john_phillips235

The video I posted above was filmed on Saturday night. It definitely ran 5 car trains on Thursday Dec 1st, and 7 car trains on Friday Dec 2.

They had all 5 trains on site from the start of the event, but didn't use all 5 at once until the 2nd weekend. At that point, it was the 5-car trains. After that, the owners realised it wasn't enough, and returned to Germany to get the remaining 10 cars so they could extend all 5 trains to 7 cars. Last Friday (Dec 2nd) was the first time it ran the 7 car trains. Just to emphasise what a big deal that is, it is the first time to my knowledge it has run the longer trains outside of Munich Oktoberfest. Even at other mega-busy fairs, it only runs 5 car trains. If the owners feel Winter Wonderland justifies the extra effort, it shows what a truly huge event it has become. Even more so, when you consider it's the furthest the ride has ever been from home, and that adding the cars was no easy task.

You won't find many coasters being operated better than this. I just wish I'd been able to film it on 5 trains, rather than 4. As for staffing, they had 7 platform attendants (1 for each car of the 7-car trains), 1 operator in the control booth, 6 cashiers in the payboxes, and 2 collecting tickets on the station. Plus 4 members of Winter Wonderland's staff selling ride tokens from the booths next to the ride. [youtu_be] [/youtu_be]

It has categorically NOT been confirmed. Just look at the image Airgates posted of the planning map. It clearly says "New Ride TBC". In previous years, rides have appeared on the planning map and then pulled out, so to claim this as confirmation is very wide of the mark. Until it is confirmed by either PWR/IMG (the event organised), or Barth (the ride owner), then don't take it as definite.

Not all, but most Schwarzkopf coasters are capable of very high throughput. I once times Olympia Looping's trains as being stationary for 16 seconds before leaving the station again, and another train immediately arriving at the loading platform. In a geeky way, it's a joy to watch. The real reason for this is that most fairs have relatively short periods of being mega-busy (except Oktoberfest, where it's ALWAYS busy). As such, the ride needs massive throughput so that during those periods, they can keep the queue moving, and keep selling tickets.

Olympia Looping was originally designed to run seven-car trains, but only ever does so at Munich Oktoberfest, as it's the only fair that gets busy enough to justify it. I believe the rest of the year the extra care, and extra pieces of the station building stays at Barth's yard in Munich (they have 2 yards, 1 in Munich, 1 in Bonn). One aspect of Olympia that rarely gets mentioned is that it is not only designed to run 5 trains at once (meaning a capacity of 140 riders at a time!), but the whole ride is designed to duel with itself when running all 5 trains, with several turns designed to send trains past each other at high speed. It really is amazing to ride it on 5-train operation, both because of the near-misses, and because of the amazing loading speeds.

The bull car was added longer ago than that. I rode that Break Dance in Bremen, October 2008, and it was on there then. And yes, Olympia Looping runs 5-car trains everywhere except Munich Oktoberfest, where it's increased to 7-car trains. I have to say I was always a bigger fan of Dreier Looping than Olympia, but riding Olympia with all 5 trains running is truly spectacular, as you constantly have different trains passing under, over, and alongside you. It's virtually a duelling coaster, albeit with only one track. One question for anyone around Hamburg - I visited this year's Spring Dom, and can't help wondering how the fair remains so popular. With 3 fairs every year, each lasting several weeks, and with many of the same rides always attending, I don't understand how they manage to get so many people to visit. I know the fair hosts some superb bars, but surely that doesn't keep the crowds coming back? As for the point about the lack of fences around rides, I find nothing gives me a greater adrenaline rush than the scramble for seats on a busy German Break Dance. Take a look at this clip I filmed during a fairly quiet afternoon at this year's Bonn Pützchensmarkt, and watch out for people failing to board the ride at the start and end of the clip!

No doubt about it - Hannstein's travelling Huss Flic Flac, Devil Rock. Easily the most extreme ride I've been on in my life. Offide video Onride video - best to skip to the 3 minute mark, as it has quite a long intro section!

