France’s Parc Asterix to add OzIris coaster to new Egyptian land

The $26-million OzIris roller coaster at Parc Asterix will dive underwater in front of a sorcerer’s temple as part of the French theme park’s new Egyptian-themed land.

PHOTOS: OzIris inverted coaster at Parc Asterix

Debuting April 7, the Bolliger & Mabillard inverted coaster’s elaborate Egyptian themes include an obelisk monument, pictogram carvings and sphinx statues that maintain the characteristic humor of Asterix, a popular French comic book and the theme park’s titular character.

After ascending to the top of a 131-foot-tall lift hill, OzIris will travel at 55 mph with no intermittent brake runs through three tunnels and five inversions, including a dive loop, a corkscrew and zero-G roll.

The new coaster will serve as the anchor attraction for a new Egyptian themed land, joining lands based on Roman, Gallic, Greek and Viking subjects.

OzIris loosely translates to “Dare Iris,” with coaster riders daring to survive the hypnotic gaze of the Egyptian sorcerer Iris.

Taking inspiration from the highly themed Black Mamba inverted coaster at Germany’s Phantasialand, the ride designers for OzIris created a nearly mile-long track layout that dives through artificial rock-work tunnels and underwater chasms.

OzIris joins a select group of underwater coasters that include Vanish (Cosmoworld), Anaconda (Kings Dominion), Runaway Mine Train (Six Flags Over Texas), Bullet (Happy Valley Shenzhen) and Extreme Rusher (Happy Valley Beijing), according to Roller Coaster Database.

Located outside Paris, Parc Asterix will integrate the existing 20-foot-tall Periferix family coaster into the new Egyptian land as the rethemed and renamed SOS Numerobis.