CSLKennyNI
Giga Poster
So last week I went to Germany for a week to 'see family' I have there, the fact they live 30 mins away from Phantasialand and it was the week of the park's 50th birthday was just a lucky coincidence......:emoji_imp:
Phantasialand is my childhood park and therefore is very close to my heart. It is also my favourite park in the world and full of all of my favourite rides.
So I really wanted to be there for the 50th anniversary of the park, and of course just to simply get back on park (I mean you don't really need extra reasons to visit Phantasialand do you?). With really cheap Ryanair flights to Cologne airport I had no reason not to go.
I had a great week in Germany; I do love the city of Cologne, it was good to spend time with family, I visited two brilliant museums (Haus der Geschichte in Bonn and the maritime museum in Duisburg), went to a funfair and spent 3 days in Phantasialand!
26th April - Day One
Entered the park through the Berlin entrance, while the entrance itself is very dated (and definitely going to be replaced in the coming years), the view you get after entering and the experience of walking down the stairs, around the doubledecker carousel and along the beautiful Old Berlin street towards Wellenflug never fails to amaze me. You are instantly thrown into and immersed in the world of Berlin at the beginning of the 20th century. It gets bonus points from me for being a historical theme as I'm a big lover of history.
My first port of call was to Guest Services to get myself an annual pass. I've never bought myself an annual pass for any park before so this was new territory but with many trips planned to Phantasialand this year and all the benefits that the pass comes with I thought it was a good investment. The Phantasialand Erlebnis-Pass as it is called costs 185 euro and as well as unlimited entry to the park for a year; you get 3 quick-passes every time you visit, 35% off the hotels, 30% off merchandise and 10% off food in the park. However the other major reason I bought it was it gives you one free admission to Europa Park, Efteling (both parks I'm visiting this year) and Liseberg, and discounts to Toverland (25%), Walibi Belgium, Bellewaerde (40%), Bobbejaaland (50%) etc.
The woman at the services desk was shocked when she looked at my form and saw I was from the UK - she thought my German was excellent and couldn't tell, which I was rather pleased about!
(she must have had hearing problems)
After getting my pass sorted which was quick and painless, I headed straight for Taron's queue. For crowd control reasons every morning they keep Klugheim closed, make people queue on the bridge between Chiapas and Taron and staff lead the queue then into Klugheim to the entrance of Taron. Then the morning opening announcement plays - which is a great way to get everyone excited for what lies ahead!
I love Klugheim - the fusion of medieval, Bavarian, Norse myth, Irish + fantasy/mystery theming, the IMAscore soundtrack, atmosphere and two great coasters! It is so immersive (which is a word I will probably use a lot as it is what Phantasia excels at!), you really feel like you are no longer in a theme park but actually in the mysterious world of Klugheim. I would certainly say it is one of the best themed areas in the world. There are so many little things to see and explore - the detail in the buildings and rockwork is astonishing.
Taron is my no.1 coaster. The lapbar trains are comfy and give you a lot of freedom. I've already mentioned the spectacular theming and music but the coaster itself has a great fun and thrilling layout - the airtime, direction changes and launches are wonderful! Especially that 2nd launch...
Raik,the Vekoma Family boomerang, is fun and a good family coaster. The time travel theme works brilliantly with the going backwards and forwards aspect of the coaster. I find the effects used ingenious = the fog in the zero car and the lights and clock sequence in the station.
The park was fairly quiet that day so I managed to get 5 rides on Taron and 4 on Raik throughout the day.
After the Klugheim coasters I headed to Chiapas to see the changes for this year.
The new entrance portal is great and hopefully now people will find the ride entrance without a problem. The return of the Single Rider queue was also very helpful for me so I went straight on.
Chiapas is a brilliant log flume. I do love a good water ride, and Chiapas has it all - amazing theming, soundtrack, story, a good layout and a disco party cave! The new system on the first turntable has slowed it down quite a bit but it is a vast improvement. My only criticism of Chiapas is the boats and their lapbars (which are weirdly shaped imo). They're not terrible and don't ruin the ride for me but I find them rather uncomfortable.
Chiapas is full of easter eggs from the Coca-cola drinks box amongst the archaeologists stuff to the initials of the park owner Robert Loffelhart 'RL' on the wall at the switch track after the 2nd drop. There's even easter eggs I've read about online but still haven't managed to find them myself.
Afterwards I rode Colorado Adventure the park's fabulous Vekoma Mine Train twice in a row before making my way over the other side of the park to the Fantasy area. The Fantasy area has always been my least favourite part of the park. It's not badly done, the outdoor Wuze-Tal kids area is nicely themed and the indoors Wuze Town building is also well done, but I just don't feel much love for it compared to the other areas of the park.
Before I got to Winjas however I stopped to look at the Rookburgh sign - teasing the new themed area under construction.
