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Phantasialand | F. L. Y. | Vekoma Launched Flying Coaster | 2020

JoshC.

Strata Poster
I mean, Klugheim looks pretty meh from a birds eye view. So does Chiapas' plaza.

I get some people's concerns about how some of the walls feel kind of 'flat'. But personally, I don't think that'll be an issue. From the ground perspective, the size of those walls is going to be the most striking thing. Up close at a ground level I fully expect they'll have more detail too.

This is the thing with the theme that Rookburgh is I guess - there's only so many ways you can flesh out a wall. If you do too much to them, it can risk making it look too 'busy' and make it feel worse.

As I say, I get people's concerns, and the hotel entrance thing probably doesn't help that with some. And I do have a slight fear that this could end up going a step too far with the steampunk vibe which could make it somewhat unappealing to be in. For me though, there's a level of giving Phantasialand the benefit of the doubt almost - over the past 15 years, arguably the only bad investment they've made is Wakobato, and the level of theming and immersion they achieve is pretty much always up there with the best. Why would this be any different?
 

Trax

Hyper Poster
To be clear: The glass part of the wall, with the staircase or whatever is inside looks very promising. This is a part which creates depth and gives the wall character. But it appears to be the only bit with such measures, and in an area which is completely enclosed, just 1 detail isn’t going to cut it for me. There is no Rockwork which creates depths with ease, only tall and flat walls. Yes, factory walls are kind of bland, but if you have a look at the interpretation of the theme in other media (Bioshock, anyone?), you get some ideas how a large wall can be detailed.

I really hope I get blasted away when entering the area, but from what I’ve seen it looks quite„soulless“ compared to Chiapas or Klugheim. So easy game for Phantasialand, I guess.
 

KrassesMoped

Roller Poster
From the ground perspective, the size of those walls is going to be the most striking thing.

My thoughts exactly, whenever I watched one of those illegal but highly satisfying drone videos. I 100% believe the immersion is going to be fantastic. Judging from the height and impressiveness of the wuze town wall alone, which could be seen last year already, the thought of being surrounded by walls of that height totally intrigues me. I do get the flat walls argument, but only for some small bits, not at all for the majority of the area. I think the depth and detail is totally there, when you go looking for it.
It might lose a comparison to a Disney themed land, but it could also not be mistaken for one, it is still distinctively Phantasialand. I have no doubt that this won't turn out any worse than their previous projects (except for the coaster that I predict won't supersede Taron as the general favourite coaster in the park).
 

JammyH

Hyper Poster
Unfortunately niklas, this isn't steampunk. It feels more like dieselpunk to me, and even in that theme I think it looks messy and cheap.

It hardly looks “messy and cheap”. 4 years of work has gone into this project and millions of euros of investment, and you haven’t even been in the area yet so you don’t actually know what it looks like from the inside.

Phantasialand have years worth of experience, every other project is top quality, there is no reason this would be any different. They know what theme they are targeting, and I’m confident this is going to be a brilliant experience once the area is opened.
 

Coasterbitch

Roller Poster
It hardly looks “messy and cheap”. 4 years of work has gone into this project and millions of euros of investment, and you haven’t even been in the area yet so you don’t actually know what it looks like from the inside.

Phantasialand have years worth of experience, every other project is top quality, there is no reason this would be any different. They know what theme they are targeting, and I’m confident this is going to be a brilliant experience once the area is opened.


Just what you said. NOBODY of us was there and get the feelings Phantasialand want us too feel. I'm super excited about this whole project. FLY will be one of the best coasters of the year(on that year it opens :D )
 

JammyH

Hyper Poster
Just what you said. NOBODY of us was there and get the feelings Phantasialand want us too feel. I'm super excited about this whole project. FLY will be one of the best coasters of the year(on that year it opens :D )

I’m still holding my fingers crossed for a 2020 opening, but biting my tongue as I full well know it could be a 2021 opening now.

The park are really struggling to sell hotel rooms for ling bao and matamba for the summer holidays, if they added Charles Lindbergh into the mix I can’t help but think Charles Lindbergh would be sold out, whilst ling bao and matamba would have most of their rooms sitting empty, based on the current demand.
 

