DaveDowning

My thoughts exactly. Track was supposed to be visible days later, so they announced it. Also, there is not much sense in Opening new areas in that short frequency. Klugheim and Taron still pull in major crowds. No need to get the next thing up that quickly. Plus we don't know what else might pop up in Rookburgh. There's a good chance that there will be another family-focused attraction added to it. Or a replacement for Lilaque, or both.

Thats not a Mack. It's made by Maurer Söhne, which is a completely different company. Indeed, many Macks do have the reputation of being forceless, even though there are examples that show another face (I'm thinking of Lost Gravity and especially Helix). This ride will be a whole different beast and most likely awesome.

Still trying for steady shots, its really an amazing place on earth ! Oh yes, it is. I sooo fell in love with it. Mostly because it's such a soothing experience for a theme park. The landscaping is just beautiful, and the whole park encourages you to go slow, take in the beauty of it all and not rush from ride to ride, like many other parks do. So relaxing and nice. Friendly staff, great prices for food and drinks, the overall feeling of it is just so much better than most european and american parks. For me, the visit made Efteling my new number one park in Europe, the coasters might not be the biggest, the rides not the most super-innovative (though Symbolica really, really impressed me - especially comparing it to the "big" dark rides at Disney or Universal), but the whole package is just so good. Fried potatoes on a stick with loads of cheese and salt? YAY! Good ol dutch kibbeling with tasty sauce? Yes, thats there to. The amazing dutch version of Fanta which is the best soda drink on earth? Yes, they have that... Even the beer selection is great. Great crowd as well - I can't wait to go back - and probably will do so in winter.

I visited Efteling on Thursday on a relatively non-crowded day (maximum wait was 20 Minutes on Baron during peak times, and that was with Joris being down for maintenance). There was nothing implemented on Python, which had a 5 minute wait only anyways. Symbolica was wonderful, a lovely experience, though I still can't get the thought out of my head that Pardoes (the park mascot, which is represented in Animatronics, as well as walking acts) is just the kind of character that should have a machete behind is back and be a creepy halloween character. Anyways, they ride is wonderful, with great scenes and attention to detail. I would rate it above most dark rides I experienced so far, especially better than the Potter rides at Universal. Had my first rides on Baron also, which is great but could use a bit more height. All in all, Efteling is just a lovely park. I didn't take enough Photos to justify a fully-fledged trip report, but still a few good ones, although they are from my iPhone, so don't expect too much. Baron looking dramatic... Upside down is always a good thing... A bit too late after the last train of the day passed through, but still a nice shot Symbolica is so beautiful !

There was a concept made for Tripsdrill years ago (you can find it here, in german http://alexkorting.de/old/Portfolio/Themepark/Tripsdrill_Flyer/Tripsdrill_Flyer3.html ) basically, you start in normal position with a dark ride part, then you have an effect where something drops down onto you and your seat is tilted backwards, then you get launched out. Sounds like a good idea to me.

I would add a few dollars to that bet. That thing is done and dusted. A few years ago I would have said never ever ever...but nope... After they put in the launched flyer, Temple will go and sadly, Hollywood Tour as well. But guys, it is a freaking launched flying coaster, the longest of its kind and a worlds first, it will have phenomenal theming, it will have a restaurant, probably might even have another hotel added, it's announced less than a year after the last coaster opened to the public. Come on! What more can you do??? Just imagine what people thought of Klugheim before it was done and what they made out of that. It will be so awesome. It will be world class. It will beat Disney, it will beat Universal. I know I sound bold but I know this park, every stone in this park. I know what they can do. This will be something else. Count on my words.

Well f.. "chuckles" , ah I mean "unicorns!" My home park makes me so proud. That is my money, my loyalty in terms of attendance over years and spent well. Thank you so much Phantasialand. I am so grateful for that. A lauchned flyer. What has been made fun of in all german forums for years finally gets real. I can not believe it!

Just as a reminder here. Loopings.nl is not exactly a reliable source. Or to be more precise, the opposite of that. So take that info with a grain of salt.

