SMALL INTERNATIONAL PARKS & ATTRACTIONS
(Listed Alphabetically)
---- INTERNATIONAL SMALL PARK NEWS ----
(5/23/13) The latest construction pictures from Cinecitta World showing off the progress on the steel coaster (MORE...)
(5/23/13) According to this news report China’s new Ocean Kingdom theme park on Hengqin Island, near Macao, is nearing completion (MORE...)
(5/22/13) Pictures of the rides in action at Vialand (Istanbul, Turkey) can be found (MORE...)
(5/20/13) Good news at last for European coaster fans as the infamous RingºRacer coaster at Nurburgring (MORE...)
ADLABS IMAGICA (India)
 2013 - NEW PARK - (5/20/13) It seems that a group has been impressed with what they have seen so far from Adlabs Imagica as the ICICI Venture group is said to be in talks to invest up to $50 million into the theme park project group.
(4/29/13) The long awaited review and tour of Adlabs Imagica by our friend The Theme Park Guy has now been posted. Give it a read and find out how India’s first modern theme park stacks up.
(4/24/13) A nice slideshow of pictures from the new Adlabs Imagica park can be found here. Jump ahead to the 5th photo and look in the background and you’ll see a giant blue B&M style coaster support sticking up into the sky, so at least we know that Nitro construction has begun.
(4/22/13) A new animated video showing off a tour through all the lands of Adlabs Imaginca does show off the park’s Nitro coaster (B&M Floorless) as well as animated versions of many of the park’s attractions.
As for the status of Nitro… the pieces of the coaster are indeed on site at the park, but have not yet been put together. If I had to guess, I’d say to look for Nitro to open later this year.
(4/19/13) A big collection of promotional pictures from the new Adlabs Imagica theme park can be found here.
(4/17/13) Adlabs Imagica is said to have opened to the public at last on Monday… but so far I haven’t seen a single tweet or full motion video on YouTube showing off the park. The only thing I’ve been able to find is a video slide-show that appears to have been shot at the park on opening day, which gives us a look at some of the park’s themeing, which is quite nice.
(4/9/13) While this is not listed on the list of attractions on the official Adlabs Imagica website, RCDB reports that the park will also feature a B&M Floorless Coaster by the name of Nitro. You can however see the coaster on the park map graphics in the Americana section of the park. If I had to guess, Nitro may likely not open until late 2013 or 2014 instead.
(3/25/13) The details about what we can expect from India’s major new theme park, Adlabs Imagica, have long been shrouded in secrecy, but with the park slated to open in April, they have updated their official website and put everything on the table at last. So far I’m impressed with the list of attractions in this park, since they seem to have a large number of dark rides and themed adventure attractions, including:
Rajasaurus River Adventure – A themed outdoor dinosaur water ride
Curse of Salimgarh – A trip into the dungeons of Salimgarh that includes “torture rooms and a princess trapped for eternity. Would you dare encounter these and live to tell the tale? Attempt to navigate these eerie corridors only if you think you can get out alive! ”
Alibaba Aur Chalis Chorr – Interactive Dark Ride – 40 Theives = 40 Targets. Get them all and save the Sultan’s treasure.
Mr. India: The Ride – A wild simulator ride adventure
I For India – Soar over the stunning sights of India (similar to Disney’s Soarin’ ride)
Wrath of the Gods – Temple Ruins, home to the forces of the Elements, a blending of live theater, special effects and multimedia. Brace for the god’s fury.
Cinema 360: Price of the Dark Waters – A virtual dive deep into the ocean as you watch mermaids swim around and over you from inside a giant domed 3,100 sqft screen.
Deep Space – India’s first dark roller coaster (Premier Rides) featuring a LSM launch system.
Gold Rush Express – A trip into the American West on this themed outdoor mine train coaster that rushes through ravines, tunnels and abandoned gold mines.
Splash Ahoy – A pirate themed Splash Battle ride
Bandits of Robin Hood – Outdoor kids coaster
Loch Ness Expplorers – Flume Ride
Save the Pirate – kiddie ride
Tubby Takes Off – Dumbo style ride
Mambo Chai Chama (Crazy Tea Cups)
The Magic Carousel
Bump It Boats
D2 Dare Drop – Shot ‘n’ Drop Tower
Scream Machine – Spinnin and soaring as you swing back and forth on this Afterburn style flat ride.
Yes, it seems like quite an interesting collection of attractions set inside six different themed zones: Viva Europa, Asiana, India, Arabia, Americana, Jambo Africa. I’m really interested to see how this all turns out, especially since we haven’t seen any construction updates about this park at all so far. The website’s list of attractions does list some as “Coming Soon”, so I can only imagine that not everything will be ready to go on opening day. With April just around the corner, I’m sure it wont be long before the park opens and photos are released online to show it all off, so stay tuned!
(12/18/12) According to this article the new Adlabs Imagica theme park coming to India will open in March 2013 on a 300-acre site near Khopoli. The first phase will use up 100 of those acres for the theme park, a nearby water park and 300-room hotel, with the hopes of luring in about 3 million guests in the first year. The park will offer 21 attractions, including the countries largest roller coaster (Premier Rides), a 4D simulator ride, a “disaster” attraction and more. I believe the coaster project was the “DEEP SPACE” dark ride LSM launched coaster project Premier Rides was teasing at IAAPA back in November.
