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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2001 |
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Welcome to a ride that’s a tribute to the orange groves and citrus honey production of California. After all, California Adventure is all about California. |
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Keep in mind that the 160 acres that Walt Disney acquired in 1954 for Disneyland and its parking lot were once covered mostly by orange trees—with honey bees buzzing around the orange blossoms. The four-story orange peel is hiding a 48-seat Zierer Wave Swinger. But this one’s not a Swinger; it’s a Stinger—the Orange Stinger. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2007 A citrus fruit with a ride inside |
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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2001 Entrance |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2001 Elevator disguised as a stack of bee hive boxes |
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Look for the honey bees with aviator goggles. Head up the stairs to the ride level and wait for your turn. There’s no pre-show, but the view is pretty good. As you watch the riders to your left, you can anticipate what the ride will be like. Or, to your right, you can enjoy a panoramic view of Paradise Pier from a vantage point one story above water level. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2006 Queue |
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The queue is on a platform along the edge of the orange. Pick a swing chair, any swing chair. Your seat is suspended from a canopy high above you by chains. Get into a seat. Then put the metal bar across the seat above your lap. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2006 Every rider gets his or her own seat |
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A hydraulic system raises the central column like an old-fashioned telescope, lifting the canopy. The central column rotates in one direction, while the canopy rotates in the opposite direction. To make it more interesting, the canopy tilts in various directions to create a wave-like motion for the riders. It’s really a mechanical marvel. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2006 Flying with your feet dangling high above the ground |
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There’s something here for four of your five senses. See glimpses of Paradise Pier from the open areas in the orange peel. Hear the sound of bees buzzing (or the sound of screams drowning out the buzzing). Smell the scent of oranges. Feel the wave action of the tilting canopy and the centrifugal force that makes your seat swing out to the side. (The fifth sense is taste, but food and beverages are not allowed on the ride.) |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2006 Don’t lose your shoes! |
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Before you know it, you hear a recorded announcement: “It looks like our flight time is up. Please stay seated until your Orange Stinger stops. Then, lift the bar; check for your belongings; leave through the nearest exit. Thank you for flying with us. We hope to see you again soon.” Head back down the stairs. Come back tonight to admire how the orange peel is lit with neon along its edges. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2004 Follow the sign |
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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2001 Dusk for the Orange Stinger |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2001 Orange Stinger souvenir toy |
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If you want to remember your ride on the Orange Stinger, stop by a park gift shop for the souvenir toy. |
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Orange Stinger was one of the original attractions at Disney’s California Adventure when the park opened in February 2001. It was in the part of Paradise Pier that is now Paradise Gardens Park. At its core, the attraction was a Zierer Wave Swinger, an “off the shelf” product from German amusement park ride manufacturer Zierer Karussell und Spezialmaschinenbau GmbH. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2010 WaveSwinger in Fiesta Village at Knott’s Berry Farm |
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Surprisingly, the designers of California Adventure included the ride in the new park even though there was already a Zierer Wave Swinger at nearby Knott’s Berry Farm. (Knott’s originally called their ride Slingshot in 1987, but changed the name to WaveSwinger in 1998.) By enclosing the ride in a structure that looked like an orange and providing one-of-a-kind seating, the Orange Stinger would provide a unique experience, while still delivering the thrills that Wave Swingers are known for. When the Orange Stinger first opened, each guest sat in a whimsical seat that looked like a yellow and black bee abdomen with bee wings and legs on each side. |
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Photos by Allen Huffman, 2001 Orange Stinger guests as buzzing bees |
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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2001 Another rare early photo |
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Guests were not simply riders on a ride; they became a swarm of buzzing bees, and they smelled the scent of oranges, pumped into the attraction. Sure, there were Zierer Wave Swinger rides all over the world, but no other one was like the Orange Stinger. The “bee behind” seats immediately became a problem. The decorative elements could not withstand the damage from banging into each other. Disney’s California Adventure had opened February 8, 2001. By February 21, 2001, the decorative covers were gone. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2004 Conventional seats on the Orange Stinger |
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Orange Stinger had a California theme, but it didn’t successfully take guests back in time to “the heyday of the great seaside amusement park piers,” as Disney’s 2000 annual report described the theme of Paradise Pier. The giant orange peel looked more like something from the early 21st century than the early 20th century. For riders, the peel largely blocked what would have been a good view. When a different team of Disney Imagineers redesigned Disney’s California Adventure, they decided to keep the ride—but to remove the peel and change the theme. Those Imagineers probably would not have chosen to put a Wave Swinger in the park if they were starting with a fresh piece of paper (or an untouched asphalt parking lot), but Disney already owned the ride. |
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Concept art © 2008 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved Disney concept art for Silly Symphony Swings |
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Concept art showed that the Orange Stinger would become Silly Symphony Swings. The last day of operation for the Orange Stinger was July 13, 2009. It closed so that the ride’s transformation into Silly Symphony Swings could begin. Purists pointed out that the 1935 Mickey Mouse cartoon The Band Concert, which inspired the new version of the ride, was not part of Walt Disney’s Silly Symphony series. But Silly Symphony Swings sounds better than The Band Concert Swings. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2009 Orange Stinger being “peeled” |
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After more than ten months of work, Silly Symphony Swings had its soft opening on May 28, 2010 and its grand opening on June 11, 2010. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2009 Great-looking construction wall |
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With scenes from Walt Disney’s brilliant animated short The Band Concert painted on an intricately decorated canopy and conductor Mickey Mouse high atop it, the ride emerged with “Disney magic” that it lacked in its original incarnation. The Silly Symphony Swings attraction is a more conventional Wave Swinger than the Orange Stinger. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. There’s a good reason why Wave Swinger rides are not normally enclosed. It’s more fun for riders. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 Former Orange Stinger |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2010 Your conductor, Mickey Mouse |
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With the new decorations and the ride’s movements no longer hidden from guests walking around Paradise Bay, the Silly Symphony Swings attraction contributes old-time charm and kinetic energy to Paradise Gardens Park. |
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© 2009-2020 Werner Weiss — Disclaimers, Copyright, and Trademarks Updated April 10, 2020. |
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