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ADVENTURE ISLAND (UK)

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

ADVENTURE WONDERLAND (UK)

2009/2010 - New Ride - Rumor - (5/7/08) Today we have confirmation that Adventure Wonderland did receive permission to build a new “junior raft ride” though we’ve been told that the actual ride will be a log flume.

ADVENTURE WORLD (Australia)

Park News - (7/21/08) ThemeParkNewsDirect has posted an interview with the marketing manager of Adventure World to talk about their possible future plans and developments for the park.

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

BAYERN PARK (Germany)

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

BEIJING SHIJINGSHAN Amusement Park (China)

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

BELANTIS (Germany)

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

BELLEWAERDE PARK (Belgium)
Compagnie des Alpes (CDA)

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

BETO CARRERO WORLD (Brazil)

2009 - Firewhip - (10/29/08) Beta Carrero World has now named their new Vekoma SLC coaster Firewhip, in honor of the park’s founder Beto Carrero, known for his cowboy whip performances. The park also sent out concept artwork showing off the new themed bridges and artwork out front with the ride’s name that you can see here.
  (10/9/08) The new Vekoma SLC is now fully built at Beto Carrero World as you can see in the photo that was sent in. The last piece of track was put in place just before the end of September and the new paint job looks great. From what I’ve been told the park is now busy finishing up the rehab on the trains and plans to landscape the area under the ride with large rocks to create an artificial waterfall and lake. A few more pictures of the coaster have also been posted to Theme Park Review.
  (7/28/08) Check out this link to see pictures of the tracks for the imported Japanese Vekoma SLC (Blackout) freshly unloaded right off the boat before being shipping off to Beto Carrero World. If all goes well they will repaint the ride as soon as possible and hope to get it up and running by December. I’ve been told that we can also expect to see the refurbished Schwarzkopf Jet Star II coaster installed before the end of 2009 as well as a used Zamperla Galaxi.
  (6/25/08) A construction update from Beto Carrero World can be seen here showing off the construction of their new Vekoma SLC coaster, formerly known as Blackout from Suzuka Circuit in Japan.

2009/2010 - New Coaster and Animal Park - (12/24/07) Sources tell us that the new animal park now isn’t scheduled to open until 2009 or later.
  (12/21/07) Beto Carrero World is working on refurbishing a used Galaxi coaster that they expect to open sometime in late 2008.
  (7/27/06) The park is building a second park to add to the mix with an animal theme called Aventura Selvagem.

BILLY BIRD Amusement Park (Netherlands)

2009 - Tube Coaster - Under Construction - (4/29/09) From what I’ve been told the new coaster will have a somewhat unique feature when it opens. Like the first Tube Coaster in Germany, only the car will get pulled up the lift hill, allowing the riders to get on at the top and ride it to the bottom where they will get off. The odd thing here however is just how the coaster car will get pulled back to the top of the lift. Instead of a powered lift hill, apparently the lift on this coaster will be human powered, as riders are asked to power a series of exercise machines that will haul the car to the top of the hill.
  (4/27/09) A small Dutch park called Billy Bird Park has started construction on a new coaster ride from ABC Engineering, which is actually one of their new “Tube Coaster” designs. You can see more about it at the official park page, while you can see pictures of the first Tube Coaster that opened just last season in Germany (named Flotte Biene) at RCDB.

CAMELOT (UK)

Park News - (4/1/09) Camelot has been saved… and is now on track to reopen on May 23rd according to a news article reposted to UK Rides. The article claims that The Story Group bought the park and then leased it to the newly formed “Knights Leisure” company to operate it. That said… it does mention that the Story Group did believe that the site may be ideal for a “residential mixed use development” and would be talking to the local government about future development plans. So while Camelot is going to reopen, it looks like it’s future could still be uncertain.
  (3/18/09) Camelot has now sold off their hotel to the Lavender Hotels Group, though as of right now, the park itself is still set to be closed this season.
  (2/4/09) Bad news for Camelot as the park has been “put into receivership” according to the BBC, which sounds very similar to filing bankruptcy here in the US. They are now looking for a buyer to take over the hotel, but the article mentions that it’s unlikely that the park itself will reopen on April 4th as scheduled.
  (9/30/08) According to the local news, vandals have broken into the Camelot theme park twice over the past week, breaking door locks, causing damage, taking the go-karts for rides around the park and even stealing one entirely. It sounds like the park could use some security guards.

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

CAVALLINO MATTO (Italy)

2009 - New Attraction - Rumor - (8/26/08) While I don’t know much about this Italian theme park, I have heard that they have a new and exciting new attraction on the way to the park for the 2009 season that is apparently coming in from a German company. Anyone know more?

CHIMELONG PARADISE (China)

2009/2010 - Five Mack Rides - (5/12/09) A fun video clip of Chimelong Paradise has been added to Theme Park Review as a preview of their Coaster Expedition Volume 12 DVD.
  (11/28/08) Chimelong Paradise is working with Mack to build a new Supersplash flume ride that will be a copy of Europa Park’s Atlantica and open in 2009.
  (3/21/08) According to a press release issued by Mack Rides, they’ve signed a five ride contract to build a SuperSplash, Water Coaster, Youngstar Coaster, Log Flume and Raft (tow boat ride) for Chimelong Paradise park in China by 2010.

CONNY LAND (Switzerland)

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

DRIEVLIET (The Netherlands)

2009 - 4D Theater / Curse of Skull Rock - (6/7/09) Screamscape has confirmed w ith Simworx that the new “5D Theater” at Drievliet will be playing The Cruse of Skull Rock film from Red Star Studio. This 12 minute attraction will be projected in full 3D HD, “telling the story of the treacherous Captain Scabb who takes his unwitting crew on a search for the legendary lost treasure of Skull Rock.” The theater itself has been created as a conversion from the park’s old Cine 180 Theater building, refitted to serve as a state of the art 4D Theater attraction with a variety of in-house special effects to enhance the experience.
  (3/9/09) Screamscape sources have confirmed to us that Drievliet will be adding a 4D Theater playing The Curse of Skull Rock this season. You can see the preview clip of the film which looks to show off the first several minutes of the finished film.
  (2/24/09) I’ve been told that Drievliet is expected to open a new 4D Theater this season that may actually play the Curse of Skull Rock 4D film. The new theater will get built inside of the old CineMagic Theater building.

