Fury Launches at Bobbejaanland – a Coaster That Lets You Decide Which Way to Go

Recommend

originally posted on 9/6/2019

Photo: Courtesy Gerstlauer. View full-sized image.

On June 24, Bobbejaanland theme park (Lichtaart, Belgium) opened its most expensive themed area, launching the five-acre expanse with its largest coaster investment ever. And launched is the right word, as the new Fury (created by Gerstlauer Amusement Rides GmbH), which is the signature attraction for the park’s new Land of Legends section, is a triple-launching steel coaster.

The newly themed area’s attractions feature an adapted motif to fit in with the concept of a magical-mystical “Land of Fire and Flames.” Each ride in the section is intended to serve as an iconic monument to the four elements of nature. The already existing Typhoon coaster (Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter) will be linked to the element of Wind, the Sledge Hammer ride (a swinging, spinning Huss Giant Frisbee) to the element of Earth, an interactive water play area to the element of Water and Fury to Fire (thus the inclusion of a fire-breathing dragon mock-up as part of the theming for the coaster).

Photo: Courtesy Gerstlauer. View full-sized image.

Claimed by the park to be the tallest, fastest, steepest and most inverting coaster within the Benelux region, the 141-foot-high Fury features four inversions and a maximum speed of 66 mph. Though the physical track length is 1,968 feet, 2,700 are actually traveled during the ride, because of the multiple (three linear synchronous motor) launches going forward/backward/forward, or maybe backward/forward/backward.

Photo: Courtesy Gerstlauer. View full-sized image.

As for that last either/or, passengers on Fury will press a button to vote which direction they should face through most of the ride — forward or backward — with the majority deciding. The train seats 12, so when the tallies are tied, the ride's control system chooses randomly. A thoughtful option: there will be forward-facing-only times to accommodate those who do not particularly wish to go backward.

Since Fury’s track is not contiguous and can be done in a forward or backward direction, the this-way-or-that-aiming of the train is accomplished by leading it out of the base station to a starting turntable and, depending on the vote, turning the platform 90 degrees to the left or to the right in order to then link to the main track course, launching forward or backward facing from there.

Photo: Courtesy Gerstlauer. View full-sized image.

Bobbejaanland now contains more than 50 attractions. With the addition of Fury, the park is home to eight coasters, including the unusual enclosed Mount Mara (the only remaining Vekoma Illusion model coaster) which curiously boasts the world’s lengthiest coaster train at 30 cars (holding 60 passengers).

— Randy Geisler