Europe’s tallest and fastest rollercoaster Red Force grinds to a halt… just four days after grand opening
Visitors to new £855million Ferrari Land theme park queued for hours only to be told the flagship ride would be closed due to fault
EUROPE’S tallest and fastest rollercoaster ground to a halt yesterday – just four days after its grand opening.
Visitors to the new £855million Ferrari Land theme park queued for hours only to be told the flagship Red Force ride would be closed all day due to a computer error.
And they were denied a refund on their £30 entrance fee because the rest of the park – including a gift shop and a soft play area for kids – remained open.
Ferrari fan Michael Jones, 44, paid £400 for a one-night stay at the on-site hotel and tickets to the park for his family.
He said: “We feel very deflated. We’ve been looking forward to this for ages.
“We queued for three and a half hours to be among the first on the new ride, only to be told it wouldn’t be opening.
“It seems incredible that this amazing high-tech new ride, which only opened on Friday, is already out of order.
“They’re boasting all over the place that it’s the biggest, fastest and flashiest in Europe, but today it’s not going anywhere.”
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He added: “It was absolute chaos at customer services because everyone wanted a refund, but they were refusing to give any.
“They said the rest of the park was open, but it’s basically just a gift shop and a kid’s play area. We only came here to ride the rollercoaster.”
The Red Force ride goes from 0 to 112mph in five seconds.
It is nearly 370ft high with a near-vertical climb and drop.
It is the centrepiece of the new Ferrari Land theme park, part of Spain’s popular PortAventura World resort.
Ferrari F1 test driver Mark Gene was at the new park’s glittering opening ceremony last week and summed up the ride by saying: “Everyone wants to know what it feels like to drive a Formula One car. Now you can get that feeling for yourself.”