DUINRELL (The Netherlands)

2009 - Falcon / Euro-Fighter - (6/17/09) A good update showing off Falcon, the new Gerstlauer Eurofighter added to Duinrell has been posted to Theme Park Review.
  (2/24/09) Construction pictures of “Rick’s Delight”, the yet to be officially named Gerstlauer Eurofighter coaster at Duinrell can be seen at WalibiWeb.nl. You can also see interesting artwork showing off the theme they have planned for the ride at RCDB.
  (11/28/08) According to our sources the Gerstlauer EuroFighter project (Rick’s Delight) for Duinrell has been manufactured and is awaiting shipment to the park for a 2009 install.
  (2/27/07) We’ve confirmed that the Rick’s Delight coaster has been officially delayed due to problems with the local neighbors. We don’t know if the project is simply delayed until 2008 or if the project was completely canceled.
  (12/8/05) Screamscape has been informed that the park will build a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter coaster next season, placed behind the WaterSpin (Top Spin) attraction.

EXPOLAND (Osaka, Japan)

Park News - (2/11/09) According to a news article Expoland has announced the park will close down for good and not reopen. However it seems that the Paramount deal to build a new park over Expoland is still on the table.
  (12/1/08) Osaka’s Governor claims he has spoken with Paramount to discuss a proposal to reinvent the closed Expoland theme park as an all new theme park themed to Paramount film properties. According to the news report, Paramount Pictures approached the government about the concept back in August. Paramount previously had plans to build a park in Fukuoka but those plans were abandoned due to the high cost of the project. Being able to takeover and transform an existing theme park in the midst of a bankruptcy would certainly offer some major cost savings.
  (10/30/08) Expoland, the troubled Japanese theme park that has been in the headlines since becoming the site of a roller coaster death in May 2007, has now filed for bankruptcy protection. While they would like to reopen the park, the plans to do it next spring may not happen as planned unless things change.
  (7/18/08) When Expoland reopens in the Spring of 2009 they will have removed several rides and will remarket the smaller park as an attraction for “children and the elderly”. This may just be a temporary move however, since according to this article the “J. League club Gamba Osaka” soccer team is hoping to build a new stadium for the team on the Expoland site by 2011 and is negotiating with the site’s owners. Of the park’s remaining coasters I have to wonder what will become of Orochi, a B&M Inverted clone of Cedar Point’s Raptor. Sounds like someone could be getting a sweet new deal on a great ride design.
  (7/15/08) According to the Japanese media the three former Expoland officials have taken blame for last year’s fatal accident on the park’s stand up coaster, Fujin-Raijin II. The article also confirms that a “visible crack” was spotted on the coaster’s axel six months before the axel broke and caused the death of a 19-year-old rider and several other injuries in May 2007.

2009 - Park expected to reopen after extensive renovations.

FAARUP SOMMERLAND (Denmark)

Park News - (6/16/09) Time for another Theme Park Review trip stop, this time at Farrup Sommerland for some fun on Lynet, Falken and the infamous monkey bar crossover over the leech filled river. Yeeck!
  (10/15/08) A fun video showing off Lynet at Faarup Sommerland has been posted to YouTube.

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

FERRARI WORLD (Abu Dhabi - UAE)

2009 / 2010 - NEW PARK - (6/15/09) It turns out I may have been wrong about the creator of that big white launched coaster at the park, as the latest issue of First Drop now lists this coaster as being a new Intamin creation.
  (6/9/09) For a long animated look at the inside of Ferrari World, take a look at the video on this page that seems to show off almost every major attraction in the park. Coasters, boat rides through the inside of an engine, dark rides and even what looks like a copy of Disney’s Soarin’ called Flying over Italy. This all leads up to a video of the F1 Coaster experience near the end.
  (5/8/09) While I’m still not sure of when the park will open, The Theme Park Guy has posted an incredible photo update this week showing off the new park which is now heavily under construction. The park will be just one aspect of Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island project that will also include a Warner Bros. theme park and a water park of some kind.
  Already the park’s coasters are standing tall in the park, including a very tall and hypercoaster-ish style white coaster, which I believe is from Premier Rides. If this is a Premier Rides coaster, then it must be an entirely new design because even the track design looks unique, with a double-spine design. Elsewhere there is another coaster with white supports and blackish track that stays much closer to the ground, which I can only assume is the Maruer-Sohne dual track racing coaster project.
  (2/10/09) It’s not all doom and gloom in the UAE these days it seems. According to the local news Aldar Properties is still moving ahead with their Ferrari and Warner Bros. theme park projects. Their cutbacks and changes are aimed at their high-end housing projects which are not as feasible anymore due to the the bottom dropping out of the housing market by 25% in Dubai and 20% in Abu Dhabi.
  (12/11/08) Take a look here at the official website for the Ferrari Theme Park (Abu Dhabi). While there isn’t a lot of pictures to look at, try to sit through the microscopic movie that plays in the lower left corner. Early on in the fly-by of the park you can barely make out what looks to be the giant Premier Rides coaster flying past. If you can make it almost to the half way point there is some animated footage of the rumored dual-tracked racing coaster in there as well. Survive a little longer and there is more footage showing off another coaster or two as well as the go-kart tracks. The site also mentions a 70 meter tall tower ride called G-Force. You can also read a bit more about the park in this article where they mention a boat ride through a giant Ferrari engine, and claim that the dual track racing coaster will be the world’s fastest coaster, claiming speeds up to 145mph, which would be faster than the Germany’s Nuringburg coaster project.
(11/28/08) Gerstlauer will be building two more coasters in the UAE in 2009 however, both spinning coasters projects, one for the Mall of Kuwait and the other will go into Dubai’s Sega World project.
Meanwhile I’ve been sent a few more details about Maurer Sohne’s racing/dueling coaster project for the Ferrari park. While it will not feature any inversions each of the two tracks is said to feature four different LSM powered booster sections to add the thrill of acceleration in mid ride as well as likely to allow for each side to take the lead from the other from time to time.

