Star Mountain's Final Run: Beto Carrero Closes a 32-Year-Old Coaster on 13 September
Beto Carrero World, the Santa Catarina theme park, will retire Star Mountain on 13 September after 32 years. The 1994 Vekoma coaster – the park's first roller coaster and its oldest still operating – has a 22-metre, 730-metre layout with two loops, a top speed of 60 km/h and roughly 35 million passenger rides, according to the park.
Chief executive Alex Murad says the decision followed technical monitoring over the years. The ageing structure was approaching a point where upkeep and safety certifications would become disproportionately demanding, and some international certifications might no longer apply. The park says it did not want to keep an attraction without a homologated seal, and that bodies such as Germany's TÜV had effectively advised that it was time.
The closure is not a contraction. The coaster will be dismantled to make way for a larger, already-contracted family-themed area, part of a R$2bn investment programme covering new attractions, hotels and surrounding structures. In parallel, the park is reopening Fire Whip on 3 September after a R$24m retrofit: all 502 metres of track were replaced with rails produced in Germany, alongside new electronics, sensors and brakes. From 3 to 13 September both coasters will operate together.
Beto Carrero's R$2bn Family Pivot and the Compliance Logic Behind the Retirement
Why a 32-Year-Old Coaster Became Harder to Keep
Star Mountain's age created a specific maintenance problem. According to Murad, older coaster fabrication was more artisanal, and the ride's roughness had long bothered the park. More importantly, the park says continuing to operate the structure would require increasingly large interventions, and some international certifications could stop being applicable. In other words, the economics of compliance, not simply popularity, drove the retirement. That view is reinforced by the parallel decision to spend R$24m replacing Fire Whip's track with precision-made German rail: modern manufacturing can preserve intensity while reducing the vibration that ages rides and hurts rider comfort.
The R$2bn Bet Is on Family Capacity, Not Just New Thrills
The replacement area is described as larger than the Galinha Pintadinha zone, aimed at children, parents and teenagers together, and already contracted. The park says it will be ready before the previously announced Bob Esponja area. This is a deliberate shift: Beto Carrero still keeps radical rides such as Fire Whip, but it wants attractions that a broader household can experience together. The logic follows a pattern among large international entertainment groups that have moved toward intellectual property and younger-child experiences to bring entire families into parks, not just teenagers.
What the Sequencing Tells Us About Execution Risk
The park's timeline is real but incomplete: the new family area is contracted and in development, yet no name or opening date has been disclosed. Fire Whip returns on 3 September and will run alongside Star Mountain for ten days, which preserves ride capacity during the transition. The clearest near-term constraint is execution – dismantling an old coaster and opening a larger themed area without a gap in family offerings. The park's disclosure that construction is already contracted reduces some uncertainty, but it does not eliminate timing risk.
What the Closure Means for Riders, Families and Penha's Tourism Economy
For visitors and businesses watching the park, the window is short and the strategy is specific:
- Ride Star Mountain by 13 September. The final operation date is set; from 3 to 13 September visitors can ride both Star Mountain and the refurbished Fire Whip.
- Expect the next family area before Bob Esponja. Beto Carrero says the unnamed replacement zone is larger than Galinha Pintadinha and is already contracted, so families planning longer-term visits should look for its opening date.
- Treat Fire Whip's 3 September reopening as a capacity signal. The R$24m retrofit replaced 502 metres of track and modernised electronics, sensors and brakes; it is meant to keep a high-adrenaline option available while the family expansion proceeds.
- For local tourism suppliers, the R$2bn programme is the relevant number. It includes new attractions, hotels and surrounding structures, meaning construction and visitor-flow effects in Penha may continue beyond the coaster's farewell.
Risk & Opportunity Assessment
| Commercial Risk | Medium | Star Mountain is leaving the ride lineup before the new family area has a public opening date, creating a possible capacity gap; Fire Whip's 3 September return partially offsets this. |
| Competitive Risk | Medium | Beto Carrero is shifting toward family-oriented attractions, a segment where other leisure operators in southern Brazil could compete for the same household visits; execution delays would increase exposure. |
| Regulatory Risk | Low | The decision to retire Star Mountain follows technical monitoring and certification constraints rather than a regulatory sanction; the park cites TÜV certification as a standard it seeks to maintain. |
| Reputation Risk | Medium | Removing a nostalgic 32-year-old attraction could disappoint long-time visitors, though the planned farewell and intention to preserve a memory inside the complex are designed to manage that. |
| Technology Disruption | Low | Older coaster fabrication has become harder to certify, but the Fire Whip retrofit shows the park can modernise existing rides with precision-manufactured German track rather than losing them. |
| Commercial Opportunity | High | The R$2bn investment programme includes a larger family-themed area, hotels and surrounding structures, broadening the park's audience and visitor capacity beyond the retired coaster. |
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