ART Engineering, an amusement ride manufacturer that develops roller coasters, dark rides, carousels, water rides and more, is celebrating one of its latest rides, Wild Swing. This fun, compact ride is driven by electrical motors and has a capacity of up to 500 riders per hour. As the ride does not include any inversions, it is suitable for all the family. The 12-metre ride height is combined with a gondola which can move dynamically in two directions.
The ride was initially created in partnership with Fantasiana, the largest family-run park in Austria. When the park needed to retire a popular pirate ship ride, it turned to ART Engineering and asked the firm to come up with a ride that would fill this gap. It needed something new and exciting that would also keep loyal fans of the previous ride happy.
The result was the first installation of Wild Swing, which the park called Pendula and themed to fit within its Fairytale Forest area.
To find out more about the creation of Wild Swing and learn about the benefits this new ride can bring to operators, blooloop spoke to ART Engineering and Fantasiana, as well as to team members at Potts Park and Karls Erlebnis-Dorf, where subsequent Wild Swing installations have also been entertaining visitors with wildly different theming.
ART Engineering
ART Engineering was established in 2003. Since then, the German company has grown to manufacture rides around the world, always focusing on innovation and quality. It creates family coasters, kiddie coasters, dark rides, carousels and more, as well as providing parts and servicing.
Talking about what makes its new Wild Swing attraction special, ART Engineering’s CEO & co-owner Georg Behringer says:
“The Wild Swing is a great product for all kinds of user groups. It holds 16 riders, with two groups of eight sitting back-to-back on a pendulum-type gondola. This is suspended on the swing arm. The combination of the main controlled swing arm and the free rotation of the gondola brings accelerations and low elevations. Since we do this in a controlled way, there is no rollover.
“It’s a fun ride for each group and is open to younger guests because of our special seat restraint compartment. That gives a height restriction of just 90 centimetres (36 inches). So, it is open to small kids as well as parents and grandparents.”
Pendula at Fantasiana
The first Wild Swing opened as Pendula at Fantasiana near Salzburg in Austria last year. Introducing Fantasiana, Austria’s second biggest theme park, Simon Spitzbart, general manager, says:
“We are family family-operated theme park, so we put a lot of love in our attractions and operations. There are many details you typically wouldn’t see in a big theme park. We try to make every day the best day for our guests and there is a very family-like atmosphere. We are also very focused on theming. For instance, FKF visited our Magical Village, which we opened in 2021, and they said this themed area could also be in Disney or Universal.”
Before the creation of Pendula, ART Engineering also supplied a family launch coaster to Fantasiana; Fridolin’s Crazy Magic Express.
“This is a special coaster. It is the first of its kind with a minimum height requirement of 90 centimetres. It’s wonderful to see small children sitting on the roller coaster and having fun.
“We always wanted to add a new roller coaster to our portfolio, and in 2019 we contacted some coaster manufacturers. From the beginning, we had a very positive feeling about ART Engineering. They welcomed us very warmly and we had a lot of talks about what we wanted to achieve with this new roller coaster. They wanted to hear our side, and we wanted to get technical knowledge about what’s possible. Together we created this new roller coaster, which was a huge success.”
Working together to create the right ride
Following this, Fantasiana knew it could call on ART Engineering for a solution to a new problem – what to replace the park’s much-loved pirate swing with.
“Our pirate swing was no longer safe for the guests, and when we thought about who could help us to realise this new attraction, we soon concluded that ART Engineering would be the perfect match for us.”
Talking about the collaboration, Behringer says:
“We were in direct communication with them, sharing ideas and discussing options. Because the Wild Swing is a replacement for an existing ride, we had to match the area. We also discussed special features like onboard sound and lights, theming, the footprint and so on.”
One of the key requirements for the new ride was that it should be family-friendly. Spitzbart explains:
“Our old attraction had a minimum height requirement of 1 metre 20 and it was a very popular ride for the whole family, so we knew we needed something that everyone could ride. We also wanted to keep that swing element, but we didn’t just want a like-for-like replacement, because it would be boring. We wanted a new attraction that no one had before us, a unique experience.”
