Photo TR: Chuck Returns to Europe at Last with TPR

[The Great Zo]

Catching up on this great trip report!

 

Then there’s Wodan Timbur Coaster, the park’s huge GCI woodie. The station itself is beautifully themed to the royal halls of Asgard, and I like how the wooden statues lining the track into the station “snap to attention” as the train enters.

 

Europe sure puts some fantastic theme elements on some good-but-not-great GCIs -- the statues on Wodan, the unfurled flags on Joris, and the killer soundtrack on Troy. I think I liked Wodan a little better than the rest of the group, but Blue Fire was my favorite at the park.

 

I can’t speak for the film’s quality, but the ride is great.

 

We threw on the movie (Arthur) late one night in the hotel room, and yeah, the ride is better. Snoop Dogg features prominently, and hilariously inappropriately, in both.

 

Blue Fire has cool theme music, too.

 

Actually, one of my favorite themes from the whole trip, and that's a trip with some very good ride themes. At the risk of blaspheming, it was my favorite at Europa.

 

[Grona Lund] looks great at night--nice use of neon near Jetline.

 

Beyond just looking great, it stays busy incredibly late. At this point we were all used to leaving parks in the 4PM-6PM range -- even Europa wasn't open past dark. Grona Lund was still hoppin' at closing time, which I believe was 11PM. Still not totally dark (thanks, axial tilt) but enough to get the whole lit-up atmosphere, which was fantastic.

 

Deep Purple is more my style--or at least from my "era."

 

I'd have rather caught them too, but that was still a really fun evening -- no way we were turning down a free show from the balcony!

 

Hmm . . . is it “the greatest wooden roller coaster in the world”? I can’t speak for others, but for me, it’s definitely in the top five somewhere. RMC has done it again! The first drop is truly terrifying, there’s lots of air, and the inversions are incredible--particularly the corkscrews (or are they zero g rolls?) toward the end. The only minor problem is the finish. Once you whip through those out-of-your-seat corkscrews, the train takes a right, barely clears one last hill, and just seems to meander to the final brake run.

 

An assessment that matches mine, and most of the group from what I could tell. I'm wondering if part of the sluggishness in the ride's final third is a breaking-in thing. We rode Wildfire on what I think was only the 3rd or 4th day of public operation. I just think back to some of the questionable reviews Storm Chaser was getting early in the 2016 season, only to find that by the time TPR visited in late July, it was flying through the entire circuit and pretty much trying to kill us. Only wish Wildfire was somewhere a little easier to get back to for another go.

 

Thanks for the look back, the great pictures, and amusing commentary.

[cfc]

^It's possible that "break-in" might be a factor. But the rest of the ride is so insane, that the last bit doesn't detract much from the overall experience.

[The Great Zo]

But the rest of the ride is so insane, that the last bit doesn't detract much from the overall experience.

 

The first three elements (drop / hang / turn) are basically coaster perfection, especially with the setting.

[ThatFalafelGirl]

Nice photos, Chuck! Wildfire looks heaps crazy- and fun! Loving the whole TR.

[ThatFalafelGirl]

oops. posted twice somehow. couldn't figure out how to delete the post, so you, uh, get this awkard interlude! wooooooo

[cfc]

oops. posted twice somehow. couldn't figure out how to delete the post, so you, uh, get this awkard interlude! wooooooo

 

I would expect nothing less from you.

Edited October 2, 2016 by cfc