Fårup Sommerland invited us to the opening of Denmark’s newest, largest and fastest roller coaster, with a stay at Hotel Fårup and time to experience the rest of the park.

Fønix (Phoenix) is 40 metres tall, it reaches a top speed of 95 km/h, features the world’s first 'stall loop' element, and has more airtime than any other ride in Scandinavia. An investment of almost DKK 100 million (€13 million) has been made in the attraction, which comes from Dutch company Vekoma.

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Fønix

The park had organised a special Test Pilot event the evening before the ride opened to the public, which included not only an opportunity for us to be among the first people to try out the new coaster, but also a remarkable behind-the-scenes tour with unprecedented access.

As we set off from the onsite hotel and ventured across the park, it was immediately obvious that Fårup Sommerland is very special. On a calm and sunny evening, the forested park looked magical. Approaching the new ride, fire pits and a red carpet lined the route to the entrance.

A whole themed area has been created around the new ride, with an impressive Fønix sign, themed buildings for food and beverage and retail outlets, an archway, banners and flags. The ride station is especially eye-catching, with a corkscrew ride element passing through the roof. Inside and outside, there are plenty of themed features, although we would like to have seen some kind of pre-ride film or projection to establish the storyline. Instead, an empty cage and an unused perch have been placed to suggest that this is simply the home of a phoenix - an immortal bird associated with Greek mythology that obtains new life by rising from the ashes of its predecessor.

We were fortunate to be able to ride Fønix multiple times in a variety of seating positions, so we actually lost count of how many laps we clocked up! The two trains each seat a total of 16 riders, with 8 rows of 2 across. Thankfully the seats are the really comfortable type used on Vekoma's other recent roller coasters, including the Shockwave and Bermuda Blitz models.

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This new model, the Wildcat, has a total length of 905 metres and 14 different elements. During the ride, which lasts around a minute and a half from leaving the station to stopping on the breaks, riders experience 3 inversions, countless moments of airtime and a show-stopping hangtime moment, all contributing to up to 9.2 seconds of weightlessness.

Fønix is the first roller coaster in the world to feature a 'stall loop' - a spectacular world first element that combines a classic loop with an inverted stall, to create a new unique element. In this element, the train is forced into an overhead position by half a loop followed by an inverted camelback where the riders experience a period of 2.5 seconds of weightlessness before entering the second half of the loop combined with a twist.

In common with all new Vekoma roller coasters, the ride is super smooth, giving the sensation of gliding over ice. From the initial drop, through each of the dramatic maneuvers, bunny hops, twists and turns, Fønix is an absolute pleasure to ride. It's not designed to be overly intense or gut-wrenching, so Fårup Sommerland clearly understands its audience and has worked with Vekoma and ride designer Benjamin Bloemendaal to create just the right level of thrill.

Later in the evening, we were taken behind-the-scenes of Fønix, getting under one of the two trains inside the maintenance building, climbing up the lift hill and even sitting on the track.

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We also had a preview of the new Fønix merchandise range created especially for the ride.

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Upon opening day, we were front and centre for the official inauguration ceremony, which featured a symbolic burning of a fuse that broke the chain across the entrance to the ride. A crowd of excited visitors surged forwards and raced towards the queue to be on the first public ride. The atmosphere was fantastic. The new Fønix Café also opened up, offering a selection of sandwiches, cakes and drinks.

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Hotel Fårup

Fårup Sommerland considers Hotel Fårup to be a four-star family hotel. In addition to the 53 rooms, there's a spacious lobby, cosy lounge, stylish restaurant and bar, and a small indoor play area. With the exception of putting that rather noisy play area immediately inside the entrance, the hotel is well laid out and easy to navigate.

All hotel rooms offer either a view of the lake, with a backdrop of roller coasters, or a lovely forested area at the front of the hotel. Every room features a double bed and integrated children's bunk beds, suitable for two adults and two children. Larger rooms have space for two extra beds. All rooms include free WiFi, TV & radio and a private terrace or balcony. There isn't any tea and coffee, a safe or a minibar.

An extensive breakfast buffet is included in all stays. As we didn't get an opportunity to eat dinner in the restaurant we can't comment on that, but if the food is anything like what's offered elsewhere in the park it's probably excellent.

Guests of Hotel Fårup enjoy exclusive access to roller coasters Orkanen and Falken 30 minutes before the park opens, access to Golf Øen (mini golf) in the morning and the evening, and use of the hotel's football pitch, trampolines, indoor and outdoor playgrounds.

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Fårup Sommerland

There are more than 60 attractions at Fårup Sommerland, with a great variety of rides from thrilling to family fun, all set in wonderful forested surroundings. 

The lineup of big roller coasters includes the family suspended coaster Orkanen (Hurricane), wooden coaster Falken (Falcon), launched coaster Lynet (Lightning) and family boomerang coaster Saven (Saw). For yet more thrills, the swinging pendulum Hvirvelvinden (Whirlwind) delivers a forceful ride.

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The main water rides Fårup Rafting and Træstammerne are enjoyable, but unremarkable. There's a solid collection of family rides, with our favourites being the delightful car ride Skovturen, interactive swing around ride Motorbøllen and log themed rockin' tug ride Snurretræet.

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In addition to all the main rides there are countless play areas, pedalos, canoes, kayaks, rowing boats and even a horseback riding experience for children. There is something for everyone at Fårup Sommerland.

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For lunch we tried the park's new concept restaurant Oasen (Oasis) and wow, we were not disappointed! This 'social dining' experience is similar to tapas, and the park has created a clever tablet-based ordering system to make it super efficient and fun. The indoor dining environment is beautifully done and there's also plenty of outdoor seating for the warmer months. It was good value and everything we had to eat was really well presented and absolutely delicious!

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The whole park had a very relaxed feel, at no point did we feel rushed or under pressure. The train, Toget, offers a chance to sit back and relax on a pleasant ride around the park, past the lake and through the forest. There is almost no music played anywhere in the park, only a theme song at the entrance, which is very unusual for a theme park. On the most part, this felt very much aligned with the calmness of the place and the people, however there were a few occasions where we felt some background music or a thematic score might add to the atmosphere.

We would like to thank Fårup Sommerland for inviting us and making it such an enjoyable two days. It's a theme park that we had been keeping an eye on for some time and with a new world-class roller coaster as their flagship attraction there's never been a better time to visit.

Find out more and book your stay at faarupsommerland.dk