DaveDowning

First of all, let me say that I was shocked and horrified when I read the news (It even made the morning news here in Germany) and saw the pictures of all the blood on the slide. That poor kid likely did nothing wrong and died too early in a gruesome way. May he rest in peace. My thoughts are with the family. But before putting blame on the park, the engineers that thought up the slide and most of all the family, I believe we should take a step back and wait until we know details about what happened. Right now we know nothing except eye-witness reports and a few short statements from the police (correct me if I´m wrong).

This is accurate. Personally I'd get the Quick Queue unlimited so you have more time for re-rides, you can ride the flume / rapids without waiting (it gets very hot this time of year) and you have more time to take it slow and enjoy the animal exhibits and shows. You'll have no issue doing everything in a day though. I second this. Though I have to admit I hate waiting and get quick passes all the time. But at BGT, with that fantastic line up, I think it's a must. Especially for the re-write. We were there during October as well and could easily get in dozens of rides on the coasters and Fury as well.

Finally made it today after being on vacation, Family Stuff and what not. I should have made it earlier. WHAT. THE..... lockers Taron is insane. It´s beyond everything. Great launches, great positive G´s, great airtime (Floater, Ejector, Sideways, it´s all there). For me, it´s at least as good as Maverick if not better. Add the theming, the area around the coaster, the food, it´s just beyond everything I have ever encountered in any theme park in the world. Absolutely wonderful. For me, this is the new number 1 in the world, not as a coaster, but as a themed environment. Well done Phantasialand!

Hard boiled eggs and seafood??? Sorry that sounds absolutely disgusting. Not a fan of either of those things! I'll stick to the amazing pizza, pasta, gelato, breads, etc... Hard-boiled eggs and seafood are just two things. There´s way more stuff - bread with cold cuts, ragu and polenta, all types of meat dishes, fried greens. It´s pretty much like tapas. All kinds of food, choose what you enjoy most.

We visited this year (returned just two weeks ago), and they even have fast passes for the cathedral and the museum. That was my personal favourite. Food tip for Venice: Head to the district of Dorsoduro in the south of Venice, head to a bar, and have some Cicchetti (wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicchetti_(food)). It´s totally awesome food, especially after weeks of Pizza and Pasta only. Very authentic and unique!

I think you cannot rate Taron by watching Videos. The whole interaction, all the near misses and so on might be visible, but experiencing it live is a totally different story. Plus, the pov was not filmed from a riders perspective which, in my opinion makes it totally worthless in terms of judging the ride.

I think that is exactly what they aimed at. A little more intense than cheetah hunt, great theming and that's it. It's just a lot of coasters squeezed into a very tiny space. Also, the food looks very, very good!

No.

I would suggest getting to HHN early, and ride Minions as the first thing. It will have a shorter wait than it has during the day. I was at Universal during the first week of October 2 years ago, but we had express. Most rides were between 20-30 Minutes during the days.

double post

Well, then make it a 39 Meter Woodie or B&M without inversions. There´s plenty of space (and plenty of coasters to tear down) Oh yes, I forgot to mention that. In the back, Raptor actually does have airtime on the first drop and one hill later, but the vest restraints don´t really allow much of it. It was my first B&M with the new ones, and I always thought I would love them because they look cool, but nope. I understand all the bad reviews they get. The thing is - you actually feel that there is airtime, but the restraints push you into the seat and don´t allow it to show. Meanwhile, on Oblivion, you´re out of your seat for a solid 3,4 Seconds on the first drop in the back row and another 2,3 on the airtime hill.

