Henry M Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 (edited) Over the past few days, I made a trip to Germany for two nights to visit two parks I have always wanted to visit. The first part of the TR will be from the forest encompassed, fun Holiday Park, a mainly family themed theme park, yet it has some of the most intense rides I have been on, including the legend that is Expedition GeForce. The second part will be from two days at Phantasialand, a park worthy of the name THEME park. It is a different world to the industrial area that surrounds the park. So, Holiday Park. Possibly the worst name of a theme park ever, but I got over that pretty soon (Except I do have to tell people I went to Holiday park, then explain it is not a place with lodes of caravans). My journey to get there worked as planned, but I have learned lots. Firstly, getting up at 4:10 am sucks whatever the occasion. Secondly, German trains may be advertised at £44, but on the day of travel can go up to £122. Thirdly, Frankfurt airport is massive. It took an hour from security to reach the train, which I only just got on in time. Finally, ICE trains are awesome, but so comfortable it is too easy to fall asleep on! The most important thing I learned though was that fart means something completely different in German. I also learned that they do not appreciate you laughing at immature fart jokes. When a woman says to you you need to wait for the next fart, she means next ride/train, not the next fart. It gave a whole new meaning to the term "Intamin Fart" Eventually after a long journey, I arrived at the park at 12, meaning I had 6 hours to ride the hell out of Expedition GeForce. Perfect. First thing I have to say, is that the park is beautiful. It was the nicest park I had ever been to, and even beats Alton Towers these days (It is no longer the nicest park I have ever been to though). The atmosphere is really light and happy, and the park is big enough so you don't get bored, but not too big that it is hard to walk from one side to the other. Most of the rides had a good level of theming. Nothing high tech, but it all gave the rides a story or context. Now onto the rides. I will sum up every ride with one word, and a rating and go into more detail with the pictures. Expedition GeForce Ejector...9/10...8 rides in total, most of which were at at back. (So addictive) Sky Scream Fun...8/10...6 rides on this (again addictive) Wiki Splash WET...6/10 Anubis free fall Floating...5/10 Donnerfluss Rocks...5/10 Lighthouse Tower OH-MY-GOD-IT-IS-WINDY...6/10 Sky Fly Rewarding...6/10 Falkenstein Castle Disturbing...10/10 ... well realistically 4/10 Many of you know I am harsh with ratings, and just to put into context how high all these rides are up in my list, the Swarm gets 6/10, and Nemesis 8/10. I have only given out 9/10 to top rides, like Helix and Olympia Looping, but even they might need to be re evaluated. I was seriously impressed with all the rides, and this is a park that is a must visit if you have never been and you are close...or even far. On to the trip! The clock reads 4:23. After a long ride, I arrive, and wow. What A beautiful day, and what a beautiful park. I got fast track, but the queues were fairly light, but I mainly used it on Expedition GeForce, as dispatches are slow. Not due to staff, they are great, it is just the ride. A 5 train wait for the back could take 20-30 minutes. I see rides. Big rides. The entrance plaza is really pleasant. Nice classic German buildings containing merchandise chops and food. This park has some good merchandise, including a seat from Expedition GeForce. I would get it, but I could not transport it back home. A very good drop tower. I am a drop tower guy, and this one has a fairly forceful, floating 3 second drop on it. Only running two carriages, but it did not matter. it gave some very good views of Expedition GeForce as well. This ride is massive. It looks small on pictures, but it is when you see it in the flesh that you realize 57 m is high. Really high in fact, then you see the first air time hill, and it is enough to make people chicken out. If you don't like heights and steep drops, this is not for you! I walk down the path to a ride that has been on my bucket list for years. And see a train, filled with happy, and shocked people. I took my first ride, and I did not really appreciate it. It hurt a bit, and felt repetitive and the first drop was uncomfortable. Then I rode it again, and had a completely different experience. It was amazing. This is not a ride you should ride once, it takes a few goes to really appreciate it. It just gets better and better with every ride. The was it flows so perfectly, yet it still try to throw you out at every opportunity. The great views from the top. The insane first drop that in the back row you actually feel like you are going to die. It was only on the third ride I managed to let go of the bar for the whole drop. Then at the bottom of the drop is super intense forces, as the ride pulls up into a massive ejector airtime hill. A full three seconds of ejector airtime, all the way over the top. This ride is all about airtime. I hardly ever get airtime in the UK at Merlin parks, and if I do, it is weak. This is on a whole other level. There are different