Alpenexpress Enzian (formerly Grottenblitz) is a

powered roller coaster A powered roller coaster is a railed amusement ride similar to a standard roller coaster. Unlike a true roller coaster, the train is powered through the entire course, rather than being allowed to coast after an initial lift or launch. This allow ...

with optional

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a Simulation, simulated experience that employs 3D near-eye displays and pose tracking to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video gam ...

ride experience manufactured by

Mack Rides Mack Rides GmbH & Co KG, also known simply as Mack Rides, is a German company that designs and constructs amusement rides, based in Waldkirch, Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Ge ...

and located at

Europa-Park Europa-Park is a theme park in Rust, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Covering a total area of 95 hectares, twenty themed areas offer around a hundred attractions, including shows and fourteen roller coasters. The park also includes six hotels, a c ...

in Rust, Germany. It is located in the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

-themed section of the park. Opening in 1984, Alpenexpress was the first roller coaster built at the park. After it, the adjacent Tiroler Wildwasserbahn and the area surrounding them were destroyed in a fire in June 2023, the roller coaster was rebuilt, and reopened in the summer of 2024.

Specifications

The Alpenexpress train has 10 cars which can accommodate 38 people (four per car, two per row). Each car is equipped with an electric motor which draws power from rails situated between the tracks. The motors drive wheels which run on a third rail in the center of the tracks. The ride is in length and has a speed of approximately . It has a capacity of 1100 people per hour and a ride time of 1 minute 40 seconds.

Virtual Reality

Alpenexpress Coastiality is an optional, pay-per-ride virtual reality experience on Alpenexpress. The system was developed by

and VR Coaster and was introduced in September 2015. Each ride at opening cost an extra €2 per person. Riders wear wireless

Samsung Gear VR The Samsung Gear VR is a virtual reality headset developed by Samsung Electronics, in collaboration with Oculus VR, and manufactured by Samsung. The headset was released on August 21, 2015. When in use, a compatible Samsung Galaxy device acts as ...

headsets with a selection of four experiences.

Layout

Initially the ride turns sharply right, then into a left-hand helix into the "Magic World of Diamonds", an artificial cave with a mine theme - this cave is shared with the Tirol Log Flume ride. The ride takes a sharp turn to the right out of the cave and back into the station. Normally the ride operates for two laps.

References

External links

* {{amusement-ride-stub Roller coasters in Germany Roller coasters introduced in 1984 Roller coasters that closed in 2023 Rides at Europa-Park