Barcelona, Spain— Premier Rides, a global supplier of high caliber innovative theme park attractions, garnered international acclaim during the prestigious 5^th annual European Star Awards which recognized two of Premier Rides’ installations in the categories of “Best Water Rides” and “Best Roller Coasters” in Europe.

The awards recognize entrepreneurship, courage and innovation within the European theme park industry.  A panel of international experts reviewed attractions spanning across Europe, including Turkey and Russia, to select the best of the best.

The award ceremony, organized by the independent trade journal Kirmes Park & Revue, was hosted by PortAventura World Barcelona, Spain.  Here it was revealed that Linnanmäki’s “Vonkaputous” located in Helsinki, Finland was honored as one of Europe’s best water rides and “Sky Scream”, located at Holiday Park in Hassloch, Germany, as one of Europe’s best steel coasters for 2016.

Jim Seay, President of Premier Rides, commented, “We are proud to be recognized by the highly experienced voting panel of the European Star Awards.  Linnanmäki is a very special amusement park that uses amazing creativity to take advantage of its unique topography. Vonkaputous, with its combination of a fun coaster and great water interaction is a perfect example of their creativity and vision.  It was a pleasure to work with their talented staff, and we are honored to be a part of Linnanmäki’s formula for success.”

Pia Adlivankin, Managing Director of Linnanmäki Amusement Park in Helsinki, Finland, added, “All of us at Linnanmäki Amusement Park are honored to receive another European Star Award for Vonkaputous.  The Premier Rides team has been great to work with and we are pleased to have found such a partner in the industry.”

With regard to the roller coaster, Seay commented, “The Plopsa Group and Holiday Park team continue to provide a first-class theme park experience.  Everyone at Premier Rides enjoys working with their team, and appreciates that Sky Scream is so incredibly popular with the guests.”

The ride has been a spectacular success for Holiday Park Germany, drawing a record-number of coaster enthusiasts and thrill-seekers to the park since its opening in 2014.   Guests have traveled from both near and far to enjoy the high-adrenaline thrill of Sky Scream.  The ride won a European Star Award in 2014 in the category of Best New Rides, and in 2015 in the category of Best Steel Coasters.

Steve Van den Kerkhof, CEO of Plopsa Group commented, “We are very pleased and honored that Sky Scream at Holiday Park is once again recognized as one of the best roller coasters in Europe.  The ride we developed with Premier Rides continues to be very popular with our guests.”

The zombie-themed launch coaster is not for the faint of heart.  The magnetic technology allows the ride vehicle to be launched forward, then in reverse, then forward again even faster.  It features a twisting heart line inversion, ascending and descending twists, two vertical rolls and a non-inverting loop.

About the European Star Awards

The European Star Awards are presented annually at the Euro Attractions Show, an IAAPA conference and trade show featuring over 410 exhibitors and more than 100 products and services. The European Star Awards are bestowed upon recipients by Kirmes Park & Revue, Europe’s leading trade magazine. The European Star Awards boast 11 categories and are dedicated explicitly to rewarding high levels of innovation and superior design in the European theme park industry.

About Premier Rides

Premier Rides is best known for its high-tech magnetic launch roller coasters.  The company is also a global supplier of traditional roller coasters, observation wheels, towers, water rides and custom designed attractions. Premier’s service division offers engineering support, complete ride and train rehab, and it maintains and offers spare parts supply on a 24-hour emergency basis.  The company is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland and has additional U.S., European, and Asian offices.  For more information, please visit www.premier-rides.com or call +1-410-923-0414.

About Plopsa

Plopsa is the theme-park business division of Studio 100. Plopsa currently operates three parks in Belgium, Plopsaland De Panne, Plopsa Indoor Hasselt and Plopsa Coo; one park in the Netherlands, Plopsa Indoor Coevorden and the adventure park, Holiday Park located in Germany.  The parks unite the Studio 100 characters and a variety of attractions under one roof. At the parks, visitors can enjoy the popular Studio 100 characters such as the Gnome Plop, Samson & Gert and their friends Mega Mindy, Pirate Pete, Bumba and others.

