Mondial’s latest park deliveries
The Dutch ride builder Mondial recently completed two new Splash Over attractions. The 40-seater rides are built to the company’s usual sturdy specifications and incorporate a number of unique features. Park World visits the Mondial premises near Heerenveen in northern Holland to bring you these exclusive shots.
Regularly featured in Mondial publicity material, the Splash Over first appeared as the Riptide in 2002 at Canada’s Wonderland near Toronto, where it is billed as a “swing ride with attitude and altitude.”
Though similar to a Top Spin attraction, the ride differs in a number of ways. The most noticeable feature is that the Splash Over features two separate gondolas, separated by a fork. Each of these 20-person gondolas is free to flip through 360 degrees as the main arm turns at 9 rpm and 14.6 metres high. A suspended seat configuration is also available. As each gondola also features its own mini counter balance, this reduces a lot of the wear and tear on the arms and bearings.
A brake allows the operator to lock the gondolas at any point, and then release them again for maximum impact. As on many Top Spin installations, a fountain is included (provided as part of the package by Mondial) so that riders can be teased with water throughout their ride. As well as the obvious “show” this presents to spectators, the attraction also offers a certain amount of interaction between the passengers thanks to the double gondola configuration, not to mention a certain amount of disorientation.
Both the ride you see here and a previous Splash Over finished in green and orange are now in China. The names of the venues cannot be revealed at present, but they are both new parks. The rides are the first Mondial attractions to be sold directly to China, although the company is promising other deliveries for Asia in general.
Sales manager Theo van Zweiten reckons flat rides such as this make a good choice for park operators in the current financial climate. “You cannot afford to invest in a new coaster every year and flat rides typically cost 25-30% of the price,” he says.
As with all its other rides, Mondial promises an efficient parts service, keeping many of the essential components in stock at its factory. “You cannot underestimate how important it is to get the parts you need quickly if there is a breakdown,” concludes van Zweiten, “but this is not always the case with some manufacturers.”