FIABILANDIA (Italy)

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

FORT FUN (Germany)
Compagnie des Alpes (CDA)

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

EREIZEITPARK PLOHN (Germany)

2009 - El Toro - Confirmed - (5/3/09) An English version of the El Toro review of the new GCI coaster in Germany at Freizeitpark Plohn has been posted to LiftHill.net.
  (4/13/09) Make the jump over to Theme Park Review to see a batch of El Toro pictures below a trip report to one of Germany’s other unique parks, Skyline Park.
  (4/6/09) GCI is ready to open their latest wooden coaster named El Toro, built at Freizeitpark Plohn in Germany. They’ve posted a video showing off the ride in action on YouTube for everyone to enjoy, which you can see embedded below. You can’t understand a damn thing until the end when they claim that this new ride is “the real El Toro!”
  You might get a better view of what the ride is really like from the second video clip showing off the first test run late last month, shot from photographer walking inside the empty flume ride trough placed next to the coaster. I’ve also been sent some pictures showing off the ride in action as well.


  (1/29/09) A reader has sent us a link to a series of new construction pictures of the new GCI wooden coaster under construction at Forellenhof Plohn. Enjoy!
  (8/2/08) Theme Park Review has confirmed that GCI will be building a new wooden coaster for 2009 at Erlebnispark Forellenhof Plohn, a small park in Germany. They’ve also got the official layout artwork from GCI posted as well for this small coaster, which was also confirmed to use a Millennium Flyer train.

FUTUROSCOPE (France)

Park News - (12/10/08) Read a review about one of the more unique theme parks in Europe as the writer takes a visit to Futuroscope.

2009 - Animals of the Future - (4/18/09) A new and improved version of The Animals of the Future dark ride experience has opened at Futuroscope this year. From what I’m told the experience uses “augmented reality technology” from Total Immersion who has created quite an impressive looking concept of their own by mixing baseball cards and a webcam. The new and improved attraction this year features a new pre-show experience, new animals, better interactions and image quality. As you can see in the official page’s videos, riders pass through the dark ride scenes and hold up some kind of futuristic visualize in front of their eyes as they pass by the video screens. From the look of things, it allows you to appear as if you can touch and hold virtual items and interact with the virtual animals. It also seems as if there is a “home” version where you can bring some of the animals home with you, using the same technology used on the baseball cards, with the aid of your computer and a webcam. (These are also the people who built the Joker face screens for the Dark Knight Coaster ride queues at Six Flags last year.)
  There have also been a few other changes in the park this season. The IMAX 3D theater is now playing Fly Me To The Moon, the Planetarium is showing Cosmic Collisions, and a new simulator film has also been added called EcoDingo. I’ve also been told that a new 4D Imax Sim film themed to Arthur and the Invisibles will be added for the 2009 Christmas season.

2009 - 4D Theater / Nighttime Show - (4/2/09) Futuroscope will premier a new nighttime show for the media this weekend called "Le Mystère de la Note Bleue". The new show is a creation of Mr Yves Pépin, Head of Creation of ECA2.
  (7/28/08) Futuroscope will open a new 4D Theater attraction based on “Arthur and the Invisibles” for Christmas 2009 called Arthur and the Minimoys Return”. It will replace the current Race for Atlantis attraction which means it will use the IMAX 3D projection system. In other news the park will also “enhance” and update 2008’s The Future In Wild attraction to be more interactive by early 2009. Thanks to David Julien from newsparcs.com and Parcs et Attractions magazine for the info.

GOLD REEF CITY (South Africa)

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

GULLIVERSLAND (UK)

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

HELLENDOORN (The Netherlands)
Compagnie des Alpes (CDA)

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

HOPI HARI (Brazil)

2010 - Vekoma Invertigo - Rumor - (6/11/09) A South American Screamscape reader reported in to say that the pieces of the former Two-Face coaster (Vekoma Invertigo) from Six Flags America have been spotted in Brazil at the Port of Santos in Sao Paulo. Given the location the most likely park getting the ride may be Hopi Hari, who also happens to be clearing a site not too far from their drop tower and Ferris wheel. Anyone know more?

ISLA MAGICA (Spain)

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

JOY VALLEY PARK (China)

2010 - New Park - (7/11/08) China’s biggest theme park will open in 2010 in Shanghai and be called Joy Valley Park. The 87-hectare (215 acres) park will include a hotel, conference center, theater and hopes to bring in 5-7 million guests a year.
  (4/10/08) A new large theme park called Joy Valley Theme Park is set to open in north-west Shanghai in 2010, though some attractions may be open on an individual basis as early as next fall.

KOLMARDEN (Sweden)

2009 - Delfinexpressen - Confirmed - (10/16/08) Normally just an animal park, Kolmarden will expand their Marine World area by adding a new Vekoma kiddie coaster themed like a giant Dolphin in 2009. The 20 passenger train will go up a 13 meter lift hill before runing through the 335 meter course.

LE PAL (France)

2009 - Huss King Kong - Confirmed - (7/7/08) Huss Rides has made an announcement that they have sold another King Kong ride to the French park Le Pal which will open in 2009. While I haven’t seen much about the one that was to have opened in Belgium this year, I do still have good photos and a video clip of the King Kong model that was on display at IAAPA.