Update from Phantasialand on the new theming of RiverQuest (quite sure that name will stay). Sadly, no English blog, but the pictures speak for themselves. https://phantasialandblog.de/river-quest-in-stein-gemeisselt/

Jesus, all that hate and envy. Unbelievable. I can easily imagine those people sitting at their computers full of envy for Robb and his team. "Oh this guy gets to travel the world and make a living of posting content about Theme Parks" - thinking that it's just all play, no hard work, and having no idea how that actually works. Voicing a strong opinion on the internet is always something that might get you brutal relapse from idiots. In my experience, once they meet you face-to-face, they'll start "trying to talk about it" and make sure "they didn't mean it the way it came across", etc. etc.. Just dumb excuses for behaving like an asshole when behind a keyboard and a few thousand miles away from the guy you're attacking. I am neither a very active member of this forum, nor have I ever been to a TPR trip, but still, I have respect for dealing with this the way you did it. It's bold and most importantly, it shows that TPR is not dependent on the trips to make money. This probably causes the most hate The whole "coaster enthusiast" mindset is something I can not understand at all, especially since I know the other side of the fence, so to say, but in another business. Having a so called "enthusiast" come up to you and tell you how to do your job (which they have no idea about), is one of the most difficult situations you can face in nearly every profession.

In my opinion Tarons Trains are by far the most comfortable ones I´ve ridden, and I´ve been on most of the competitors trains. You don´t really notice at all that there is a restraint, except for strong airtime moments, where they keep you in the seat. Very pleasant, very gentle, easy to board, plus the raised seats and dangling feet are cool in a non-floorless train as well.

Intamin LSM. I love the Cheetah Hunt launch sound. But my favourite must be Taron. Short video: But it´s much more audible in this pov, especially the second launch. Especially when your not on the coaster, it´s also incredibly loud and adds a lot of atmosphere to the area.

Sorry for the delay in answering, but I have some great input for you. First of all, if your coming in on the 28th and staying onsite for two nights, you´ll have TWO EVENINGS of ERT for Hotel Guests and Passholders on Taron and Raik - and the whole Klugheim Area. If your daughter can ride Colorado, I´m sure she can ride Raik as well which is awesome, especially with that ERT access, and Klugheim in the dark. Plus, you can go mad on Taron. As I said, I managed to tuck in about 15-25 rides in one hour, I just lost count because it was so awesome to stay seated on that coaster. I wasn´t even sure if that was still being done as I used the passholder ERT weeks ago (it´s only allowed once per passholder, so the lines stay non existent. This is really a "stay seated or walk around back to the staion" ERT.), but as I found out, I thought I´d have to tell you that this is a thing. Use it. Ignore Klugheim for the rest of the day. This is your chance to ride one of the best coasters on this planet as many times as you can stand it. Regarding the rest of the park, it´s actually quite simple. Temple of the Nighthawk rarely is a problem, even on busy days. That ride never goes over 5 minutes waiting as it is basically a boring rollercoaster in the dark. Take your kids on Würmling Express - it´s much more fun with small Children. Hollywood Tour might get them scared, but theres still other wonderful kiddie rides that are worth checking out around Wuze Town (the Drop Ride in there and also the Winjas) and the whole Fantasy Area. Colorado should not be a problem if you tackle it either early in the morning or in the afternoon. It will be crowded during lunch time though, as the main food outlets are close to it and many people think it´s a good idea to ride that after lunch. When staying on-site on weekends, with kids, be aware that the hotels offer loads of stuff and also entertainment for the kids. While the locals come in with their kids to ride everything at 9 am, chances are quite good that they´ll leave around 2-3pm as the kids get tired. That is the point where you should go into the park and smile while all the other families leave.