Just a quick TR from our recent jaunt to Hamburg for the Frühlingsdom spring fair. Oh, and an on-ride video from High Energy, since few people outside Europe will have had the chance to ride a Zierer Star Shape! Filmed with staff permission, of course. First really big German fair of the year First ride at the main entrance, the Mondial R5 Shake, "Shaker". Many have tried to copy the Huss Frisbee, but this version is still by far the best No German fair is complete without at least one very large beer tent And no German beer tent would be complete without live music The first of 3 Zierer Star Shapes ever built. By a quirk of fate, we'll be seeing the 2nd a week later in Blackpool, then the 3rd in Scotland 2 weeks after that, making its world première. A big big surprise to see Techno Power, which normally sticks to southern Germany Probably the fastest of the KMG Remixes I've ridden, but with a very anti-climactic ending to the ride cycle. Yes, don't worry coaster fans, there was something for you too. The superb Schwarzkopf Alpina Bahn, no less! Two generations of the same type of ride, Wave Swinger and the Sky Dance - Sky Dance being one of the Around The World rides, a sort-of official Star Flyer clone. Not to be ridden on a March night in Hamburg, due to unbelievable coldness. Das Kajüte, a truly superb portable bar, themed as a ship's cabin, selling all your favourite drinks from all over Germany - including the delicious Berliner Weiße For Brits, believe it or not, this is the same Musik Express that was rethemed as Winter Wonderland Express at Hyde Park 2009 Pretty good firework show for opening night Dom Dancer, a pretty good Huss Break Dance, but not a patch on the mighty Kinzler machine. Interestingly, as this attends all 3 Dom fairs each year, much of the artwork is very Hamburg orientated. St Pauli, on this car, is the area in which the Dom takes place, and also the name of the local football team. Also, if you ever want to see how it's possible to load a Break Dance in under 30 seconds, go to a busy German fair! Back again the next day, avoiding the temptations of the nearby Reeperbahn Alpina Bahn may be almost 30 years old, but it's a definite top-5 coaster Forget Afterburners, forget Gyro Swings, forget Giant Frisbees. In fact, don't judge any Frisbee type ride until you've ridden an original on proper German fair speed. It's a million times better. A Star Shape and a beer garden. Paradise. Dock 12, another superb food and drink area, again selling a wonderful selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, along with excellent food. High Energy is superb. Bling at Blackpool is appalling by comparison. How will the third Star Shape, Air, compare? We'll find out later this month! Alpina Bahn viewed from High Energy - and no, the staff had no issue with us taking cameras on the ride. Alpina Bahn in beautiful spring sunshine Star Flyer ... I mean Around The World ... I mean Sky Dance! The fair's other coaster. Göber & Eberhard's Wilde Maus, which seems to follow me all around Germany. Hamburg's more permanent tower in the background, which was closed throughout our stay - which I only discovered after spending over half an hour walking to it! Shaker - if I'm honest, probably the weakest Mondial Shake I've ridden (well, apart from theme park ones, obviously!). As long as I gaze on Alpina Bahn susnet, I am in paradise Frisbee and High Energy, a duo of superb spin rides The huge fun house that acts as a pre-show for the Rotor The huge wheel, complete with the symbol of Hamburg on its centrepiece Why did Huss stop building rides like this and start building total crap?! Likewise, how has such a good ride as the Star Shape only managed to sell 3 units in 8 years? 2 if you discount Blackpool's dreadful version! Big Monster, a classic Schwarzkopf Monster 3 type Polyp Airwolf, a truly superb ride, one of only 3 Mondial Infernos ever built, and a definite predecessor to the Top Scan Atlantic Rafting. Well presented, but lousy ride. There should be a law against having Fabbri rides on German fairs. Inside the beer tent. "Beer tent" sells it a bit short, as they also do full meals, and carry a huge array of both food and drink. Even during the live music, the table services continues with great efficiency. After this point, the night becomes a bit of a blur. Prost!

If you want to get a real feel for a true German event, I'd say the best I've been to are Düsseldorf (July) and Bonn (September). They really are local events, yet have ride line-ups that are not too far short of Oktoberfest standards. Also, both enjoy truly huge crowds, great atmospheres, lots of beer, and offer a sense of the city's own unique traditions and customs. I've had a great time exploring the lesser-known German fairs in the last few years, and I can honestly say they offer an experience that is so much fun that it's resultewd in my interest in theme parks taking a huge dive

Unless I've missed it, I've not noticed anyone mention the utterly huge and truly excellent Wildwasser Log Flume. 3 drops, one of the backwards, dark ride section, it's a fantastic flume,and far better than most park flumes. Here it is at another fair last year.

