Park News
London Wonderground
Following our news item last month about various new observation experiences that opened in London in time for the Olympic games, we can now bring you news of a summer attraction set up alongside the River Thames, just metres from the London Eye. The Priceless London Wonderground (sponsored by Mastercard) runs until September 30 at Jubilee Gardens on the South Bank. This free-to-enter themed environment evokes a vintage fairground/carnival spirit, so much so that the organisers (Underbelly) have even seen fit to rename a Reverchon spinning coaster the ‘Cyclone’. What would the folks at Coney Island think?
The headline attraction, however, is a Funtime Star Flyer, the 67-metre prototype of the ride built for the Vienna Prater in 2003. Now equipped with 12 twin seats, the ride (pictured here) has been acquired by the Mellors Group. The same company provided its Mondial Giant Wheel and a zipline attraction for the duration of the games at Victoria Park, where many Olympic fans without tickets gathered to enjoy the action on large screens.
pricelesslondonwonderground.co.uk Maurer in China
As well as the racing wooden coaster (“Dauling Dragon”) featured previously in Park World, there are also four steel coasters at the new Happy Valley park in China’s Hubei province. These include Monte Carlo Racetrack by Golden Horse, an S&S launch coaster called OCT Thrust SSC1000 and two rides by Maurer Söhne, both featuring the German manufacturer’s X-Car ride vehicles.
Magic Express is a 316-metre-long launch coaster, similar to the ride Maurer supplied in 2007 to the Dutch park Drievliet. Accelerating from 0 to 70km/h in just two seconds, the thrust start pins riders to the back of their seats. What follows are a quick succession of elements including an extremely compact loop, an Immelmann curve, sharp camelback, a half Cuban eight followed by a heartroll and a very tight banked curve just before returning to the station. The installation at Happy Valley is partially covered by a roof and, just like its counterpart of Drievliet, extremely energy-efficient. A built-in energy storage system limits the peak power drain to just 135kva. Hidden Anaconda, meanwhile, is the intriguing name given to the park’s SkyLoop coaster. At 52- metres in height, the attraction is a powerful beacon for the newly operated park. The ride’s tower and rails were specially reinforced to cope with high winds in the region. The second of two SkyLoops in China, following the debut last year of Clouds of Fairyland at Joyland in Changzhou, a further three rides are on order for Fantawild parks in Zhengzhou, Nantong and Xiamen
SkyLoop at Joyland, Changzhou 12 AUGUST 2012
Kings Island waves woodie goodbye
After a lengthy evaluation of all the alternatives, Ohio’s Kings Island is to remove the Son of Beast wooden coaster to make room for future park expansion. The dismantling of the ride will begin later this summer. When it opened in 1999 at a cost of $10 million, it was the tallest wooden rollercoaster in the world, standing 218ft-tall (66m), and the only one with a vertical loop. It was also the fastest wooden coaster, reaching a speed of 78 mph (126 km/h), and one of the longest, 7,032ft (2.1km). But it was also problematic, and after the park spent another $10 million more for modifications, it closed for good in 2009.
Seattle Great Wheel
The American city of Seattle is one of the latest places to open a semi- permanent observation wheel.
The 53-metre Seattle Great Wheel was supplied by Chance Rides and is sited at Pier 57, Elliot Bay. Built to a European R60 design, it features 42 climate-controlled enclosed gondolas with UV-protective non-reflective glass, LED lighting and an all-white finish.
Adult tickets are $13 and the experience, comprising three revolutions, lasts around 12 minutes. A VIP gondola, with luxury seating and a glass floor, is accessible for $50 per person, including a souvenir T-shirt and queue jump.
The ride is almost 100-metres shorter than the observation deck on the
city’s 50-year-old Space Needle tower, which can be seen over to the right of the view below.
seattlegreatwheel.com
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