originally posted on 10/15/2021
All photos courtesy of Energylandia. View full-sized image.
Poised to have the world’s largest collection of roller coasters, Energylandia (Zator, Poland) has seen massive growth in just a few short years. With two additions in 2021, the park now claims 17 roller coasters — gaining ground on Six Flags Magic Mountain’s (Valencia, California) 19. Currently it ties Cedar Point (Sandusky, Ohio) for the second-place position.
When it opened its gates in 2014, Energylandia claimed three simple roller coasters in its lineup, all of the family variety. Who could have imagined a growth rate virtually never seen in the industry that could allow the still-young theme park to boast more roller coasters than any other park in its country — several from some of the industry’s most respected manufacturers? It’s not as if an accumulation of production models built this impressive sum. Custom rides from power hitters like Intamin, Vekoma and Rocky Mountain Construction have delivered multiple signature attractions.
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Two more joined the arsenal this year, both from Vekoma Rides. They arrived with a new section of the park, Aqualantis. The additions didn’t stop at coasters, as nine new rides were part of a newly themed area. While the park wishes to claim its Zamperla Disk’O’ Coaster as an 18th, ACE will keep it to the gravity-driven ones.
Vekoma continues to solidify itself as a provider of outstanding attractions. The past decade has seen some impressive installations, all worthy of being on an enthusiast’s bucket list. Having previously provided the park with the linear-synchronous-motor-launched coaster Formuła in 2016, the manufacturer’s graceful handiwork is now seen on Abyssus. As if a bigger brother of Formuła, Abyssus has two launches instead of one, and four inversions instead of three. Being interwoven into the watery setting of the new area even accentuates the cool factors of the ride.
What are those? Lots.
The fluid inversions alone are smoothly navigated, making for scream-inducing thrills, but it’s the integration of darting through and under themed structures and diving into trenches that makes the coaster a signature piece. Fans of Montu (Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Florida) will relish the use of the below-ground maneuvers.
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Once dispatched from the station, trains receive the first of two launches. Unlike most coasters in which the first half is the most intense, Abyssus reverses that. The first act is filled with thrilling curves, directional changes and airtime hills, but following the second launch — which zips the trains up to 62 mph — the highest point is reached (126 feet) and is followed by a dramatic dive into a vertical loop. Amid countless banked turns, a batwing inverts riders twice along with a very stretched-out corkscrew. It’s the constant directional changes that make the 4,318-foot coaster feel incredibly compact and make it feel as if it goes on forever.
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To fit the nautical theme of Aqualantis, the front ends of the two trains are themed to look like boats.
The second coaster added for 2021 is Ekipa Light Explorers. This is a family boomerang coaster from Vekoma that is less daring but still provides good thrills for a wider audience. As the genre implies, the train goes both forward and backward with a reverse point aiming skyward.
Ekipa Light Explorers.
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It would be natural to assume that with 17 coasters, the park could slow down. But, no. Construction has already started on the next coaster. The next land to open is Sweet Valley. A mine train from Vekoma is well under way. It is called Choco Chip Creek, an intriguing name for not only a coaster, but particularly a mine train. ACE will stay tuned.
— Tim Baldwin, ACE News Editor
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