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News Project 2026: MonteZOOMa: The Forbidden Fortress
- Thread starter CoasterRattler🐍
- Start date
I’m still not 100% sold on it reopening, but this is the most promising things have looked in over 3 years.
Surely not even Kumbak can screw up a straight line coaster with a loop and two inclines.... More than they already have.... Right guys....?
Right....?
Right....?
Well, there is no lift hill. So that's a start.Surely not even Kumbak can screw up a straight line coaster with a loop and two inclines.... More than they already have.... Right guys....?
Right....?
Wikipedia - "Kumbak (originally Kumbak Coasters) was formed on 14 November 2001 just months after the bankruptcy of Vekoma, a roller coaster manufacturer. The company was founded by nine former employees of Vekoma. The company expanded to a total of 16 employees less than a month later."
So this is where the OG Vekoma people went
So this is where the OG Vekoma people went
I’m very pleasantly surprised this project hasn’t been scrapped at any point with how badly KumbaK fucked up, although it may very well be sunk cost fallacy by now lol
It looks like they just (maybe) put new rails on the old loop structure? If not they're (I guess) making an exact duplicate with the round access hole and all?
For lack of a less cheesy phrase given the subject, what a roller coaster of emotions this has been. So many highs and lows for this project, and I’m thankful (and truthfully shocked) it wasn’t cancelled and scrapped at any point.
That of course is still a fascinating question.
We have reason to believe that KumbaK (
) is involved as they were shipping launch coaster hardware to the park in March. Given that the manufacturers of Xcelerator, Pony Express, and Tenderpaw Twister have been actively servicing each and wouldn't appreciate that company handling their hardware, we can only assume it's for Monty. They've been rumored to be attached since 2022.Taziker in the UK entered the game a few years ago with their own track replacement division. They've been rebuilding a few pieces of Blackpool's Big One at a time for years now and recently worked on Colossus at Thorpe Park. A report this time a year ago from an industry vet claimed to have seen Schwarzkopf vertical loop track on the move in a village in Northwest England, where Taziker has a proxy responsible for sandblasting and power coating metal. We've seen no official connection to the project however.
There were a few names floating around in 2022 that may or may not actually still be, or ever have been, involved. Per this report, Maurer AG was originally tapped to manufacture the new track but if Taziker is doing it then they wouldn't be. InDriveTec would provide LSM's as they do for Intamin's projects, while IMAscore would contribute a custom soundtrack for the ride. Again this project went through a contract cancellation and percieved shakeup behind the scenes, so this paragraph is really all outdated info.
It's been a debate online about whether Premier Rides or KumbaK are supplying the rolling stock (trains). My money would be on the latter as of now. The reported plan was to buy two of them to enable year-round operations.
They should have contracted Gerstlauer for this project since they had already successfully refurbished Turbine at Walibi Belgium.
But Cedar Fair was and Six Flags is more focused on getting the cheapest instead of experienced contractor. So fiascos like this and TT2 happen.
A SchwartzKopf shuttle loop is an amazing ride. I’m happy to see this one being saved since it’s the only one left in this country.
But Cedar Fair was and Six Flags is more focused on getting the cheapest instead of experienced contractor. So fiascos like this and TT2 happen.
A SchwartzKopf shuttle loop is an amazing ride. I’m happy to see this one being saved since it’s the only one left in this country.
New trains, new restraints, new track, new launch system. In my opinion, it is no longer a Schwarzkopf.
For example, Wildcat's Revenge is now a RMC, not an GCI as Wildcat was.
It’s definitely a roller coaster of Theseus at this point, but unlike RMC conversions I think this is close enough to where it’s still at the very least Schwarzkopf adjacent.
I’d personally count it as a new credit, though.
I’d personally count it as a new credit, though.
It’s the same exact Schwarzkopf layout *maybe* with a random backwards launch. I’m not aware of another manufacturer, producing the same exact layout with a launch. So IMO it’s still Schwarzkopf.
It’s going to be pretty much the same experience. Launch, looping with lapbar, the weightlessness on the spikes. That’s what make the Schwarzkopf shuttles a great ride.
RMC changes the layouts and the overall experience.