simon8899 Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 (edited) Located just two subwaystops from the Vienna city center at Praterstern the classic city park offers a mixed bag. On the one side you've the signature Ferris Wheel and the unique Funtime attractions - on the other side you've closed up rides and gameshops which seem to rot for years. In between you'll also find a good collection of carnival flats and a so-so coaster collection with the brakeman woodie Hochschaubahn beeing the highlight. It's visible though that Prater Management is trying to revitalize the park by adding a renovated entrance quare with the upper-class restaurant Eisvogel and installing new colorful lightposts in the park. The main problem seems to be that each attraction or restaurant is independently owned and that each owner has it's own ideas and the owners obviously can't agree on future development let alone a flat-fee wristband. This also limits Prater's coasters as they've to fit into one of the properties - as I gathered there were sometimes ideas to install a major coaster but there was never agreement on the sharing of building coasts nor entrance revenue. After visiting Bakken and Prater this year I've to say that even while Prater offers more signature attractions the look&feel as well as atmosphere is way better in Bakken. The main reason most tourists visit the Prater Ferris Wheel machinery Worlds tallest High-Flyer at 115 meters or 377 feet This Pinfari coaster will shake you up Very fragile Ferris Wheel construction The Vekoma MK-750 Megablitz is actually pretty good Boomerang with unique lapbar-only trains Not a sign of excellence... The rafting ride Alpenblitz by abc-rides is mega-spinning - highly recommended! This is a sign of excellence Scenic railway Hochschaubahn Bext to Ferris Wheel and High-Flyer there's also this option to get a view over Vienna Funtime Tornado, Volare and small ferris wheel Funtime' Schwarze Mamaba beeing by far the best ride As the seats spin freely the ride is always different depending on the weight of riders - sometimes offering massive ejector-air Edited October 15, 2012 by simon8899 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 Ah, yes--the Ferris wheel that was used in Director Carol Reed's The Third Man. That makes it twice the classic. I've wanted to visit this park ever since I saw the movie when I was in college. I like it when parks "theme up" their old scenic railway rides, too. The tunnels, mountains, and little village really add something to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matteocrepaldi Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 That High Flyier looks amazing! Nice report! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygator Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 I love seeing photos of Wiener Prater. It is upsetting that so many rides were closed. Did you visit this month? Do you think a lot of rides were closed due to it being the off-season? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cal1br3tto Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 Not surprisingly, I hadn't seen a report on this place for quite some time. It still looks like a great time and there are some very intriguing rides there. I'd love to visit sometime. Too bad there has to be a Volare, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon8899 Posted October 14, 2012 Author Share Posted October 14, 2012 I was there the last week of September and visited all day evenings Tue-Thu, with Thursday starting the Vienna version of Oktoberfest called "Wiesn-Fest" right next to the Prater. Nevertheless the attendance was always very low - the only rides gathering good crowds were the Ferris Wheel, Schwarze Mamba and Prater-Turm (the HighFlyer). At least somne rounds were possible on the Tornado, Alpenblitz rafting, Break Dancer, TopSpin and the coasters. The rides seem to open and close at random. The Hochschaubahn and log-flume were only open on tuesday. The kiddie rides mostly closing at about 6pm. Some rides might be closed for the weekdays or season but others were closed far longer. Some walkways were completly dark at night and looked quite shadowy with some local teenagers gathering in these murky areas. On the other hand there was also construction going on for new rides or attractions in two places. This mirror maze is clearly closed for good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GayCoasterGuy Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 ^How did the trains with lapbars feel/ride on the boomerang? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon8899 Posted October 14, 2012 Author Share Posted October 14, 2012 The new trains rode okay - beeing the same make than the ones on german carnival Schwarzkopf double-looper Teststrecke - but not really equipped for riders taller than 2 meters. Even if I normally prefer lapbar-only trains IMO the new rubber-OTSRs by Vekoma like I've ridden on Speed Of Sound at Walibi Holland better fit this coaster. Mainly due to the fact that on the lifts and the last inversion of each direction you slightly hang in the restraint - were an OTSR is better suited. On the Schwarzkopf this lapbars work better as those coaster jam you into the seats and you've no hangtime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon8899 Posted October 15, 2012 Author Share Posted October 15, 2012 After nightfall the dark covers up the unpleasant sights and it can get quite spooky in the deserted sidelanes but if you keep on the main walkways you can have a nighttime carnival air here. Starting with a spin on the Boomerang The smaller ferris wheel Blumenrad Black Mamba with nighttime lights Entrance plaza with Waveswinger Eisvogel offers delicious food - mains starting at €20. First class dinning with pop music from the bumber cars next door Trying to keep the food in...lol They've a Sorani&Moser Sombrero here - a seldom found and very fun Polyp variant High-Flyer swirling The views at night were fantastic Always good to ride a Break Dancer at night Right next door to the Dancer is another HUSS ride... Why did one name a ride "Time To Say Goodbye"??? Someone actually tried the Volare Ending the last evening with a ride on the Boomerang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 I still think that Extasy looks like the most insane amusement ride in human history. There are at least a couple of smaller versions made by Zamperla (?) that roam fairs around the world too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mratigan Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 That park looks cool Thanks for sharing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Movieguy Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Very interesting park. I remember seeing a video of it with Rammstein's "Feur Frei" in the background a while back. And remember, you can't spell Pinfari without PAIN! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alilstronger Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Awesome update! I have always wanted to ride a boomerang that only has lap bars. I know lots of people hate them (yet still ride them and complain - I do not get it) but I love them!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoCo Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Wow, I did not appreciate how spindly those spokes really look on the Ferris wheel until seeing this report. And that Star Flyer? Forget it, NO WAY EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER. Awesome photos, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedSpecial Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Surely this must be one of the most famous ferris wheels in the world? Picture above taken from the Third Man film shot in 1949 Thanks for sharing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon8899 Posted October 18, 2012 Author Share Posted October 18, 2012 @RoCo - You should really do the Star-Flyer, the view is amazing at day and night. I guess on a hot day it's even better to get freshened up over the warm city air. Learned in a small exhibit in the Ferris Wheel station that they could after recent computer model calculations hang up the missing cabins on the wheel. They were first removed after the wheel was damaged after allied bombardments in WWII and it was feared the wheel wouldn't support the weight anymore. But they decided to keep the current load to a) keep the signature look and b) the removed cabins were not stored but they're standing all around Vienna and Austria as tourist attraction and advertisement for the wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoCo Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 ^I'm sure you are right about the view, but I think 150 feet is about all I can handle on a Star-Flyer. Any higher than that, I want more than slinkly little chains holding me up. #BigWuss Very interesting trivia about the Ferris wheel; I had no idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snoflake15 Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 Surely this must be one of the most famous ferris wheels in the world? Picture above taken from the Third Man film shot in 1949 Thanks for sharing Also in the Bond film The Living Daylights I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
appleboy007 Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 Venna Pratter looks amazing. Black Mamba is insane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SingleRiderCam Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 Boomerang with lap bars? Take that Carolina Cobra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 Boomerang with lap bars? Take that Carolina Cobra I don't understand? The new Vekoma trains are pretty comfortable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillerman1 Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 I haven't been to the Prater since 1990, so it's really interesting to see these current photos. Thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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