INPARK MAGAZINE: Premier Rides Builds up the Hype at Finland’s Särkänniemi Amusement Park
August 07, 2017
A whirlwind of hype continues to grow as thrill seekers flock to ride the first high-tech, triple-launch coaster in the Nordic region, designed by Premier Rides. With the project only announced in spring and construction completed ahead of schedule, the June grand opening of Hype coaster at Särkänniemi Amusement Park in Finland was attended by thousands of theme park enthusiasts, excited to see what the “hype” was all about!
Baltimore, Maryland based Premier Rides spent the last year engineering, manufacturing and shipping the custom-designed triple-launch coaster equipment to the park. The largest investment in the park’s history, the Hype coaster was first announced in March 2017. It opened ahead of schedule and with great fanfare, including a performance by Finnish pop star Robin. Fans from near and far competed to ride the Hypecoaster on opening day, and turned to social media to share their experiences and excitement: “Hype has the wildest design!”, “Rode this 11 times today!” “Hype fits perfectly in the park and delivers extreme thrills!”, “Super exhilaration on Hype, 50 meters up!”, “Riding Hype is like riding a rainbow!”
Premier Rides is known for focusing on large, technically complex projects that incorporate the newest technologies and has provided the ride equipment for award-winning attractions like The Revenge of the Mummy™ at Universal Studios and the world record-breaking Full Throttle at Six Flags Magic Mountain. The project with Särkänniemi raises the bar on expectations throughout the Nordic region.
“By selecting Premier Rides, we had a smooth and totally successful cooperation for the Hype project. Construction was managed excellently, the Premier Rides team was by far the best to work with, and our marketing campaign has been the most successful ever,” Managing Director of Särkänniemi Miikka Seppälä said. “Our Hype-based videos have attracted nearly 2.5 million viewers. In a country with a population of 5.5 million, that is really something!”
“Hype has become one of the most intriguing landmarks in the region with its impressive look. It represents the current trend in the industry: speed, acceleration and a dramatic look,” Särkänniemi’s Director of Development Ville Aarresuo commented. “Since its opening,” Seppälä added, “Hype has made our summer one of the best. In fact, our sales have increased significantly over last year and we look forward to having one of our best years on record thanks to the success of Hype.”
“All of us at Premier Rides are honored to have partnered with Särkänniemi to deliver an incredible roller coaster,” commented Jim Seay, President of Premier Rides. “The park’s team has an extraordinary focus on quality, which is evident in the final project. By incorporating our latest technologies – including our most advanced magnetic launch system-we were able to deliver the first triple-launch experience with the highest inversion to the Nordic Region… and all the buzz from the fans shows that the encounter lives up to the “hype!”
Seppälä noted that the new coaster “helps make Särkänniemi a true destination theme park and the ride an icon in the city of Tampere.” Seay added, “Särkänniemi really stepped up with an attraction for its guests that is usually only seen at the destination theme parks. This demonstrates their commitment to providing world-class, thrilling entertainment to their valued guests.”
Hype is a triple launch coaster that is based on the award-winning attractions SUPERMAN Ultimate Flight located at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, California and Sky Scream located at Holiday Park in Hassloch, Germany. Hype has the most current launch system technology available in the industry. 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 15 meters. Gravity pulls them rapidly back into the station where the guests are launched backwards up to a height of 30 meters. 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 approximately 50 meters in the air-a record for the Nordic Region. 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 braked using magnetic technology as it comes to a stop in the station.
Hype is the first new roller coaster at Särkänniemi in nearly a decade, and is the largest investment in the park’s history.
