Original subtitles

Narrator: Climbing nearly 165 feet into the air

Then dropping 90 degrees straight down

At 65 miles per hour,

Valkyria is europe's tallest dive roller coaster.

What makes this ride so terrifying?

And what keeps its trains locked to the rails

Throughout death-defying turns and head-spinning inversions?

It's our mission to deliver the most exciting

Ride experience possible.

Narrator: We unlock the engineering secrets

That allow this ride to deliver the biggest thrills

From the monster steel towers anchored to bedrock

Over 80 feet in the earth

To the space-age wheels that keep its trains

Rolling all season long to reveal it takes

To build the ultimate super roller coaster.

-- Captions by vitac -- www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by discovery communications

♪

This is liseberg amusement park in sweden.

[ screaming ]

Approximately 3 million visitors travel here

Every year to experience the park's

39 one-of-a-kind rides and attractions.

Whoo!

Competition between the hundreds of amusement parks

Across europe is fierce.

To keep the park full,

Liseberg entices its thrill seekers

With newer, bigger, and scarier roller coasters.

To stay ahead of the curve, designers built this...

Valkyria.

This ride gets its name from the flying maidens

Of norse mythology.

According to legend,

These goddesses swooped down from the sky

And carried slain warriors to heaven.

This coaster gives its passengers

Their very own ride of the valkyries.

At 2,460 feet long, this dive coaster features

Three head-spinning inversions and drops riders 90 degrees

Straight down at 65 miles per hour.

At 165 feet high, this epic ride

Is the tallest dive coaster in europe.

Its mission -- to deliver eager thrill seekers

A heart-stopping ride up to 675 times a day.

[ screaming ]

To help achieve this goal,

Valkyria is built with innovative technology

Hidden under the hood that helps it wow the crowds.

Mighty chains pull the coaster nearly 165 feet up into the sky

And hold it at the top of the drop.

Tough nylon wheels keep the train rolling to the end

Of the track, and super strong hydraulic harnesses

Keep passengers firmly in their seats.

All these elements combine to make valkyria

The ultimate dive coaster.

The next 48 hours promise to test the ride to its limits.

This weekend, liseberg opens for the season.

An estimated 20,000 people will head to the park

Looking for fun and new adventures.

Valkyria must operate close to full capacity

Nonstop for eight hours a day.

Liseberg closes between January and late April

When temperatures drop to their lowest.

The park mothballs its rides to protect them

From the harsh winter weather.

Ride breakdowns aren't acceptable at liseberg,

Especially not on their most popular attraction.

So engineers must test all of valkyria's components

To make sure they're working properly

Before the spring-summer season begins.

Today, liseberg c.E.O. Andreas andersen

Is visiting the park to ensure it's ready for opening day.

Andersen: We have to disassemble the ride.

We have to do all the annual maintenance.

We have to make sure that the ride is in mint condition

To make sure that it can reopen again in April.

Narrator: 7:00 a.M., the park opens to the public

In eight hours.

♪

Technical manager niklas karlgren performs

A few last-minute checks on valkyria

Before guests arrive to the park for the season.

Niklas' first job is to inspect

Valkyria's 2,460-foot long track.

Karlgren: I'm looking at the track-to-track connections

For loose nuts and bolts.

I check the column connections also for loose nuts and bolts.

I looks at the track, the screws.

I look so there's a straight --

Always a straight line so nothing has moved

Because we want to find anything that could become a catastrophe.

Narrator: Next, niklas tests the track strength

Under operational conditions.

He uses 18 water dummies to simulate the weight

Of a ride at full capacity.

And there's good reason for the dummies

To take the first plunge.

Europe's longest dive coaster plummets 165 feet

Into a subterranean hole.

By the time the train reaches the bottom of the drop,

The passengers are traveling at 65 miles per hour.

Within the space of 130 feet, the track levels out

And curves upwards, out of the underground tunnel.

