Ride Profile
www.parkworld-online.com B&M gives Gardaland wings Raptor
Unveiled to Gardaland guests at the start of the season on April 2, Raptor is the world’s first winged rollercoaster from revered Swiss designer Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M). The €20 million ($29m) attraction is also the most expensive ever at an Italian amusement park.
Owen Ralph is en- Raptored
which will offer breathtaking surprises with sudden overturns, tailspins and unexpected technical wizardries,” decalres Gardaland CEO Aldo Vigevani. The theming, back story and intimidating
“O
appearance of this major new attraction bear all the hallmarks of Merlin Studios. The London-based design arm of the park’s owner Merlin Entertainments was also responsible for such coaster “brands” as Th13teen, Nemesis and SAW:
nly the brave will have the courage to get on the wings on this mysterious rapacious creature to challenge a path
The Ride, at Alton Towers and Thorpe Park respectively. “Gardaland is a market leader in Italy and a sold
business for our group,” says Merlin’s managing director for theme parks and resorts, Mark Fisher. “For this reason we decided that the park deserved an important relaunch project with an investment unequalled in the country.” The Winged Coaster is B&M’s 74th ride
worldwide. Merlin considered several other B&M concepts for Gardaland, including a Flying Coaster and a Dive Coaster (the latter was launched this season instead at Heide Park in Germany). The project has been in development for two years, spearheaded by project manager Chris McCormack, Merlin’s creative director for resort theme parks Candy Holland and Gardaland theming manager Gianluca Ghedini. Riders on Raptor enjoy the experience in a unique
seating position – inline rather than above the track. Each train features 14 two-seater cars, with seven cars either side of the track, giving a total “wingspan” of almost six-metres. The ride bears some resemblance to Furios Baco, the Intamin- engineered Accelerator Coaster at Port Aventura in Spain, or S&S/Arrow’s 4th Dimension Coasters, only without the rotating cars. “Because of the width of the train, the ride
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envelope is greater than almost any coaster except one I can think of,” says McCormack. “This creates great emotion as you twist into multiple head chopper and leg chopper near misses.”
MAY 2011
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