Blue Fire

Blue Fire

Blue Fire is a special kind of roller coaster called a "launched roller coaster" at Europa-Park. It opened in 2009 when the park added a new area that looks like Iceland. Blue Fire was the first of its kind made by Mack Rides, and it was the tenth roller coaster at the park. It is also the first one at Europa-Park that flips riders upside down.

When it first opened, a company called Gazprom helped pay for the ride. Later, the park stopped working with Gazprom. The ride is famous for its tagline, "Discover Pure Energy," which talks about the exciting feeling riders get when they go on Blue Fire.

Layout

Blue Fire is a fun mix of a dark ride and a launched roller coaster. It starts with a dark ride for about 45 seconds. Then, the train speeds up to 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 2.5 seconds using a special linear synchronous motor.

After that, the train goes over a turn that is up to 38 metres (124 ft 8 in) high. Next, it goes through a vertical loop that is 32 metres (105 ft 0 in) high, the tallest loop on any launched roller coaster in Europe. The ride continues with a twisty horseshoe roll over part of a lake, followed by a bumpy hill and ends with a heartline roll before stopping.

The twisty horseshoe roll on Blue Fire was the first of its kind in Europe and the first on any roller coaster made by Mack. Only one other roller coaster had this before Blue Fire, which was Maverick at Cedar Point.

Mack Rides also sells a version of Blue Fire without the dark ride part. One example is Battle for Blue Fire at Quancheng Euro Park, and another is Steel Taipan at Dreamworld.

Construction

Blue Fire opened in 2009 in a new Iceland-themed area at Europa-Park. The park’s directors, Roland and Jürgen Mack, started work on this area in June 2008. They shared updates about Blue Fire on their website beginning in July 2008, mentioning its fast launch, twists, and Iceland theme.

Construction began in September 2008. The park gave more details in a press release on September 18. They said Blue Fire would be the first launched coaster built by Mack Rides and would have the tallest loop for a launched coaster in Europe. Workers finished building the track by mid-December 2008. To make room for Blue Fire, part of the Fjord-Rafting ride was closed for a time but reopened before the 2009 season.

Trains and colour scheme

Blue Fire has five trains. Each train has five cars. Each car can fit two rows of two riders, so each train can carry 20 people. Only four trains run at a time. The fifth train is kept as a spare. Riders sit in stadium-style seats with lap bars for safety.

The coaster has blue tracks and light gray supports. The theme design was made by P&P Projects.

Sponsorships

From 2010 to 2019, Blue Fire had a sponsor, a big Russian energy company called Gazprom. They built a large exhibition hall called the GAZPROM Theme World.

In 2020, the sponsor changed to Nord Stream 2. This was an extension of the Nord Stream 1 natural gas pipelines.

However, when the Russian Federation invaded Ukraine in 2022, the sponsorship stopped and the Nord Stream 2 project was cancelled. The exhibition hall was renamed to "Blue Fire Dome", and all signs of the old sponsorship were removed.

Height restriction

Europa-Park has rules for who can ride Blue Fire. To ride, you must be at least 1.30 metres tall, which is about 51 inches or 4 feet 3 inches, and you must also be at least 7 years old.

Awards

Blue Fire, the exciting roller coaster at Europa-Park, has won awards for its design. Since it opened in 2009, the coaster has received several honors. These awards show how Blue Fire is special and different from other roller coasters around the world.