Peejay

This sounds great. We already had plans to go to Oktoberfest anyway. So depending on if I get a day off work I might be able to join you. Peter "Four Maß and I won't find my way back to the hotel" Jakob

I voted for Fear, too. Both are great, but I liked Fears' insane layout a little bit more.

The Takedown - Yellowcard

Hi Robin! Your pictures are amazing, some of them nearly look like paintings. It was really nice to meet you. Hope to see you again sometime in the future. Peter (Still couldn't think of anymore slang, but at the latest on the next trip I'll know some more )

Very nice Photo TR and funny exit story. This could have happened easily to me, too. Since you were looking for pictures with yourself in them, I searched through mine and found one of that swing thing at Klotten. I'll just post it in here. If you want a better version of it just send me a pm or e-mail.

Once again, your pictures are really, really great, Hanno! Looking at them makes having to go to work again even harder. Can't wait for your Midwest footage .

Awesome video, Morgan! I like this song. It matches the video and captures the atmosphere of this trip. I'm really looking forward to see the rest. Hope your shoulder is a little bit better.

Totally agree, Dave. And also, it was just too good to not be published. Something like that would never come into my mind. Great job, Mr. Morgan.

^^^and ^^ I thought the same thing when I first saw them. But those were indeed the blankets. They were just folded together really tight like three times. You can't see it on the pictures. Thanks for the nice comments.

On Tuesday night after our Heide Park visit, we ended the day at the hotel bar. I went with the one pilsner they had on tap. The Warsteiner Pilsner. Perfect to end a nice park day with.

Part 2 of the pics: ...and a dolphin show. Both really funny. Well, the day really ended at the hotel bar, but that has to be in another thread. I hope you guys made it through this report and enjoyed it a little bit. We ended the day with a sea lion show... But this we rode. I don't know its actual name, I called it lame rapids. Neither did we ride the log flume. Two boats through the waterfalls. This is Mountain-Rafting. We didn't it ride it this time, it was just too cold and rainy. Hi! I'm Grottenblitz. I'm standing right next to that Desert Race. Well, I'm kind of launched, too. I might not be as fast as that ..., but please still ride me. I'm doing the best I can! A train in the second s-curve. I really didn't expect Desert Race to be that good. A picture of the train on its way back to the station taken from the station. The front of the red train. The first hill with decent airtime. This is Desert Race getting launched. ...and corkscrew. For being one of the older Vekoma coasters this one was not too bad. There was no headbanging at all. Much better than the SLC. Vertical loop shot. A fountain in the Dutch village and the hotel entrance from the park. The Dutch village. Hey! I'm crazy bear! Gimme some candy! Eaten and licked by an alligator. I guess I'm ready for the Indiana Jones stunt show. Another flat running with one person. The entrance to Heide-Dorf. Home of the coffee cups. ...and on its way down. Besides Hurakan Condor Scream is the best themed drop ride I know. Scream on its way up. The rain made it even better. The bob sled.

On 06/29/07 the Hotel Port Royal at Heide park officially opened and we decided to spent two nights there with one day in the park. According to our reservation the room wasn't available until 04.00 p. m.. But luckily we arrived early, as during check-in we were given free afternoon tickets for the park. A pretty nice gesture. On Monday the park wasn't too crowded. We managed to go on all popular rides and never waited longer than 15 minutes. New for me was Desert Race, the Intamin Rita clone. I have to admit that I didn't expect too much of it, but I was totally wrong. Desert Race is an awesome ride. The launch is pretty intense, you have decent airtime, a varying layout and it runs very smooth. Colossos runs still great with a lot of airtime. It has gotten a little bit rougher than I rode it the last time, but you can clearly tell that you're on an Intamin woodie. Well, still my favorite woodie so far. After this great day we went back to our room and checked out the hotel. This was one of the nicest places I ever staid. The hotel has an elaborate pirates theming and our stay included a huge buffet for breakfast and dinner. After dinner they performed different shows. You could just stay at your table and watch it or head off to the bar, where you had a great view of it as well. The next day wasn't too good. The park was packed, everything had a very long line and it poured the whole day. All the better that we had those free afternoon tickets. Now onto the pics. I hope you guys like them. Random guy filming empty Hully Gully. "Come on Hully, give me some of your best moves!" It wasn't the worst I've been on, but one ride was enough. For my ears sake. Shake, rattle and roll. The Vekoma SLC. When will I ever learn that these rides hurt. Ouch! ...and the final turn. In the back you see Desert Race. Ejector airtime! Colossos' first drop. The entrance of Colossos with no waiting time. Statue of Liberty, a river boat and random wooden beams nailed together in the background. And now onto some park pics. The main entrance for non-pirates. A pirate welcomes you. Downstairs you can see the park entrance guarded by another topless mermaid. The reception area. The restaurant. In the back is the buffet for breakfast and dinner. Adult theming. All the mermaids who couldn't make it at Disney went topless and now hang out at Port Royal. This is the stage for the nightly shows and the bar. The elevators. After you press a button you hear pirates singing. Yo, ho, ho....hilarious. Me on a barrel of wine. And I thought pirates drank rum all the time... The open rain shower. Let's begin the toilet tour, but....be aware of splinters! The awesome stone sink. In case you travel with little pirates. A flat TV in a standard room. Never had that before. Our room. ...and the whole building. The entrance of Hotel Port Royal.

