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Phantasialand | F. L. Y. | Vekoma Launched Flying Coaster | 2020

Has anyone noticed that the Hollywood Tour has disappeared from the park map? ;)
Yes it was mentioned in the small news thread

2020 continues to take and take...


Not worth its own topic as I do not believe its the start of anything major that will eventually be China 2.0; plus we've all had enough of Phantasialand topics for now no?
Following an incident with water damage in the building housing Hollywood Tour and Fantissima (Crazy Bats being above both has been unaffected) has led to the ride being closed for most of this season and the dinner show to have a delayed start in November while repair work is ongoing.

Unexpectedly however Hollywood Tour has today disappeared from the online park map and in park app. Have the challenging financial effects of corona led to them deciding now to keep it SBNO for the rest of 2020 as a cost cutting measure?
Or last minute its now been given a much earlier than planned retirement? (given the next project is extremely likely based off evidence + rumours to be Geister Rikscha's replacement)
Or just a mistake with the website? haha

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So shower thought...... So Rookburg and F.L.Y have been soft open a month or so now.... when will official open be? for the start of next season?

One thing I do hope with an official opening is they finally release some Merch - anything!! a pen or T-shirt will do!
 
So shower thought...... So Rookburg and F.L.Y have been soft open a month or so now.... when will official open be? for the start of next season?

One thing I do hope with an official opening is they finally release some Merch - anything!! a pen or T-shirt will do!

I've heard that rookburgh is in softopening as long as the covid restrictions exist in the park.
 
Yesterday I visited the park. At 13:00 I decided to join to the queu for Rookburgh. After 20 mins we were in. It's handsdown the best themed area I have ever seen. There is so much going on. So many hidden details to watch. After 15 min we decided to go ride F.L.Y. The queu is really great. Except from the smal part that you go downstairs for the first time. You can't see sh*t of the ride then. But when you are at the side of the hotel and the 2 launches, it's truely amazing to watch. The part which I dislike, is that there is a super anoyning grate everywhere. I do get it why they did that, but it's not that convenient to make pictures. The view just before you go undreground is a-ma-zing. The train is flying right at you on your left. When you are underneeth the ground, you will see a part of barons' queue. It's a round chamber with some projecters. Very smart and it works so why not.

The locker system does work pretty good, except for the pandamic part. Everyone is bumping in to you to run as quickly further in to the queue. Not good Phantasialand not good.... Also the amount of people in the park was a bit too much. There was some police in the park at some point, so I hope they did not wrote everything down what they saw....

The metal detectors were also a bit of an issue, because a person who was with me that day had absolutley nothing with her, but she still had to go back to throw a unknown metal part into the locker. When she revisited the metal detector it was again giving a red light, but now it was good to go for some reason.

The boarding station is well themed, I do dislike the vacuum cleaners at the airgates, but that is a personal opinion. When you get in the seats it's really comfy. It's also very natural to get in, and everything goes quickly. When you start to ride, you accelerate pretty fast and start to turn right. Then you go on the VEKOMA test track and you see some beautifull theming. On the top, the magic starts and you will get in flying position. (When you are in the queu you can always hear when people are experiencing that) The launch is just as forcefull as I thought it would be when I saw the pov all the way back. It's great. It's a feeling of freedom. To make sure you will have that feeling all the way through the ride, SIT IN THE BACK. Those hills feel so much better in the back than in the front. The amount of airtime is also way better. And it's soo glossy smooth.

My favorite section is the part just after the second launch (just as taron). If you sit on the right, you can reach the water hoses with your hands which is a nice touch.
I only rode it twice, because I think there is more to ride than just F.L.Y. but, it is definitely the best ride of the park. It has the best theming, and gives the most unique experience. Taron is comparable in sertain ways, but the theming is not as heavily als F.L.Y. and the queu is boring with the giant cattle pen. Taron is still great nevertheless.

Conclusion, VEKOMA nailed it. They made a butter smooth ride with a unique feeling and high riders capacity. It's ofcourse way better than Galactica, but it also a little bit unfair to compare.
Phantasialand nailed it. They made the most beautifull themed area so far. The experience is worldclass. The hotels are very well integrated in the area. The amount of detail is crazy. And best of all: the trust in VEKOMA paid off. Vekoma is a rising star and phantasialand knew that. They spended a huge amount of money to invest in their unique ride system.
 
I already posted this in the Rookburgh planning thread, but posting here in case anyone knows what's going on.

Multiple fire crews were attending Rookburgh shortly after park closing today, more on the way as my uber headed into Brühl. Didn't see any smoke or anything but that's a lot of emergency services equipment heading in there.
 
