Canobie Coaster

Parque de Atracciones de Madrid On the way home from Europe, I had a layover in Madrid. Most would take in the sights. Instead, I visited two Parques Reunidos parks. Both Parque de Atracciones de Madrid and Parque Warner have enough attractions to fill a day. However, in order to fit both parks, I needed to make a speed run through both. Ultimately, I figured it was safer to start with Parques de Atracciones de Madrid since they didn’t appear to offer a skip-the-line pass. Appear is the key word as they had one available for sale at the park. However, it wasn't needed. In fact, I had the opposite problem. The park was already testing things over an hour before the park opened. A+ for them! The park was empty. Usually that’s an enthusiast’s dream, but not if the park requires a full train. This proved to be an issue on the park’s two signature coasters- Abismo and Tornado. I don't even think there are 23 other people in the park yet... Until crowds picked up, I knocked out the other five coasters. My first stop was Tarantula, the Maurer spinner with an odd layout. Most spinners focus on spinning, hairpin turns, and helices. This one had barely any of that. Instead, this one felt much bigger since it’s located on a hill. As a result, the focus is on sizable drops. These drops are particularly good if you’re traveling backwards. Mix in two nice horseshoe turns and you have a well above average spinner (even though it barely spins). 7 out of 10 All those big drops are weird but awesome. I then then trekked across the park and walked onto Vertigo. The top section was your typical wild mouse, but the second half was a bit uncomfortable. I’ve always wondered what would happen if the second half was unbraked. And now I know. As expected, you get good air on the drops. It just so happens the airtime becomes a bit painful due to the lap bars. So it’s hard to say if I’d prefer the brake there. 5 out of 10 Say hello to the only brakes on the entire ride. My only wait was for TNT Tren de la Mina, which can best be described as a mash-up between a mine train and a Vekoma roller skater. The helices were forceless, but this was a very smooth ride. And it had some airtime I wasn't expecting. Now I only got one ride and was directed towards the middle of the train, but even in that seat, I still got 2-3 weak pops of air. I imagine there may possibly be more air towards the front or back. 6 out of 10 Sad and pathetic me of course rode Patrulla Canina. Half the Zamperla kiddie coasters are smooth. Half are not. This is in the latter half. The 3 laps couldn’t end soon enough. 1 out of 10 If a dog has to pee, I hope it hits the coaster instead of the fire hydrant. Next door was the odd Padrinos Voladores. This is one of those suspended Zamperla mini mice. While it looks cool to have another suspended coaster, you barely swing since the ride tops out at like 5 mph. It may be a snoozefest, but it’s perfectly comfortable for an adult. 2 out of 10 Who needs Eagle Fortress when you have this bad boy? Since it was now an hour past opening, I figured there’d be enough thrill seekers in the park for me to ride Abismo. And I was right. By this point, Abismo had 3-4 train wait, but I was able to board immediately when they called for a single rider. Sky Loops are fairly rare clones, but I had ridden one previously at Skyline Park. As I remembered, the hangtime on the lift and barrel rolls is incredible. But the rest is what differentiates Abismo. Rather than returning right to the station, Abismo rockets through forceful overbank, a camelback with some major and sustained ejector airtime, and a smaller hill with some good floater airtime. Then came the brakes. Except unlike the other 99% of coasters out there, that brake takes place on a vertical lift. This causes the awkward lap bar to punch you in the gut. It’s an unfortunate end to an otherwise smooth and thrilling coaster. 7.5 out of 10 The rare and unique extended sky loop. I can feel the airtime just looking at this photo. Last but not least, I was able to ride Tornado. After camping by the entrance for 10 minutes, we had enough people to fill a train. I only got one ride in the back and consider myself lucky to have even ridden it. I got some good whip on the first drop and both vertical loops had some solid force. But the highlight was the extremely snappy corkscrew over the midway. I was expecting a second corkscrew afterwards, but the rest of the ride just had some ok helices. I was intrigued how a traditional Intamin invert would ride (RIP Volcano). And it’s somewhere in between a B&M invert and a Vekoma SLC. There’s light headbanging throughout, but it’s not the endless assault of a SLC. 7 out of 10 I hope everyone has secured their loose articles. I also need to take a moment to commend the park on its beauty. Most of the park is covered by trees, but the few open areas are populated with gorgeous flowers and fountains. You can tell this park takes landscaping seriously. What a gorgeous park! While none of the park’s coasters are true standouts, Parque de Atracciones de Madrid had an odd and enjoyable coaster lineup. If I only had one day in Madrid, I’d personally pick Parque Warner on a return trip. But first timers should consider what I did in order to get a flavor of both parks.

