Colossos - Kampf der Giganten

Roller coaster in Germany
(Redirected from Colossos)
Watch the on-ride POV
Colossos - Kampf der Giganten
Logo
Heide Park Resort
Location Soltau, Lower Saxony, Germany
Coordinates 53°01′24″N 9°53′00″E / 53.023290°N 9.883403°E / 53.023290; 9.883403
Park section Land der Vergessenen
Status Operating since April 13, 2001
Soundtrack IMAscore
Rider height 140 cm minimum
Statistics
Manufacturer Intamin
Product Wooden Coaster (Prefabricated Track)
Builder Ingenieur-Holzbau Cordes
Designer / calculations Ing.-Büro Stengel GmbH
Type Wooden
Riders per train 30
Hourly capacity 1030
Propulsion Chain lift hill
Area 350 metres × 200 metres
Height 50 metres
Elevation change 51.8 metres
Drop 48.5 metres
Top speed 110 km/h
Length 1344 metres
Inversions 0
Drop angle 61°
Duration 2:25
G-Force 3.8
HELP

Colossos - Kampf der Giganten is a wooden roller coaster at Heide Park in Soltau, Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the first wooden roller coaster to use prefabricated track. Kampf der Giganten is German for Battle of the Giants.

Colossos is very different from a traditional wooden roller coaster because it is prefabricated. Instead of trackers cutting, shaping, and laying down the track by hand, the track is laser cut in a factory, achieving a higher degree of precision than could ever be done by hand. The track also is made of more layers of wood that are tightly bonded together instead of being traditionally nailed together by hand.

History

The entrance in July 2016

On July 27, 2016, the ride was closed for unknown reasons and left standing but not operating until 2019. Heide Park originally stated that they were aiming for the ride to reopen in 2017, however the ride was later announced as closed for the entirety of the 2017 season when Heide Park posted a picture of a themed fence covering the ride's entrance on Facebook. The ride's closure was later stated to be because of vital maintenance work costing over €10,000,000, needing to be performed in order to get the ride back up to an operable standard.

On December 6, 2017, Heide Park announced that the ride had been closed due to a TUV inspection in summer 2016 showing that the ride's rails were in an inoperable state. They also stated that due to Colossos not being a normal wooden roller coaster, the refurbishment job would be much more complicated and much more costly, and that the scope of the refurbishment almost equalled the cost of a brand new ride. Finally, they announced that the ride's fate would be announced in January.[1]

On January 11, 2018, Heide Park announced that Colossos would have the required work done to its rails so that they could reopen the ride in 2019. The park also stated that the work would cost €12,000,000.[2]

In August, the name "Colossos - Kampf der Giganten" (Battle of the Giants) was discovered thanks to a trademark application. It was officially revealed in October, along with a new logo.[3]

The ride reopened on April 19, 2019.[4]

Design

Elements

Theme

In 2016, a loose tribal theme was added to Colossos.[1] For the 2019 season, a new storyline was created. After three years of rest, a new battle of the giants awaits.

Trains

2 trains with 5 cars per train. In each car, riders are arranged 2 across in 3 rows, for a total of 30 riders per train.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Reparatur oder Abriss von "Colossos"? Zukunft von Deutschlands größter Holzachterbahn im Heide Park weiterhin ungewiss". Parkerlebnis.de.
  2. "Die Zukunft von "Colossos": Holzachterbahn im Heide Park kehrt zurück!". Parkerlebnis.de.
  3. "„Colossos" im Heide Park erhält 2019 Zusatz „Kampf der Giganten" zur großen Wieder-Eröffnung". Parkerlebnis.de.
  4. "Holzachterbahn „Colossos" im Heide Park nach fast drei Jahren außer Betrieb wieder eröffnet".

External links

Tallest wooden roller coaster
June 2009 - 2014
Preceded by
Son of Beast
Tallest wooden roller coaster
June 2009 - 2014
Succeeded by
T Express
Fastest wooden roller coaster
June 2009 - 2012
Preceded by
Son of Beast
Fastest wooden roller coaster
June 2009 - 2012
Succeeded by
El Toro


Articles on Heide Park Resort