Shake your tail fin rollercoaster ridin’ on the back of a shark
Shake your tail fin rollercoaster ridin’ on the back of a shark
| Theme Park | FunLab |
|---|---|
| Type | Rollercoaster |
| Audience | Older Families |
| Opened | 15 October 2005 |
| Manufacturer | SBF Visa Group |
| Model | Shark Coaster MX53 |
| Inversions | 0 |
The Shark starts its journey up the lift hill
Cilgin Kopekbaligi is Turkish for “Mad Shark”, which is not a bad description of the way I felt after riding it.
The ride is a rollercoaster from SBF Visa with a shark themed train. The seats are very deep and come complete with extremely thick over the shoulder restraints, meaning that unless you are (fortune enough?) to ride in the front, you will get a very restricted view.
The lift hill climbs high up towards the roof of the Cevahir Shopping Mall, curving to the right and disappearing through a hole in the ceiling. It gives the impression that the layout will deliver much more than it does – in reality there is little more than a small drop into a long helix which brings the shark back to the station.
Unfortunately the boring layout is made worse by the dodgy tracking, which means passengers are subjected to a lot of uncomfortable headbanging on their restraints on what is in reality a pretty unforceful ride.
Indoor mall rollercoasters are often a bit hit-and-miss, but sadly Cilgin Kopekbaligi is among the really really bad ones. It’s slow and boring, but the cramped seats and unnecessary over the shoulder restraints make it painful as well. It’s a shame, because the large space it takes up could be used for something really special.
Ride entrance and queueline
The train in the station
Leaving the station
Climbing the curving lift hill towards the hole in the roof
The "first drop"
Helix