While the new park has a website, there is really no information about the park on there yet, it seems to serve only as a teaser site for the time being. I’ve been unable to find any concept artwork for this park yet either, nor construction pictures, which seems odd as they say it will open in just 3 months time. If anyone comes across some images of the park or attractions, please do let me know.
ADVENTURE ISLAND (UK)
Late 2012 - Time Machine - (11/6/12) UKParkNews reports that Adventureland Island (Southend) has opened Time Machine, a new flat ride experience. According to the article, Time Machine is a unique creation, completely designed and constructed by the team at Adventure Islannd.
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
ADVENTURE WONDERLAND (UK)
Park News - (6/8/12) The BBC reports that an incident took place at Adventure Wonderland in the UK on the park’s Poly Drop ride, which appears to be a kiddie/family sized 9 meter drop tower. The rid dropped suddenly about 15 ft in the air and was abruptly caught by a safety cable with a woman and her two children aboard. The woman was taken to a hospital for a check up and some bruising while the two children were unharmed.
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
ADVENTURE WORLD (Australia)
Late 2013 - New Coaster - (5/16/13) I’ve been told that Adventure World in Australia is preparing to build and open a new $12 million roller coaster, currently being teased as “The Secret” on their Facebook page and park blog. If the rumors are true, this may be a Gerstlauer Eurofighter style coaster. Look for it to open in late 2013.
ALPEN PARK (Brazil)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
AQUALANDIA (Italy)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
AUSSIE WORLD (Sunshine Coast, Australia)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
BAGATELLE (France)
Park News - (11/2/12) A video posted online shows a Reverchon Spining Crazy Mouse testing out some kind of new prototype car on Bagatelle’s Ragondingue coaster. Instead of the typical 4-across spinning car, this car has two forwards and two backwards facing seats, where each seat section can swing side to side a bit. Granted, the swinging motion looked to be toned down to a minimal setting, but it does make me wonder what the final ride experience might be like.
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
BEIJING SHIJINGSHAN Amusement Park (China)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
BELANTIS (Germany)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
BELLEWAERDE PARK (Belgium)
Compagnie des Alpes (CDA)
2013 - Huracan / Indoor Coaster - (4/3/13) A video of the new Huracan indoor / outdoor themed family coaster at Bellwarde Park has been posted below. Some of the scenery and effects are quite nice… so check it out. The park also put on an interesting little show for the grand opening of the ride which you can view here.
(1/28/13) New construction photos of Huracan, the Zierer indoor family themed coaster / dark ride opening at Bellewaerde have been posted to Facebook by NewsParcs. Check it out here.
(1/8/13) Construction pictures of the new Huracan indoor coaster (from Zierer) at Bellewaerde have been posted to their Facebook page. Check it out.
(9/18/12) Bellewaerde Park has announced that construction will begin on October 1st on a new Mayan themed indoor family roller coaster. The new ride will cost $4 million Euros and will be a custom layout from Zierer, designed to fit into the building that used to house the “Los Piratas” dark ride.
BETO CARRERO WORLD (Brazil)
Park News - (5/20/13) The local news reports that Beto Carrero World is looking into plans to build their new resort hotel within the theme park property. While this is all good… what about some news about the status of rebuilding The Chiller? Have they ever started putting it up yet?
(8/30/12) Beto Carrero World has apparently signed a deal with DreamWorks to add their characters to the park starting now, along with the construction of a themed land for them in the future. Most of the major Madagascar characters are already in the park. Other characters in the deal include Shrek, Puss in Boots, and Po from Kung Fu Panda. They are also looking into adding Megamind and Metro Man. A rumored copy of the Shrek 4-D attraction created by Universal Studios is also rumored to be in the works.
Speaking of possible deals with Universal Studios… I’ve been told that the park’s Extreme car stunt show is also preparing to undergo a major transformation, and wants to be branded as a tie into Universal’s Fast & The Furious film series.
2013 - The Chiller - (8/30/12) All the pieces of The Chiller are now said to be on site and the park is expected to reopen the coaster sometime in 2013.
(7/16/12) New pictures showing off pieces of The Chiller on site at Beto Carrero World can be found here.
(7/2/12) According to this article Beto Carrero World has started to receive shipments of the former Batman & Robin: The Chiller coaster that once ran at Six Flags Great Adventure.
CAMELOT (UK)
Park News - (11/9/12) Whatever the future holds for the site of the Camelot theme park, reopening again as an amusement attraction does not seem to be in the cards. The owners of the park site, who bought it back in 2009 when Camelot first closed, had originally planned to build about 1000 new homes on the site before a new management group came in to reopen the park once again.
With the park now closed once again, it looks like the owners will proceed ahead with plans to redevelop and repurpose the site once again, and are looking into what the best use for the site will be in today’s market.
(11/5/12) UKParkNews reports that Camelot Theme Park has apparently closed down for good, and will not reopen for the 2013 season. The park itself confirms the news with the local newspaper on Saturday, and put the blame on a trifecta of bad weather, the London Olympics and Queen’s Jubilee celebration keeping guests busy with other matters and away from the park this past summer. Attendance has been in a steady decline for a number of years it seems anyway, so it looks like this especially difficult year just put the final nail in the coffin.
CHIMELONG PARADISE (China)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
CINECITTA WORLD (Italy)
2013/2014 - New Park - (5/23/13) The latest construction pictures from Cinecitta World showing off the progress on the steel coaster can be found at TheParks.it.
(5/13/13) CWFans has posted a new construction update for the new Cinecitta World park in Rome where lots of blue Intamin coaster track is now rising high into the sky. Lots of work to be done at the park however... I don’t see how they will get it open in 2013.
