Sweden‘s Kolmården Zoo to Build Wooden Coaster

 „Wildfire“ is the name of the new wooden roller coaster which will rip through the woods of Sweden’s Kolmården Zoo as of spring 2016. The coaster’s 1.3 kilometer long track will feature three inversions and twelve airtime hills, and trains will gear up to a maximum speed of 113 km/h. Wildfire, which belongs to a new generation of wooden roller coasters, will completely be built by Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC). Vekoma, RMC’s European sales agent, is responsible for the power and control systems. The first wooden coaster using this new technology was opened at Silver Dollar City last year (cp. EAP issue 3/2013). “For a long time, our goal has been to build the world’s best roller coaster at Kolmården. The challenge has been to develop a world class roller coaster that blends in with the extraordinary landscape and the park’s atmosphere. This has finally been made possible thanks to modern technology. We are delighted that this dream can finally be realized”, says Johan Tidstrand, principal owner of Parks and Resorts. The total investment volume for the new attraction amounts to around twelve million EUR (110 million SEK). Along with the new, highly anticipated wooden coaster slated for a 2016 opening, the park will open up an entire new theme area in May 2015 on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. Located on a 20,000 square meter large area, “Bamses Värld” (Eng. Bamse’s World) will be dedicated to the popular Swedish character “Bamse”, a little bear, which is not unknown to Kolmården visitors. (eap)