Ok, the 28th will suck, but you´ll get the park done in 2 days (or do you go three?). Traveling with kids and staying on-site, I would go in early and do the Fantasy Area with the kids, take a break and return to the park in the afternoon, because the day visitors (mostly those with kids) tend to leave earlier because the kids get tired. The school holiday situation should be ok by the 28th weekend, and a big advantage is that there´s no halloween event, so the 29th could turn out calm. Also be aware that there is "babyswitch" available, I don´t know how it works, but just ask at the hotel. As far as I understand it you and a partner can queue once, and each of you can ride, while the other watches the kids.

At the moment any visit on the weekend should be highly discouraged. There are three reasons for it (plus good weather): a) School Holidays b) Season comes to an end, so the 2-for-1 tickets handed out earlier in the year need to be used c) Taron Some things from today: Packed beyond relief on a Sunday in October (never saw that before). Taron at 90-120mins (never saw that before in October), all others > 30 min (also never saw that in October). Also loads of fans and enthusiasts in the park. Update on the building site: Drill is in place.

I must say, Phantasialand: Black Mamba + Taron plus Colorado + Raik Other great one-two´s: BGT: Montu + Kumba Liseberg: Helix + Balder Gardaland: Raptor + Oblivion

Oh yeah, let´s start that ridiculous debate on an international forum. Please. Just stop. I was pointing out the scene and especially the good locations, no need for a "burger-battle" on TPR.

Yes, very good input by Mr. Taron. His input is as good as the coaster by the same name But still, one more thing I really want to stress is that there are a bunch of awesome burger joints in Cologne. It really is a little scene and if you want a great dinner, go to Freddy Schilling (https://www.freddyschilling.de/), die fette Kuh (http://www.diefettekuh.de/) or Beef Brothers (http://www.beef-brothers.de/). You´ll find local pubs and great areas for nightlife nearby. My personal recommendation is Freddy´s (they even make their Ketchup in-house) but everyone´s got his own taste.

It really depends on what you want to do. If you´re just there to ride Taron as much as you can, do what flaffstar said. But (and this is a big BUT), if you want to experience the whole park I would advise you to tackle it the other way around. Get there early, head to the Fantasy Area first and ride both Winjas. Most of the people come in through the entrance next to Klugheim and will head there first anyways. This will give you space and short waiting times at the other end of the park, where Winjas are. Then, work your way from there, through Berlin (whatever you want to ride there, but please, please do Hotel Tartüff, it´s awesome), do Black Mamba and Colorado, maybe Tikal and Talocan if you´re into flats and be done with all the coasters except for Taron and Raik by lunch time. Between 12 and 1 o´clock is the absolutely best time to ride Taron on a busy day. Raik will nearly always have a long queue as it´s low capacity and many people don´t realize it´s a family ride. I even rode with people who didn´t understand that it doesn´t have a launch Then, decide if you want more rides on Taron, or do Mystery Castle and River Quest. Then, consider going back to the Fantasy Area to ride the absolutely awesome Hollywood Tour. Also, I wouldn´t be too worried with the crowds this coming Monday. Of course, it´s a holiday, but Phantasialand has started to become absolutely unpredictable with crowds. I´ve often been there on weekends just for Taron and it was less busy than, for example, yesterday, but usually everybody just goes to Taron and Klugheim. Yesterday was a good example for that. Everything was a 5-10 minute wait, but Taron was at 45-50 minutes. Still, I´ve seen these times at the weekend and on holidays as well. Maybe, but just maybe you should consider taking a ride on Chiapas. Absolutely. I didn´t think of it as I already rode it soooo many times