For coasters, log flumes, dark rides etc, you can expect short waits. Olympia Looping for example runs 5 trains at peak times, with trains in the station for well under 20 seconds before heading back out. Spin rides (if there is a queue at all - see below) also load extremely quickly, meaning short waits for long rides. As for the Break Dance, every German fair I've ever visited, people just stand around, ticket in hand, without any form of fence, barrier or anything. They dance, they drink, they do what they like. When the ride slows and the floodlight comes on, people make a mad scramble for the ride, and it's first come first served. It's fantastic! Oh, and if you try a Dutch Break Dance, it's just the same, but they allow you to ride standing up! Here's the Kinzler Break Dance on a very busy night in Bonn (Germany) last year - and yes the ride is at full speed - the bright white lights are strobes, not floodlights. I'd say only 50% or so of the people in the photo are there to ride, the rest just hang around the ride and party! You can see the staff keep a very close eye on the crowd and get rid of troublemakers very quickly. On ride video (about a quarter of a the full length ride) This one's not my video, but it's the same fair. The music is dreadful for this one, but it's worth watching if only for the few seconds of the loading procedure at the end of the video

Please tell me you went on the Break Dance? You can't possibly go to a German fair and NOT ride the Break Dance - complete with the standing around the ride with no fence, even when it's at full speed, and then jumping on as it slows down, then fighting through the crowd for a seat!

Thanks for the comments The KMG Inversion - well, I've ridden this one and Dominator in Holland (both at their debut fairs, oddly enough). Both had the cars locked into place most of the time, and the ride was fairly average. Occasionally, Flash released the cars, and the ride became unbelivably intense - even by German fair standards. I think KMG may have messed up their calculations, and may have to work out how to run these rides in future! And no, I've not heard of any pay-one-price fairs in Germany, mainly because a fair tens to be made up of rides from many different showmen. We have a few pay-one-price fairs in the UK, but I really hate them, as they tend to have no atmosphere, as the showmen have less incentive to hype things up.

Haha, thanks - but don't forget I'm British, not German, so besides these really good fairs, I've been to plenty of really crap ones too!

