The Odyssey (formerly Jubilee Odyssey) 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 ...

Fantasy Island ''Fantasy Island'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Gene Levitt. It aired on ABC from 1977 to 1984. The series starred Ricardo Montalbán as the mysterious Mr. Roarke and Hervé Villechaize as his assistant, Tattoo. Gu ...

Ingoldmells Ingoldmells ( ) is a coastal village, civil parish and resort in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the A52, and north from the resort town of Skegness. Most housing is found in the west of the village in l ...

, England. 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 ...

of the Netherlands in 2002, it was named to commemorate the

Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II The Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II was the international celebration held in 2002 marking the 50th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was intended by the Queen to be both a commemoration of her 50 years as ...

. It is Vekoma's tallest example of their Suspended Looping Coaster (SLC) design in the world. Standing at 167 feet (51 metres), it is the third tallest roller coaster in the UK, after the

Pepsi Max Big One The Big One, formerly known as the Pepsi Max Big One, is a steel roller coaster located at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in Blackpool, Lancashire, United Kingdom. Designed by Ron Toomer and manufactured by Arrow Dynamics, the ride opened to the pub ...

(235 feet) and Stealth (205 feet). And the joint second tallest full circuit inverted rollercoaster in the world (alongside

Banshee A banshee ( ; Modern Irish , from sga, ben síde , "woman of the fairy mound" or "fairy woman") is a female spirit in Irish folklore who heralds the death of a family member, usually by screaming, wailing, shrieking, or keening. Her name is c ...

Kings Island Kings Island is a amusement park located northeast of Cincinnati in Mason, Ohio, United States. Owned and operated by Cedar Fair, the park first opened in 1972 by the Taft Broadcasting Company. It was part of a larger effort to move and expan ...

). It has a maximum speed of 63 mph and is capable of forces up to 4.8g.

History

Initial plans

Original plans for the ride showed a SLC ride 265 feet (81 metres) in height, which would have made it the tallest

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 ...

in the world and seventh tallest overall. The plans were scrapped due to complaints from local residents, limiting the height to a maximum of 180 feet (54.6 metres).

Opening and Jubilee celebrations

In the year of Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee, 2002, it was opened and ridden on by

Prince Edward, Duke of Kent Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, (Edward George Nicholas Paul Patrick; born 9 October 1935) is a member of the British royal family. Queen Elizabeth II and Edward were first cousins through their fathers, King George VI, and Prince George, Duk ...

. It was initially sponsored by the chocolate bar

Kit Kat Kit Kat (stylised as KitKat in various countries) is a chocolate-covered wafer bar confection created by Rowntree's of York, United Kingdom, and is now produced globally by Nestlé (which acquired Rowntree's in 1988), except in the United Stat ...

, but this association has now ceased. On 2 June 2022, it was made free-to-ride for all of Fantasy Island's visitors as a one-off in honour of the

Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II The Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II was the international celebration in 2022 marking the 70th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952, the first British monarch to ever celebrate one. In the United Kingdom, the ...

Modifications

During the 2003 season the restraint design was modified, due to complaints from several riders of "nipple burn", the restraints were changed at a cost of about £60,000. In September 2005 the trains were returned to

factories after a major breakdown in the form of a restraint connector snapping occurred. All the restraints were equipped with toughened steel and, presumably in an attempt to increase the smoothness the wheels were also tightened, this was thought to be the reason for a rollback on the first test run (due to the increased friction), however it is said to be a one-off occurrence. The ride received a new colour scheme & station in February 2016, with yellow track and grey supports.

Operation

Odyssey operates with a single train, which seats 20 riders in a 2 across in 10 rows formation. It currently costs £5.00 per ride or can be accessed with the Fantasy Island wristband or I-Card systems. The ride is frequently affected by high winds and will not operate with winds speeds in excess of 25 to 30 mph in certain directions due to the increased risk of the train stalling. Its electrical components are powered by a £4 million dung-powered generator, which converts

manure Manure is organic matter that is used as organic fertilizer in agriculture. Most manure consists of animal feces; other sources include compost and green manure. Manures contribute to the fertility of soil by adding organic matter and nutri ...

into methane gas.

Rankings

Its reported construction cost of £28 million is the highest of any roller coaster built in the United Kingdom. Its nearest competitor is The Swarm at

Thorpe Park Thorpe Park Resort, commonly known as Thorpe Park, is an amusement park located in the village of Thorpe between the towns of Chertsey and Staines-upon-Thames in Surrey, England, southwest of Central London. It is operated by Merlin Entertai ...

, which was completed in 2012 at a cost of £20,000,000. Odyssey is the largest SLC (Suspended Looping Coaster) in the world. Its 38-metre vertical loop is the highest in the United Kingdom and the fourth highest in the world. With a maximum height of 51 metres, it is the third tallest UK roller coaster. Its 43-metre drop is also the third highest in the United Kingdom. Its top speed of 63 mph makes it the fourth fastest roller coaster in the UK. It was ranked 209th in Mitch Hawker's Roller Coaster Poll in 2007 and 177th in 2008. It is also considered amongst coaster enthusiasts as the "best SLC Vekoma has ever produced."

Incidents and Stalling

A year after the ride's opening, the Cobra Roll and Horseshoe elements were lowered in an attempt to minimise the risk of the train stalling, as it had done numerous times in its opening year. Whilst lowering the track has had a positive impact, it has stalled in both 2015 and 2016 during passenger-less test runs.

Inversions

Odyssey has five inversions: #124' tall

Vertical Loop The generic roller coaster vertical loop, where a section of track causes the riders to complete a 360 degree turn, is the most basic of roller coaster inversions. At the top of the loop, riders are completely inverted. History The vertical ...

Cobra Roll Roller coaster elements are the individual parts of roller coaster design and operation, such as a track, hill, loop, or turn. Variations in normal track movement that add thrill or excitement to the ride are often called "thrill elements". Comm ...

(Boomerang) (two inversions) #Sidewinder #

Corkscrew A corkscrew is a tool for drawing corks from wine bottles and other household bottles that may be sealed with corks. In its traditional form, a corkscrew simply consists of a pointed metallic helix (often called the "worm") attached to a hand ...

(barrel roll)

Archive Gallery

Image:JUbilee Odyssey's Lift Hill.JPG Image:Jubilee Odyssey Lift Hill.JPG Image:Jubilee Odyssey Brake Run.JPG Image:Mid Section Of Jubilee Odyssey.JPG Image:Jubilee Odyssey's Cobra Roll.JPG Image:Jubilee Odyssey's Corkscrew Inversion.JPG Image:An Overview Of Jubilee Odyssey.JPG Image:Jubilee Odyssey's Station.JPG

References

External links

Official Site For Fantasy Island
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odyssey Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II Roller coasters in the United Kingdom Roller coasters introduced in 2002 2002 establishments in England Inverted roller coasters Roller coasters manufactured by Vekoma Steel roller coasters