Just a short review from my visit to Gardaland today. Was a very busy day so we bought express and had a great time. Got in the following rides: Raptor: 10x Oblivion: 10x Sequia Adventure: 1x Magic Mountain: 1x Mammut: 1x Blue Tornado: 1x Kung Fu Panda Spinner: 1x All water rides 4x We were there it the opening. Nice ceremony, including the national anthem of Italy… and many cheers (and confetti, yay !). Overall, a nice park. I found their express policy pretty nasty for regular visitors, as express people get free choice of row and seats as well. Many disappointed faces , on the other hand, we payed for it and that makes it fair again… But the OPs where really strict about these things. We wanted to let some kids who were nearly crying go before us with their family and they wouldn´t let us wait one more train. I can´t imagine what that will look like when it gets REALLY crowded there later in the season. Regarding the rides: Raptor: Raptor wasn’t running on opening and I was in fear of missing my first wing coaster. I prayed to the coaster gods, and tried to dissolve my fears by reminding myself that this is a B&M. Of course it started running at 11. Liked it very, very much especially in the front. Not very forceful but still a very fun ride. Right side is better than the left side. First drop and one airtime hill is great in the back, but the vest restraints prevent good airtime. I also found that they get uncomfortable at the end of the ride (I´m 1,9 Meters tall). The last inline roll is awesome, especially on the right. Many great near misses with theming, but also supports. Oblivion: Not as good as Sheikra but still great. Awesome airtime in the last row, that airtime hill after the Immelmann was great fun. My favourite in the park. Recommendation would be right outer seat, last row, for airtime and more twistyness in the inversions. The zero-g roll is really nice and slow and gives some great hang time. Mammut: I was disappointed by that one. I had thought this was a Colorado Adventure-style ride, but I was wrong regarding the model, it´s the one that´s also the Temple of the Night Hawk. Very meh. Blue Tornado: This death machine needs to be torn down and burned. Seriously hurting me, and I rode it in the front. Nope, just nope. Magic Mountain: Meh. I know it´s a classic but it´s rough and just meh. Sequoia Adventure: I didn´t get this coaster. You go straight, slow, you go upside down, slow… meh…. The Kung Fu Panda Thing: It´s more like a fun-fair coaster. A spinning mouse. Nothing spectacular. Had one of the longest waits all day because families. The water rides: River Rapids: One of the better river rapids, but still not as good as for example River Quest as there aren’t any drops. Fuga de atlantide: This one needs a good cleaning and some touch ups, but apart from that a very fun ride. Log Flume Ride: This one hurt as well. There is better things to do with your time in your park. They wouldn´t let me ride the drop tower (which is bullshit, as people taller than me were allowed on). My girlfriend said it was meh. I think this park needs another high class coaster soon. Seeing the development at Alton, I would love to see a woodie here. Intamin Prefab would be my choice. I know it won´t happen but one can dream. A straightforward GCI ala Wodan could work wonders in Blue Tornados spot. Hell, just throw in another B&M (something in the mega-coaster size, like 40-60 Meters, no Inversions) to get rid of capacity problems. Can´t really comment on food, we just had some fries with sauce which were… well, Fries with Sauce. Oh and parking is only 5 Euros which is fair compared to other parks (especially in the US). Overall, for 31 Euros entry, plus 45 for express (bought in advance), well worth the visit! We had a blast.

Kärnan, for example, is incredibly rough and unpleasant to ride. Same with the Smiler, just talking about their newer rides.

I think the second launch will be more intensive than the first. At least that was stated by Tobi talking about his model.

No, they haven´t. It´s still in some sort of political process which is compilcated and I can´t really explain it in detail. There are some enivornmental activist groups still opposing the expansion.

I still think summer is realistic. Once the restaurant is done all that's left is the area in front of Chiapas and I think that will move quickly. I think they're going for first of July, or the 2nd (Saturday)

From my experience the perfect time to visit UOR is the two weeks after HHN opening weekend. Usually that is the last week of September and / or the first week of October which means: * Low crowds, max. 20 min. wait everywhere or a walk on with express * Summer Thunderstorms have thinned out and great weather (usually) * If you go to HHN on the second sunday it will be practically dead (in comparison to the rest of HHN) We did this in 2014. Arrived 4th of october (Sat), went to HHN on sunday and the parks on monday and tuesday. With the express pass from staying at Royal Pacific that gave us 20+ rides on all of the main attractions plus all the mazes at HHN without express. I think we´ll do that again next year...

