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2019: Scandinavia & Snorri Touren

DistortAMG said:
If they are doing a recreatation , or even a partial recreation. Alot of the development time will be reduced, as they wont have to design as much.
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Plus presumably there will be an opportunity to salvage some of the civil work, it was a concrete trough, right?
 
Rick said:
Plus presumably there will be an opportunity to salvage some of the civil work, it was a concrete trough, right?
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Steel I believe. Especially in the sections after the drop. The same as other free flow boat rides and splash battles.
 
Rebuilding Batavia similar to how it was is a massive missed opportunity. Let's be frank: it was boring.

The best way to do it would be to change the layout and put extra drops or other features in. Give it a bit of pace, narrative, drama and speed like Paris Pirates. The original was dull as ditchwater past the first drop.
 
There is set to be a special meeting of the local council on Monday 6th August to give what is, in effect, planning permission for the redevelopments of Scandinavia and Holland/Pirates. This will be a public meeting, however a private meeting has already taken place and has been reported on by local paper the Badische Zeitung.

To summise:
  • Scandinvia to be complete for summer season 2019
  • Pirates to be complete for winter season 2019/20
  • Reconstruction is likely to begin as soon as demolition and clearing work is complete, although for safety reason the majority of construction will not begin until the end of the season once Fjord Rafting is closed
  • Everything will be rebuilt according to the original archived Ulrich Damrau plans, although it seems that the fire scene from Pirates will be scrapped and changed
  • The park has already replaced thousands of uniforms/costumes that were lost in the fire
A look at the site:

155004071-h-720.jpg


And a full translation of the article:

Badische Zeitung said:
Burnt-out attraction "Pirates in Batavia" could reopen in late 2019 - Rust

The reconstruction of the "Pirates in Batavia" attraction, which was completely destroyed during the major fire in Europa-Park, as well as the Norwegian thematic area, is scheduled to start in August.

The building committee of the Ruster local council will meet especially on 6th of August, in order to give the planning in public meeting its okay. Non-public was already discussed this Monday about it. Rebuilding is planned in two stages: first the Norwegian part (completion summer season 2019), then the Batavia pirates (completion for the winter season 2019/20).

To present the plans behind closed doors, the head of the construction department of Europa-Park with Thomas Renner-Boh and Armin Hänßel (project leader of "Pirates in Batavia") and park attorney Michael Thoma appeared in front of the local council. The latter also informed about the current status of the investigation into the major fire on 26 May. As before, a final report on the cause of the fire is not available, or the public prosecutor in Freiburg is oblivious to make it public, according to Thoma.

In the meantime, it could be ruled out that firefighting water contaminated by firefighting got directly into the Elz. In addition, no foam was used during the deletion, which could possibly have caused a burden in the wastewater sector. Also contaminated soil was not incurred. This is the result of two appraisals, so Michael Thoma on a BZ request.

The reconstruction of the approximately 12,000 square meter site, which is the size of just under two football fields, could be carried out immediately after the removal of around 10,000 cubic meters of reinforced concrete from the demolition of the destroyed buildings.

The entire complex would be covered by insurance, so that the Europa-Park would only incur rebuilding costs due to new requirements for fire protection and new technology such as the ride or the scenic depictions. An indicator for the amount of damage caused by the fire was not mentioned by the attorney. Thoma: "It's not fully determined yet - calling a number would be frivolous and pure speculation." That the damage in the tens of millions moves but is indisputable, so Thoma.

This month, the last remnants of the rubble field will be eliminated, which will be under the direction of the insurance company. Then the reconstruction will begin immediately, according to Thoma. The plans for the buildings have been transferred to the Europa-Park by the general architect Archis-Architekten from Karlsruhe, who has already implemented the two hotels Bell Rock and Krønasår. The Karlsruhe office is preparing for a complete rebuilding of the two thematic areas, explained the representatives of the Europa-Park in front of the local council, which was confirmed by BZ at the request of the BZ.

Both the Norwegian theme area and the Batavia pirates will be rebuilt according to the archived plans of Ulrich Damrau, who is considered the architect of the European theme park in Europa-Park and died in 2007. "Only the scenic representation of the Batavia pirates, when it comes to a city fire, it will not go in the new train, which is no longer after this fire," revealed Thoma.

