Hello hello hello, it’s time for some more theme park news!
Disneyland Paris have announced they will be launching a new fastrack system called
“Premier Access” this summer.
Guests will be able to board select attractions instantly by paying an extra fee on their
app, from €8 per ride.
But that's in an off peak period, the price per ride, and per day will vary.
Their traditional FastPass will not return, which is a massive shame really.
Perhaps the era of a good Disney fastpass system is over?
Standby Pass, the park's virtual queuing system, will continue to be used at the park during
busy times, however.
Vulcania in France has opened its first ever roller coaster, Namazu.
The Intamin family launch coaster has both indoor and outdoor sections, two launches
and a free fall element.
The ride’s theme is a scientific base at the site of an unstable seismic fault where
a team of seismologists work.
It sounds awesome!
Europa Park in Germany have announced they will be refurbishing their Adventure area.
The work is expected to take around three months and will be a difficult task as the
area is located right in the centre of the park, which will not be closed while the work
happens.
They have said they plan to replace the theming which has been there since the park opened
in the 1970s.
Though this is more than just updating it, but instead ensuring it’s in keeping with
the current zeitgeist.
But that isn’t the only news coming out of Europa Park, well, ish.
New details have come to light about Europa Park’s proposed future roller coaster.
Apparently, the park’s next coaster will be a slightly modified version of the MACK
Rides’ big dipper - take this all with a pinch of salt though, things could change.
The ride will feature a launch with a top speed of up to 80kmh 50mph, and will have
a maximum height of up to 38m 125ft.
The new attraction will also apparently boast a throughput similar to Silver Star, so expect
around the 1750 riders per hour figure.
How they’ll achieve this with the small 8 person big dipper trains I have no idea.
Will they chain two trains together to create 16 rider cars to increase capacity, or perhaps
they’ll build two duelling big dipper roller coasters to boost throughputs.
Whatever it is, I'm sure it will be interesting, and hopefully more thrilling than most of
the roller coasters currently at Europa Park!
Vertigo at Tivoli Gardens in Denmark closed permanently on the 5th of July and I am genuinely
furious.
The park announced the closure, saying: “Goodbye to Vertigo.
After providing our guests with many unforgettable moments, it is time for Vertigo to bid farewell.”
The 'Flying Fury' ride, built by Technical park, opened in 2009 and was the only ride
in the world that could operate in all three directions due to the park reconfiguring the
slip system - whatever that means… genuinely though, Vertigo was always a super unique
flat ride and it's a massive shame to see it go.
Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey has announced it will be reopening Road Runner
Railway after moving it to accommodate their new coaster, the Jersey Devil Coaster.
The family coaster will reopen with a new theme and name: Lil' Devil Coaster.
They released this image on social media showing off the new train design for the ride.
Energylandia in Poland’s new water themed land, Aqualantis, and its main attraction,
Abyssus, are set to open on the 14th of July - that’s today!
The huge land includes 10 new attractions, 8 food courts, 3 shops, 3 spots for gaming
and activities and shows.
It’s themed to an ancient sunken island where the people were ruled by Abyssus.
Over time the people became greedy and so Abyssus sunk the island and consumed all their
wealth.
Now guests can discover this sunken world and explore the new attractions.
The main event is Abyssus, a Vekoma double launch coaster which sits on the spot where
the holy temple of the mighty ocean god Abyssus once was.
So that's another roller coaster at Energyland open.
I'm sure by this time next year there will be at least 3 more...
The revised version of The Jungle Cruise at Disneyland is set to open on the 16th of July.
Disney closed the ride in January 2021 to revamp theming which was assessed to be racist,
as they have done to other attractions such as Splash Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean.
Disney have said their goal with the revamp is to make it a more inclusive experience
for everyone.
We've sadly come to the end of another episode of dispatch.
I'm going to buy some VR goggles so I can virtually experience vertigo now that it's
not longer with us.
Hopefully VR still works when you're crying. :(