2020: Piraten in Batavia

MattyH said:

Is there an opening date for this? Either rumoured or announced?

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CSLKenny said:

EPfans.ch has reported some news on Batavia 2020 from the Q&As held at the recent EP Fans Gathering event.
- Iconic scenes of the old ride will find their place in the new attraction, but the entire complex, including its fragrance, atmosphere and music will become more modern. Additionally some scenes will be differently arranged.
- The budget for new animatronics should be particularly interesting: It is claimed to be roughly equivalent to the total budget of the recently opened Snorri Touren dark ride.
- The ride will have the highest capacity in the park on par with Silver Star to avoid extreme queue times or the queue spilling out of the building upon re-opening.
- They are working back to front according to one poster the on and off load, and restaurant theming is well underway. The former burning city scene space remains bare concrete as theming work here as not yet started on the replacement scene.
- The restaurant and ride will open at the same time. They don't want to announce a completion date yet but a planned one exists and things are currently on schedule. Quality is being prioritised over deadlines or budget.

- Fans of the Bamboe Baai restaurant should be pleased to hear that its ambience and appearance will be similar as before; relying on Indonesian architecture and dark wood. It will have a similar capacity as before too. They can look forward to an Asian Food Market and enjoy Indonesian-style dishes. In addition, a bowl system should enable individualized dishes to be put together. Popular outdoor sales will also return, so some dishes will also be available on the go.
- The day time Chinese National Circus shows will not return; although the restaurant will still have a stage for use in the evenings as the Indonesia Malam evening event will return. The stage area will be used during the day as an expanded seating area for restaurant guests. The decision was made because places for restaurant guests were often blocked as non-eating guests took their places to see the day time shows.
- The gastronomy department's presentation also revealed that the restaurant is scheduled to open in late June / early July. Which is interesting when one considers that the separate ride project team presentation stated the restaurant would not open before the ride...

Sources

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DiogoJ42 said:

Am I right in thinking those raised sections of roof were not there before? If so, I expect the sets inside at least three scenes to be taller.

Either that, or they've installed one hell of a sprinkler system.

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Tim said:

I was also wondering about that. I believe the station did have a raised area, but not an entire floor higher.

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Islander said:

Possibly in relation to new fire regs? No idea if it applies in Germany, but I know in the UK high buildings for this kinda application are now a necessity, for example the Ninjago show building at Lego. Has to be enough 'void' above the show area for smoke to accumulate in the event of a fire, to leave the ground level moderately clear.

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Hidden corners in the shady neighborhoods of Amsterdam and lively streets in the Indonesian colonial city of Batavia. In between, tropical landscapes with waterfalls, exotic animals and hidden temple ruins. Visitors to Europa-Park will soon be able to embark on this spectacular journey again. In summer 2020, the daring pirate Bartholomeus van Robbemond, along with his loyal companion, the sweet Otter Jopie, takes adventurous guests on his quest for the magical dagger from Batavia. There was a foretaste of the long-awaited attraction on a tour with Ulla Möll, the show producer of the "Pirates in Batavia".

Armed with heavy safety shoes, the construction helmet under my arm, I meet Ulla Möll at the entrance to the attraction "Pirates in Batavia", which is currently being resurrected in the Dutch themed area. The show producer leads me into the 3,800-square-meter hall, through which boats will again drive every day from this summer. During our tour, we move within the canal, which is modeled on the course of the original ride from 1987 - left and right are busy working.

At various points, the workers apply the so-called rockwork - a special technique for authentic-looking design of stones, masonry or even entire rock walls. A great gorge quickly emerges from a bare scaffold, which will later be the gateway to 18th-century Indonesia for visitors. For rockwork, Ulla Möll and her team rely on the experienced employees of the company "Universal Rocks", who have already worked on the periphery of the "blue fire Megacoaster" or on "Jim Knopf" in Europa-Park. The experts from "Universal Rocks" were also heavily involved in the design of Rulantica and at the "Krønasår" hotel.

The traditional company “Marko Putz-Stuck-Trockenbau GmbH” is responsible for the entrance area and the tavern.
“The tavern already looks incredibly beautiful and atmospheric,” says Ulla Möll. “There will also be a preview center for visitors here. The rooms already have the flair of a quaint pub where you could make all kinds of bizarre acquaintances. "
While the shell of the building can still be seen in other corners, the scenery of the port city of Batavia already looks as if the first guests could sail through the water channel tomorrow. The Dutch company "Jora Vision" has been producing the sets piece by piece in their Amsterdam factory halls since November 2019. At the end of January, site manager David Studer, art director Pascal Heinzelmann and show producer Ulla Möll were able to inspect the individual parts for the first time during a visit to Amsterdam. Immediately afterwards, construction on site in Rust began.

"The houses in Batavia are still a bit too fresh and well-behaved, a little bit of improvement is necessary here so that the facades age authentically."
Said and done. In the following days, the port city of Batavia received a little "patina" and immediately came to life. All those involved work with great dedication and attention to detail on the large-scale project, no corner is neglected. And one thing is already certain: Visitors to Europa-Park should already be clear about setting sail! Let's go to Batavia!

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