A first-of-its-kind thrill ride coming to a European theme park holds riders 150 feet above a lake before rocketing them 60 mph toward the water and a tidal wave splashdown finale.

Set to debut this spring, the $9-million Pulsar at Walibi Belgium theme park outside Brussels will be the first Power Splash water ride built by German-based Mack Rides.

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Pulsar rises from the middle of a lake like a mythological steel sea serpent with two vertical spikes poking out of the water at either end of a launched shutter water coaster layout. A small camelback hill and a shallow splash zone sit in between the 150-foot-tall twin track towers. Walibi created a dam and drained the lake in order to lay foundations for the new ride.


Shown is an overview of the Pulsar water ride planned for the Walibi Belgium theme park. (Walibi )

After rotating into place on a turntable loading system, Pulsar riders will swiftly climb backward up one side of the U-shaped track in the first of a series of electromagnetic-powered launches.

Following a brief pause 80 feet in the air, Pulsar falls forward at 30 mph and plows through the splash zone before rising up the other end of the U-shaped track.

Crews fabricate the Pulsar water ride headed to the Walibi Belgium theme park. (Walibi )


With the splash basin quickly draining, Pulsar drops backward from 115 feet at 50 mph over the exposed camelback hill and up the other spike.

As the basin rapidly refills, Pulsar rockets forward down the track at 60 mph from a towering height of 150 feet and unleashes a final tsunami-like splash that slows the ride vehicle.

The new Mack Power Splash draws influences from several existing rides -- including Mack’s own SuperSplash, which slowly builds to a single splashdown finale, and Zamperla’s Disk-O, which shares a similar undulating halfpipe track layout. The result is a melded hybrid that starts fast and never lets up.

The innovative attraction has already caught the attention of the amusement park industry, with the International Assn. of Amusement Parks and Attractions presenting Mack with the best new concept award of 2015 for Power Splash.


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