Hansa-Park: General Discussion

[AstroDan]

Hansa-Park are adding a new small coaster for 2016 near to Novgorod. The ride will be themed to the usual high standards that the park are known for. They are also adding a Waveswinger, and of course - Karnan is getting themed.

However, all this is at the expense of two rides. One - the starflyer - I doubt anyone will miss. It was themeless and didn't look great. However, the classic Schwarzkopf Superbob (kind of like a doube bayerncurve) is being removed as they cannot get parts for it anymore... sad times.

 

[Rob]

Here is a piece of artwork for the new kids coaster:

How lovely!

Meanwhile, a look at how the theming of Karnan is progressing:

I'm looking forward to seeing how the tower turns out once fully themed.

 

[toofpikk]

Can you reupload those pictures Rob? I can't see them

 

[AstroDan]

It seems that we have missed Hansa-Park's efforts so far to document the theming of the ride in their own, fantastic, ridiculously over-detailed way! They have been doing the videos since the start of the closed season, in preparation for Karnan's secrets to be revealed! Just like for Novgorod all those years back... we have these videos:

Golden Karnan (prologue):


KARNAN Museum TV: Episode 1


KARNAN Museum TV: Episode 2


Very few parks would go to such depths.

 

[TheMan]

Theme is happening.

Plastering of "clinker bricks"

Detailing is showing huge promise:

Some large pieces being set to render:

Full set here: http://www.kärnan.de/en/building-blog/images/

Can't help but be impressed so far, if this detail goes into the Tower, for such a huge coaster, that will look stunning.

Pity IMO the supports of the extended ride are so messy, if they could just theme those (big ask) would make a huge difference.

(EDIT: No idea why the images aren't showing)

 

[AstroDan]

The oath of Karnan:

Eons ago on a dark and moonless night in November, the old King of Denmark died an untimely death, stabbed by his closest confidants while hunting. He was succeeded on the throne by his son Erik, who was a mere 12 years old when he was crowned and began to rule over his father’s kingdom.

Erik swore his coronation oath -- and every oath thereafter during his reign-- “by all the holy men” -- ved alle hellige maend -- which earned him the name “Erik Menved”.

King Erik lived in tumultuous times. His father’s slayers had been banished. They became pirates who terrorized the coastal towns and villages of Denmark. They frightened the residents who feared for their homes and lives. But the young king was oblivious to the problems and worries of his subjects. Instead, he spent his time hosting costly and pompous tournaments and dreaming of conquering faraway countries.

Soon the King’s coffers began to run low as Erik sank deeper into his new lifestyle. He held even more costly tournaments than any king before him. When his funds were almost exhausted, he raised taxes and pledged parts of his kingdom to the nobles of other countries.

Then a famine broke out in Denmark, but the wasteful King refused to lower taxes. Instead, he had all uprisings put down and the rebellious peasants hanged in front of the city gates. He expected it to be a deterrent, but the nobles joined forces with the peasants and turned against the King. It was a massive rebellion, and King Erik was able to suppress it only with the help of foreign mercenaries.

Instead of acknowledging his errors, Erik felt threatened by his subjects and the neighboring kingdoms. He convened his court and proclaimed:

“Our enemies are lurking in the shadows and beyond our borders, but we will build a castle for ourselves and for Denmark -- a fortress so strong that our enemies will never be able to invade and destroy it! We swear, by all the holy men.”

The King summoned his old and wise master builder and entrusted him with the monumental task of building an invincible castle. The builder retreated to his chambers and remained there many months drawing plans for an enormous structure with a strong outer ring wall, a moat and drawbridge, countless defense works, and a king’s tower (“the keep”) larger and more majestic than the country had ever seen.

Inside the castle he planned for a splendid great hall for receptions, cozy private rooms, as well as spacious pantries and a deep well to ensure there would always be enough water and food for the castle inhabitants in the event of a siege. His life depended on it.

The crown jewel of the plan, however, was a cleverly thought out system of secret passageways in the walls of the fortress and a complex emergency system that would help the royal family escape, if need be.

When he saw the drawings, Erik Menved immediately realized his dream of becoming invincible was suddenly within his grasp. He ordered the construction of KÄRNAN to begin immediately.

The old master builder had seen many a king come and come during his long life -- both benevolent and cruel. But he had never experienced a king who placed his own well-being as far above that of his starving subjects as King Erik Menved did. While construction was progressing, the old man pondered how he could help the people of Denmark without breaking his oath to build an invincible fortress for the kingdom.

One night, while watching the inebriated King and his advisors playing dice and betting their riches, the master builder suddenly knew what to do. He hurried down to his archives and searched through the writings of his predecessors. He was looking for a special magic formula that would protect the tower while at the same time punishing the King for his cruelty and keeping him away from his people.

After seven years the tower was completed. The master builder stepped before Erik and said, “My King, the construction you ordered has been completed. The kingdom now has a fortress that is most likely unconquerable: KARNAN.”

