From Norse mythology to a day out at the zoo,
we look at a series of multi-million dollar coasters
that recently debuted at visitor attractions around the world
Bolliger & Mabillard VALKYRIA Liseberg Gothenburg, Sweden Valkyria, a steel dive coaster created by Bolliger & Mabillard, took its maiden flight on 10 August, representing the largest ever investment made in Swedish theme park Liseberg’s 95-year history.
A US$33.6m investment, which also includes Loke – a Gyro Swing manufactured by Intamin – Valkyria is a key part of the park’s long-term masterplan. Its name is derived from the Norse mythology creature Valkyrie – a mythological creature that took fallen warriors into the afterlife.
“Valkyria is important. It is the biggest investment in the history of the park – and one of the most complicated projects we have completed,” Liseberg CEO Andreas Andersen told Attractions Management.
“It’s the last ‘big’ attraction we can construct in the park for the next few years, because we have a very extensive infrastructure project being built in the north part of the park – and our expansion project in the south end of the park – both starting up in 2019. In that sense, Valkyria is a bit like an insurance policy, making sure we have a relevant and updated attraction product for the next few years.”
Climbing to 47m with drops of up to 50m, Valkyria includes three inversions and is laid out over 700m. The ride, which reaches speeds of up to 65.2mph, replaces Kanonen – a US$5.6m steel launch coaster from Intamin, which was dismantled at the end of 2016.
“Valkyria is the perfect complement to our coaster portfolio, which also includes Helix, Balder and Lisebergbanan,” said Andersen. “With the elaborate theming and landscaping here at Liseberg, it fits the park very well.”
Valkyria is Liseberg’s largest ever investment
Vekoma TWEESTRYD Wildlands Adventure Zoo Emmen Drenthe, the Netherlands African for ‘Duel’, the Tweestryd twin shuttle coaster is a new addition to the Wildlands Adventure Zoo in Drenthe.
A story-driven “adventure zoo” opened in 2016 to replace its home of 80 years, Wildlands houses more than 7,000 animals along with its rides to tell a story of discovering new worlds and experiencing adventure.
Joining the hybrid attraction’s ‘Serenga’ area, themed to recreate the savanna and desert habitats of Africa, Tweestryd opened to the public in March.
Installed by RCS GmbH and manufactured by Vekoma as a custom version of its family boomerang-style coaster, Tweestryd is 218m in length, with the ride reaching heights of 20m and going as fast as 37.3mph.
The story of the attraction is that of a mine which closed 40 years prior. It features two separate tracks sitting next to each other, with passengers being lifted up backwards, before being released launched forwards and then backwards again in a race back to the station.
Following the theme, when riders race each other, depending on the result, money will be committed to the charity ActionAid, which works to fight poverty and injustice worldwide. If the blue cart wins, riders are supporting the charity’s work related to fair mining, and if the red one wins, riders will be raising money for sustainable agricultural projects.
The park chose an African name because of the themed area the coaster is set in
The Vekoma-designed Tweestryd races to win money for charity
The Vekoma-designed Tweestryd races to win money for charity
Intamin HYPERION Energylandia Zator, Malopolskie, Poland A new addition to Poland’s Energylandia, Hyperion is an Intamin-manufactured steel hyper rollercoaster, which takes the crown from PortAventura’s Shambhala as the tallest and fastest hyper coaster in Europe.
The ride, which opened to the public on 14 July and follows a sci-fi theme, climbs 77m, with a drop of 80m, reaching maximum velocity of 88.2mph. It starts inside a space station setting with a research team (the riders) sent on a research mission to Saturn’s moon of Hyperion. The crew’s spaceship enters a black hole, passing through space and time into another universe.
The track extends 1,450m, creating feelings of weightlessness and extreme gravity through the ride’s twists and turns. It also features a water splash and has two trains, each able to carry up to 28 people.
Hyperion joins three Intamin water rides installed at the park this year. These include the Speed Water Coaster, the Anaconda spillwater ride and the Jungle Adventure river rapids.
Intamin’s trains allow riders to experience the feeling of “flying through the air”, even for taller people
Passengers are immersed in a space scenario on a research mission to Saturn’s moon – Hyperion
Bolliger & Mabillard FENIX Toverland Limburg, Netherlands Opened on 7 July, Toverland’s new Fenix coaster is the “ultimate flying experience”, according to its operator.
While the mythical firebird the ride is named after only rises from its own ashes every 777 years, the steel wing coaster runs a little more frequently, taking one minute and 45 seconds to complete its circuit.
