The 2014 Theme Park Insider Tournament: Blue Fire vs. Silver Star

March 7, 2014, 12:21 PM · Our goal with this year's Theme Park Insider Tournament is to show our many friends throughout the United States some of the cool attractions and theme parks elsewhere in the world. Most theme park fans in the U.S. know about the big Disney and Universal parks outside America, but there are some other great parks in Asia and Europe that should earn a place on fans' wish lists to visit.

Germany's Europa Park is one of those. The second-most popular theme park in Europe, after Disneyland Paris, Europa Park is owned by the Mack family and the park serves as a showcase for Mack Rides products. One of those is Blue Fire, a Mack megacoaster that debuted in 2009.

Blue Fire

It's not the tallest or fastest coaster in the park (wait a minute....), but it's a peppy launched coaster that features a vertical loop, twisted horseshoe roll and a heartline roll. Let's ride:

Blue Fire's opponent today is the park's tallest and fastest coaster, and one of the few non-Mack rides in the park. The Mercedes-Benz-sponsored Silver Star is another Bolliger & Mabillard hyper coaster, topping out at 240 feet and with a top speed of 79 miles per hour.

Silver Star

Climb aboard for your virtual ride:

Okay, it's decision time. Which of these coasters should advance to the next round?


Remember that these votes and discussion are always more fun when more people participate, so please do let your friends who are theme park fans know about the site via Facebook and Twitter. Thank you for reading Theme Park Insider!

Replies (8)

March 7, 2014 at 1:08 PM · Any coaster that goes from dark to light with a launch gets an automatic no vote. Verbolten gave me a concussion, and this would do the same. Silver Star, hands down, and heads back.
March 7, 2014 at 1:12 PM · Both look pretty spectacular, but I had to go with Blue Fire here. The pacing of the ride sold me, and I'm a sucker for a good launching coaster.
March 7, 2014 at 1:55 PM · I voted for Silver Star for the same reason I voted for Behemoth: bunny hops. Plus, it doesn't hurt that Spaceship Earth is in the video.
March 7, 2014 at 3:00 PM · I voted for blue star because I like the color blue better.
March 7, 2014 at 5:09 PM · I went on both of these coasters when I visited Europa Park in 2010. Both are great coasters, but I picked Blue Fire. If I remember correctly, there were handles you could grab on to that had sensors that measured your pulse during the ride. I just thought that was so cool! Plus, I like the attempts to establish a theme for the roller coaster, the mixture of being outside and inside, and the exciting launch.

Definitely consider a trip to Europa Park if you're in Germany. Such a nicely designed park with great rides... even if they did copy Disney on some of them!

March 7, 2014 at 5:29 PM · Voted for Blue Fire. And it's not even close.

I don't know if the "heartline roll" is what was at the end of the ride or not, but that is a pretty spectacular piece of track! I love launch coasters (California Screamin FTW!), and this one looks absolutely fantastic! The track looks a little flimsy compared to what I'm used to seeing, but it's still a ride I'd love to take!

March 7, 2014 at 6:00 PM · Blue Fire by far. The darkness, the launch, the tunnels, the loops... it appears to be an extraordinary coaster. Silver Star, while I am sure it is a fine ride, is ruined by an unending and horrific stream of parking lot views. Shameful.

Go Blue Fire!

March 7, 2014 at 6:31 PM · When it comes to foreign roller coasters, I go by my experience on similar rides and the rankings of the Mitch Hawker Poll. I've been on a number of B&M hypers, so I've got an idea of what Silver Star is like, but it ranked 76th, lower than my least favorite of the type. Blue Fire ranked 15th, so even though I haven't been on anything quite like it I'm going to give that one my vote.

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