The new Fønix coaster, a custom creation of Vekoma Rides, at Denmark’s Fårup Sommerland. All photos courtesy Vekoma
Unique thrills in Denmark
Record-breaking roller coaster Fønix has risen at Fårup Sommerland by Judith Rubin and Martin Palicki
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t 40 meters (131 feet) in height, 905 meters (2,970 feet) in length and a top speed of 95 kilometers per hour (60 mph), the new Fønix coaster, a custom creation of Vekoma Rides, debuted at Denmark’s Fårup Sommerland in April 2022. At €13 million, Fønix (Phoenix, in English) represents the largest investment in the history of Fårup Sommerland. The park is banking on Fønix’s unique package of thrills to differentiate it from other European parks, rival major coasters around the world and help reinvigorate tourism in the region. “We take great pride in presenting a roller coaster that is without comparison the biggest in Denmark – a fact that will come to leave a significant imprint on both the Danish and the international amusement landscape,” said Fårup Sommerland CEO Niels Jørgen Jensen. “We hope and trust that, by way of such a substantial addition, we will be able to attract both Danish and international guests to Fårup Sommerland as well as the rest of the Danish tourist industry in general.”
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Fønix also represents the continuation of a productive collaboration between Fårup Sommerland and Vekoma Rides. The park’s 2013 Orkanen attraction is a custom Vekoma Suspended Family Coaster. Saven, a coaster opened in 2020, is a custom Vekoma Family Boomerang. “After the success of Orkanen in 2013, something else was needed,” explained Stefan Holtman, Sales Manager/Senior Design Engineer, Vekoma Rides. “Fårup Sommerland and Vekoma were discussing a new addition to the park already in 2018. During a joint trip to Legendia Park in Poland, the Fårup Sommerland owners were taken with the Lech Coaster there.” (Lech Coaster is a high-speed, high-thrill, compact steel roller coaster version of Vekoma’s Bermuda Blitz design, installed at Legendia in 2017.) [See “Heavy Metal,” InPark Magazine issue #68.] “However, as Fårup Sommerland is a typical family park, we were concerned that a Bermuda Blitz coaster would be a bit too intense for their target group,” said Holtman. “Therefore we had
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