For the first time in its history, Djurs Sommerland will open a roller coaster featuring inversions. The Danish amusement park has announced Midgårdsormen, a new Intamin Hot Racer coaster scheduled to open in 2027 as part of a major expansion of the park’s Vikingeland themed area. The project represents an investment of more than DKK 100 million (€13.4 million) and will introduce a completely new ride experience to a park that has traditionally focused on family thrills rather than extreme roller coasters.
The attraction will become the park’s tenth roller coaster and the first in Djurs Sommerland’s 46-year history to send guests upside down. According to CEO Henrik B. Nielsen, inversions have long been one of the most requested additions among visitors.
A milestone for one of Scandinavia’s leading parks
Located near Nimtofte in eastern Jutland, Djurs Sommerland has grown into one of Denmark’s most visited amusement parks, attracting around 800,000 guests annually. Since opening in 1981, the park has steadily expanded with themed areas, water attractions and roller coasters, establishing itself as one of the Nordic region’s leading family destinations.
The park has never been afraid to invest in roller coasters.
In 2008, Djurs Sommerland opened Piraten, an Intamin Mega Lite that remains one of the most highly regarded family thrill coasters in Europe. Five years later came Juvelen, Europe’s longest motorbike coaster at the time. More recently, the park added attractions such as the 60-metre-tall El Grito drop tower and the Dinosaurland themed area.
Yet despite those investments, management consistently avoided adding inversions.
Midgårdsormen changes that strategy.
Northern Europe’s first Hot Racer
The new attraction will be manufactured by Intamin and will become the first Hot Racer coaster in Northern Europe. The only other installation of the model currently operating in Europe is Mahuka at Walibi Rhône-Alpes in France.
Hot Racer is Intamin’s interpretation of the modern single-rail coaster. Instead of traditional two-rail track, trains travel on a single larger rail using vehicles with one seat per row. The design allows for rapid directional changes, quick transitions and a more agile ride experience than conventional roller coasters.
Midgårdsormen will feature:
- A height of 23 metres
- A top speed of 75 km/h
- Two launches
- Three inversions
- A track length of 603 metres
- A minimum rider height of 120 cm
The attraction has been custom-designed for Djurs Sommerland rather than using a standard layout.
The next chapter for Vikingeland
The coaster will anchor a 15,000-square-metre expansion of Vikingeland, one of the park’s most popular themed areas. Inspired by Norse mythology, the attraction is named after Midgårdsormen, the legendary Midgard Serpent that encircles the world in Viking folklore.
The theme was developed in collaboration with Dutch design firm Leisure Expert Group, a long-time partner of the park responsible for several previous projects. According to Intamin, the attraction’s story and ride experience are designed to simulate encounters with the mythical sea serpent through sudden changes in direction, bursts of speed and unexpected movements.
The expansion will significantly increase the size of Vikingeland and further strengthen the area’s position within the park’s attraction lineup.
Following a familiar Scandinavian trend
The investment continues a broader trend among Scandinavian parks, many of which have increasingly focused on high-quality roller coasters as a way to attract both families and enthusiasts.
In recent years, Sweden’s Kolmården opened the Rocky Mountain Construction coaster Wildfire, Liseberg added the B&M dive coaster Valkyria, and Denmark’s Fårup Sommerland invested DKK 100 million in Fønix, currently the country’s tallest and fastest roller coaster.
While Midgårdsormen will not challenge those attractions for height or speed records, it introduces an entirely new ride category to the Nordic market. The combination of launches, inversions and a single-rail layout is expected to offer a different experience from anything currently operating in Denmark.
A different kind of thrill
What makes the project particularly notable is that Djurs Sommerland is not abandoning its family focus.
Despite featuring inversions, Midgårdsormen has been designed as a family thrill coaster rather than an extreme attraction. The 120-centimetre height requirement ensures that a large portion of the park’s traditional audience will still be able to ride. According to park management, the goal was to combine intensity with accessibility and repeatability rather than create the most extreme roller coaster possible.
That philosophy has helped shape Djurs Sommerland’s growth for decades.
With Midgårdsormen, the park is finally embracing inversions—but on its own terms. Rather than chasing records, the Danish park is using the milestone to evolve its attraction lineup while remaining firmly focused on the family audience that helped make it one of Scandinavia’s most successful amusement parks.
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