Playland, Theme park in Vancouver, Canada.
Playland is a theme park within Hastings Park in Vancouver, featuring more than forty rides across a wide fairground layout, with four roller coasters, multiple carousels, and a large selection of classic carnival games. The attractions spread across the grounds range from family-friendly roundabouts to fast-paced thrill rides that cater to different ages and preferences.
The theme park opened in 1958, taking over the site previously occupied by Happyland, which had operated from 1929 until 1957. Since then, it has formed the core of the city's summer entertainment offering and has been expanded and updated over the decades.
Playland's name comes from its 1958 reopening at Hastings Park, where its predecessor Happyland had run from 1929 to 1957. Each October since 2001 the park hosts Fright Nights, when haunted houses are set up inside the grounds and costumed monsters roam among the operating rides. The haunted houses were owned and managed by Calgary-based ScreamWorks Inc. until the PNE and Playland took over the event in 2009.
The park operates seasonally from May through September, with additional evening events in October during the Halloween Fright Nights. Most attractions are accessible in dry weather, though some rides may close during heavy wind or rain.
The 1958 Wooden Roller Coaster, known simply as Coaster, was Canada's largest when it opened and was designated a "classic" and "landmark" coaster by the American Coaster Enthusiasts in 2009. Its track and support structure are timber, with steel used for the running rails and fastenings. It appears as "Devil's Flight" in the opening scenes of Final Destination 3.
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