Hi all I was really pleased with the response my photos from Düsseldorf fair in July, so here's a bunch of photos from my latest German trip, the Bremen. Hope you enjoy them! The fair in on until November 2nd, so there's still time to visit. The website address is www.freimarkt.de (in a shameless bit of self-promotion, if anyone missed the Düsseldorf photos, they're right here: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=45278&highlight=dusseldorf One of the highlights of the fair for me was "Freimarkt bei nacht". The fair itself is in the car park of a large exhibition centre, and one of the exhibition halls gets turned into a huge temporary nightclub. We joined the party until 5am, and it was still in full swing as we left. Inside the Beck's Hanszelt beer hall. This place is utterly huge and must sell a massive amount of beer during the fair. I didn't realise there were so many varieties of Beck's in existence! One of the many bars in the Beck's Hanszelt. You're not just limited to beer, you can get cocktails, and whatever sort of meal you can imagine The Beck's Hanszelt tent, right in the centre of the fair, is absolutely huge. Here you can see how it compares with Wildwasser, which itself is massive. The Showboat beer hall. Absolutely gorgeous, though I do wish Germany would follow the UK in adopting the smoking ban. This place reeked of smoke. Commander, a Mondial Shake, and possibly the most impressive looking spin ride in the world. Note the huge lighting rigs inside the roof. As with all such rides on the German fair circuit, people are welcome to walk all around the ride, with no safety barriers whatsoever, and to get a seat on a busy night, you really need to jump on as the ride slows. If you wait for it to stop, you've left it way too late! Break Dancer No2 - one of only 4 giant Break Dance rides Huss ever made, 3 of which tour Germany. The Huss Frisbee. Huss used to manufacture all their rides in Bremen, so it's no surprise to see so many here. Countdown, the Huss Shot & Drop, which gives much longer rides than any theme park model I've ridden. Die Krake, the Schwarzkopf Polyp. 30 years old, though you'd never guess it. The cars spin incredibly quickly, and it is genuinely one of the most fun rides I've ever been on. Happy Traveller, the smaller of the 2 Huss Break Dances at the fair. The decor is incredibly camp and adorable, but they still give a long full speed ride Here you can see people standing around Commander. As you can tell from the angle of the cars, the ride is at full speed when I took this photo. These guys standing around the ride aren't staff, they're either waiting to jump on for the next ride, or just generally hanging out. Staff do keep an eye out for anyone getting too close, but do it in a very low-key way, giving a very relaxed atmosphere around the ride. However until you're used to it, walking around a ride that is running at 100% speed with no barrier is a truly terrifying experience! Olympia Looping. The trouble with this ride is that it's always difficult to get far enough back to get all 5 loops in one photo! Friday night fireworks. "Top In" is the rather odd name for a set of Dodgems Frisbee, with Star Flyer and he Daemonium ghost train in the background. Claimed to be the largest portable wheel in the world. This is true, although it does share the record with several other wheels around Europe. Krinoline. I don't even know how to begin describing this ride, it's incredibly silly and great fun. Dusk descends upon the fair, which stays open until roughly 00:30 Flash, the 2nd ever KMG Inversion, attending its first ever fair. The Top Spin, one of the first ever built ,though you'd never guess from its condition. Gave quite long rides, much longer than any theme park. 2 of the fair's 3 coasters. Olympia Looping. A very good ride, though not quite the masterpiece that Alpina Bahn and Dreier Looping are. Roll up, roll up, ride the campest Huss Break Dance on Earth. Wildwasser 3, the world's largest portable Log Flume, and substantially bigger than a lot of park flumes. Happy Traveller cleverly markets itself as a "family" Break Dance, allowing it to get onto fairs that already have a "normal" Break Dance. When you ride it though, you soon see they don't tame it much at all! Wildwasser 3, the triple decker flume, can't fail to impress. The crowds before it got REALLY busy! Hollenblitz, claimed to be the world's biggest indoor travelling coaster. I can't imagine it has much competition, this thing is HUGE. Oh, and it's full of laser and lighting effects. And it has spinning cars. Toboggan Rutschbahn, a 101 year old helter skelter style slide, with a difference - to ride it you have to jump onto an inclined conveyor belt, which moves VERY quickly! And yes, people fall over, but they just laugh it off and try again. One of our group accidentally found himself riding the conveyor lying feet-first on his back! Don't ask me why, but one car on Break Dancer No2 is a themed bull, one of the themes Huss provides to parks. It was very popular though, and it was almost a "special" victory when I managed to jump on early enough to get it! Wildwasser's theming is incredible. The tunnel section features scenes that put many theme park rides to shame. Top Spin, Flash, and Star Flyer all in one shot Break Dancer No2. The Break Dance is THE ride that symbolises German fairs. Rather than standing in a queue, people buy their tokens, stand around the ride (with no safety barrier whatsoever), and jump on as the ride slows. It's survival of the fittest once the ride gets busy, and loading can be done and dusted in well under 30 seconds. The wheel through the dwarfed exhibition centre. The nostalgia fair in the old town, featuring rides that date back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

That was probably my TR from this year's fair http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=45278&highlight=dusseldorf Yes, Düsseldorf is a 9 day fair, usually around the 3rd week in July. The last 2 days usually coincide with the first 2 days of Tilburg fair in Holland, which is a very nice 2-fair trip. Or if you prefer, Phantasialand is about an hour from Düsseldorf by public transport.

There's very little chance of Olympia Looping attending Düsseldorf, since that is Oscar Bruch's "home" fair, and he always attends. However, Bonn isn't far from Düsseldorf, and in September, there's usually a chance of Olympia Looping attending there, providing the dates aren't too close to Oktoberfest opening. I have to be honest though, I'd concentrate more on tracking down Alpina Bahn. Along with Dreier Looping (now in Mexico), those two rides represent Anton's golden age.