My review here ...https://coasterforce.com/forums/threads/last-cred-review.42950/post-1097120

As for the themeing debate, it's obviously world class and on par with Klugheim. I must say though after venturing into the seemingly forgotten area of Deep In Africa; Black Mamba is the best themed rollercoaster in the world. The rockwork, waterfalls, all the detail in the queue as you approach the station - this wouldn't look out of place in Animal Kingdom. In fact I'd Disney built a B&M Invert I'm not sure they could top this.
 
I never reviewed the ride after Monday and Tuesday's visit to the park.

Our first impressions were very positive, there's a LOT to see in Rookburgh if you're willing to look. Various animations, artwork on the walls and whatnot. Curiously, all of the themed artwork is in English, which I didn't expect, especially as the big gates are marked 'Tor' (in German, as expected). No complaints about that though, there is also some great animated theming to be found just prior to the lockers, and the station lighting is all synced nicely with the train movements which makes the batching experience quite dynamic too.

The ride itself exceeded our expectations. Plenty of low to the floor moments where you really feel the forces of the ride. The launches aren't as strong as Taron's but you probably don't want them to be. The layout is packed full of near miss elements and tight helixes and whilst it doesn't contain the holy grail of flying coaster inversions, the pretzel loop, I struggle to see how it would improve on an already very strong layout. Similar to Taron and Colorado adventure, the ride time is long enough to feel worth waiting for, not too long that it overstays its welcome. I personally put it as my park number 2, and am toying with whether it knocks Ghostrider off my all-time number 5 spot or not. My partner preferred it to Taron and it knocked River Quest off her park top spot.

As an extra, the Chocolate shop is a really nice touch, it's not too expensive either given the quality. Definitely worth a visit after a ride.
 
So,

Sunday was finally the day of days: I could drive/fly FLY. Breathtaking. Amazing. The whole theme area is just great. My companions told me that it might even have been over-themed here and there. I don't can say the same.

The ride is really something special. On the first trip we sat in row 7 and it was really unusual to sit/lie like that, but I didn't mind. The second ride was row 1, I was so lucky, and was a lot better. In my opinion you have much more airtime here, especially right after the first launch.

Once again great work from Vekoma and Phantasialand.

It doesn't replace Taron as my favorite roller coaster, but it comes very close.

Simply unique and definitely world class.
 
Well after such a long wait only open for 6 weeks... awkward. Ah well hopefully come the official opening next season corona won't be shutting the park down again!

Mostly just marketing speak but an interview with the park press office regarding the project. Source
The Idea
"The plan - to be more precise, the vision - of our owner and manager Robert Löffelhardt was to create a themed world that is really self-contained. A world that you can completely immerse yourself in, day and night. Where everything merges with one another, from the theming to the food and the experience at night. Over time, this led to the planning of the Rookburgh theme world with the Flying Launch Coaster F.L.Y. in perfect union with the Hotel Charles Lindbergh. The first models and drawings were created with the plans - which were then brought to life here on site by our phenomenal project department and countless areas of the company. In addition to the "classic" construction (which was anything but classic due to the special spatial conditions, the special architecture of the hotel and the extremely confused route of the roller coaster right through the themed world and the hotel), colleagues in all areas were actively involved in creating Rookburgh.

The flying coaster F.L.Y. was newly developed in cooperation with the manufacturer; From the technology to the seats to the layout, the development of the coaster was in our hands - no “off the shelf” roller coaster, but a globally unique new development based on our specifications and requirements. The thematic design of the theme world and the hotel with its special aviation cabins was also created in our project department.
We have designed our own employee clothing with a distinctive and unique Rookburgh style. The colleagues from the gastronomy have developed the culinary offers in the Uhrwerk restaurant, the Zum Kohleschipper sandwich shop and Emilie’s Chocoladen & Candy workshop - with their own recipes, homemade dishes and high-quality ingredients. The lighting design and the special effects, which contribute enormously to the intense night experience, were developed by us. And much more. The bottom line is that the entire themed world - from the roller coaster to the smallest pleasure experiences - were developed by ourselves and with specially selected partners."

Theme
"The Rookburgh themed world is part of the Berlin themed area - the world of the Golden roaring 1920s. In our big finale Wintertraum show "The Magic Rose - Spirit of Light" has used the topic of steampunk for years. We took this theme up and developed it into our own version of steampunk in Rookburgh. We wanted to bring both - the steampunk theme and the Berlin theme - together in a world that you can completely immerse yourself in. The pulse of Rookburgh is more haunting and intense than that of golden Berlin, but both belong together. We wanted to create a world where industrial tones and the aviation theme take center stage, while innovative but charmingly old-fashioned features of steampunk shape the design and spirit. Industrial elements combined with filigree ornaments. Amazing innovations combined with down-to-earth craftsmanship. The typical steampunk gears and clockworks, pipes and machines. Rookburgh became a world of explorers and adventurers, of aviators and free spirits - but also of artisans and workers. Where the sky is conquered and amazing machines are invented. Where the fog stands in the streets and the coal stores smoke. Almost where the steam of steampunk is present everywhere and the freedom and inventiveness that are otherwise associated with steampunk are anchored in every creative element and in the experience itself."

