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It had been a long time since I last traveled with Theme Park Review... On land, I had been a part of the Behemoth/East Coast trip in 2008 and the Deep South trip in 2009. At sea I had sailed with TPR on the Freedom of the Seas in 2011. Oktoberfest had been a bucket-list experience for me for most of my life, and getting the chance to experience some of Germany's most notable parks had equally sat atop my list for as long as my fandom of theme parks and coasters has existed. For years, I watched Robb & Elissa's videos from the parks, thinking that I wouldn't get the chance to experience the beer tents or to have the chance to ride Olympia Looping, Euro-Mir or SilverStar... But when the 2024 Oktoberfest trip was announced, I knew I was going to do everything I could to attend (including ending up on a certain game show). As I've been preparing (read, paring down tens of thousands of photos) for this trip report, I'm already nostalgic for the experience of this trip. Robb and Elissa took great care to show us the best time possible at each stop. For those of us whose first time it was here, they made an extra effort to make sure we didn't miss out on the best parts. And as someone that has been a part of this site since the mid-2000's, it was an honor and a great gift to experience so many new things and places with friends I've known for 19 years. Diving into it... Did I walk all the way across the Chicago O'Hare airport to visit this particular corridor for a very particular reason? Sure did! My first half day in Germany was a success in that I had a chance to drop off my stuff at the hotel and hop on the train into the city... The architecture in and around Marienplatz was absolutely stunning. My main stop for the day was Hofbräuhaus München. I didn’t have a ton of time, but I did get my first taste of Bavaria, literally and figuratively… The interior of Hofbräuhaus München was so charming and unique. My first taste of authentic oompah music on this trip! While I'd been to the Biergarten Restaurant at EPCOT, I'd never been to an authentic beer garden before! But I immediately took advantage of the opportunity! My first German meal of the trip and it got me so hyped to eat more throughout the trip. And to drink more too! The next morning I hopped a train to Fussen from Munich... The train ride was beyond picturesque. I had an amazing spaetzle take on mac and cheese at the hotel in Fussen and called it an early night because the next day would be a very active one. Why Fussen? Well I had some castles to visit... Oh, and the Museum of the Bavarian Kings could not be missed. No photos allowed inside but the museum was well worth our time and helped to instill a greater understanding in us before we toured the castles in the area. Hohenschwangau Castle was the first of our stops. There's a strict policy of no photos inside except photos taken of or through windows, but the tour was absolutely incredible. Delicious and refreshing! It's like Coca-Cola... But with orange! The view from within Hohenschwangau Castle was incredible. And it only got better upon closer investigation. Neuschwanstein Castle was within direct view of the Hohenschwangau Castle at most times. Back near the Museum of the Bavarian Kings is a lake known for swans... A swan lake, if you will. Lots of roasted pork and sauerkraut was consumed on this trip. We hiked up the mountain after lunch to Marienbrücke for the best possible view of Neuschwanstein Castle. Just two Disney fans from both coasts experiencing a Disney fan's dream up close! Die Schlümpfe. My first Cornetto cone of the trip. but not my last! Neuschwanstein Castle is a landmark for Disney fans as it is known as the partial inspiration for the design of Sleeping Beauty Castle found at Disneyland Park in California (also previously found at Hong Kong Disneyland). Discerning fans can recognize the visual similarities. Again, no photos inside but the tour was fantastic and the reveals from room to room were cinematic and surprising! It was amazing to be here in person. Most people share photos of the castle from Marienbrücke, but not the other way around. After our fun in Fussen, we drove two hours to Dornbirn, Austria, for an authentic Austrian meal and a night in the city. Due to bad traffic and rain, our night was really just time at dinner, but Rotes Haus, which has a deep history going all the way back to 1639, was a delightful treat. And our meal did not disappoint! The rain cleared as our meal ended and we enjoyed the nearby sights briefly before heading to bed. The next day we found ourselves back in Munich for the formal kickoff to the Oktoberfest trip with TPR. The spread was bountiful! And the beer was flowing! Pork knuckle and roasted chicken were the main courses of the night and they did not disappoint! After dinner, several of us walked to the Oktoberfest grounds to scope out the festival... But when life puts Olympia Looping in front of you, it is simply the rule that you must ride at least once. As I mentioned earlier, Olympia Looping has been a bucket list coaster for some time. It is a white whale for many coaster fans, both because of its traveling nature and because of its famous size, number of inversions, its smoothness despite its age and its intensity. Schwarzkopf coasters continue to be removed from service year over year (several notable sibling coasters were taken out of operation in 2024) and it has always felt like the clock is ticking for Olympia Looping--at least for me to have a chance to ride it. But I can wholeheartedly say that the hype and the wait to experience this were both worth it. Olympia Looping is incredible. The layout, the speed, the smoothness, the intensity, and even the operations when kicked into high gear (five trains running at once!) were all mind-blowing. For a coaster that first operated in 1989, it is maintained and run like a modern coaster and even when compared to Alpina Bahn operating nearby at the festival, this was a significantly better experience and an absolute highlight of the trip. So great to be traveling once again with friends I've known for so long! I'd be back to try to conquer the Toboggan later... Robb was kind enough to record my first ever ride on Olympia Looping... And the results speak for themselves. Simply an incredible way to kick off the trip... And there was so much more ahead!

