Anac0nda

1. Helix - Liseberg 2. Expedition GeForce - Holiday Park 3. Dragon Khan - Port Aventura 4. Junker - Power Park 5. Piraten - Djurs Sommerland 6. Juvelen - Djurs Sommerland 7. Tornado - Bakken 8. Insane - Gröna Lund 9. Daemonen - Tivoli Gardens 10. Silver Star - Europa Park Total count 76. Interesting that there are no woodies (yes, Balder didn't make it but neither did Thunderbird). Also interesting but not surprising that all the three B&Ms I've ridden are there.

Last Saturday I got to test Junker and I got to say: Tornado has been de-throned as Finland's best rollercoaster (finally after so many years)! My analysis of the ride: The rolling launch has a nice punch and tophat is filled with ejector airtime. The first hill before the non-inverting dive-loop-thingy-lingy provides the first chance to fill your lungs again with air. Then it's go time again, since the twisting dive really took me surprise with its forces! Hang-time loop (Finnish loop, I believe it's called ) really provides fun hang time but not too extreme to scare. Overbank before MCBR is also fun and has a super smooth pullout. Exit from MCBR has another pop of ejector before the funky overbanked, which feels very disorienting since it has many little twists in different directions right after another, but because of heartlining and sustained G-forces you don't feel the twists at all, you just kinda see the world spin around you. Following twists and airtime hump have a nice roll to them as well as the dive loop under the water. The gem of the ride IMO is the final barrel roll, which has asymmetric entry and exit making it very disorienting with the speed its taken at! Layout is very solid and one of my favourites, since it has a very good flow and almost zero dull moments (the only breather moment aside MCRB is the first half of the double loop since it doesn't provide airtime). Cars are minimalistic and there's nothing to limit your view. My feet were dangling although I'm quite tall (186cm), the seats are comfortable and spacey but the edge of the seats can dig a bit into the back of your thighs if you get stapled by the (comfortable) lap bars. The lack of OTSR's makes me happy and the ejector moments really feel like you're going to get ejected from the car! I couldn't find any differences in riding in the front or the back, but naturally the inner seats made a much smoother and heartlined ride than the outer seats. Front right was my favourite since all the rolls (especially the final barrel roll) feel very out-of-control and provide surprising laterals! Someone could say the lack of lateral support on the seats adds discomfort when riding in the outer seats, but I however like my rides forceful! The area is still a bit barren, but the water body and the ride station are just beautiful! Also the interaction with the bridge and the restaurant shows a good design. They have three cars but ran only two: it wasn't a crowded day and the ride-ops didn't need to rush the loading and so the other car was already in the final brakes when the next one dispatched. Queue time was about 15mins. Overview. Looking up. Didn't forget you Larry Station. Looks nice and the sloping queue provides new angles to the ride. Exit side of the station. Empty queue is a beaty to look at Back of the train and the loading position. The lights in the back don't light up like Karacho's though, which is a shame... The maintenance area below is huge! You guessed it; through the trees! That silhouette is just so pretty My favourite part of the ride The double loop is quite high Twisteeeh!

Oops, my bad for not checking my facts It felt and looked like a Mack though excluding the restraints. This one uses shared lapbar for both riders but doesn't Mack (and Gerstlauer) use single lapbars for each rider? Oh right, I did ride that! Just forgot it completely since I don't have any photos of it. Now that you mention, it was one of the most bizarre dark rides I've ridden, including the cars themselves. I had no idea what to expect but I don't think anything could prepare me for it But the boobs looked like they were censored, which is a bummer (I could be wrong though, I can't recall that clearly).

