JordyC

Reconstruction of burned-down Europa-Park attraction has started Europa-Park has started the reconstruction of the Pirates in Batavia attraction, which was destroyed in May by a fire. The German theme park has let this know on social media. The Scandinavia themed area, which was also affected by the enormous fire, is being restored. Pirates in Batavia opened in 1987. After the huge fire on 26th of May 2018, there was virtually nothing left of the iconic darkride. The management of Europa-Park has decided that the attraction will return, but with the technology of today. The precise plans have not yet been announced. It is the intention that visitors can take a ride again in 2020. The Scandinavian part has to be finished next year. All blackened remains have been demolished in recent months and were removed. The fire in Europa-Park was caused by a technical defect next to the rapids ride Fjord Rafting. The water attraction was reopened two weeks after the fire. Source

Bandit - Movie Park Germany

That already looks amazing!

Gift

Jim Reid Anderson Halloween Horror Nights or Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party?

^Let's hope other parks will follow soon!

This thread is only 2 hours old, and it is already one of my favourites

Efteling really needs another water ride. So I will never say no to a log flume. Chiapas 2.0?

^And after that family launched coaster for 2020, a B&M is rumored to replace Bob. They first want to build the family coaster, though. Otherwise, they'd lose one. Here is an overview of the expansion plan of the park:

^Thank you! I'd say that when you're in the area, it is certainly worth a visit. You can even maybe do the same as what I did, and visit these three parks in one day. But I can definitely see why someone would give priority to other parks, especially when your time is limited. What if I told you that there is even a third Skull Mountain, at Plopsa Indoor Hasselt.

Winter

Th13teen - Alton Towers

Plopsa Indoor Coevorden - September 2018 Hello everyone! On September 8th, I did something rather unusual. I visited three parks in one day; De Waarbeek, Plopsa Indoor Coevorden and Slagharen. They are relatively close together, at most a one hour drive. The second park of the day was Plopsa Indoor Coevorden. Plopsa Indoor Coevorden is an indoor theme park, located next to Center Parcs in Coevorden. Like the name suggests, it belongs to the Plopsa group, which includes Plopsaland De Panne, Plopsa Indoor Hasselt, Plopsa Coo, Holiday Park, etc. Like all Plopsa parks, Plopsa Indoor Coevorden was well themed. That is probably the best part about this indoor park; the theming. Despite it being a kids park, there is a good variety of rides. There are a few flat rides, one of which was surprisingly intense, a big slide, a playground and, of course, a coaster. There is also an outdoor section, which consists of another playground, a few attractions and a small petting zoo. Welcome to Plopsa Indoor Coevorden! As soon as you enter the park, you are greeted by Samson and Gert -- a well-known duo of Studio 100. There are lots of details on all the buildings. I really love the look of the park's entrance area. There entrance area is home to some bumper cars for the smallest ones. It looks great. When you enter the park, there is a double decker carousel on the right, ... ..., and a wave swinger on the left. The park's restaurant. More theming on Plop's restaurant. You can find this ride at practically every Plopsa park. A huge tree with a big slide acts as a play area for the kids (or if you're young-hearted). I am pretty sure that if you aren't from Belgium or the Netherlands, all these characters might seem a bit weird. But here, we all grew up with them. Even the lamps are themed. I will always enjoy a big slide. There is also a large theater where shows take place. There were actually more rides at this park than I thought. They have also got a disco area! Ahoy, pirates! You can take a raft to cross the little lake, or you can be boring and just use the pathways. Guess which route I took? Some more lovely pirate theming. Woeste Zee (Rough Sea) is the park's rockin' tug. The ride itself isn't that great, but the theming certainly is. Vuurtoren (lighthouse) was next. It is a fun ride, where you even get a few small pops of airtime. Wickie the Viking is another themed area that is home to the park's only roller coaster. Wickiebaan (3.5/10) The main attraction of the park is Wickiebaan, a Zierer junior coaster. It has a standard layout, but the theming is what really makes this ride. The lift hill takes you through a skull into the very dark indoor section of the coaster (I know, an indoor section in an indoor park). There is some nice theming in there. Apart from the majority of the ride being in the dark, the coaster itself isn't that memorable. The first drop does give a small pop of airtime in the back seat, though. It is also fairly smooth and takes you around twice. While Wickiebaan is just a junior coaster, I actually really enjoyed it. This proves again how a bit of theming can make a ride so much more enjoyable. Time to ride Wickiebaan. It looks like he enjoyed it. The dark "indoor section" is where most of the action happens. Wickiebaan is quite smooth and gives you two laps. Flying passed those rocks. It is a fun little ride, nothing special. The theming is what makes it, though. Time to ride Anubis. It is a bit like a frisbee ride, where it spins you around while rocking back and forth, but on a much smaller scale. Because of this, the swinging is actually pretty intense, more than I expected it to be. It doesn't do a full 360, but it swings you up practically vertical. It also spins quite fast, which made it even more intense. The cycle lasted for a good 2 minutes, too. I really enjoyed Anubis. It ended up being my favorite ride at the park. The outdoor section of the park is home to Plopsa's famous fountains. Again, lots of play equipment to enjoy. They have also got a little petting zoo. Just three random goats in a row, only at Plopsa. You can even learn how to drive a car, isn't that great? Or if that's not for you, you can learn how to be a firefighter as well. Or you can just enjoy all the play equipment. So overall, I had quite a good time at this indoor theme park. The main highlight was Anubis, a fairly thrilling flat ride for what is basically a kids park. The other highlight was the coaster and just in general experiencing this park for the first time. I know it is a kids park, but I really liked this place. Not necessarily for the rides, but for the atmosphere and theming at this park. Thanks for reading!