The force the falling train exerts on this section of track

Is equivalent to dropping a nearly 40,000-pound weight

On the rails.

If the track is not firmly secured to the ground,

It could crack,

Leading to potentially dangerous consequences.

Valkyria needs a rock-solid foundation,

So the team at liseberg work with project leader david noren

To engineer a solution.

Noren: The force of the train coming down to the tunnel

Is very high, so the foundations have to be attached

To the bedrock underneath.

Narrator: But reaching solid stone is a big challenge

In this part of sweden.

The bedrock slopes towards a nearby river.

How can engineers anchor valkyria

To rock that changes in depth throughout the site?

To firmly secure valkyria's foundations to the ground,

Engineers drill 12 75-foot long steel towers,

Called piles, into the bedrock.

Next, concrete is poured on top of the piles.

Then engineers fit the sections of coaster track

To the concrete foundations.

Thick bolts create super strong joints between the metalwork.

Together, the long piles, concrete, and bolts

Lock the track into place.

The joints make it strong enough to withstand

The impact of valkyria's train cars

That plummet into the tunnel up to 675 times a day.

♪

2:00 p.M., the park opens to the public in just one hour.

It's time for niklas to test the track

Using 18 water dummies.

He activates the 490-foot long lift chain

That pulls the train to the top of the hill.

Moments later, the car prepares for the drop.

♪

♪

The track holds firm for the dummy test,

But before he approves valkyria for service,

Niklas must ride the coaster alone.

Nothing compares to feeling every curve

And inversion firsthand.

Any unusual bumps or scrapes will alert niklas

To potential mechanical problems.

If he thinks they're serious,

The ride can't open until they're fixed.

The first connection with the lift chain felt really good.

♪

Yoo-hoo!

♪

♪

Oh.

As perfect as it could be.

Narrator: The coaster passes the test with flying colors.

That felt really, really good, and it sounded nice,

Felt super good, so I'm ready to sign this off.

Narrator: 3:00 p.M., liseberg opens for

The spring-summer season, and the rush begins.

Hundreds of visitors head straight for valkyria.

But as demand increases, so does the pressure

On europe's tallest dive coaster.

What are the engineering secrets that allow valkyria to suspend

And then drop hundreds of passengers every hour?

And how does this coaster spin and twist thrill seekers

Without coming off the rails?

♪

Narrator: In gothenburg, sweden, liseberg amusement park

Is opening its doors for the first time

To kick off the spring-summer season.

Over the next 48 hours, the record-breaking

Valkyria dive coaster will give an estimated

20,000 visitors the ride of their lives.

For decades, amusement parks around the world

Have competed to build bigger, better,

And more terrifying rides than the one before them.

1989, the world's tallest roller coaster

Stands 203 feet high.

16 years later, the record doubles to 456 feet.

In 1976, three inversions, or upside-down rolls,

Is the max.

By 2013, the record quadruples to 14 loops.

Valkyria's most iconic feature is its huge drop,

Inspired by the plunging mythological norse goddesses.

It's one of the longest vertical drop coasters in europe.

This ultimate dive coaster was engineered here at

Clermont steel fabricators in cincinnati, ohio,

Where a team of 80 workers bend, twist, and weld steel

To make some of the greatest rides in the world.

It takes 90 days for workers to cut over 500,000 pounds

Of steel to make valkyria's 100 support columns.

They mold the coaster's 77 individual track sections,

Following a detailed blueprint.

Each track section receives four coats of special paints.

The paints prevent the salty air of liseberg's coastal location

From corroding the metal track.

The passengers filling valkyria's departure hall

Are the latest in a long line of thrill seekers

Eager to experience this next step in coaster evolution.

Lifting the coaster's 18-seat, 13,000 pounds of train

And passengers nearly 165 feet into the air

Is a huge engineering challenge.

The engineers who built this super coaster

Designed an ingenious solution to literally pull

The train up the hill without it ever slipping back.