I've heard multiple rave reviews about Expedition GeForce and its magical first drop, and now I finally got the time to visit Holiday Park. It was a quick weekend trip to Frankfurt via plane (2 and a half hour flight from Helsinki). I stayed in Hotel Bristol, only a couple of blocks away from the main railway station in Frankfurt. Though I was travelling alone, the room was cheap and clean, but what really blew me away was the awesome breakfast (which was served from 6.30am to 2pm!). I arrived on Friday evening and bought train tickets before hitting the bed to gather strength for the coming day. On Saturday I woke up early to stuff myself at the breakfast and took a train to Holiday Park. I could not have picked a better day to visit: weather was super pretty (+33 Celsius) but crowds were extremely light! Maximum time I waited for any ride was the log flume (25min), all other were a one or two rides waiting time (yes, even GeForce!). The only downside was that Sky Scream had been closed all week and would continue to be closed a couple of days even after my visit, so that's one missed credit. But hey, what can you do? Everything else was so perfect that I don't actually mind. Staff was average with good and bad examples, but the scenery was beautiful! Most of the park is surrounded by tall trees that provide shade. About Expedition GeForce: first ride in the front was good but didn't blow me away. It was only the second train of the day so I knew I must give a little slack. However, I immediately returned to the line and tried in the back... It was OMFG-level of airtime right from the end of the lift hill! The first drop was even better than I could have ever imagined and now I truly understand why it's considered as one of the best! Not only is it steep (83 deg) but the twist really throws you around in a good way. I knew the layout by hand before, but it's always fun to see the surroundings of the ride in place. In videos of GeForce you can't really see how it travels most of the time way above street level and the first airtime hill after first drop is actually pretty high! My day ended with a triple-bonus-round ride as the whole train was chanting for more! In the end, I can't yet decide between GeForce and Helix about which is better... Both are long and tall, but GeForce has an awesome first drop that Helix lacks, but then Helix offers powerful inversions and an awesome soundtrack... I gotta try and squeeze a visit to Liseberg soon to make a fair comparison (This is probably the most fun I've ever had trying to decide anything! I love my hobby) Good Morning Holiday Park! Notice the lack of crowds though it's only a few minutes before opening Another shot of the entrance (taken when I was leaving the park) I wonder what I should ride first.... just kidding! To the belly of the beast straight away! But the real question is to ride in the front or in the back... welp, both of course! Now THIS is a sight to see! Almost zero crowds to one of the best coasters! Yep, it's tall That first drop, though. My instant favourite Intamin makes steel pretty Gotta go fast! These are all taken from the footpaths right below the track. I love how well it has integrated with the surroundings! These are the magic buttons to press for major fun! For those of us who are interested in what's hiding under the train After the last ride of the day. You may now rest for you have done good. For those of us who like lift hills (I like cable ones myself:) ) Next up, Anubis free fall tower I've heard that Anubis is some sort of a famous TV show for teenagers. They played clips of it on the queue Not my tallest tower, but delivers. Intamin sure knows how to make them good. What struck me though is how silent it is. Kingi at Linnanmäki (Moser drop) makes such dramatic noises and has music playing, while this was just simple and brutal: up fast, down faster, next ones please! They did have some sort of trouble which caused one car to descend very slowly. Local maintenance payed a visit and after two empty runs everything was back up and running again. My favourite thing about it though was the crowds' non-existent reaction; no-one questioned the safety of the ride or wanted to leave! Everyone was just okay about it, and I think it's awesome! Here are some more magic buttons of joy! Later on the day it was a walk-on! Holly's Wilde Autofahrt was your everyday Mack Wild Mouse. Good fun for the whole family, if a bit rough due to slipping seats and strong laterals. This was all I saw about Sky Fly. Nice location and it'll be the other one of the two rides in the park that invert. I see two tracks, but neither have a moving train. Looks good and I wish I could've gotten to experience the haunted queue Bummer to the majorth degree, but like I said, everything else was perfect so it made up this loss. Looks good though. Star Flyer, it was surreal to see mountains in the horizon way above treeline (something I'm not used to) HUSS Pirate. Wait what's that on the lake? More on that later... The log flume had a backwards drop which was actually tall and steep! It was also nicely themed to Wickie the Viking The drop left me dry though. One could even say it was "an acceptable amount of water" Oh my GeForce you have beautiful curves Through the trees! This was my meal: Wienerschnitzel. The orange juice was a bit overpriced but in the heat it tasted godlike. A random show I saw that had snakes, spiders, scorpions and a lady laying on shattered glass! It was much better than the other show with farm animals. But this show really blew me away! I had heard it's good but oh boy it was awesome! And to think it was included in the already cheap entrance price (29€)! Zombie-übersetzer was my favourite character! Simply hilarious! So yeah, it had multiple waterskiing zombies. And explosions. And pyros. And other stunts. But I never imagined I'd see a burning zombie riding a jetski! The show also had whacky and awesome humor, so if you are at the park GO SEE THIS! I'd say it's as good as GeForce as a reason to visit the park! Donnerfluss the rapids ride was fast but left me dry as well. The kids area was themed to Maja the Bee, another licensed character. Didn't try the rides but the area was pretty! As was other theming in the park as well. Some final GeForce photos. Because I know you like these as much as I do These happy riders are ascending to heaven! Finally, some photos from Frankfurt. I could stay here. I like this. And some people say Helsinki is hard to find yourself around (check Helsinki subway line if you don't believe me!) Just so pretty. And European. I could frame this shot on my wall. Happy on the river Main Skyscrapers, I will miss you (we have none in Finland). Beautiful square More beautifulness Really though, do I have to go back home? Can't I stay here? Here's final shot of Frankfurt. Thank you for reading

If everything goes well, I'll be testing Junker in a week, but I also have another trip coming in the end of July. Can't wait to get to ride it! Maybe the time of Tornado's title as the best coaster in Finland is over?

