originally posted on 9/23/2024
All Photos: Courtesy Intamin. View full-sized image.
Single-rail coasters seem to be a thing. Rocky Mountain Construction got the ball rolling. S&S Worldwide has its own design on the market. Now, Intamin has two in its portfolio. After Big Dipper debuted at Luna Park (Sydney, Australia) in 2021, the latest model opened this past summer at Walibi Rhône-Alpes (Les Avenières, Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, France). The coaster manufacturer calls its single-rail product Hot Racer.
The park, however, has dubbed the ride Mahuka. Exotic Island is a recently developed themed area of the park that causes guests to dream of the lush tropics with a Pacific islands feel. Mahuka means “to escape” in Hawaiian.
Single-rail coasters have some selling points. With less steel, they are more affordable. Also, they can be tighter and more compact.
Intamin offers a variety of launches. Mahuka uses a tire-driven launch to send trains of nine riders through a course that is just under 2,000 feet long.
The restraint system uses overhead lap bars, which offer a great sense of upper-body freedom without over-the-shoulder restraints.
Lacking over-the-shoulder restraints, Mahuka’s trains are themed to look like exploration trucks.
View full-sized image.
A story is woven into the attraction to help the coaster fit into the land. Guests journey into the remains of an abandoned temple but are cautioned not to provoke the God of Fire. The trains are stylized as exploration trucks.
Mahuka features an arched structure with two tracks, allowing the train to both go over and under, creating an exciting moment for riders and nonriders alike.
View full-sized image.
View full-sized image.
The most iconic element to the ride is an arched structure. Riders go over the top and are flipped upside down underneath it. According to Intamin, the two high points (close to 60 feet tall) were near each other. In discussions, it was decided to combine the two on one structure, making for a real spectator moment. This top hat structure then became the entry portal into Exotic Island.
Two launches take the riders to speeds of 42 mph. During the journey, there are three inversions, the aforementioned top hat (traveling inside), a corkscrew and a heartline roll. The ride was designed to provide 13 moments of airtime, the most of any coaster at the park, of which there are six.
Mahuka is the park’s sixth coaster, joining family and thrill coasters, including a wood coaster from The Gravity Group.
View full-sized image.
Mahuka joins Mystic, a Gerstlauer Infinity coaster, and Timber, a wooden coaster from The Gravity Group.
According to Sascha Czibulka, executive vice president of Intamin, this second-generation Hot Racer chassis has seen improvements in ride comfort for the passenger and a better fit with the track. Overall, it has enhanced smoothness.
As these rides often do, they zip along close to the ground, which can amplify the sense of speed.
— Tim Baldwin, ACE News
#ACENews