German theme park set to debut innovative coaster-dark ride combo

A German theme park will introduce a first-of-a-kind attraction featuring a 240-foot-tall high-speed hyper-coaster sandwiched between a pair of medieval-themed dark ride experiences.

Set to debut this summer at Hansa Park, Karnan’s Oath: Beware of Its Spell will join two other dark ride-coaster combos built by Gerstlauer at the park: The Curse of Novgorod and the Snake from Midgard.

Billed as a challenging and adventurous family thrill ride, the high-speed hyper-coaster will feature a theme based on a Swedish medieval fortress built in the 1300s. Concept art for the ride shows the coaster swooping through a 260-foot-tall replica of the fort’s distinctive stone tower. A soundtrack has been specifically recorded for the ride by a symphony orchestra.

Located on the Baltic Sea about an hour northeast of Hamburg, Hansa Park is expected to reveal many of the remaining details about the signature ride in a viral marketing campaign. What’s known so far paints an intriguing but incomplete picture.

Built by German-based Gerstlauer, Karnan will include a vertical lift hill, a vertical first drop and multiple dark ride segments.

Traveling along a 4,000-foot-long track at speeds reaching 79 mph, Karnan will feature a heart-shaped ride element, at least one inversion and a terrain-hugging section of the course. Inside the tower, the track will include a vertical twist in the dark as the coaster rockets down a 220-foot drop.

The uniquely-designed Karnan trains will be similar to the Smiler coaster at Alton Towers. Karnan is also expected to be reminiscent of the 2007 Gerstlauer Mystery Mine coaster at Dollywood, which includes an indoor chain-driven vertical lift hill and dark ride elements.

In 2016, Hansa plans to continue incorporating the new attraction into the park’s medieval land with additional theming and back story.

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