SkyPark at Santa’s Village theme park recently opened its newest ride and attraction: The B Rail, a self-powered single-rider mountain bike suspended above the park on the historic 62-year-old “Bumble Bee Monorail” line. The unique ride is designed to give park guests the feeling of riding an actual bike high above the park in the San Bernardino Mountains.
“We’re in the business of bringing family and friends together,” says Bill Johnson, the ride’s lead creator and park co-owner. “For the first time in many years, the famous monorail track at Santa’s Village is alive again. As a kid, I worked on the monorail ride, and as a grown-up, I’ve had the honor of re-imagining it and bringing it into this timeline. Like every part of restoring and reimagining this historic theme park, it’s been a lot of work and an absolute dream come true.”
The park’s history
The Santa’s Village park itself dates back to 1955, (opening six weeks before Disneyland), a charming roadside destination where guests could enjoy fairytale characters and carnival-style rides. The original Bumble Bee Monorail was built in 1961 by American Crane & Hoist, (for $27,000) and was also a test-bed for the larger suspended monorail for the 1964 New York World’s Fair. The original cars were 3 phase electric black and yellow striped bees, with bulging eyes, and also flapping wings, which were later removed for clearance issues.
After four decades, Santa’s Village closed in 1998. The forgotten park sat abandoned for nearly twenty years.
In 2014, Bill and Michelle Johnson, a local husband and wife real estate and design team, purchased the park, refurbished everything, added a mountain bike park, and reopened it as SkyPark at Santa’s Village. Since then, the park has drawn in a whole new generation of children and adults, looking for camaraderie and adventure in the mountains.
The B Rail ride development
“We wanted to give guests a bee’s eye view of the park,” says Bill, Co-Owner of the park and General Manager. “We knew the days of high powered electric rides were futile and a self-powered coaster style ride is what the park needed. ‘The B Rail’ rolls high above the park as if you are flying on a bicycle. And there isn’t much to separate them from the feeling of actual flight. It’s a very open ride that’s unlike anything else out there. You pedal the ride and are able to choose your level of speed, just like riding a bike.
“When we bought the park, we knew we had to keep the original monorail track. It was an iconic part of the park’s identity. Plus, it was still in good condition and we wanted to make something special with the ride infrastructure.” Bill developed the ride with a long time friend Mat Caracaburu, who runs a successful fabrication business Milling and Turning Tech. The reproduction and detail design work was then sourced out to Carter Read at CJ Read Engineering.
“Even though it’s pedal powered, we consider this a thrill ride as you control the speed at 40 feet above the ground,” says Bill. “There’s no ride car to encase you, and you really do feel like you’re flying on a bicycle. There will also be a timed lap component, coming soon, so you can ‘race’ your friends and your own best time.
“The monorail bike component is hand built by Fat Chance Bicycles, as well as a group of industry folks, including KS Suspension, who wanted to help bring an eco-concept to the thrill ride/themed park industry. The ride has been thoroughly tested and adapted to enhance public safety and approved by the Department of Industrial Relations, like other rollercoasters or other amusement rides found at California theme parks.”
In honor of the original ride, one of the black and yellow Bee Monorail cars has been lovingly restored and mounted in front of the Sky Trading Company, where guests can sit in it for photo opportunities.