By Christopher Karlsson
Fårup Sommerland in Blokhus, North Jutland, Denmark has a new addition to the park this year. Fønix is a “Wildcat” model roller coaster from manufactuer Vekoma. It is the biggest investment in the park’s 46 year history with its 100 million DKK.
Fønix is 40 meters (131 feet) tall, the first drop is 80 degrees and the top speed is 95 km/h (59 mph).
It also features three inversions, a world’s-first “stall loop,” a heartline roll and a corkscrew. Worth mentioning is that the corkscrew goes straight through the station building, which for many people is the best looking part of the roller coaster. Or maybe it’s the color of the track. Or maybe it is that gorgeous red train. Or the yellow one. It’s hard to decide; Fønix just looks great and is a big fan of cameras. There are some great places for photos of this ride, and it looks stunning.
But it isn’t the inversions alone that make Fønix such a great ride and addition to Fårup Sommerland. The layout features 14 airtime moments (inversions included) which adds up to 9.2 seconds of airtime. This makes the roller coaster delightfully enjoyable from the excitement of climbing up the lift hill until getting back to the station.
The 905 meters (2,969 feet) of track do not disappoint. But as usual, it’s too short. Because it is si fun, who would not mind if Fønix was even longer?
Despite Fønix being the biggest, fastest and tallest roller coaster in Denmark and taking riders upside down three times, it is not a coaster to fear. Fønix is really a top-of-the-line attraction and it’s smooth, snappy and great fun.
Guests taller than 120 centimeters (48 inches) are allowed to ride Fønix.
The smoothness of the track is a big part of the ride being so enjoyable, but let’s not forget those eye-catching trains — a yellow one and a red one. Not only do they look nice, they ride amazingly, and the restraints are surprisingly comfortable. Each train seats 16 riders.
The queue doesn’t offer anything thematically and has a “normal” cattle pen, but the park has planted a lot of trees, grass and flowers in the area, so once grown in, it will have a different ambiance.
Fårup deserves high praise for the theming around the entrance to the ride and the station house. It’s a great job. While not Universal or Disney, that’s not what one would expect from a small amusement park anyway. After studying the theming a bit closer, one can tell that Fårup has not been cheap in choice of materials.
Is Fønix the ride to really put Fårup Sommerland on the world’s amusement park map? Yes, it is. There have been other coasters at the park before, but one with these superlatives might influence those who haven’t ventured out before to finally plan a visit.
It has been a particularly eventful year for the Danish amusement park, which is now claiming a record season. The park has had a total of 17 percent more visitors than their previous visitor record from 2013. Since it opened for the season on April 9, a total of 768,683 guests hungry for experience have made their way past Fårup Sommerland, making 2022 the best year ever in terms of visitor numbers.
Christopher Karlsson is an Assistant Regional Representative (Sweden) for ACE Europe. He lives near Gothenburg, Sweden. He congratulates Fårup Sommerland, Vekoma and Denmark on a fantastic new roller coaster, and it was this ride that prompted him to visit the park for the first time. He looks forward to returning.