash/Teacup ride
Phoenix	2016	Larson International	Flying Scooters
Tourbillon	2018	Larson International	Tilt-A-Whirl G5

Intermediates

The former La Pitoune log ride (dismantled after closure in 2016)

Name	Installation Year	Manufacturer	Note
Disco Ronde	1986	HUSS Maschinenfabrik	Placed In Splash before moving near Vol Ultime
Dragon	1995	Intamin
Autos tamponneuses (Bumper cars)	2003	RDC Bumper Cars
Tour de Ville	2003	Zamperla
Splash	2004	Intamin

Panoramic

Minirail is the park's automated monorail system. It opened in 1967 for the world's fair.

Name	Installation Year	Manufacturer	Notes
Minirail	1967	Von Roll Habegger	Closed since 2019 (spring)
Spirale	1967	Von Roll	Closed since 2018 (fall)
Grande Roue (Ferris wheel)	1984	Vekoma

Paid attractions

Name	Installation Year	Price
Sling shot	2002	$20 per person
Catapulte	2008	$20 for 1 person, $15/person for 2 people, $10/person for 3 people

Former rides and attractions

Name	Manufacturer	Operating Years	Replaced by
Flitzer		1967–1974
Les Parachutes		1967–1980
Gyrotron	Von Roll	1967–1981	Le Monstre
Calypso		1967–1982
Traban	Chance Rides	1967–1983
Turbo		1967–1984	Boomerang
Spider		1967–1985	Maelstrom
Grande roue		1967–1986	Condor
Sky Ride / Le Téléférique	Von Roll	1967–2000	Dragon
Mont Blanc	Reverchon	1967–2000
Les Bagnoles	Arrow	1967–2004	Air Papillon
Pitoune (Log flume)	Arrow Dynamics	1967–2016	Place 1967
Wild cat / Les Montagnes Russes	Schwartzkopf	1968–1984	Le Monstre
Le Moulin de la Sorcière	Pinfari	1969–2004	Chaos
La Course	Zierer	1972–1976
Le Rotor	Chance Rides	1972-1984	Astronef
Zipper	Chance Rides?	1975–1982
Cinema 180		1978–1984
Mille et une nuits (Salem Aleikium)		1978–1985	Le Monstre
Le Mont Blanc	Reverchon	1978–2000
Troika / Le Diablo	HUSS Maschinenfabrik	1978–2003	Le Splash
Super Manège	Vekoma Rides	1981–2019	Vipère
Entreprise	HUSS Maschinenfabrik	1982–1988
Arc en ciel	HUSS Maschinenfabrik	1983–1987	Bateau pirate
Les Autos Tamponneuses	Reverchon	1983–2002	Le Toboggan Nordique
Carrousel Volant	Zierer	1983–?
Les Astrobolides	Sartori	1984–2004	Le Marais Enchanté
La Petite Roue	Sartori	1984–2004	Pommes D'api
Le Chat et la Souris	Sartori	1984–2004	La Danse des Bestioles
Astronef (Sky Flyer)	Vekoma	1985–2002	Le Manitou
Le Palais des Glaces		1985–2003	Le Splash
Le Twister	Heintz Fahtze	1985–2008	Phoenix
Maëlstrom	Mack	1985–2008	Zone du bonhier Coca-Cola
Aqua-parc		1985–1992	Vampire
The Flying Carpet / Le Tapis Volant	Zierer	1986–2002	Les Autos Tamponneuses
OVNI	HUSS Maschinenfabrik	1986–2006	Démon
Mini Rallye	Sartori	1993–2004	Monsieur l'Arbre
Hydroid '94 (Sub-Oceanic Shuttle)	Iwerks	1994–1995	Volcanozor (Dino Island II)
Volcanozor (Dino Island II)	Iwerks	1995–2004	SpongeBob 3D
Cobra (La Ronde)	Intamin	1995–2016
La Tornade	HUSS Maschinenfabrik	1997–2010
Rock Wall		2001–2010	Aqua Twist
Eurobungy		2002–2011	Gravitor
Tasses Magiques	Zamperla	2003–2009	Ednör – L'Attaque
SpongeBob 3D	Iwerks	2004–2007	Experience Nintendo
Experience Nintendo (Cyberzone)	Ubisoft, Nintendo	2008–2011	Season pass processing center
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor	Sudden Impact! Entertainment Company (SIEC)	2009	Terminator X: A Laser Battle for Salvation
Terminator X: A Laser Battle for Salvation	Sudden Impact! Entertainment Company (SIEC)	2010
Le Marteau		?

See also

• Belmont Park, Montreal
• Dominion Park
• Parc Jean-Drapeau
• Six Flags
• Incidents at Six Flags parks

References

1. "EXPO 67: THEN AND NOW – Tourisme Montréal Blog". 2012-05-09. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
2. "Expo 67 La Ronde:". expo67.morenciel.com. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
3. Brown, Thomas C. "Music at Expo 67". Retrieved 2016-08-10.
4. "1967: Expo 67 dazzles at night on opening day – CBC Archives". Retrieved 2016-08-10.
5. "La Ronde Amusement Park in Montreal – Attractions | Frommer's". www.frommers.com. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
6. "Six Flags invests around 90 million dollars in new rides and improvements". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
7. "Vampire – La Ronde (Montréal, Québec, Canada)". Montreal Gazette. Archived from the original on 2012-03-06. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
8. Hustak, Alan (May 4, 2007). "Spirit of Drapeau makes appearance to launch La Ronde's 40th season". The Gazette.
9. Cloutier, Laurier. "La Ronde prend le virage famille" (in French). La Presse. Archived from the original on 2010-06-18. Retrieved 2009-07-30.
10. "Montreal-based theme park". Amusement Business. BPI Communications, Inc. 115 (9): 6. March 3, 2003. ISSN 0003-2344.
11. La Ronde. "Ednör L'attaque". La Ronde. Archived from the original on 2010-04-21. Retrieved 2010-04-15.
12. La Ronde. "La Ronde unveils fast new roller-coaster". Montreal Gazette. Archived from the original on 2010-04-18. Retrieved 2010-04-15.
13. La Ronde. "Terminator X, the ultimate laser battle at La Ronde!". La Ronde. Archived from the original on 2010-06-07. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
14. "Vol Ultime". La Ronde. Archived from the original on January 25, 2012. Retrieved January 19, 2012.
15. La Ronde (January 19, 2012). "La Ronde will set the limit in 2012 with its upcoming new extreme tower ride" (PDF). Press Release. Six Flags. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 2, 2014. Retrieved January 19, 2012.
16. "New for 2014". August 29, 2013. Archived from the original on September 1, 2013. Retrieved August 29, 2013.
17. "New for 2015". August 28, 2014. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
18. "New for2016". September 3, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
19. "BRIEF-Six Flags Entertainment Says Made Decision To Delay Opening Or Temporarily Suspend Operations For Certain Parks In Response To Coronavirus Outbreak". March 13, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
20. "La Ronde is postponing its opening next month". April 2, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
21. "Coronavirus: La Ronde officially opens its doors to season-pass holders". July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
22. https://www.narcity.com/nouvelles/ca/qc/montreal/le-nouveau-mange-vipre-la-ronde-ouvrira-seulement-en-2021
23. http://www.amusementtoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/at_2014_park_preview.pdf

External links

• La Ronde official website
• L'International Des Feux Loto-Québec (fireworks competition)
• La Ronde at the Roller Coaster DataBase
• La Ronde on Guide-O-Parc
• Six Flags Official web site
• Expo 67 – La Ronde
• Marina La Ronde