Trax

Hyper Poster
It hardly looks “messy and cheap”. 4 years of work has gone into this project and millions of euros of investment, and you haven’t even been in the area yet so you don’t actually know what it looks like from the inside.
Neither have you, yet you (and many others) keep defending it and calling it world class. It might look awesome compared to Six Flags standards, but Rookburghs details are currently way below the standards Phantasialand has set in the past 10 years for itself. You have tall, mostly just painted walls on the outside, that's it. Compare this to Klugheim or Chiapas which feature lots of details on the walls to make them look less bland. Sure, Rockwork is easier for a vibrant look, but buildings can also feature plenty of details. Rookburgh lacks these for the most part and it does not look like Phantasialand is going to change it. Just look at the rusty wall on the outside. The inside looks better, but better does not mean good. And the amount of money spend is not neccessary related to the quality of the work. Universal Rocks isn't cheap, but if you tell them to build a bland wall, they are going to do it.

The Steampunk topic does not appear to be featured at all in its current state, its more a random industrial theme. Maybe the details are coming in later and I will look stupid afterwards, but looking at Klugheim, I have little hope that they are going to touch those walls again.

I don't want to hate on Rookburgh just to be against the mainstream, I just want to give some critical points as most people seem to think that Phantasialand is going to deliver perfect theming. They never have in the past, quite the opposite, they left huge holes in the theming, and Rookburgh will likely feature them as well. Just think about the Green Wall in Klugheim. Or the painted concrete walls in Tarons queue.
 

Ralf

Roller Poster
I am wondering about the piece of broken railroad track pointing to the sky. I guess there will be a storyline explaining what happened there? Or it is all about the visitors imagination. Otherwise I wouldn't share the complains about a lack of details. Details are usually added at the very end of the construction process. I am rather wondering if there is really nothing next to the coaster. Not even a flat ride for kids?
 

HarmL98

Roller Poster
It hardly looks “messy and cheap”. 4 years of work has gone into this project and millions of euros of investment, and you haven’t even been in the area yet so you don’t actually know what it looks like from the inside.

Phantasialand have years worth of experience, every other project is top quality, there is no reason this would be any different. They know what theme they are targeting, and I’m confident this is going to be a brilliant experience once the area is opened.

So you are saying it doesn't look ''messy and cheap'' because they have been busy for almost 4 years and have invested millions in this project?
I think thats a weird argument. In my opnion it looks a bit messy due to the different styles next to each other..
 

Sterrenstof

Roller Poster
In my idea 'Rookburgh' is thought of as the ugly industrial outer zone of the central Berlin area. It has to feel gritty and look like something you'ld rather not want to see. As Phantasialand arguably delivers above-average immersion in rather pleasant looking themes most of the time, the clash with a theme that is ugly by nature is rather big.
I think concerns about how this wil look are in essence related to that clash and Phantasialand itself not clearly picking a side. It has the ugly feel to it, while at the same time it tries to be good looking in some parts. Worst case scenario we could end up with an industrial zone that has too much glamour in it to be convincing or too little to compete with the Glamourous Jules Vernes-style steampunk of Disnelyland Paris.
 

Ethan

Strata Poster
Thing is I think you can pull of nitty-gritty, dirty, run down etc without actually having it look ugly. Like, I know someone will say "you can't judge before seeing it from within" for the hundredth time, but this just looks ugly. From what we can see, 80% of it doesn't look like something I want to take/share photos of.

Time will tell.
 

Peter Immelmann

Mega Poster
Well, I perfectly bye that you don't like the style, the color, whatever (I'm also not at all a big fan of the rusty wall and even less so of what they did to the administration building facade). And also the upper parts of the walls that you see from the inside are partly flat, I agree. But I don't see that the view from the inside would be dominated entirely by these flat walls. The video clearly shows that there is quite some structure closer to the ground, that is, smaller buildings, theming elements that are a few to around ten meters tall, and eventually also the track and supports. In most spots in the area these elements will be in your field of view somehow and then it's not just a flat wall you are staring at. Maybe it requires some imagination skills, but I tend to disagree that you cannot say *anything* about its appearance until you actually have been there.
 

Ethan

Strata Poster
Only one that I can think that was more was the Swarm thread at like 170 pages. I think the Maverick one was hella long too.
 

Hixee

Flojector
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Social Media Team
Slow morning, so I've been back through the last 19 pages of threads and these are the +100 page threads:

Smiler - 232 pages
Swarm - 169 pages
Saw - 148 pages
Thirteen - 139 pages
Icon - 134 pages
Steel Vengeance - 105 pages

FLY has a fair way to go yet.

That said, we 'lost' everything prior to the forum upgrade 2008/09(?), there were some absolute monsters back in the day. Maverick in particular, as there was so little known about the coaster (and therefore tons of speculation and hype) AND it was back before social media was big enough to hold most of the traffic - the golden age of forums! I recall that one being up around 200 pages.

I think the old stuff is archived somewhere - I'm not sure how to dig it out though...
 
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