Water Rides
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Chiapas Phantasialand’s flume ride par excellence!
Billed as “THE water ride”, Chiapas at Phantasialand is more than just a flume. It's a full- on immersive experience featuring dark ride elements and the kind of rich scenic detail with which this German park has become known
for thinking it’s always been there; so ensconced is it within its surroundings. In fact it replaces the duelling log flume Wildwasserbahn, the park’s trusty self-built flume that operated from 1992 through until 2011. “Sure, we had a flume ride before, but it was a normal flume ride like everybody has,” dismisses Phantasialand owner and general manager Robert Löffelhardt. “I think Chiapas is a lot different, the technik [technology], the movement of the boats, the drops; everything is new.” Whereas the old Wildwasserbahn offered a choice of two intertwined flume rides (Stonewash Creek & Wildwash Creek), all passengers on Chiapas experience the same long and thrilling adventure. The attraction takes its title from the Mexican state of the same name, with the temple city of Palenque providing the inspiration for its theming. During their six-minute expedition, passengers are taken deep into gorges, caves and caverns, where they encounter falling rocks, thousands of plants, mystical characters and hidden surprises, culminating with a record-breaking 53° drop and a camelback as the boat leaps across rushing waters, in full view of the adjacent Plaza Mariachi. This is one of the most visible and
T
he eagerly-awaited new attraction takes up residence within the heart of Phantasialand’s Amazing Mexico section. You could be forgiven
beautifully executed parts of the attraction, but in truth over half of the 620m-long voyage takes place in and around the caves; out of sight of other park guests. A specially composed musical score by the 65-man Budapest Film Music Orchestra provides a majestic soundtrack to the experience, interrupted by a more upbeat fiesta tune as the boats float past a group of animatronic Aztec characters partying in the caves (these and other Chiapas downloads are available from the Phantasialand website).
Full-on theming Löffelhardt won’t be drawn on the cost of the attraction – which features an Intamin ride system – but tells Park World that it marks the largest single investment in the Brühl (near Cologne) park’s history: “As a private, family-owned company, I don’t really like to speak about the numbers, but it’s a high budget. You can say that the ride system is 25-30% of the budget, with the rest on decorations. We always like to spend at least 60% on the decorations.”
One of the biggest challenges in designing the ride, as well as slotting it around the same buildings and structures as the old one, was to up the capacity. Now Chiapas can accommodate a massive 1,800 guests per hour, as opposed to “just” 1,000 on Wildwasserbahn. “That was the starting point,” explains Löffelhardt.
“Then we said we want a backwards drop, two forward drops and three lifts; how is it possible to do this and deliver the kind of capacity that we need? It was not possible with any of the ride systems that were on the market, so we had to do something different.” Whilst a turntable is employed to turn the boats
ABOVE: The 53° drop BELOW: Phantasialand owner Robert Löffelhardt
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