originally posted on 7/23/2021
All renderings courtesy Fårup Sommerland. View full-sized image.
After a 2020 “lull,” new coasters seem to be opening and being announced right and left.
Remember when there was just one Phoenix? A mention of a coaster by that name led one’s thoughts to Elysburg, Pennsylvania. Now there are three in the United States. A fourth is being constructed overseas. Kind of. In the country’s translation, it will be called Fønix.
Fårup Sommerland (Blokhus, Denmark) returns to Vekoma following a successful partnership with Orkanen in 2013. (U.S. ACE members might have enjoyed its twin in Dollywood’s Wildwood Grove on Dragonflier.)
This time it is much bigger. Vekoma is providing a new signature roller coaster to the Danish park with Fønix. And it looks to be a goodie.
Start with the three inversions. The first is described as a “world’s first.” Dubbed a “stall loop” by the park, it looks designed to momentarily hang riders in an inverted state. Is this actually new? That remains to be seen. However, whether it is or isn’t doesn’t really matter. It looks to be great fun. Plus the exit of the loop has a dramatic directional change. The other two inversions are in the vein of barrel rolls and corkscrews, but notably, the third inversion flips through a building. Nice. It will deliver great spectator appeal to those waiting in the station.
Is the “stall loop” a new type of inversion?
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The third inversion flips through a building.
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But it is more than inversions. Much more. With a possible nod to the mad genius of Alan Schilke and his Rocky Mountain Construction creations, it looks like wildly banked maneuvers and unusually centered airtime hills have become more commonplace among many manufacturers. Fønix seems to offer lots of oddly banked (as in cool and thrilling) elements as this Vekoma coaster zips through its snarled layout.
Watch animation of the full ride:
If ACEers have learned anything, it is that statistics don’t necessarily mean greatness. Marketing types love them for the bragging rights, but fantastic rides come in all sizes. At 131 feet tall, it is still the country’s tallest coaster. Track length is just shy of 3,000 feet, and the coaster is designed to rip through the course at 59 mph. It looks as if a coaster of this moderate size can still deliver all the goods.
According to the park, Fønix will have 14 distinct elements. At the equivalent of almost (USD) $16 million, it is the park’s largest investment in Fårup Sommerland’s 64-year history.
View full-sized image.
Want more good news? The trains only feature overhead lap bars, so there should be an open comfort for riders. The trains will have a full passenger count of 16, four cars of four riders.
Fønix will join the other seven coasters at the park, which include the notable Falken and Lynet.
— Tim Baldwin, ACE News Editor
@#$%&!
#ACENews