It really depends on what you want to do. If you´re just there to ride Taron as much as you can, do what flaffstar said. But (and this is a big BUT), if you want to experience the whole park I would advise you to tackle it the other way around. Get there early, head to the Fantasy Area first and ride both Winjas. Most of the people come in through the entrance next to Klugheim and will head there first anyways. This will give you space and short waiting times at the other end of the park, where Winjas are. Then, work your way from there, through Berlin (whatever you want to ride there, but please, please do Hotel Tartüff, it´s awesome), do Black Mamba and Colorado, maybe Tikal and Talocan if you´re into flats and be done with all the coasters except for Taron and Raik by lunch time. Between 12 and 1 o´clock is the absolutely best time to ride Taron on a busy day. Raik will nearly always have a long queue as it´s low capacity and many people don´t realize it´s a family ride. I even rode with people who didn´t understand that it doesn´t have a launch Then, decide if you want more rides on Taron, or do Mystery Castle and River Quest. Then, consider going back to the Fantasy Area to ride the absolutely awesome Hollywood Tour. Also, I wouldn´t be too worried with the crowds this coming Monday. Of course, it´s a holiday, but Phantasialand has started to become absolutely unpredictable with crowds. I´ve often been there on weekends just for Taron and it was less busy than, for example, yesterday, but usually everybody just goes to Taron and Klugheim. Yesterday was a good example for that. Everything was a 5-10 minute wait, but Taron was at 45-50 minutes. Still, I´ve seen these times at the weekend and on holidays as well.

As you might already know, Phantasialand offers a ERT on Taron and Raik for annual passholders. Yesterday, I was happy to use that and spent the early evening enjoying the themed land - and most of all, Taron. During these 60 minutes, I did 12 rides on Taron, which was hauling. Doing 8 rounds of just staying seated. And as you might expect, it was awesome! Now, as some of you might know, Passholder events like this are not really usual here, so this felt really special. And the experience was wonderful. Klugheim at dusk really is a thing. The level of service provided by Phantasialand really caught me off guard. Great food offers, two brand-new coasters which were walk-on most of the time and the whole atmosphere was just amazing. I know this park well, but this evening really got me off guard. I know most people will expect pictures but I didn´t snap any. I was busy riding. Which is better than taking pictures anyway.

I feel so sorry that you couldn´t experience it in its full glory This is a topic that has been discussed on German boards as well, and there is still no one who can tell - but I also noticed that from the beginning till the middle of August the ride ran a lot slower and less forceful than it did before (I go there every other weekend or whenever time permits as I bought the season pass to ride Taron until I think it´s boring). Luckily, this seems to be over, or at least Taron was back to it´s old self when I rode it last weekend. The ejector air is back, the very first camelback has wonderful airtime, the speed is the same..but thats just my personal subjective thinking. I guess they are still figuring out how to deliver the same experience for every rider, no matter what the weather is like, how late in the day it is etc.

I really wish I could understand why people keep saying that Helix has "great inversions." I feel like it has the same style of inversion over and over and over and over again and really makes for a boring and repetitive experience. Aside from the forceless launches, that was probably my other big complaint about the ride. Well, at least to me they all felt different. At least if I compare them to a ride like the Smiler that feels like dive-loop after dive-loop. But again, I guess it´s a matter of taste. I agree on the forceless launches. I guess my favourite part is the ejector hill after the second launch. Like I already said, for me and many of the people I know who have ridden, the setting plays a huge role in the "hype" regarding Helix. And I´m quite sure that Wildfire craps all over it in terms of setting and intensity.

EXPEDITION GEFORCE!?!? It craps all over Helix. Totally forgot about that one. Probably because Holiday Park is so close and I don´t visit it often as it has nothing except for GeForce, which is awesome. As for Helix, I think that´s a matter of taste. For me the combination of the setting, the forces and the dramaturgy of the ride make it a top ride. It has great inversions, ejector air and hangtime in a great combination. I know that many, many people are especially in love with the setting on the hillside. My current number one in Europe is Taron, but I haven´t ridden Wildfire yet.

If you are only into great coasters, I´d say Phantasialand, Liseberg and Hansa Park are your best Options at the moment. Europa Park is awesome, but the coasters are really not that impressive overall if you judge them in terms of intensity. Europa itself is an awesome park, most of it is near perfection, but the coaster lineup is rather bland (atleast in my opinion). Taron and Helix really are the two benchmarks for coasters in Europe, and I don´t see much that comes close. Collossos at Heide is awesome (but closed ATM), the Smiler is really fun, but both don´t really come close to Taron and Helix. Plus, you´d get Black Mamba, Balder and Lisebergbanan which are all awesome aswell.