types of air time on this ride as well, so it is not repetitive, like Balder is. The are long drawn out hills, there are small pops, and there are twisted classic Stengel airtime moments. It is addictive, and you want to ride again and again. Some riders going up, but they do not return the same people. As you pull into the station, you feel you have been on something truly remarkable. This ride is not the perfect ride though. Sorry. It is near perfect, but I critique things harshly, and feel this ride does not deserve the title "world best rollercoaster". It needs more theming, and a more comfortable harness that does not completely tear up your thighs. I had a harness shaped bruise the next day. Also the perfect coaster would have a tunnel to add another dimension to the ride. These are small things, but with new rides like Fury and Wildfire popping up, there is competition for that title. The spectacular twisted airtime hill. One thing I love about this ride is that it is not completely smooth. It is raw. Not rough, raw. While rough is bad, a raw coaster like this is more thrilling, it feels less safe and conventional. In a world of safe, smooth B&M coasters and rattly rough Vekomas and Intamins, the balance is lost. It is not meant to be like a moving sofa (Swarm) it is a rollercoaster, and Expedition GeForce has the balance between smooth and rough just right. Not sure if it will in 5 year time, but for now it rides really well. Hello big fella, time to move onto the log flume, Wiki splash. This is a really well themed log flume, but it is really wet. Luckily it was a hot day, but it is a drencher. It also features an inside section and a backwards drop. Sky Fly is a ride that is hard work, but when you get it right it is very rewarding. I understand why parks are getting these all over the world. They are fun and offer a unique ride style. On my first attempt, I managed 5 loops, but on my second I got 13. While waiting for Sky Fly you could listen to appropriately cheesy flying music like "I WANT TO GET AWAYYYY, I WANT TO FLYYYYYY AWAYYYY, YEAHH YEAHH YEHHHHAH!" Very nice. Sadly there is only a loop of about 6 songs, which could get annoying if you are in the queue on a busy day. The new beach areas was really nice. Real cannons for water canons. Why cant more parks have nice things like this? He laughs at your soaking wet clothes. A good double drop. Not as much air time as Loggers Leap, but substantial enough to calm the pain of that ride being SBNO. One last look. The theming fr Sky Scream looked cheap, but you know what, it totally worked. Sky scream is a great ride, and it is in my top 5 coasters, even after Phantasialand. It has three very good launches, and it is so twisty, you have no clue where you are. Being launched up that 180 degree spike, then being thrown out of your seat at the top is amazing. Even better with a lap bar only to keep you in. The non inverting loop is really fun both times you are on it. The first time it is a really good falling sensation, like on a eurofighter, but the second timewhen you go all the way around it it completely different. Really forceful and really fun. This roll was better than I thought. A very intense inversion, and being that high up with only a lap bar is scary. This ride is better in the front, but anywhere it is good. I used the age old art of pointing at empty seats before dispatch to get more rides in. This ride is all about being twisty. Twisted hills, twisted drops and twisted everything else! Really disorientating and a very intense ride. An impressive facade for an impressive ride. Completely changed my view that clones are bad. More of these please! It is a great mix of twisted hills, twisted drops and twisted anything! Nice they kept part of the old ride for theming. I also want to mention how good the staff were at dispatching each train. It was like being at a German fair. I got off, collected my bag and looked back at the train for an empty seat and already the gates had opened, the people were on, gates closed, and all harnesses down. Insanely fast operations. Although this only ran one train, the queue was kept down the whole day. Cheap but goof theming. 360 on ride video of this is coming soon. This is a scary ride. It does not look it, but it is scary. The star flyer rises you ubove the trees so you get great views of the park and surrounding forests and hills. You then go down to the ground, and the spinning gets faster, and you rise back up again, now it feels like a thrill ride, especially with only chair swing seats holding you in! You then go back to the ground and spin even faster, and rise back up. This is when the ride gets wild. The wind is immense, and the seats start to spin from side to side. No longer do you care about the view, but more about staying in. Now I know why these rides have such a reputation. On ride view from free fall tower, overlooking Expedition GeForce. This was a picture from inside the parks strange and disturbing dark ride. It is simply crazy. It is a simple people mover system, but with some of the strangest animatronics I have ever seen. It had be laughing the whole way through and I thought it was simply brilliant. From the out of time movement on the torture scene, to woman being dragged off, to