Kyūbi Unchained.
Photo: courtesy Zamperla. View full-sized image.
Valkyrie.
Photo: courtesy Festyland. View full-sized image.
France has said “bonjour” to two new coasters in April. Each makes a significant statement for each park. Both opened in early April.
The largest is at Parc Spirou Provence (Monteux, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, France). The park has been open for less than 10 years. It debuted in 2018 with three coasters, all of them from Zierer. Family thrills were raised a bit with a Fireball model from RES Rides a year later. Parc Spirou Provence is themed after a comic book figure, Spirou. Ironically, the new coaster is an anchor to a new land themed to Naruto, a Japanese manga series, which the park claims is the first theme park in Europe to offer an immersive area dedicated to the global phenomenon of Japanese pop culture.
Kyūbi Unchained.
Photo: courtesy Zamperla. View full-sized image.
Kyūbi Unchained is a family thrill launched coaster from Zamperla. Kyūbi is a fox character with nine tails, and the train is detailed to represent him.
This is the largest of Parc Spirou’s coasters and features some signature elements that Zamperla will be pleased to market.
The first launch sends the train into a complete circuit back to the station, but while that is underway, a section of switch track moves into place so that the second launch from the station races the train onto a shuttle piece of track, making the final 250 meters/820 feet traversed in the opposite direction, all done by the traditional vertical spike.
Note that the last car on Kyūbi Unleashed is facing backward and shows the fox’s nine tails.
Photo: courtesy Zamperla. View full-sized image.
This is particularly interesting because the back car (seating four) is turned facing the opposite direction of the rest of the train. It takes the majority of the ride in a backward direction, but finishes going forward.
The height of the ride is 103 feet, making it a spectator attraction for a park of this size. Top speed is 46 mph.
Adam Sandy, roller coaster sales and marketing director for Zamperla, said, “The center line flows perfectly, and it is fun to do three-fourths of the ride backward and the remaining coaster track in the front seat. Also, I can say that this is the smoothest roller coaster track Zamperla has ever manufactured.”
The coaster was packaged with a Zamperla NebulaZ attraction, given the (mouthful) name Rasengan Chakra Rotation, inspired by the rasengan, Naruto’s signature technique. When designed together, Zamperla refers to this as integrated rides projects.
Festyland (Bretteville-Sur-Odon, Normandy, France) welcomed a Vekoma Family Boomerang, continuing the immense popularity of this particular product from the Netherlands supplier.
Dispatched from the Viking zone, the ride is called Valkyrie.
Valkyrie’s track extends the length of the park.
Photo: courtesy Vekoma. View full-sized image.
Like all of this genre, the journey begins with the backward climb from the station, but it is at that point that most similarities end. As riders drop back through the station, the train rushes through a plume of smoke. Although most of these rides have spiraling turns, the dips and twists on Valkyrie stretch the length of the park. Compact it’s not.
The medieval theming is evident in Valkyrie’s station.
Photo: courtesy Vekoma. View full-sized image.
Again, theming helps elevate this installation. The park wished to stay true to the Nordic universe. The front of the train is particularly striking, and the Medieval flavor inside the station features carved timber and flickering lanterns. The park even planted more than 20 trees to help aid in the thematic immersion.
Interaction with spectators is also integrated into the experience as Valkyrie riders soar over pathways and near other rides.
This is the first roller coaster at the park in more than two decades. Two other steel coasters from Soquet offer other family thrills.
Festyland opened in 1989.
— Tim Baldwin, ACE News
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