The reconstruction is to be implemented in two phases. Already in August, the project "Norway" is to be started. The main construction phase will then be after the summer season, when the Fjord rafting train is shut down. Thoma: "That has to be for reasons of safety, because the construction area is directly adjacent to the water channel."

The house front in "Norway" is said to be the same and destroyed by the fire in every detail. Almost at the same time, the significant reconstruction of the Batavia pirates will begin. Through Norway, visitors to Europa-Park can stroll back to the summer season of 2019, with a ride through Batavia it could possibly work for the winter season 2019/2020, said Thoma.

Meanwhile, far from Batavia and Norway, the damage of the large fire are being worked up. As you know, the fire has also destroyed the clothing store of Europa-Park employees. Thousands of service clothes of the park staff were burnt at the end of May. These are already recovered.

The daily clothes are still in a tent. The park will be erecting a container village on an open space east of the driveway to the visitor parking lot between Euromaus roundabout and driveway parking lot as a clothes issue for the 3500 employees until a new building is erected. The local council agreed to the construction of this "flying construction".
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If they get Pirates re-opened for the 2019/20 winter season then my lord, that would be quite an achievement. I think that is an overly ambitious target.

:)
 
Europa is a park operated with dedication and determination and I have full faith they will do a top job.

The reopening of Scandanavia next Summer sounds realistic and am glad the area will be very similar (if not almost identical to the original). I do wonder what the former space of Vineta will be occupied by though? An expansion to shops/restaurants, a different attraction or greater space for crowd handling/safety/layout.

I do wander what updates will be taken on though to ensure the new area is more fire resistant and better prepared in the future?

Getting The New Pirates In Batavia back for the end of 2019/early 2020 is highly ambititious, but not impossible and I’m sure they’ll work hard there for that. The fire absence is understandable (given what’s happened), however I wonder what they’ll substitute it for?

I’m not sure how true it is that I heard Fjord May close after Summer to allow rebuilding of the area, but we shall have to see.
 
Based on the large wave I can see on Fjord Rafting would I be correct in saying the wave machine is still running! How on earth did that survive when everything around it’s been reduced to rubel.

Can anyone that’s been on it confirm this?
 
Tim said:
Based on the large wave I can see on Fjord Rafting would I be correct in saying the wave machine is still running! How on earth did that survive when everything around it’s been reduced to rubel.

Can anyone that’s been on it confirm this?
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I have not been since the fire, but yes, that wave machine is indeed working!

:)
 
Having just ridden Voletarium for the first time I've been looking back at the Adventures Club of Europes Website and noticed something really interesting.

The last Expedition article (and according to the video the most valuable find which founded the institution) is the Magic dagger of Batavia. Or as it's refereed to... the Fire Tiger.

Initially I thought that they had deliberately updated the site to include the Batavia content after it was destroyed, but I've checked the video and it is dated June 2017. I really hope this story is woven into the new Batavia.
 
Those photos make you realise what a truly massive site that it is! Can't wait to see construction progress.

:)
 
Not sure on Looopings' source, presumably this comes from speaking with EP staff at EAS today in Amsterdam.


The new Piraten will use the same ride system, there will be some little tweaks and a different take of the same story with animatronics and media content being used. It will not open before mid 2020.


EDIT: Michael Mack has confirmed in this interview that Piraten will reopen in the 2020 season.
 
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Mid 2020 sounds much more realistic than the 2019-20 winter season! The same ride but updated also sounda about right, I suspect we'll see further integration with the Adventure Club of Europe.

:)
 
Europa Park Newsletter has revealed the first bit of new concept art for Batavia.
"modern technology will bring new life to the habour and its pirates"

One major difference in new exterior is a large 'Adventure Club of Europe' stained glass window above the Piraten sign.
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9536643d1538023254-2020-neuheit-ersatz-fuer-abgebrannte-piraten-batavia-europa-park-screenshot_20180927-062929_samsung-internet.jpg

The article mentions that rather than exactly recreate the old figures they will use new modern technology, and the new Piraten will feature 100 animatronic figures.
 
That updated facade looks brilliant, an improvement on the original!

:)
 
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