Great report! Zadra and Hyperion look great. This park definitely has some odd operational quirks, but those two coasters will be enough to get me there.

Efteling Bob closed. Here are some missing ride signs. Pandadroom Spookslot

Whoa I never knew that. Thanks for the explanation!

I find it funny the coaster that beats you up most now in a park with a SLC and boomrang is that stupid galaxi with the OSTRs.

Great report! The kindness of the Japanese people is incredible. No one would have done something like that in Boston. I'm in the camp that I love Tokyo Disneyland. It has the ride quantity of Disneyland, wider pathways like Magic Kingdom, and some unique rides like Pooh and Monsters.

Great report! I love how weird Gekion Live Coaster is.

I thought Thunderhead was running smoother this year than it was when I rode it in 2016 and 2017.

Last year, the lot had barely any lights and it was quite a hike to the entrance. It's almost as if they put all their coasters in the old parking lot. It gave great views of the park though!

With how short that launch track is, the acceleration is going to feel nuts.

I assumed the turntable was to allow 2 train operation like a Pulsar. So is the turntable to allow the train to run forwards or backwards like Fury?

Glad to hear Halfpipe opened! The website still lists it as coming soon.

The Gleampunk District looks particularly great.

The amount of coasters being added by the SeaWorld parks is quite exciting. Wave Breaker is a nice family coaster and the ride feels much different than SWSD's Manta.

