simon8899

As the today "big" parks are around since the 50s in the US and the 70s in europe they had enough time to add and add more fun over the years. If you want to open a new park to rival the "old" ones you need an enormous investment... From my location major new resorts are announced to be built at Warsawa, Poland and in Andalus, Spain - the later one by Paramount Parks - lets see if this projects will be made....

Part 3: From XXL-Swing to Top-Spin XXL is swinging 47 meters up at 100 km/h - big fun. Beer-tent! Nice to see a Round-Up on a carnival - sadly it gathered nearly no visitors. A refitted Schwarzkopf Monster 3 to have four gondolas instead of the regular five on each arm - add to this new engines at the end of the arms the gondolas now spin 20 percent faster. This close you stand on the red line.... Sitting inside with a nice view onto some hot paintings on the central hub.... View down the aisle.... View up to the 60 meter ferris-wheel. Frisbee in full swing - and again I saw a girl puking on this one. Break Dancer "Happy Traveller" to the left and a Wild Mouse in the center. Old-style non-inversion swing "Looping the Loops". Happy Traveller featured some unique roofs over the dancing gondolas. Mousing going on - this one operated by Kinzler IMO a little smoother than the Barth mouse. One of three bumper cars making a lot of fog... Huss Top-Spin. Another view of the Kinzler' Wild Mouse. Top-Spin up front. Top-Spin and Wild Mouse standing side by side - with bumper cars and the Happy Traveller to the right off the picture. They really packed tons of rides... A uniquely half-roofed Shaker called Commander. Continued tomorrow with pics from the ferris wheel - of Alpina Bahn - and the rides in their full illumination during the evening....

Part 2: Euro-Coaster to Höllenblitz First up was the quite unique inverted mouse Euro-Coaster. According to the german website Fahrgeschäfts-Datenbank this coaster was made by french company Reverchon. The cars were quite comfy as they were swinging out in the turns. When you rush down the small drops to nearly ground level are of course the best moments... Woooooosh.....but very family-friendly coaster. Front view. Airwolf in full swing. It was roumored the ride would be sold to a park but the owner made it clear that he has no plans to sell the ride. A back view of the classic Rotor. This is the first Rotor built in the early 50s - and since 1969 operated by showmen Pluschies. The english Wiki article therefore is quite incorrect - this is the last travelling Rotor... The 1907' Toboggan slide. Inside the Rotor, The current Rotor front with LED lights - more evening pics soon. During its live the Rotor already featured fronts by Schwarzkopf and Mack - this current one was made by Dietz. The indoor coaster Höllenblitz! Höllenblitz train swooooshing by - in this only short outdoor passage you can get wet by the waterfall...

Bremen Freimarkt - Oct 15th Bremen Freimarkt is one of the oldest funfairs in germany - this year the 376th time - and since the 60s divided into the "Classic Freimarkt" located at the historc city center square and the "Freimarkt" on the Bürgerweide (citizens park) right next to the central station were all the spacious modern rides reside. Part 1: Classic Freimarkt On the way to the city center for the Classic Freimarkt... View over the city square with a classic ferris-wheel and merry-go-round. Wonderfully maintained merry-go-round. The memorial of the founding knight is each year "conquered" with ballons and a huge Lebkuchen heart during the opening of Freimarkt. View from the other side of the city square. Musicians playing medieval music. On most areas of the city center its allowed during Freimarkt to make music or sell stuff flea-market like - an old Allemanns Recht (all-mans right) during Freimarkt. View into one of the historic streets - this one leading from the city square to the river Weser. Like the rest of the city center this is part of Unesco World Heritage. Another beautiful view of the classic Freimarkt. A tram is worming its way through the crowds on city square... Finally - before venturing on the the "new" Freimarkt" - a view at Beck's were the beer comes from.

I already made a threat about how slow some US ride operations are considering the number of ride attendants.... Had it again at Hansa-Park and at the Bremen carnival that most newer rides have red/green LEDs showing if the restraints are locked and the attendat only does visual inspection and only pushes the restaint if someone has it to loosely closed - and the same also goes for older rides without LEDs....on the Schwarzkopf trains for example the ride operator doesn't get a green light on his console unless all lapbars are closed and locked.... But well....you've got to be patient and endure it.....

The are called "Liebesexpress" or Love Express in germany as teens love to make out under the closed cars....and bystanders cheer out when they're catched kissing when the covering opens....

The Gerstelauer loops strongly remind me of the Schwarzkopf loops - well at Gestelauer work mostly engineers who got unemployed when Schwarzkopf KG went bancrupt....

Schwarzkopf' Alpina Bahn at Bremen Freimaak - PhotoTR soon...

Most of these aren't really new concepts so I won't travel to them on purpuse.... I've to agree on the B&M wingcoasters - for me they look like X2 "lite" - but also still have to ride my fist of those, but won't travel for them.... If Knoebels would finally finish their Flying Turns....that would be something to check out...I've read that their new cars are too heavy for the classic design....well as those coasters in the past were not know to be deathtraps I'd suggest to strip them down....but I guess that isn't possible with the fixation on sometimes too much security overseas...

I most likely do London and Thorpe in 2013....thanks for your pics.