A continuous 490-foot long lift chain

Powered by a 230 kilowatt electric motor

Runs the length of the 45-degree incline.

A metal pin mounted beneath the front of the train

Hooks into the lift chain.

If a malfunction looses the chain,

The metal blocks on each carriage

Lock into a toothed rail on the track.

So the train can never roll backwards out of control.

Yet rounding the hill summit is just the beginning.

This extraordinary machine must suspend the train over the edge

Just long enough to terrify the passengers before dropping

Them straight down into the underground tunnel.

Building a system with the strength to hold over

13,000 pounds is a formidable engineering feat.

Traditional car mechanical brakes use electronically

Controlled calipers to grip metal disks

Attached to the axle.

Stopping and suspending the coaster's train

Plus passengers up to 675 times a day could cause extreme

Wear and tear on the brake disks.

There's a risk that the brakes will fail

And valkyria's train will roll over the edge of the drop.

Even worse, if there's a power malfunction

While the brakes are on, the train and passengers

Could be stuck facing downwards, making rescue almost impossible.

A mechanical breakdown on opening weekend

Will seriously damage valkyria's reputation.

To prevent a potentially catastrophic situation,

Engineers build a rugged

Two-stage system into the machine.

Stage one -- reduce the train's speed

And bring the train to a complete stop.

To accomplish this,

Engineers attach magnets to its under carriage.

Then they install metal plates

At the top of the drop that interact with the magnets.

First thing that happens here before the drop

Is this magnetic brakes,

And they will reduce the speed of the train.

Narrator: At the top of the hill,

The train disengages the lift chain.

Motorized wheels on the track propel

The train around a curve before the magnetic brakes

Slow it down to 4.5 miles per hour.

Next comes stage two -- dangle the train over the edge.

Engineers equip valkyria with a 65-foot long drop chain system

To secure the carriages into position.

Karlgren: So here we have the drop chain.

The train hooks up into this chain,

And the electrical motor will reduce the speed

And actually electrical-wise hold it

And give it a complete stop over this edge.

Narrator: Hooks mounted on the train's undercarriage

Mesh with the drop chain.

The chain connects to a 308-horse-powered motor

Mounted under the track at the top of the ride.

The motor slowly pulls the carriages over the edge.

When the whole train reaches the right point,

The motor locks the carriages in place.

Suspended in midair, the passengers' anticipation builds.

[ screaming ]

Then the drop chain releases.

The undercarriage pins fall free,

And the train plummets straight down,

Reaching a top speed of 65 miles per hour.

The drop chain will loosen if the ride's power fails,

Allowing the coaster train to fall freely.

So it can never get stuck on the edge

And trigger a complex and time-consuming rescue operation.

It's two hours into the opening weekend,

And valkyria's big drop continues to wow the crowds,

But in order for this opening weekend to receive high reviews,

The coaster must offer a thrill truly unique.

What innovating engineering allows this machine

To spin passengers 360 degrees

Without causing them to pass out?

And what technology makes it possible for a coaster

With no engine to roll continuously around the track?

♪

Narrator: In sweden, it's opening day at

Liseberg amusement park's spring-summer season.

After being closed during the winter months,

Eager thrill seekers line up for its biggest, scariest rides.

At the top of their list is europe's tallest dive coaster,

Valkyria, inspired by the flying norse goddesses of lore.

[ screaming ]

But the passenger experience starts long before

They step on board the ride.

In line, riders are surrounded by swords,

Shields, and fiery cauldrons that evoke the theme of some of

Norse mythology's most famous characters.

Andersen: Valkyries are these goddesses

That pick up slain soldiers on the battlegrounds,

And they are flying through the air,

Diving down, picking up these soldiers,

And bringing them to valhalla, the viking version of heaven.

Narrator: By the time passengers climb aboard the train,

They're ready for their very own ride of the valkyries.