(2/5/13) Another collection of construction pictures from Cinecitta World can be found at CWFans.it. The park was expected to open this summer, but based on the pictures and just how much work is left to be done, I wouldn’t be surprised if they are forced to push back the opening date.
(12/20/12) A few new construction pictures of the Cinecitta World studio / theme park project have been posted to ThemeParksItalia, including what seems to look like rebar forms to pour future footers for a roller coaster.
(11/6/12) It has been reported on ThemeParkItalia that some blue Intamin coaster track has been spotted on site at Cinecittaworld for one of the park’s two Intamin coasters. Click here to see pictures.
(9/5/12) CoasterFriends has posted a report on the new Cinecitta World theme park under construction in Italy, with the first phase said to be ready to open in 2013. They report the park will have Mack’s biggest SuperSplash ride (522 meters in length) and an Intamin built 10-inversion coaster. Other reported rides include a Dark Ride, LIM Launch Indoor Coaster, Interactive Dark Ride and a Flight Simulator.
(5/17/12) A construction update showing off the progress at Cinecitta World has been posted to CoasterCommunity.
(12/30/11) New concept artwork showing off the basic themes to be used in the proposed Cinecitta World theme park can be found here. Cinecitta World was a new theme park / studio concept proposed for an area near Rome, Italy back in 2009 I believe, but I’ve heard little more since then. They do also have an official website, though I’m not sure if it says anything about when the park may open, though back in 2009 they were hoping to have the first phase ready by 2011.
CONNY LAND (Switzerland)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
DENNLYS PARC (France)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
DIDILAND (France)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
DREAMLAND (Margate, UK)
Project News - (8/21/12) From what I can tell here, it looks like the government approved the purchase of the former Dreamland park site to move ahead with the plans to rebuild the site into the proposed new vintage attraction park concept. The Dreamland Trust is ready to move forward and says they hope to have Stage One of the project open by Easter 2014.
(8/6/12) The story of saving Dreamland Margate in the UK has been a complicated one which has stretched on for years as those who wished to save and reopen the park as an attraction have been working against local developers who have an entirely different vision for the property. Check out the video clip below to see the latest state of things.
While the park has mostly been taken back greenery and from the news clip looks more like a post apocalyptic version of an amusement park, you can watch this POV video shot on the Scenic Railway back when it still ran in 2003 to see what the site used to look like just 9 years ago.
???? - Reopen Park - (11/23/11) The plan to reopen Dreamland moves a bit closer this week with the awarding of a £3.7 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to be used to restore the park and move it towards the anticipated reopening in Summer 2013.
(2/21/11) The plans to open the Dreamland Heritage amusement park have been delayed slightly, slipping back a year from 2012 to a 2013 opening date according to this article.
(4/20/10) According to this news report the restoration of Dreamland is hoping that they may be able to reopen the park by Summer 2012.
DRIEVLIET (The Netherlands)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
DUINRELL (The Netherlands)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
FANTAWILD THEME PARK (Xiamen, China)
2013 - NEW PARK - (5/3/13) Xiamen Fantawild opened for business on April 28th and has reported that they have hosted 28,536 guests in the first two days alone. Now, anyone seen a trip report from the park posted in English yet?
(4/12/13) The local news reports that the Fantawild Theme Park will finally open to guests on April 28th. The park will feature three coasters when it opens, Mount Tanggula (Golden Horse Mine Train), Stress Express (Vekoma Boomerang) and Terror Twister (Maurer Sohne SkyLoop).
FIABILANDIA (Italy)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
FORT FUN (Germany)
Compagnie des Alpes (CDA)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
FRAISPERTUIS CITY Park (France)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
EREIZEIT PARK PLOHN (Germany)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
FREIZEITPARK RUHPOLDING (Germany)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
FURUVIK (Sweden)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
GOLD REEF CITY (South Africa)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
GREAT MALL OF CHINA (China)
2013 - Retail Mall with Three Coasters - (1/11/13) Sometime in 2013 the Great Mall of China will open with three roller coasters. A new Vekoma designed referred to as the Dive Pretzel Coaster, a Vekoma Motorbike coaster and a new LSM launched coaster from Premier Rides.
HAPPY KINGDOM (China)
2013 - New Park - (12/12/12) The new Chinese branded SLC coaster knock-off design has now been completed at the new Happy Kingdom park in Penglai, China. The park is also supposed to get a Mack built LSM launched coaster as well by the time it opens, but so far there is no sign of it. Check out the pictures at VHCoasters.
HELLENDOORN (The Netherlands)
H.I.G. Capital France
2013 - (3/27/13) Hellendoorn will open a new upcharge waterslide park in 2013, said to cost guests an extra 6 Euros to visit.
ISLA MAGICA (Spain)
Park News - (1/9/13) NewsParcs reports that French attraction operator, Looping, has announced the full buyout of shares to take over Isla Magica in Spain.
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
JANFUSUN FANCYWORLD (Taiwan)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
JINLING HAPPY WORLD (China)
2013 - Journey to the Stars / 11 Inversion Coaster - The Coaster has been delayed until 2013
(10/21/11) The 10 inversion record is about to be broken by Jinling Happy World in China. In 2012 the park will open a new coaster from a Chinese manufacture (HBZME / HBGSC.com) that will feature 11 inversions with a layout 3277 ft in length and yet only 131 feet tall.