great pics. . . and so happy to see the castles I didn't have time to visit (so a trip back must happen). looking forwards to following along with you! (and will die of embarrassment when you catch up to mine and pass me. . I'm so damn slow). LOL

OMG, Legoland Deutschland, lol! When we were waiting in line for Maximus one of the ride ops almost got in a fist fight with a rider. It was kind of hilarious watching them get right in each other's faces and yell a furious barrage of German. Unfortunately, it slowed an already long line due to poor ops down even more and amazing to us no supervisor of any sort showed up to calm the argument or discipline the employee or remove the rider or whatever. I would have totally done the log flume but we had a pretty short window that day and were going right to the Munich airport for an evening flight to Poland so really didn't want to be wet under those circumstances.

Some people were so optimistic about this merger.

They went with the default "number of ride vehicles" in Roller Coaster Tycoon. It's leading some people to unload in the uncut grass.

Day 3 - Night-time back at Oktoberfest Faire - with a lot of time spent in the "Old Oktoberfest Museum" area after a break for foot resting, and a shower, some of us met down in the lobby to head back to Oktoberfest for some Sunday evening fun. i was determined that I wanted to go to the section I had seen the prior days - a sectioned off area, that SEEMED to be an Oktoberfest museum of some type - or "old Oktoberfest". It cost 4 Euro to enter that area, but it seemed large, with a covered bandstand, a beer tent, and a large outdoors section. looking it up online, showed that my assumptions above were pretty spot on, so I really wanted to do that, and a group of folks who were also interested joined me on this quest tonight. since it was way in the back (behind the ferris wheel) on the main "street". . we once again came thru the main gate. not nearly as busy as it had been, since we were here on a Sunday night now. but still not empty. and it was cold - so had put on a few layers. this is where we'd be tomorrow, as we had reserved tables in the Lowenbrau tent. (and yes, the lion is animatronic, and takes drinks of beer ) Andrew giving "Andrew face". . . LOL . . . standing at the entrance to the "Old Oktoberfest" area (I'm just calling it that. . no idea if that's what it's officially called). Looking back towards the main entrance - we're seeing the back side of the Ferris wheel. Tickets bought, we enter into this section (again, it's only 4 Euro. . .but turned out it was WAY worth it. not only was it much less crowded back here, but once in this sectioned off area? all rides (fair classics) were only 1.50 . . .a hell of a deal, and they were running great cycles). right away, I knew I was gonna love this place, just from the outside display of old tractors/carts. scattered food stands around too.. not much business tho, as there turned out to be food available with sit down service inside the main building (with music and a bit warmer, so most did that). the entrance into the main building in this area. . .where the Museum portion is, the food service, the bandstand. . and a classic, CLASSIC carousel. I was in heaven. from in front of the Carousel, getting a layout of this building. on the left is the bandstand, in the middle is the restaurant, straight ahead is an enclosed area where one could rent and ride old bikes in the ring. on the other side of the carousel is a large section with old props from classic attractions at the faire - and there was history all along the outside walls. Some went to get beer and grab a sit down right away. . my ass was going directly to the Carousel. but there wasn't anyone in the operating booth at the moment, so I went around the back of it to take a look at the classic props. many of them from old "Ghost Train" attractions. sexy! I wish I could read German. . . but I was able to get the gist of most of the signs. by the time I got back around to the Carousel, the guy was in the booth, and sold me a ticket. and then ran if just for me I rode a horse. then got off, bought another ticket and rode again, this time in a carriage - which did actually rock! (I was afraid to rock the horse, as the carousel is so old, and i"m not exactly "light" happy as hell on a classic carousel. . . after my two rides, I joined the rest of the gang I was hanging with, at the table, and ordered beer and food along with them. Pic courtesy of the waiter when he came back to take food order. Lunch had been big, and I wanted to snack in the fair as well.. .so wasn't too hungry. they also were out of several things on the large menu (hadn't restocked for the coming week yet, and it was on Sunday evening, remember), but of what was avail. everything was good. the band was quite loud in the enclosed space, but they were good. and it was a lot of fun. I think