A friend of mine has given me permission to show you some of his Youtube clips so you can see the atmosphere of German fair rides. These are from various DVDs, which you can order here: http://www.amusementridesdvd.co.uk/ Hope you enjoy them, they should give a better idea of what it's like to visit these places than the photos do. Huss Break Dance, Düsseldorf 2005, includes loading "procedure": "Die Krake" Schwarzkopf Polyp, Bremen 2005 (with Ferris Wheel intro) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywOxyryKS6E Flying Circus, spectacular, one-of-a-kind ride, Stuttgart 2008 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKFChLogtBE XXL, Tilburg (Netherlands), 2006 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTABHYpLs9Y

I believe it was made by ABC. The travelling one was their frist, but they now offer similar rides to parks. I believe Prater in Austria now has one. I should say it isn't really a rapids as such, more just a big water slide taken in rapids-style boats, there's no actual rapids as such. The smaller Reverchon and Fabbri travelling raft rides do have a short stretch of rapids after the slide. As for the concern about drunks, as one of the German members have said, the staff around the Break Dance are EXTREMELY vigilant. Anyone that looks like they could cause problems is turned away. Generally, however, people are allowed to stand around regardless of whether they even have any intention of riding. You do not even need to have bought a token to stand around the ride.

The fair is already over, we were there for the last weekend. If you were there now, all you would see is the paths that link the fair up, and an awful lot of grass! Düsseldorf is only 9 days long, running 2 weekends and the days in-between. That's quite short for a German fair, especially one this big, but I prefer that as it means more crowds and better atmosphere. The rides are run so efficiently that even when busy, you barely have to queue for anything. The Stutgart fair where I took the Olympia Looping pics was much longer, but that meant the crowds were much more thinly spread out. Oh, and to those of you marvelling at the vertical lift on the rapids, don't forget the entire tower rotates 180 degrees as you climb it!

In recent years, Munich has had 3 big coasters - Oscar Bruch's EuroStar; Rudolph Barth's Olympia Looping, and Klaus Renoldi's Hollenblitz. It was the only fair you'd ever see EuroStar and Olympia Looping together. Hoever, with EuroStar being sold, this year is almost certain to have Alpina Bahn replace it, meaning 2 big Schwarzkopfs at one fair. This would leave Stuttgart (which overlaps Munich) without a coaster, so Hollenblitz may go there in Alpina Bahn's place. For 2009. both Oscar Bruch and Rudolph Barth are rumoured to have bought new coasters by then, so Munich 2009 could possibly have 2 brand new coasters. Oh, for anyone who hasn't seen it, here are a couple of pics I took of Olympia Looping at another fair in Suttgart earlier this year (they have 2 a year, one in spring and the other in autumn/fall). Worth mentioning they only had 6 days to get it there from the previous fair!

Well, if you think it takes a long time to build these rides, remember that with EuroStar gone, Alpina Bahn's schedule is incredibly tight this year as it has to replace it at a couple of other fairs. As a result, there are times this year where the ride will close in one city on Sunday night, and be open in another city the following Friday! Likewise Hollenblitz and Wildwasser - Wildwasser actually has 2 bases so they can begin the groundwork at the next site while the ride is still open somewhere else. I'm trying to find the info, but I think it travels on about 40 lorry loads, which often go by rail or river to save cost. EuroStar required even more loads than that, which is one of the reasons it it was less profitable. Schwarzkopf was the king of transportable coasters. Remember that Texas Tornado / Zonga travelled Germany for 10 years before it crossed the Atlantic. Likewise, Dreier Looping and Olympia Looping are incredible designs. Olympia Looping still tours, and I believe is still the only coaster in the world with 5 vertical loops (arranged and coloured to match the Olympic rings) Thanks for the feedback everyone, glad you enjoyed the pics!