Jinling Happy World is an entirely new park currently under construction and will also feature an Inverted coaster from the same company when it opens called the Seven Ring Suspended Looping Coaster.
JURASSIC DREAM THEME PARK (China)
2013 - New Park - (8/6/12) A few more details and artwork for the indoor Jurassic Dream Theme Park planned for China can be found on the ThinkWell website as well as in an older article at the LA Times that goes into details on some of the attractions. In addition to some dino themed family rides, there will be a unique walk-through attraction where guests go back in time called Dinosaur Encounter that will involve animatronics, large scale puppets, live performers and special effects, ending with a frightening final encounter involving a volcano and attacks by Raptors and a T-Rex.
Other major attractions include: Flames of Fury: The Wrath of Zu Rong (a fire / water effects story attraction), Into The Abyss, TimeTrek (think Soarin’ with Dinos over China), The Mystic Caverns Express (family coaster from Mack), The Dream Begins (water show) and more. Phase one is planned to open in 2013 with an indoor space bigger than Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America, and a phase 2 expansions is planned to open in 2015 that will feature indoor and outdoor attractions.
(6/11/12) Artwork featuring a new indoor theme park concept in China called Jurassic Dream has been posted to AirTimers this week. It’s in German so use your favorite online translation service. The overall first phase of the project for this indoor park, located in a colder section of China, will be approximately 20 acres, which makes it about the same size as Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi. When it opens in 2013 it will feature 14 unique attractions. In 2015 they hope to begin a second phase of construction to double the size of the park as well as add an onsite hotel.
KOLMARDEN (Sweden)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
LE PAL (France)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
LONDON DUNGEON (UK)
Attraction News - (2/22/13) The all new London Dungeon will reopen on March 1st but Merlin Passholders will get their “preview” of the all new attraction on February 26th. For the rest of us, you can find some great pictures of what lurks inside the new London Dungeon by clicking here.
(2/4/13) A great video shot by ThemeParkEscape takes us inside the infamous London Dungeons on Tooley Street, shot on Jan. 31st, the last day of operations at that location before the new site near the London Eye opens on March 1st. This is an extensive POV video, over an hour long, showing off the entire tour of London Dungeons as well as the rides and attractions inside. A little dark in spots of course, as to be expected, but great stuff for the history books. Check it out below!
2013 - New Location - (3/8/13) The all new London Dungeon is open and you can read a detailed review posted to ScareTourUK along with a bunch of photos… including a very scary looking men’s restroom!
(11/16/12) The local news reports that the London Dungeon is ready to make the move to a new location in the old County Hall next to the London Eye. Look for the old location to close on Jan. 31st, 2013 and the new location to open on March 1st, 2013. The new location will offer up a number of new thrills as well, including an attraction featuring Henry VIII condemming visitors to die as they are sent out on a flume ride that will end with a three story plunge in darkness. Other attractions will feature the stories of the Gunpowder Plot, the plague of 1665, the Victorian sewers, Sweeney Todd and Jack the Ripper.
(4/11/12) Merlin has confirmed that they are looking into plans to move the London Dungeon attraction to a new location, though they claim that the final decision to move has not yet been made. I’ve also heard we can expect to see some new themed sections added to the attraction when it moves, as well as new versions of many of the popular rides, though apparently not all will make the move.
(4/10/12) According to UKParkNews plan to relocate the London Dungeons attraction to a new location in County Hall where Merlin currently operates two other attractions: the London Eye and London’s Sea Life Aquarium. The relocated London Dungeon could be open as early as early 2013.
LUNEUR PARK (Rome, Italy)
Reopening in 2013 - (12/4/12) TheParks.it reports that Rome’s former “Luneur Park” that closed in 2008 will be reborn again under the supervision of Cinecitta Entertainment. The new Luneur Park is expected to offer 16 rides when it opens sometime in 2013, but is said to be focused on the 12 and under visitor demographic this time. (Sorry thrill seekers…).
M&D’s (near Glasgow, Scotland)
Park News - (8/3/12) A reader sent in links to show off the latest at M&Ds in Scotland. The old Express coaster has been moved, rethemed and renamed the Space Coaster and was spotted making test runs this week. The White Water Log Flume has also been moved to a new location as well.
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
MAERCHENPARK NEUSIEDLERSEE (Austria)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
MINITALIA LEOLANDIA PARK (Italy)
2013 - Mediterranean Splash Battle - Under Construction - (3/11/13) RollerCoasterRevolution has posted a few construction pictures of the new Mediterranean splash battle ride opening soon at Minitalia Leolandia.
MIRAGICA (Molfetta, Italy)
Formerly Called: La Terra Die Giganti
2013 - Dinosauri / Days of the Dinosaur - (3/25/13) A promotional video showing off the new Dinosauri attraction at Miragica has been posted to RollerCoasterRevolution this week.
(3/11/13) TheParks.IT reports on a new indoor walk-through Dinosaur attraction coming to Miragica in 2013 called “Days of the Dinosaur”. I believe there are 50 figures in the attraction, though I’m told that only three of them are animatronic (T-Rex, Ankylosaurus and Triceratops).
MOVIELAND PARK (Italy)
2013 - KITT SuperJet - (4/9/13) A unique head-mounted POV video shows off the entire Kitt SuperJet experience, including the queue, loading procedures and the ride itself from the front row seat right next to the driver and another run from the back row. Very unique looking to say the least… but capacity has got to be a nightmare.
(4/3/13) A good set of pictures showing off the new Kitt SuperJet boat ride at Movieland Park can be found at CoasterCommunity.
