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Hansa Park Announce 2 New Attractions for 2020

Looks stunning, nothing less than what I would expect from Hansa Park.

Random re the name, I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks 'Curse' sounds way cooler than 'Escape'. I trust the park though, I'm sure they have their reasons!
 
Random re the name, I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks 'Curse' sounds way cooler than 'Escape'. I trust the park though, I'm sure they have their reasons!
I'm starting to suspect it's due to some copyright issues. A cursory Google search suggests the phrase "Fluch von Novgorod" is related to the coaster only, and not some long-forgotten book series or something like that, but you never know with those things. It could be that a closely related name is copyrighted and somebody has reached a settlement after a few years in court.

After all, Disney had to change Zootopia to Zootropolis in Europe because of a French children's book series, if I remember correctly (and Moana to Vaiana because of an Italian adult film star of the former name).
 
Funnily enough, I remember a non-enthusiast friend once telling me about having ridden Fluch, reffering to as "Flugten fra Novgorod" (which is Danish and translates to "The Escape from Novgorod"). Maybe they've realised that a lot of people make this "mistake" and have just gone ahead and changed it?
Nah, that's not it 😅
 
(and Moana to Vaiana because of an Italian adult film star of the former name).
Tbc, it's Vaiana in most of Europe due to a trademark dispute with a Spanish brand of products, and Oceania in Italy allegedly (i.e. not officially confirmed by Disney) due to the adult film star connection.

Getting back on topic, I am kinda hoping the reason for Flucht's name change is more than just a copyright issue and is perhaps a sign that some upgrades are coming to the ride. Those trains have not aged well (rattle like crazy) and are screaming for a do-over, preferably with lap bars ala Iron Shark or Tantrum. Probably won't happen, but one can dream.
 
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Those trains have not aged well (rattle like crazy) and are screaming for a do-over, preferably with lap bars ala Iron Shark or Tantrum. Probably won't happen, but one can dream.

I wonder if part of the Gerstlauer-rattle is the 4-across seating on the relatively thin track, especially these bulky older Eurofighter-trains seem to have an awful weight-to-length-ratio.
 
Getting back on topic, I am kinda hoping the reason for Flucht's name change is more than just a copyright issue and is perhaps a sign that some upgrades are coming to the ride. Those trains have not aged well (rattle like crazy) and are screaming for a do-over, preferably with lap bars ala Iron Shark or Tantrum. Probably won't happen, but one can dream.
Completely agree. It’s an amazing ride, full of surprises, but the trains do have a bit of rattle/shuffle that is the only thing that detracts from the whole experience. Particularly at the end of the (incredible) launch and on the outside section.
 
German themepark site Parkerlebnis speculates that the name change from "Fluch" (Curse) to "Flucht" (Escape) will also be to re-theme the ride partially more family friendly - so I assume no more curcified dead person in the end ;)

https://www.parkerlebnis.de/flucht-von-novgorod-2021-hansa-park-neuer-name-achterbahn_118121.html
That effect hasn't been on for years anyway, at least whenever I go. Since Kärnan opened the train just bypassed it and rolled into the station.
 
Indeed, I want random binliners to jump out at me, dammit! :p

That thing on the rather vicious final brake was perhaps a bit much though. I always liked the original name, as I thought it sounded like a metal album.

The awesome ride soundtrack only adds to that!
 
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Hansa Park's monthly newsletter is out and features the reasoning behind the name. source

“Do not leave these protective walls!” This is what Heinrich Oldendorp calls out to his son in the church of the Kremlin in Novgorod. Nevertheless, he and his friend Alexej have to dare to flee Novgorod to be safe from Volkov. Because Volkov is apparently everywhere.

You have to know the following background: One of the very special features of the Novgorod Kremlin is the erection of churches behind gate entrances. Anyone who knows all the details of our buildings also knows that the Vladimir Tower - the tower in which the journey begins before you are catapulted out of the walls - has a historic cross embedded on the outside.

The history, the legend, the historic buildings and the course of the journey come even closer together: Because Volkov's curse is broken by the cross and the escape from him is made possible for Peer and Alexej.

Why now?
Last year we got through the season without corona. There was no corona outbreak either among the guests or the employees. We can of course attribute this to the responsible behavior of our guests and employees as well as the excellent hygiene concept that we have implemented. But is that enough? After all, every concept also includes, on the one hand, the knowledge of what is wrong or right, and on the other hand, success.

With the thanksgiving beds, which we have been presenting in the park during autumn for some time, we express our gratitude for God's blessing every year. In the unfortunately still ongoing pandemic, however, and against the background of the corona-free season 2020 in the park, we need to do this again more intensively. And so we decided to make the core of the story even clearer now: The symbol of Christ as a sign of victory not only enables Peer and Alexej to flee from Volkov, but we also make God's blessing in our park with the cross (t) visible. Out of gratitude that He has kept our guests and co-workers and in the knowledge that He will continue to bless us."

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I've noticed it's still on Hansa's website as Fluch von Novgorod.

...have we been had?
They trademarked it months ago, new promo material for 2021 has the name, its been mentioned in local news articles in recent weeks. It's genuine. Just the website hasn't been fully updated yet
 
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