Covering 813m and climbing 40m, the coaster includes three inversions, reaching speeds of up to 59mph and creating the sensation of flight.
Elements of the ride include a dive drop, immelmann loop, helix and a Zero-G roll. IMAscore created the ride music, while RCS GmbH installed the US$19.7m attraction.
Fenix joins several new attractions as part of Avalon – a new themed area for Toverland representing the largest expansion in the park’s history. A total investment of US$40.6m, Fenix is joined by Merlin’s Quest – a water attraction that passes underneath the coaster – as well as an interactive magic show.
With its expansion, Toverland has stated its ambition to break the one million visitor mark over a full season. The park’s owners plan to increase the length of stay with further ride developments, as well as the opening a four-star hotel resort.
The B&M ride reaches speeds of up to 59mph, with three inversions
Merlin’s Quest is a new water attraction which passes underneath Fenix
COMPANY PROFILE
instantprint
We’re a Yorkshire-based online printer, founded
in 2009 by Adam Carnell and James Kinsella. [more...]
The Euro Attractions Show has been rebranded as the IAAPA Expo Europe ahead of this year's
event at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles exhibition centre. [more...]
From Norse mythology to a day out at the zoo,
we look at a series of multi-million dollar coasters
that recently debuted at visitor attractions around the world
Bolliger & Mabillard VALKYRIA Liseberg Gothenburg, Sweden Valkyria, a steel dive coaster created by Bolliger & Mabillard, took its maiden flight on 10 August, representing the largest ever investment made in Swedish theme park Liseberg’s 95-year history.
A US$33.6m investment, which also includes Loke – a Gyro Swing manufactured by Intamin – Valkyria is a key part of the park’s long-term masterplan. Its name is derived from the Norse mythology creature Valkyrie – a mythological creature that took fallen warriors into the afterlife.
“Valkyria is important. It is the biggest investment in the history of the park – and one of the most complicated projects we have completed,” Liseberg CEO Andreas Andersen told Attractions Management.
“It’s the last ‘big’ attraction we can construct in the park for the next few years, because we have a very extensive infrastructure project being built in the north part of the park – and our expansion project in the south end of the park – both starting up in 2019. In that sense, Valkyria is a bit like an insurance policy, making sure we have a relevant and updated attraction product for the next few years.”
Climbing to 47m with drops of up to 50m, Valkyria includes three inversions and is laid out over 700m. The ride, which reaches speeds of up to 65.2mph, replaces Kanonen – a US$5.6m steel launch coaster from Intamin, which was dismantled at the end of 2016.
“Valkyria is the perfect complement to our coaster portfolio, which also includes Helix, Balder and Lisebergbanan,” said Andersen. “With the elaborate theming and landscaping here at Liseberg, it fits the park very well.”
Valkyria is Liseberg’s largest ever investment
Vekoma TWEESTRYD Wildlands Adventure Zoo Emmen Drenthe, the Netherlands African for ‘Duel’, the Tweestryd twin shuttle coaster is a new addition to the Wildlands Adventure Zoo in Drenthe.
A story-driven “adventure zoo” opened in 2016 to replace its home of 80 years, Wildlands houses more than 7,000 animals along with its rides to tell a story of discovering new worlds and experiencing adventure.
Joining the hybrid attraction’s ‘Serenga’ area, themed to recreate the savanna and desert habitats of Africa, Tweestryd opened to the public in March.
Installed by RCS GmbH and manufactured by Vekoma as a custom version of its family boomerang-style coaster, Tweestryd is 218m in length, with the ride reaching heights of 20m and going as fast as 37.3mph.
The story of the attraction is that of a mine which closed 40 years prior. It features two separate tracks sitting next to each other, with passengers being lifted up backwards, before being released launched forwards and then backwards again in a race back to the station.
Following the theme, when riders race each other, depending on the result, money will be committed to the charity ActionAid, which works to fight poverty and injustice worldwide. If the blue cart wins, riders are supporting the charity’s work related to fair mining, and if the red one wins, riders will be raising money for sustainable agricultural projects.
The park chose an African name because of the themed area the coaster is set in
The Vekoma-designed Tweestryd races to win money for charity
The Vekoma-designed Tweestryd races to win money for charity
Intamin HYPERION Energylandia Zator, Malopolskie, Poland A new addition to Poland’s Energylandia, Hyperion is an Intamin-manufactured steel hyper rollercoaster, which takes the crown from PortAventura’s Shambhala as the tallest and fastest hyper coaster in Europe.