Efteling Efteling was amazing. It was the complete package. It was beautiful. It was well-themed. It had friendly employees. And it had a great ride lineup. What wasn’t amazing was only having a half day. And that was completely on me. I underestimated the sheer size of the park and assumed the single rider lines would be faster. The fastest single rider queue I encountered took a half hour. And in some cases, they were longer than the standby queue. Efteling's main entrance is huge. But it looks quite small when you have to park this far away Speaking of Bob, rest in piece. The Intamin bobsleds are superior to the Mack ones since they don’t have the constant vibration. Even though Great Escape has a similar ride, I hardly get to ride it since it's always closed. The layout seemed similar to Alpine Bobsled. Except this one was in a forest. The highlights were undoubtedly the moments when the bobsled momentarily leaves the trough. To say that’s a freaky feeling is an understatement. 6 out of 10 Did this ride ever have issues with branches or leaves in the trough? Nerd shot. Not only is Efteling massive, but it’s sort of tricky to navigate. By accident, I stumbled upon Spookslot, which sounded like a haunted house/dark ride. Since it was just a 10 minute wait, I gave it a whirl. Instead it was more of a show. You stood on this 3 tiered viewing deck like Backdraft or Twister and watched a haunted house/graveyard scene play out. There was definitely a ton to look at, but it wasn’t as engaging as the park’s dark rides. 5 out of 10 Compare that to Fata Morgana. I’m pretty sure this would be the result if Disney took Pirates of the Caribbean and themed it to Aladdin instead. This dark ride was fantastic. The sets were grand. The ride was long. And the musical score was just perfect. This was the point that I realized Efteling wasn’t messing around with their dark rides. 9 out of 10 The architecture at Efteling is stunning. As were the quality of the dark rides. And the granddaddy of all their dark rides is Symbolica. This ride was jaw dropping. From the facade to the preshow to the ride itself, I was blown away. And that was without me knowing any Dutch. I *think* the plot is that you’re on a castle tour that gets derailed, but I cannot say for sure. All I know is that the trackless ride system and detailed physical sets were astoundingly good. 10 out of 10 I used the single rider line and both times I was placed in the back. It seems like the front may be a bit better since they have an on-board tablet they can use in a few scenes, so just keep that in mind. I love how the Flying Island matches the architecture of Symbolica. I don't want to spoil what happens, but this staircase is magical. If you look at the ride stats, Baron 1898 is one of the least impressive dive machines. However, it’s one of my favorites thanks to the theming. There is both an elaborate preshow and pre-lift show scene. While the drop on Baron isn’t as tall as other dive machines, it’s still excellent. The Immelmann is a throwaway element per usual, but the zero-G roll has great hangtime and the bunny hill towards the end has some nice airtime as well. 8 out of 10 Also I found the ticketed boarding system quite unique. And it worked extremely well. When you enter the preshow room, you’re given a ticket with a boarding group. You’re then called to board in an orderly fashion. It’s like the boarding process at an airline minus the a-holes who crowd the gate. Is this the only dive machine without a turn after the lift? The lack of vests made me smile. At this point I planned to hit Vliegende Hollander, but it went down for maintenance. In retrospect, I probably should have hit this ride earlier since it seems to be notorious for having issues. Shame on me. So instead I rode Joris en de Draak. The single rider line appeared short, but I wanted to guarantee myself a front row ride. Even though this thing is a capacity monster like Lightning Racer, the stand-by queue took almost 40 minutes. There were just that many people waiting to ride. Joris is basically an improved version of Lightning Racer. It takes the awesome racing element and near-misses of Lightning Racer. But instead of being a tamer GCI, Joris has a more frenetic and aggressive layout like the newer GCIs. From the moment you crest the lift, it’s a slithering mess of turns and hills with quick floater pops. Joris does die during the finale, but it’s pretty much perfect up to that point. Oh and it’s perfectly smooth too. 8 out of 10 This is the ride I wish Lightning Racer was. After I saw how the grouper loaded Python I should have bailed out and gone in the regular queue, but I kept telling myself it shouldn’t take long with only two people ahead of me. Well it took about 40 minutes. Usually groupers load front to back or vice-versa. That makes single riders fairly common. The grouper on Python would load front to back. But if he got an odd-numbered group, he’d start loading back to front until he got another odd-numbered group. That odd-numbered group would then be paired with the other one towards the front of the train. Long story short, you basically needed the final group to be odd-numbered. I admire the way the op loaded since it’s the fairest way for everyone in the standard queue. It was just unfortunate for me. As for how Python rode, it was basically a clone of Gardaland’s Shaman. It was immaculately smooth thanks to the refurbishment, so I was able to appreciate the Gs on the loops and helices. 6 out of 10 By this point, it was only an hour before closing. And I still had a ton I wanted to do. I needed to prioritize. The other wrinkle was that Efteling confirmed they close queues early. My top priority was Vliegende Hollander. However, that was still closed. I also wanted to ride Droomvlucht, but it had a 45 minute queue and I was afraid it would close before I made it to that side of the park. I also wanted a back row ride on Joris. Since it was right there, I chose the latter. But I was faced with a dilemma as I reached the station. I noticed Vliegende Hollander had reopened. I contemplated bailing, but the queue for Joris had already closed. So I rolled the dice and tried to ride both. That proved to be a mistake. By the time I got off Joris, Vligende Hollander’s queue had already closed. On the bright side, Joris was really good in the back. The uncharacteristically GCI straight first drop was a particular stand out. I forgot to take a picture of Vliegende Hollander, so here's a picture of the cannibal ride. The park was set to close in just 15 minutes and most queues had closed. I noticed Vogel Rok’s queue was still open, so I hightailed it across the park to get the last coaster credit. And it was a walk-on. Vogel Rok was an enjoyable coaster. Rather than being highly themed, it was mostly in total darkness. And that’s fine by me. This one was smooth and it had some solid Gs and laterals sprinkled throughout. 6 out of 10 I hope this bird hasn't eaten any beans recently. I figured Vogel Rok would’ve been my last ride, but there was a dark ride next door that was still open. And I’m very thankful I got on Carnaval Festival. It was a politically incorrect version of It’s a Small World. 7 out of 10 Everyone knows the Germans love their beer. Efteling is famous for their Fairytale Forest. It would’ve been a sin to miss it. Fortunately it remained open after park closing! The closest comparisons in the US are the Story Book Forest at Idlewild or Oregon’s Enchanted Forest, and it was a really cool area to walk through. It's really cool to see something like this in a major park. This dude might as well be a giraffe with a neck that long. This Little Mermaid is a bit more promiscuous than Ariel. While I missed some major attractions like Vliegende Hollander and Droomvlucht, I will absolutely be back someday. My company is headquartered in the Netherlands and Efteling was probably my favorite park in the country. So it’s only a matter of time before I’m back. I loved Efteling. The attention to detail rivaled a Disney park and the ride lineup was fantastic. Just make sure you give yourself at least one full day (if not more) since you’ll need and want it. I'll be back someday.