(3/27/13) The LA Times was quick to point out that the new KITT SuperJet attraction at Movieland Park is loosely themed after the the Knight Rider TV series where the famous black car, KITT, has been transformed into a jet boat. I really should have guessed this, but I just never realized a campy show from the ‘80s such as Knight Rider was still popular even today in Italy. Never doubt the popularity of The Hoff.
Oh... and as a reader on Twitter was very quick to point out... The Simpsons did it first. Behold... The Knight Boat.
(3/25/13) A promotional video showcasing the new Kitt SuperJet boat ride has been posted by Movieland Park. Check it out here. The new ride will open March 29th.
(3/14/13) TheParks.IT has the first video footage showing off the Shotover Jet boat making test runs at Movieland Park. The boat has been painted all black and renamed Kitt SuperJet according to the image posted. The video has some good footage of the boat… but unfortunately it runs at a very painful slow-motion speed for some reason, but you’ll still get a good idea of what they’re trying to do.
(1/8/13) A few new pictures from Movieland Park taken this week at TheParks.IT show off the arrival of one of the boats for the Shotover Jet attraction, which appears to be an actual real boat and not a ride vehicle which could really make this an interesting attraction, depending on how much available space they allow for it to use.
(12/7/12) According to a new picture posted to CoasterCommunity, that new Jet Boat ride planned for Movieland Park will enter into an enclosed tunnel and stop for about a minute where a special effects sequence will take place.
(11/22/12) The latest rumor from RollerCoasterRevolution (translated from Italian) claims that Movieland Park will build a never-before seen attraction concept in celebration of the park’s 10th Anniversary. The new attraction concept is inspiried by the Shotover Jet boat experience in New Zealand that uses large 15 passenger jetboats to send guests on a wild river ride. Movieland’s version will apparently take over some or all of the park’s Rambo show area for this new 3 minute attraction. While this is interesting, I do wonder if they are going for a real jetboat ride experience, or if there will be some kind of track below the water, making this more of an amusement park ride.
The park does already have a unique truck-driven tour adventure ride called Magma 2 that takes guests on a wild ride full of adventure and disasters waiting to happen, full of fire and water effects and collapsing bridges that I’ve never heard much about before that looks like a lot of fun.
NAGASHIMA SPALAND (Japan)
2013 - New Steel Dragon - (5/7/13) A video clip showing off the new Steel Dragon trains from B&M as they are being loaded in the station has been posted to YouTube and embedded below.
(3/20/13) VHCoasters has a nice close up of the new B&M trains made for the New Steel Dragon. It is interesting to note the special “extra” equipment added on here that is not typical B&M Hypercoaster style train hardware. Notice the leg guards added to the lap bar pole, which will keep the riders legs pinned down. The Japanese have also opted to have seat belts added as well… which is a first for any B&M hyper train restraint system as far as I know.
(3/18/13) Consider me utterly shocked, because on March 15th Nagashima Spaland introduced the world to the “New Steel Dragon”, an update to Steel Dragon 2000. While I don’t believe the coaster itself has changed, they have introduced some really dramatic and very open new trains to the coaster which you can see on top of this page, as well as in a short video if you scroll down to the bottom. The other big shocker is that these new trains appear to be a brand new design from B&M! (The rough Japanese to English translation gives credit for the trains to “Boriga & Co. Mabirado (Switzerland)”, which I assume is meant to be Bolliger & Mabillard. The new trains actually drop down the number of riders per train from 36 to 28. Unfortunately the pictures of the new trains on the website are not the best, so hopefully one of our readers in Japan will venture out to the park in the near future and send us a report. (Fun Note: To my knowledge this is only the second time ever that B&M has made coaster trains for a ride they did not manufacture. The first time was very early in their career when they made a set of wooden coaster trains for Psyclone at Six Flags Magic Mountain.)
NIGLOLAND (France)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
2014 - Mack Coaster - (5/10/13) I don’t know much about this project but Mack is building a new coaster for Nigloland called Aplina Blitz set to open in 2014. RCDB lists it as being 108ft tall and with a top speed of 62.1 mph, so I’m assuming we’re looking at a Mack LSM launched coaster system to achieve that kind of speed. Anyone know more?
NURBURGRING (Germany)
???? - RINGºRACER - (5/20/13) Good news at last for European coaster fans as the infamous RingºRacer coaster at the world famous Nurburgring race track in Germany is apparently set to open on July 7th according to a German newspaper. There is one question however, as rumors suggest that RingºRacer may not launch at the originally promoted 217kph (135mph) speed. While I don’t know the official top speed that RingºRacer will open in 2013, I do know that during the brief series of test ride sessions back in 2009 it was only being launched at 140kph (87mph) at the time. More on this issue as I find out…
(4/22/13) The early word from our sources in Germany is that the RingºRacer coaster may finally be ready to open for guests this year, as the coaster was seen testing making a test run this past week. Click here to see the launch. In case you’ve forgotten what the rest of RingºRacer is supposed to look like, here is a video embedded below showing off the coaster making test runs with a few lucky people back in 2009.
(11/5/12) All has been painfully quiet from Germany’s infamous Nurburgring for months, as the entire venue sits upon the edge of falling into a government controlled bankruptcy. I’m not a big racing fan myself, but I know that The Ring is an important and very unique place in the world of motor sports and I know many people around the world would hate to see it closed down for good.
