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Balder (roller coaster)
Encyclopedia
Balder is a wooden roller coaster
at the Liseberg
amusement park in Gothenburg
, Sweden
. It opened in 2003 and was an instant success. Balder has twice, 2003 and 2005, been voted Best Wooden Tracked Roller Coaster in the world in a major international poll - not because it is the biggest or fastest roller coaster, but because of the high percentage of "air time" during the ride .
Balder is very different from a traditional wooden roller coaster because it is a prefabricated wooden roller coaster. This means that instead of trackers cutting, shaping, and laying down the track on site by hand, the track is laser cut in a factory . This means that the track is manufactured to a higher degree of precision than could ever be achieved by hand. The track is also made so that it snaps together like Lego
pieces . The track also is made of more layers of wood that are tightly bonded together instead of nailed together by hand like a traditional wooden roller coaster. This has three major benefits, two being to the park and the other being to the riders.
The "Plug and Play" aspect of the coaster speeds construction of the coaster since track does not have to be completely manufactured on site. In addition, because of the speed of construction, the costs of building the coaster are lowered due to less manhours spent on the construction. The riders benefit from a coaster, that while being wooden, is near steel smooth. However, some roller coaster enthusiasts may find that aspect to take away from the ride since it would not have the same character as a traditional wooden roller coaster . Balder is praised by many roller coaster enthusiasts around the world, and is said to be one of the best roller coasters in Europe. Three other prefabricated wooden roller coasters currently exist, Colossos
at Heide Park
, El Toro
at Six Flags Great Adventure
, and T Express
in Everland
.
Roller coaster
The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...
at the Liseberg
Liseberg
Liseberg is an amusement park located in Gothenburg, Sweden, the park opened in 1923. Liseberg is one of the most visited amusement parks in Scandinavia, attracting around 3 million visitors annually. Among the noteworthy attractions is the wooden roller coaster Balder, voted twice as the Best...
amusement park in Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. It opened in 2003 and was an instant success. Balder has twice, 2003 and 2005, been voted Best Wooden Tracked Roller Coaster in the world in a major international poll - not because it is the biggest or fastest roller coaster, but because of the high percentage of "air time" during the ride .
Balder is very different from a traditional wooden roller coaster because it is a prefabricated wooden roller coaster. This means that instead of trackers cutting, shaping, and laying down the track on site by hand, the track is laser cut in a factory . This means that the track is manufactured to a higher degree of precision than could ever be achieved by hand. The track is also made so that it snaps together like Lego
Lego
Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...
pieces . The track also is made of more layers of wood that are tightly bonded together instead of nailed together by hand like a traditional wooden roller coaster. This has three major benefits, two being to the park and the other being to the riders.
The "Plug and Play" aspect of the coaster speeds construction of the coaster since track does not have to be completely manufactured on site. In addition, because of the speed of construction, the costs of building the coaster are lowered due to less manhours spent on the construction. The riders benefit from a coaster, that while being wooden, is near steel smooth. However, some roller coaster enthusiasts may find that aspect to take away from the ride since it would not have the same character as a traditional wooden roller coaster . Balder is praised by many roller coaster enthusiasts around the world, and is said to be one of the best roller coasters in Europe. Three other prefabricated wooden roller coasters currently exist, Colossos
Colossos (roller coaster)
Colossos is a wooden roller coaster at Heide Park in Soltau, Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the first wooden roller coaster to use prefabricated track. Colossos is the tallest and fastest wooden roller coaster in Europe and the tallest running wooden roller coaster in the world...
at Heide Park
Heide Park
The Heide Park Resort is a theme park in Soltau, Lower Saxony. With an overall area of over 850,000 m², it is one of the biggest German amusement parks and the biggest in Northern Germany....
, El Toro
El Toro (roller coaster)
El Toro, meaning The Bull in Spanish, is a wooden roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure. It opened to the public on June 11, 2006. It was designed by Intamin of Switzerland. It had the steepest drop of any wooden roller coaster in the world, at 76 degrees, until this record was broken by T...
at Six Flags Great Adventure
Six Flags Great Adventure
Six Flags Great Adventure is a theme park in Jackson Township, New Jersey, owned by Six Flags Entertainment Corp., the world's largest amusement park corporation...
, and T Express
T Express
T Express is a wooden roller coaster at Everland in Yongin, South Korea. It is South Korea's first wooden coaster, Intamin's fourth wooden coaster with prefabricated track, the first ride of this type in Asia, and the first to utilize three trains. It is currently the world's steepest wooden...
in Everland
Everland
-External links:*...
.
Facts
- Negative G-forces: experienced 10 times during the ride
- Number of trains: 2
- Passengers per train: 30