Bobbejaanland Bobbejaanland originally wasn’t on this trip. However, the rave reviews of Fury changed my mind. There was a way to squeeze it in, but it would come at the expense of a full day at Efteling. I was optimistic I could make a quick lap of Bobbejaanland before crowds hit, but I was a bit nervous. The park’s major rides didn’t seem to be people eaters and two of the coasters had VR. Thank you Bobbejaan Schoepen. I arrived for rope drop and joined the rush for Fury. The ride had a delayed opening, but the line was never shorter. It had a full queue (~1 hour) all day. What makes Fury special is that you can vote to go backwards. While the voting system was neat, I sort of wish the station was split into forwards-backwards rather than forwards-voting. I got the outcome I wanted, but it would have been annoying if I wasn’t able to experience it. Make sure to stuff those ballots for backwards. Unlike Mack triple launchers, Fury had some force to the launch. But the highlight of the launch sequence was still the copious amount of hangtime on the reverse spike. After the launch, you fly over a top hat with great airtime over the top and wild laterals on the way down. That’s followed by a massive zero-G roll with some great hangtime. Fury then weaves around itself before entering a wonderful loop that starts with positive Gs, but you run out of steam so you get hangtime over the top. You then travel up one last spike (getting hangtime of course) before hitting the brakes. Fury wasn’t quite as intense as I expected, but it was just pure fun. 8 out of 10 Fury 325...minus 184. It appears they're about to be impaled. I'd love to see one of these come to America. I then figured it’d be wise to knock out the VR coasters, so I made my way over to Revolution. I always thought Zierer Tivolis had comically long trains. However, Revolution puts those coasters to shame. This thing had a 30 car train! I know Revolution is a coaster, but it felt more like a Himalaya. The entire downhill sequence is one big helix that gets progressively faster. Or maybe it just felt that way thanks to the lighting. 5 out of 10 See this long station. You're only seeing 2/3 of the train. Dream Catcher wasn’t yet running VR, but it was still a half hour wait due to its putrid capacity. While I loved Dream Catcher’s placement over the water, it was far too tame for my tastes. I don’t recall there being any real drops and the lack of speed negated any swinging. 4 out of 10 Dream Catcher's capacity was a nightmare. Up next was the coaster with arguably the best capacity, Oki Doki. This extended roller skater was sporting two trains with lightning fast dispatches. I wasn’t expecting much of it, but I was pleasantly surprised. The first drop had a surprising amount of whip to it. We’re not talking Skull Mountain or anything, but it was better than it had any right to be. The rest of the ride was fairly tame, but I enjoyed how it went over the midway and lake. 5 out of 10 This drop is no joke. So many clowns. I then made my way over to Indiana River, the park’s enclosed log flume. It was at this point I realized the crowds had arrived. While the line never stopped moving, I think it took ~40-45 minutes. Indiana River was exceptional. It felt more like a dark ride than a flume. The ride had way more theming than expected. It was a mix of animatronics and grand sets with rockwork and statues. But in typical flume fashion there were drops as well. Three in fact. All the drops were really small, but the last one had a surprising pop of air thanks to the runway leading up to it. And of course you come off soaked since it’s always the little drops that get you. 9 out of 10 Log Flume + Dark Ride = Happy Canobie Coaster Europe had a lot of politically incorrect dark rides. But the king of them may be El Paso Special. Most dark rides have you shoot robots, aliens, or ghosts. El Paso Special has you shoot cowboys, Indians, women, children, drunks, etc. No one is safe. You’re bound to feel like a dick when you come off this ride. I know this ride would offend some, but I loved just how wrong it was. 9 out of 10 There is no way this could exist in America. My biggest mistake of the day was riding Bob Express, the Mack powered coaster. Usually these things are capacity monsters and walk-ons. However, Bob Express had a deceptively long queue that took almost 45 minutes. Ouch! While this had a nice layout going over the flume and water, it wasn’t worth the wait. That was especially true since it came at the expense of some Efteling time. 5 out of 10 Bob Express travels over rocks, water, and rides. I figured I’d have an hour wait for Typhoon, but it was surprisingly only 15 minutes. Maybe it was because no one could find the entrance? I knew the entrance was moved to Land of Legends, but I saw a ton of people confusedly walk where I believe the entrance used to be. As one of the first Eurofighters, I suspected Typhoon may be rough. Thankfully, Typhoon’s transitions are taken relatively slowly so it isn’t a big headbanger. That allowed me to appreciate the great air on the drop, the surprisingly forceful loop, and the hangtime on the barrel rolls. 7 out of 10 I feel like this layout was meant to be cloned. But it never was. Naga Bay was dispatching trains with the efficiency of an assembly line, but it still took about a half hour to board. This is a Maurer spinner, but the thick track gauge looks more like a Mack version. While Naga Bay had plenty of spinning, it was one brake run after another. What little speed you got was quickly taken away. I guess that’s the cost of running so many cars. 6 out of 10 I love how many of the park's rides are built by the water. Look at that uncharacteristic Maurer spinner track gauge. My last coaster was Speedy Bob, but that became a hard pass once I saw the queue spilling into the midway. If I had a full day, I would’ve waited. But I wasn’t going to waste precious Efteling time. Speedy Bob may have been speedy, but the line didn't appear speedy. Bobbejaanland was a solid park. Fury is a worthy signature attraction and I loved the dark rides. In total, I think I spent 5 hours at Bobbejaanland. But as I quickly learned, this really is a full day park due to amount of coasters and their limited capacities.

