Bird Rok
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bird Rok (or "Vogel Rok" in Dutch) is an Enclosed Roller Coaster in amusement park Efteling in the Netherlands.
| Vogel Rok | |
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| Location | Efteling |
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| Park section | Reizen Rijk |
| Type | Steel - enclosed |
| Status | Open |
| Opened | 9/4/1998 |
| Manufacturer | Vekoma |
| Model | Custom MK-900 |
| Lift/launch system | tyre-driven lift-hill |
| Height | 82 ft (25 m) |
| Drop | 62 ft (19 m) |
| Length | 2,296 ft (700 m) |
| Max speed | 40 mph (64 km/h) |
| Inversions | 0 |
| Duration | 101 seconds |
| Capacity | 1600 riders per hour |
| Cost | € 12 million |
| Max g-force | 3.5 |
| Height restriction | 3 ft 11 in (120 cm) |
| Vogel Rok at RCDB Pictures of Vogel Rok at RCDB |
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[edit] History and details
The name of the ride, Bird Rok, refers to the adventure of Sinbad and the Bird Roc from the 1001 Arabian Nights; the extensive theming covers, beside the ride, the building and the queue line. The building has as a frontage a giant colorful Roc, the largest bird in Europe, according to the Guinness Book of Records. In the opening year there weren’t a lot of effects in the ride, and the link between the story and the ride wasn’t very clear. Since then a Serpent’s mouth has been added at the end of the ride, which lights up as the train goes through it, and a laser show at the queue line, which projects the story of the ride.
In 2007 more themed decorations were added.
[edit] The Ride
Lasers project over the train as it climbs the lift-hill and seen to the left are four Rocs flying off. In a strong curve down leftwards the train dives towards the ground and several more curves bring the train through a tunnel of lasers.
The train then falls into a helix and goes through a Serpent’s mouth, which lights up as the train passes through it. The last curve is decorated with fiber optic lights, portraying the diamond treasure.
Apparent wind-effects stimulate the ride-experience.
The ride has an onboard sound system with a synchronized soundtrack written by composer Ruud Bos, who also wrote the musical themes for Dreamflight, Fata Morgana and Villa Volta.
