Rainbow's End

About

Rainbow's End is a theme park in Manukau, Auckland, New Zealand. Rainbow's End has an area of 9.3 hectares (23 acres) and includes the main theme park and also Kidz Kingdom, a family entertainment centre for children 8 years and under. The park, owned by Rainbows End Theme Park Limited, a subsidiary of Rangatira Limited, is New Zealand's largest theme park and currently employs up to 300 staff.

Opened in 1982 on the site of a former skate park, the park extended its lease in 2010 for another 24 years after five years of discussions with the Manukau City Council. The extension was conditional on reducing its size by 0.4 ha to 9.3 ha to allow for new construction at the nearby law courts (being compensated for the land lost). The agreement with the Council committed the company to re-invest $3 million every three years into new rides or upgrades.

Ride History 1982 – Park opens with the Bumper Boats, Mini Golf, Can Am Cars, Mirage Cars and video games 1983 – Cinema 180, Pirate Ship, Maze and the indoor play area open 1984 – Log Flume and Dodgems open 1985 – Kiddies Cars and Space Shuttle Zim Zam Zoo Playground open 1986 – Coca-Cola Corkscrew Coaster opens 1992 – Motion Master opens 1993 – Family Karts replace Mirage Cars 1995 – Gold Rush opens 1996 – Car wash Convoy opens 1997 – Castle Land open with Dragons Flight roller coaster and Carousel (known as Cadbury Land Castle until 2012) 1998 – Log Flume set on fire by arsonists in June. Ride reconstructed and rethemed before reopening as the Enchanted Forest Log Flume 2001 – Fear Fall opens 2004 – Power Surge and Jumpin' Star open 2008 – Ferris wheel inside the Cadbury Land castle is closed after the death of a maintenance worker after they got caught in the ride mechanism 2009 – Invader opens 2012 – Dragons Flight is removed from Castle Land. Castle Land closes and the new Kidz Kingdom outdoor covered area is opened on Boxing Day 2012 with 3 new rides: The Choco Express, Surf n Swing and Magic Bikes. Happy Feet replaces Journey to the Centre of the Earth in the Motion Master 2013 – The indoor section of Kidz Kingdom opens which includes The Fortress of Fun, Enzo's Country Raceway and the Small Talk Cafe as well as interactive activities for smaller children 2014 – Stratosfear, a Discovery Revolution ride from Zamperla, opened on 17 April. Unlike most Discoverys this version sends riders upside down, one of only 4 of them in the world that do so 2015 – After 32 years of operation, Rainbow's End closed and demolished their Cinema 180. This was the last of its kind in the world. The park announced on their website that they will be building a new attraction around this area in the future 2016 – The Dodgems ride is completely refurbished including all new cars and 1950s drive in theme 2017 – AA Driver's Town opens August 2017 – Original Pirate ship closes after 34 years of operation. 2019 – Rainbow's End Playlab opens (this replaces the Futuretainment Arcade) 2019 – Motion Master closed to be replaced with Spectra 2020 – Spectra, the biggest immersive theatre experience in the Southern Hemisphere, opens July 2021 – AA Driver's Town closed to make way for City Strike Laser Tag 2021 – City Strike Laser Tag opened in December 2021 2022 – Enchanted Forest Log Flume upgraded with a new storyline, featuring new characters set in 4 new lands: The Trees, Unicorn Meadow, Dragon Dale and The Golden Glenn. 2024 – The Dodgems were Re-Themed to a Deep sea Theme. 2025 - A new Huss Rides Pirate Ship named Pacifica opened in October.

- Stratosfear – Billed as the scariest ride yet, sends 30 riders spinning through the air and even upside down. This was one of only four of its kind in the world on opening day.

- The Invader – The Invader is a Disk'O Coaster from Zamperla in Italy which utilises gravity to move across a 15-metre-high (49 ft), 80-metre-long (260 ft) w-shaped track.

- Power Surge – The Power Surge is a thrill ride that can spin on both a horizontal and a vertical axis.

- Kidz Kingdom – An area in the park catered for children 8 years and under. The outdoor covered area has seven rides including the Choco Express, Carousel and Jumpin' Star. The indoor area includes the Fortress of Fun (play structure), Enzo's Country Raceway (cars) and the Small Talk Cafe as well as interactive activities for smaller children.

- Corkscrew roller coaster – A roller coaster manufactured by Arrow Dynamics. It is the only one of its kind in the country. It is over 90 feet (27 m) high, and contains three inversions, a vertical loop and a double corkscrew.

- Goldrush – A mine themed roller coaster ride consisting of short drops and sharp corners. This ride was custom built by Rainbow's End engineers

- Log Flume – The Enchanted Forest Log Flume has minor drops and a larger drop at the end.

- Fear Fall – An 18-story Intamin drop ride. Riders are lifted up the tower and dropped at speeds reaching 80 km/h, with the ride vehicle being stopped by magnetic braking.

- Family Karts/Scorpion Karts – A go-kart attraction with two levels of suitability: one for families with a passenger seat and one for slightly older guests.

- Bumper Boats – Guests are seated in Bumper Boats and are free to drive around 'bumping' into other guests.

- Centre Stage – A large covered stage and eating area with shows on the weekends and the holidays.

- Rainbow Playlab – A large up-charge arcade/gaming area, with arcades, virtual reality, E-Sports gaming and escape rooms.

- Spectra XD Dark Ride – A theatre experience with several dimensions of special effects

- City Strike Laser tag – A post-apocalyptic themed laser-tag attraction

- Pacifica – A Huss Rides Pirate Ship Attraction

- 2013 – Awarded two Brass Ring 2012 Awards for "Best Employee Reward and Recognition Program" and "Best Innovation in a Training Program" for a facility with annual attendance less than 1 million at the IAAPA ceremony in Orlando, Florida

- 2014 – Winner of the Marketing Excellence Award at the Westpac Auckland Business Awards 2014 - South