Even most of the parks have ATMs, too. I don't know about Toverland and Klotten, but I'm sure the others have. Usually all the major credit cards are accepted by the ATMs. Last year in America I was charged a EUR 5,-- flat fee for every withdrawal plus 1 % of the total amount for using the credit card abroad. If you have a debit card, does it have the Maestro sign on it? Debit cards with this sign will also work. It depends on your bank how much the fee is you are liable for. I would clarify that with your bank in advance.

^Ha, ha, thanks!! I'll make sure to keep you updated. It's very interesting how many different kinds of beer there are. I can't believe I didn't try any of them on my vacation last year in the USA. Guess I should have looked out more for those microbreweries. Next time I'll know better.

Tonight I had a Diebels Alt. Since Düsseldorf is known for this kind of beer and that upcoming trip starts there I thought it would be a good idea to get used to this stuff. Well, I guess Altbier isn't my first choice of beer. Didn't enjoy it too much. But I have still five bottles left to try... The first out of six. Oh, and first beer thread contribution...

2001: Colossos - Heide Park 2002: Silverstar - Europa Park (since it was permanently down back then I missed X at Magic Mountain) 2006: Black Mamba - Phantasialand Pegasus - Europa Park Tatsu - Six Flags Magic Mountain 2007 (will hopefully ride within the next two weeks): Desert Race - Heide Park Troy - Toverland As for my Home Park (Holiday Park): 2001 - Expedition GeForce

I just added myself. This is interesting, great idea.

I found the Giant Inverted Boomerangs I've been on and Colorado Adventure at Phantasialand to be pretty smooth. As for the Boomerangs - considering that you drop straight down, go through a cobra roll, a loop, straight up and then all backwards again a little roughness is acceptable for me. I don't expect a ride like that to be perfectly smooth.

Everything We Were Has Become What We Are - Amber Pacific

I found TPR through google while searching for some Tatsu information during construction.

Hi, I hope I'm not too late. I would suggest to go by train. I just checked and there are some connections from Frankfurt main railway station (Hauptbahnhof) to Haßloch for EUR 54,-- round-trip (www.bahn.de). At Haßloch station there is a bus shuttle available to Holiday Park. A rental car would be about EUR 76,-- for a day without gas. Make sure to hit Expedition GeForce and Lighthouse Tower early in the morning. Have fun.

I'm a non-smoker. I don't like the smell of it and think it's annoying. Unfortunately a smoking ban in public places over here is not that common yet, but it is in its beginnings. Even some friends of mine who do smoke don't like the smell of their clothes after having a few beers in a bar. But yet they don't quit, this is something I don't get. I just can't believe that smoking is addicting that much.

^^ Me too. Normally I wear monthly contacts. But when I'm going to a themepark I use daily ones and put an extra set in my pocket. They are cheaper so when you lose one it's no big deal. And they are available with some moisturizing stuff in it so they will stay wet all day. So far I havn't had a problem on coasters with them. Never lost one.

Hi everyone! My name is Peter and I live near Frankfurt in Germany (about 1 1/2 hours away from Holiday Park). So far I've been on 75 coasters and my first coaster was Superwirbel at said Holiday Park when I was 6 years old (it's still running in the shadows of Expedition GeForce). In 2002 and 2006 I visited the US what was totally awesome. Those were more the kind of sightseeing trips, but I still got to go to Cedar Point, Magic Mountain and Universal Studios Hollywood. I hope I'm able to do more coaster related trips in the near future. Beside theme parks I like movies, going to concerts, meeting friends, snowboarding and inline skating.

Amazing pictures. I've visited Port Aventura two years ago and it became one of my favorite parks. Furius Baco looks great.