KRAKE: Attack of the giant octopus!

The German amusement park Heide Park has benefited from its last opening weekend before the winter to formally present to the press its great new ride for 2011: a Diving Machine made by Bolliger & Mabillard, second of its kind in Europe and first in Germany.
In front of the park lake, the public was invited to listen a pirate storytelling about a terrible sea monster when, suddenly, one of the boats of the "Der Mississippi-Dampfe" ride has been attacked and virtually "destroyed" in a blaze of fireworks, before that the name KRAKE (means "octopus" in German) is unveiled.

 Official presentation of KRAKE to the press (click to enlarge)With a total investment of 12 million euros, the thematic of KRAKE is focused around a giant octopus that has established itself in the new area "Bay of pirates" . The dark atmosphere will begin in the queue and visitors will be invited to challenge the monster, in a setting inspired by the theme of pirates and a ship destroyed.

The roller coaster layout itself, 476 meters long, will consist of a 41 meters high vertical drop which plunge into a pit (like Oblivion) representing the mouth of the octopus, followed by an underground passage and a landing in a pool of water! Will then follow an Immelmann, a reversal out a half loop before rolling onto itself back down to earth. The tour will conclude with a series of curves and a camelback.

The pit (click to enlarge)

Merlin Entertainments compliments B&M, with project manager Dirk Loppnow explaining they consider the swiss company as the "Ferrari of the roller coaster manufacturers".  KRAKE is the largest investment made in Germany by the group, which opened recently in the United Kingdom Saw: The Ride at Thorpe Park and Th13teen at Alton Towers.

According to Merlin's artistic director, Candy Holland, KRAKE will go into the continuity of development already carried out at Heide Park in recent years with the Maya-Tal area and the Splash Battle Die Bucht der Totenkopfpiraten.

When asked "Why a Diving Machine?", Candy Holland replied with a smile "It's not just a Diving Machine, but a real experience that will be, for its passengers, not only physically but also mentally captivating. They will be like a pirate approaching the plank suspended above the mouth wide open of a terrifying sea monster".

She adds "With a first-class material and attention into the details of the theming, the ride will be unique in Europe, and it a pleasure to work on its design!"

Construction of the water pool (click to enlarge)

The tracks represent the tentacles of the octopus, while the trains will be composed of 3 rows of 6 seats arranged like a staircase, allowing passengers seated in the back row to take advantage as much as others in the drop! Note that the trains will be the less wide in the world, other Diving Machine models offering a row of 8 or 10 seats.

Construction site (click to enlarge)
Several technical details on the huge construction site (10,000 sqm) have also been revealed. KRAKE will require about 50,000 hours of work, 2000 cubic meters of reinforced concrete, 150,000 kilograms of steel rods (for ground works), 700 tons of steel (supports, tracks and structures) as well as thousands of screws, nails and nuts to fix all that! Several concrete blocks of 12 tons have already been used to construct the pool of water.
 
"Only the bravest will survive the attack of an octopus!" You have been warned!
To see the progress of construction, go to: www.heide-park-baublog.de