Tivoli’s new DKK30 million (€4m/$4.5m) thrill ride opened on August 15 as part of the Copenhagen amusement park’s 175th anniversary celebrations. Tik Tak is the first Shake to be installed by the Dutch manufacturer Mondial at a Scandinavian amusement park.
The ride was originally due to be launched in the spring. Instead it got a summer unveiling by Oliver Bjerrehuus and Joachim Button, pictured above, stars of the musical Kærlighed ved første hik (Love at First Hiccups).
The ride comprises 20 twin-seat gondolas, grouped in fours on a giant circular platform. As the platform rotates, so does each cluster of cars. The free-swinging gondolas also rotate forward and backwards, completing several somersaults once they get into full swing. During the ride, passengers experience forces of almost 4G. The intense and unpredictable attraction is available to all Tivoli guests over 1.4 metres in height.
Like a tumble dryer
After taking a ride, Bjerrehuus reported: “My first reaction when the restraints went down was total panic. You’re stuck for the next five minutes, which fortunately were excellent. You are rolled around like in a tumble dryer. It’s amazing!”
Tik Tak replaces Tivoli’s old Spinning Top ride, a Huss Breakdance that has entertained 14 million people since 1988. The new 40-seater attraction, model Shake R5, can accommodate up to 750 riders per hour. Mondial previously supplied a Shake to the Russian amusement park Divo Ostrov in St Petersburg in 2015. Several versions of the ride can also be seen on the travelling fair circuit in countries including Germany.
Tivoli’s dizziness guarantee
The DKK30 million budget for Tik Tak includes theming and development by the style-conscious amusement park’s in-house team. The design, which includes an elaborate pavilion building, is similar to that of the nearby Star Flyer and Aquila (Air Race). When guests board the attraction, they will sit among gears, gadgets and ingenious mechanisms, ready for a journey through space and time. According to a Tivoli spokesperson, dizziness is almost guaranteed!
Image by Bax Lindhardt, video by Christoffer Sandager