Holiday Park is located in the city Hassloch, in southwestern Germany. On average the park receives 1.1 million visitors per year.   For more information, please visit www.ploplsa.be

About Linnamäki

In terms of number of rides, Linnanmäki is the biggest amusement park in the Nordic countries offering something for everyone, from the wild and crazy to the nice and easy. Linnanmäki has been entertaining families since 1950. Admission to the amusement park is free, and the panorama sightseeing tower offering a lovely view over Helsinki can also be accessed free of charge. The park offers 43 rides, 13 restaurants, shops, SEA LIFE, and versatile entertainment.   Linnanmäki is located only 2.5 km from the Helsinki Railway Station.  Linnanmäki Amusement Park is maintained and developed by the Children’s Day Foundation, a significant contributor to Finnish child welfare work. The Children’s Day Foundation thanks each and every visitor to Linnanmäki for helping to support the important work we do for child welfare.  Further information: www.linnanmaki.fi

Universal Studios Orlando has won a prestigious Golden Ticket Award for its Revenge of the Mummy™ attraction.  In the 2016 Amusement Today poll, experienced theme park enthusiasts voted it the Best Indoor Roller Coaster in the world.

Richard Costales, Executive Vice President of Resort Operations, Universal Orlando Resort, was present to receive the award in person. Clearly delighted, he exclaimed, “Number nine in a row! How does that sound?”

He added: “This is the perfect storm for our resort. Universal’s  Mark Woodbury and the creative team pulled together a great concept, a great vendor with Premier Rides – who has actually built three of them for us around the world – a great technical services team that maintains the equipment lead by Dave Winslow and Mark Hammerling , and our great operators lead byAdam Kingsley and Julie Hecht.”

“Who doesn’t want a roller coaster that delivers 2,000 people per hour and has tremendous up time? The ride is never down… and to that point, I looked back at the records: we put over 70 million people through the attraction – pretty cool! And worldwide, with our other two Revenge of the Mummy rides, the number is over 130 million people that the ride has put through worldwide. Once again, thank you very much!”

The Revenge of the Mummy™ attraction plunges guests into total darkness as they come face to face with fireballs, scarab beetles, and an army of warrior mummies on a psychological thrill ride.

Highly-themed, the attraction employs the latest technologies including Premier Rides’ innovative magnetic propulsion systems and high speed track switches plus a host of show elements to create the ultimate visitor experience.

The company has also built The Revenge of the Mummy™ at Universal Studios Singapore and a variation of this award-winning layout at Universal Studios Hollywood. “We are proud that Premier Rides had the opportunity to be a part of the Universal team that produced the Mummy,” commented Jim Seay, President of Premier Rides. “We have enjoyed working on this technically complex and sophisticated attraction.”

Baltimore, MD, USA — A giant bowl of pasta, evil looking clowns, a dentist carrying what looked like a DeWalt drill, and a myriad of colorful balloon animals were but a few of the fear-inducing surprises that were featured during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Lake Compounce’s newest attraction Phobia Phear Coasteron May 7th.  Twelve contest-winners, each with at least one of the incredibly unique fears—including being terrified of roller coasters, had to face their fears at the opening ceremony before they became the lucky first riders on Phobia Phear.

After the contest winners’ first ride, Phobia Phear officially opened to the public.  The park’s opening day crowd appreciated that they could now experience New England’s first launch coaster that also boasts the tallest inversion in the region.  The ride has become an instant hit, generating heavy social medial traffic and buzz in the region; one fan even wrote and produced a jingle for the coaster.

Jerry Brick, General Manager of Lake Compounce expressed, “This is Lake Compounce’s 170th anniversary and we are appropriately celebrating in style! Phobia Phear Coaster was Lake Compounce’s largest capital investment in the park’s history.  We wanted to make a major statement to our guests by opening a state-of-the-art thrill ride that is on par with what you would experience at the world’s largest theme parks.”

“All of us at Premier Rides are so honored to have teamed up with Lake Compounce,” commented Jim Seay, president of Premier Rides.  “Premier Rides was fortunate to have previously worked with their sister park Kennywood in West Miflin, Pennsylvania to design and deliver the SkyRocket Launch Coaster which has been a big success.  Now we get to see the magic of Phobia Phear create a lot of lifetime memories for the guests of Lake Compounce!”

