Park News
Harry goes to Hollywood
April opening confirned for latest Potter land
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter will open at Universal Studios Hollywood this coming April. More than five years in the making, the latest of three theme park lands inspired by JK Rowling’s massive Potter franchise is faithful to the visual landscape of the fiction and films, including Hogwarts Castle which will serve as its iconic focal point. As at Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Japan, guests will be able to experience the signature attraction Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and the family coaster Flight of the Hippogriff, which this time is being supplied by Mack rather than Vekoma.
Let’s Go Ape
in London! Go Ape, the UK-based chain of forest and treetop adventure experiences, opened its 29th site on December 11 by branching out (pun intended) into central London. Go Ape Battersea Park is the company’s 29th site, and the first adventure to be built outside of a forest environment. Situated in the heart of Battersea Park, the site combines a Tree Top Adventure plus a Tree Top Junior course for “mini Tarzans.” The experiences are physically challenging with the highest obstacle crossings double the height and many twice as long as the usual Go Ape courses. Together the 40 tree crossings cover over 730m, including a thrilling 50m zip wire, making it an exciting tree top obstacle course for adventure seekers big and small (or those over 1.4m tall). “We’ve long wanted to create a high wire tree top adventure in the centre of London and we’re thrilled to see our first visitors going up in the trees,” says Tristram Mayhew, Go Ape’s “chief gorilla.” "Go Ape is all about creating accessible adventures so bringing the experience to a city is a big milestone for us.
goape.co.uk
Introducing the Rollglider
Zipline-based “rollercoasters” seem to be all the rage at the moment. WhiteWater got the ball rolling last year with its No Boundaries system, and now there’s a couple of new entrants in the shape of the Cloud Coaster from Extreme Engineering (see page 22) and the Rollglider from Walltopia of Bulgaria. The attraction combines the excitement of hang gliding, paragliding, and proximity flying, into one safe ride. The Rollglider’s customisable design makes it an excellent solution for both indoor and outdoor areas, where – as seen here – maximum use can be made of existing assets such as trees. Riders reach speeds of up to 44mph (77 km/h). So far, Walltopia has completed four Rollglider projects – at the Krushuna Falls in Bulgaria (as pictured here), District 21 in Malaysia, the foot of Mount Fuji in Japan and Huimala in Helsinki, Finland. In 2016, the company will makes its first installation in the US.
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JANUARY 2016
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