Vancouver’s Playland amusement park opens for the summer Saturday, June 3, from 11 a.m. until 11 p.m.
The rides will operate weekends in June, including Saturday evenings, then from Wednesday to Sunday in July and August (including Friday and Saturday evenings).
All the rides, games and attractions are detailed on pne.ca/playland, along with dates, hours of operation and special events planned at the East Vancouver site.
Again this year, Playland’s famous Wooden Roller Coaster is still not operating due to refurbishment work.
Special events this spring/summer include the BattleZone dance competition June 17, an Adult Summer Camp and summer-kickoff June 24, Singles Night with LED Drum Line July 15, Halloween in July and more.
At the gate, “Fun Pass” tickets are $38 for kids/family rides and $50 for thrill rides including The Beast, Atmosfear, Hellevator and others. The passes are discounted by $5 when bought in advance on ticketleader.ca.
Starting at $89, a season pass offers unlimited entry to the park, unlimited rides and 10 per cent off food and games.
The amusement park’s new “launch coaster” will ride starting in 2024. The $9-million ride, announced in November 2022, is being built by the Zamperla company of Italy. Video posted to Youtube shows the launch of the “Lightning Train” last November.
• RELATED STORY: PNE concerts for Blue Rodeo, Billy Idol & more, plus a big ‘Summer of 69’ jam to break record.
Playland is a big part of the annual Pacific National Exhibition (PNE), which starts Aug. 19, 2023.
Tickets went on sale May 26 for this summer’s PNE concerts, with the usual wide assortment of pop, rock, R&B and other genres featured on the fair’s Chevrolet Stage.
TLC, Billy Idol, Blue Rodeo, Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo, Walk off the Earth and AQUA are some of the 2023 Summer Night Concerts artists, along with Boyz II Men, Tenille Townes, Boney M, Jason Derulo, Billy Talent, Doug and the Slugs with the VSO, Pink Martini and more.
Like last year, all concert-goers will need a fair gate pass as well as a paid concert ticket, some priced as low as $20 on ticketleader.ca.
On Aug. 27 at Pacific Coliseum, a “Big Guitar Rock Out” event will attempt to break a record for the most electric guitarists (500 or more) playing a song (Bryan Adams’ “Summer of 69,” in this case) with School of Rock Vancouver. Players just have to show up with a guitar and small amp, and can register on http://bigrockout.com.
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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