the man about to shoot an arrow at you, to the BOOBS in the undressing scene, the whole ride is great. On my second ride, the ride broke down on us. We has just passes the boob section (Although some people were stuck looking at them) and were at the party scene. We were stuck for about 15 minutes, with some terrible Medieval music, but at least I could analyze the scene. We then got a ride evacuation, where we got out of the carriage and had a walk through of the final part of the attraction. The whole experience was completely bizarre, with or without the ride evacuation. I actually got a video of the ride stopping and the evacuation, in 360. I might post it on You tube. That is all from Holiday park. Part two from Phantasialand will be coming soon! I hope you enjoyed the TR. Edited May 8, 2017 by Henry M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry M Posted April 14, 2017 Author Share Posted April 14, 2017 Here is the 360 degree on ride video of Sky Scream. I may have an expedition geforce one coming soon. This video was taken with the permission from the park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry M Posted April 15, 2017 Author Share Posted April 15, 2017 Hi all, I have also made a 360 video from the drop tower, which I have now uploaded onto you tube. The 360 videos are best at 4K resolution. Check it out here: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry M Posted April 16, 2017 Author Share Posted April 16, 2017 Not sure if anyone cares, but I have uploaded another 360 video onto the youtube channel, this time of the great Expedition GeForce: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julioot Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 Thanks for the trip report. Weird that you had that much of a problem with the lapbar on g-force. Aren't these the same ones used on every intamin mega (lite) coaster from this generation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canobie Coaster Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 Some great photos of the park! Interesting what you said on the GeForce restraints since those Intamin mega restraints are really comfortable when I've experienced them on Millennium Force and Ride of Steel since they actually rested on my lap. SFNE's restraints on Superman are uncomfortable since they rest right on the thighs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry M Posted April 16, 2017 Author Share Posted April 16, 2017 ^ I am quite small and skinny, so maybe the restraints were different on me. It was either Expedition GeForce or Sky scream or both, but my thighs were a little brown in the afternoon and tender. I was not the only one who thought the lap bar hurt, as some people I spoke to at Phantasialand said it was one of their worst ever coasters, and hurt lodes. My first ride was not great as described, but all the other rides were excellent. It just got better and better, so much that pain did not matter after the third ride. Another video taken at the park, this time from Sky Fly: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKI Jizzman Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 Interesting what you said on the GeForce restraints since.... Exactly why I was excited to hear what Henry had to say about the ride, haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cparkes92 Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 Interesting what you said on the GeForce restraints since.... Exactly why I was excited to hear what Henry had to say about the ride, haha. He still liked it enough to make it his #1 coaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry M Posted April 17, 2017 Author Share Posted April 17, 2017 ^ whoa. Why am I not allowed an opinion and to be critical over things? I really like thins ride, but it is not perfect. My coaster count is not more than 65, and I know there is so much more to see. I would put it up there for best coaster in Europe, but not the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry M Posted May 8, 2017 Author Share Posted May 8, 2017 Part 2, from Phantasialand, sorry it has taken so long it upload, but this report has taken a lot of time and effort, and I have lots of other things to do at the moment. What a magical place! I spent two days at this stunning park, completely in awe at all the incredible scenery. To get to the park I took the train from Frankfurt to Siegburg, then a taxi to the park. Brühl is a really industrial place, with huge factories and processing plants all around spewing smoke into the grey air. Passing them in the taxi while Radioactive was played on the radio was chilling, especially with what was in the news recently. None the less, as soon as you enter the park, you are instantly transported to a place where one of your worries matter. The moment you walk in, you are surrounded by music and pretty ornate buildings. The rides themselves are not very intense. Especially after Expedition GeForce and Sky Scream the day before. However, it really does not matter, because that is not what the park is about. The park is about all consuming, immersive and quirky experiences. The park was pretty packed out, but great operations kept the queues bearable without any fast pass. Sorry the pictures are low quality, my