Wodan Disney's Epcot or Animal Kingdom?

Rodelbaan - De Waarbeek

Zumanjaro Gold Rush or Anubis: The Ride?

A few changes: Alpina Blitz - Nigloland Blue Fire Megacoaster - Europa-Park Colossos - Heide Park Dragon Khan - PortAventura Expedition GeForce - Holiday Park Fēnix - Toverland Goliath - Walibi Holland Hyperion - Energylandia Icon - Blackpool Pleasure Beach Joris en de Draak - Efteling Krake - Heide Park Resort Lech Coaster - Legendia Monster - Walygator Parc Nemesis - Alton Towers OzIris - Parc Astérix Pulsar - Walibi Belgium Red Force - Ferrari Land Shambhala - PortAventura Taron - Phantasialand Valkyria - Liseberg Wildfire - Kolmården Xpress: Platform 13 - Walibi Holland

Update: 1. Red Force - Ferrari Land 2. Hyperion - Energylandia 3. Shambhala - PortAventura Park 4. Schwur des Kärnan - Hansa Park 5. Silver Star - Europa-park 6. Big One - Blackpool Pleasure Beach 7. Stealth - Thorpe Park 8. Stunt Fall - Parque Warner Madrid 9. Wildfire - Kolmården 10. Vertigo - Walibi Belgium 11. Expedition GeForce - Holiday Park 12. Valkyria - Liseberg 13. Superman - Parque Warner Madrid 14. Colossos - Heide Park 15. Speed - Energylandia

Pet

^Thanks! The lift hill is surprisingly steep, it has to be at around 45 degrees. I have to admit, going up the steep lift hill for the first time, without any real restraint was quite scary.

Yes, that is indeed the case. It doesn't have any restraints. I forgot to mention that Well, Rodelbaan is technically home made, since it was built by the park itself back in 1930. It is an awesome classic ride, though! Thank you! My trip reports from the two other parks I've visited that day will be coming soon.

Girl group K3 gets own themed area and roller coaster at Plopsaland Plopsaland De Panne puts K3 in the spotlights. The famous (in Belgium and the Netherlands) girl group will have its own themed area next year in the Flemish thele park, including a roller coaster. An existing themed area is being converted for this purpose. Family roller coaster Rollerskater, opened in 1991, will be renamed K3 Roller Skater. The opening is scheduled for the start of the 2019 Easter holiday's. The area will also get a new look, based on the new TV series K3 Roller Disco. The series will be broadcast from next autumn. At this moment, the roller coaster is still dominated by the forgotten Studio-100 series Wizzy & Woppy. "The attraction is completely stripped and re-decorated," Plopsaland says. Guests will soon take place in a K3 roller skate. The nearby restaurant Wizzy's Stove also gets a make-over. "In recent years, we have been busy updating the various areas in the park, including the Plop garden and the Fairground square", says Plopsa director Steve Van den Kerkhof. "Obviously, the Rollerskater with accompanying sin could not be left behind." The new K3 TV show with roller skate theme was, according to him, "the perfect opportunity". Source

