Strangest construction projects you’ve ever followed?

[Matt N]

Hi guys. Being an enthusiast gets you following many construction projects, and while many are fairly conservative in nature, there are naturally some that when they end, you find yourself thinking “wow… that was one odd project to follow” or something along those lines. So my question to you today is; what are some of the strangest construction projects you’ve ever followed in your years as an enthusiast?


I’ll get the ball rolling by talking about some of my personal candidates:

• Tempesto at Busch Gardens Williamsburg: This one was a very strange one, from what I remember. For starters, the initial leak of this happening full stop came about in a very bizarre manner (from memory, I think it was actually leaked in full through BGWFans, before any construction had occurred and even before any indication of a project had been talked about by the park), and many were absolutely enraged by the addition. But the stranger part is that Busch were remarkably cagey surrounding this addition for the majority of the time it was being built, flat out denying that they were even building a roller coaster for a large part of the construction process (I seem to remember them promoting it as a “landscaping project” whenever they were asked about it), even when track was clearly visible and rising, and to top it all off, the ride was very quietly announced a mere month before opening, at the very start of the 2015 season. I don’t know about you guys, but from my end, it almost seemed like Busch was ashamed of it as opposed to proud and excited to be building it…
• FLY/Rookburgh at Phantasialand: I can sense this might possibly go down as one of the most infamous construction projects in modern theme park history. I know that Phantasialand have always been notoriously secretive surrounding new projects, and their projects often take longer to complete than those at other parks, but this almost felt like it was on a whole new level compared to their previous ones (well, Taron/Klugheim, from my perspective). The construction process seemed to go on for ages, and I remember that on CoasterForce at least, discussion centred almost primarily around “that wall” for the best part of 2-3 years, with a detour to whether Phantasialand even had a schedule for construction every now and then. It all culminated in the area’s rather abrupt opening (I don’t think there was any advance notice whatsoever…) in September 2020, and by that point, I’d certainly ruled FLY/Rookburgh to be one of the more interesting construction projects I’d ever followed.
• Zadra at Energylandia: This one sticks out to me because I seem to remember everything happening very suddenly; Zadra may well be the quickest progression from “field” to “finished” I’ve ever seen in a large coaster project, let alone a monstrous 200ft hybrid coaster! I seem to remember that one day, they went vertical, and they were literally finished and getting ready to open a few weeks later (A few weeks might be an exaggeration, but I certainly remember it being an incredibly short period of time!)! And that was even with some of the supports blowing over during construction…
• Red Force/Ferrari Land at PortAventura World: I remember this one being strange because similarly to FLY, it seemed to take ages (even though I know it wasn’t as long), and it also sticks out to me because I remember most of the construction process was spent deriding the project, particularly Red Force, as being completely and utterly rubbish to an extent I’ve seen with few rides before and since; does anyone remember when those photos of the brake run track on Red Force made it look incredibly warped and wobbly, making everyone think it was going to be horrifically rough?
• Intamin 10-looper at Flamingo Land: I know this one isn’t technically over yet, but it’s already made itself a solid candidate for one of the strangest construction projects I’ve followed, in my opinion. I remember the initial saga of whether it was even coming, as well as the saga of tracking its journey from Malaysia, as being rather interesting to follow, and in a similar fashion to Tempesto above (although perhaps not quite to the same extent), the park seems to have barely acknowledged its existence, in spite of it being a pretty noteworthy ride for both the park and the wider UK scene (their largest coaster, a ride that will probably become their flagship ride whenever it opens, and the tallest UK coaster built full stop since 2012. If we exclude Merlin parks, it’s the tallest UK coaster outside of Merlin since Speed in 2006); the only times I ever remember the park acknowledging its existence are in a tweet subtly pointing towards it through a thinly veiled dig at Thorpe Park and in a recent interview citing it as their “new coaster that [they’re] hoping to open in 2022” that didn’t really go into too much more detail. To top it all off, COVID and the associated strife it has caused Flamingo Land seems to have made this coaster vanish off the face of the earth, with barely any updates or acknowledgement from the park; to tell you the honest truth, I often forget it’s even a thing, which is rather interesting given that it’s the most substantial UK thrill coaster to be built in some time…

But what are some of the strangest construction projects you’ve ever followed?

 

[Danny]

Thirteen was the first SW construction I followed, and easily still the strangest. The announcement of Corkscrew's retirement is what brought me to the forum in the first place, and it went from there really. The secretive nature of the drop with all the associated speculation, mixed with the bizarre marketing made for it to be quite the journey. On one hand, a family-thrill coaster-esque layout was unfolding in the woodland, whilst on the other hand, it was being represented with an over-the-top marketing strategy positioning it as the most terrifying, best ever roller coaster that did not reflect what was being built.

FLY has been perhaps the most frustrating construction I have followed for a coaster, having seen the ride being built on numerous visits spanning several years. The anticipation was just totally lost on me in the end, and I still haven't had the overwhelming urge to jump on the next flight out to Germany to ride it. A launched flying coaster was always my 'go-to' dream concept, but the leisurely pace of delivering the ride just nullified all my excitement for it.

I'm also going to throw Icon into the ring. It seemed unreal at the time watching Pleasure Beach suddenly bring to life a Mack mega that sprawls throughout a good portion of the park. A brand new, multi-million-pound coaster by a respected, quality manufacturer at the park just felt alien at the time. It may not be the coaster many of us wanted on reflection, but the whole notion of Icon as a project is just utterly bizarre; made more so by the addition of the spinning ride experience next year.

Perhaps not the strangest of coaster constructions, but following Steel Curtain's construction was certainly an experience. I remember being quite invested in watching the build of this bizarre, massive and totally unproven S&S product long before making the decision to undertake a US road trip that would include Kennywood. The STRESS of knowing there was a very clear possibility we could have missed the coaster by weeks, or even days, made the experience all the more traumatic. The coaster is certainly a strange final product regardless!

 

[rob666]

Old git here.
Steeplechase at Blackpool was my first geek erection, if you pardon the expression.
All that excavation.
All those pilings.
Massive machines all over the dead flat sand that it was before.
Thousands of people craning their necks over the fences, I was there every few weeks at the weekend, a few ride tickets cadged off mates and family, or the little freebie package of tickets off good old British Rail.
Huge dunes created with steel sticking out, then all that lovely steel, masses and masses of it.
Huge new station absolutely dominated the landscape.
Then it opened.
That looks slow and sh!t I thought.

Edit...and within a few years they proved how cruel they could be by killing the Reel.