Cultus Lake's amusement park getting new 150-ft-tall 'hellevator' ride this summer

Cultus Lake's amusement park is getting a new 150-ft-tall 'hellevator' ride this summer

The Cloud Buster drop tower at Cultus Lake Adventure Park. (Cultus Lake Adventure Park)

The Lower Mainland’s lesser-known amusement park is getting a tall, scream-worthy addition just in time for the start of its summer 2018 season.

On June 15, Cultus Lake Adventure Park will reveal its Cloud Buster drop tower – a 150-ft-tall extreme ride that free falls at speeds of 75 km/hr. Up to 12 people can take the ride at a time.

The Cloud Buster is similar to the Hellevator at Vancouver’s PlayLand and even has the same maximum speed, but it is about 50 ft shorter in height. However, it is still the tallest thing around; at the top, the drop tower offers panoramic views of Cultus Lake and much of the Fraser Valley.

The Cloud Buster drop tower at Cultus Lake Adventure Park. (Cultus Lake Adventure Park)

Russel Steunenberg, the General Manager of Cultus Lake Adventure Park, says construction on the permanent addition began this past winter, and it is now the park’s new visual centrepiece and flagship attraction.

The ride’s loading platform is 20 ft above Giggle Ridge Mini Golf – providing an elevated view of the park – and the foundation’s theme is creatively disguised as an old mine shaft completely hollowed out, as one of the mini-golf holes passes right underneath the drop tower structure.

“We have been able to keep the park rapidly growing and we are always looking for new innovative additions to our park,” Steunenberg told Daily Hive.

“We offer a themed amusement experience that can not be found anywhere else on the West Coast. The quality of artistry and theme works is comparable to nothing other than Disney itself.”

The Cloud Buster drop tower at Cultus Lake Adventure Park. (Cultus Lake Adventure Park)

The park has grown exponentially ever since 2014 when it evolved from a mini-golf course known as Giggle Ridge Adventure Golf to Cultus Lake Adventure Park. Eight rides were added during its inaugural year as an amusement park.

Then in 2015, half of the park area was completely redesigned and rebuilt with heavy aesthetic theming and three new rides added.

Further upgrades were made last year, specifically a new 300-ft-long elevated boardwalk through the park’s perimeter trees plus new food offerings and a new family ride.

A ride at Cultus Lake Adventure Park. (Cultus Lake Adventure Park)

Despite being just a small fraction of the size of PlayLand’s site, Cultus Lake Adventure Park is still able to pack in 14 rides and a number of attractions. Its rides include a balloon adventure tower, runaway mine train, wave swinger, ferris wheel, carousel, a fully inverted extreme ride, bumper boats, and a 55-ft-tall gentler drop tower.

The amusement park is located immediately across from Cultus Lake Waterpark and just east of the lake’s main beach boat rental and concession. The opening period this season is from June 15 to September 16.

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