Park History
Rainbow’s End was started in December 1982. The amount of attractions have grown over the years. Initially the park opened with Bumper Boats, Mini Golf, Can Am Cars, Mirage Cars (formula one type cars - no longer in the park) and video games. In 1983, Cinema 180, the Pirate Ship, the Maze (no longer existing) and the Indoor Games Area were introduced.
The popular Log Flume was included in 1984 along with the Indoor Dodgems and Garden House Cafe. Then in 1985 the Kiddies Cars (no longer existing), Space Shuttle Zim Zam Zoo Children’s Playground (no longer existing) and Staff Amenities were added.
The Coca-Cola Corkscrew Roller Coast was introduced in 1986 and was an absolute crowd puller during this year. Rainbow’s End added the Motion Master in 1992 and the following year the Family Karts were brought in and utilised the Mirage Cars racetrack. Our second rollercoaster-type ride was the Gold Rush which started its journey in 1995. A year later the Carwash Convoy was added.
Three more attractions followed in 1997 introducing the Dream Castle (now sponsored by Cadbury and renamed to the Cadbury Land Castle), the Carousel and the Dragon’s Flight. These rides catered for the Under 5 children and immediately added value to the amount of rides offered for the Under 5 year olds. In 2001, the breath-taking Fear Fall was introduced. In 2004, the Power Surge and Jumpin Star were added. Very little was added between 1986 and 1992.
The Rainbow Corporation which owned Rainbow’s End used the money generated from the customers elsewhere and did not reinvest in the park. This led to a downturn in attendance due to no new attractions. After a fairly dismal 3 years the park was bought in December 1991 by Craig Barnes, a New Zealand Entrepreneur. Craig managed to reverse the ailing fortunes of Rainbows’ End. He invested in new rides; the Motion Master was added in August 1992 and the Family Karts in December 1993. Craig also emphasised the safety and cleanliness of the Park. His most important contribution was the customer focus which he brought to Rainbow’s End. Customers are looked after and made to feel special and they go away telling their friends and family what a great place Rainbow’s End is. 
Visitors started to come back and Rainbow’s End began to make a profit again allowing for job security and expansion. In November 1993, Craig sold the park to Malcolm North, a South Island businessman. Craig remained at Rainbow’s End as Managing Director and very little changed in the day to day running of Rainbow’s End. In August 1995, Malcolm sold the Park into a publicly listed company New Zealand Experience Ltd. This company also owned the Christchurch Gondola which was then sold in June 2001. In December 1995 another major ride was added. This is the Gold Rush, a themed ride in which 4 people sit in a mine cart which then takes them on a thrilling journey through an authentic abandoned gold mine. This ride was designed and built by our own people. A tremendous effort and a fantastic achievement.
In 1996 our Car Wash Convoy was purchased. This replaced the Caterpillar and is an attraction for the younger visitors to our Park. In December 1997 our new family play area was built on the site of the old maze. This area includes our two new rides, the Dragon Flight and Carousel. The area is themed inside a Castle and it proves to be popular for the under 12 year olds. In April 1998, Malcolm North stepped down from being Chairman and was replaced by Mr Geoff Cumming of Emerald Capital Ltd a private investment company owned by Gardner Group out of Canada. On 21st June 1998 the Log Flume was 75% destroyed by a fire which started at 3:30pm one busy Sunday afternoon. Two juvenile offenders were later arrested for arson relating to this fire. A complete rebuild and re-theming of the Log Flume was undertaken with it reopening again Easter 1999. In all $1.2 million dollars worth of damage was caused.
Construction commenced in June 2001 on a $2.5 million “free fall” tower. 54 metres in height this was the first major “white knuckle” attraction since the Roller Coaster was completed in 1985. Supplied by a Swiss company the tower was assembled by a team of our own Engineers, on time for opening weekend 26th October 2001. The tower has capacity for three further tracks to be installed at some time in the future. The Power Surge & Jumpin’ Star attractions arrived in the country from Italy on Monday 13th December 2004. The foundation work had already been completed by our maintenance and engineering personnel prior to their arrival. Both rides took approximately one week to construct & commission once they arrived and were ready for the opening day on Saturday 18th December 2004.