King Erik Menved’s face froze. He fixed the master builder with a piercing stare. “Most likely unconquerable? Have I not publicly sworn and ordered you, under the penalty of death, to build a tower that is invincible forever and ever?”

“Yes, my Ruler, you certainly did. And this castle is more secure and stronger than any fortress ever built. Yet I do not dare mention a dangerous thing such as a protective spell in your presence.”

“Tell me about this protective spell that you have not mentioned to me,” the King demanded. “Would it make KÄRNAN invincible?”

“Yes, my King, that it would. But I must warn you: the old scriptures are a dangerous game. Their impact is high, but the price to pay may be higher still.” And he pulled out from his bag a large roll of parchment and carefully held it up. It was inscribed:

“Once read out loud, a powerful spell will be cast over the tower that will hit all those who intend to attack, threaten, or approach KÄRNAN with the air to conquer it. The spell will destroy them. My King, though this magic formula would make the fortress invincible, it comes with a high price!”

Greedily, King Erik Menved wrested the scroll from the canny old master builder. “I will pay it. I shall raise the taxes,” the King said. Little did he know that he would have to pay a much higher price when he, blinded by the prospect of power, uttered, “I will take the risk -- by all the holy men!”

He quickly unrolled the parchment and spoke the age-old magic formula to protect the tower. But with every word he spoke, it was as if a piece of his innermost soul was torn from him and flung towards the tower, penetrating its walls and sinking deep down to its core where the spell unfolded.

The King had hardly finished speaking when he looked as if he had aged by twenty or thirty years. His skin had become wrinkled and ashen, his glance unsteady and empty.

King Erik Menved died soon afterwards, but in death he had fulfilled his oath and given the kingdom an unconquerable fortress.

From then on, the design of the castle and the power of the spell protected KÄRNAN from all attacks and dangers. No army was able to conquer it. No enemy ever invaded it, and all those who tried met with misfortune and death.

The King, however, forced to protect KÄRNAN forever by the clever trick of the master builder, will find salvation only by an act of kindness he had never shown while still alive.

 

[hazbriz]

Can anyone confirm whether the theming for Karnan is in place for the beginning of the season? first day reviews? or will it be added DURING the 2016 season!

 

[Dar]

The queue is themed, along with the inside of the ride, but the outside of the tower is going to have to wait until next closed season

 

[hazbriz]

Thats exciting - I suppose the ride experience is the important part.
Hope to get to this park soon finally.

 

[Danny]

Visited Hansa Park last week and had the chance to experience its delights, ranging from the weird and wonderful such as De Glocke, through to the beautifully executed Fluch von Novgorod and of course, the park's new symbol - Karnan.

Karnan is one of the most bizarre rides I've ever experienced. It's a combination of so many different varieties thrown together; an intimidating yet intriguing being of height, an enjoyable and radically different "secret" element, before rampaging into an all out, intensive speed machine.

Given that the theming is disappointingly still yet to be complete, from a whole experience perspective the ride is nowhere near finished. The saddening prospect is that for the ride to be mindblowingly good, it's going to rely on what is yet to come next year.

The Karnan experience begins before you even set foot in the park, with its colossal concrete tower leaving much of the park in its shadow. The ride itself looks utterly ridiculous from offride, particularly its incomprehensible support structure on the ride's main exterior butterfly element.

Such concrete. Much wow.

Once in the main bulk of the queue line, the promises of a bright future for the ride begin with the intricate and deeply thought out backstory videos, depicting the story of a king with a hellbent vision on designing a terrifying, impenetrable fortress. As the queue progress onto the interior section, the detailing transitions from excellent to almost astounding. Even the storage of loose belongings is seamlessly weaved into the story.

With the station and boarding experience just around the corner, Karnan has yet another magical trick up its sleeve. Riders are batched into four rows inside a beautifully themed rounded room, under the false impression of their location on the train. However the ride disregards this, bestowing a cute lighting sequence that wraps its way around the room, evoking a sense of mystery. The floor underneath your feet illuminates your row, before one of the four doors ahead of you opens. This sequence is entirely random, meaning there is absolutely no way of guaranteeing where you'll be sat. On the rare occasion, the rows sync up perfectly much like our first ride. On the repeat rides however, the sequences failed to match up with the doors ahead, leading us to random rows and heightening the sense of anticipation to a front or back row ride.

Once through the doors and onto the station platform, the dark and mysterious theming continues, luring you onto the train. Frustratingly however, the negatives of the ride and somewhat part of Hansa Park's operations begin at this point. Glasses wearers, even with sturdy straps are deprived of their eyewear with the park's forceful guideline on no glasses at all on the park's more intense coasters, regardless of how excellent the strap is. The rule can be disregarded providing you pop your eyewear back on once the ride has been dispatched, but on Karnan this is no easy feat. Once off the platform it commences the ride with an unexpected bunny hop, which is followed bizarrely by a sudden braking and transition into the lift hill. Why the bunny hop is there is an odd thought, as it detracts from the experience rather than adds to it, neutralising what would possibly be better as a straight section of track with a well themed onboard pre show. I hope something is done along those lines next year, but I imagine all the efforts will be diverted to what follows next.

