FlyOver is a flying theater attraction. The first FlyOver attraction, FlyOver Canada, opened in 2013 at Canada Place in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. The ride takes guests on a virtual flight across Canada, utilizing ride equipment that launches up to 61 people at a time into a 19m diameter spherical screen and employs wind, mist, and scents to enhance the experience. It has since opened at the Mall of America in the US, and downtown Reykjavik, Iceland, and with plans to open rides in Las Vegas and Toronto.
History
Soaring Attractions: FlyOver Canada and FlyOver America
FlyOver was conceived by Vancouver entrepreneurs Stephen Geddes and Andrew Strang, who wanted to bring a new tourist attraction to downtown Vancouver. They were inspired by the Soarin' Over California ride located at Disneyland and Epcot. They wanted to create a ride that would attract a wide demographic and showcase the diversity of Canada. In 2013, they, along with financier Aquilini Developments, formed a partnership called Soaring Attractions. The ride is located in an old Imax theatre at Canada Place. Soaring Attractions invested $16 million to develop the ride On June 29, 2013, the ride opened as FlyOver Canada. The ride takes guests on a virtual flight across Canada, utilizing ride equipment that launches up to 61 people at a time into a 19m diameter spherical screen and employs wind, mist, and scents to enhance the experience. It became the largest new tourist attraction to open in the region at the time. Soaring Attractions then went on to open a similar ride in Bloomington, Minnesota’s Mall of America with the titleFlyOver America in 2016. The estimated cost for the second ride was $20 million US. The ride opened on April 19, and includes footage of Minneapolis, Lake Calhoun, Red Wing, Alaska, Hawaii, and Maine. As of June 8, 2017, the FlyOver Canada film was featured as an alternating attraction at FlyOver America.
Acquisition by Pursuit and expansion
In December 2016, Soaring Attractions sold FlyOver to the Phoenix based travel and events company, Pursuit, a subsidiary of Viad Corp. In 2017, Pursuit announced it would be developing a FlyOver ride in downtown Reykjavik, Iceland in cooperation with Esja Attractions. FlyOver Iceland opened in September 2019. In commemoration of the opening, FlyOver Canada showcased the Iceland film at the Vancouver site for a limited time. In February 2019, Viad announced plans to develop a FlyOver ride in Las Vegas, scheduled to open in 2021. In July 2019, Viad announced plans to develop a FlyOver ride in Toronto.
