Anac0nda Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 Translated from the website: "The king is coming! The new ride for 2014 will be a 75m tall drop tower called Kingi. The king of the hill will thrill everyone, because not only will it drop, it will have a view like none other. Kingi will hoist its riders slowly to the top and suddenly drop them, accelerating up to 23 m/s." I am so happy they FINALLY got a drop tower! Built by Moser just like Mäch Tower, and Dragon Tower in Power Park Finland. I hope they include the vibrating seats and music, so it'd be somewhat original. The restriction will be 130cm. In my opinion it's a bit shame that it'll be the only ride with this restriction, and I think it may cause confusion among GP, but I guess only time will tell. The park will open April 26th, I hope they start going vertical soon so I can photograph it from outside the park Linnanmäki has also renovated their website (but sadly I couldn't find the english version), you can check it out http://www.linnanmaki.fi/. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_koppen Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 That is awesome news! I have heard that the Dragon tower is a lot better than Mach Tower, both in ride experience and maintenance. It's so cool also, because I'm planning a three day trip to Helsinki this spring, to visit the park. The biggest question though is Viking Line or Silja Line? Probably Silja! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noporian Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 That is awesome news! I have heard that the Dragon tower is a lot better than Mach Tower, both in ride experience and maintenance. It's so cool also, because I'm planning a three day trip to Helsinki this spring, to visit the park. The biggest question though is Viking Line or Silja Line? Probably Silja! Silja line, viking line doesn't have a promenade and silja is higher class. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_koppen Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Silja line, viking line doesn't have a promenade and silja is higher class. Then so it shall be! Actually looking forward to the cuise, I haven't been on one since I was living at home with my parents Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noporian Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Silja line, viking line doesn't have a promenade and silja is higher class. Then so it shall be! Actually looking forward to the cuise, I haven't been on one since I was living at home with my parents You better! Silja Symphony and Silja Serenade are their best ships! Very nice and you'll find that they will be more filled with families and less drunk people compared to Tallink or Viking. Also remember to visit the spa, casino and especially the buffet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anac0nda Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 To _koppen: I'd also recommend Silja. I have always chosen their cruises and have never been disappointed. Also the breakfast buffet is something I always look forward to! Anyhow: first tower pieces have arrived at the park! Photo shared at their Facebook wall. Formerly they haven't published any new rides this early, but I guess they wanted to publish this before it went vertical. Looks like a pale white-ish colour to blend into the city's skyline. I'm glad it's not something tacky and I hope that won't fade away after only a few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anac0nda Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 We were just wondering about the state of construction in the finnish forum and presto: next day we get an FB update from the park! The tower itself hasn't been started yet but they are working on what appears to be a queue and ride area shade and probably an operating booth. I literally cannot wait to see this beast in its full height and ride it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anac0nda Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 Sorry to triple post, but we have a crane on site! No vertical construction done yet, but I'm hoping we'll see some progress on that next week. It is now 43 days until opening. This will be my fourth year as a ride operator in Linnanmäki and I'm already excited for the season to come! (If anyone is interested, my rides are Hurjakuru, Pikajuna, Kirnu, Linnunrata, the ferrish wheel Rinkeli and the new dark ride Kyöpelinvuoren hotelli) Here's to hoping that I'll get to give the Scandi Trip members some wild rides when you visit here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_koppen Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 Awesome! Can't wait to see the tower rise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anac0nda Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 We have vertical construction! From the parks FB: "During the weekend and today the workers sure have accomplished a lot! The first three parts of Kingi are already at their place and soon the Panorama tower will remain in the royal shadow of Linnanmäki's new ride." Source: FB page Looks like I'll have to take a quick bus trip towards city's center, 'cause this was way faster than I thought! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anac0nda Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 So I was just walking nearby and decided to get a quick look at the construction and what do I see: they're just lifting the final piece up the tower! Holy guacamole Batman, this was fast! Just in two to three days they completed vertical construction! Kingi now towers over all the other rides and the whole city fulfilling its name. I don't know whether there will be a crown or something else to sit at the very top, but I do hope so. The waiting game is not yet over though, now we wait for the cableworks, wiring, car and others to finish so we can finally test and ride this beast! 