LIGHTWATER VALLEY (UK)

Park News - (7/3/09) According to an interview with the management of Lightwater Valley posted to ValleyMania, the park is considering ideas to extend The Ultimate to make it the world’s longest coaster again.
  (10/31/08) Lightwater Valley has lost their appeal to expand the park site with a holiday resort area. The park claimed that this was a necessary step to keep them competitive in the business and now finds themselves unsure of what step to take next. While they have backup plans to invest in the park and keep it going, they may also look into options about revising and reapplying once again in the future to add guest accommodations onsite.
  (9/4/08) Lightwater Valley finds itself in a bind with an uncertain future ahead of itself. According to the BBC News, the park was denied permission to build 136 holiday lodges and 204 caravan sites as a way to “secure the future of the park.” In typical UK fashion, it seems the local forces are rather resistant to change and new developments and would rather stay the status quo. The park claims that the plans are critical to ensuring the future of the park.

2009 - Wild River Ride - Confirmed - (1/9/09) With the plans to expand the resort area of the park blocked, it seems that the park has bumped up their plans for a new water ride to 2009. A quick look at the front page of the new 2009 brochure for the park gives the name and them jump ahead two pages and you can see a picture of the new rapids ride. I’m not sure of the manufacturer, but this will be one of those quick to install fiberglass river rapid rides that looks more like a waterslide from far away.

LOUDOUN CASTLE (Scottland)

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

LOTTE WORLD (South Korea) -

Park News - (4/6/09) Ever wanted to see what Comet Express at Lotte World is like? Theme Park Review has posted an on-board video showing off the crazy / bizarre action on this themed indoor spinning coaster. Strange is only a light way to describe it.
  (3/30/09) According to this article the Office of the Prime Minister finally gave them the green light to proceed with the plans for the massive Lotte World II skyscraper tower.
  (12/22/08) The Lotte Group has received the final permission needed to go ahead and build a second Lotte World theme park in Shincheon-dong, Seoul that will be built inside a massive 112-story tall skyscraper that will become the tallest building in the world (taller than the 509 meter Taipai 101 building) when finished in about 2013-2014. Right now they are simply calling the new indoor theme park, Lotte World 2.
  (10/29/08) The Lotte Group has big plans these days to construct a new 112 story tall skyscraper in Sincheondong, in southern Seoul, despite some complaints that the super-tall structure will be too close to the nearby Seoul Airport. The skyscraper is planned to be part of a new Lotte World indoor amusement park attraction that they hope to have ready by 2013. The Air Force however is asking for the plans to be scaled back from 555 meters to something below 200 meters.
  (9/25/08) A great set of park pictures and a very cool video of Atlantis Adventure can be found at Theme Park Review.

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

M&D’s (near Glasgow, Scotland)

2009 - Bomber Mark 2 - (4/13/09) M&D’s (Scotland) will add Bomber Mark 2, a Fabbri Booster Maxxx) to the park for almost the entire 2009 season.

MAERCHENPARK NEUSIEDLERSEE (Austria)

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

MINITALIA LEOLANDIA PARK (Italy)

2009 - New Flat Rides - (11/25/08) Screamscape sources tell us that Minitalia Leolandia Park in Italy will get the first Zamperla Surf’s Up flat ride for the 2009 season along with a few other new flat rides for a large new expansion project.

MIRABILANDIA (Brazil)

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

MIRAGICA (Molfetta, Italy)
Formerly Called: La Terra Die Giganti

2009 - New Park & Intamin Rocket Coaster - (7/3/09) Parksmania has posted a couple of great new videos showing off Italy’s newest park, Miragica. The first clip features only the park’s new Intamin Rockit coaster, Senzafiato… and I don’t know what that translates to in English as nothing came up. The second and much longer clip shows off the entire new and highly themed park.
  (4/8/09) A few more pictures of the opening of Miragica can be seen at TheParks.It.
  (4/6/09) Miragica, Italy’s newest park, is now open and we’ve got a link to a video of the park’s rocket coaster, Senzafiato (Breathless), in action here. There are also a ton of photos from the park’s grand opening posted on Parksmania.
  (3/4/09) Parksmania has posted a construction video of the new Miragica theme park, this includes footage of the Intamin Rocket coaster making test runs.
  (2/24/09) All new pictures showing off the testing of the new launched coaster at Miragica can been seen at Parksmania.
  (2/19/09) New pictures of La Terra dei Giganti have been posted to TheParks.it where it has also been mentioned that the new park may open on April 3rd.
  (12/19/08) TheParks.it has added several new pictures of Miragica that show off how well the new themeing looks in the park, as it really is starting to shape up quickly. At this rate the park should be ready to open in 2009.
  (12/2/08) Some new construction pictures from the Miragica park have been posted to TheParks.it. As you can see the themeing is really starting to take shape around the park and even look fairly finished in spots.
  (10/8/08) From what I’ve been told the new park in Molfetta previously known at La Terra Dei Giganti has been renamed as Miragica. All new construction pictures have been posted to TheParks.it.
  (8/13/08) All new construction pictures from La Terra dei Giganti (Italy) have been posted to Theparks.it. Several new rides have gone up lately including the spinning coaster, a log flume, a Disk’O Coaster and what seems to be a Rapids / Flume ride.
  (6/27/08) Some new construction pictures from Molfetta have surfaced at TheParks.it this week where you can now see a new tower ride and at least one new flat ride installed at the site as well as the framework for what may be a spinning Zamperla Crazy Mouse.
  (6/16/08) According to the last pictures at TheParks.it the new coaster at La Terra dei Giganti is now complete. Now if only the rest of the park was this far along.
  (6/3/08) A construction update from the new La Terra Dei Giganti theme park (The Land of Giants) in Molfetta, Italy shows that the park’s new Intamin rocket coaster has already gone vertical. Special thanks to TheParks.it for use of this photo and please do visit their site to see the rest. Currently the ride still has not been given a name.
  (4/18/08) Before today I had never heard of this place but it seems a new theme park is going up in Molfetta, Italy and red Intamin track has already arrived on site for a Rocket coaster. The only details RCDB has on this park is that it’s called Terra Dei Giganti, or Land of Giants. You can find some concept artwork for the park posted to Parksmania.