Mount Mara - Bobbejaanland

De Waarbeek - September 2018 Hello everyone! On September 8th, I did something rather unusual. I visited three parks in one day; De Waarbeek, Plopsa Indoor Coevorden and Slagharen. They are relatively close together, at most a one hour drive. The first park of the day was De Waarbeek. De Waarbeek is located in the middle of nowhere, in Hengelo, The Netherlands. It is a small family amusement park, with loads of classic rides. About half of them are self-operated, which is quite unique. The park itself is very small, with the classic flat rides located on one side of the park, and the majority of the self-operated rides located on the other side, next to and over the park's lake. Yes, you read that right. There are weird self-operated rides over the lake. I had never seen that before, but I loved it! Despite its size, there was quite a nice atmosphere at the park. Of course, the main reason for visiting De Waarbeek was Rodelbaan, the second oldest steel coaster in the world. I have always wanted to ride this piece of history, so I was really looking forward to it. Welcome to De Waarbeek! There is a dance party going on as soon as you enter the park. A classic park wouldn't be a classic park without bumper cars. The old-timer ride is one of many self-operated rides at this park. You wait for the green light, press the button, and you're off! It takes you on a winding path through the trees, and it even has a little dark ride section. This post office is used as a show for kids, and has a fake fire at the end. How did that get here? You can ride the ducks on this, you guessed it, self-operated attraction. Who doesn't like to swing on an angry tree? The park is also home to lots of classic flat rides, like this Paratrooper. It doesn't spin that high, though. Station De Waarbeek is the station for the train ride that takes you around the park. Choo choo! It also goes through a little tunnel. The park's Ferris Wheel isn't that tall, but it gives you some nice views from the park. A vintage car carousel. The park is really compact, but still looks quite nice. The thrill rides are located on backside of the park. This ride was quite fun, although it wasn't as intense as a "normal" Twister. The Caterpillar ride, where a canopy slowly envelops each car, was more like a fast carousel. It didn't go fast at all. Swingmill is the park's version of the classic The Whip-ride. This was probably my favourite flat ride at the park. Of course, there is also a classic wave swinger. I didn't ride this one, but it seemed to have a cycle of at least 3-4 minutes. Yet another self-operated ride at De Waarbeek. Seriously, if you love classic rides, this park is the place to be. It is full of them! Despite its size, there is quite a nice atmosphere at the park. Lots of play equipment for the kids. I have seen a lot of weird rides, but this one was even new for me. It is a flying chair over the park's lake. And yes, you have to operate it yourself. You sit down in the chair, press the yellow button, whereafter the mechanism takes you about halfway up the tower. You soar backwards over the lake, whereafter the mechanism drops down again. This causes you to fly back forwards over the lake. When you come to an abrupt stop, it takes you to the tallest point, whereafter you do it all over again, but faster. This ride is so weird that I loved it. Hurray to self-operated, weird and funky rides! They have also got a nautic jet. These are always a lot of fun! Splash! Rodelbaan (4/10) The main attraction of the park is Rodelbaan, the second oldest steel coaster in the world that opened in 1930. The ride was surprisingly smooth and the trains (or more like cars) were also quite comfortable. The ride begins when you start your climb on the rather steep lift hill. Once at the top, a kicker wheel guides you through a right turn. Next to the lake, you go down Rodelbaan's first drop which gives a small pop of airtime in the back. You then travel up an airtime hill that looked like it could give some airtime, but it didn't. The car literally crawled over it. When you drop down again, a small roof to cover the onride photo acts like a decent head chopper. A straight section leads you up another hill, wherafter you make a gentle right turn next to the pathways. After a straight section and another right turn, you drop down underneath the bridge -- excellent head chopper -- while experiencing a small pop of airtime. An upwards hill is followed by a right turn, and the ride's finale; Two more drops. They didn't give any airtime, though. A sharp right turn, that actually has some laterals to it, guides you into Rodelbaan's sharp brakes. While Rodelbaan is more like a good junior coaster, I still really enjoyed it. It takes you around the park (although that doesn't say much, since it's very small), and goes under and over the pathways. You can clearly see that the park is very proud of it, and they have got every reason to be so. I love these classic rides, Rodelbaan is no different. It is just a very fun, enjoyable classic coaster that we have to appreciate these days. It is time to ride Rodelbaan, one of the oldest coasters in the world. Are you ready to go FAST on Rodelbaan? Your ride starts when you go up the rather steep lift hill. A slow right turn guides you into Rodelbaan's first drop, which gives a bit of airtime. You then crawl over an airtime hill without any airtime. A random straight section leads you up another hill. A gentle turn let you enjoy the views of the park. It travels right next to the pathways, where you can get real close to the ride. After another right turn, you drop down underneath the bridge while experiencing a small pop of airtime. The ride ends with two more drops, that didn't give any airtime. Rodelbaan was also very smooth, especially for its age. Rodelbaan is such a nice and fun classic coaster. So overall, I had a fun time at this heritage amusement park. The main highlight was clearly Rodelbaan, a great piece of roller coaster history. The other highlight were the flying chairs over the lake, which was something very unique, and I loved it. De Waarbeek is just a nice, fun family park. Definitely worth a few hours of your time if you're in the area. Thanks for reading!

Kanonen - Liseberg