Van Helsing's Factory is a

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

enclosed Enclosure or Inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or "common land" enclosing it and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land ...

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 ...

at the

Movie Park Germany Movie Park Germany is a theme park in Bottrop-Kirchhellen in western Germany, north of Düsseldorf, with an area of . It consists of 7 areas based on movies and TV series. Nearby the park are several film studios. History The park originally ...

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

Bottrop, Germany Bottrop () is a city in west-central Germany, on the Rhine–Herne Canal, in North Rhine-Westphalia. Located in the Ruhr industrial area, Bottrop adjoins Essen, Oberhausen, Gladbeck, and Dorsten. The city had been a coal-mining and rail ce ...

. The

Gerstlauer Gerstlauer Amusement Rides GmbH is a German manufacturer of stationary and transportable amusement rides and roller coasters, located in Münsterhausen, Germany. History In 1982, Hubert Gerstlauer, a former employee of the Anton Schwarzkopf-o ...

dark ride A dark ride or ghost train is an indoor amusement ride on which passengers aboard guided vehicles travel through specially lit scenes that typically contain Animatronics, animation, sound, music and Special effect#Live special effects, special e ...

opened in June 2011 as a replacement for the defunct '' Gremlin Invasion'' ride.

History

On 30 June 1996,

Warner Bros. Movie World Germany Warner can refer to: People * Warner (writer) * Warner (given name) * Warner (surname) Fictional characters * Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner, stars of the animated television series ''Animaniacs'' * Aaron Warner, a character in ''Shatter Me se ...

opened with a

named '' Gremlin Invasion'', modelled after the Australian Warner Bros. Movie World's '' Warner Bros. Classics & Great Gremlins Adventure''. On 3 April 2004, Warner Bros. Movie World Germany was acquired by StarParks. This acquisition resulted in various

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

-licensed properties being removed from the park including

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

Gremlins ''Gremlins'' is a 1984 American black comedy horror film directed by Joe Dante, written by Chris Columbus, and starring Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Polly Holliday, and Frances Lee McCain, with Howie Mandel providing the voice of ...

and

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation.

. The following year,

opened with ''Gremlin Invasion'' remaining closed. Wouter Dekkers

On 17 May 2010, the park was acquired by

Parques Reunidos Parques Reunidos (meaning "Reunited Parks") is an international entertainment operator based in Madrid, Spain. The group operates over 60 parks in about dozen countries. Parques Reunidos operates theme and amusement parks, zoos, water parks, fami ...

. The former Gremlins

show building Show building is the name often given to various enclosed structures at theme parks that contain attractions such as rides and entertainment shows. The exteriors of such buildings may be themed on some or all sides, but their hidden "backstage" a ...

and surrounding area was recognised by the park and its new owners as a negative part of Movie Park Germany. Due to the popularity of the park's Halloween events, Wouter Dekkers, Movie Park Germany's

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

, pitched the idea of a roller coaster with a horror theme to the new owners just one month after the acquisition. Parques Reunidos ultimately approved the ride, investing €5 million to design and build the ride. Within the month, a contract with

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

-based roller coaster firm

was signed. Movie Park Germany also worked with

P&P Projects P&P Projects is an international company that first started as a one-man business in Asten, Netherlands making space models and that now specializes in projects for the leisure industry. The company has been constructing and decorating projects for ...

Threshold Animation Studios Threshold Entertainment Group, also known as Threshold Entertainment, is an intellectual property company. Its animation subsidiary, Threshold Animation Studios, produces films. Larry Kasanoff is the company's chief executive officer (CEO) after p ...

and TAA Industries to develop the ride's storyline and theming. After just under a year construction ''Van Helsing's Factory'' officially opened to the public on 18 June 2011.

Characteristics

''Van Helsing's Factory'' is a Gerstlauer Bobsled Coaster, characterised by single cars and sharp turns similar to that of a

Wild Mouse A wild mouse is a type of roller coaster consisting of single or spinning cars traversing a tight-winding track with an emphasis on sharp, unbanked turns. The upper portion of the track usually features multiple 180-degree turns, known as fla ...

. Each of the ride's nine cars seats four people in two rows. The ride has a total length of . Riders reach heights of up to and speeds of up to . The roller coaster is enclosed in a building. The track itself is situated on a base frame with two anchor points as opposed to a conventional roller coaster with foundations. This frame measures . The track is filled with sand, allowing for a comparatively quiet ride. ''Van Helsing's Factory'' is themed after the fictional

Abraham Van Helsing Professor Abraham Van Helsing, a fictional character from the 1897 gothic horror novel ''Dracula'', is an aged Dutch polymath doctor with a wide range of interests and accomplishments, partly attested by the string of letters that follows his ...

, originally from

Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busine ...

's 1897 novel ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...

''. Movie Park Germany chose this theme due to the lack of

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

restrictions on the work. The outside of the building is themed to a 1950s American garage. The inside of the show building is themed to the factory where Van Helsing prepares his cars for vampire hunting.

Ride experience

Riders enter ''Van Helsing's Factory'' from the Streets of New York section of Movie Park Germany. The outside of the building is themed to a

1950s The 1950s (pronounced nineteen-fifties; commonly abbreviated as the "Fifties" or the " '50s") (among other variants) was a decade that began on January 1, 1950, and ended on December 31, 1959. Throughout the decade, the world continued its re ...

American garage with the storyline taking place in the

1960s File:1960s montage.png, Clockwise from top left: U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War; the Beatles led the British Invasion of the U.S. music market; a half-a-million people participate in the 1969 Woodstock Festival; Neil Armstrong and Buzz ...

. The queue line and pre-shows inform guests that they are touring the ''Van Helsing's Factory''. Once riders reach the station, they are recruited on a vampire hunt and must board one of Van Helsing's cars. After being dispatched, the ride slowly moves around a series of turns before ascending the

chain 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 ...

. The ride drops down a spiraling turn to the right before crossing under the first lift hill. It then goes through a banked turnaround before navigating through several

-style unbanked turns. A second lift hill follows, however, this hill is propelled by drive tires, allowing for the cars to accelerate whilst climbing the hill. A number of left hand turns follow this lift hill before the cars enter the final

brake run A brake run on a roller coaster is any section of track meant to slow or stop a roller coaster train. Brake runs may be located anywhere along the circuit of a coaster and may be designed to bring the train to a complete halt or to simply adjust ...

. The cars then return to the station where riders are informed that their mission is complete.

References

External links

* * {{Dracula Roller coasters in Germany Movie Park Germany

History

Characteristics

Ride experience

See also

References

External links