MOVIELAND STUDIOS (Italy)

2009 - New Attractions - (6/2/09) A fun video showing off new and old features of the park has been posted to Parksmania. New this year is a show called The Illusionist, Police Academy (Driving Simulator), the Route 66 Movieland Cars ride and a kiddie swing ride called Cooter’s Rodeo. Plus it’s a great video showing off many other park attractions as well so check it out.

NAGASHIMA SPALAND (Japan)

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

NIGLOLAND (France)

2009 - Gerstlauer Ferris Wheel - Confirmed - (4/18/09) Some different pictures and information about Nigloland’s new Gerstlauer giant wheel can be found at the NigloBlog.
  (4/8/09) Gerstlauer has sent out a bunch of new pictures showing off their new Ferris Wheel going into Nigloland. The giant wheel was tested for a time in the sleepy Bavarian town of Munsterhausen, where the local residents were surprised by the 50 meter (164 ft) tall giant wheel. The custom designed wheel features an impressive LED light package that is constantly changing. Thanks to Gerstlauer for sending us some great pictures of the new wheel, which will open in Nigloland in late Spring.

NURBURGRING (Germany)

2009 - RINGºRACER - (6/22/09) Today we’ve got some slick new pictures of the Nurburgring “RingºRacer” coaster. From what I’ve been told the ride is moving along a little slower than expected, but they hope to have it open in time for the F1 race in July 2009. The entire RingºWerk park however will not open until August 15th, but the plan right now is most likely to run the coaster on a pay-per-ride basis in preview mode until then.
  Also, in case you were wondering the official park site lists the RingºRacer as hitting 217kph (135mph) in 2.5 seconds, which will take the coaster speed record away from Kingda Ka’s 128mph current record. (Fun Fact – Kingda Ka also takes 3.5 seconds to get to full speed… RingºRacer will get you launched at a faster speed in nearly 30% less time, which of course will increase the amount of force you will experience on your body during that ultra intense launch experience. Anyone who has been on the older Hypersonic that used to be at Kings Dominion will understand just what that might feel like as it used to lauch riders to only 80mph in 1.8 seconds using a more primitive version of the launch system that RingºRacer will use.
  The RingºRacer speed record may be short lived however as the new Intamin launched coaster going into Ferrari World in the UAE is rumored to possibly reach 250kph… or 155mph. Time will tell…
  (5/25/09) Some new construction pictures from Nurburgring of the RingºRacer coaster can be found at Freizeitparkweb. Looks like they’ve got the launch track and return track through the building in place and just need to install whatever twisted track elements it has at the end of the run. I believe it’s still on track to open this July.
  (3/29/09) RCPro has posted a few construction pictures from Nurburgring where the new super-fast S&S coaster, Ring Racer, is going. The photo update includes some of the first pictures I’ve seen of the ride’s actual track on site at the race track. On a related note you can see the latest rendering of what the trains will look like over at ThemePark.NL (scroll down).
  (2/11/09) The first track pieces have arrived for the Nurburgring coaster in Germany and have been posted to Themepark.nl.
  (12/11/08) An all new animated video is now online at the S&S website showing off what we can expect from the new World’s Fastest Coaster going into Nurburgring that will hit 134.8 mph in just 2.5 seconds, launching right along the side of the world famous race track.
  (11/24/08) S&S Power has a new website under development it seems and you can find artwork showing off the new 8 passenger trains being designed for the Nurburing F1 themed race coaster. In short, the kind of look like a streamlined evolution of the old chubby Thrust-Air 2000 as seen on Hypersonic.
  (11/14/08) Construction on the massive expansion of the Nurburgring raceway is well underway right now, with a goal of opening their new attraction areas by June 11th, 2009. You can see some of the concept artwork posted to this article, but unfortunately they don’t have anything to show off about what will become the world’s fastest roller coaster. With a custom S&S launch system at it’s core the coaster will launch riders alongside the famous racetrack from 0 to 135mph in just 2.5 seconds. The acceleration will be twice as fast as an F1 race car and subject the riders to 3.4g’s, “the highest permissible by the German authorities.” If you click on the 8th picture in the series, you can see a hint of some twisted blue track along the left side of the picture.
  (5/2108) While I don’t have any details just yet, I’ve heard through the grapevine that the recording breaking S&S / SAT-Rides launched “Race Coaster” project on the way to Germany’s Nurburgring race track may have been redesigned that the remainder of the ride after the high speed lauch will have more coaster style elements and be a lot more fun.
  (1/30/08) We’ve got a little more information on this new S&S launched speed demon project going into Nurburgring. The new “Race Coaster” is one part of an overall plan to renovate the racetrack into becoming an even bigger attraction than it already is. You can see a fairly large graphic showing off several of the planned changes here, but the image is kind of large so I’m going to crop it down a bit more so everyone can see the coaster itself marked in pink. The coaster will pass through a large indoor building area marked as a new “Indoor Attraction” area before coming to the station at the far right of the building. From the look of the indoor attraction area you can see what looks like a set of racing simulators in the upper right corner, a dark ride in the top center, a strange looking round theater just to the left and another larger theater (4D?) in the lower left corner.
  From what we’ve been led to understand the coaster’s trains wont be from S&S, but rather from Germany’s own SAT-rides, which I believe may be better known in the US as Schafer Amusement Technology who I believe has done the majority of coaster train designs for Premier Rides. I’m not sure if S&S has worked with them in the past, but this relationship may be a requirement for this particular project due to Germany’s strict TUV certification process and to my knowledge, S&S has never TUV certified any of their attractions in the past. A unique feature of the coaster is that the main launch track run will be placed right next to the real race track itself, so I’ve got to wonder if they’ve got some kind of side-by-side drag race planned between a car and the coaster for the opening.
  (1/29/08) According to Coastersandmore.de, S&S Power will be building a next generation version of their Thrust Air 2000 coaster concept that hopes to take the world speed record for fastest coaster. The location couldn’t be more fitting as apparently the launched coaster will be installed at the world famous Nuerburgring race track in Nurburg, Germany. They say that the coaster will launch riders to 217kph (135mph) in just 2.5 seconds. The current record holder is Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure which takes 3.5 seconds to hit a top speed of 128mph. The translation is a little rough, but the experience is described as more “dragster” than “coaster” since it sounds like it wont feature any big hills or tight helixes, only an incline into a heavily banked turn to run the track behind the grandstands to burn off some of the speed before you hit the brakes and enter a 500 meter long uneventful return trip back to the station. Unlike the previous Thrust Air coasters, this one will use a round coaster style track system and not the large I-beam tracks used previously.