That said, while doing a little news digging on the subject, I came across an article from over the summer where the head of F1 racing, Bernie Eccelstone, has apparently vowed to do what he can to help keep the legendary track in operation and will schedule an official F1 race at Nurburgring in 2013, in addition to waiving the costly “race sanctioning fee” a saving said to be worth around $25 million. With a major event now likely to breathe some new life into the venue in 2013, I do have to wonder if they might try to finally open the RingRacer coaster as well.
According to the last status update on the RingRacer that I got from S&S in early 2012, it was stated that the coaster was 100% ready to roll, and had been so for some time. Money problems and local politics behind the woes at Nurburgring had unfortunately kept it closed and off the grid. So maybe, just maybe, there is a chance that the RingRacer will finally open in 2013. If anyone knows a bit more about the subject, please do let us all know.
(2/9/12) An interesting article about the current fate of the Nurburgring track in Germany mentions that the German government who still owns the track held a press conference on Tuesday to announce the expulsion of NAG from their lease on the track. NAG being the Nurburgring Automotive GmbH, the people behind the development of the mini amusement and retail developments at Nurburgring, as well as the infamous RingRacer roller coaster project, which has yet to fully open to the public.
As of right now I’ve no idea where this leaves the fate of the RingRacer project, but I hope to find out more soon. We may have to wait for the government to sign a new lease agreement with a new operator for the property.
(5/20/11) According to some reports in small German publications, testing on the RingºRacer coaster at Nurburgring was being conducted on May 14th while training time for a race event was taking place. The reports say there was a loud boom sound and an approximately 10cm long metal bolt narrowly missed striking one of the mechanics in the pit lane.
The long delayed launched coaster project was expected to open in June following a successful testing run this month, but this new incident puts the timeline in question. It’s kind of crazy to think about all the fuss and problems they’ve been having with this ride, when other S&S Thrust-Air coasters have been built without hardly any fuss at all.
Of course, none of them have tried to go quite this fast before (135+ mph), and unlike those other pure S&S Power coaster projects, this project was supposed to have been a more collaborative project with another company providing the train and some other hardware, to meet Germany’s strict TUV requirements.
(8/23/10) I’ve been told that the RingRacer coaster now now had it’s opening delayed until sometime in 2011.
(11/17/09) Some good current pictures of Ring Racer as well as the RingWerk attraction area can be seen at Lifthill.net.
(11/1/09) Problems opening RingºRacer have pushed the full speed grand openieng back until 2010.
(8/28/09) Something bad happened to RingºRacer. According to the twitter feed from Jon Noble, a respected F1 commentator from AutoSport, something bad did happen. “Just found out the Nurburgring rollercoaster exploded recently - after a pressure tank problem - damaging a nearby hotel.”
(7/20/09) During some kind of preview event earlier this week at Nurburgring, they were giving off some preview tours of the park site and apparently a few rides on RingºRacer as well which you can see in the YouTube video below. However from what I’ve been told from my sources, the ride is only making test runs at 140kph as they work to break in the launch system and move it towards the record breaking 217kph speed that was promised.
(6/22/09) Also, in case you were wondering the official park site lists the RingºRacer as hitting 217kph (135mph) in 2.5 seconds, which will take the coaster speed record away from Kingda Ka’s 128mph current record. (Fun Fact – Kingda Ka also takes 3.5 seconds to get to full speed… RingºRacer will get you launched at a faster speed in nearly 30% less time, which of course will increase the amount of force you will experience on your body during that ultra intense launch experience. Anyone who has been on the older Hypersonic that used to be at Kings Dominion will understand just what that might feel like as it used to lauch riders to only 80mph in 1.8 seconds using a more primitive version of the launch system that RingºRacer will use.
The RingºRacer speed record may be short lived however as the new Intamin launched coaster going into Ferrari World in the UAE is rumored to possibly reach 250kph… or 155mph. Time will tell…
OCEAN KINGDOM (China)
Summer 2013 - New Park - Under Construction - (5/23/13) According to this news report China’s new Ocean Kingdom theme park on Hengqin Island, near Macao, is nearing completion and should open sometime this Summer. The unique theme park will be China’s first to combine themed entertainment, shows and rides with animal exhibits. One of the park’s massive undersea exhibits will contain a whale shark, with plans to eventually house up to 10 of them in the future.
For the thrill ride fans, we’ve been covering the construction of several of the park’s major attractions to date, including a Mack Watercoaster and Supersplash ride. According to the article, the park’s B&M Wing Coaster will be themed as a giant parrot flying through a rain forest... thus explaining the name of the ride, “Flying Over the Rainforest”.
(4/3/13) Coaster-Net reports that B&M’s new Wing Coaster going into China, known as Flying Over The Rainforest at Ocean Kingdom, will feature the first “watersplash” element seen on a Wing Coaster. Since the description of the element placed it in the middle of the ride instead of the end, I’ve got a hunch that this may be more of a special effect ‘splashdown’, much like Manta at SeaWorld Orlando, and not a true splashdown as seen on many B&M Dive Machines as well as Dimondback at Kings Island.
(10/19/12) New pictures from Ocean Kingdom show that the Mack water rides now appear to be fully built. Click here.
(8/20/12) VHCoasters has posted new pictures of Ocean Kingdom in China going vertical at last. Two of the Mack water coaster rides can be seen going up. One appears to be a Mack SuperSplash, haveing a turntable before the final drop and a basic layout very similar to the Journey to Atlantis ride at SeaWorld Texas. The other may end up more similar to Poseidon at Europa Park. Meanwhile the B&M track on site for the green Wing Coaster is still sitting undisturbed for the moment.
