Pirates in Batavia

Pirates in Batavia (2020) (German Piraten in Batavia[2]) is a water dark ride at Europa-Park that opened on July 28, 2020. It was rebuilt in place of the old ride by the same name, which burned down in a fire in 2018. The ride was built by Mack Rides in 1987 and was situated in a large hall at the Dutch themed area, which was designed as a typical Dutch clinker brick building from the outside.

Pirates in Batavia
Piraten in Batavia
The attraction entrance at Europa-Park
Europa-Park
AreaNetherlands
Coordinates48°15′49″N 7°43′11″E
StatusOperating
Opening date1987
Closing date26 May 2018
Ride statistics
ManufacturerMack Rides
ModelDark ride
ThemePirate raid on Jakarta
Drop5 m (16 ft)
Length400 m (1,300 ft)
Speed2.9 km/h (1.8 mph)
Site area3,800 m2 (41,000 sq ft)
Capacitymax. 2000 riders per hour
Vehicle typeBoat
Vehicles22
Riders per vehicle16
Rows4
Riders per row4
Duration7:30 mins
Handicapped personsNot suitable for handicapped persons, according to TÜV-restricitions[1]

Although located in the Dutch area, its theming is largely based on Indonesia (then the Dutch East Indies), in which the Dutch colonized.

Theming

The ride is set during a pirate raid on Jakarta (known as Batavia until 1942) in the 17th century at the beginning of the Dutch colonization of Indonesia.

Ride

The building of the ride was characterized with a banner labeled with "Piraten in Batavia" in golden letters and a Jolly Roger. The station was situated on the first floor. On their way to the station, visitors were introduced to the backstory, while learning about the history of the Dutch colonisation of Indonesia, shown in different animated scenes. Mural paintings showed the Java Sea, including the maps of Sumatra, Borneo and Java.

At the station the visitors got on one of the boats, each with a capacity of 16 riders. The first scene showed a cave in the Indonesian jungle, which was inhabited by different animals and humans. After a wide bend, the boat went down a waterfall and passed through a battle scene, in which a pirate ship attacked a nearby fort. The scene was dominated by screaming pirates and gunfire. Through a break in the fortification wall, the boat arrived in Batavia, which was full of marauding pirates. In the following scenes the visitor experienced how the pirates won over the native women, staving off their hunger by eating exotic animals and getting drunk. The ride carried on passing a hidden temple in the jungle, a burning fort, a fishermen's village and a jail.

Just before the end of the ride, the boats passed a show venue on the right, which was embedded into the setting, and the themed restaurant Bamboe Baai.

Fire

On 26 May 2018, Pirates in Batavia burned to the ground in a fire that destroyed the main themed area of the Scandinavia portion of the park. The cause of the fire is unknown, but a fireball erupted in a storage hall and spread towards the ride building resulting in high flames and a smoke plume stretching for miles. At first, the area was evacuated, but this was later revised to include the whole park. The park re-opened on Sunday, albeit with the Scandinavia and Norwegian sections of the ride closed. Two attractions, the 'Fjord-Rafting' and the 'Dschungel-Floßfahrt' remained closed, as firefighters had used water from those attractions to battle the fire.[3][4]

References
  1. "Pirates in Batavia".
  2. "Pirates in Batavia".
  3. Mosbergen, Dominique (27 May 2018). "Horrific Videos Show Massive Fire At Europa Theme Park In Germany". Huffington Post. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  4. Peter Stubley (2018-05-27). "Huge fire sees Germany's largest amusement park evacuated and seven firefighters injured". Independent.


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