Situated in Nykøbing, about 55 miles west of the capital of Copenhagen, Sommerland Sjaelland has added a two level, seven pole Sky Trail Navigator as launched at the IAAPA Attractions Expo in Orlando in November last year. The park is very much a seasonal, summer resort style venue and is focused on open space and active elements for children to take part in, such as canoeing, interactive games, trampolines and a waterpark. The new high ropes course therefore fits in perfectly with the wide range of existing attractions and activities on offer.
The custom designed course will appeal to younger and older children as well as their parents and features a variety of fun, challenging elements for all ages. The second level is more testing than the first but allows youngsters to build their confidence, where necessary, to move up to a more challenging section, something the park was particularly keen to provide.
The new course, which took just eight days to install, has been set up to cater for 35 participants at any one time, providing an hourly capacity of 100. And it is also the first installation of a major high ropes course by Innovative Leisure where the client has included the attraction in the entrance price of the park, as opposed to operating it as a secondary spend item.
“We first met the owners of Sommerland Sjaelland at the IAAPA show last where we were able to show them a fully operating version of the Sky Trail Navigator,” recalls Innovative Leisure MD Phil Pickersgill. “It was just what they wanted and fitted the park’s ethos perfectly. It’s painted in bright colours so that it looks cheerful and family oriented and goes well with the context of the park and the other attractions and facilities within it.
“There are lots of elements for visitors to try,” he added, “and it will be particularly interesting to watch how it performs with it being the first one we have completed that is included in the entrance price to the park.”
Commenting on the venue’s latest addition, Sommerland Sjaelland’s owner and manager Kaare Dyvekær said: “We are very satisfied with the Sky Trail Navigator course, which in our park is named Klatrefidusen. Our guests have given us fantastic feedback on the new attraction, which has confirmed to us that it was the right decision to choose something that provides a physical activity as opposed to a more passive experience in, for example, a new roller coaster. Families are having fun together and that was our goal in buying the high ropes course for Sommerland Sjaelland.” And he added: “We have also seen an additional benefit following the installation of the course, with sales in the adjacent food and beverage outlet rising significantly since it opened.”
The Sky Trail Navigator is one of a range of major high ropes courses offered by Innovative Leisure, which distributes the attractions in the UK on behalf of US manufacturer Ropes Courses, Inc., who have completed over 600 courses in the US. Hourly capacities of up to 500 people and one, two, three or four levels are possible, while the many different elements incorporated into the attractions are interchangeable, so that the courses can be altered at regular intervals to refresh, update or further develop where required. Full theming options are also available, such as pirate, jungle and construction themes.
