[20XX] Euro Mir 2.0

[Tim]

I'm fresh off a trip to Europa, and Mir was the only ride I came off feeling a little queasy and that I didn't want to ride again.
I love it for its quirkiness but its definitely getting rougher than it was 10 years ago.

 

[Matt N]

One question I have is; if they did go CanCan-style and completely renovate Euro Mir, would it likely become an XTREME Spinning Coaster (RTH/Time Traveler) or a regular Spinning Coaster (Storm Chaser/D’wervelwind)? Or would it be something else entirely?

I know that EM currently uses the family spinning coaster trains, but I ask about whether it could possibly become an XTREME Spinning Coaster because it’s a fair bit bigger, faster and arguably more intense than the other family Mack spinners, and it also has a 130cm height restriction, which suggests that Europa view it as more of a thrill coaster than the typical Mack family spinner (Storm Chaser’s height restriction is only 1m, and I know other Mack spinners don’t tend to go any higher than 42” (107cm)… so EM being 130cm seems a bit odd).

To me, Euro Mir currently seems like an interesting halfway house between family spinning coaster and XTREME Spinning Coaster… it has the train style and on-paper layout style of a family spinning coaster, but it has stats and intensity that could well be befitting of an XTREME Spinning Coaster.

 

[Dave]

Well Silver Star barely ever gets 45 minute queues. What is the point here? Europa-Park is hardly a a queue-length hell.

They will re-work Euro-Mir, of course they will, but not because a few folk think it's a bit painful on their knees. The ride was built by Franz Mack - this will give it a level of protection against being bulldozed - even if a loud minority want it to be.

Eurosat was a Franz creation and they cut out a whole chunk of the layout for that refurb. I’m not convinced they are that sentimental.

I suspect the Towers will remain and the layout won’t change much, but then it doesn’t need much change as it’s not the layout that is the issue it’s the profiling.

 

[Tim]

My gut instinct is that it would be a hybrid between the 2 spinning ride types.
I can see them wanting to be faithful to some of the original ride elements. Keeping the lift hill, the towers and the general shape of the swooping drops. But the controlled spinning would almost certainly be replaced and It seems more likely they'd use the Xtreme Spinning Coaster trains so they still have some control and can perform some tighter and more interesting manoeuvres.
However In the parks line-up I don't think they see Mir as one of the big 3 (soon to be 4). Like Sat I imagine they'll be aiming for a mid-thrill step-up coaster. So I'm not sure they'd add inverting elements or anything that could put off people that aren't ready for the headline coasters.
Not unless they open a Mir equivalent somewhere else in the park first.

 

[Rob]

I'm far from Euro Mir's biggest fan but I'll be sad to see it go when that time does come. It's somewhat of a Europa-Park icon and a very unique coaster. I have no doubts that certain elements of it will be retained in the replacement, such as the spinning trains and maybe even the spiral lift. I hope they keep the track at the top also, I always find it really quite fun and love a good view.

Thematically it does stand out now and fall below EP's new standards, and I do think they'll want to address that.

Either way, I can't wait to ride it this winter and be able to view Voltron construction!

 

[CSLKenny]

Not much to report other than the rebuild plans are sitting finished waiting and ready, but the Alpenexpress fire potentially may be postponing things again.

Euro-Mir, the spinning coaster of Europa-Park, needs to be replaced. 26 years after the opening, the technical condition of the rollercoaster leaves much to be desired, insiders report to Looopings. However, the German amusement park does not intend to lose the classic attraction in the Russian theme area.

There have been plans for years to tear down the attraction and rebuild it in more or less the same form, using new materials. Due to circumstances, Europa-Park had to postpone the extensive job several times. In 2018, a major fire caused other projects to take priority. Then came the corona crisis.

The 2022 season was all about adjusting the problematic Dschungel-Floßfahrt. A gigantic new roller coaster is currently being built right next to Euro-Mir, which should be completed in 2024. At the same time, work is underway to restore the Alpenexpress and Tiroler Wildwasserbahn attractions after a major fire in June 2023.


