PW-JAN20-48-49-Attraction-Profile.qxp_Feature 03/02/2020 16:20 Page 48
Attraction Profile
Up, up and away
With more than 3 million visitors annually, Winter Wonderland - located in London’s famous Hyde park - is the biggest Christmas event in the UK. To make this year all the more special, the programme boasted a number of new attractions, including what is said to be the world’s largest transportable giant wheel, which stands at an impressive 70m tall. Becci Knowles reports…
Ride Facts
Width: 24 metres Depth: 25 metres Height: 70 metres Seats: 6 seats per gondola
with a warm and festive feeling on an otherwise cold and frosty Saturday morning in December. I was there to meet Jisk Knijpstra and his colleague Hendrik Dijktra from Mondial Rides, the Dutch company
W
ith its breathtaking height, I spotted the City Star even before reaching Hyde Park and together with the crowds headed towards it
responsible for designing and building the wheel, together with Tobias Göbel of German company Göbel, which owns and operates the ride. Having supplied Winter Wonderland with observation
wheels - and a couple of thrill rides too - in the past, PWR Events, which is owned by organiser IMG, had no hesitation in asking the company to provide it’s biggest wheel yet. And it’s gone down a storm, winning the Silver Rides Award for Excellent Customer Service and Gold Rides Award for
Excellent Customer Experience as well as the ‘Special Award’ from The Royal Parks, which looks after all of the Royal parks in London. “This is a destination ride, says Jisk proudly, adding: “it’s
the first thing you see when you walk up to Hyde Park; the views are magnificent and the feedback on social media has been amazing.” Perfectly executed, everything about this ride is smooth –
from the free flowing queue line to the layout of the boarding platform which provides seamless access to the pod, no step you walk straight on, to the feeling of weightlessness you have when in flight. With stunning views across London’s skyline it takes guests on three full rotations for approximately 10 minutes and like all good experiences, it’s one that leaves you wanting more.
L-R: Sebastian Göbel, Tobias Göbel, Becci Knowles, Jisk Knijpstra, Hendrik Dijktra
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A joint effort Mondial is afamily company and Jisk tells me that “all of the people that work for us are very interested in what
WINTER EDITION
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