Dreamcatcher is a
roller coaster
A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...
in
Bobbejaanland
Bobbejaanland is a theme park in Lichtaart, Belgium. The park was founded by Bobbejaan Schoepen, a Flemish singer, guitarist, and entertainer who enjoyed international success in the fifties and early sixties. In 1959, he bought a 30 hectare ma ...
in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. Originally opening in 1987 as Air Race, Dreamcatcher was designed and built by
Vekoma
Vekoma Rides Manufacturing is a Dutch amusement ride manufacturer. Vekoma is syllabic abbreviation of Veld Koning Machinefabriek (Veld Koning Machine Factory) which was established in 1926 by Hendrik op het Veld.
History
The company originally ...
. It was
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
's first
suspended roller coaster
A suspended roller coaster is a type of steel roller coaster in which the car hangs from the bottom of the rolling stock by a pivoting fulcrum or hinge assembly. This allows the car and riders to swing side to side as the train races along the ...
.
[Air Race at Bobbejaanland Nostalgie](_blank)
/ref>
Ride details
The track has a length of 1968 feet. After ascending the lift hill
A lift hill, or chain hill, is an upward-sloping section of track on a roller coaster on which the roller coaster train is mechanically lifted to an elevated point or peak in the track. Upon reaching the peak, the train is then propelled from th ...
to a height of 82 feet, the track changes into a bending parcour before entering a triple downward helix that turns in a counterclockwise direction. The train exits into another descending helix, this time a double helix that turns in the clockwise direction, followed by the final brake run and return to the station.
In 2019 the ride was expanded with optional virtual reality glasses.Virtual Reality on Dreamcatcher
/ref>
Air Race
The original roller coaster was called Air Race. The train had 6 little multicolored aeroplanes. In each plane four passengers could sit: 2 in the front row and 2 in the back row. This train was operational between 1987 and 2005. The track itself was painted in bright yellow
Dreamcatcher
In 2006, the theme of the ride was changed to match the style of the main Wild West
The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
theme of Bobbejaanland, and the name was changed to Dreamcatcher.[Dreamcatcher on Bobbejaandland.be](_blank)
The airplanes were replaced by a train which is also used on inverted roller coaster
An inverted roller coaster is a roller coaster in which the train runs under the track with the seats directly attached to the wheel carriage. This latter attribute is what sets it apart from the older suspended coaster, which runs under the tr ...
s. The tracks were repainted in a reddish-brown rust colour.
References
External links
Dreamcatcher at official website Bobbejaanland
Offride view Air Race at YouTube
Front view Dreamcatcher Ride at YouTube
Offride view Dreamcatcher at YouTube
{{Authority control
Steel roller coasters
Roller coasters manufactured by Vekoma
Roller coasters in Belgium