The 2012 season will be a big one for Germany’s largest theme park, with the debut of a fourth hotel and the venue’s first ever wooden rollercoaster.
Bell Rock, the first hotel at Europa-Park not to feature a European theme, will have a New England flavour, and is set to open its doors next summer. At the start of the season, however, guests will be able to check out the park’s latest rollercoaster, over 1km long. The ride will be the 11th coaster for the Black Forest park, but the first made of wood.
The spectacular new attraction will be constructed by Great Coasters International (GCI) in the Iceland area of the park. Up to 26 carpenters will work on the ride, the name of which has not yet been revealed. The wood used will come mainly from sustainable German forests. Occupying a 1.6-hectare site, the ride will feature 1,050-metres of track and a highest point of 35-metres. Riders will race along at up to 100km/h, experiencing maximal vertical acceleration up to 3.5 G.
Riders are promised heart-pounding sequences, tight bends and plenty of airtime during the ride, which will cross over two of the park’s exsiting attractions. A minium rider height of 1.2-metres means it will be suitable fot a wide range of park guests, in keeping with Europa-Park’s family-friendly philosophy.
Photo caption: Roland, Michael, Thomas and Jürgen Mack symbolically start construction work on the new coaster
