The Experience
Introduction
blue fire Megacoaster is a 2009 Launch Coaster by Mack Rides, located in Europa-Park. blue fire is not only a great rollercoaster but is perhaps also the single most important coaster Mack Rides has ever done and it was an honor experiencing this historic coaster at Mack's own mega-park.
Mack on Mack
Going from making powered coasters, bobsleds and wild mouse coaster to making a large, launched thrill coaster is certainly one hell of a development and being able to make it for your own park, is even better. At the time, Europa-Park was already a big and well-established park but for a company like Mack who we today know as a company that likes to do it all themselves, especially when it comes to their beloved Europa-Park, it must have bothered them at least a little bit that their parks crown jewel "Silver Star" wasn't a Mack coaster. Europa Park isn't just one of the most visited theme parks in Europe but it effectively also works as a form of 'showground' for showcasing their own products, but that doesn't work nearly as well if all the biggest and most impressive coasters are built by other manufacturers and you only make the family coasters, therefore, bluefire really helped not only to establish Europa Park as a thrill destination but also to showcasing Mack's new and expanded catalog of thrill products.
One Clone to rule them all
Clones are a fairly big thing in the theme park market, from flatrides to coasters, as it really helps selling a product in a predefined package and most parks are often more willing to buy simpler, more compact rides whenthey don't already have a well established relationship with the manufacturer. Cloned coasters are often less exciting than their custom counterparts, since the focus isn't as much on making the most creative and thrilling layout as it is on selling a compact ride at a good package to help establish themselves and the product model. With this in mind, it really is quite surprising that blue fire ended up being one of the most cloned thrill coasters out there, as it is quite large and has a fairly diverse and creative layout. Not that we're complaining, blue fire is a really good coaster which offers a great ride experience and we have no problem riding this at whatever park decides to get one.
The Gatekeeper
We kind of view blue fire as the gatekeeper between the good and the really great. 7.5 is a very good score, even for a thrill coaster but it's right around the point where we start distinguishing between whether a coaster is 'really good' or 'actually great'. blue fire definitely has a great layout, offering both floaty inversions, some airtime and some whip. The launch is decent but is outmatched by launches from other manufacturers. The ride is smooth and the trains are very comfortable.
The Heartline Roll
blue fire is for the most part not very intense, it has a few spots with positive G's and some spots with okay airtime and some whip but you will always find a more mild turn or a floaty inversion to break up the more forceful moments. However, there is no doubt what the highlight moment of this ride is. While there are plenty of different forces on blue fire, most of them are mild to moderate in terms of strength but the final heartline roll on blue fire should have been called a torpedo roll as the train charges through it like a missile and everyone onboard are abruptly thrown downwards towards the ground. It's a genuinely intense moment on another wise, fairly approachable ride, as it definitely one of our inversions on any coaster. It's the one moment that helps solidify blue fire's score and it's the one thing that could push it even higher on a re-visit.
Conclusion
blue fire Megacoaster is a really good - borderline great - coaster with a diverse and super fun layout. It's a historic ride for Mack and is a win both for their park and for them as a manufacturer. While the launch could be better and it lacks the overall intensity and pacing of coasters higher up on our list, the fun layout, extremely comfortable trains, smooth tracking and that one crazy heartline roll, makes this a coaster you could ride all day without ever getting tired or beat-up.
Gallery
blue fire Megacoaster Gallery
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Strengths & Weaknesses
| Super comfortable and smooth | |
| Absolutely crazy heartline roll | |
| Diverse layout and forces | |
| Good theming and rockwork | |
| Launch is a little lackluster | |
| Lacks a bit in intensity |
Information
Nameblue fire Megacoaster
Year2009
ParkLoading...
ManufacturerMack Rides
ModelLaunch Coaster
ScaleThrill
Ride Count3
Technical Specs
Specifications
Sit DownMegaLaunchedLSMOnboard SoundCloned
TypeSteel
Length3464,5 ft
Height124,7 ft
Speed62,1 mph
Inversions4
G-Force3,8 G