Germany’s leading theme park has announced that its Eurosat rollercoaster will reopen in September with what it promises will be a unique virtual reality experience.

The ride was originally due to reopen this summer. As part of the new Eurosat Coastiality offering, Europa-Park visitors will be able to put on a VR headset in a pre-show room before embarking on the rollercoaster ride. What follows is completely new: with the headset on, and within virtual reality, visitors not only walk to the train via the train station, but also get into the rollercoaster without having to remove the VR headset in between.

Thanks to a highly sensitive tracking method, the passengers wearing VR glasses in the pre-show area will recognise each other as digitised people ‒ or so-called avatars. Each ride operator will also be represented as a figure in virtual space. The futuristic 360-degree media content is based on French film director Luc Besson’s blockbuster movie Valerian – The City of a Thousand Planets.

The combination of a rollercoaster ride with a VR headset and an upfront ‘free roaming’ experience is unique around the world. This innovation is made possible through the collaboration of MackMedia, VR Coaster, Holodeck VR and EuropaCorp.

In total, up to 14 passengers can use the VR experience at the same time. Guests also have the choice to ride the indoor rollercoaster without the VR option. Located in the French area of the Black Forest park, the ride has been renamed Eurosat – CanCan Coaster following extensive renovations. The attraction’s entire façade has a new, lively look based on the well-known Parisian institution the Moulin Rouge.