More pictures and concept artwork can also be found over at CoasterFriends.de including a shot of one of the flume’s final drop, plunging between two giant stone Walrus heads.
(7/9/12) The Ocean Kingdom park under construction in China has released a new piece of artwork showing off what the park will look like when finished, which can be seen at VHCoasters. They also report that any sign of a proposed wooden coaster for the park seems to have vanished in the latest revision. RCDB has also removed any mention of the wooden coaster as well.
(5/23/12) Yet another B&M Wing Coaster has been discovered under construction, this one in China as part of the new Ocean Kingdom park. While the pictures of the track arriving for the unnamed coaster posted to RCDB show off green track, this the picture of the label shows that this is not the same project as the other green Wing Coaster coaster track spotted at the Ohio plant earlier this month, as it has a different job number. RCDB lists three other rides for the park, a wooden coaster, a Mack Water Coaster and Mack SuperSplash.
PARC DU BOCASSE (France)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
PARQUE DE ATRACCIONES (Madrid)
Parques Reunidos
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
PARQUE de DIVERSIONES (Costa Rica)
2013 - Bumeran - (11/26/12) The new Bumeran coaster at Parque de Diversiones in Costa Rica is now open according to the local news reports.
(11/5/12) Bumeran, the new coaster set to open at Parque Diversiones will open on Nov. 24th according to the park’s Facebook page. (Note: This is the former Vekoma Boomerang moved from Paycenter Sao Paulo).
PLEASUREWOOD HILLS (UK)
Looping / H.I.G. Capital France
2013 - Hobs Pit - (5/11/13) Pleasurewood Hills is promoting a new
Haunt experience called Hobs Pit this year. According to the story on the official website (Hobs-pit.com) a team of researchers were sent down to explore the depths of “an unregistered mine”. It seems they were not alone. Hobs Pit will open to all guests on June 2nd and the park has been kind enough to send Screamscape readers an official discount coupon you can print out and take with you to the park. (The regular prices: Adults £19 & Child £16 ). I’ve also heard that there may be “previews” starting on May 25th. If anyone manages to escape the pit… send in a brief review for a future update.
POWERPARK (Finland)
2013 - Super Flume Bridge over the River Kwai - (3/29/12) Thanks to I
nterlink, we have two pictures to share this week showing off the ride layout for the Super Flume going into Powerpark in 2013.
(3/28/12) PowerPark in Finland has confirmed that they will build a new Interlink Super Flume ride for the 2013 season. The 400 meter long ride will feature two lifts and two drops and will use 9 six-passenger boats. The theme of the ride will be a bit interesting however, as it will apparently mix in with an existing bridge in the park, where the ride’s theme will be somewhat based on the WWII film, “Bridge Over The River Kwai”.
??!
Yeah, my reaction too. An academy award winning film about prisoners of war isn’t exactly the kind of film I would have ever thought would spawn a themed ride, but there you have it.
RATANGA JUNCTION (Cape Town, South Africa)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
RAINBOW’S END (New Zealand)
Park News - (11/12/12) A woman’s leg somehow became trapped just outside the log on the Enchanted Forest Log Flume at Rainbow’s End in New Zealand. In the end firefighters had to come in and cut apart a section of the log to free her leg, which was badly bruised but otherwise she only had minor injuries treated and released by a nearby hospital. No statement has been issued yet by the park to explain just what happened. There are some assumptions that perhaps she had slipped while trying to climb on board the log, which may have resulted in her leg getting stuck. According to aerial photos of the park, it appears that the log flume uses a turntable style loading platform which would better explain how her leg could have become wedged.
Late 2012 - New Ride - (11/8/11) The local news reports that Rainbow’s End in New Zealand will soon unveil details about a new thrill ride planned for the park. Construction wont begin however until April-June 2012, allowing for the ride to open later that same year.
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
SARKANNIEMI Amusementpark (Tampere, Finland)
2013 - Doghill - (1/18/13) Sarkanniemi will open a new themed area in 2013 called Sarkanniemi Doghill, a new themed area that will replace the old Children’s Zoo with the fictional town of Doghill, Doghill Farm and Drakkula’s Castle. There wont be any true theme park rides in this area of the park however, as it has been designed to allow for creative play. Make the jump over to BlooLoop to read more.
SCHWABEN PARK (Germany)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
SEA LIFE ABENTEUER PARK (Oberhauses, Germany)
2013 - Sea Life Abenteuer Park & Legoland Discovery Center - (5/1/13) CoasterFriends has sent us a report all about the new “Sea Life Abenteuer Park” in Oberhauses which opened yesterday, replacing the former Centro Park.
(12/11/12) Screamscape has been told that CentrO Park has been sold to Merlin Entertainment who now has plans to begin work transforming the site into Ocean Adventure Park for the 2013 season. The first new attraction with be an Antarctica themed Hopkins flume ride combined with a Penguin exhibit. You can find concept at of this new flume ride here and here.
A new Legoland Discovery Center site will also open on the grounds in Spring 2013, and the nearby Legoland Discovery Center in Duisburg will close down as a result. You can read more here. This will actually create a triple Merlin attraction area, as Sea Life Oberhausen, one of Merlin’s more profitable Sea Life properties, is located next door.