That..eh.."thing" is called Phenie. It´s one of the six dragons that each have their own themed area in Phantasialand. Phenie is the dragon of "Fantasy" where Winjas, Hollywood Tour (the best ride in the park) and the equally awesome "Würmling Express" (you guys have to ride it!) are located. Fun fact for english speakers: The Chinese dragon is called "Wang", which sounds totally normal in german.... As for Cologne vs. Orlando...well as I´m living in Cologne, I prefer Orlando - but thats because I go there for vacation. Cologne has a very good economy, it´s a well kept city, it has a rich history and if you like beer, you´ll love Cologne Plus, there are other awesome Parks nearby! Orlando, on the other hand, has Disney World, Universal, Fun Spot and it´s in Florida...

Well, there´s Cologne, which is worth a visit if only for the beer and the cathedral. Toverland is quite close as well as Movie Park Germany, if you want to see other parks.

I´ve read the last pages of this thread (some dating back to 2006), and I was asking myself - is "no lap-bars" and "conveyor belt lifts" really something that identifies log flumes? I wouldn´t say so. But that was 10 years ago. Nowadays, most new log flumes are more advanced. And even after having ridden Splash Mountain and Dudley Do-Rights I would think Chiapas at Phantasialand is the best log flume in the world. I wouldn´t really count Valhalla as the ride concept is different from typical log rides. I loved the theming on Splash Mountain, and I loved the first drop on Dudley Do-Rights as the little bunny-hop hill is completely unexpected. Still, Dudley´s has some places where it is un-themed, while Chiapas is themed perfectly from beginning to end. The switchtracks on Chiapas also provide another level of excitement, as they move quickly and forceful, and they are a lot of fun. And then, there is that final drop, which is steep as hell, gives some airtime, and another camelback after that, that gives you another taste of 0g (albeit a short one...). In the end, a picture says more than many words..

This would be my bet as well. By the way, RiverQuest is open and working normaly, so I guess they are done with it for this season. Looks way better than before.

Well, it packs quite a punch. I really hope that it will ride as good as it looks. And if thats the case, we might have a winner at our hands If you need any info or assistance regarding Phantasialand or the general area around it (Cologne, the Rhine area etc.) just drop me a message. I´d be happy to help! I´m quite positive that Klugheim will be open in October, plus it´s one of the best times of the year to go there!

They are doing pretty much what they did the whole week in terms of testing. Push trains around, start low power launches, and then work to a level where it´s clear that the train will roll back, so I guess they are testing the breaking system and the launch. For the number of trains I think four is the minimum. They have a transfer / maintenance area for three trains, plus a fourth one sitting in the station. I guess in the end it will be 4, two trains on the track, one loading or before the launch and one in the brakes before loading or loading.

Nope, they tested in darkness first. Now also during the day. Photos and Videos incoming ! Source for the photo

I spent my last two days at Phantasialand attending a business meeting. So I stayed at the Matamba Hotel for the first time ever (I usually just drive to Phantasialand...), I love, love LOVE the place. One of the best hotels I´ve ever been to, more than two levels above what Universal (my only recent comparison) delivers onsite. Perfect rooms, great breakfast, nice people, all you could wish for in a hotel. Of course, one of the main benefits of that stay was that I could roam around the park in the evening, which was very interesting, and of course that I could renew my season pass and have a little time for myself in the park (and a few rides ... maybe ) And I was there to witness something special going on, which I don´t want to disclose here in detail. Let´s just say it´s working... Klugheim is visually stunning. Taron looks small but it´s so twisty.... I think people will love it. I also took some pictures, but only when I went through the park today Hello there... Raik looks so good Behind the rocks of Taron ..Demolition work where Race for Atlantis was...