It's a really good choice on the theme

On a roller coaster, and the name,

Valkyria, goes really well with it.

It raises the expectations

And the overall feeling you get when you ride it.

Narrator: Valkyria drops thrill seekers nearly 165 feet

Into a subterranean tunnel.

But to qualify as the ultimate in its class,

This coaster must do more than just drop vertically.

To make valkyria a white-knuckle ride the whole way around,

Its designers built in three circular loops

Called inversions.

These twists and turns

Give passengers the feeling of turning upside down.

But history proves there's a fine line between

Thrilling riders and causing them serious injuries.

1895, america's first roller coaster

With an inversion opens at coney island.

The flip flap railway features a small diameter circular loop.

Many passengers complain of whiplash and other injuries

Following their ride.

The flip flap's problem is that its loop is a perfect circle

With a tight 12-foot radius.

The train must travel more than 13 miles per hour

To make it around the entire loop.

At this acceleration,

Passengers riding the train are subjected to 12 gs of force.

That's equivalent to four times the amount of force

Astronauts experience during a rocket launch.

After seven years in use, the flip flap is demolished.

♪

To ensure passengers don't experience excessive g-force,

Valkyria's engineers build into the coaster

A special loop with a twist.

This innovative design is named after the aerial aerobatics

Of a german world war I fighter pilot.

Max immelmann pioneers a loop that tightens

As the plane slows, goes up, and finishes in a roll.

The maneuver keeps the g-forces low and helps max

Surpass his opponents.

Valkyria's rails guide the coasters train

Along the same path to curve upwards and simultaneously

Roll through 180 degrees.

Valkyria twists at the top of the curve,

Sending the train out right side up.

The mid-loop twist allows passengers to experience

The thrill of an inversion

Without the extreme acceleration of a full loop,

And their bodies are subjected to a comfortable

3.5 gs of force.

♪

One loop is not enough to qualify

Valkyria as an ultimate coaster.

To take the ride to the next level,

Designers build in a set of twists

To spin passengers 360 degrees

As they travel forward at high speed.

But rotating riders quickly without making them feel sick

Is another huge engineering challenge.

Some extreme roller coasters put the trains

On the outside of the track,

Twisting and turning passengers through a large circle,

Making their heads spin.

This type of unstable motion

Can affect the delicate mechanisms in a rider's ears,

Causing them to feel physically sick.

This is exactly what liseberg wants to avoid

On valkyria's opening weekend.

So her designers place the train on the inside of the curve

To make the ride more comfortable.

This simple switch spins the riders slower

In a smaller circle centered around their chests,

Reducing head spin

And protecting the rider from feeling sick.

Valkyria's twists and spins prove to be a big hit

With thrill seeking visitors.

You have the drop, which obviously is awesome

On all dive coasters, but in valkyria's case,

It continues to deliver the whole circuit.

You get the adrenaline rush, and then you can enjoy the ride

Riding on the adrenaline for a few seconds more.

I love it.

Narrator: Halfway through this opening weekend,

Valkyria has flown thousands of riders.

And tomorrow promises to be even busier.

What is this coaster's secret for keeping its wheels

Rolling in any type of weather?

And what technology guarantees that all passengers

Stay firmly in their seats?

♪

Narrator: In sweden, thrill seekers looking for

A one-of-a-kind experience head to liseberg amusement park

On the season's opening spring-summer weekend.

One attraction stands out from all the rest --

Valkyria, europe's tallest dive coaster,

Named after the norse goddesses

That swoop down from the heavens.

This massive roller coaster drops passengers down

A 90-degree, 165-foot long slope into a dark underground tunnel

Before flying through a series of wild inversions.

Today, it must operate continuously

For the next eight hours

To satisfy the long line of eager thrill seekers.

It's critical the train makes it all the way around the track

Every time it runs.

Because this is a dive coaster,

Valkyria's trains don't contain onboard engines.

The energy created from the initial 165-foot fall

Is enough to power it through the entire ride.

