What's new

Tivoli Friheden | Vindfald | Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter | 2024

TPoseOnTantrum

Giga Poster
Very interesting comments made by Henrik Ragborg Olesen (translated);
Tivoli Friheden has already decided what will be on the location instead of the Cobra. Broadly speaking.
It will be a rollercoaster, that much is clear, but exactly which model has not yet been finally decided.
We have been around a lot to gather inspiration. A couple of my colleagues have even been to Sydney in Australia to test drive a roller coaster there. It was more than a day's journey there, where they got off for four hours and rode a coaster, after which they got on the plane again and flew back to Denmark again for more than a day, says Henrik Ragborg Olesen.
The Cobra is erected at the back of the park towards Havreballe Skov. Initially, greenery will be planted on the area, before a new coaster can hopefully be ready on site in 2024.
Regardless of which roller coaster the choice falls on, it won't be ready for the 2023 season and only maybe until the following year.
Initially, we will create a green area where the Cobra now stands. We dream that we can manage to get a contract made for a new roller coaster by 2024, but right now there is a lot of pressure on the factories that make such things, so we will have to see, says Henrik Ragborg Olesen.

https://stiften.dk/artikel/seks-måneder-efter-dødsulykken-nu-starter-arbejdet-med-at-pille-cobraen-ned-det-skal-der-være-i-stedet
Uhhhhhhhh
intamin-amusement-rides-roller-coasters-products-desktop-hot-racer2-1-scaled.jpg
 

Rupert

Mega Poster
Does anyone know the notional cost difference between the RMC and Intamin single rail coasters? Wondering if Intamin would still be priced lower as trying to break into the market, and if certain features for example the drive tyres and tyre-based braking system make it cheaper.

I think the (now slightly modified) RMC original layout e.g. Railblazer looks pretty great for a compact coaster - I’d imagine it’d fit into the vacated space at Friheden pretty well.
 

Pokemaniac

Mountain monkey
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
I decided to split the posts about a new coaster into a different thread. The event that initiated the process of replacing Cobra was a tragedy, and I feel that discussing the new attraction in the same thread that discussed the accident wouldn't be right. There's something that feels disrespectful about making a construction thread out of a thread that initially discussed the tragic death of a rider on a previous coaster. News about the accident, if any, go into the old thread, so this one can be a more ordinary construction thread without that baggage.
 

Boodangy

Mega Poster
Does anyone know the notional cost difference between the RMC and Intamin single rail coasters? Wondering if Intamin would still be priced lower as trying to break into the market, and if certain features for example the drive tyres and tyre-based braking system make it cheaper.

I think the (now slightly modified) RMC original layout e.g. Railblazer looks pretty great for a compact coaster - I’d imagine it’d fit into the vacated space at Friheden pretty well.
I'm not an expert in the field so I don't know for sure but if I had to guess, a deciding factor could also be shipping since for a compact coaster in a smaller park you imagine it's a bigger factor in the overall cost than with a larger investment. Intamin's tracks would (I'm assuming) be made somewhere in central Europe so shipping them in a day by truck is considerably cheaper compared to shipping them on container ships across the Atlantic.
 

MLDesigns

Hyper Poster
^I would assume that is the case as well. Prices for rides are (annoyingly) well-guarded, but I'd guess that the Stunt Pilot model of RMC Raptor is in that mid-single-digit millions of dollars. Couldn't even make an educated guess on what a Hot Racer. Being an Intamin product, I'd wager it would be a little more, but factoring shipping costs into the equation, the Hot Racer could end up being the cheaper of the two. Slovakia to Denmark by truck is much easier than Idaho to Denmark by boat I'd imagine.
 

Indy

Hyper Poster
Does anyone know the notional cost difference between the RMC and Intamin single rail coasters? Wondering if Intamin would still be priced lower as trying to break into the market, and if certain features for example the drive tyres and tyre-based braking system make it cheaper.
Intamin is unlikely to lower the price to break into the market because they've already broken into the market. The challenge is selling the first. They've done that and it's proven to be a successful product. As for specific pricing, there are a lot of variables so it's difficult to provide a blanket notional cost difference. Drive tires and tired-based braking definitely makes it cheaper than a magnetic system as the equipment is cheaper, the programming is cheaper, and the train design is simple. Things like a custom layout will add engineering costs though. Trains are also expensive so the quantity can have a substantial impact from a hardware and programming standpoint. Something like this model that is very short and only has one train is liable to be very inexpensive (low single digit US millions)...
1673302843076.png
 
Last edited:

Gazza

Giga Poster
That said, you have to wonder why a park would get a layout like that. Launch aside, to me it looks like the Intamin version of this:
1673307031412.png
 

Rob Coasters

Hyper Poster
The replacement for the Cobra after its two fatal accidents has been revealed.

Height: 23 meters
Speed: 72 km/h
Elements: Beyond vertical drop -> Loop -> Airtime hill into a downwards twisting turnaround -> Corkscrew -> Pop into the brakes

The model for a Eurofighter was decided due to its proven safety record to avoid a Cobra-type accident from ever happening again.