I'm really intrigued by this project even though we know very little about it and it is currently still a massive hole in the ground. I can't wait for it open (presumably next year). Steampunk is a good theme and Phantasialand's take on steampunk will be amazing! I'm expecting a lot of detail and to be blown away by it - question is will it top Klugheim, as the creative team have claimed it will?. I'm really hoping for a dark ride. While I remain skeptical of the Flying Coaster rumours started by Looopings - if it does turn out to be true and the new Vekoma prototype flying coaster is being used to create a Flying coaster dark ride (ala Arthur at Europa Park) I'm not complaining!
I then headed to Winjas Fear & Force, the two Maurer spinning coasters. I really enjoy both of them although I like Fear better for the overbanked turn. Again the theming, soundtrack and layout are excellent and the hidden bits of trick track are great! I love seeing and hearing people's first reactions to the trick track when they don't know its coming - I did this back in July to two (very GP) friends of mine. Okay they didn't react very positively to the experience and weren't very pleased that I had failed to mention these parts in advance but I maintain that it is better to go in not knowing first.
After a ride on the Tittle Tattle Tree (really good fun and great views of Winjas) I left Fantasy and headed back to Klugheim for another go on Taron and Raik, and then for one of my most anticipated rides of the day: the new and improved River Quest!
I've always loved River Quest - it is one of my all time favourite rides. I've quite a history with it as well. As a child I was dying to go on it after hearing about it from my parents and watching the boats go by. And as said earlier I really like water rides. However I wasn't 1.40m yet so I couldn't ride. There was at least 2 years in a row where I tried to go (I even resorted once to buying boots to wear to make me taller) but was turned away. Throughout those two years I constantly measured my height, impatiently waiting to grow taller... Finally one summer I was at last 1.40m and I've loved it ever since!
It is so much fun. I love the social aspect of the rapids boats and again like Winjas this is a great attraction to watch the reactions of others - which on River Quest is perhaps one of the most entertaining parts and the russian roulette factor - where you don't know if you will get wet or really wet.
The new theming is amazing! The tunnel, lifts and whirlpool look wonderful and RQ looks brand new despite being 15 years old! I especially love the new music in the lifts from IMAscore - really builds up the tension.
I rode River Quest 4 times that day - which really wasn't the best decision I've ever made as unfortunately every single time I got completely drenched. But it is just SO MUCH FUN! Normally when I ride it is the summer, it is really warm and you dry off in the sun. However it was April and 11 degrees.... I was freezing and dripping wet now for the rest of the day. Clever me..
I then rode Mystery Castle. It was running the short cycle - which is still good fun but I returned after 2pm when they normally switch over to the longer cycle. Thankfully I did then get the longer cycle. The effects, music and audio do really add to make it a great experience. One advantage of being on my own in the park was that I took longer to look at and appreciate all the theming and details around the whole park but particularly in the queueline of Mystery Castle. It is a wonderful experience attraction.
Maus au Chocolat was next - another great experience attraction. I love the theming, details, smells, effects and the interactive aspect of this dark ride. A great family attraction. However while in the queue I noticed there was still water dripping off me and creating a small puddle ...damn you River Quest!
I then went into the park's fun house Hotel Tartuff. This is one of my favourite attractions. It is weird, wacky and wonderful, really well themed and a lot of fun!
I really like the Berlin murals along the walkway at the back of Kaiserplatz.
Next up was Black Mamba which has never really been a favourite of mine, and it still isn't. I mean it is a great ride - fun, forceful + smooth - and the theming is amazing, but I just don't find it as fun and exciting as some of the other rides in the park. Out of all the coasters in Phantasialand it is my 2nd least favourite. I waited longer for the front row which was great and is definitely my favourite row as you get a clear view of your surroundings - I feel in other rows you can't see that much because it is an Inverted train. I also don't really like OTSRs on any coaster. Maybe it is a coaster I'd appreciate more if it wasn't in a park full of other great rides.
After another ride on Colorado Adventure, I ended the long (and wet) day on Taron!
Interlude - Kölner Frühlingsvolksfest
I spent the next day in the city of Cologne and in the afternoon decided to visit the funfair/German Kirmes on the Deutz side of the Rhine river.
It was a decent size and primilary consisted of food stalls and attractions for kids.
Ferris Wheel and one of the thrill flat rides.
I was really impressed by the size of the travelling Mack Rides log flume they had.
Some kind of Pirates themed walkthrough thing... I think... Not really sure what it was.
Wild Mouse coaster.
In the end I only went on the Log Flume and Wild Mouse (5 euro each). Both were really good fun. The Wild Mouse was nothing special but its placement next to the road bridge and river meant at the top corner it seems as if you are about to be flung into the traffic, and then for the rest of the coaster, into the river.
Rest of my Phantasialand report coming soon covering the remaining attractions and the 50th anniversary itself.
Phantasialand is my childhood park and therefore is very close to my heart. It is also my favourite park in the world and full of all of my favourite rides.
So I really wanted to be there for the 50th anniversary of the park, and of course just to simply get back on park (I mean you don't really need extra reasons to visit Phantasialand do you?). With really cheap Ryanair flights to Cologne airport I had no reason not to go.