Seay added, “Premier is especially proud that the ride was able to open well ahead of schedule which allowed guest to ride Phobia Phear on the park’s opening day.  Exceeding expectations means a lot to Premier!”

Brick noted, “To work with Premier Rides has been a great experience for us.  They are an excellent partner.” Brick also said that the new coaster “helps make Lake Compounce a true destination theme park.”

Phobia Phear is a triple launch coaster that is based on the award-winning SUPERMAN Ultimate Flight located at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, California.  Phobia Phear has the most current launch system technology which includes a new state-of-the-art energy storage system that allows the ride’s control system to create a powerful magnetic wave with a very low power consumption level.  This magnetic wave powers the coaster, catapulting it up to its record inversion 150 feet in the air.  With the exception of the coaster train itself, there are virtually no moving parts on the ride which makes the attraction very reliable and maintenance friendly.

The riders are first shot out of the station up to a height of 50 feet.  Gravity pulls them rapidly back into the station where the guests are launched backwards up to a height of 100 feet.  Again gravity takes control and brings the train once more back into the station where the final launch is energized and the riders shoot up a vertical twisting track to the highest point on the ride where a tantalizing slow roll places the guests upside down 150 feet in the air.  After executing the roll, guests enter a face-first vertical drop, ending in a twisting loop where riders will experience exciting Gs. The riders then drop toward ground level where the train once more shoots through the station and then is smoothly brakedusing magnetic technology as it comes to a stop in the station.

“This ride is for someone who likes to be scared,” Sara Frias, Marketing Director for Lake Compounce gleefully notes.  “Phobia is different because it is….just the most thrilling experience you can have on a ride.  We just felt like it is really time for us to add something that is not just for kids,” Frias added.

Phobia is the first new roller coaster at Lake Compounce since the year 2000.

Brick added, “If you know you did a good job, it’s when the guests come off smiling and they get back in line.”

Premier Rides, Inc., a supplier of high caliber innovative theme park attractions, garnered international acclaim at the European Star Awards Tuesday, October 6th by receiving European Star Awards in the categories of Best Steel Coasters and Best Water Rides. Presented by Kirmes & Park Revue, the awards recognize entrepreneurship, courage and innovation within the European theme park industry.

After reviewing attractions spanning across Europe, including Turkey and Russia, a panel of international experts selected “Sky Scream”, located at Holiday Park, as one of the top three best steel coasters, and Linnanmaki’s “Vonkaputous” as a top ten best water ride for 2015.

The award ceremony by the independent trade journal was held at Liseberg Amusement Park in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Jim Seay, President of Premier Rides, commented, “We are very proud and honored that Sky Scream was selected once again for a prestigious European Star Award, this year in the category of Best Steel Coasters 2015. The Plopsa Group & Holiday Park team continue to be passionate about delivering a first-class theme park experience and Premier really appreciates that Sky Scream is part of their formula for success. We enjoy working with their team on this amazing attraction that guests will remember for a lifetime.”

Sky Scream, Holiday Park

The ride has been a spectacular success for Holiday Park Germany, drawing a record-number of coaster enthusiasts and thrill-seekers to the park since its opening in 2014. Guests have traveled from both near and far to enjoy the high-adrenaline thrill of Sky Scream. The ride won a European Star Award in 2014 in the category of Best New Rides.

Steve Van den Kerkhof, CEO of Plopsa Group commented, “We are very pleased and honored that Sky Scream at Holiday Park is once again recognized as one of the best roller coasters in Europe. The ride we developed with Premier Rides is clearly very popular with our guests and certainly demonstrates that the Plopsa Group is committed to delivering the best attractions in the industry.”

The zombie-themed launch coaster is not for the faint of heart. The magnetic technology allows the ride vehicle to be launched forward, then in reverse, then forward again even faster. It features a twisting heart line inversion, ascending and descending twists, two vertical rolls and a non-inverting loop.

Vonkaputous, Linnanmaki

With regard to the Water Coaster, Seay commented, “Vonkaputus is a fantastic ride that combines a really fun coaster layout with some excellent water interaction. The splashdown is impressive and even guests watching the ride from the midway get a show. Linnanmaki is a gem of an amusement park that comes up with very imaginative uses of their unique topography and Vonkapoutus is an excellent example of their amazing creativity. It was a pleasure to work with their talented staff.”