Space
"In contrast to many other theme parks, the area in Phantasialand is very limited. In order to make room for innovations, we have to repeatedly tear down old attractions and sometimes even entire subject areas. When building new themed worlds, our strategy is to build different attractions into one another. The attractions Colorado and Chiapas, for example, merge, Raik and Taron cross several times. And in Rookburgh we managed to work a hotel, a restaurant, a fast food outlet, a candy workshop and of course our new attraction F.L.Y. into the smallest of spaces exactly where the attraction "Race for Atlantis" used to be."

Hotel Charles Lindbergh
"With an overnight stay at the Hotel Charles Lindbergh, you don't book a place to sleep, you book an experience package. Only as a hotel guest can you access the hotel with all its exciting viewing platforms and paths which F.L.Y. passes by and with the Bar 1919, where you can end the evening with craft beer, cocktails, billiards and lively conversations while becoming a member of the 'Explorers Society'. In addition, as a guest of the Hotel Charles Lindbergh, you have private access to Phantasialand as well as preferential access to the FLY attraction. The experience package not only includes a rich and exclusive breakfast, but also a 3-course evening menu in the Uhrwerk restaurant. "

The night is spent in real aviator cabins. The cabins belong to Ltd. Meyerhopper, flight engineer or skipper pilot Burburry - and when these gentlemen are on home vacation, they make their cabins available to our guests. In these small space miracles with 2 beds, storage space for luggage and a private bathroom you will find many small details such as photos, certificates or other objects that remind of the owners of the cabins. "

F.L.Y.
"F.L.Y. is a revolutionary flight experience! Visionary mechanics, a completely new flight position and unprecedented pilot seats: F.L.Y. has revolutionized technology and the ride experience. Lying on their stomachs, our guests take to the skies - and feel the freedom of the sky closer than ever before! The journey with F.L.Y. begins sitting upright, until the pilot's seat rotates gallantly under the rail to take off and you are shot in the sky and fly! The gentle sideways rotation of the pilot's seats into the lying position was specially designed for F.L.Y. developed and is unique in the world. F.L.Y. is the first launched flying coaster and the longest flying coaster in the world. "

Public Response
"We take great pride in how our guests perceive Rookburgh. From the very first moments, our guests have immersed themselves in the world of Rookburgh and enlivened it with their own experiences and stories. The complete immersion, which was our declared goal with Rookburgh, is very intense by the guests. From the start, guests have referred to themselves as "explorers" who experience adventures in Rookburgh. In their reports (blogs, social media, personal feedback) they become “pilots” who “fly” - they don't “ride” on the roller coaster. That our ideas and stories are felt and "lived" by Rookburgh in this way was our hope, and that our guests now formulate and experience this so intensely is of course something that we are very happy about.

It's also surprising that for many visitors to Rookburgh, the overall experience is more important than the roller coaster - even if that's, of course, what we wanted to create. Many guests first talk about their experiences with the special delights in the Uhrwerk restaurant or their astonishment at the design of the world or their experiences in the Hotel Charles Lindbergh before they address their flight with F.L.Y. - so it is a bit upside down to a "normal" perception of a roller coaster and a theme world. Most of the time, a roller coaster is the focus of attention (and also of the concept). That our themed world works so well as an overall experience in which the hotel, roller coaster, design and enjoyment merge completely into one another, and that our guests literally become “Rookburgers” themselves, inspires us every day."

Filmed and released back in October, Theme Park Science made this great video about the area which with park permission uses parts of the official soundtrack. Video is in Dutch but German and English subtitles are available.
 
The soft open phase they had last year for 6 weeks is finished and the area is officially open now. This is likely the start of the marketing campaign. Someone on PhantaFriends also checked the keywords for the video which supports the idea this is just a new trailer.
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Rookburgh has since the soft open also received some more theming objects/set dressing around the area. New old style advertisements have been put up for a Circus that is in town (leading to speculation of a new show or entertainment - although could just be theming ofc).
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From part of the queue an office of the Air Rail Company can now be seen through portholes which were blacked out last year.
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Not F.L.Y. related but Hotel Matamba has received a new look in the closed period.
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Does anyone know what exacly happened last friday? F.L.Y. was closed for over one hour and afterwards testruns without passengers took place for 90 minutes or so. A local newspaper reported, that some of the seats didn't rotate back at the end of the ride and some people had to wait in the uncomfy position for a while. All I picked up while waiting in queue for a long time was "issues" ;-)
 
Wow, the new theming and posters looking very nice.
I hope I have the ability to be able to visit this year.
 
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