Ride to Happiness by Tomorrowland

Roller coaster in Belgium
Watch the on-ride POV
Ride to Happiness by Tomorrowland
Plopsaland De Panne
Location Adinkerke-De Panne, West Flanders, Flemish Region, Belgium
Coordinates 51°04′52″N 2°35′55″E / 51.081041°N 2.598747°E / 51.081041; 2.598747
Status Operating since 1 July 2021
Cost €15,000,000
Soundtrack Yes
Rider height 130 cm minimum
Statistics
Manufacturer Mack Rides
Product Xtreme Spinning Coaster
Type Steel - Launched - Spinning
Riders per train 16
Propulsion LSM launch
LSM boost
Height 33 metres
Top speed 90 km/h
Length 920 metres
Inversions 6
HELP

Ride to Happiness by Tomorrowland is a steel launched spinning roller coaster at Plopsaland De Panne in Adinkerke-De Panne, West Flanders, Flemish Region, Belgium. It is the second Xtreme Spinning Coaster from Mack Rides and opened on 1 July 2021.

History

In October 2018, park CEO Steve Van den Kerkhof revealed plans to build a new attraction which he described as the "successor to Anubis The Ride".[1] The ride was announced on 24 September 2019. Not many details were confirmed other than that it would be a "large coaster", but the use of a picture of Time Traveler at Silver Dollar City strongly indicated that it would be an Xtreme Spinning Coaster from Mack Rides. The name "Robo-Spinner" was announced.[2]

On 20 October 2019, plans for the ride were leaked.

Some track pieces arrived onsite in October 2020.[3] Assembly was completed in January 2021.[4]

On 15 January 2021, Plopsaland De Panne revealed the name and theme of the ride on their blog. It was also revealed that the ride would have an on-board soundtrack based on the Tomorrowland Hymn by Hans Zimmer.[5] Ride to Happiness by Tomorrowland would cost €15,000,000 ($18,000,000 USD) to build.

Ride to Happiness by Tomorrowland officially opened to the public on 1 July 2021.

Design

Elements

Ride to Happiness by Tomorrowland is an Xtreme Spinning Coaster from Mack Rides, similar to Time Traveler at Silver Dollar City.

Trains

2 trains with 4 cars per train. In each car, riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows, for a total of 16 riders per train.

Incident

On 19 February 2022 at around 17:30, a train with nine riders stalled at the highest point of the ride. The park was subsequently closed to allow firefighters access to the ride. The rescue operation was unable to start until around 21:00 due to high winds.[6] The ride reopened with a single train a week after the incident. Two-train operation was restored in early May. The reason why the incident occurred was not determined, though the stalled train was travelling slower than normal.[7] Drive tyres were installed on the hill the next year.[8]

Images

References

  1. Louis, Alexander (30 October 2018). "Plopsaland De Panne plant Nachfolger von Katapult-Achterbahn „Anubis: The Ride" nach 2020". Parkerlebnis.de. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  2. Frank, Thomas (24 September 2019). "Plopsaland De Panne plant spektakuläre Achterbahn mit drehenden Wagen und Überkopf-Momenten". Parkerlebnis.de. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  3. Louis, Alexander (21 October 2020). "Plopsaland De Panne empfängt erste Schienen für spektakulären Xtreme Spinning Coaster für 2021". Parkerlebnis.de. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  4. Keller, Marc (5 January 2021). "Einzigartig in Europa: Extreme neue Achterbahn in Plopsaland De Panne feiert Schienenschluss" (in Deutsch). Parkerlebnis.de. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  5. "Tommorowland and Plopsa announce the most spectaculair roller coaster in europe". https://plopsanews.com/. 15 January 2021. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  6. Keller, Marc (2022-02-19). "Über Stunden festgesteckt: „The Ride to Happiness" im Plopsaland bleibt mit Fahrgästen am höchsten Punkt stehen". Parkerlebnis.de. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
  7. Holt, Andre (2022-05-03). "„The Ride to Happiness" nach Zwischenfall wieder vollständig mit zwei Zügen in Betrieb". Parkerlebnis.de. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  8. "Plopsaland neemt maatregelen om vastlopen Ride to Happiness te voorkomen". Looopings. 2023-03-17. Retrieved 2023-11-09.

External links


Articles on Plopsaland De Panne