I know a lot of you like to see photos from the funfair circuit here in Europe, well last week I went off to Düsseldorf in Germany for one of the biggest fairs on the calendar. The weather wasn't great this year, but had a fantastic time anyway. Remember, everything you see here, is only there for a 9 day fair. None of it is permanent - not the coasters, not the log flume, not the beer halls, nothing! XXL and Star Flyer. The Star Flyer is one of 2 that the Goetzke family owns, the first didn't have enough capapcity for the big fairs, so this one has twice as many seats. And that's about it. Thanks for reading! New for 2008 (well, new for Düsseldorf anyway) is XXL, the 120ft version of the Afterburner from KMG. Incredible ride, strange that they've still only sold half of one (the ride is co-owned by the Kroon family, who effectively are KMG). Wildwasser and High Energy form an impressive sight at the main entrance to the fair. It's no coincidence that 2 such spectacular rides are the first thing most people see as they arrive. The top half of the flume from the nearby road-bridge. The ride was actually designed specially for this site, and it is no coincidence that the turnarounds are the same height as the bridge. For me, probably the most impressive ride at the fair is Wildwasser, the triple-decker Log Flume. 3 drops, one backwards, great theming, and generally one of the best flumes I've ever ridden. Plus, so many boats that the queue moves like lightning. Note at the rear of the ground level, there's quite a long tunnel section. This takes you through several "gold mine" scenes that must take up an extra lorry on their own. This Top Spin is one of the first Huss made, but again, it has been extremely well maintained, so you would never guess that by its condition. Revolution, a Huss Top Spin owned by the same family as the Break Dance. Unlike theme park Top Spins, a ride on this will involve around 3 or 4 fixed programme cycles, plus a section on manual control. The idea of water jets on Top Spins originated on German fairs. The blue towers either side of the ride are water ballast, required to keep the ride stable without proper foundations in the ground. At some point someone thought to use the water to add to the fun of the ride, a trick many theme parks copied. As with most German fair rides, the lighting is extremely impressive. Shake, Mondial's answer to the Break Dance, with looping cars. Again, spectators are welcome to stand around the ride without any form of safety barrier. The train is heads through the brief outdoor section, under the waterfall, and back indoors, headed by the ride's mascot, Rusty. The other 2 coasters are a Wild Mouse and a standard Muarer spinning coaster, but I couldn't be bothered to show you those! Hollenblitz ("Hell's Lightning"), the 2nd coaster at the fair, an enclosed spinning coaster full of lighting, laser, and fire effects. The top-sign is all LEDs, and changes colour constantly. The big TV screen shows footage of the ride, plus specially shot footage of the ride's mascot touring whatever city the ride is in. It used to be called Magic Mountain, then Star World, each incarnation featured completely different theming on the entire front of the ride. Fireworks over, and the fair really comes alive. The rides will generally be open until around 2am, though we had out last rides at 3am. You'll notice that the average age of fair visitors in Germany is much higher than in most countries. There are surprisingly few youths around - and they always seem to congregate around the Break Dance for some reason! Friday night is fireworks night, and the display is huge. All the lights go out on the rides, many rides close temporarily, and people flood out of the beer halls to watch. Meanwhile, the river is packed with huge party-boats, and the old-town on the opposite bank is crammed with people , as are the massive bridges at each end of the fair. General night-view of the fair. This was taken on Friday night, when the attendance is usually estimated at around 700,000 people. That's more people in one night than a lot of parks get all year! To give you an idea of how big the fair is, the 120ft tall XXL is barely a dot on the horizon, and that is only around three quarters of the way down the fair from here! The ride in the bottom left of the photo is just a tiny section of the Log Flume, more of that later! Psychodelic, one of the highlights of the fair. A small walk-through, involving kaleidoscope-glasses, kitsch 70s music, dancers, drag queens, and all manner of silly lighting effects. Oscar Bruch's 60 meter Ferris Wheel Power Tower 2, the tallest travelling tower in the world. Not the best of tower rides, but the operators really give the ride a boost by chatting constantly over the microphone to the riders. High Energy, the world's first Zierer Star Shape, the only other one being at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. This one looks and rides a million times better than Blackpool's, and as ever, theyt load the ride in almost no time at all. Hard to believe, but this huge front is simply for a Rotor. If you see it from the back it's quite funny to see how tiny the ride is in relation to the façade. Big Monster, a spinning car Schwarzkopf Polyp. As with the Break Dance, if you know how to move your weight around the car, these things spin like crazy. Again, there is no queue for this ride, you just buy a token then go and stand around the ride without any safety barriers. It's great that a place exists where people can be trusted to do this without being stupid! Playball, a Huss Flipper. Like many rides, this offered discounts for groups, but this ride also handed out glow-sticks to anyone buying