Funworld August 2009

A LOOK AT SOME OF THE HOTTEST NEW PROJECTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
by Jeremy Schoolfield

'Diamondback’

KINGS ISLAND
Bolliger & Mabillard

AS LEGENDARY WOODEN COASTER “The Beast” turned 30 years old this season, Kings Island in Mason, Ohio, celebrated by unleashing a new $22 million monster right in the center of its park.

Called “Diamondback,” the Bolliger & Mabillard hypercoaster picks up on “Beast’s” ethos by slithering through the woods during a good portion of its 5,282- foot run that tops out at a hair-raising 80 miles per hour.

The ride has two signature elements that bookend its experience: the 230-foot initial drop and a splashdown pool right before the final brake run. “Diamondback” also features B & M’s updated hyper trains (first seen last year at Canada’s Wonderland), where the middle two seats on the four-seat row are moved “forward” on the car.

“We wanted to provide each guest with a better view,” says B&M’s Walter Bolliger. “It allows us to give a great experience.”

“[‘Diamondback’] gives us our steel B &M that we so badly needed,” says Kings Island General Manager Greg Scheid. “We’re definitely known for ‘The Beast’ and the wood here, but one complaint we always heard was we need a strong steel coaster. We finally have it.”
www.visitkingsisland.com
www.bolliger-mabillard.com

'Prowler'

WORLDS OF FUN
Great Coasters International

ABOUT 600 MILES DUE WEST OF KINGS ISLANDS’ “DIAMONDBACK,” another tree-trimming coaster came to life at fellow Cedar Fair park Worlds of Fun in Kansas City. “Prowler” lives up to its name by stalking through a heavily wooded area, “jumping up and down, darting back and forth,” says Chris Gray of Great Coasters International.

With a price tag of $8 million, “Prowler” has more of a traditional out-and-back layout—a changeup for GCI. It opens with a curving 85- foot drop into the trees but is virtually invisible to onlookers after that as it disappears into the trees at 51 miles per hour.

Gray says the coaster’s 3,074 feet of track hug the rolling terrain, so GCI was able to deliver just any many stomach-dropping thrills without as much infrastructure since “Prowler’s” hills didn’t need to be built high above the ground.
www.worldsoffun.com
www.greatcoasters.com

‘Fireball’

HAPPY VALLEY SHANGHAI
The Gravity Group, Martin & Vleminckx

MARTIN & VLEMINCKX RIDES CO-FOUNDER Chuck Bingham worked on getting a wooden coaster built in China for a while. In 2009, his effort paid off with “Fireball,” one of the main attractions at OCT Group’s new park, Happy Valley Shanghai.

The accomplishment is that much sweeter, Bingham says, since “Fireball” is the first woodie in the entire country: “This is an important milestone in our company’s history. We expect to build on this accomplishment and create the opportunity for all of Asia to experience the thrill of riding a traditional wood coaster.”

MVR provided the key in-country contacts and oversaw construction of “Fireball,” while The Gravity Group designed the double out-and-back coaster, which measures 3,819 feet long, 108 feet high, and tops out at 56 miles per hour. The ride is uniquely situated on a peninsula jutting out into a body of water in the center of the park, which makes it an iconic structure for the new Happy Valley location, says Michael Graham of The Gravity Group.

“This is going to be one of the best new parks in a really long time—they’re not messing around,” Graham says. “It definitely feels like the door’s opening over there. It’s cool for this small company from Cincinnati, Ohio, to have the first wooden coaster in the largest country in the world.”
www.octholding.com
www.thegravitygroup.com
www.martin-vleminckx.com

‘Anubis: The Ride’

PLOPSALAND
Gerstlauer

BELGIUM’S PLOPSALAND UNVEILED a new launch coaster from Gerstlauer this season. “Anubis: The Ride” is themed after a popular children’s television show, but it is anything but childish.

“Anubis” launches at 55 miles per hour in two seconds before racing up and over a camelback and then moving through three inversions over the course of a 55-second trip. Gerstlauer installed its V-Wing single vehicles on the ride, which feature three rows of two seats; each row is higher and wider than the previous one for better viewing angles.
www.plopsaland.be
www.gerstlauer-rides.com

'Insane'

GRÖNA LUND
Intamin

SWEDISH PARK GRÖNALUND this year opened the latest— and tallest—version of Intamin’s ZacSpin coaster model. Dubbed “Insane,” the attraction places riders in four back-to-back seats (eight seats total) suspended in midair to the side of the track. The seats then rotate around a horizontal axis as the car zigs and zags its way to the ground from a height of 35.5 meters (116.5 feet).

This is the third ZacSpin in the world, with theming and design elements by Farmer Attraction Development Ltd. of Leicester, UK.

www.gronalund.com
www.intamintransportation.com

‘Buccaneer Battle’

SIX FLAGS GREAT AMERICA
Mack Rides

SIX FLAGS GREAT AMERICA’S LATEST ATTRACTION is an all-inclusive deal, where not only do the guests on the ride interact with one another, but the riders interact with passersby, too.

“Buccaneer Battle,” puts eight guests in a boat equipped with a water cannon per rider and sets them off on a watery range where they shoot at targets (watch out—some shoot back) and, at times, take aim at other boats when they’re in range. The boats also come within sight of dry land, but the landlubbers aren’t just for target practice—water guns on the shore allow onlookers to become part of the attraction, too, and fire back at the boats.
www.sixflags.com/greatamerica
www.mack-rides.com

Sesame Street Forest of Fun

BUSCH GARDENS EUROPE
BIG BIRD, COOKIE MONSTER, AND THE REST of the classic “Sesame Street” characters come to life in Busch Gardens Europe’s new children’s area, Sesame Street Forest of Fun, which debuted in April.

Incorporated seamlessly into the Williamsburg, Virginia, park’s Europe section, Forest of Fun imagines the characters’ first European adventure and includes attractions such as “Elmo’s Castle,” an interactive performance stage with splash fountains; “Grover’s Alpine Express,” a colorful kiddie coaster helmed by Grover; and “Bert and Ernie’s Loch Adventure,” a boat ride with fountains streaming overhead for the youngest visitors.

Taking a cue from its sister attraction, Sesame Place in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, Forest of Fun entertains with songs like “Hokey Pokey” playing throughout the land; tongue-in-cheek humor in areas like “Oscar’s Yucky Forest”; and constant character interaction—Bert and Ernie pose for photo-ops and characters sing and dance for diners at Castle O’Sullivan. The attraction lures in guests to its make believe world with crisp colorful settings and original creativity—not unlike the television show from which it stems. www.buschgardens.com

‘Monsters, Inc. Ride & Go Seek!’

TOKYO DISNEYLAND
THE LATEST DISNEY DARK RIDE puts a slightly different spin on the traditional shooter game model.

“Monsters, Inc. Ride & Go Seek” is based on the blockbuster Disney/Pixar film from 2001 in which a little girl, Boo, sneaks into the alternate world of Monstropolis. In this adaptation, her monster friends are trying to keep her entertained by playing a game of flashlight tag.

Guests join in on the game by riding through Monstropolis looking for monsters, too, and shining their flashlights at the creatures hiding throughout the attraction, much like a normal target-shooter game. Several elements activate when struck by the light, such as locker doors that open to reveal monsters hiding inside.

www.tokyodisneyland.com