DSLR broke, so I had to use an iPhone 5 The rides: Taron: What an epic beast of a ride. The layout is genius and this is definitely the most intense and thrilling ride at the park. Out of all the rides, this is the only coaster I would call an "extreme" ride. The launches are forceful and make an epic noise. The track is twisty madness, rushing through the village and climbing up waterfalls. The moments of airtime are great too. An inversion would make this ride even better to make it less repetitive with all the turns, but that is mainly all. The trains are comfy and the lap bar is not as brutal on the thighs as the old restraints. The ride always had queues over 70 minutes, on both days. On the second day I rode once in single rider (45 mins), but on the first day I rode it 8 times (hooray for hotel ERT!). During the evening, I got to really know the ride. The ERT was from 7 to 8:15, and the crew were really friendly. I did have to wait 11 minutes for the first half an hour, but then people started to leave. Even during ERT the operations on this ride was one train every 45 seconds! It was insane how much energy the staff had. If there was an empty seat, they would allow you to take it no problem. This is not a ride you need to ride in any particular seat. The front is the best due to the views, but there are no more or less forces if you sit anywhere, so don't waste time queuing for the back row.The evening ride on Taron were magical. Every ride, over the first over banked turn I caught a glimpse of the sun setting over Chiapas. Every ride the sun got lower and lower, casting a a fiery orange glow over Klugheim. On the last ride, I started a chant for one more ride as a joke. When we arrived in, the harness opened, and everyone reluctantly got out of their seats, then something great happened, they said we could have another ride!! Everyone jumped back into their seats for a final epic ride. That has to be up there with one of my top coaster rides ever. Everyone was just having so much fun, and the ride was running super fast. We all arrived back in clapping. Awesome. Chiapas: An amazing advanced water ride with some stunning theming. Also the best water ride drop ever. The final drop is so steep, and you pull some great forces under the bridge. The soundtrack is awesome too, and the area is really pleasant to be around. River Quest: This ride is insane and actually super scary. I am still not sure which ride I preferred, Chiapas or River Quest. River quest now has lodes of themeing, and the whirlpool element is great. I am so glad I had not watched many on ride videos of this thing, it made it all the more insane. There is not even a seatbelt! This ride was walk on for the mornings when it was cold, so I managed a ride on both days. It feels like drop after un-controlled drop. It had me laughing the whole way around. Mystery Caster: A perfect way to dry off after River Quest. Why this really cool dark ride did not pull a huge queue, I have no idea. It was really well themed, and the ride was really well thought out. I rode four times, and I could get on the first cycle on three of those rides. The best thing about this ride is how surprising it is. As soon as the harnesses are checked, the lights go out, and you are blasted up half way. Not like the S&S shot towers, where you go up slightly, then blast up. On the way down, there is tense music, and strobe lights. Then you reach the floor again. With toes touching the floor, suddenly the gondola rushes up the tower with great force, and is much smoother than an S&S tower. You then reach the top, and cool blue electric lights on the roof shine. The lights go out, and you have a tremendous freefall in the dark 60 meters down. Then some bouncing then the end. It is great, because it mixes the thrill of an Intamin drop tower, with the blasts from an S&S tower. Incorporated into the ride is great theming. I also want to mention the rate the staff get you on and off. Before you even reach the ground, the staff are already jumping up to undo seat belts on the riders restraints. Raik: A nice family boomerang coaster, with nice forces and smooth ride. The backwards element is nice as well. Colorado Adventure: This is probably the second scariest rollercoaster at the park. It beats Black Mamba on my coaster rankings, and I wish I had a second ride on this. I rode in the very front, and the train is so long that after a slow drop, the train accelerates UP a hill. This ride features air time, steep corners, water, indoor elements, and other exciting western stuff. Mouse Au Chocolate: Such a cute shooting ride, and utterly bizarre in the best way possible. A nice modern take on the tacky old shooting ride, with a unique story line. Had to have two goes on this, it was so fun killing mice with chocolate. Also, cudos points for the sweet smells around the ride. Temple of the Nighthawk: This has to be the best indoor rollercoaster I have been on. Truly amazing. Yes, it is not poo scary. Yes, it is not forceful. However, it is such a pleasant ride, and works really well. The length makes you come off thinking "I feel coaster satisfied" and it does not feel repetitive. After being bombarded with masses of scenery everywhere else in the park, it is nice to be able to ride