5 weeks until opening Here we go! Steady...steady... Nailed it! Here's a picture taken a bit further to show just how tall Kingi really is. And I like it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisco Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Can't wait to get Chris on this thing! He loves drop towers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COASTER FREAK 11 Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Can't wait to get Chris on this thing! He loves drop towers! You are a mean mean man... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_koppen Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Awesome! That was really fast. Can't wait to see the final look of this one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anac0nda Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 The 24-seater car is now in place and theming has been started. The car has also been seen moving up and down on the tower but not yet dropping. Makes sense that they want to make sure everything is all right before they drop the heavy car into free fall. Also, someone on the finnish forum wrote that the lighting package has undergone some testing as well. The photos don't show it well, but the tower has vertical lighting strips all around the tower, and the top part is nothing but lights all around! There's some heavy potential what could be done with it. Heck, maybe even writing Sources: Facebook Finnish forum I guess this will be the entrance and not the operatos booth as I had previously thought. Indeed very fancy I must say. If I could join those mechanics, I would be so happy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oriolat Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Looks very promising! Hopefully, this tower won't pull a Mäch Tower during it's test and adjust phase! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_koppen Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Awesome! Can't wait to see the lights in action! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anac0nda Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 Linnanmäki has now opened for this season with a whole bunch of new things/improvements: - freefall tower Kingi from Moser Rides - new music from IMAscore - two new restaurants - a refurbished restaurant and toilets - Santa Claus World - Shark Attack 4D - dynamic pricing - opening hours up to 23 First of all, the new ride Kingi. I got to ride it during our training (I work as a ride-op in a total of 7 rides with Kingi now as the newest one) and also rode it last Sunday. While I was concerned that it being 'only' 75 meters it could lack in the length of the drop, but I'm happy to say that I was proven wrong! Because the park is located atop of a hill, it compliments the height of the tower, and you can actually see pretty frickin' far from the top! Rumors say that with clear skies you can even see to Tallinn (Estonia), which is located overseas to the South of Finland The surrounding landscape varies nicely and you get a good glimpse all around as the gondola spins as it ascends, making two rounds before reaching the top. The drop is about 2 seconds, which IMO is indeed nice. Not too short, and for Linnanmäki I think this is a good height, as this is the first of it's kind for most of the Finnish people. A taller tower would be too scary for most to ride and also the city of Helsinki probably didn't allow any taller than this to be built. But Kingi isn't only super fun to ride, it also has one of the nicest queues/stations in the park! But not only pretty, it is functional as well, as it provides shade and cover from rain as well. Can you believe, that it was all designed by the parks very own headgardener? Awesome job, I must say But wait, there's more: Kingi also has its very own soundtrack, provided by IMAscore! The station plays a nice medieval theme providing a nice background whilst queueing, and the car has speakers as well providing some themes while going up the tower. Sadly, the ride music was off when I rode, but with IMAscore you can't go wrong, right? Linnanmäki also has a totally new set of background music playing all around the park, made by IMAscore as well. I have to say, this new music is so much better than the former mix of instrumental versions of other songs. These are all original and nice to listen, and they don't get stuck in your head in a bad way at all (in 2010 there was a instrumental version of My Heart Will Go On, which played every 45 minutes... not cool). The restaurant-complex Kattila will have two of its six restaurants replaced. The new ones are a nordic TexMex-restaurant, and a small patisserie selling both sweets and savories. Also the fast food restaurant LintsiBurger got a new facade. Last year one of the toilets got themed to race cars and princesses, and this year another toilet got themed to trains. Haven't tested them yet, but I've heard they are really nice. Two new attractions have been added to the main gate area: Santa Claus World is originally located in northern Finland (where Santa Claus ACTUALLY comes from, not the North Pole ) and this attraction gives children (and tourists) a possibility to visit Santa during summer as well. I got to admit: they've done a really good job! The scripted journey to Santa's shop as a walkthrough attraction works nicely and immerses you immediately. But I won't spoil any more. The other attraction is Shark Attack, which is a 4D simulator. This however