DrageKongen is the Intamin inverted coaster at Djurs Sommerland. This is a unique coaster
toeing the line between family and thrill coaster, as it’s a shockingly forceful ride.
But is it too rough for its own good? Find out in this review of DrageKongen.
After the success of both Piraten and Juvelen, Djurs Sommerland went
back to Intamin for another coaster in 2017. Costing $12 million Euros,
DrageKongen was technically a prototype. It was Intamin’s first family suspended coaster,
which had a lot of similarities to the Vekoma suspended coasters found across the globe.
DrageKongen’s presentation is top notch both for those experiencing the attraction
and those around it. The coaster was placed in the Wild Asia section of the
park and it looks fantastic. It starts with an ornate entry archway with some dragons.
The name translates to Dragon King after all. The ride’s track has a beautiful shade of red and you
can get really close to this coaster. It serves as the backdrop for the pathway into the Wild Asia
section. Then it also has a real presence as you enter the park. The lift was placed to the left
of the main entrance and it looks every bit as large as its posted 98 foot or 30 meter height.
This location gets guests hyped for their day and many guests make this coaster their first
stop. This causes the queue to spike. In the summer, it’s not uncommon to see this line
reach the 40-60 minute mark during the first 2-3 hours. Therefore, unless you are one of
the first people in the park, I would advise returning to this coaster in the mid-afternoon
once crowds have moved further back in the park. The queue line can move slowly due to the ride’s
limited throughput. Operations are very fast thanks to the simplistic restraints
and stacking was uncommon, but the ride runs just 2 trains that each seat 14 riders. Each
of the those trains have 7 rows of 2. And I love the restraints. You have an
overhead lap bar, similar to the ones on the newer Intamin launch coasters.
It affords you a ton of freedom, comparable to the aforementioned Vekoma suspended coasters.
On that note, this really feels more like an inverted coaster to me. The trains aren’t free to
swing side-to-side like the old Arrow suspended coasters. They move with the wheel carriage.
This line isn’t awful to be stuck in at least if you’re into atmosphere.
The outdoor portion has some nice architecture and a lot of shade.
Then you also have a sizable dragon statue and some nice views of the coaster overhead.
Plus you can hear the ride’s theme song playing, which is a really nice tune.
The indoor portion of the queue starts with a long hallway with some cool lighting and pendants.
Then you reach the dark station. There’s some mystical music playing and whenever a train
dispatches…and by that I mean launches… red lights rapidly flash. Then when a train returns, you have
timed spotlights and sound cues. Djurs left no stone unturned with the off-ride experience.
The main ride experience doesn’t have too much theming. Rather, the visuals are comprised of
lush landscaping and an endless stream of near-misses with the ground. If you love
leg-choppers, this is the ride for you. Those visuals are the main reason why
the front was my favorite seat. I think the forces are nearly identical across the train,
but the front is also the smoothest row. Despite being a relatively new coaster,
the ride has a very audible rattle. You don’t feel it too much towards the front,
but you will definitely feel the vibration further back in the train. It won’t translate to any pain
because of the aforementioned restraints making it impossible to get headbanging,
but I definitely wish it wasn’t there. However, you may have to wait several more trains
for the front. The split for the front row versus rows 2-7 starts pretty far back in the queue.
Sometimes the two lines had the same number of people, meaning the front could 6 times as long.
If you see this line short, take advantage of it. Once dispatched, you shoot out of the station.
The launch itself isn’t too strong and it’s powered by tires like those on Juvelen. It
has a mild kick comparable to the first launch on Dollywood’s Firechaser Express. But the theatrics
with the music and lighting make it notable. You accelerate into darkness and navigate a small
airtime-less bunny hill. You then navigate an indoor spiral. And it’s a deceptively
good turn between the lighting, fog, and positive Gs. And those won’t be the
last Gs either. This ride is a sneaky positive G machine. It hits a max of 4 Gs at one point!
You then head outside and ascend the lift hill, which is also powered by tires.
The first drop is a steep, twisting drop. It doesn’t offer any airtime nor laterals,
but it does have some whip towards the back of the train.
This drop leads into a tunnel full of fog. And you’ll also get some more positive Gs.
And those positives intensify as you navigate a snappy overbank. The exit of this element
does have the most uncomfortable part of the ride. The vibration really intensifies here.
Next is a low 360 degree upwards helix. The Gs are solid at the start,
but they become really strong towards the end. You’ll feel the blood rushing to your feet.
This leads into a large camelback. I was hopeful it would give airtime,
but it did not. You lost a little too much speed over the top. But the resultant pullout
does offer another blast of positives. You then zip over an elongated bunny
hill over the queue line. Again no airtime, but you have nice speed.
You then roar around a far turnaround that again hits you with some positive Gs.
Then you head into a brief, fog-filled tunnel. It’s a nice moment you can’t see coming.
You then twist upwards over the station and queue line. There are a lot of great
foot-choppers on this ride, but this is the best one because of the proximity and angling.
The ride then dips down and navigates a little bunny hill.
This one gives an itty bitty pop of airtime. Then you hop upwards into another far turn.
The elevation change gives a small, quick bit of airtime and the turn has ok positives as well.
DrageKongen then finishes with another 360 degree upwards helix. This one isn’t
as intense as the first, but it still has nice positive Gs and no shortage of leg-choppers.
You then hit the brakes and head back into the station, ending the
2707 foot or 825 meter long coaster. I touched on the ride’s smoothness,
but what about the pacing? DrageKongen holds its speed pretty well. It feels like a bigger
version of Dollywood’s Dragonflier or Farup’s Orkanen, but with much better positive Gs. I
wish the ride mixed in some more airtime as well, but it does the other things well.
So what would I rate DrageKongen? I would give this inverted coaster a 7 out of 10.
This ride is the full package. I love the overall look of this ride. It really makes the Wild Asia
section of Djurs between the visuals and music. Then the coaster delivers too. I was surprised how
plentiful and strong the positive G forces were on this ride. Almost every turn and valley supplied
nice Gs. The only deterrent to the overall ride experience is that aforementioned rattle.
It’s a nuisance right now, but not a deal-breaker, especially since it mostly can be avoided in the
front. But I hope it doesn’t get worse. I would take this over any of the Vekoma
family suspended coasters I’ve experienced and most of the Arrow suspended coasters too. It
offers a more dynamic and satisfying ride. So those are my thoughts on DrageKongen at
Djurs Sommerland. What are your thoughts on the prototype Intamin family suspended coaster? Do
you like this ride or do you think it’s a little too rough? Let me know down below, especially if
this has gotten worse since the ride’s opening year. If you enjoyed this review, I’d appreciate
it if you gave this video a like and you considered subscribing since there will be a
lot more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!