SERENGETI PARK (Germany)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
SKARA SOMMARLAND (Sweden)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
SKYLINE PARK (Germany)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
SOMMERLAND SYD (Denmark)
Park News - (2/14/13) The owner of Sommerland Syd (Denmark) has confirmed earlier today that the park will not reopen again. The closure of the park follows the bankruptcy filing from last summer and an unsuccessful attempt to find investors to fund the park so it could reopen. The next step will be to sell off all the remaining rides and then later sell the park site itself.
(8/29/12) The local news reports that Sommerland Syd will be closing down this week and the owners filing for bankrupcty due to declining attendance.
(10/24/11) Sommerland Syd have announced on their Facebook page that they have sold Tornado, their Vekoma Invertigo coaster to a park in France. No word yet on just what they may have in mind to replace it.
SPACE WORLD (Japan)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
STEINWASEN PARK (Germany)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
TIBIDABO (Barcelona, Spain)
2013 - Nothing New - (11/23/11) The translation is a little weird here, but I believe the basic message of this article is that Tibidabo will not add any new attractions to the park for the 2012 or 2013 seasons as they attempt to recover from the losses after the accident with their Pendulum ride in 2010.
TIVOLI FRIHEDEN (Arhus, Denmark)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
TOBU ZOOLOGICAL PARK (Japan)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
TOSHIMAEN (Tokyo, Japan)
2013 - Psycho-Pass - (2/9/13) The Toshimaen amusement park in Japan is hosting a new live action game where guests can play the role of Enforcers from the animated show Psycho-Pass. Click here to read up on the details.
May 2013 - Hakuouki: Toshimaen Riot - (4/22/13) The group who was behind the Psycho-Pass “Hands-On” game for the Toshimaen park will return soon to launch a new Live-Action Hands-On game for the park on May 3rd that will be based on “Hakuouki”, as part of a promotion for the new film due out this summer. The game will be called “Hakuouki: Toshimaen Riot” and players are allowed to play is costume (cosplay) and carry a katana with them (as long as they keep it to themselves) while they search for missing pages from a book.
VIALAND (Istanbul, Turkey)
2013 - New Park - (5/22/13) Pictures of the rides in action at Vialand (Istanbul, Turkey) can be found over at ThemeparX this week as the park prepares to soft open this Sunday on May 26th.
(5/14/13) Construction pictures from Turkey’s new Vialand park project can be found over at ThemeparX.
(1/14/13) TheThemeParkGuy has posted a new report showing off the site of a new theme park under construction in Istanbul, Turkey called Vailand along with artwork showing off the layout and some attractions. You can find the official park website here which claims that the park will be ready to open on April 23rd, 2013 and feature four themed zones: Fun Zone, Shopping Zone, Adventure Zone and History Zone. It appears that the highlight attractions of the park will be a magnetic launched coaster from Intamin, an Intamin made family coaster and a highly themed outdoor flume / splashdown ride.
VICTORY KINGDOM (Beijing, China)
2013 - Impulse WingRide - (8/30/12) Victory Kingdom, a new park that apparently opened not long ago in the Beijing area, is planning on adding a new unique Intamin creation, said to be a new take on the Impulse Coaster concept. The overall ride track is an elongated “U” shape with spikes that are either vertical… or just beyond vertical as you can see in a piece of concept art found here. The trains however will be WingRide style, except offering both forward and backward seating options, much like a Vekoma Invertigo. (Impulse WingRide?)
WALYGATOR PARC (France)
Formerly known as Walibi Lorraine and Walibi Schtroumpf (Walibi Smurf)
Park News - (3/11/13) The local news reports that debt-ridden Walygator park has been sold to a group of four buyers, pending an appeal from the former ownership under Le Douarin.
(11/28/12) I’m not up on French law, but the news reports that Walygator park has been placed in “receivership” and will be under observation for at least 6 months to study the park’s financial difficulties. This is good, as some had feared the park would be simply liquidated of assets to pay their debts. This process will keep the park running and help try to lead it back to financial stability.
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
WET ‘N’ WILD WATER WORLD (Australia)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
WIENER PRATER (Vienna, Austria)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
WILD-UND FREIZEITPARK KLOTTEN (Germany)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
WORLD JOYLAND (Changzhou, Jiangsu, China)
Park News - (10/31/11) It’s been awhile since we’ve seen new pictures from World Joyland, but a new collection of 37 photos has been posted to Dvice this week with a special focus on many of the faux Warcraft / Starcraft themed elements. Oh… and according to the sign outside the coaster, the B&M Flyer is actually called the Starry Sky Ripper, not Starry Night Ripper as we previously had been calling it.
(9/28/11) The Theme Park Guy reviews World Joyland, which has some great coasters mixed with some embarrassingly bad merchandise ripoffs, down to the point of even having a fake Disney branded store within the park, and a Minnie Mouse walk-around character, along with a fairly close copy of Seuss Landing from Islands of Adventure on top of the fake Warcraft / Starcraft themeing. Check it out.
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
YOMIURILAND (Japan)
2013 - SweetsCup / White Canyon Removed - (1/21/13) White Canyon, one of the few wooden coasters in Japan, operating at Yomiuriland since 1994 (from RCCA & TOGO) closed for good on January 14. The coaster featured a Coney Island Cyclone style layout and some of the most overprotective cars ever put on a wooden coaster (as seen here). No word on what will replace it eventually, though it looks like the park is opens a new themed version of a Tea Cup style ride called SweetsCup for 2013 along with some kind of Hero Training Center experience.
ZOOSAFARI FASANOLANDIA (Italy)
2013 - Nothing is known at this time...
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