a really nice, swooping, smooth coaster, with NOTHING to bombard your senses. Except for sound. Oohh! The soundtrack is beautiful. I rode it the first day and was surprised by how good a ride it was. Then, I went back on, just to hear the soundtrack again, and found the 5 minute long ride was just as nice. DO NOT IGNORE! Winjas: These were my third and fourth Maurer spinners, and they were great. Not quite as fast and forceful as Dragons Fury and Spinball Whizzer for the majority of the ride, but none the less really cool rides. I prefer the one on the left and side (don't know which one is which) which features an over-bank turn in the dark. The vertical lift is a nice start, and the way it tilers over the edge as it rises is really unnerving and clever. The first drop is floaty and fast, best ridden backwards. The sharp turns are fun, and the dark sections merge nicely with the outdoor helix (which is more a spectacle to watch rather than ride). Then come the evil finale pieces. Strange things happen inside...Disturbing things...I won't spoil it, unless someone asks! Talocan: A great top spin, quite forceful (not as much as it looks) and very disorientating. Lots of fire, which is scarily close to the riders, and lost of water. All this with legs hanging free, makes this an awesome ride. The harnesses are comfortable yet very industrial, better than the old Huss ones. This is one of the (few) serious thrill rides at the park, one which is actually scary. Black Mamba: This is my third B&M invert, and while it is a great coaster, it is not special. It feels like it was trying really hard to imitate Nemesis, but lacks the forceful bark of the ride. The whole Africa area is really nice, and the way the ride integrates with the theming is awesome. Also, the intricate details make queuing for this ride actually very pleasant. As coasters go, it is good. I am not complaining about any inverted looping coaster being boring, and I rode it 4 times due to the queue being long but very fast (20 mins max). I rode twice in the back, once at the front and once second from back. The back did not pull me around the corkscrews as I hoped (like Nemesis) nor did it haul me over the loop, which was disappointing. The front is nice, but most of the time all you see is wall. This is where this ride really falls down. I did not feel like "OH MY GOD, I AM BOUT TO HIT A CLIFF", like I do on Nemesis or even Taron, because it is constantly in the ground. If I was up in the air more, then crashed down the hill side, then made a steep turn, it would have been much more thrilling, and as it is currently, it is not a thrilling ride. It ranks similar to the Swarm on thrill, and for me, that is low. Scenery though, it is really high. The station is incredible, possibly the best ever, with incredible lighting and soundtrack. One more moan about this ride. The new harnesses are rock solid, and I mean rock solid. On a cold morning when you have waited for the ride to open, ears freezing, the lightest bash is super painful. I tried to put my hands up, and knocked my head around a corner, which was not in any way painless. Other random dark rides: Holly wood tour, and some other random Chinese thing were both...awful...yet amazing. While it was pretty bad, what surprised me was how many things moved. I just came across these two rides with no knowledge of their story, and it was really weird. They looked well looked after and actually were disturbing enough to warrant a ride. Not two. No. I did not want to be stuck on another strange dark ride! (See holiday park review!) Overall it was a really good two days! Start off with some mamba. No, not the drug, but it still make me high! The queue is really close to the ride. Massive plus. This was my first ride and first look at the park. The theming took my breath away. Some boobs and a massive tower...Mystery castle looks tall, and feels taller. River quests nice facade. Yes, there is a massive rapids ride somewhere behind that castle. And what is that thing? Why, just the exterior of a junior coaster! Beautiful. Inside mystery castle, and you get greeted with these MASSIVE electrical boobs!!! All kidding aside, this ride is well executed, and more should be made. Oohh! Love this shot. It sums up Colorado Adventure so well. It is a great ride. Jolty but not rough. So many near misses, and the banking is intense. I found this scarier than Black Mamba, and I am not kidding. The lap bar makes you feel more exposed, and the indoor section is full of the unknown. The sheer beauty of this place is outstanding, and more than makes up for the slightly lower thrills. This is so different to any park I have ever been to (Never done a Disney park or Eifteling) and I urge anyone who has never been to a THEME park to go! The queue was too long to ride in the day, but it is worth the queue. This ride is awesome. My mind told me to wait, and it was correct. Shall I have one ride on Taron and waste 80 minutes? The curves are so nice, and even nicer to ride. Impressive Helix on Winjas. (Did I just spell helix with a capital letter) Really nice shooting ride now. The queue has recipes on the walls. It was so funny watching other people in font of me taking pictures of every recipe, however it is actually a really good