OLTREMARE (Italy)

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

PARQUE DE ATRACCIONES (Madrid)
Parques Reunidos

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

PAULTON’S PARK (UK)

2009 - Edge and Water Kingdom - (3/26/09) Paulton’s Park has now opened Edge, their new Disko Coaster. You can see pictures of it in action posted to UK Rides.
  (1/26/09) A reader has confirmed with Paultons Park that they are removing the Romany Experience and that the park will hold an auction at the end of March to sell off the Gypsy caravans and memorabilia. I’ve also been sent a picture of Edge which is already on site at the park.
  (12/24/08) The Paultons Park website has given a name to the new Disk’O Coaster finally, calling it Edge. It also lists Water Kingdom, a new water sprayground area that will open for Easter 2009.
  (8/26/08) Another Screamscape source has confirmed that the park will indeed get a Mega Disk’O Coaster next season that will run parallel to Cobra’s camelbacks. Ground work has started already and a sign showing off the ride has also been placed near Cobra. The sign also mentions that a new “water park” area will open in Kid’s Kingdom, apparently replacing the old playground structure.

PLEASURE ISLAND (Cleethorpes, UK)

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

PLEASUREWOOD HILLS (UK)

Park News - (8/14/08) We received a strange rumor claiming that Pleasurewood Hills may not have been happy with the performance of the old La Via Volta train they purchased from Walibi World and may be trying to send it back. I don’t know why they were surprised, since they traded out the original Arrow train for a Vekoma, what did they expect? In my experience the more pleasant Boomerang rides have usually been on older Arrow trains, but there have been a few exceptions. Of course this rumor sounds odd to me, because why would they wait for the end of the season to try and send it back instead of doing it earlier? Anyone know more?

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

2010 - New Coaster - Rumor - (3/1/09) There is a quiet rumor going around claiming that Pleasurewood may be thinking of buying the Whirlwind (Maurer-Sohne Spinning Coaster) from Camelot. The coaster is easily portable as it actually traveled the German fair circuit for years under the name Cyperspace before coming to Camelot.

POTTS PARK (Germany)

2009 - Powered Suspended Coaster - Under Construction - (5/20/09) Turns out I missed an important part of the story about this new powered coaster, as the ride itself is already well under construction and is scheduled to open this year. You can already find construction pictures of it and the large airplane they’ve put in the middle of the layout, posted to Freizeitparkweb. You can see the layout of the coaster posted to Parks World.
  (5/19/09) Screamscape sources tell us that Potts Park in Germany has signed a contract to build the first powered suspended coaster from ABC Rides. The ride will apparently have a hang glider theme when it opens, which I assume will be for the 2010 season.

POWERPARK (Finland)

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

PRATER PARK (Vienna, Austria)

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

RATANGA JUNCTION (Cape Town, South Africa)

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

SARKANNIEMI Amusementpark (Tampere, Finland)

Park News - (9/18/08) Take a visit to Sarkanniemi with the latest trip report on Westcoaster today, which includes an extensive look at Tornado, the park’s custom layout Intamin inverted coaster. Of course what is really interesting is the fact that some of the track in the station has square-flat steel track instead of the tubular steel rails. How weird…

2009 - Disk’o Coaster - (5/12/09) Särkänniemi has hadded a Zamperla Disk’O Coaster for the 2009 season, which has been called Tyrsky. You can see a video of it in action here.

SKARA SOMMARLAND (Sweden)

2009 - Tranan - Now Open - (6/26/09) A great photo report of Tranan at Skara Sommarland has been posted to Theme Park Review. Turns out this “family ride” was one of the surprise hits of their trip.
  (6/8/09) A new trip report from Skara Sommerland shows off riders taking on the new Tranan coaster, one of the most unique new coaster designs I’ve seen in the past couple of years. Take note of the different cars, as each of the Bird figures has a different head and entirely different expression. I’ve also embedded a new video I came across down below showing off the ride in action.

  (5/22/09) Some new construction pictures for Tranan, the world’s first full scale S&S Free Fly coaster, have been posted to the park’s blog.
  (4/17/09) The official Tranan construction blog from Skara Sommarland can be found here, showing off the construction of the first ever S&S Free Fly coaster.
  (11/24/08) S&S has built a full-scale prototype of what is now being called the Free Fly coaster at their headquarters before it heads off to Skara Sommarland to become Tranan. They’ve got an awesome video showing off all the crazy action of this thing that looks like a blast to ride as well as a new piece of artwork showing off a more race car themed version of the train.
  (10/16/08) The park has confirmed the addition of Tranan, the world’s first S&S Soarin’ Eagle coaster (or at least I think that’s what S&S was calling it.) This is a very uniquely designed coaster creation themed to look like the riders are sitting in canoes strapped to the wings of a giant bird soaring through the sky. Words and still images do this ride no justice, so check out this video showing off a prototype layout for the coaster that was on display at S&S at last year’s IAAPA convention. The Skara version will be 20 meters tall and 500 meters long, holding 8 passengers per car. In addition to this new ride the park will also get the old Vikingen ride from Grona Lund.