The challenge for engineers is to ensure the energy

The coaster does produce is channeled properly

In order to keep the train moving forward.

Too much friction between the wheel bearings and axles

Will slow the trains down.

♪

Every night, the ride closes for routine safety checks.

In the coaster's maintenance hanger,

Mechanics use thick grease

To lubricate all of the train's moving components.

The main purpose is to lower the friction between metal surfaces,

And because of it lowers the friction, the wear also reduces.

Narrator: But in this part of sweden,

The climate creates a big problem for greased machines.

In winter, temperatures at liseberg drop below freezing.

Yet this amusement park powers

Right through the frigid weather.

At such low temperatures,

The grease lubricating the wheels is thick and viscous.

This creates drag inside each wheel and slows them down.

The train loses speed, increasing the risk

That it won't have enough forward momentum

To make it back to the station.

The train could stop on the track,

Leaving the rider's stranded.

Engineers would have to manually drag the train

Back to the station.

♪

So that's why a roller coaster stuck somewhere on the track

Is one of my worst nightmares.

Narrator: To avoid this problem, engineers must reduce friction

Between the train's wheels and the rails.

Each of valkyria's six mounts hold pairs

Of three different types of wheels.

Road wheels bear the train's weight.

Side wheels control lateral movement.

Up-stop wheels positioned under the rail prevent the train

From jumping off the track under intense movement.

The harder the material, the lower its friction.

Some coasters use super dense solid steel wheels.

Their ultra low friction keeps the train

Rolling to the end of the line.

But steel wheels can make coasters noisy,

And their hardness can make riders

Feel every bump on the track.

Valkyria's reputation as an ultimate coaster

Relies on giving every passenger a smooth ride.

Engineers must balance comfort with the need for the train

To complete the track after every drop all season long.

[ screaming ]

Their solution is to equip valkyria with two different

Sets of wheels -- one soft, one hard.

♪

Engineers' first choice for train wheels

Are made from polyurethane.

These soft wheels give passengers

The quietest, smoothest ride possible,

But their sponginess increases frictions,

Fractionally slowing the train.

When thicker axle grease increases drag in

Cold temperatures, engineers swap

The polyurethane wheels for a harder nylon set.

Their tougher surface results in a noisier ride

But reduces friction,

Canceling out the drag caused by the thick grease,

So the train completes the track every time.

Valkyria's super wheels keep its trains moving

And the thrills coming

For thousands of white-knuckled riders.

As the opening weekend comes to an end,

The demand for more chances to ride valkyria increases.

To complete its mission, the coaster must fly

Every passenger around the track safely and securely.

What hidden technology keeps every rider

Firmly in their seat?

And how does the park's geographical location

Affect the ride?

Narrator: In sweden, eager thrill seekers soak up

The last few hours of liseberg amusement park's

Opening weekend.

Europe's tallest dive coaster,

Valkyria, is the star attraction.

To qualify as record-breaking,

This ride must thrill its passengers

And keep them safe.

Andersen: Safety is a non-negotiable.

We never, ever compromise

When it comes to the safety of our guests.

Narrator: The challenge for designers of a coaster

That drops, inverts, and spins

Its riders is how to keep everybody firmly in their seats

Throughout the entire ride.

The solution is built into the restraints fitted to each of

Valkyria's 18 seats.

A pair of hydraulic cylinders built into each seat

Releases liquid through one-way valves.

The liquid locks the padded shoulder restraints in place.

A hydroelectric valve makes sure the liquid's pressure

Stays constant to secure riders of different sizes.

The system adjusts its lock position

To accommodate both adult and teenage riders.

Once the ride is over, the one-way valve opens

And releases the hydraulic fluid.

♪

Each week, valkyria's maintenance team

Tests every restraint.

They use a pneumatic gauge

To measure the movement of each bar in the locked position.

Andersen: Roller coasters are actually extremely safe.