idea. Note the iPhone 5 blurriness. This area of the park is so creative, and will work really well with the steam punk theme going next door. A whoosh on Winjas The park loves waterfalls, and no more is this obvious as on Chiapas, the most technologically advanced logflume I have seen. The final drop is steep, forceful and has airtime, and is not too wet. A nice loading system which has a high capacity, great efficiency and integrates the 1 rider system perfectly. Time to return to the hotel for a few hours before ERT. I cashed out the extra $$$ for a room with a balcony overlooking the park. Heaven, right? Up until this is your view. Really disappointed. I would have just had a normal room if I had known, but when the website has pictures of a park view, and calls the room "Balcony with park view", I assumes it would have a park view. The hotel is really nice, and continues the Africa theme nicely. Even the staff were as friendly as the typical South African! Staff were not great. Very rude to me, and spoke perfect English until you say your room is not what you paid for. Also, there was not enough food for everyone in the hotel, and said I could not have a table at the restaurant. Luckily, across the road there is a much more pleasant Chinese hotel. Not as nicely themed, but the staff are much more friendly. Although there were no more tables, they said they would be able to fit us in when someone leaves. I would say to go to the Chinese hotel, as it is much nicer and has a pool. It was still a nice hotel, but just when you pay an extra £30 and there is no food, it is kind of disappointing. Mamba morning. The park opens at 9, but the rides open at 10. Something I did not know, but at least the rides open on time (or even early slightly). Entrance to a really good coaster, but not thrilling. Some shots of the magical Chiapas. Themeing everywhere. I see a temple of fiestas! This room is really fun and as you go backwards and completely distracted by the party, the drop catches you by surprise. Entrance Wow, so good. Close up of the boats. The backwards to forwards section. Before I queued for Mamba, I took a walk around an empty Chiapas area, and it was so atmospheric, with the sounds of water and the great soundtrack. The explorers boats in the morning sun in Mexico. Just remember, those rocks are fake! What! They look so real! Pre opening checks. A fiery loop. The back row, at the bottom of the loop, you do get some nice forces. Best part of the ride after the zero G roll. B&M in the morning is a nice sight. Testing! Two train cycles, and they opened. Shape the operated with one train the the very start to the morning. It was obvious it would not be enough. Zero G and twistyness. The queue before opening. I felt disgusted at this disrespect here. So much effort has gone into this door to make it so beautifully themes, and people just gratify all over it. Sad. They do not understand how lucky they are. Here is the black mamba station. It is really clever, as the queue winds down into the cave, and when you walk inside, it is like you are inside a layer. Just after the first few trains went by, they added the second train. This was my very cold and painful ride. Ah yes! Another random dark ride. This strange hotel thing was like the travelling ride, Alpine Hotel, but in a theme park. Really fun! I even managed to go upside down on the spinning wheel! Wuze town facade. Temple of the Nighthawk queue line. Or is it a space station? Fun ride, yes old, but way better than X. Please sat for my next visit. Back to Mexico. The iconic bell tower. From this angle, it does look like a lakeside Mexican town, then you see the boat sliding down. More Black Mamba? With a twenty minute queue, why not? I wanted more rides on Winjas, but at 60 minutes it was not quite worth it. Then it broke down. Ill take a B&M any day, any time. The corkscrews are nice, but not really forceful. I may have caught it on a cold day, but the last part crawled. It was very nice flying through caves at the end, and the length is substantial. The view I wanted from the hotel! Entering the dark mine shaft. It was not even just a simple helix in there! Train emerging from a convincing looking building. This drop feels steeper than it looks. Airtime here. Taron and Chiapas! Tow world class rides in in one picture. Happy riders. Yep, sadly it was closed, which was a shame, because I wanted a cool fire picture, but take my word for it. There is lots of fire. This loop is wider than other B&M invert loops, and it feels different too. Shame really. It feels safe. Yep, that's it. Safe. Actors were everywhere around the park. The staff in each area were cleverly, if a little racist, placed in appropriate areas. If you looked mildly tanned, down to Chiapas. Mexican, Black Mamba. White and bold headed, Taron. Chinese...Look below! Yeah. This show was very impressive though, and was just there for all to enjoy. The china area does not have any big rides, but it is very pleasant. The new entrance for River Quest. I love it how these cross in sync. How? No clue. But they often do, and it makes for great pictures. The background is like a movie set! Ah yes, the parks dragons. A nice addition to the park, and it is quite exciting when you find one. The new boat on