Shambhala: Expedición al Himalaya

Shambhala: Expedición al Himalaya
Shambhala (white) and Dragon Khan (red)
PortAventura
Park section	China
Coordinates	41°05′05″N 1°09′23″E / 41.08472°N 1.15639°E / 41.08472; 1.15639Coordinates: 41°05′05″N 1°09′23″E / 41.08472°N 1.15639°E / 41.08472; 1.15639
Status	Operating
Opening date	May 12, 2012 (2012-05-12)
General statistics
Manufacturer	Bolliger & Mabillard
Model	Hyper Coaster
Track layout	Out and Back
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Height	76 m (249 ft)
Drop	78 m (256 ft)
Length	1,564 m (5,131 ft)
Speed	134 km/h (83 mph)
Inversions	0
Duration	1:00
Max vertical angle	77.4°
Capacity	1,680 riders per hour
G-force	3.8
Height restriction	55 in (140 cm)
Trains	3 trains with 8 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 32 riders per train.
Shambhala: Expedición al Himalaya at RCDB Pictures of Shambhala: Expedición al Himalaya at RCDB

Shambhala: Expedición al Himalaya (simply known as Shambhala) is a steel Hyper Coaster roller coaster located at PortAventura in Salou, Spain.^[1] Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, it is the tallest (78 metres (256 ft)) and fastest hypercoaster (134 kilometres per hour (83 mph)) in Europe. It also has the longest drop of any roller coaster in the continent (78 metres (256 ft)). The height record was beaten in April 2017 by Red Force which was also opened in PortAventura's new theme park Ferrari Land, this coaster reaches a height of 367 feet (112m). Shambhala is named and themed after the inaccessible land in the Himalayas; Shambhala. It was announced to the public on October 24, 2011, and opened to the public on May 12, 2012.

History

Rumors that PortAventura would be investing in a new Bolliger & Mabillard Flying Coaster or Dive Coaster roller coaster emerged in late 2010.^[2] In May 2011, speculation that the park was planning to build a hypercoaster that would pass over Dragon Khan arose. Land clearing also began in the summer of 2011.^[2] Shambhala was announced to the public on October 24, 2011; the layout of the roller coaster was leaked 2 days earlier.^[3][4] The last piece of track was installed in mid-April 2012 following a signing event and the placement of the several country flags on the track.^[5] Testing of the ride began in the same month.^[6] Following the completion of testing, a ribbon cutting ceremony was held on May 12, 2012 before opening to the public the same day.^[1][7] Over 300 workers from countries such as Germany, France, Hungary, Poland, Switzerland, and United States of America took part in the construction of Shambhala.^[5]

The roller coaster currently holds three records; tallest, longest drop, and fastest hypercoaster in Europe. All three records were held by Silver Star at Europa-Park prior to Shambhala's opening.^{[3][8][9][10][11]}

Ride experience

Shambhala's splashdown

After departing from the station, the train makes a 90 degree turn to the right, then begins to climb the 76-metre (249 ft) tall chain lift hill. Once the train reaches the top of the lift, the train drops back down to the ground at a 77.4 degree angle reaching speeds of up to 134 kilometres per hour (83 mph) as it passes through a tunnel. Following the first drop, the train then makes a slight left turn into the first of five camelback hills before dropping again and entering a figure-8-like helix. Next, the train goes over a small hill; at the same time, passing through a trim brake. Immediately after, the train enters the second camelback hill, followed by a slight left turn into an element that is similar to a splashdown as the track crosses under Dragon Khan. After going over the third and fourth camelback hills, the train passing through the mid-course brake run. Finally, after making a banked downward left turn, the train passes over the final camelback hill before entering the final brake run leading directly back to the station where the next riders board.^[12] One cycle of the ride lasts about three minutes.^[1]

Characteristics

Trains

Shambhala operates with three steel and fiberglass trains. Each train has eight cars with two rows that seat two riders each for a total of 32 riders per train; each seat has its own individual lap-bar restraint. This configuration allows the ride to achieve a theoretical hourly capacity of 1,680 riders per hour. Riders also experience up to 3.8 times the force of gravity.^[1] The structure of the trains are colored gold and cyan, the lap bar restraints are cyan, and the seats are black.^[13]

Track

The steel track of Shambhala is approximately 1,564 metres (5,131 ft) long, the height of the lift is 76 metres (249 ft), and covers an area of about 14,000 m².^[1][7] The roller coaster has no inversions though it does feature five camelback hills, each at least 20 metres (66 ft) tall, a splashdown, and inclined figure eight element.^[3][12][13]

Including the supports, the total weight of the roller coaster is approximately 1,600 tonnes (1,600 long tons; 1,800 short tons).^[7] 4,000 m³ of cement was used for the foundations that hold up the supports and some are as deep as 18 metres (59 ft).^[7] The track is white with cyan rails while the supports are grey.^[13]

Theme

Shambhala's station

Inspired by both Nicholas Roerich stories and the Kingdom of Bhutan, Shambhala is named and themed around the story that within the Himalayas there is a lost world (Shambhala) that is impossible to access and is the source of happiness. As guests walk through the themed queue and board the train, they go on an expedition to find this land.^[6][7]

The roller coaster is located in the China section of PortAventura.^[14]

Reception

Following the opening of Shambhala, Kirmes & Parks magazine named the roller coaster as the best European attraction introduced in 2012.^[8] Patrick Purcell from Mirror said that the roller coaster lived up to its hype and that, "It is also one of the smoothest roller coasters I've encountered."^[15] Sophie Castle from Travel Channel UK praised the height of Shambhala and said that, "Shambhala is definitely an opportunity that shouldn’t be missed."^[16] Ethan Williams from the Daily Mail gave the roller coaster a five out of five for its speed, surprise factor, and fear factor. He also liked the amount of airtime the roller coaster gave.^[17] In 2013, Shambhala was featured on Travel Channel's television series Insane Coaster Wars: World Domination.^[18]

Also, the ride entered Mitch Hawker's Best Roller Coaster Poll at 6 in 2012 before dropping to 8 in 2013 as shown in the table below.

The roller coaster has never placed in Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Awards.^[20]

See also

• 2012 in amusement parks

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shambhala (Port Aventura).

^Foto 2014 Shambhala PortAventura. Attractions PortAventura 2014