For me the perfect coaster is Helix. It has decent length, both airtime and inversions with only a lapbar and comfortable trains in general. Its design clearly shows a lot of thought put into it (for example the curve before the first launch that was moved in order to save the super old tree) and there's even a video about the iteration process Helix went through: . The queue and station are one of the best I've been in and the music is superb. The mechanics' side is also presented as it has a large maintenance area, and I've heard that every time a train arrives at the station, a bar test is done automatically before the bars open! It's super fast and indistinguishable, plus it adds so much to the safety as it's done every time and not just once a day before opening. Praise Helix

Sorry for double posting, but a small press event aired today on TV. It has a small interview with the park's technical supervisor and you can see a bit of the inside of the station as well as POV of the ride (although a bit potato-quality). The interview is in finnish and it's mostly about the construction process and testing, some specs about the track and the ride's effect on human body. In the end of the video the reporter agrees with the tech supervisor that the ride is intense but very smooth. Check out the video (POV starts at 2:56)

The park posted on Instagram that Junker will open 30.5.! (That's two weeks sooner than first planned) Let me just take a quick look at my schedule to squeeze in a visit

Wow that was FAST! Would you happen to know did they launch the car all the way through the course or with limited speed to not crest the tophat?

Looks like the track is complete! (Or at least what I can tell from the webcam) It looks like a beast, just like I imagined! Can't wait until June for this to open and to see it in person. It's taller than their ferris wheel so it should be very visible when approaching the park.

Sorry for double posting, but trains have arrived! I hope the lights in the back illuminate like Karacho's as they are very similar. Also yay for lapbar only! Source

New twisty bits of track have gone up! The overbanked looks funky and fun, and the turn before the final corkscrew isn't bad either

A few that came to my mind: Tulireki - Linnanmäki Tornado - Särkänniemi Junker - PowerPark Helix - Liseberg Lisebergbanan - Liseberg

I was super excited about Kärnan when I realized the lift and first drop are vertical, but apart from the first element, Kärnan's layout seems a bit boring. But I could be wrong, we'll have to wait and see how the rest of it comes. Junker however has that awesome bridge-interaction, a close-by passing of the nearby restaurant and a water body underneath. Not to mention all the other path interactions we'll see when it's completed. That and the fact that Junker is a bit closer than Kärnan makes me decide on Junkers favour. On another note, we have tophat! You can also see from the webcam that the first loop is starting to take shape Source

The other half of the tophat has received some track. Looking better every day Here are the links for the webcams again www.powerpark.fi/ukkostutka/webcam1.jpg www.powerpark.fi/ukkostutka/webcam2.jpg

They are working hard, a bunch of new supports and a little bit of track have gone up in just a couple of days! I must say, Junker looks better every day, I didn't think that the double-inversion around the Kwai-bridge would be so high

First pieces of track have gone up! Oh my yes that tophat looks tall!

I'm also interested to see the spinning in action! It's been made clear that it differs from ZacSpins so I'm waiting for videos and reviews about this. I myself like ZacSpins due to their unexpected balance-possibilities and I don't even think they're that rough. But I can easily believe that there are many who disagree with me on that. It'll be exciting to see what kind of reviews this gets.

Wow, this project really got a PR boost jump after a very uneventful winter! PowerPark has provided two webcam links to follow the construction. Webcam #1 Webcam #2 This picture was taken today. It shows clearly where the ride is going. You can see the bridge has a restaurant in the end. Imagine watching this beast roll by while dining! I just wonder where the entrance to the queue will be and how it will be connected to the rest of the park, as the station's location is kinda remote. But considering this is PowerPark, they'll probably add more rides and other stuff to incorporate this area to the rest of the park in the coming few years, as it's the way they have been doing it so far. I really like that they show long-term planning (as opposed to a few other parks I've seen in the last few years...).