Pendula has been uniquely themed to fit within the Fairytale Forest land at Fantasiana.
“Theming is important to us at Fantasiana. With this attraction, we have this water element that makes you feel a near-miss effect. You swing towards the water, and you think that you are going to hit it and get wet. But at the last moment, the water drops, and you don’t get wet. There are also nice fountain elements and a great use of light elements, especially at night.”
The benefits of Wild Swing
Wild Swing uses an electric drive. Looking at the benefits of this, Behringer says it makes installation and maintenance straightforward:
“The electric drive is almost noiseless, and it also has a good efficiency. With each rotation, we can supply power back. Compared to other systems, like hydraulic systems, it needs less maintenance, and so there are fewer costs there. In addition, the installation is easy because you don’t have to make space for a hydraulic unit. Then, when it comes to programming, there are pre-sets to choose from or we can develop bespoke programming for the motion.”
Spitzbart adds: “Pendula can be operated by one person. This is very helpful for me because I’m in charge of employees and I don’t have to find an additional employee to run this attraction, one is enough. That helps a lot, especially in these times when we have labour shortages.
“When it comes to maintenance, we don’t have a lot of worries with Pendula. We have some attractions that need more attention, but Pendula can be maintained very smoothly.
“Thanks to the height requirement, everyone can ride it. I see a lot of small kids riding Pendula because it’s not this very scary attraction. It’s not too intense but it still has exciting moments, and you can see over the park and the surrounding areas.”
Theming Wild Swing
Since its successful debut at Fantasiana, Wild Swing has also been installed at several other parks, including Potts Park and Karls Erlebnis-Dorf in Germany. These installations show how flexible the attraction can be when it comes to theming, and how it brings numerous benefits to the operators.
Behringer says: “The Wild Swing is very flexible; it can be themed to very different stories with special painting or adding special features. So, at Potts Park, we have this Stone Age theming. The ride is in front of a rock and is called Cliff Slingshot.”
Potts Park originated as a theme park purely around a traffic-based theme, aimed solely at adults. But as adults brought their kids with them, the park’s offerings for children have been expanded.
“Straight from the beginning the philosophy of the park was developed around being family-friendly and that children could learn by playing,” says managing director Henrik Pott. The park is home to the Giant Flat, a Guinness World Record holder. By visiting the Giant Flat, adults are brought back to the eyes of a two-year-old. Every single exhibit piece in this 500 square meter three-room apartment is two times the original size.
Potts Park also built a Science Centre with 130 hands-on exhibits and integrated it into the park.
“Previously to our decision for the Wild Swing we’ve never done any Project with ART Engineering,” says Pott. “We always wanted to have a kind of Top Spin, but without inversions. One of our crucial criteria was the ability of children to ride at the age of three. Just by coincidence we found out that ART Engineering was working on that exact specific kind of ride and, using their special seats, were able to hold the criterion for the minimum age.”
The Cliff Slingshot at Potts Park
Describing the new ride at Potts Park, Pott says:
“We integrated the Wild Swing, named “Klippenschleuder” which is German for Cliff Slingshot, into our themed area “Wild Stone Age”. Aside from the artificial rocks in the background, the artificial cave with the queue line, dancing-like fountains matching the ride and a specially composed Soundtrack by IMAScore, we integrated five sloths into the scenery.
“A special highlight is a young mammoth standing next to the “Klippenschleuder”. This “animal” standing 2.6 meters high uses its trunk to turn a wheel, which itself is synchronized to the movement of the attraction so it forms the look as if the animal is driving the “Klippenschleuder”. The usage of Robinia wood, specially treated metal and the fitting vegetation makes the attraction immersive.”
When it comes to the benefits, he adds:
“Every single investment we make aims to the goal of being appealing to our core target group. The “Klippenschleuder” was a real 100% success. Not only the guests, but the viewers also have fun with this attraction. We have the impression that a huge percentage of our daily guests use the Wild Swing. We would do it just like that again.
“Maintenance of the ride is easily manageable and performed, and the operation of the Wild Swing is very clear and easy to be done.”
