Kolmården Wildlife Park

[iamradam]

This looks so damn fast and impressive, must pull some big Gs. Putting RMC on the global coaster map in a big way. I don't think I'll ever get to go on it but it's beautiful enough to watch.


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[Ryan.B]

I've got a chance of going on this in summer, I am going to Liseberg, but it looks like a road trip is required! Airtime + Inversions, The speed it takes some of the hills is insane. Looks like a No.1 contender!

[Aidan Lowe]

That is one impressive coaster...

And the music is Two Steps From Hell - Path of Destruction, epic music for an epic coaster POV!

[Liam.W]

Oh. My. God. That looks INCREDIBLE!!! That is certainly one way of putting Kolmarden on the map! Now I have an even bigger excuse to go to Sweden!

[NemesisRider]

Damn. This coaster is so impressive! Sweden's continuing from Helix in epic style! :P This will pretty much definitely be the best RMC wooden coaster out there. Best coaster of 2016? Who knows, I think we have to wait until Taron opens...

[lewis97]

Although Wildfire was ready to open today, it has been unable to do so with Kolmården issuing the following statement;

Wildfire will not open today due to technical problems.

The manufacturers have made us aware of a potential defect on a part in the trains.

We have not detected any fault on our trains, but for us it is a matter of following the instructions from the manufacturers of the attraction. We are very sorry for those who were looking forward to ride Wildfire today and the next few days. We are working hard to move as quickly as possible to get Wildfire up and running, but we anticipate that it will take at least 3-5 days.

This article suggests that the issue is with the cylinders that are a part of the restraint system.

[lewis97]

After the cylinders were delivered, installed and tested today, Wildfire is ready to open tomorrow!



Source: Wildfire Instagram

[Jack]

Wildfire is OPEN! Some great reviews of the ride with some unique off ride shots of it. Hope to get out there soon and ride this, as this is honestly one of the most incredible coasters I've ever seen

[Ryan.B]

Hate to bring bad news guys, but it seems the council/board whatever it is over there aren't happy with the permit for Wildfire, on the basis it is 'effecting wildlife' it is currently SBNO, and it seems like unless the permit gets re accepted the ride will be torn down. Problem is, by the sounds of things it's not looking very good on that side of things at all, and they can be even more strict than they are over here. I doubt it will open again, but that's my educated opinion. this is actually terrible news for the park, and probably everyone that has ridden it. My personal favourite coaster, and probably quite a few others favourite is facing removal.

[Jack]

Terrible news, but I don't think even the most strict of councils will just instantly force a costly investment such as this to close down without any sort of action to be taken from the park. I personally see a lengthy legal battle with this, however Wildfire will probably come out of it in it's current state I'd say.

...How many times has the project hit legal trouble so far now, anyway? :lol

[Ryan.B]

If they are concerned operation wise it'll definitely take a few months, and depending on whether they need a new zoning plan (whatever they call it anyway) or not, a few years. As long as it's not accepted for, the park will get fines by the looks of things. At the moment I'd say it's a fifty fifty. It won't be forced to be torn down, not at all. Whether they can keep the structure SBNO until sorted without fines I don't know, but there's no way they can operate it without fines, and if they do ask for it to be torn down and kolmarden don't accept it, they will get fines. The company that owns Kolmarden has a monopoly of parks over there as well, furivik, Grona, Kolmarden, Skara etc. And from what I have seen myself and heard about, they were obviously either expecting it to be pulling in massive queues with the length of the line and advertisement, or keep expanding the lineup of rides. Walk on in summer holidays on one train on a nice day, while the park is reasonably busy as well. I don't think it has been a massive success to be honest in business terms. It'll bring enthusiasts in purely for the coaster, but people aren't all going to travel for one major ride.

[Aidan Lowe]

What a kick in the teeth and what stupidity to revoke the permits now after all this time...

[MakoMania]

This is one of the most insane things I've ever heard and I've listened to some pretty insane things over the years.

[theparklifekid]

Translated from a news page:

"Several local residents have criticized the major attraction of wood, which opened last summer. Among other things, they believe that it causes too much noise - and now repeal the Land and Environmental Court building permit for the rollercoaster, reports SVT News East.
"We had hoped for a different outcome, but we are well prepared for the different scenarios. Before we know how we should proceed, we will now put us into the reasons for the decision. Then we will meet with the municipality to evaluate our options," says Christer Fogelmarck, acting CEO of Kolmarden zoo, in a press release.
Land and Environmental Court notes that the rollercoaster is already built, but estimates that it requires a detailed plan. According to Swedish Television News East, however, the municipality of Norrköping zoning add the area afterwards.
The judgment states that roller coaster causes a significant environmental impact, including on wildlife and the surrounding natural areas. The Court also points such as increasing traffic. The overall assessment is that the building should have been preceded by the municipality measure examined through a detailed plan."

I hope they don't have to tear it down. Wildfire is on a high position of my Bucketlist coasters and to see it last for so little time would seem like such a waste. Truly one of the most unbelievable situations in coaster history.

[Ryan.B]

If they do have to do the zoning plan again from scratch, it will take anywhere in between a year or five. I don't see it reopening next season at the minimum. Didn't know the ropers had moved.

[Chris]

There's no point speculating what will happen at this stage. Sweden must have a proper building permit system in place, otherwise the residents and government could complain about any new developments and have them torn down.

Surely the government should not have given them permission to build it in the first place if the park did not carry out appropriate investigations and checks on nature and traffic etc.

[NeoXIII]

According to Parkerlebnis.de and a Swedish website, most of the committee involved are in favour of keeping Wildfire up and running. Friend of mine gave me a quick translation, it seems like it's up to Kolmarden if they want to reopen the ride for this season. Finger's crossed!

Sources:
http://www.parkerlebnis.de/wildifre-kol ... pnews_pos2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (German)
http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.as ... el=6612592" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (Swedish)

[Dom]

According to Screamscape, Wldfire will not be demolished.

Great news for coaster lovers, because according to an article posted to Loopings, the Wildfire coaster will not be torn down. If you forgot, Wildfire was closed late last year when the local authorities for some reason decided to “withdraw” the building permits for the ride… after it was already built and running for the entire summer season. Crazy… I know… but the fear was that the coaster would be torn down and now it wont.
Now I don’t think it is entirely out of the woods yet, as they have yet to give Kolmarden permission to reopen the coaster just yet, but I’m guessing it is all the matter of just having all the right paperwork and permits run through again along with a final thumbs-up from the government. If all goes well, I’d hope to see Wildfire running again this summer.

[Owen]

Wildfire has been confirmed to be reopening this summer!

[theparklifekid]

YAY!

Thats great news, Wildfire is a bucketlist coaster for me, may try a 2018 visit!