SOMMERLAND SYD (Denmark)

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

SPACE WORLD (Japan) 

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

SPYLAND (Spain)

???? - New Park - (12/5/07) The location in Spain earmarked for the new Spyland theme park has a bigger vision, to become the next Las Vegas over the next decade by building 32 hotels, 5 theme parks, a stadium, conference center and more. Meanwhile the Spyland people say they will be attempting to sign a deal to use the James Bond character franchise in their park.
  (11/20/07) On and off over the last several years I’ve reported on a new theme park concept proposed for both France and Dubia in the past called Spyland. The group behind Spyland came forward during the IAAPA show to announce that the park will now be built in Spain with construction slated to begin in 2008. The new park will feature six themed lands, an on site casino hotel and more.

STEINWASEN PARK (Germany)

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

SUZHOU GIANT WHEEL PARK (CHINA)

2009 - Stingray & 4D Simulator - Confirmed - (10/20/08) Simworx has announced that Suzhou Giant Wheel Theme Park (China) will add a Simworx Stargazer 4D Motion Theater attraction in 2009. The theater will house four of the 7-passenger Stargazer motion base platforms and an array of 4D Theater effects. The exact ridefilm being shown was not yet announced. This is also the same park getting the world’s first Vekoma Stingray coaster.
  (9/10/08) Thanks to a friendly e-mail from Vekoma, we were sent a sneak peek at the world’s very first Stingray coaster under construction in China’s Suzhou Giant Wheel Park. From what I’ve been told this ride is expected to open later this year, and I’ve got to say that the compact flyer design is certainly impressive to look at.

TERRA ENCANTADA (Brazil)

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

TERRA MAGICA (Valmontone, Italy)

???? - Proposed New Park - (1/8/09) According to someone who did a quick translation from TheParks.it, Terra Magica’s plans will include building one of the biggest Mad House rides ever (80 seats) as well as what they are calling a Sky Shuttle, though it looks more like one of the old Flying Islands to me.
  (1/5/09) According to a posting at TheParks.it the Terra Magica park project is rumored to be buying three rides from Vekoma: a Mad House, a Tilt Coaster and a Custom Mine Train coaster. Of course I’m still waiting for some kind of proof that this park will be built at all, since we haven’t seen much in the way of construction or solid opening dates yet.
  (3/13/08) From the sound of things the Terra Magica park project in Valmontone, Italy may have been renamed Roma Theme Park. This may just be the project name as we’ve also heard the name “Terra Magica: Midgart” now used as well.
  The project now seems to be under construction according to these images I’ve been sent and you can see some better concept artwork posted on Parksmania. Ever better is a video presentation about the park made sometime in 2007.
  The video shows off the various “worlds” in the park and shows off examples of attractions and some artwork for each: Worlds of the Flora, World of Fire, World of the Air, World of the Water, World of Mountains, Temple of Power, Ancient World, World of Fauna, World of Time.
  (7/26/07) Another set of construction photos for TerraMagica has been posted to TheParks.it. So far it doesn’t look much like a theme park, it looks more like they’re building a warehouse. A local source tells me that the buildings going up are expected to hold a dark ride or two. You can also find some concept art for it here, along with a 2009 opening date.
  (7/25/07) Parksmania has posted a new photo showing off the site of TerraMagica, a new theme park proposed for a location near Rome. This project was announced back in 2004 and while it had some very fancy and imaginative concept artwork to show at the time, they have very little to show for it so far in the real world so far.
  (3/5/07) It’s been some time since we’ve heard anything at all about this park, but a translated bit of text from the bottom of this site indicates that construction may have started again earlier this year with a plan to open in 2009 now. It also says that the park could be renamed “Terra Magica” (Magical Earth) when it does finally open.
  (8/3/06) A few readers sent in some rough English translations of the text on the website link we posted previously that contain a few stats about the park. They claim it will have a budget of 300 million Euros within 70 hectars and have 7 themed lands. The park will have 49 attractions: 18 family rides, 19 kiddie rides and 12 thrill rides. They mention something about two roller coasters, a log flume and and a monorail that will circle the park. It sounds like it will have a free retail, night club and restaurant area just outside the park as well called City Village. The latest construction update (translated) on the site mentions that, “Rumors say that the primary works for the structure of the park will end by end of July and that in fall 2006 the second building phase will start. Always according unconfirmed rumors, but quite reliable, the initial structure will have few of the features announced in the conference, not really as far as the quality of the structure, but as for the area the park will cover. They will start building the Main Street and two of the theme areas; the park will then be completed by 2011. The initial structure should have 2 dark rides, 4 show areas and 2 roller coasters, one almost surely Vekoma and the other Intamin; the first will allegedly have a big covered section.”
  (8/1/06) It’s been almost a year since we’ve heard anything new about this park, but it looks like the ground work for construction is well under way now according to the new photos posted here. Unfortunately, everything is in Italian and I can’t make heads of tails of it, but the visuals speak for themselves.
  (9/19/05) You can find new construction photos for the new Italian theme park at theParks.it.
  (9/15/05) From the look of this website it seems that ground work has begun for the new Italian theme park. You can also see a ton of new concept artwork as well. Our source tell us that it is expected to open in 2007.

TERRA MITICA (Spain)

Park News - (4/6/09) According to this article Terra Mitica attendance dropped by 10% to just over 1 million guests for the 2008 season. This has also led to a loss of about 3.2 million Euros for the park, adding it to the total puts the park 15 million in the hole right now it seems. I do find it odd that a small park like this was able to bring in a million guests and still be at a financial loss for the year. Hard Rock Park (USA) would likely still be open under the old ownership for example had they been able to get a million guests into the park last year, instead they only received a third of that.