Weather Change at Karls Erlebnis-Dorf
From the Stone Age theming at Potts Park, we move to Karls Erlebnis-Dorf, where the Wild Swing has been given a fruity twist, in keeping with the park’s strawberry farm heritage.
Robert Dahl, managing director of Karls Erlebnis-Dorf, says:
“We opened our first park in 2008. Before that, we used to be a strawberry farm, with a little playground, a place for coffee and cake, and a small farm shop. Since then, we’ve expanded into what we call Erlebnis Dorf, which means experience village or adventure village. We opened our first ride in 2008, which was a tractor ride, and we decided not to take an entrance fee. Guests pay per ride, or they can just enjoy the farm market, or watch people making the products, producing candies for example, and doing demonstrations.
“Today we have got five parks and four more to come shortly.”
The whole family can ride together
Dahl happened to see a video of the Wild Swing at Fantasiana at the time when Karls was planning to add a new attraction to its Berlin location.
“We were planning an attraction area themed around the weather because things like rain, wind, sunshine and cold are all important in strawberry farming. The Wild Swing from ART Engineering was a good match because we wanted something exciting and family-friendly, with a small footprint.
“In Germany, we have this phrase that means weather swing, where you have got such sunny weather, for instance, and suddenly, big clouds and rain come in. So, we had this idea to make this swing from ART Engineering like a weather swing from sunshine to rain.”
Dahl says the other key benefit of the Wild Swing, in addition to its flexibility around theming, is the height requirement.
“ART Engineering developed special seats where kids of 90 centimetres can enjoy this huge ride. So, small children and adults can have fun together, which is wonderful. We have got a lot of small rides, like tractor rides or small coasters, but this new ride is quite high, so it adds something for kids that are a little bit older, say 14 or 15 years old. That brings families together more.”
Guests love Wild Swing
When it comes to the reception from the public, all three operators have been impressed with the results of their new Wild Swing rides.
Spitzbart says feedback has been positive at Fantasiana:
“The guests love it, especially at night with the illumination effect with the water fountains – that makes a very good first and last impression when you ride the attraction. But also, during the day, interaction with the water makes it very playful.
“People love the storytelling and the greater story behind Pendula. Of course, it’s always hard to replace an old attraction that people love, but guests love this new attraction as well.
“With ART Engineering, you have good quality at a good price. Also, you can customise projects with them – they care about you. They talk to you about what you wish and then customise the project to your needs.”
Meanwhile, at Potts Park, Pott says:
“The result is incredibly good! The ride brings a lot of joy and airtime but still stays very calm. This ride brings joy to the whole family. A lot of guests re-queue for a second time just after they get off the ride.
“We have nothing but positive things to say about working with ART Engineering. Georg Behringer is always available to us and finds a solution to every question or problem in a fact-oriented manner. We are very satisfied. This will certainly not be the last project with ART from our side.”
Dahl at Karls Erlebnis-Dorf adds:
“Guests love it. There are always people queuing for it and we hear big loud screams, so it sounds like great fun. Also, we opened around two months ago, and we haven’t had one minute of downtime, so the ride is working well. I would recommend working with ART Engineering.”
20 years of ART Engineering
For Behringer, while the ultimate goal is to ensure that the client is satisfied with the product, seeing guests enjoy the ride is what makes it worthwhile.
“The parks need to be satisfied with the quality and the technique of the ride, but in the end, the success of the ride is in the reactions of the guests. And if you see the Wild Swing in operation, you watch the people, the smiles on their faces, and you see them exiting the ride and just going around and standing back in the queue to go again. That is one of the best responses there is.”
This year, ART Engineering celebrates 20 years in the business. Talking about this milestone, Behringer says:
“We want to continue with our spirit and our slogan, which is 20 years of progress, together with our customers. We have a lot of new fascinating projects in the pipeline with innovative features that have not been seen yet. As we look to the future, we are feeling positive, and we are looking forward to realising more fantastic and interesting projects with our customers.”
The ART Engineering team will be exhibiting at IAAPA Expo Europe 2023. By visiting the company at booth #A-1026, attendees will be able to get an idea of the comfortable special seat restraint compartment unit. A part of the roller coaster train from Fantasiana will also be shown and ready for testing.