The ascent to the top of the tower is the bog standard expectation from a vertical climbing Gerst coaster, made all the more terrifying by a loose lap bar which can lead to you sliding slightly from the inclined seats. Sadly on the front row, the sensors partially light the way and remove any sense of anticipation as to when the ascent will end, but it does highlight just exactly how tall the tower is. The agonising wait at the top is currently not assisted by the lack of theming, but I have full faith this will be rectified next year.

Then there's Karnan's unique element - the reverse freefall drop. Not as punchy as anticipated, but enjoyable nonetheless. It's a similar experience to drop towers boasting the larger gondolas, going for the floaty and slower falls rather than attempting to slam you to the ground at ridiculous rates. Following this is another agonising wait as the lift hill catches back up with the train before the second ascent to the top. This time you're rewarded with the sensation of being dragged over the top, and everything that follows...

A bat sh*t crazy drop with a 90 degree twist half way down, the concrete walls rushing past and the natural sunlight from outside creeping in through the exit hole. The level out and following transition are tight, the train roaring out into the world like an escaped and enraged beast. The non-inverted butterfly loop should be the perfect break up from the relentless rush down from the top of the tower, but is tarnished only slightly by the slightest of shuffles.

Then Karnan changes its tones radically, proceeding from an intimidating horror of height to a seething monster of speed, sticking close to the ground whilst thrashing around at a remarkable speed. The lack of OTSR leaves riders being flung around in a terrifying yet nefariously enjoyable manner, jarred slightly by the wicked transitions and noticeable famed Gerst shuffle. The occasional pop of airtime is well composed into the layout whilst the immense speed is maintained, heightened by the proximity to terra firma.

The outside rampaging around thankfully doesn't outstay its welcome, before heading back to the station with one final delightful pop of airtime and onto the brake run. Before Karnan bids you farewell however, it escorts you back inside with a barrel roll, intent on having an inversion to its name as your head narrowly misses the jarring warehouse surroundings. Theming in here will be crucial next year, otherwise it is guaranteed to leave a sour taste to the monstrous experience you've just been put through. The ride is finished with the ORP, situated at the most bizarre spot on the ride's layout as possible. Perhaps not quite as ridiculous as Dwervelwind's ORP placement, but the tactic of attempting to capture guest's post ride elation is not always guaranteed to pay off.

After numerous re-rides throughout the day, Karnan failed to make a sufficient mark on my coaster rankings. It is a superb ride in the grand scheme of things, but Hansa's vision of the ride being an overall experience is yet to be delivered. Its mishmash of being a towering structure with a unique element through to a speed driven charge around the landscape leaves me with mixed feelings, paired with Gerst's usual failings when designing a coaster. The ride's tech of course wouldn't have been possible without them, but then the following coaster is tarnished as a saddening consequence. It is the perfect definition of a balls to the wall ride and a bold statement by Hansa Park, but sadly it fails to come out on top of its neighbouring cousin in the form of Novgorod.

The completion of the theming next year will almost certainly clinch the ride a higher rating in my rankings on an experience basis, but the unforgettable Gerst faults within the layout put a disappointing dampener on what is unarguably the most ridiculous roller coaster I've experienced thus far.

 

[Rob]

The new kids coaster at Hansa Park is now not opening until 2017.

Meanwhile, theming on Karnan's massive tower is progressing nicely:

Source

Incredible detail!

 

[AstroDan]

I need more Karnan in my life.

 

[Sammy]

Screamscape are reporting today on changes and improvements being made to Karnan, you know, that coaster that wasn't crazy enough already!

It has been confirmed to a German fan site, that not only are the park finishing off the story to the ride but they also intend to improve the reverse freefall element to make it even more scary. Apparently the freefall currently drops at around 5 m/sec but they want to ramp that up to 11 m/sec!!

Crazy stuff. I need to get myself to Hansa Park

 

[Rob]

Holy cows! The lift drop sounds mad enough as it is, increasing the speed it drops at would be quite something.

 

[AstroDan]

That ride <3

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

[Danny]

It's already the definition of balls to the wall, and yet they want to push it further? Christ.

 

[Rob]

Here's a look at Karnan's tower:

Source

Pretty impressive!

 

[DiogoJ42]

Impressive due to the scale of it, but it's still ugly.

 

[CSLKenny]

Some views of the completed tower.

 

[Danny]

A little bland from the front but the detailing on the sides looks great. I look forward to seeing it in the flesh on an inevitable return visit.