Photo TR: Canobie Coaster's World Adventures

[SharkTumsSite Admin]

I have loved Hansa park since our first visit in 2005, and it just keeps improving at a crazy pace. Glad you also had a wonderful time and appreciated all of their crazy rides!

[Norwegian coasterfanWhat would donkeys be like on the moon?]

Great report! I love Hansa Park, it's such a charming little park that keeps getting better every time I visit Kärnan is my favorite rollercoaster, that exit out of the overbank must be one of the most intense elements I have ever experienced, somehow it combines ejector air, crazy laterals and heavy positive g-forces all at once

Awesome trip report as usual! Karnan really seems like gerstlauer took a page out of the intamin hyper book and then just said f*ck it let's take it up another notch!

Fluch von Novgorod's launch does claim it's one of the fastest in the world (0 - 100km/h in 1.6(?) sec.), but it's a moving a launch (not even a rolling one). So, I wonder if that claim is really that accurate. Oh well, it's a good launch anyways (but no top thrill dragster by any means).

Thanks! It's definitely a strong launch, but the fact you're moving 20-25 mph as you enter it takes away some of the initial lunch. I'd say the launch is closer to Maverick (especially when considering it's in the dark) than Dragster.

I really love that this park has such a great one-two punch with Karnan and Fluch von Novgorod... Plus a line up of other coasters and flats in a really well landscaped, charming environment. This park is definitely on my must-do list if I ever get around to visiting more parks in Europe.

Thanks for sharing!

Thanks! Hansa Park definitely had the charm of a small European park, but Karnan is a bonafide top tier ride.

I have loved Hansa park since our first visit in 2005, and it just keeps improving at a crazy pace. Glad you also had a wonderful time and appreciated all of their crazy rides!

The crazier the better! Plus it's simply a charming park.

Great report! I love Hansa Park, it's such a charming little park that keeps getting better every time I visit Kärnan is my favorite rollercoaster, that exit out of the overbank must be one of the most intense elements I have ever experienced, somehow it combines ejector air, crazy laterals and heavy positive g-forces all at once

Thanks! Yeah I was completely caught off-guard by the ferocity of that overbank. And this is from someone used to being tossed like a ragdoll on Skyrush.

[bert425Why do I still have a donkey title???]

I'm way behind in catching up on your reports, but I have looked at the pics, and they all look like you had an incredible time!

(will go back and read later).

Hansa in particular looks like a really spectacular park. I adore that swinging bell frisbee. Did I hear recently they were closing it?

Sadly the bell frisbee is closing. But I don't blame the park since it's capacity is putrid (6 riders, long cycle). I'm pretty sure Hansa built that back before they tried becoming a resort.

[cfcI've gone pantless!]

I love Karnan. Like Skyrush, it's a legitimately terrifying ride.

Plus it has the theming to go with it too. It's rare to have a ride that intense themed so well.

Hamburg DOM

After an overnight train and a full day at Hansa Park, I was ready to crash. My bed was calling my name. However, a crazy European funfair called my name louder.

My base for Hansa Park and Heide Park was downtown Hamburg. And the Hamburg DOM funfair just happened to be less than 2 miles from my hotel. It would have been criminal not to go.

I could have admired the sights.

But instead I went to a crazy European funfair.

It was where the action was.

I had no clue what the ride lineup would be. I sort of expected a lot of coasters and flats to overlap with Oktoberfest’s lineup. Much to my shock, basically every ride was different. The only ride I noticed from Oktoberfest was the weird multi-story Rotor with the funhouse queue.

The biggest coaster was the Rock & Roller Coaster not starring Aerosmith. Instead of being a cool Vekoma launcher in the dark, this one was a Schwarzkopf wildcat with some light theming around it.

This supersized galaxi was great for a fair coaster. The second and third drops had quick pops of air and it was immaculately smooth. The only rough part was a borderline violent stop at the end. Brace yourself for that! 5 out of 10

These galaxi coasters always look more imposing at a fair.

Rock and Roller Coaster felt incomplete without Aerosmith.

The other major coaster was Crazy Mouse. Since I got a solo ride, my car spun like a top in the second half. The other cool thing about this ride was that they had complimentary fluffy, fluffy bunnies filled with medicine and goo adjacent to it. I’ve never seen that at a fair before. 5 out of 10

I never thought I’d find a wacky worm better than the one at Nigloland. What could be better than a wacky worm that gives ejector airtime? Well I may have found one.

If you take a wacky worm and add animatronics, smoke, and water, you have officially piqued my interest. And that’s exactly what Kuddel Der Hai did. And it also plays the SpongeBob SquarePants theme as you crawl around the course. 4 out of 10

It may look like an ordinary wacky worm.

But just look at all that theming!

There was also a debatable fourth credit in Spuk. This was a gravity driven haunted house with a sizable spiral lift and multiple drops. Honestly, this is more of a coaster than Black Diamond or Conneaut’s Devil’s Den. One of the hills even had a tiny pop of air.

But the highlight was the scare effects. The props themselves were relatively cheap looking, but the timing was impeccable. Jump scares were lined up perfectly with the coaster drops to give this haunt a unique flavor. And it gets major points for almost making me crap my pants. 9 out of 10

SPOILER

As you round the corner, I thought there was one last animatronic. Except this was a real dude. Not only that, but he swung a rubber axe into my throat. WTF?! I’ve been touched before on haunts, but I’ve never had someone go for my jugular.