Here's a better(?) translation of the announcement: This summer PowerPark in Alahärmä will open the most thrilling rollercoaster in Northern Europe. Junker will accelerate guests from 0 to 100km/h in just 1,9 seconds, thus accelerating even faster than a F1-car which takes over two seconds. After the launch riders are taken 40 meters almost straight up high above Northern Ostrobothnia (*local area). Riders plunge from the heights back to the ground and into a couple of loops, one of which dives into an underwater tunnel and back up again. This high speed track is 860m long and riders experience up to 4,5Gs. Junker is currently under construction in PowerPark. The ride is so big that it takes about 70 trucks to deliver the parts from Germany. The ride is supposed to open mid-June. Junker will be the 6th coaster in PowerPark so the supply is broad. The pride of the park and guest-favourite ride Thunderbird has been ranked top-10 and it's also the most northern wooden coaster in the world. Junker has a custom layout to fit PowerPark and thus it's a unique experience. "Junker is unique. The new ride is a significant factor in the development of the park. We believe that it will be an unforgettable experience, which will attract guests not only from Finland, but from abroad as well. It will provide a great addition to our summer." says Mikko Kiviluoma, director of PowerPark. Junker does not only provide riders with 4,5Gs, but it will also feature an underwater tunnel. With top speed Junker rises from the tunnel to twist and turn in all directions. The ending provides thrilling stop with the use of powerful magnets. "Junker leaves no riders unthrilled no matter how much of an adrenaline junkie you are. Although the ride is wild and G-forces push you into the seat, it's all happening inside safety boundaries. The ride follows restrictions set by an experienced and valued manufacturer. The ride is thoroughly tested before opening." says Kiviluoma. Junker is made by German Gerstlauer Amusement Rides GmbH, one of the leading and most valued roller coaster manufacturers. Their rides can be found all over the world including Legolands in Europe and other parks in USA and Japan. Power Park is known as a fun state for the whole world to provide thrills for everyone. This year's new ride for the younger ones is TagaJ. In this spinning and wobbling rides kids can blow off some steam while playing with other children. Another article mentions that Junker is the most expensive investment so far but the price isn't mentioned. ------------------------- Wow that launch is fast! Also the name Junker refers to an airplane company Junkers, but it's also a pun towards the local people living near the park like mentioned. Maybe this'll mean that it'll have airplane-themed cars like Karacho? I certainly wouldn't mind even if they'd look the same! The TagaJ looks like a kiddie-version of Tagada. I'd like to try that as well, but I guess adults can't ride... Source

We have vertical construction! Source: Finnish forum Looks like it will have green track and white supports. Awesome!

Oh yeah, I didn't even remember that the park has an artificial water body right there! Comparing my picture from last summer to the picture of the construction area, it looks like the area with black gravel could be covered with water. You can barely see the blue ride on the construction photo, which is the same ride as the one in my photo. You can also see the wooden pier on the right to help connect the photos. Although only about a meter of water (three feet), the reflection effect will still be there. The water ride also shares the same water body, but it has concrete walls as well to prevent other than surface water from interacting with the ride. Anyway, the coaster will look even more awesome with reflections and an underwater tunnel! Just imagine going through the norwegian-loop -element, wrapping twice around the bridge, all this while also traveling above water

Looking very good indeed! I'm very excited to have a proper launch-coaster finally in Finland (well we have a Zamperla MotoCoaster but...) and a tophat as well! It doesn't matter to me whether this will use Infinity of Euro-Fighter trains, but if they look nearly as cool as Karacho's, it'll be a new centerpiece for Power Park for sure. But wait, there's more good news: somebody on the finnish forum published a panorama taken from the new Kwai-bridge: (Source http://www.huvipuistoseura.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1474&sid=059d5bc94230ba73f961cd552db05695&start=30) Judging from the footers and what I guess will be the new station building, it looks like the double-loop-thingamajig will go around the Kwai-bridge, twice! Then the tophat will be near the entrance road to the park and provide excitement to everyone. Also the last dive loop seems to dive into a trench like Karacho. Track colour appears to be green (me like!) As if I wasn't already going to visit Power Park because of Thunderbird, this new beast could even get a place in my top-10! Literally cannot wait for this to start going vertical

Ensiferum - One Man Army \,,/

We are just as excited in the finnish equivalent of TPR forums! Sadly there aren't too many enthusiasts living nearby to take any pics of the construction. Although I guess there hasn't been much vertical work done yet due to winter, just pouring and curing of the concrete footings. I'd guess this coaster won't open with the park, but a few months later, during June. But let's hope I'm wrong and this beast is already conquerable right from the beginning of the season!