Bobbejaanland Here are some pictures of Fury. Here is the ride sign for Naga Bay. Big Bend has been renamed Big Bang. Desperado City has closed. Draaimolen has been renamed Kettingmolen. Fly Away has closed. Mambo has closed.

Thanks!

Glad you enjoyed Copperhead Strike. It really does a little of everything. How negligent of you to wear shorts and a t-shirt in such frigid conditions. You could get frostbite. It'd be guaranteed on Fury.

Is it like Symbolica at Efteling where you can choose your side or is it random? It is going to take all my will power not to watch that video and spoil it for myself, but it sounds incredible.

At first I thought this was a parody account.

Goats on the Roof's mountain coaster is pitch black at night while Smoky Mountain Alpine Coaster has rainbow lights along the course. Both experiences are great. My personal favorite mountain coaster in the area is the one at Anakeesta, but I think Anakeesta closes a bit earlier and it is a time commitment to ride up and down the mountain to access the coaster. Another attraction I strongly recommend is Mysterious Mansion. If you're a fan of haunts, this is a very impressive attraction.

I agree Movie Park was good. It just needs a true signature coaster to make it standout with enthusiasts. And I see a certain wood structure in that park that could satisfy that.

Great report! Your description of Flying Dinosaur is spot on.

I think Bandit actually had the longest line in the park. Thanks! Operation Enterprise definitely used the Star Trek IP well. As for MP-Xpress, imagine the headbanging of Kong with some punches to the back mixed in for variety.