1688214857892.png
1688214877272.png
 

TPoseOnTantrum

Giga Poster
Tivoli Friheden has today announced Vindfald for 2024, a new Eurofighter to replace Cobra. See it in all its glory here;
Vindfald1.jpg
Vindfald2.jpg
[Translated to English]

The new roller coaster will be named Vindfald and will be supplied by the German company, Gerstlauer Amusement Rides. It is already available in several versions around Europe and is thus a proven model.

You start by driving 20 meters vertically into the sky, then you plummet towards the ground in an "inverted" fall (more than vertical), then a loop awaits and then...
Danes who love roller coasters can put a big cross in their calendars in the summer of 2024, when Tivoli Friheden is ready with a brand new roller coaster: Vindfald.
It sends the heart right up into the throat from almost the first second. And it stays there for the rest of the trip. There are simply no boring passengers on this roller coaster, says Tivoli Friheden's director, Henrik Ragborg Olesen, in a press release.

Henrik Ragborg Olesen is director of Tivoli Friheden and is looking forward to introducing the audience to the new main attraction. Wind falls have a height of up to 23 metres, a length of just over 300 meters and an expected top speed of 72 kilometers per hour. As well as a more than vertical drop, a loop, corkscrew turns, camel humps and everything else that belongs to a whizzing roller coaster experience. We have a park that is close to the center and at the same time has forest, water, flowers and a very special atmosphere. This means that we neither can nor must make the world's longest coaster, but it does not mean that we cannot try to make the funnest one, says Henrik Ragborg OIesen.

The roller coaster is built by the renowned German manufacturer of rides, Gerstlauer Amusement Rides. According to Henrik Ragborg Olesen, the choice of a business partner is not only about making a fantastic roller coaster. It is also about safety. Not least in light of last year's tragic fatal accident in the Cobra.

The Cobra ran from 2008 to 2022. During that time, two serious accidents occurred. The last one was fatal, and the very next day Friheden decided that the ride would never run again. Not a day goes by without us thinking back to the accident. Therefore, it has naturally been crucial for us to find the right business partner with many years of experience and a well-documented track record, states Henrik Ragborg Olesen.

The Cobra was built by the Italian manufacturer, Sac Sartori, and was delivered to Tivoli Friheden in 2008. Already in the same year, a carriage fell off, so that four people were injured, two of them seriously. It was the axles that it was crazy about, and Sac Sartori was unable to produce any that met the strict safety requirements. Instead, Tivoli Friheden had to go to a local iron foundry in Sabro for help. Subsequently, Friheden raised a compensation claim against Sac Sartori of up to DKK 15 million, but the Italian manufacturer responded by going bankrupt and then re-emerging under the new name Sartori Rides, under which it still operates.

In the 2023 season, a temporary play area with a giant bouncy pad has been created in the area where the Cobra ran. The Cobra ride itself has been sold as scrap.

Henrik Ragborg Olesen has previously stated to the Aarhus Stiftstidende that he is "done with Italians" when it comes to big rides. He feels confident that the German partner on the new roller coaster is exceptionally reliable and a guarantor of quality. We have found this in Gerstlauer and in a ride that has several brothers and sisters around Europe. We are building a unique course for Friheden, but we are building it based on a proven formula, says Henrik Ragborg Olesen.

In the history of Tivoli Friheden, you will find a long series of roller coasters. There is also a tradition of outrageous roller coaster names that goes almost back to the first roller coaster in 1958.

Cyklon 73 ran from 1973 to 1986. Orkanens Øje was in operation from 1987 to 2018. And the neighboring ride to Vindfald is called Tyfonen, which since 2006 has been spinning round and round and round.

On the right side of the illustration you can see the slightly more than 20 meter high drop, which is so steep that the carriage will fall slightly inwards - i.e. it turns more than 90 degrees from its position at the top: Tivoli Friheden

The name Vindfald is of course a reference to the slide's iconic fall, but it is also a salute to history. Many Århusians still remember the loop on Orkanens Oje. With Vindfald, we are bringing the race back to Friheden, and you can safely say that the race has brought some wild friends with it, says Henrik Ragborg Olesen with a smile.

Now as nice and dandy as this sounds from a business and attraction installation standpoint, this is unfortunately a project constrained by limitations from both the available space and surroundings. It doesn't help much that they wanted to get a replacement developed as soon and quickly as possible, which is something that Gerstlauer can do. While this will probably be decent for the park and the public will enjoy it, there are simply better-looking Eurofighters out there.
 
Last edited:

Christian

Hyper Poster
Considering the tiny plot that this will be in, I think it's a great addition. But, this is the third Eurofighter in the tiny country of Denmark. They could have done something more differentiating.
 

Hutch

Strata Poster
Probably would've been my last choice when it comes to intense coasters, but I'm happy they're getting a new one regardless.
 
Top