News about Pixarus

In August 2023, Pixarus received its first clear fan story. Sixteen-year-old Jaylon Valke from Schinveld had already completed two hundred rides less than two months after opening. He kept careful count of his flights and planned to continue toward ride number three hundred. For a new attraction, that kind of milestone is more than a fun anecdote: it shows what makes Pixarus compelling for repeat visitors. Jaylon explained that every cycle feels different because riders use the wings to control the amount of flips, rolls and hanging moments they want. He even had favourite seats: number three for many rolls in succession and number ten for spending longer upside down. Toverland welcomed the sign of popularity. The article adds human context to the technical story of Pixarus. The ride was not only a new visual landmark in Avalon, but also a machine on which fans could develop their own skill and style.

In August 2023, Pixarus appeared in the news for a reason unrelated to construction or theming. A sudden downpour caused flooding at Toverland, with the area around the ride’s entrance and exit standing out in the reports. Guests had to deal with a large puddle, and a staff member even used waders to tackle the water. Pixarus was already out of service at that moment because of thunder nearby, so the issue was mainly operational and logistical for visitors. Toverland explained that the drainage system could not keep up with the amount of rain. Because Pixarus is reached through a new tunnel beneath Fenix, the incident also highlighted the unusual routing around the attraction. The problem was solved relatively quickly: after about twenty minutes, the ride was able to operate again. In the attraction’s history, this is an early example of weather affecting its new infrastructure.

A few weeks after opening, Toverland looked back at the construction of Pixarus with a timelapse video. In ninety seconds, viewers could see how the flying ride rose inside Fenix’s helix over ten months. The article again underlined the unusual logistics of the build. Space was extremely limited, and materials and ride parts had to be lifted over the existing coaster with a crane. As a result, Fenix sometimes had to close during the works. For fans, the video offered a concentrated look at a project that was more complex than installing a standard flat ride on an open plot. The quantities of materials also made the scale concrete: sand, reinforcing steel and concrete formed the base for Merlin’s 27-metre-high flight school. This update adds historical value because it records Pixarus not just as a finished attraction, but as a long and precise construction process.

Shortly after opening, Looopings documented Pixarus in detail. The ride had changed Avalon not only physically, but also in atmosphere. The sky fly stands on a raised platform inside Fenix’s helix, sending the seats up to 27 metres while the wing coaster trains pass close by. For guests, that creates a double spectacle: people in the queue see the action at close range, while riders on both attractions share the same moving space. The ride itself is built around control. Passengers move red, green or blue wings and decide whether they want to flip. The queue and preshow also received strong attention, with references to Merlin’s Flight School of Magic, moving paintings and the Perfectament screen that counts tumble rolls. This article captures the completed Pixarus experience: playful in mechanics, theatrical in presentation and deliberately tied to Fenix.

In April 2023, Pixarus gained an interesting origin story. During a presentation for fans, chief designer Peter van Holsteijn explained that Avalon could have looked very different. The space inside Fenix’s helix had once been considered for a large starflyer, while other concepts included a family-friendly freefall and even a tilting freefall prototype elsewhere in the area. Toverland eventually chose different ride types, leading to the expansion with Pixarus, Dragonwatch, Jumping Juna and Garden Tour. For Pixarus, this context is valuable because it shows that the current ride was not the obvious or only solution for the site. The Fenix helix had long been a location full of potential and competing ideas. Pixarus became the concept that combined motion, guest interaction and thematic fit, tying the ride into Avalon’s design history as well as its physical layout.

The construction of Pixarus produced a notable technical incident in April 2023, showing just how closely the new ride was intertwined with Fenix. During decoration work inside the wing coaster’s helix, sprayed concrete ended up on the track. Those irregularities caused wear on one of the train wheels, forcing Fenix to remain out of service for several hours. Toverland removed the concrete, later operated the coaster with another train and made new arrangements with the contractor to prevent a repeat. For Pixarus, this was not about the ride experience itself, but it was an important construction chapter. The attraction was being built in such a compact and sensitive location that finishing work could immediately affect one of the park’s headline coasters. The incident made the unusual placement tangible: Pixarus was never a standalone flat ride, but a project deeply embedded in Avalon’s technical and operational fabric.

In late March 2023, Pixarus moved for the first time. Looopings reported that Toverland had started testing the new flying ride in Avalon, with video footage showing the tall structure rotating above Fenix’s helix. The ride was almost technically complete: a slanted arm with twelve seats on one side and a large cauldron-shaped counterweight on the other. Some decorative elements were still missing. For fans, the test mattered because the interaction with Fenix was no longer only visible as construction; it had become dynamic. Toverland was aiming for a summer opening together with the other Avalon additions. The first test flights also confirmed the core promise of Pixarus. Guests would not simply be swung around by the machine, but would use wings beside their seat to decide whether and how often they wanted to flip.

On 8 March 2023, Pixarus reached one of its most visible construction milestones. A large crane lifted a steel arm into position inside the helix of Fenix, turning the project from a building site into a recognisable ride. The article described the future sky fly as a machine with a tall support, a rotating arm and twelve individual seats. Guests would later be able to make themselves flip by moving two wings beside them. The theming was already part of the story as well: the opposite side of the arm was planned to carry a bubbling cauldron as counterweight. For visitors and fans, this moment mattered because Toverland’s bold idea was no longer just concept art. Pixarus became a physical landmark in Avalon, showing how much kinetic energy the park wanted to add to the medieval-themed area around Fenix.

In early March 2023, Avalon’s expansion started to show its future shape. At Pixarus, the framework of a tower was already standing, making it easier to understand how the ride would sit on its five-metre platform inside Fenix’s helix. Looopings again highlighted the project’s defining feature: a 22-metre Gerstlauer sky fly that would reach a 27-metre flying height because of its raised position. The construction site was unusually tight. Materials and ride parts had to be lifted over the coaster with a large crane, which meant Fenix occasionally had to close. For Pixarus, this update matters because it shows the engineering story behind the attraction. The finished ride would be about guests controlling their own flight, but the construction phase already proved that its placement between Fenix and the rest of Avalon was just as important to its identity.

By October 2022, the scale of the Pixarus project was becoming visible in Avalon. A five-metre-high platform had appeared inside Fenix’s helix, ready to carry the 22-metre flying ride. The unusual design choice from the announcement was now physical: Pixarus would not stand beside the coaster, but directly inside one of its most recognisable elements. For guests, the work had a practical consequence because Fenix had been out of service since early September and would need further temporary closures as construction continued. At the same time, the update explained why Toverland accepted that complexity. Fenix trains were meant to pass close to Pixarus, turning the new ride into both an experience for its own passengers and a moving visual feature for everyone in the area. This stage marked the moment when Pixarus stopped being concept art and became a visible construction project.

Toverland officially outlined the next phase of Avalon in September 2022, and Pixarus immediately stood out as the most unusual mechanical addition. The Gerstlauer sky fly was not planned on an ordinary plot, but in the large helix of wing coaster Fenix. That choice turned an empty piece of coaster scenery into an active part of the themed area, with two rides designed to play off each other in full view of guests. The story framed Pixarus as Merlin Ambrosius’s Flight School of Magic. Riders sit in twelve seats on a rotating arm and use wings beside them to decide whether they want to flip. For visitors, the promise was clear: a family thrill ride with visible interaction, strong theming and a rare position inside an existing coaster structure. The announcement placed Pixarus at the heart of Avalon’s refresh rather than treating it as a simple flat ride addition.