didn't really appeal to me. It has potential, but somehow didn't really connect with me. Maybe for the younger ones it works better. All you do is stand in a room with 3D glasses and a film rolls (spoiler: it contains shark(s) ) with effects. Sadly, they are both upcharge: 5 euros for a go, each. If you ask me, I'd definitely recommend Santa Claus World! You can even buy a photo with Santa! (We did, and got an awesome group photo ) Finally, this year Linnanmäki has dynamic pricing and longer opening hours during fall. Last time Linnanmäki was open after 10pm was five or six years ago, and this year they decided to give it another go. With darkness falling around 7 or 8 the rides' lights really pop out during the Carnival of Lights in October. I'm already looking forward to it! Kingi's entrance The two towers: freefall drop and Panorama. Shark Attack. Meh. Santa Claus World. Awesome! On of the lions guarding the entrance. These lions can also be found in the finnish national coat-of-arms Queue starts to the left, goes clockwise around halfway before turning to counter-clockwise. Basically the queue goes around the whole tower. More of the queue and operators booth. The car. I really like the logo Didn't forget you Larry Going up... The catch car with some dramatic lighting. Sadly I couldn't get a photo of the tower fully lit. Just the right height for Linnanmäki. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedimaster1227 Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 Can't wait to get Chris on this thing! He loves drop towers! You are a mean mean man... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcjp Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 Nice to see the tower up and running. I like how it has stuff written under the seats (the name and so on) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_koppen Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 Great photos Anac0nda! Does it have "vibrating" seats before the drop like Mach Tower, or were they smart enough to skip it here? Can't wait for the day I get to try it out, hopefully this year. I hope Moser will sell more of these, they look perfect for parks who are not on the Intamin budget, but still dosen't want a 40 meter tower. It's a bit funny that the Americans on the Scani trip will get to ride two Mach Tower clones on the same trip, in the same country, both of which are likely to be better than the one at Busch Gardens. I also love the station, they have done an amazing job there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noporian Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 Great photos Anac0nda! Does it have "vibrating" seats before the drop like Mach Tower, or were they smart enough to skip it here? Can't wait for the day I get to try it out, hopefully this year. I hope Moser will sell more of these, they look perfect for parks who are not on the Intamin budget, but still dosen't want a 40 meter tower. It's a bit funny that the Americans on the Scani trip will get to ride two Mach Tower clones on the same trip, in the same country, both of which are likely to be better than the one at Busch Gardens. I also love the station, they have done an amazing job there! They skipped the vibrating seats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anac0nda Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Actually, the seats do vibrate, or rather wobble. It's a very different kind of vibrating I was expecting: not short and sudden buzzing, but it feels like the whole gondola is shaking. I'm not sure if I'd prefer the buzzing, but this wobbling sure caught me by surprise! Although it is kinda gentle and easy to miss. But if you pay even a little attention you will notice it. Funny thing that Scandi trip inlcudes both of Moser's Towers Did you know that Kingi uses wireless technology to transfer data from the gondola to the main computer, while Dragon Tower at PowerPark uses traditional bus bars (or that's what I've heard). This wireless method caused a little teething on Kingi in the opening weekend, but nothing major. Already on Sunday (2nd day open) it ran 6 hours straight without any problems and last Saturday it ran almost the whole day flawless. The mechanics from Linnanmäki and Moser have been seen working on Kingi almost constantly, got to give them a big thanks for all the effort they've already put. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedimaster1227 Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 I love that the observation tower and the drop tower are so close to each other. Definitely presents a unique skyline for the park! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_koppen Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Did you know that Kingi uses wireless technology to transfer data from the gondola to the main computer, while Dragon Tower at PowerPark uses traditional bus bars (or that's what I've heard). This wireless method caused a little teething on Kingi in the opening weekend, but nothing major. Already on Sunday (2nd day open) it ran 6 hours straight without any problems and last Saturday it ran almost the whole day flawless. The mechanics from Linnanmäki and Moser have been seen working on Kingi almost constantly, got to give them a big thanks for all the effort they've already put. I didn't know that, that is very interesting. The future lies in wireless technology so it's nice to see them develop new solutions, and hopefully it will be for the better of the ride. The ride already looks really good, and the early breaking of these towers seems almost gone on this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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