Combining fashion and thrill-seeking in something that hasn’t been done before the brand new Flamingo Land SIK roller coaster is certainly a unique addition to the UK thrill market.
Three years in the making and with countless delays (of which you can see here) SIK is finally open to the public as this £18 million 10-inversion coaster is crazy and unique in equal measure.
With five different inversions to experience with nothing but a lap bar SIK certainly trumps its older brother Colossus at Thorpe Park, an identical layout Intamin ride based in Chertsey.
The lift hill, lap bars and train differ from its older brother but it’s improved in all areas and absolutely wipes with the floor with the relic down south.
Collaborating with the Scarborough-based streetwear brand SikSilk the coaster has this urban street fashion theme to it and has a clothing store as part of the entrance and exit of the ride.
Even stranger is a barber shop located within the store which has to be the most random ride exit I’ve ever seen in my entire life.
The station building is a combination of a flag convention and a live music venue with lighting, smoke effects, a banging playlist and more creating this urban street atmosphere.
SIK’s ride train is decked out in a union jack design and whilst the seats are uncomfy with the lap bars digging in at every opportunity the freedom of movement you get throughout the ride is rather insane.
There is a slight rattle on the train as you go around which is a little concerning for a ‘new’ (sort of) ride but this could simply be the case of it being left unbuilt for close to a decade with weather impacting certain pieces of track/train. Who knows. I never go full nerd when it comes to these reviews.
So is the ride SIK?
Well, it’s okay.
Operations are painfully slow with only one train available and staff were taking a solid 8-10 minutes to send one train out meaning that queues were stacking up rather quickly.
I do like the idea of having a clothing store as part of the ride exit, especially when that store is linked to a brand and not ride-specific merchandise.
What I will say is that all of the clothing inside the store can be found online much cheaper.
SIK is certainly the strongest ride at Flamingo Land with Kumali breathing heavily down its neck in my opinion but on the grand UK stage, it falls way short of superior coasters at other parks.
Check out our video of SIK at Flamingo Land below:
