News from The Netherlands

New designs and roller coasters for Vekoma

The Dutch manufacturer is not short on projects. While the Stingray, a new, more compact and cheaper version of the Flying Dutchman, has just finished building in the Suzhou Giant Wheel Park near Shanghai (China) which is to open next season, Vekoma must also deliver in 2009 a Family Coaster in Tibidabo Spain and another named Delfinexpressen in Kolmården (Sweden). In Asia, two indoor Custom Design Family Coasters must also open at Powerlong, China, and another on five floors of a building, in Taiwan
On the design front, Vekoma unveiled new seats for its Flying Coasters: more comfortable thanks to shin guards connected to a harness, but also more convenient for operations as they facilitate passenger loading and unloading.
New trains featuring a novel harnesses system have also been designed. They are available for large roller coasters in suspended or sitting configurations.

Take over of Wheels of Excellence

Wheels of Excellence, the world’s most famous Giant Observation Wheels, designed by Ronald Bussink AG in Switzerland, has been acquired by The Vekoma Rides Group.
Manufactured using the same suppliers in order to maintain the standards of quality, The Wheels of Excellence will be handled as a separate and exclusive product line to support all R40, R50, R60 deliveries starting in 2009 along with the upcoming R80 XL.








KMG won’t stop!

After the success of its inversion ride (three are already in service and three others pending) the Dutch company KMG will see High Swing, a sort of 60-metre high flying chairs, in operation as soon as Christmas in Belgium.
Moreover, to maximize its impact on the U.S. market, the manufacturer has partnered with Len Soled of Rides4U, now KMG’s agent, who can ensure the supply of spare parts within 24 hours in the United States.
For coming years, two projects are ready to go: one for 2010 would be a new relatively inexpensive fairground carousel. With a small footprint (only one semi-trailer for transport) but simpler, for it would require only two people for rigging, inside 1h30. According to the manufacturer, three copies have already been ordered. The second is scheduled for 2011. It would be 80-metres high and compete with High Swings or Ferris wheels. The ride will be available as fixed or transportable versions.

Erratum : The picture published in Loisirs Attractions n°5 (page 49) presented as an Inversion was actually an Afterburner... We apologize for this mistake and thank you for your understanding.


Van Egdom the slide in Dutch

After tallying 200 projects in 2007, including 100 major slides, the European waterslides specialist recently completed three major projects near Reykjavik in Iceland. Last August, Van Egdom delivered a turnkey public water park in the heart of Bucharest in Romania. From an existing pool, the manufacturer created 10,000-sqm park which includes four large swimming pools, three slides, an aquatic playground, a pirate themed children’s pool, and its water treatment system.
On the novelty side, the manufacturer launches new slides: the Bubbler, the Magic Oval, the Super Crater, a Wild River and a new technology named MyVidayo to create custom videos for visitors of a park through an RFID badge system.
Finally on the 2009 project side: 15 slides have already been contracted for spring in Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and the Middle East.





























Mondial triggers his Avalanche

Specialist in large Ferris wheels and thrill rides, Mondial, a Dutch company, presented a new 50-metre high swinging carousel for the first time in Europe. The Avalanche has two platforms running on three axis of rotation, and can carry up to 40 passengers for an hourly capacity of 800 people.
Another novelty, a 55-metre Ferris wheel with semi-enclosed pods available in fixed or transportable mode (5 transport trucks for the Ferris wheel and the 28 cabins). This should see the light of day in a Dutch fair, early 2009.