On May 27th of 2018 a large fire completely destroyed the classic dark ride Piraten in Batavia, along with their scandinavian theme zone. Soon afterwards, Europa Park announced that it would rebuild everything that was lost. But they’re not just rebuiling the parts, they will be improving. The Scandinavian part reopened in 2019 with the addition of a new dark ride: Snorri Touren. 2020 will be the year of the reopening of the new improved Piraten in Batavia.
Europa Park has released the first part of a making of series on YouTube. The first episode mainly focusses on Michael Mack telling the story of the new ride. Construction manager David Struder shows a little bit of what is going on inside the dark ride building.
The original version of Piraten in Batavia was heavily inspired by Dinsey’s Pirates of the Caribbean. The ride is part of The Netherlands-themed area and takes place in the former Asian colonies of The Netherlands.
The new ride will focus on the story of Van Robbemond, the founder of the Adventures Club of Europe. That club also has a central part in the storyline of the Flying Theatre Voletarium.