Pia Adlivankin, Managing Director of Linnanmaki Amusement Park in Helsinki, Finland, commented, “All of us at Linnanmaki Amusement Park are very pleased to have Vonkaputous be recognized as one of the top ten water rides of Europe. Linnanmaki is famous for having the biggest selection of rides in Scandinavia and Vonkaputous, one of Finland’s first water coasters, is a great example of our efforts to provide a fantastic and unique ride experience.”

About the European Star Awards

The European Star Awards are presented annually at the Euro Attractions Show, an IAAPA conference and trade show featuring over 410 exhibitors and more than 100 products and services. The European Star Awards are bestowed upon recipients by Kirmes Park & Revue, Europe’s leading trade magazine. The European Star Awards boast 11 categories and are dedicated explicitly to rewarding high levels of innovation and superior design in the European theme park industry.

About Premier Rides, Inc.

Premier Rides is best known for its high-tech magnetic launch roller coasters. The company is also a global supplier of traditional roller coasters, observation wheels, towers, water rides and custom designed attractions. Premier’s service division offers engineering support, complete ride and train rehab, and it maintains and offers spare parts supply on a 24-hour emergency basis. The company is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland and has additional U.S., European, and Asian offices. For more information, please visit www.premier-rides.com or call +1-410-923-0414.

Revenge of the Mummy™ ride at Universal Studios Orlando has won a coveted Golden Ticket Award for best indoor roller coaster.

In an international poll of committed park enthusiasts by Amusement Today, the ride received almost twice the number of votes than the next nominated coaster.

Adam Kingsley (pictured right), Senior Director of Attractions Operations, Universal Orlando Resort, was at the 18th Annual Golden Ticket Awards Ceremony to receive the award: “We are honored by this recognition and would like to thank Amusement Today and the voters around the world for selecting the Revenge of the Mummy™ as the Best Indoor Coaster.  We’d also like to thank Premier Rides for supplying this thrilling and reliable ride.”  Kingsley continued, “We are excited that the Mummy™ is consistently recognized as one of the top attractions by winning this prestigious award year-after-year.”

Premier Rides, based in Baltimore, is well known for its high-tech magnetic launch roller coasters. The Revenge of the Mummy™ plunges riders into total darkness and uses high speed track switches and interactive theming to create a psychological thrill ride which the designers say is ‘unlike anything else.’

“Premier Rides is proud to be part of the Universal team that produced Revenge of the Mummy,” commented Jim Seay (pictured left), President of Premier Rides.  “We are honored that Universal continues to keep Premier a part of their formula for success and we are thrilled each time we are selected to deliver award-winning attractions to Universal Resorts located both domestically and around the globe.”

Fans can ride Revenge of the Mummy™ at Universal Studios Singapore. A version of this award-winning attraction can also be enjoyed at Universal Studios Hollywood.

Premier Rides, supplier of high caliber and innovative theme park attractions, has announced that it has been commissioned to design and build the Northeast’s first triple launch coaster – Phobia Phear Coaster – for Lake Compounce Family Theme Park, Connecticut.

Phobia will play on common “phobias” including the fear of heights, speed, enclosed spaces, and rollercoasters.

The coaster, due to open summer 2016, will include the following key elements to thrill riders:

• three magnetic launches
• speeds of 105 kilometers per hour
• a twisting heart-line inversion as well as ascending and descending twists
• the first linear synchronous motor (LSM) coaster in the region
• the highest inversion (150 feet) in New England.

Jim Seay, President of Premier Rides, said, “Premier Rides is extremely honored to have been selected by Lake Compounce to design and produce such an amazing roller coaster.

“Phobia Phear Coaster will incorporate our newest technologies including our most advanced magnetic launch system and a highly innovative power modulation system that represents cutting-edge green technology.”

The Premier Rides Smart Energy System uses high-tech military grade hardware designed to dramatically reduce high-end power requirements in order to lower peak demands to the regional power grid. The self-contained equipment has proved to be a particularly effective component of energy conservation during the summer season when electrical utility demands are at their highest.

Premier, best known for its high-tech magnetic launch roller coasters, is also a global supplier of traditional roller coasters, observation wheels, towers, water rides and custom designed attractions. The company has enjoyed a long association with Lake Compounce’s parent company Palace Entertainment, having supplied many rides for their other signature them parks.

