I am proud to say I have been lucky enough to ride Tonnerre De Zeus and it was an experience I will never forget. In my opinion it's the best wooden roller coaster in the world hands down

For those who havn't ridden it, try to get yourself to Parc Asterix sometime to have a go because it really is a thrilling, fast paced roller coaster and I think it deserves more credit

So has anybody else on here ridden this beast and if so whats your opinion on it?



http://www.rcdb.com/qs.htm?quicksearch=tonnerre+de+zeus

Just some information and photos of the ride there ^

I am going to be at Asterix on June 26th, so I can't wait ride. There's an onride video of the beast at www.parcasterix.com too, it really looks great - and really long too! Certainly seems to look like beating 'Goudurix' hands down.

Yeah it definitely is better than Goudrix as the ride lasts over 2 minutes and even though its wooden, it is a less painful ride than Goudrix aswell :P

Hope you both enjoy your trips to Parc Asterix, it is quite a unique park :D

Someone died yesterday while on the 'Descente du Stix', the River Rapids at Parc Asterix.

Article in French:

http://www.orange.fr/bin/frame.cgi?u=ht ... 8or9t.html

hmmmmmmm - are you sure. that article appears to be about violence after the world cup semi final - no mentions of asterix!

Here is the story translated using google translate!


>>FranceVendredi July 7, 2006 12:53 In France Political World Economy Sport Culture Media Sciences Strange High-tech People Weather Wednesday July 5, 2006 Drowning without precedent of six years a Belgian boy to the Astérix Park See the photograph Six years a Belgian boy drowned Wednesday afternoon in the artificial river of an attraction of the Astérix Park in Plailly (Oise), an accident without precedent, one learned from concordant sources. The small boy belonged to a group of a hundred Belgian children of an outdoor centre of Mount-Saint-Guibert, in the area of the Walloon Brabant, specified a spokesman of the Belgian ministry of the Foreign Affairs. According to the prosecutor of Senlis Thierry Pocquet of High Jussé, which opened an investigation of flagrancy, the small boy was with his comrades and of the guides on a boat in the gigantic shape of buoy circulating in the middle of the movements, cascades and geysers of attraction known as “the Descent of Styx”. Unbalanced to a place where a system of pumps causes much movement, it fell to water and was pulled by the current. Guides, members of the personnel and visitors sought in vain to recover it. When it was found at the end of a score of minutes, it could not be revived by the rescuers warned meanwhile. Its body was transported to the hospital of Creil (Oise). The prosecutor ordered the stop of attraction and his placement under seals while waiting for the results of the investigation. The Astérix park specified in an official statement that the accident had intervened with 15H38 in “not yet elucidated circumstances” and that the operator had stopped attraction after having visualized on the control screens which the child had fallen to water. “The direction of the Park Astérix, deeply shocked by this accident without precedent, joins the pain of the family and implements all, in collaboration with the authorities, to include/understand its circumstances”, it still declared. The Astérix park, created in 1989 to about thirty kilometers of Paris, accomodates 1,8 per annum million visitors -- including 15% from abroad -- from April at October. It employs 176 permanent and 1.500 seasonal workers to serve its 31 attractions and its many animations and services.

Apologies for the above link, the Orange.fr website is a bit weird and the links don't save etc.

But I assure everyone (as the above!) it is genuine, and is a real shame for such a park.

Stats and Figures:

Amusement Park: Parc Astérix, Paris.
Type: Wood
Status: Operating since 1997
Builder: Custom Coasters International, Inc.
Designer: Dennis McNulty, Larry Bill
Length: 4100'
Height: 100'
Speed: 52 mph
Duration: 3 minutes total

The jewel in the crown for France's tiny amusement park industry, this ride is France's best. Parc Asterix is a park which encapsulates everything that is French. It's the only major French theme park, unless you count the likes of Puy de Fou and Futuroscope, which, whilst great days out - aren't theme parks in the same way as they don't offer the usual things.

So, the ride. Built in the 1990's amid much fanfare, Tonnerre de Zeus topped Hawker's Wooden Coaster Poll and stood out as the 'Best in the World' - a place now held by another European Woodie - Balder.

As you approach this ride, you can't see much of it. All you have is a giant statue of Zeus, with a bolt of lightning raised high above. His eveil eyes state to the weak: This ride is NOT for the faint hearted. Indeed, this would be the correct assumption as there is not another rollercoaster in France that offers the sheer adrenalin, rawness and at times, violence, that is offered by Tonnerre de Zeus.

As you make your way into the queue area, you may find yourself queuing through the rides final helix - but that is all of the ride you can see. The trains come crashing round every so often at an amazing pace, and appear to hurtle into some incredibly violent breaks.

As you make your way into the station area, you notice it is themed as a large temple. Sure, it isn't Poseidon - nor is it anything you could find at Disneyland - but it's a good station, and better than many offerings found in Britain.

There are two trains, a red one and a blue one. You take your seats in the trains, and you feel vulnerable from the word go. It begins to move forward and the ride has begun - you are still unsure the scale of the ride at this point and it is only when you begin the ascent of the lift hill that you realise quite what you are doing.

You rise and rise, and soon you can see what it is. It is immense. Massive. It's over one thousand feet longer than Megafobia - and it's faster and higher too. Quite how you will survive it may be entering your head at this point. As you arrive at the summit, all 100' of it, you gently bend round to the right before the relentless two minutes begins.

