Flying Dutchman (Efteling)
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Flying Dutchman (or "Vliegende Hollander" in Dutch) is a combination of a Water coaster and a dark ride in amusement park Efteling in the Netherlands. It was designed by Karel Willemen and should have gone operational on April 16 2006, exactly 328 years after the dissappearance of the legendary Dutch merchant The Flying Dutchman. Due to construction problems the opening has been postponed to April 1, 2007.
[edit] The legend and the attraction
Willem van der Decken, a captain of the dutch eastindian corporation VOC, the first limited company which centuries later merged into Unilever, is a wealthy trader in command of the fastest ship of the VOC, named the "Hollander" (Dutchman). But greed takes control of him and secretly he starts practicing piracy. He recruits his crew from orphanages.
On Easter 1678, despite a heavy storm blowing into port, he sets sail for the Dutch East Indies. When all despair for this lack of fear for God, he proclaims: "I will sail, storm or not, Easter or not. I will sail, even into eternity!" (old Dutch: "Ik zal vaeren, storm of gheen storm, Paesen of gheen Paesen. Ik zal vaeren, al is het tot in den eeuwigheid!").
Against the wind he sailed toward damnation.
The house of van der Decken is part of the scenery for the queue line. After walking through this burned house the queue continues through more houses and a pub in 17th century style. In the harbor, under a dark clouded sky the coaster ride begins. The 14- person barge goes into open see where it meets a holographic ghost ship, the Flying Dutchman, and dives under its bow into the Underworld. The barge is then towed to a height of 22,5 meters, doors open and the barge shoots in a curved declination through a tunnel. After this some airtime in a bunnyhop and a 85 degree horseshoe. A steep fall and a left curve bring the barge back into the water.
g-forces: 0,2 - 2
Capacity: 1900 persons per hour
Ride length: 420 meters; 3,43 min.
Speed: +70 km/h
Cost: 19,2 million Euros
[edit] Music
The music was composed by René Merkelbach and consists of 16 parts that are syncronous with the ride. The Prague philharmonic orchestra performed the music for the recording
