Ukko

Opened in 2011 on the park's 61st anniversary and an icon visible for miles around, Ukko is one of the rollercoasters in the large collection of rides at Linnanmäki.

The ride is a Maurer Söhne SkyLoop coaster which, in common with Linnanmäki's Kirnu, has its loop of track standing up vertically over the amusement park.

From the station, the train is pulled slowly up Ukko's vertical lift hill which flattens out at the top to leave riders hanging upside down at the ride's highest point. After disengaging from the lift, it rolls through a corkscrew inversion which ends in a dive downwards racing through the station and back up the lift hill, this time at pace.

The train's momentum carries it back vertically almost to the top of the lift, but gravity eventually takes over and the train falls backwards, through the station once again and up the other side of the loop. It gets far enough up to enter part of the twist before falling forwards again, travelling through the station once more and partly up the lift. This time the chain engages and, after a brief pause, runs backwards to bring the train into the platform ready for riders to disembark.

Ukko uses Maurer's X-Car trains, which feature special seats and generously oversized lapbars which allow riders to hang upside down for extended periods of time without the need for over-the-shoulder restraints. Ukko's version do not suffer from the problems seen on other Mauer Söhne rides such as G-Force at Drayton Manor which had X-Car restraints which got increasingly tight during the circuit. Even so they aren't the most comfortable design, especially with riders' entire bodyweight pushing against their stomach through the long periods of hangtime which the rollercoaster features.

Unfortunately, Ukko is generally not a particularly comfortable ride. It was fine when it was new, but it has not aged well and has gained a painful sideways shunt at various points along the track. That's a shame, as its unusual design and compact layout fits well at Linnanmäki. Luckily it is fairly short and over pretty quickly!

The bright yellow track stands out against the sky and makes Ukko easy to spot, although the overall theming is a little strange. While it is named after the god of thunder in Finnish mythology, the station and queueline are decorated with psychedelic patterns, rainbows and musical instruments reminiscent of the Sixties and The Beatles.

Ukko is the weirdest rollercoaster at Linnanmäki, with its unusual design, hangtime and lap bar restraints making it one of the park's most intimidating rides juxtaposing against its cheerful colourful theming. It has become rougher and "bangier" over the years, and is now a rather uncomfortable but mercifully short ride experience.

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