Silver Star is the Bolliger & Mabillard roller coaster at Europa Park.
Most roller coasters at this German theme park are built by Mack, considering they own the park,
but Silver Star was the first coaster added by a third party. Over the years, I’ve heard
many call Silver Star a weaker B&M hyper, but in all my visits to the park, I’ve found this
to be one of the best and most underrated B&M hypers. Find out why in this review!
At the turn of the Millennium, Europa Park had 6 different roller coasters,
all from Mack. This popular theme park wanted to make a major splash.
They wanted the tallest and fastest coaster in all of Europe, but Mack had never built
something that large before. So they reached out to Swiss manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard
to build the company’s fourth hyper coaster. The result was Silver Star.
Reaching heights of 240 feet or 73 meters, Silver Star would be the tallest coaster
in Europe when it opened and also the largest coaster B&M had produced thus far.
It wouldn’t be B&M’s fastest coaster, as Six Flags Great Adventure’s Nitro would go a little faster,
but Silver Star would be the fastest coaster in Europe with its 79 mph or 127 kph top speed.
Silver Star would feature a massive L-shaped layout that would travel out into the parking lot.
This coaster really gets you hyped for your day as it soars over those giant camelbacks.
The black track looks fine and I do like the shiny silver trains running along the course.
However, the ride’s placement in a parking lot is a bit jarring compared to the immersion
of Europa Park’s other attractions, but you could argue it technically fits the theme.
Silver Star is part of the France section of the park and this coaster is sponsored by
Mercedes-Benz. The ride has a light racing theme, so it sort of makes sense you’d be traveling
through a parking lot surrounded by other motor vehicles. But let’s be honest, this coaster
really isn’t about theming nor does it need it. B&M hypers are famous for their high throughput
and Silver Star is no different. This ride typically runs three trains, each seating up to 36
riders across 9 rows. And this ride’s crew does not mess around. They dispatch trains
like well-oiled machines. Silver Star never stacks both trains and more often than not,
avoids stacking one train. The two trains on the course always seem to be in constant motion.
As a result, Silver Star rarely has more than a 20-30 minute wait most days. There are a series
of outdoor switchbacks followed by a nicer looking indoor section. This part of the queue features
some Mercedes vehicles, a giant video screen, and most surprisingly a concession stand despite
the fact this ride doesn’t get massive waits. At the end of the queue line, you can choose to
wait extra for the front or select any other row. If you don’t see the line for the front
extending outside, it’s actually pretty short. But if it’s full, it can take an extra 20-30 minutes.
In 2017, I much preferred the back, as I tend to on the older B&M hypers. But in 2021,
the front was almost as good. It had almost as much airtime plus a great sense of speed.
One of the biggest things I heard about Silver Star throughout the years
was that this one was overtrimmed. This one has two trims in the first half and a mid-course
brake run. When I rode it in the fall of 2017, the trims weren’t grabbing the train. I thought
that may have been due to the cooler weather. My 2021 visits took place on hot summer days.
The first trim never hit the train. The second trim and mid-course brake run barely tapped the
train. The end result? Silver Star was flying! Earlier POVs show the ride getting trimmed
significantly more, but my visits and the recent ones I’ve seen have showed the trims barely in
use. At some point, Silver Star’s trims were swapped from friction pads to magnetic trims,
so maybe this contributed, but I hope Silver Star continues to run like this.
The trains feature the familiar B&M clamshells. I love these restraints. The contouring is super
comfortable and they really allow you to feel the airtime, especially since the operators do
not push down all that hard at Europa Park. And their simplicity makes it easy for the operators
to check. There are no seatbelts on this one. You dispatch to racing lights and round a corner
past a man in a racing suit. You then ascend the large lift hill.
It faces away from the park so the views aren’t too interesting unless you look backwards.
Once at the top, you head down the 220 foot or 67 meter tall drop at a 69 degree angle.
The drop delivers several seconds of great sustained floater airtime in the back.