This again complicates the plans for the renovation of Euro-Mir. Internally, however, it is clear that something will have to be done within a few years, because the coaster functions less and less smoothly. The end of the lifespan is in sight, those involved know.

Euro-Mir opened in 1997. The attraction is characterized by several large towers with reflective plates. In the largest tower there is a 28 meter high spiral elevator. Trains circle around the tops of several towers at a leisurely pace. This is followed by a rough course with descents, hills and bends.

Source

 

[venny]

Whilst it would be a shame to lose the unique layout and aesthetic of EuroMir, it really doesn’t fit in with either the rest of a Russia, nor the park’s overall direction. I really hope we see a significantly reworked attraction and sentimentality doesn’t get in the way of delivering the best ride; I fear it might.

As for the timeline, I think the only other things we know about are completion of Voltron and then whatever phase 2 of Croatia may involve, along with the fire rebuild. If those additions (outside phase 2) are to be complete for next year, could we see Mir be the project for 2025 opening? I’d imagine they’d want to do something spectacular for the 50th, although I’m not sure a Mir redo alone fits that bill.

 

[Funcone]

I know the Russian area isn't in any way a tribute to Putin or the current politicians there, but I'd still think they might hold off on any developments for that area of the park.

 

[venny]

I understand the point, but that leaves them in unacceptable and indefinite limbo, in what is a clear area of focus for renovation. One would imagine they’d be able to sensitively separate the country from the regime in any update they implement.

 

[Poisson]

A lot of it seems to be Russia pre Communism and then you have MIR in the middle as the flag bearer of a much later side of USSR Russia. Apart from serving in the KGB, Putin is much later than any of the other bits and only connected by being the same country.

 

[Sam]

I really don't think they give a toss about any perceived links with Putin to be honest.

There's this weird myth on this site, put about by people who personally don't like it, that Mir is an unpopular ride.

As has already been pointed out, it often gets 40-minute queues despite its immense capacity and miserable queue-line. People whoop and holler all the way up the lift-hill. The station is a never-ending party. It is the only ride at EP that could genuinely be described as a cult classic.

If you give weight to factors including its relatively age and lack of novelty appeal compared to other headliners, you could even make a case that it's the most popular ride in the park (adjusted for those factors).

Aside from a handful of enthusiasts who now seem to expect every rollercoaster to be as smooth as a massage, it's simply not true that it's disliked. The public love it.

 

[venny]

A large queue in the morning isn’t a measure of whether people enjoy their ride on Mir. The ride regularly has a much shorter queue in the afternoon relative to the park’s other rides. Whilst Wodan, Blue Fire, Eurosat, Silver Star, Arthur etc maintain their popularity throughout the day, EuroMir’s wait time often drops. Its availability on Virtual Line was/is also often pretty abundant in comparison to the other coasters. What this appears to represent is people seeing what is a visually appealing ride in a prominent position, queueing for it, then not re-riding based on their first experience.

If it’s so well loved, surely the ride’s wait times and Virtual Line availability would be more in line with comparable attractions.

 

[Dave]

Mir doesn’t have an astronomical throughput, it’s around 1300 an hour which is good don’t get me wrong (top tier for a park like Towers where only Nemesis as standard and Oblivion and Th13teen on a good day get close) but nothing like silverstar, and as pointed out it often has lower queue times in the afternoon unlike many of the other coasters. Some of that can be attributed to its geography and the fact guests have moved deeper into the park in the afternoon but Silvia still gets hefty queues all day and that’s right near the entrance.

It certainly has some iconic status due to its age but like Nemesis sometimes you have to decide enough is enough and at minimum retrack to modern standards even if you don’t reimagine (I think a retrack and refresh would be fine, they don’t need a completely new coaster).

I doubt they will worry about the russia links, Germans are far more pragmatic about Russia and you can easily make a separation between the culture and the government.

