A year after opening two rollercoasters in a single season, the German theme park Phantasialand has teased details of its next. F.L.Y. – Flying Launch Coaster – is the working title given to the record-breaking ride.
A teaser video released on June 20 celebrates the German park’s tradition for unique attraction experiences but gives away few clues about the new ride. All we are told is that it will be the world’s first flying launch coaster as well as the world’s longest flying coaster. The current holder of the latter record is The Flying Dinosaur at Universal Studios Japan, which is just over 1.1km in length.
No manufacturer for the ride at Phantasialand has been revealed, but it’s a good bet it might be Bolliger & Mabillard given that the Swiss firm already built the park’s Black Mamba inverted coaster and is one of the few companies with a flying coaster currently in its catalogue. On such attractions, passengers “fly” lying forward and are turned on their back during the ride’s inversions.
Germany’s home of idiosyncratic and immersive attractions
Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2017, Phantasialand was founded by the Schmidt and Löffelhardt families in Brühl near Cologne (Köln). It features a selection of idiosyncratic and highly immersive attractions. In recent years it has debuted new rides including one of the world’s longest and best-themed log flumes, Chiapas. Last summer the park launched a new area called Klugheim featuring the Intamin multiple launch coaster Taron (pictured) and Raik, a custom family boomerang by Vekoma.
Blooloop asked Phantasialand for more information about F.L.Y. but a spokesperson tells us it is not yet releasing any further details. The German venue is notorious for not opening projects or committing to an opening date until it is absolutely satisfied with all theming and technical aspects. It rarely discusses budgets either. Fans have suggested online that the launch could be some time in 2018. All we can do for now is sit back and enjoy the video above.
