Phantasialand: General Discussion

Finally. This is a majestic replacement for Gebirgsbahn!

Phantasialand have finally confirmed this morning that there will indeed be a second coaster opening in this area next year - a Vekoma Family Boomerang called Raik.







Looks like they are saying that it will be Vekoma's biggest Family Boomerang.

Still not opening date or month though!

So Taron will be the fastest multi-launch coaster in Europe? Impressive! Though how many multi-launch coasters actually are there besides Helix?

Helix and Juvelen are, to my knowledge, the only true multi-launch coasters in Europe.

A few more images from over at PhantaFriends.de just showing how ridiculous this project is, things keep springing up left right and centre with every passing day!





The extensive theming and decor changes continue on River Quest.




The next segment of the rock-work wall/noise barrier is flying up and already getting it's first sections of concrete spray.



A whole new structure that has apparently sprung up almost overnight?!



I honestly can't wait to see trains flying through some of these incredibly tight spaces with outstanding levels of detail!




The bridge and sides of the launch now have railings, can't say I'm overly keen on the bridge ones, however the edges of the launch looks great.



And some areas have plants... Well almost! Which means clearly some areas are now in the final stages of detailing and completion, which is fantastic to see. Gives me slight hope that it may just about make it for next June as there is clearly still a LOT of other stuff to do in terms of theming, let alone building a second coaster!

Speaking of which... Where on earth is it going? Is that new wooden structure it's station or is that yet another building that needs to be built? Also, where is Taron's queue going? Where are the area paths fitting in? I honestly can't get over how much stuff they are cramming into this space, it's crazy! Phantasialand really are the masters of immersive lands outside of Disney and Universal

This is starting to get in to "won't believe this isn't photoshopped 'til I see it for myself" territory!

There's a user called Tobi on coasterfriends.de with an incredible model of the area he keeps updating. He's included the very likely layout of the boomerang showing how it fits into the curved trench and between the lift hill and main layout of River Quest.











I don't think I've ever seen such an incredible use of space. This whole area is going to be phenomenal to be in, either on or off the rides.

Edit - this also explains the footers by River Quest's channel where it approaches the lift - these would support the boomerang lift/final hill.

The Smiler is impressive, but this blows it right out of the water!

Taron is nothing short of a masterpiece. I almost don't care how it rides now, I could just go to Phantasialand next year and enjoy staring at the whole thing!

Got to admit though, I cannot wait to see what the trains look like along with some testing.

It just shows what you can do when restrictions are almost stopping any development at all!

Fantastic. Here's hoping Intamin don't find a way to balls this up!

When do people think this will be ready in there opinion?

My gut is that they want to open it for the start of the season/Easter holidays. However I highly doubt they will annouce anything until they are 100% certain of meeting this thanks to the Chiapas fiasco.

Trying to find out when this is open, even the month would be helpful as we want to start planning flights etc to Cologne. It's more than likely going to be June we're going.

With Christmas & New Year out of the way, the project is now pressing on once more, with Phantasialand today posting images on Facebook confirming the arrival of the first commponents of 'Raik' their new 'family coaster'.

Good! Now build it, and get it all open for the start of the season please!

Rob said:

Good! Now build it, and get it all open for the start of the season please!

Click to expand...

Now now... We know what Phantasialand are like. Lets not rush them in their delicate artistic process, we want ALL the theming

Construction of Raik started today, here are a few pictures Phantasialand shared on Facebook:









Source

The comments are "funny" too, some people are saying Phantasialand would only build coasters and lose their status as a "family park", ignoring that these are the first new rollercoasters in 10 years. One can never get it right...

Oh look... Raik! They're certainly not wasting any time at all with this are they!



(Images: Phantasialand)

I look forward to finally seeing the rest of the layout

And the remains of the two spikes are now also up... And I hate to say it, they look awful!! It's certainly one way to ruin the look of River Quests refurbishment work anyway.



(Imags: Phantasialand)

It's not so much the track itself I actually feel that could look quite good, but there must surely have been a much more aesthetically pleasing way of supporting it, I know it has to straddle the River Quest trough, but that just looks messy. Some leaning supports from the side or maybe even a cantilever/fan structure like the full size boomerangs?

Interestingly the return spike also has kickers, which suggests a fairly long layout to me!