we hung out in here for a good hour plus, and I posted to the group about the food and atmosphere available back here in this section in case anyone wanted to check it out on a fairly quiet night. after eating, I took a walk around the front part of the building to check out some of the displays - while the others had another beer. the sign by the Bicycle rink. these were a big draw back in the day! the history of the Oktoberfest posters. many of them were available for purchase (but I have neither the wall space, nor the $$ to get em). Some were great tho, and I got magnet versions. classic ride vehicles. hey. .some more TPR folks came out to this section. hiya Christopher, Erik and Chuck! enough time hanging out in the main building, we ventured outside to check out what else was on offer. this is the back of the Beer tent. . which according to the information I could read, was supposed to be full of folks in traditional Oktoberfest garb, and music/atmosphere. as we had just experienced basically that in the main building, we walked around this one rather than go thru, to see the lined avenue back here. (don't think we really missed much, as they seemed to be shutting it down due to lack of big crowd on Sunday night, and if folks wanted beer they could get it in the main building). several smaller flat rides were out here lining the avenue. classic older rides. and carnival type games and attractions. this made me giggle so hard. . I think it's the look on the dummy's faces. another classic carousel. . tho this one seemed to be a kiddie, so didn't even try. it was lovely tho. . . I adore that "Elephant" can get an old timey photo too. all done with cardboard cut outs. not creepy at ALL. ok. . now THIS is what I'm talking about. a Calypso.. running a fantastic and long cycle. for 1.50. many of us got a ride. even had that cheesy 70's artwork that has nothing to do with the ride (other than the name is kinda tropical) really is a beautiful ride tho: this cabinet of classic prizes was just for display. . which is a shame, as I would have tried to knock over those stupid cans to try to win some of these. these looked to be hitting HARD. not sure if Knoebels level, but probably pretty close! this Waltzer had the biggest crowd, and after watching for a bit, we saw why. they sold tickets and you had to hover around and hope that a car stopped near you, and the folks riding got out (some bought multiple tickets and stayed put). .and then it was a mad dash to get your ass into an empty seat. the music was BLASTING loud, classics - we rode to Hot Chocolate "Every one's a Winner" plus another song. . and the annoyance on the operators face when the fair came on the loudspeakers to make an announcement was hysterical. the operator, was speeding up and slowing down based on a hand crank. . that he would crank based on the riders reactions. Oh, all while chugging beers. it was so freaking awesome. .and just might be my best memory of the whole trip. (if not, it's really really close) in fact, I just pulled up Hot Chocolate on Youtube while typing this up, and it brought me RIGHT back to this ride. awesome. just for show, as noted they were blasting 70's classics thru the speakers inside the ride. straight back, you can see the operator by his crank (long coat and hat) . . watching the crowd. after hanging out back here for probably 2 hours total, we finally exited and made our way back into the fair proper. a last look back. . this area was so worth it to me. where should we go in the fair? why of course! and some snacks. . . but not these. I was worried they'd be the same consistency I hadn't cared for from the meal the other night. but . . c'mon. . balls! gotta take a pic hey, got a different face out of Andrew! and walking by my favorite place - the Carousel Bar - spotted a big TPR group on the Carousel. with room, so we joined them for some fun hangout time PROST!! a princess balloon in the center of the Carousel bar ceiling. . . going around and around for several pints. . . if I wasn't just loving being on the actual carousel? I totally would have gotten off it to grab this seat once the lady left. it looked a little awkward. . but c'mon.. you sit on the horse AT the table. . . that's so freaking awesome. ok. .enough drinking.. time to get a few more rides in. I think we headed to Alpen Bahn and Voodoo Jumper again. but no, wasn't drunk enough to want to pose like Marilyn (but I wish I had been.. that would have been such a great pic) getting to be late, and things were starting to shut down. . so we headed towards the exits going out the main gate tho, I noticed that the memorial I had seen yesterday lights up, and truly is worth a look at night. and then it was time to head back to the hotel. . . as it had been a long day, was slightly buzzed, and tomorrow was our BIG day at Oktoberfest - reservations in the tent, a meal, and all the fun and excitement.