river Quest. It makes an empty space less empty, which is great. I mean, look at Thorpe Park and Legoland's rapids rides. They are actually removing scenery! The boats are awesome, and split into three parts, so the boat can twist while navigating steep drops. More on the back of Klugheim. This also does not have your standard lift hill. To save space, it uses a lift. Very scary when you reach the top, and are faced with a huge drop. Enter into a world of wet socks. Love these signs. So many added details piled on top of already stunning buildings. Raik doing its thing. A great headchopper through the station. I'll end off with some Taron, because it deserves it. It looks like a tight fit, but it is actually a very wide barn. So close to the other buildings though. An amazing experience to fly through Klugheim like a bad out of hell. This is my favorite element. It is forceful and really throws you around, as well as being close to the epic mountain side. The coaster integrates with the area beautifully. Ah, my least favorite part of the ride. The useless s-bends, with nothing around you to feel any sense of speed. Here is where the inversion should have gone. A nice, throw you out of your seat, barrel roll, to lead into the spectacular over banked turn that follows. I just feel like an inversion would split up the turns nicely, and add another dimension. Lovely ride, and very fun to ride. Not as good as Expedition GeForce, but close. It beats Helix though. Only just, but it beats it, as the launches are way better, and the ride is overall more intense. An inversion would mean it would Beat Helix my a mile, and it might have even beaten Expedition GeForce! Not much airtime here, but it is at the end of the ride, so I guess some people would not be able to handle it. The final part of the ride got me every time. The track turns slightly one way, then twists completely the other way, before entering a really steep corner. It takes the riders off balance so your not braced for the final turn. A nice element and cleverly done. I was not the only person to find this out, as I spoke to others and could see by the riding positions. A nice ending. The 'Mystery Castle Man.' A nice animatronic. No clue what he says, but it is spooky. I'll end off with this picture of their amazing ice cream selection. The ice cream was so delicious, I almost went back for another go. This pretty much sums up the park. The option for basic, bland, does-the-job options are available, but that does not take you out of this strange world like a theme park is meant to. Like the ice cream, the whole park is elaborate, and beautiful and so perfect. The simple option is never taken, the effort has been made to make the experience totally immersive, memorable and awesome. Hope you enjoyed reading! 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TheCoasterKid211 Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 Awesome TR, Henry. Phantasialand looks like one of the best parks ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry M Posted May 9, 2017 Author Share Posted May 9, 2017 ^ Thanks, it really is a great park, and the perfection is insane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSLKennyNI Posted May 13, 2017 Share Posted May 13, 2017 Great trip report. Very interesting to read about someone experiencing Phantasialand for the first time. Although I really do disagree with the remark that Taron needs an inversion. Inversions don't make a good coaster and the park already has an inverting coaster so another isn't necessary. And I those S-bends - you get thrown side to side and a nice quick view over the area. But I'd agree with your review of Colorado Adventure - its definitely better than Black Mamba. I always feel Colorado is underrated. But you missed out not getting a back row ride on it - the airitime is great! Surprised to see you ranked Temple of the Nighthawk so highly. I agree that is a nice coaster but I don't love it. And I'm not really going to miss it if the rumours that this is it's (and Hollywood Tour's) last season are true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry M Posted May 13, 2017 Author Share Posted May 13, 2017 ^ Thanks for the feed back. I guess it is because I have been on very few indoor coasters that I rank Temple of the Nighthawk so highly, but compared to other family coaster I have ridden, it is really good. I sow the air time on the back of Colorado Adventure, and it is something to look forward to in the future. Unlike Holiday Park (see my other TR) this is a park I would never say no to re visiting, probably next time in Winter in four year time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirstDropJay Posted May 13, 2017 Share Posted May 13, 2017 Nice TR! Finally someone praising their ice cream. It's the best ice cream I've ever had and I'm an ice cream junkie! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry M Posted May 13, 2017 Author Share Posted May 13, 2017 ^ Haha. I almost lost the picture of the ice cream. Even though it looks amazing, it tastes even better than it looks! Glad to hear from an ice cream expert that it was not just me thinking it was great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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