multiple tokens! Remember, some of these rides are around 20 years old, but you would never ever guess, as they are all presented immaculately, as they know that shabby rides are unlikely to be invited back next year. Wild & Wet, the portable rapids-style ride. The lift tower rotates as you climb, and is a great ride in itself, besides being an ingenious space-saver. The boats on this ride REALLY spin! Two of the finest rides in the world. Did I mention that over in Holland, the Break Dances often allow people to stand up in the car throughout the ride? Even for me, that was scary! Note the crowd standing around the edge. There is no safety barrier, you just stand around the ride and jump on when it slows to get a seat. You don't even need to buy a ride token to go and stand around it. At busy times, there can be hundreds of people around the ride, and staff are VERY good at ensuring nobody gets too close. When the floodlights turn on, the crowd lunges for the ride, it's the only time finding a seat has given me an adrenaline rush of its own! It's absolutely brilliant! The red and white section on the floor says "Danger Zone" - yeah, bit of an understatement, but it's incredible how people are sensible and take care of themselves even when the ride is stuffed with people. As a result of this, the ride can be loaded in around 30 seconds, and sometimes doesn't actually stop at all before starting again! After a few rides, I became a bit of an expert at being the first to jump on, and not fall on my arse! Back to the rides, and the icon of German fairs is the Huss Break Dance. If you've only ridden theme park Break Dances, you would not believe how much better the travelling ones are. The sound of the motors alone tells you that they run the ride flat-out. This is actually the larger model Huss Break Dance, with 24 cars instead of 16. Only 4 exist, of which 3 travel in Germany (the other is in some park in the far east). Inside the Brauerie Im Fuschen beer hall. The partying was pretty wild, but despite the mix of beer and rides, I've never seen any fighting or misbehaviour at a German fair. Another very modern beer hall, laid on by a brewery based just across the river. All over Germany, people seem very proud of their local beers, making this probably the most crowded of all the halls at the fair. The tower at the right of the halls's façade is a copy of Düsseldorf's Rheinturm tower, which is on the opposite bank of the river, and shows how specific this hall is to Düsseldorf - it does not travel with the rest of the fair circuit, but just does various events around the city. Inside a different beer hall, where a concert is in progress by EuroPop artist, Doctor Albarn. German fairs are renowned for their beer halls. Düsseldorf fair isn't technically a beer festival like Munich, but has numerous portable beer halls of various sizes. Like most beer halls, you can go in here to get beer, meals, and listen to live music. Outside, smaller bars sell beer to passers by, and seating area is available for hire by small parties. The whole thing has a strong Bavarian (Bayern) theme, despite Düsseldorf being absolutely nowhere near Bavaria. If you didn't know what EuroStar was, here it is at last year's fair on the same spot. A very intense Intamin/Giovanola inverter, it was fabulous in it's early years, but became quite rough later on. It was always immaculately presented though, and was amazing to watch. Oscar Bruch, by the way, is the guy who owned Thriller/Texas Tornado/Zonga before it moved to America Alpina Bahn was a last minute replacement for EuroStar, Oscar Bruch's inverted coaster which arrived on site, then got sold to Gorky Park in Moscow, and promptly left. Alpina Bahn's schedule is now so hectic it sometimes has just 4 days between closing in one city and opening in another. As you can see, the weather was grottier than I'm used to, but the day-glo train still stands out. At one point, it was running 4 trains, and is capable of running 5. In the station, trains were stationary a maximum of 25 seconds before heading out again. The biggest of the 4 coasters at the fair, Alpina Bahn. Oscar Bruch's non-looping Schwarzkopf, and a ride I've loved more and more at each of the 3 fairs at which I've seen it. When it's quiet, German fairs sometimes give really long rides. I've had rides on Airwolf that have lasted around 10 minutes. Also, they don't put the price up when they get busy, unlike British fairs! The lighting and audio on this ride is incredible. You can see how bright the LEDs on the front of the ride are, as it's too much for my camera! It's actually hard to get decent shots because there's so much lighting on the front that the ride gets lost. It also has on-board speakers for the riders, and speakers playing music into the crowd. Mondial later evolved this ride to become the Top Scan. They've also recently created the Diablo, a smaller version of this ride. First up (alphabetically at least) is Airwolf, a Mondial Inferno. Only 3 of these were ever built, which is a shame, as this is one of my very favourite spin rides. I'm told the other two aren't as good, either in terms of riding or presentation. Still, for me, Airwolf is the king of the thrill rides. First view of the fair as you cross the river. This is actually the rear entrance, the majority of people use the other end of the fair.

The official name is "Jump & Smile", although it's often known by other names. It's a ride that is extremely common on the British fairs, and very popular. It works very well but only f the operator can generate a good atmosphere. Here's a video of what I think was the first one in the UK, being run extremely well: http://youtube.com/watch?v=ih95YGZmSCQ