Your body thinks it's in danger, but it really isn't.

Engineering marvels, the constructions are designed

Not just around thrill but designed around safety.

Narrator: Valkyria's engineers can rely on the super strong

Restraint system to keep riders in their seats,

But liseberg's geography presents

Another big safety challenge.

The amusement park is located in a river valley.

It rains here for an average of 14 days every month

During the eight months liseberg is open.

This is bad news for one section of valkyria's track.

♪

Valkyria's nearly 10-foot deep underground tunnel

Sits just below the area's water table.

After heavy rainfall, water seeps through the bedrock

And gradually builds up inside the tunnel

To the point that it could lap over valkyria's track.

If that were to happen,

When a train passes through the tunnel,

The water could drag on the wheels,

Slowing down the carriage.

There's a chance the train

Wouldn't complete the rise out of the tunnel

And would roll backwards into the dark, wet subterranean hole.

To make sure this never happens,

Engineers equip the ride with sensors.

These monitor the water level inside the tunnel.

If the sensors detect pooling water,

The amusement park maintenance team is immediately alerted.

They use pumps to remove water from the tunnel to make sure

Its level doesn't pose a risk to the ride's operation.

[ screaming ]

♪

Just hours remain until the season-opening

Weekend rush is over.

This weekend alone, valkyria has provided thousands of people

With the ride and time of their lives.

Andersen: A good ride is actually almost like

A good film.

It has a beginning.

It has a build up.

It has a climax, and then it sort of fades out,

And I think that valkyria does just that.

Narrator: So what technology promises to be the next

Leap forward in roller coaster design?

♪

♪

Narrator: In sweden, liseberg amusement park's

Busy opening spring-summer season weekend is almost over.

Ultimate dive coaster valkyria is the latest in a long line of

Revolutionary coasters pushing the limits of speed

And exhilaration.

In a fiercely competitive industry,

The challenge for coaster engineers

Is how to make their rides stand out.

To accomplish this task,

Liseberg's cutting edge engineers

Build a virtual reality simulator that passengers can

Experience before they climb aboard the actual ride.

The simulator immerses riders in the norse myth

And legend that inspired valkyria.

The park enlists the help of designer

Simon jimmefors to develop this unique experience.

His expert team uses 3-d modeling to build around

Valkyria's track, a mythological world

Of heroes and fantasy creatures.

This type of technology immerses riders

Into the world's sights and sounds.

A motor driven chair replicates the sensation of riding

The real valkyria.

The virtual ride went live in 2017.

It's unique mythology-inspired theme wowed thrill seekers.

It's possible the next evolution will allow passengers to

Experience the virtual world

At the same time as riding a real coaster.

♪

6:00 p.M., only a couple hours remain

Until liseberg's busy opening weekend

Will draw to a close.

For every guest walking through the gate, we want to create,

You know, the best day of the year.

Narrator: Liseberg's busy opening weekend

Ends on a big high.

Over the past 48 hours, the park's star ride

Completes its mission, taking thousands of

Eager thrill seekers on the ride of a lifetime

And cementing the park's reputation

As one of the top amusement attractions in europe.

Andersen: We really like the dive coaster concept,

But we wanted to take it further.

We really wanted to build the ultimate compact

Dive coaster for the european market,

And I think we succeeded.

Narrator: It's all thanks to a series of engineering

Innovations built into the twisting body

Of this machine that helps make it one of the world's

Ultimate roller coaster rides.

Deep, superstrong piles

Secure precision engineered tracks to the bedrock.

A mighty drop chain holds the coaster on the edge.

Near frictionless wheels keep the coaster train

Rolling right around the track.

Head-spinning inversions and corkscrew twists

Exhilarate passengers, and hydraulic harnesses

Keep everyone firmly in their seats.

This is europe's tallest dive coaster.

One of the most thrilling rides in the world.

Valkyria was built to be the ultimate in its class.