Seay added, “We really enjoy working with the talented Lake Compounce team. They are passionate about the business. On a personal level, I grew up in Connecticut so Lake Compounce holds a special place for me, and it means a lot to provide a world-class attraction to such a historic park. “

Commenting on the park’s new thrill ride, Lake Compounce General Manager, Jerry Brick said, “Adding Phobia to Lake Compounce will launch us to a new level in the amusement park arena by adding another ride that will be enjoyed by our thrill-seeking guests. Over the past 10 years we have focused on attractions that appeal to the younger end of our family audience and we felt it was time to introduce a new high thrill factor. Phobia will be the largest financial investment we have made to the park in our history and we couldn’t be more excited.”

Adrenaline-seekers rejoice! Premier Rides’ new thrilling coaster, Tempesto, is now open to the general public. The ride boasts numerous unique elements: multiple launches, a twisting heartline inversion, ascending and descending twists and two vertical rolls. The reviews are in, and riders couldn’t be more excited.

“This is a roller coaster with non-stop thrills. [This ride] is going to give you a unique experience that you haven’t had anywhere else…you’ve got great speed and some different motion…you get to roll backwards after you leave the station…[and] there’s some great air time moments which for a coaster enthusiast…that’s what we live for.”—Elizabeth Ringas, American Coaster Enthusiasts

“Thrilling. Intense.”—Carl Lum, President of Busch Gardens Williamsburg

“Tempesto at Busch Gardens VA is so much fun!”—Avery Lite, Park Guest

“The slow roll 150 feet above the ground you’re like my gosh, unless you are a fighter pilot, you just don’t do it in normal life.”—Larry Giles, VP of Engineering

“[Tempesto] was so much fun. I love the twists and turns of it.”—Calista Ringas, 12-year-old park guest

“First Tempesto zips you through the station forward and backward at 60 miles an hour. Then it takes you through nonstop twists and turns all the way up to 150 feet where you seem to dangle for a second.”—Joe Flanagan, 13News Now Reporter

2015 is going to be a huge year for Busch Gardens Williamsburg. The Virginia park is celebrating 40 years in a big, big way, with an all new show, changes to some of it’s most popular attractions, and an all new challenge. Can you face the challenge of the old Italian Daredevils? If you can, then you might be brave enough for the park’s newest coaster, TEMPESTO! The park released all the details on the all new coaster, including an opening date.

The all new coaster is the highlight of the season, which will take guests on a journey through the shoes of an Italian Daredevil, named Tempesto. Tempesto was known all around the world for being fearless, but it was his signature stunt that made him famous. He would ride a motorcycle down a twisting track, then work up enough speed before going up and over a huge loop, doing a spin in the middle of the air.

It’s in that spirit that guests will dare to copy his famous trick on the all new coaster.

Tempesto will stand 153 feet tall, and reach a top speed of 63 mph. The track length is only 803 feet, but the coaster will traverse the track several times, with a total track travel of over 1,600 feet. The coaster will launch forwards, then backwards through the station, before launching forward again through the station and going up…and over the huge 153 foot tall loop, where an amazing inversion will be waiting for them.

“Really what Tempesto is—it’s our most intense ride that we have in the park.”—Larry Giles, Vice President of Engineering”

The ride is being built by Premiere Rides, and will last 55 seconds. It’s a fast ride, and it will definitely be one of the most intense rides in the park. The height requirement will be 54 inches, and it will be by Apollo’s Chariot in the Italia/Festa section of the park. The ride will use Linear Synchronous Motors (LSM) to power the coaster up, over and through the track. The biggest news of all is that guests will not have to wait long to ride Tempesto, as the park will open the all new ride on April 25th.

“There was a lot of work that went into this attraction…Tempesto is going to be a great addition to the park.”—Carl Lum, Park President

Now through March 31, the Williamsburg parks are offering a great deal to enjoy Tempesto over and over with a 2-Park Fun Card. For just $75 – the same price as a one-day ticket to Busch Gardens – guests receive unlimited admission to both Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Water Country USA through Sept. 7. The offer represents a 25 percent savings off the regular price of a 2-Park Fun Card.