Great PhotoTR! I'd love to do the S&S Screaming Squirrell as I love Rangers and Inverters - and as you really hang upside down I think its more compareable to those rides than your ordinary looping coaster - but I love the hanging upside down.... How was Raptor and Magic Mountain? The similar Vekoma at Efteling had a very hard bang in the traverse between the loops and corkscrews which the one at Heide-Park is missing - wonder how this one rates on the banging-scle?

Yes, the Nessie speed meter is still there - and this year it actually worked.... Tomorrow I'm out to Bremen - also in Lower Saxonia - to the Freimarkt, a funfair thats around over 700 years with the Alpina Bahn as main attraction but also featuring a classic Rotor....

I guess they won't be much smoother as the bangs would be still bad.... On the other hand coasters would be much taller as the gravity is lower....on the other hand you'd compensate for the heavy EVA suits....

Weather: expect rain and pack warm clothes Rides: do Colossos first, Krake during lunch hours, if you like flats visit Hussland behind Colossos Culture: attendats most likely only speak german - no english - as its a minimum wage job here

You've problems..... The Nessie at Hanspark is as old as I am.....

Sommerland Syd has only about 4 months of operations so maybe thats the reason for an error. On the other hand its mostly a small park aimed to families with smaller children. The Invertigo is a little out of place and only runs every 15 minutes - so they maybe sold it to a bigger park.

Judging from the artwork it'll most likely be a Zierer Force Three or Five - maybe similar to the Feuerdrache at Legoland Germany. On the track layout artwork I somehow miss the announced drop element....

De Vliegende Hollander at Efteling is a real coaster as its always running on the tubular rails - even in the water. The Mack watercoasters are more like Bobsled-coasters as they're running inside a steel canal - but as boblsed-coasters count I'd count those Mack-like watercoasters also. On counting coasters: You're right that everyone counts different. For example on duelling coasters if I ride both tracks those are two credits for me - and I also count bayerncurves as they're powered coasters for me even if they're not listed in RCDB.

P.S.: Looks like the Frisbee you pictured is for sale: http://www.fab.lu/index.php?id=74&L=2&tx_ttnews[pointer]=2&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=39&tx_ttnews[backPid]=73&cHash=be931b765c

Overall I say that for germans its cheaper to do the same rides on a local carnival as hotel prices in munich skyrocket during Oktoberfest - but if you're from overseas you've to do it! Some notes on your pictures: Parkour is a remade Schwarzkopf Monster 3 and is quite cool IMO. Techno-Power is one of the most intense flats in germany - a must-do! Playball is a Huss Flipper - aka "pinball machine". The price for Olympia Looping is by far highest at Oktoberfest - in Hamburg last time it cost €5,50 (USD 7) a ride - in Hamburg rides are not allowed to change prices with varying crowds. And its normally not that packed at other carnivals - in Hamburg on weekend sunny days they've at most two trains running - on slower but still sunny weekdays its one train and you've to wait quite some time till the train is at least half full. If it someday will become stationary it'll most likely end up in Taunus Wunderland which the Barth family operates. Did you visit the Teufelsrad and the Hexenhaus? Also must-do rides at Oktoberfest! @sfog1985 Three possible reasons for this: First, germany to much more compact than the US - the moving can be done overnight. Second: The actual moving is done by train which is far more efficient than by truck - only the way from the fairground to the cargo-trainstation is done by truck. Thrid: The fairgrounds are normally huge empty spaces, mostly leftovers from city fires, that are only used for carnivals or circusses - aside from that they're nearly empty parking-lots - so ride construction can take weeks without problems....this is what the Hamburg fairground looks like most of the year, its right next to famous Reeperbahn: http://www.nivek.ch/berlin/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/298_heiligengeistfeld.jpg

I need to do Cedar Point some day.....but not on a day with such rediciously long lines.... I normally skip a ride if the line is longer than 20 minutes.....except it's a one-in-a-liftime chance like at last springs Knotts.... What I like is that some european parks now start with a "all seats MUST be filled" policy on busy days - if anyone doesn't want to he/she MUST immedialty exit. Thats something I hope more parks will enforce.

I'm happy you liked my "home park" Hansa-Park. The Fluch is great and the Schwarzkopf with lapbars a real classic - even ran with two trains in the afternoon on a sunny day two weeks ago.... On the Bayerncurve: It was formerly named "Metroliner" and was built by BHS - Bavarian Steelworks - after designs by Schwarzkopf. I count it as a powered coaster. P.S.: Did you do the "Fliegender Hai" Ranger? And the "Sturmvogel" - which underside you pictured - is an old Schwarzkopf Zwunka. Sad you hit Heidepark with Colossos down - it's by far, far, far their best coaster. For me the best woodie...

I'd count it 2 credits. As we count each Boomerang or Wild Mouse I also count duelling coasters or the Matternhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland as 2 credits - of course to have ride both tracks!

The wooden panels are doors and the queue is temproarily closed with staffmembers if they transfer a train.

Some bonus Nessie pics from last thrusday.... The only loop - but with lapbars only.... Helix before get swallowed by the sea-serpent.... And here you get "pooped out". The final break is inside a pitch-black tunnel and the walls are lined with strobe-lights: The rapid flashes nearly blind you and the breaks make helluva noise! I really like this coaster - in the front car you're nearly weightless inside the loop, in the back car you get airtime at every drop....