Canada’s Wonderland to add Leviathan coaster in 2012

Canada’s Wonderland will move into the top echelon of the world’s roller coaster parks in 2012 with the addition of Leviathan, the Toronto-area amusement park’s 16th coaster.

> Photos: Leviathan at Canada’s Wonderland

The $28-million inversionless Giga coaster will include an 80-degree first drop followed by a series of camelback hills and a 115-degree overbanked hammerhead turn that will cross over the front gate of Canada’s Wonderland.

Set to open in May 2012, the 3 1/2-minute ride will feature lap-bar restraints and over a mile of track along an L-shaped layout.

With 16 coasters, Canada’s Wonderland will move into third place behind Six Flags Magic Mountain (18) and Cedar Point (17) in the battle for the coveted title of “Coaster Capital of the World.”

Leviathan will be among the top 10 coasters in the world for height (306 feet) and speed (92 mph), according to Roller Coaster Database.

The new ride will be created by Switzerland’s Bolliger & Mabillard, which also built the Behemoth hypercoaster at Canada’s Wonderland in 2008.

The new metal beast already has the coaster community salivating.

“The name Leviathan comes from an Old Testament scripture in Job which refers to it as a monstrous sea creature whose combination of strength and grace no man could control,” Ryan Shrout wrote at Coaster-Net. “Certainly the name sounds fitting for what Canada’s Wonderland is about to unleash.”