The ride, which opened to the public on 14 July and follows a sci-fi theme, climbs 77m, with a drop of 80m, reaching maximum velocity of 88.2mph. It starts inside a space station setting with a research team (the riders) sent on a research mission to Saturn’s moon of Hyperion. The crew’s spaceship enters a black hole, passing through space and time into another universe.
The track extends 1,450m, creating feelings of weightlessness and extreme gravity through the ride’s twists and turns. It also features a water splash and has two trains, each able to carry up to 28 people.
Hyperion joins three Intamin water rides installed at the park this year. These include the Speed Water Coaster, the Anaconda spillwater ride and the Jungle Adventure river rapids.
Intamin’s trains allow riders to experience the feeling of “flying through the air”, even for taller people
Passengers are immersed in a space scenario on a research mission to Saturn’s moon – Hyperion
Bolliger & Mabillard FENIX Toverland Limburg, Netherlands Opened on 7 July, Toverland’s new Fenix coaster is the “ultimate flying experience”, according to its operator.
While the mythical firebird the ride is named after only rises from its own ashes every 777 years, the steel wing coaster runs a little more frequently, taking one minute and 45 seconds to complete its circuit.
Covering 813m and climbing 40m, the coaster includes three inversions, reaching speeds of up to 59mph and creating the sensation of flight.
Elements of the ride include a dive drop, immelmann loop, helix and a Zero-G roll. IMAscore created the ride music, while RCS GmbH installed the US$19.7m attraction.
Fenix joins several new attractions as part of Avalon – a new themed area for Toverland representing the largest expansion in the park’s history. A total investment of US$40.6m, Fenix is joined by Merlin’s Quest – a water attraction that passes underneath the coaster – as well as an interactive magic show.
With its expansion, Toverland has stated its ambition to break the one million visitor mark over a full season. The park’s owners plan to increase the length of stay with further ride developments, as well as the opening a four-star hotel resort.
The B&M ride reaches speeds of up to 59mph, with three inversions
Merlin’s Quest is a new water attraction which passes underneath Fenix
Cedar Fair's Virginia amusement and waterpark, Kings Dominion, has announced three new
additions to its 20-acre (80,900sq m, 265,500sq ft) Soak City waterpark, which is set to open in
2020.
Standing more than 2,200 metres (7,200ft) above sea level, a new aquarium just opened in Xining,
Qinghai Province in northwest China, now hold's the record for the world's highest-altitude
aquarium.
Denver Art Museum in Colorado, US, is to begin a phased reopening of its campus in June 2020,
with a new welcome centre, learning and engagement centre, 72,000sq ft (21,945sq m) of new and
refurbished gallery space and new dining experiences.
Sutton Hoo, the burial site of a 7th century Anglo-Saxon king in Suffolk, England, that achieved
worldwide fame upon its discovery in 1938, has reopened following a £4m
(US$4.85m, €4.37m) transformation.
Arts Council England has named 13 new additions to its Creative People and Places (CPP) project,
which it says is about local people choosing, creating and taking part in the arts and culture on offer
to them.
A major renovation project that will expand touring exhibition halls and create several new facilities
at the Australian Museum in Sydney will see the venue closed to the public from 19 August.
The tallest raft ride drop in the Western Hemisphere is coming to Silver Dollar City, after the park
revealed plans to invest more than US$30m (€26.9m, £24.8m) into a number of new developments.
Construction is set to start in September on new water slides at the Enchanted Forest Water Safari
theme park in New York, US, with a funding contribution for the new rides having come from the
state's economic development agency.
The NBA Experience, an immersive and interactive new attraction at Disney Springs in Florida, has
celebrated its grand opening, with Disney CEO Bob Iger and NBA commissioner Adam Silver
unveiling the new venture.
Car manufacturer Toyota has opened its first visitor attraction in North America – the 44,000sq ft
(13,400sq m) Toyota Experience Center (TEC) at its headquarters in Plano, Texas.
A competition to find alternative designs to replace the destroyed Notre Dame Cathedral roof has
attracted a number of innovative "solutions" – including a rooftop waterway over the medieval
cathedral.
+ More news
COMPANY PROFILE
instantprint We’re a Yorkshire-based online printer, founded
in 2009 by Adam Carnell and James Kinsella. [more...]
The Euro Attractions Show has been rebranded as the IAAPA Expo Europe ahead of this year's
event at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles exhibition centre. [more...]
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