It's the things that would never fly in America that make Europe special.

END SPOILER

This drop is 100% gravity powered. Credit whores can rejoice.

Since one effed up haunt wasn’t enough, there was also this multi-story shooter that begins with an elevator lift. The props and targets on Geister were bare bones; however, it had some unique things that made it memorable.

For one, it has some drops. They’re 100% powered, but there were targets during this drop that were a real challenge to hit. Second, there were multiple jump scares. When you’re busy focusing on targets, you really let your guard down so cheap carnival effects suddenly become effective.

And like Spuk, this one also has a surprise finale. 7 out of 10

SPOILER

Just when you think the ride is over, the car actually moves on a motion base. A zombie then “attacks” you and you rise into the air and shake around a bit. It wasn’t thrilling, but I guarantee you’ll be laughing at the randomness of it.

END SPOILER

I think the elevator lift was scarier than the zombies.

Off-ride, the grandest dark ride appears to be Dr. Archibald Master of Time. The multistory building is absolute eye-candy. You’d think a ride that puts that much effort into the facade would have some detailed sets on the inside.

Except there’s one problem, Dr. Archibald is a VR dark ride.

Rather than trying to scare you, this VR was to transport you to different fantasy worlds. It was definitely novel, but the overly cartoonish scenes just weren’t immersive enough for me. Honestly, the coolest part was how the unload station matched the final scene from the VR. 5 out of 10

What a facade!

Happy Family was a disorienting fun house. I lost count how many shaking, spinning, rolling, bouncing, and sliding platforms there were. All I know is that my legs felt like jelly afterwards and I couldn’t walk straight. There was also a super tall and fast spiral slide for good measure. 8 out of 10

I'm glad Mario, Angry Birds, and Despicable Me could come together to form one big happy family.

Crazy Island was the lesser of the two fun houses. Not all the indoor effects worked, but the outdoor section is where it got interesting.

There are all sorts of platforms above a pool. There are also a series of sprayers. If you lose your balance, you will fall in the water. If you mistime your journey, you’ll get blasted. And if you somehow manage to stay dry, don’t worry. The last platform sinks into the pool anyway. 5 out of 10

It may look like an innocent fun house.

But it has a very unacceptable amount of wetness.

And of course the fair was filled with insane flats. It’s a toss-up what was crazier- the Huss Breakdance or the Mondial Shake.

I never rode the famed Break Dance at Coney Island, but I find it hard-pressed that thing could top Dancer. To start, it had a ridiculously long cycle. The cycle lasted two FULL songs! Even if it ran like crap, that alone would make it notable. But it didn’t run like crap. This thing was insane.

I never knew a break dance could be operated so fast. The Gs on the spinning combined with the violent whipping was pure bliss. I didn’t think it could get any faster, but the operator laughed maniacally and yelled, “Spin like a bee!” And somehow it got even faster. The Gs were so intense it pushed the skin back on my cheeks a la Top Thrill Dragster. 10 out of 10

People need to learn from German carnies how to run a flat.

I loved Tik Tak at Tivoli Gardens. I thought it was the perfect flat. It was beautiful, had a super long cycle, and was wild. Shake isn’t a looker, but it has an insanely long cycle and an insanely wild ride.

Tik Tak had violent rocking and long, drawn-out flips. Shake had the long, drawn-out flips, but instead of violent rocks, it did complete 360 flips in the blink of an eye. Combine that with a disorienting lighting package and you’re going to have no idea which way is up. 10 out of 10

If you give a German carny a ride capable of doing crazy flips, you can bet you're going upside down more times than you can count.

Viva Mexico was a waltzer, which is basically a tilt-a-whirl on sterioids. And it had the potential to be one of the best spinning rides of all-time. There was just one problem. I don’t have boobs.

During the ride, the operators ran around the platform manually spinning vehicles. Every so often they’d give me a token spin and the Gs were incredible. But most of their time was spent on the all-female cars. So if you want a great ride, I hope you’re female or willing to dress in drag. 8 out of 10

Note the dude spinning the cars himself.

And since it was a German fair, there was of course beer and food. I feel like I committed a mortal sin skipping the beer, but I did indulge in food. I had a jumbo pretzel, some fluffy pofferjes, and a delicious unknown-meat sandwich.

For those unfamiliar with a European fair, there’s no wristband. A different showman owns every ride. On one hand, that stinks because it can become costly. On the other hand, this is why every ride is run to the max. They need to make their ride more appealing than the competition!

The Hamburg DOM isn’t a destination fair like Oktoberfest. However, it’s still a riot. The atmosphere is electric and you see plenty of things you’ll never get in America like vomit-inducing flats and crazy dark rides.

[jedimaster1227Delicious & Refreshing]

I was looking this one up online... I couldn't find anything about an HOF fun fair but I did see a DOM fun fair. Are these the same?

Great report though! The night photos are awesome!

^ Yes my bad. It was the DOM fair. Hamburg HOF was my hotel (which was a good hotel with a water slide).