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

TIBIDABO (Barcelona, Spain)

2008/2009 - Muntanya Russa - (3/4/09) Tibidabo has opened for the 2009 season and you can see a POV video of the new Muntanya Russa coaster on the main page of the website.
  (10/10/08) A couple of new construction pictures of the new Tibidabo coaster project have been posted to RCDB.
  (9/9/08) Tibidabo in Barcelona, Spain is currently working to open a new custom layout roller coaster. From what I’ve been told, the park actually wanted this for the 2007 season but had some problems getting it pushed through due to some issues with their neighbors. I was told that they were hoping to have it open before the end of October 2008, but the photographer was there in late August the only thing done so far was the footers and apparently they were still waiting for the coaster pieces to arrive sometime in late September. According to RCDB, this will be a custom Vekoma terrain coaster with no inversions as you can see in the layout here. So far the park has not released a name for the new coaster, but they do have an animated video on their website that shows off the coaster weaving in and out of the trees on the hillside. Thanks to Lifthill.net for the photos.

TIVOLI FRIHEDEN (Arhus, Denmark)

Park News - (6/16/09) The Theme Park Review tour made possibly their most dangerous stop in this photo update to Tivoli Friheden to try out Cobra, which has managed to stay attached to the tracks so far this season.
  (6/1/09) A Screamscape source confirmed to us that Cobra opened up once again this past Friday evening. The compact inverted coaster has been closed ever since the train’s first two cars derailed and dropped from the track last July.
  (2/17/09) According to a Screamscape source, Tivoli Freiheden is busy rebuilding the trains from Cobra, the compact inverted coaster that fell apart in mid-ride last summer. The plan is to finish rebuilding the trains, get them approved by the German TUV department, and open the ride sometime in April.
  (7/8/08) Ride Tek has issued a statement about the Cobra accident and was sure to mention that while they are the ride’s “designer” they were not the “manufacturer”. You can see this statement and an English translation at TheParks.it. From what I’ve been told Cobra was actually built by Sartori for Ride Tek and is currently listed on the Sartori website. (Until they remove it...)
  (7/6/08) In a devastating piece of news an accident took place late Friday at Tivoli Friheden (not to be confused with the world famous Tivoli in Copenhagen). From what I’ve been able to gather from the news and our European readers, the accident took place on the park’s new inverted coaster, Cobra. It’s worth noting that Cobra is also the very first roller coaster from Ride Tek, and after this probably the last. From the sound of things the two lead cars derailed from the track, separating from the rest of the train, and fell the ground injuring the four riders. Right now I’ve heard that all four riders (2 men, 2 women in their 20’s) have survived and so far only seem to be suffering from broken bones.

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

TRAMPOLINO (Germany)

Fall 2008 - Flotte Biene - Now Open - (11/28/08) ABC Rides has developed a new family style coaster ride that they were calling the Tube Coaster. The first of which has already opened in Trampolino (Germany) under the name Flotte Biene. The ride is only be 8 meters tall, 150 meters long and has no restraint system with single cars that kind of remind me a bit of the cars used on Disneyland’s Matterhorn.

TOBU ZOOLOGICAL PARK (Japan)

Park News - (6/10/09) A trip report from the Tobu Zoo has been postd to Westcoaster.
  (12/31/08) Theme Park Review has posted a video from Tobu Zoo showing off Kawasemi, the park’s newest Intamin thrill machine along with a ton of other pictures taken around the park. Enjoy!

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

TYKKINAKI (Finland)

2009 - Star Flyer - Rumor - (5/12/09) A video showing of the park’s new Star Flyer can be found below. I’ve also heard that the park added something else described as a “Double Decker” . Anyone know more?

  (6/21/08) Screamscape sources tell us that Tykkimäki, a small park in Finland, is planning on building a 72 meter tall Star Flyer for 2009.

WALYGATOR PARC (France)
Formerly known as Walibi Lorraine and Walibi Schtroumpf (Walibi Smurf)
Compagnie des Alpes (CDA)

2009 - Sheriff Academy - (4/18/09) Walygator Parc is adding an interactive game / theater attraction called Sheriff Academy, which is apparently another one of the Desperado attractions from Alterface.

2010 - Orochi (B&M Inverted) - Rumor - (4/22/09) Screamscape sources tell us that Walygator Parc has signed a deal to purchase the Orochi B&M Inverted coaster from the now closed Expoland park in Japan. Orochi is actually a clone of Cedar Point’s infamous and popular Raptor coaster, so the addition of a large ride like this to Walygator Parc would really put it on the map.

WET ‘N WILD AUSSIE WORLD (Australia)

September 2009 - (8/25/08) According to the local news construction on Village Roadshow’s new $70 million waterpark project, Wet ‘n Wild Aussie World, could start very soon if approved. According to this article it will feature 13 major attractions that will include a “Tornado Bowl Slide” and a “Behemoth Bowl” as well as Australia’s first place for year-round indoor waterpark fun inside The Billabong, an 8,000 square-meter indoor section, as well as a wave pool, water fortress and a rapid river area. There is also a Phase 2 in the works that will enclose some of the children’s play areas for year-round use as well. You can see some small artwork showing off the park’s layout in this article as well.
  (5/22/08) This article talks a bit more about Village Roadshow’s plans to convert Aussie World into a new Wet ‘n Wild branded park along with what kind of new waterslides you can expect to see added.
  (5/20/08) According to this article, Village Roadshow has purchased the small Aussie World theme park. Though it doesn’t come out right and say it, it sounds like the goal is to close down the park, spend $50-70 million on improvements and reopen in September 2009 as another Wet ‘n Wild themed waterpark, similar to the one they run on The Gold Coast. Lets just hope they have the sense to keep the park’s rare existing wooden Wild Mouse coaster.

WIENER PRATER (Vienna, Austria)

2009 - Nothing to report at this time.

ZOOSAFARI FASANOLANDIA (Italy)

2009 - Eurofighter - Under Construction - (11/28/08) A new Gestlauer Eurofighter coaster will be installed into Italy’s Zoosafari Fasanolandia for the 2009 season. Sources tell us that the ride itself has been manufactured and is just awaiting shipment to the park.