It’s very reminiscent of Nitro’s drop in a good way. And if you’re wondering what those barriers
alongside the drop are for, they’re to help prevent noise from reaching the nearby village.
One neat visual about this drop is that it takes place over an active roadway.
The pullout is forceful, but it a bit rattly. Fortunately, the rest of Silver
Star is very smooth as you’d expect from B&M. You then twist to the left and ascend the first
camelback. This hill stands 161 feet or 49 meters tall and you zoom over it. I like how Silver Star
completes the turn on the ascent so the top of the element can focus exclusively on airtime.
And it’s very strong and sustained floater airtime no matter where you’re sitting.
The second camelback is even smaller at 135 feet or 41 meters tall so you haul over it.
I was stunned the trim never hit. So everyone gets another strong
and sustained dose of floater airtime. The far turnaround doesn’t look like much,
but it’s quite fast and moderately forceful. It’s an above average turnaround for a B&M hyper.
You then traverse the 3rd camelback. While the trim can sometimes grab the train ever
so slightly, you will still get sustained floater airtime like the prior two camelbacks.
These first 3 camelbacks are some of the best on any B&M.
They rival the power of the ones on Kings Island’s Diamondback.
The entry into the mid-course is basically half of a camelback,
so those up front get some nice floater airtime while those in the back just get lurched forwards.
After cruising through the mid-course uninhibited, you sharply drop back down to the ground. Those in
front get a quick pop of airtime while those in the back get sustained fl-jector airtime.
You then ascend a 270 degree upwards helix. It pulls some solid Gs
and it feels like you’re going faster than you should at the top. This results in one of
the most jarring airtime moments on any B&M. The helix has a super sharp kink at the top,
so the train abruptly dives downwards. Everyone gets a true ejector pop cresting this hill.
But those in the back stay out of their seat for ejector airtime that’s weak in power but
plenty sustained on the descent. It’s rare to get airtime of this magnitude on a B&M.
And to make the moment even sweeter, the drop isn’t straight. It subtly banks to
the right so you get some laterals as well. Silver Star then charges over a smaller camelback.
The airtime hills in the second halves of B&M hypers are usually much weaker,
but Silver Star’s is about as powerful as those in the first half since you have so
much speed. So I’m certainly not complaining about another good dose of sustained floater airtime.
Silver Star then has a unique and wild finale. You have this snappy S-bend that leads into the
brake run. The element gives some lateral jolts and then you are lurched forwards as you hit the
brakes with a ton of speed. This is one of the few B&M hypers that finishes with a real bang.
Based on how I’ve experienced Silver Star, this one has better pacing than most B&M
hypers. The one I’d compare Silver Star to most is Six Flags Over Georgia’s Goliath.
But that’s assuming the trims and mid-course aren’t hitting as I’ve experienced it.
So what would I rate Silver Star? I would give this B&M hyper a 9.5 out of 10. The amount of
sustained airtime this coaster delivers is marvelous, especially since it’s so strong
throughout. Every single hill holds you out of your seat and some in the second half are
particularly forceful. I also love how this coaster holds its speed until the very end.
That’s a rarity for B&M hypers. Add in the super comfortable trains and smooth ride
and this makes Silver Star one of the most reridable coasters in the world.
I know if Mack were to build a hyper coaster for Europa Park today,
they’d put in one of their own. But their decision to install one in the early 2000s is
what gave us one of the best B&M hypers ever. Shambhala is still the king of B&M hypers,
but Silver Star may be the second best. It’s neck-and-neck with Candymonium and Mako for me.
I think Candymonium and Mako both have stronger first halves,
but Silver Star has a better second half than either of those coasters. I just hope others can
experience Silver Star like I did. It’s easily the best ride at Europa Park when it runs like this.
So those are my thoughts on Silver Star, the incredible B&M hyper coaster at Europa Park.
What are your thoughts on Silver Star? Have you gotten rides as strong as mine? Or were
the trims an issue? Let me know down in the comments. 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!