Golden Zephyr is an attraction at Paradise Pier

Paradise Pier

Paradise Pier is a themed "land" at Disney California Adventure, Disneyland's sister park, which are all part of the Disneyland Resort. Its appearance is based on that of Vicotian boardwalks that were once found along the coast of California. Despite its name and the presence of a nearby manmade...

 in Disney's California Adventure Park. Themed to the Buck Rogers

Buck Rogers

Anthony Rogers is a fictional character that first appeared in Armageddon 2419 A.D. by Philip Francis Nowlan in the August 1928 issue of the pulp magazine Amazing Stories. A sequel, The Airlords of Han, was published in the March 1929 issue....

 and Flash Gordon

Flash Gordon

Flash Gordon is the hero of a science fiction adventure comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by and created to compete with the already established Buck Rogers adventure strip. Also inspired by these series were comics such as Dash...

 style rocket ships, it takes park guests on a relaxing trip. Unlike its cousins Dumbo

Dumbo

Dumbo is a 1941 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released on October 23, 1941, by RKO Radio Pictures.The fourth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, Dumbo is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and illustrated by Harold Pearl for the prototype of a...

 and the Astro Orbitor

Astro Orbitor

The Astro Orbitor is a rocket-spinner attraction featured at all five Magic Kingdom-style parks at Walt Disney Resorts around the world. Although each ride may have a different name, all share the same premise of rockets spinning around a central monument...

 next door in Disneyland Park

Disneyland Park (Anaheim)

Disneyland Park is a theme park located in Anaheim, California, owned and operated by the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts division of the Walt Disney Company. Known as Disneyland when it opened on July 18, 1955, and still almost universally referred to by that name, it is the only theme park to be...

, the Golden Zephyr rockets are controlled by centripetal motion over Paradise Bay and can not be automatically controlled to go up and down.

The Golden Zephyr's design comes from the Harry Traver

Harry Traver

Harry Guy Traver was an American engineer and early roller coaster designer.Traver was born in Gardner, Illinois...

 Circle Swing rides of the early 20th century, specifically the Aerostat / Strat-O-Stat ride that operated at Riverview Park in Chicago. In designing the ride, Disney engineers visited Pleasure Beach in Blackpool

Blackpool

Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...

, England to examine the Captive Flying Machines, a similar (but much larger) ride designed by Sir Hiram Maxim, and which has operated there since 1904.

Unfortunately, the ride cannot operate at constant wind speeds over 10 miles per hour (4.5 m/s), or gusts over 15 miles per hour (6.7 m/s). This attraction, along with Jumpin' Jellyfish

Jumpin' Jellyfish

Jumpin' Jellyfish is a parachute jump–style ride at Disney's California Adventure Park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California and Tokyo DisneySea at Tokyo Disney Resort in Japan....

will not be removed nor changed as part of the ongoing billion-dollar expansion.

External links

• Official Disneyland Resort Link