 

[Llama]

I like coasters but would consider myself more of a dark ride enthusiast than a coaster one, and I have no opinion on how generally popular Euro Mir is, but I do think it's showing its age more than any of the other big thrill attractions at EP. The queue, the music, the lift hill, and especially the very rough second half are all pretty dated next to the rest of the coaster lineup. I think the roughness is especially noticeable as well because of the very upright seats on the cars, and the fact that you might ride the second half of the coaster facing backwards, which makes it a lot more difficult to brace for upcoming turns and so on.

That said, I would be very happy with just a bit of a modern refresh, keeping the general idea the same. The middle part with the wild mouse section at the top of the mirror towers is an iconic EP experience.

 

[Tim]

What doesn't help Mir is that there's a very obvious replacement that could easily take its place, and is better in every way. Mack's Extreme Spinners are receiving universal acclaim. Smooth, intense, completely different with every ride.
Just rebuilding Mir seems like a wasted opportunity by comparison.

I don't hate Mir. I actually love the retro feel mixed with the catchy Euro-pop and simply bizarre ride experience.
But on my last trip I only did it once and stepped off feeling slightly worse for wears. It's clear the ride is reaching the end of its life, and unlike Nemesis and Eurosat I don't think the layout itself is good enough to justify a straight up rebuild.

 

[Funcone]

I understand the point, but that leaves them in unacceptable and indefinite limbo, in what is a clear area of focus for renovation. One would imagine they’d be able to sensitively separate the country from the regime in any update they implement.

I hear what you’re saying, but it’s not like they’d just be twiddling their thumbs waiting for the war to end so they can get on with revamping the Russian area. It sounds like there are plenty of other projects for them to be working on.

• It seems that Josefina’s was scaled down, possibly because budgets were prioritized for other things. It might make sense to go back and finish that to the original plans before embarking on a Russia revamp, although I can see that doing a third phase of the attraction might be harder to market, given that they’ve already marketed the first two phases.
• It sounds like there’s a second phase of the Croatia area planned.
• Following the fire there’s now another big area of the park to rebuild. Insurance might pay for some it, but it seems unlikely it’ll cover the full cost of whatever they end up doing with the site.
• Given that they’ve had two major fires, they might want to spend money on fire prevention systems and replacing some of the more flammable older materials.
• It’s been discussed on here that they might be planning to put a new film in Voletarium.
• I know it’s not been that long since the last hotel, but at some point they’re going to want to do another hotel.
• There’s the plans for a monorail linking the two sites on each side of Rust.
• Euro Mir might be a bit rough, but I’d say that the Swiss Bob is rougher. I’m not sure how easy that would be to fix, but a revamp of the bobsled if that’s technically possible might be a better use of money

I know a revamp of Euro Mir or the Russia area wouldn’t be an endorsement of Putin, but if I were them I’d just concentrate on their other plans.

 

[CSLKenny]

One of the rumours circulating is the Tüv have warned they won’t be renewing Mir’s license to operate for many more years; putting pressure on the park to sort it quickly.

 

[Poisson]

Is it really structurally dangerous? Can't see the Tuv not renewing for a bit of an unpleasant ride, if that was the case Scheisse Bobbehan would have closed a while back.

 

[Dave]

Is it really structurally dangerous? Can't see the Tuv not renewing for a bit of an unpleasant ride, if that was the case Scheisse Bobbehan would have closed a while back.

It’s a rumour so no guarantees this is the case but they could potentially have issues with metal fatigue. That doesn’t mean it’s dangerous, the whole point of a regulator like the TUV is to require that action is taken before you get to that point.

 

[Sam]

Is it really structurally dangerous? Can't see the Tuv not renewing for a bit of an unpleasant ride, if that was the case Scheisse Bobbehan would have closed a while back.

Euro Mir might be a bit rough, but I’d say that the Swiss Bob is rougher. I’m not sure how easy that would be to fix, but a revamp of the bobsled if that’s technically possible might be a better use of money

Is Bobbahn rough...? It's boring, granted, but I've never heard anyone describe it as rough.

Don't know if those rides can actually be any smoother, anyway. The three I've been on feel exactly the same.