Legoland Deutschland Miniland:

Day 3 - Daytime at Peppa Pig Park & Legoland Deutschland ! today was a two-fer sorta. . . we hopped on the bus early and headed out to Legoland Deutschland. . .but a bonus park had recently opened in the parking lot there - Peppa Pig Park! it's literally across the parking lot. after taking a quick pic of the main gates of Legoland, we headed across the lot to go to Peppa Pig Park, as that opened 1/2 hour earlier than Legoland. Having never seen or heard of Peppa Pig. . this was a WHOLE new experience for me. But was told that it's "cute" and they have a coaster credit (not really my thing to count, but why not?). I was amused by the murals on the side of the park walking over. the entrance to Peppa Pig Park is on the left. . as you can see, the Legoland entrance is back there behind it up on the hill. TPR group shot. . . we were excited to be there. no, really I was informed this was "Pig Daddy" (or Daddy Pig), so of COURSE I wanted a pic with him. the park, tho fairly small, was beautifully landscaped and looked brand new (probably because it is, as it opened in late May 2024). most "grass" surfaces were Astroturf, and they actually did cram in quite a bit into the space they had. including this Zamperla family coaster, which I believe was called Pig Daddy's ride (Papa Wutz´ Achterbahn) LOL. . .I got very amused reactions when I posted on facebook that I had ridden Pig Daddy in Germany from the coaster queue, I took a look around and snapped some pics. a covered show area / playground area a short Balloon ride, a single rail "horse" ride, tho what one rode was dinosaurs, a "fair" area with some games a large waterplay interactive area (was not on, as it was cold, and the park wasn't really open just yet, it opened as we queued up for the coaster) there was another area on the left back there, called the mud pits (or something like that). . I got the idea it was an area with small trampolines in the ground). but here's the Pig Daddy coaster, with some happy TPR riders. it actually has two "launches" - you can see the 2nd set of wheel launch in this pic. and had a nice little pop of air. oh, by no means anything much more than a junior (possibly a kiddie), but a fun one. whee! ADORABLE front car. as noted, it was chilly, so I had on my gold jacket. . LOL. . makes me easier to spot in pics, I guess. after getting the coaster rides, and some quick looking around (I wanted to ride the dinosaur ride, but was afraid to ask, as I feared it was not for adults), the group headed over the Legoland gates for the official park open. and posing for Robb's TPR pic. Not quite ready to open just yet, so we chatted and visited. Johnathan and I did, while Hans just stood and made a "Hans face" before too long, there were costumed characters and cast members doing a dance / presentation to open up the park for the day and we were off - but not before stopping to grab some quick pics before we left the area (while the rest of the group was scanning tickets to enter) we were headed to the back far corner of the park - straight for the newest ride: a B&M family Wing coaster called : "Maximus: flight of the Guardian" that opened in 2023 of course, as we powerwalked back over that way, I snapped pics as we went we passed right by (for now): Das Große LEGO Rennen - the park's Mack Wilde Maus along with assorted other rides. this is now the 3rd Legoland I've been to and while it's not the largest park, all of them seem to be pretty spread out and have a lot of walking. so certainly got my steps in. we're headed way back here. . to the newest "land" called, I believe "Mythica" but to get thru it, we have to go thru the Land of the Pharaohs section of the park. the shooting dark ride the entrance to Mythica is this giant Lego sculpture - one of several in the area and here's the newest coaster - strangely considered a "family" B&M Flyer - but it has two inversions. the Lego sculpture that welcomes you into the ride queue is impressive as hell. and they load both sides from one line, by sending some folks over this bridge to get to the other side of the tracks. the train is sorta adorable, sorta funky. it's weird to me they went so "lack of detail" for Maximus' head on the train. here's a train full of TPR riders. some of them are smiling. it's a VERY strange coaster. on paper? it's not a family coaster - it's a B&M wing with inversions. but it's also completely force-less. It's kinda hard to explain. . but it LOOKS like it's gonna be somewhat intense, and instead it does. . nothing. you feel the inversion of course, but it's nothing intense or "fun". let's put it this way. . I never made it back to this part of the park again during our visit to ride it again. I'm glad I got to ride it, but it wasn't anything I'd personally seek out. Especially since there are much better rides (in my opinion) in Legoland here. but I DID ride it. . whee? think these pics are courtesy of Andy or possibly Jack Crouse we were then cut loose for 5-6 hours in the park, and I ended up falling in with the group of guys my age and we spent most of the visit together. first we headed back thru land of the Pharaohs. so of course stopped to ride the dark shooter. I