In the Spotlight
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OK Corral
S
ince 1966, OK Corral - a Wild West-themed, family-owned and run theme park - has been delighting families and kids of all ages. The largest theme park in the south of France, OK Corral welcomes over 400,000 visitors per
year to enjoy its 35 different rides, cowboy shows, bird of prey centre and seasonal events - with many guests choosing to stay at the park’s accommodation. A true family park, OK Corral is committed to providing fun at a fair price - while
also being dedicated to innovating, adding new rides, and inventing new ways to have fun.
Grande Ourse OK Corral’s latest addition for 2023 is Grande Ourse. Themed around brown bears and nature, Grande Ourse reflects OK Corral’s dedication to expand the park without producing by-waste. It is the first Kontiki XL built in Europe by Zierer, and 40 guests can ride simultaneously. With an operating track length of approximately 23 metres with width of 13.3
metres and a height of 8 metres, Grande Ourse is simply huge. 1000 riders per hour can enjoy the thrills of this awesome ride. Racing along the track, while spinning 360° clockwise and anti-clockwise, guests feel the rush of the wind and speed of the attraction but are also entertained by the gondola spinning and coming close to the rock walls of the giant arch above. From roller coaster fans to smaller children, returning guests to first-time visitors,
the ride puts a great big smile on people’s faces. Guests as small as 90 cm, as well as people with disabilities, can enjoy the ride,
as specially designed seats have been installed so no-one is left out. Grand Ourse is not only tremendous fun to ride, but also a beautiful creation to
behold. From the outside, visitors can watch friends and family zooming gracefully back and forth through the giant arch. Decoration was a major factor in the design, with the emphasis placed on creating a calming environment that is both refreshing and playful
34 Before guests can get on board, they must first adventure through an ancient
fallen tree, then pass through the bear caves to arrive at Big Bear Falls where riders will hop on board. At the base of the waterfall, there is a wishing well - and 100% of donations are given to FERUS, a wildlife charity committed to protecting wild bears in France.
Eco Corral Eco Corral is OK Corral’s new framework that aims to set a high standard of environmental care within all the park’s operational and investment decisions: all materials and construction choices must make as much environmental sense as they make sense for the guest experience. Grande Ourse is the latest project to follow OK Corral’s commitment to
responsible and sustainable development. All groundwork by-products (stone and soil) were relocated to OK Corral’s show
arena, Silver Dollar City. No waste was produced, and no shipping materials were used for the delivery of the ride. As with all OK Corral projects, local tradespeople were employed to create all structures and prepare the ground for the ride. Grande Ourse was built with the ambition of reusing as much material as
possible. The queue is made from repurposed shipping containers, the decoration around is mostly repainted and modernised. All aspects of saving resources were considered: all the plant life is hardy shrubs and trees to cope with the hot dry Mediterranean weather without needing much water; the waterfall is a shallow closed-circuit pond. OK Corral has used brand-new energy efficient motors on the ride and requested that the manufacturer, Zierer, redesign the ride to save as much electricity as possible. Eco Corral is a philosophy that keeps OK Corral updating the park’s existing
infrastructure and practices. It is based on a simple and intuitive idea: small actions put end to end make big results.
AUGUST 2023
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