originally posted on 9/17/2021 1:06:35 AM
All photos courtesy Mack Rides. View full-sized image.
Before summer officially slips away, ACE News takes a moment to report on a new water coaster from Mack Rides. Krampus Expédition opened this season in June.
Nigloland (Dolancourt, France) now has a collection of five coasters. Among them are another Mack coaster, Spatiale Expérience, which has striking similarities in theming, train styling and spiral lift to the original Euro-Sat at Europa-Park (Rust, Germany). A third Mack coaster, Alpina Blitz, is an airtime-filled megacoaster. Toss in a Mack mouse and a powered train from the company, too, and it is clear that the park has a cherished partnership with the coaster manufacturer.
Krampus Expédition. View full-sized image.
View full-sized image.
Krampus Expédition added one more to the arsenal. During summer months, water attractions typically offer a refreshing ride experience with a splash here and there.
As Mack offerings go, the water coaster is not one of its more predominant sellers but has made somewhat of a mark on the coaster world. In 1998, SeaWorld Orlando (Florida) opened Journey to Atlantis. For all intents and purposes, the ride was a flume — and a good one. The finale to the ride has a twisted, curving drop and speed bump utilizing rails instead of the traditional flume channel. Because of this, many enthusiasts added it to their coaster counts, while others argued it was still primarily a flume. Be that as it may, the gray area became less nebulous with eight other installations that followed.
Europa-Park’s Poseidon had considerable coaster sections. Tubular rails delivered many curves and drops with transitions that could not be possible on a regular flume ride. It was easier to count these as coasters. The comparison between Journey to Atlantis in San Diego (2004) and its Orlando counterpart exhibits more than just a difference in theming. It had significant coaster sections.
Add to all this the newest cousin. Krampus Expédition is about half and half in terms of floating in a flume channel and utilizing sections of roller coaster. The height of the ride is 92 feet tall — considerable for a water ride. Even more impressive is the rockwork theming from Universal Rocks. Krampus is a mythical monster, but the storyline and ride experience seem more focused on rocky theming than scary effects.
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Riders are seated side by side, eight to a vehicle in four rows.
A look at video only might prompt a coaster enthusiast to say, “It looks short.” In all fairness, the coaster section is. But following the dramatic plunge (which includes the wonderful speed bump found on Poseidon), the ride continues to float for more than a minute. In all, the experience is over three minutes long, which certainly is no slouch when it comes to ride cycles. If a criticism is to be made, the layout should have placed the longer flume section at the beginning with the dramatic drop appearing more as the climax to the ride. Still, the attraction looks fun and would be a nice addition to any park in the United States, particularly those in a warmer climate.
— Tim Baldwin, ACE News Editor
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