had permission from the ride ops, to take pictures on the ride. so I did. I find these more fun looking at the targets react, than shooting anyways at the exit was this Lego Alligator. ooo. . a skytower. that's right up my alley, and most of the folks I was hanging with wanted to go to, so we headed there next for an overview of the park. that's "FireDragon" - the classic Castle/Dragon Coaster that the Legoland parks have straight ahead coming out of the castle. and on the lower right - hidden in the trees - is Dragon Hunt, a smaller mine train type coaster. better angle to get a view of both coasters mentioned above. here's Maximus - the B&M flyer we had just ridden - and I believe that's the Legoland Hotel back there (as there was a hotel guest entrance in the Mythica area) lower right is one of TPRs favorite rides - the Lego Fire Academy. (where you can work up a sweat while beating other teams) after getting the lay of the land, we headed to the Dragon Hunt mine train as was seen from the observation tower, it's really right next to the dragon/castle coaster we'd been cut loose in the park, but we still kept bumping into other TPR groups roaming here's Chuck, Johnathan, Barry and Ryan on the ride while we were in queue. and this is a pic of us, taken by (I think) Chuck, as they were a row ahead of us in the ramps. I returned the favor a few moments later when saw another group of TPR folks behind us in the queue and they even took pics of us on ride. Since Chuck has a camera in the above pic, gonna assume this pic is courtesy of him and then right over to Feuerdrache (Fire Dragon) I just love these Halloween decorations they have up! no phones allowed on this ride. . so only got a queue pic. . . and a pic of the adorable train (tho I think all Legolands use the same train design) leaving Fire Dragon, the mascot was milling around outside. should I get a pic? damn right! I don't know what these rides are called - they're kinda like a caterpillar crossed with a Bayurn Kurve, and just go faster and faster, forwards and back - but I LOVE em. this one was built to look like Legos (of course). and had a Bear in the center it was walk on if we split up the group across the open seats - so we did. howdy Nick! Jon paying attention, Andrew just . . . being Andrew and mulling clouds and me and the bear! it was a very gay and happy Bear. . of course I wanted to ride. and it was a great ride too! Waving to the folks that don't like spinning rides, and waited for us. ah yes, they have "plane on a stick" here too I didn't ride this one, just snapped pics (but I've ridden these before) and then we headed over to Ice Pilot training. shockingly, it was not at all busy, and they weren't even using one side of the ride set up! another thing that surprised me, was the only prior version of this that I've ridden? the rider programs it and then hands it to the operator. this version, you just told the operator what level you wanted (think it was light, heavy, extreme) and he just pushed the button to start your cycle. it was still fun, and I loved it, but it was a short cycle. and then after that extreme ride? was time to pee. I do adore the way the toilet signs are in Germany. we decided to stop for lunch and we ended up in a place that does Totchos (tho they don't call it that. . just options to put stuff on top of potato crisps). I "Texaned" mine up a bit and asked for some changes so my chicken one got jalepenos and spicy jelly on it. and I treated myself to this strawberry tart with a graham cracker crust. sit on a bench with a punk? sure! after the food settled a bit we went for the Wild Mouse. . that was actually a lot of fun. whee! we headed back to the NinjaGo section. . so I could suck (once again) at that shooting ride they have. But also back here was this more adult "spinner" ride, that had buttons to control the flipping forwards or backwards as the ride rotates. I passed on the Splash battle, as was still a bit too cool to be wet - tho it was warming up. lovely park, and so spread out it never really felt too busy. was gonna pass on the flume, but it was recommended and was told not too wet (true) - so we took a spin on it. I can't recall if this Legoland has a flying theatre - I really don't think they did, as can't find a mention of it anywhere online. . . .so after I took a quick detour thru the "Police Station". . which in theory was supposed to be hunting clues, and catching criminals (never did figure that out) - but was so crowded, I just enjoyed the hall of mirrors and funhouse type stuff in there. I believe that Andrew did that with me. we then met up with some folks again for the only remaining ride I was interested in getting on before the time I had set aside for Miniland and shopping. the Jungle Expedition Safari. I just love these things at Legolands Hans & Andrew Nick crammed in together (there was a line, so we shared instead of taking a car each) such attention to detail! and next to the Safari, was a single rail Joust ride. this one was clearly noted "no adults". . . .which made me sad, but I still got a pic of it! to be continued in next post with pics of miniland in Legoland Deutschland

Another classic goes silently in the night.