All renderings: courtesy Great Coasters International, Inc. View full-sized image.
As has been the case many times in recent history, Skyline Attractions is partnering with Great Coasters International, Inc. (GCII) — this time along with Sanoyas Rides Corporation — to create Wadatsumi, a custom wood roller coaster for Greenland amusement park in Arao, Kumamoto, Japan. If all goes according to plan, it will entertain its first riders in spring of 2028.
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Being billed as a family-friendly thrill ride, Wadatsumi’s out-and-back layout will reach a maximum height of 63 feet (19.3 m) and have 2,037 feet (620.8 m) of track traversed by two of GCII’s Millennium Flyer trains consisting of eight two-passenger cars. While the support structure will be steel, the installation will feature stacked wood track, much to the delight and envy of enthusiast traditionalists in other countries.
The name Wadatsumi reportedly draws inspiration from the legendary Japanese deity of the sea, reflecting the fluid and nonstop nature of the ride’s layout that will be placed on a small, undeveloped hillside on the edge of the park. Construction is expected to begin in June of 2026, which will mark the first wood coaster built in Japan since 2001’s Elf at Hirakata Park (Hirakata, Osaka).
— Rob Ascough, Publications Director
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