You plunge down with incredible vigour into a pitch black tunnel at 52mph before heading skywards into a right hand helix and some further drops and hills. The fantastic downward banked helix is immense and the speed just seems to keep up. At times, violence takes you through one sharp corner to the next and more hills and helixes continue to take you on one of the rawest coasters i've experienced. You'll not see many people throwing their arms into the air, as the tiny trains make you feel like death is iminent. Continuous sharp bends, hills and banked helixes ensure that you are constantly engaged with the ride and constantly gasping for breath. You blast your way into the final helix, across the waiting queueline and into the breaks - which stop you with alarming haste. You are thrown forward before being allowed time to catch your breath and gently making your way round to the station before heading off to check out your photo. Long haired people BEWARE, your hair will look like Medusa - the power from the wind where the photo is taken is truly amazing!

The ride is long, relentless, never boring, vulnerable, fast and exciting - something all coasters aim to achieve. It's theming is sufficient, without being spectacular (except for the Zeus statue and lettering on the ground) and the ride is truly Asterix's jewel.

10/10

TDZ Photo's and Videos:

ON RIDE: http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?doc ... re+de+zeus

Theme and Setting: http://www.rcdb.com/ig752.htm?picture=2

Zeus warns all riders: http://www.rcdb.com/ig752.htm?picture=18

Station building and Goudurix: http://www.rcdb.com/ig752.htm?picture=16

Coaster: http://www.rcdb.com/ig752.htm?picture=4

First Drop: http://www.rcdb.com/ig752.htm?picture=15

Vulnerable Cars: http://www.rcdb.com/ig752.htm?picture=19

Hi

I recently went to Parc Asterix and rode Tonerre de Zeus. It was the best coaster that I have ever ridden and also even better than Nemesis IMO (in terms of the ride, not theming cos Nemesis is much better in that field). What do those of you that have ridden it think of it?

Sorry but absolutely most definitely not, was your mouth out with soap boyo :P. Now I'm not being a fan boy by saying that, but it's not a patch on the ride Nemesis gives.

Don't get me wrong, I was massively impressed with TDZ, more so than I anticipated in fact. But, I can think of quite a few coasters I would rate higher than it. I haven't rode many modern woodies at all, so I've got nothing to personally compare it to. However, from comments from those I know, the likes of Troy well and truly whoop the behind of TDZ :D.

Hmm hard to say, I mean its hard to compare, because to me they are totally different experiences.

TDZ really impressed me. It had that sort of 'out-of-control' element to it, and was very re-rideable. However I haven't rode many 'new' woodies, so I can't compare it too much, but I do rate it as No.1 out of the woodies I have ridden.

In comparison with Nemesis though? Hmm I guess I would rate Nemesis higher. I don't know why, I just would. :P Nemesis still effects me pretty much the same way as it did the first time I rode it, and is generally a lot comfier than TDZ. :P

I still think TDZ is very, very good though. I was pleasantly surprised when I rode it, as I read some reveiws that it had lost its edge over the past few years, but I loved it, and thought it was a credit to the park.

I'm gonna say both as good an one another, mainly because I don't feel I can compare their ride experiences!

I thought it was complete and utter rubbish, I went last October and had 4 rides on it (1 was enough for me but lee who I was with liked it) the forces were all wrong, slamming you into the sides of the already badly designed trains, constant forces to one side got abit boring after the 1st second. Crapoola, ive been on afew woodies I would rate much higher, being Stampida (before they aparently ruined it with the new trains), Grand National (The one and only reason to go to blackpool) and Troy (One of the best rides I have been on, this is what TDZ should be!)

"evil cod" wrote:

and Troy (One of the best rides I have been on, this is what TDZ should be!)

I think you'll find that, when it opened, and a number of years following, Tonnerre de Zeus WAS in fact the Troy of its time.

Mitch Hawker 1999:

1 Tonnerre de Zeus Parc Asterix FR 20
2 Shivering Timbers Michigan's Adventure MI 61
3 Megafobia Oakwood UK 23
4 Tremors Silverwood ID 15
5 GhostRider Knott's Berry Farm CA 42

:D

TDZ did blow me away, but even just the basic ride experience is nowhere near as good as Nemesis. The only thing that was close was the first drop which is epic, compared to the quite tame start to Nemmy.

But Loup Garou? Really quite disappointed with that one. It certainly doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Nemmy or even Nash. Pretty average.

Found this on screamscape.
[url=http://screamscape.com/html/parc_asterix.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;]http://screamscape.com/html/parc_asterix.htm[/url]

They are like buses wait for ever and two come a long in France in two years

Well well well! That's good news! Should be good to see this develop.

WOW, exciting stuff. Thanks for posting this DavidA. :D

France sounds like a good place to visit in 2011. Having two B&M inverts installed by then. :D I love B&M Invertedness.

Pfft. Why?

So... Walygator get one and now Asterix do. It stinks of Toverland get a Woodie and so do Efteling after.

Why can't they think outside the box a little? Sure, this will be cracking for France/Asterix but really...

Nigloland are also exciting for 2011/12 with their likely Mega Lite.

But the theme park industry thrives on competitive behaviour. A park puts something in, another park puts the same thing in but makes it better. :D If someone makes the tallest roller coaster, for example, no doubt another park will try and break that record a few years later.

Yeah, it's completely pointless and unimaginative but I can't imagine theme parks being this advanced today if parks hadn't copied from each other and made things better.

I agree with you though. We need some new ride concepts, much like Alton Towers have done with TH13TEEN. Not simply creating what has already been done. #-o

But at least it isn't a boring old.. same old... same old roller coaster, we are talking about a brand new B&M invert here and it is definitely something to get excited about. :)