I had a great week in Germany; I do love the city of Cologne, it was good to spend time with family, I visited two brilliant museums (Haus der Geschichte in Bonn and the maritime museum in Duisburg), went to a funfair and spent 3 days in Phantasialand!
26th April - Day One
Entered the park through the Berlin entrance, while the entrance itself is very dated (and definitely going to be replaced in the coming years), the view you get after entering and the experience of walking down the stairs, around the doubledecker carousel and along the beautiful Old Berlin street towards Wellenflug never fails to amaze me. You are instantly thrown into and immersed in the world of Berlin at the beginning of the 20th century. It gets bonus points from me for being a historical theme as I'm a big lover of history.
My first port of call was to Guest Services to get myself an annual pass. I've never bought myself an annual pass for any park before so this was new territory but with many trips planned to Phantasialand this year and all the benefits that the pass comes with I thought it was a good investment. The Phantasialand Erlebnis-Pass as it is called costs 185 euro and as well as unlimited entry to the park for a year; you get 3 quick-passes every time you visit, 35% off the hotels, 30% off merchandise and 10% off food in the park. However the other major reason I bought it was it gives you one free admission to Europa Park, Efteling (both parks I'm visiting this year) and Liseberg, and discounts to Toverland (25%), Walibi Belgium, Bellewaerde (40%), Bobbejaaland (50%) etc.
The woman at the services desk was shocked when she looked at my form and saw I was from the UK - she thought my German was excellent and couldn't tell, which I was rather pleased about!
After getting my pass sorted which was quick and painless, I headed straight for Taron's queue. For crowd control reasons every morning they keep Klugheim closed, make people queue on the bridge between Chiapas and Taron and staff lead the queue then into Klugheim to the entrance of Taron. Then the morning opening announcement plays - which is a great way to get everyone excited for what lies ahead!
Taron is my no.1 coaster. The lapbar trains are comfy and give you a lot of freedom. I've already mentioned the spectacular theming and music but the coaster itself has a great fun and thrilling layout - the airtime, direction changes and launches are wonderful! Especially that 2nd launch...
Raik,the Vekoma Family boomerang, is fun and a good family coaster. The time travel theme works brilliantly with the going backwards and forwards aspect of the coaster. I find the effects used ingenious = the fog in the zero car and the lights and clock sequence in the station.
The park was fairly quiet that day so I managed to get 5 rides on Taron and 4 on Raik throughout the day.
After the Klugheim coasters I headed to Chiapas to see the changes for this year.
The new entrance portal is great and hopefully now people will find the ride entrance without a problem. The return of the Single Rider queue was also very helpful for me so I went straight on.
Chiapas is a brilliant log flume. I do love a good water ride, and Chiapas has it all - amazing theming, soundtrack, story, a good layout and a disco party cave! The new system on the first turntable has slowed it down quite a bit but it is a vast improvement. My only criticism of Chiapas is the boats and their lapbars (which are weirdly shaped imo). They're not terrible and don't ruin the ride for me but I find them rather uncomfortable.
Chiapas is full of easter eggs from the Coca-cola drinks box amongst the archaeologists stuff to the initials of the park owner Robert Loffelhart 'RL' on the wall at the switch track after the 2nd drop. There's even easter eggs I've read about online but still haven't managed to find them myself.
Afterwards I rode Colorado Adventure the park's fabulous Vekoma Mine Train twice in a row before making my way over the other side of the park to the Fantasy area. The Fantasy area has always been my least favourite part of the park. It's not badly done, the outdoor Wuze-Tal kids area is nicely themed and the indoors Wuze Town building is also well done, but I just don't feel much love for it compared to the other areas of the park.
Before I got to Winjas however I stopped to look at the Rookburgh sign - teasing the new themed area under construction.
I'm really intrigued by this project even though we know very little about it and it is currently still a massive hole in the ground. I can't wait for it open (presumably next year). Steampunk is a good theme and Phantasialand's take on steampunk will be amazing! I'm expecting a lot of detail and to be blown away by it - question is will it top Klugheim, as the creative team have claimed it will?. I'm really hoping for a dark ride. While I remain skeptical of the Flying Coaster rumours started by Looopings - if it does turn out to be true and the new Vekoma prototype flying coaster is being used to create a Flying coaster dark ride (ala Arthur at Europa Park) I'm not complaining!
I then headed to Winjas Fear & Force, the two Maurer spinning coasters. I really enjoy both of them although I like Fear better for the overbanked turn. Again the theming, soundtrack and layout are excellent and the hidden bits of trick track are great! I love seeing and hearing people's first reactions to the trick track when they don't know its coming - I did this back in July to two (very GP) friends of mine. Okay they didn't react very positively to the experience and weren't very pleased that I had failed to mention these parts in advance but I maintain that it is better to go in not knowing first.
After a ride on the Tittle Tattle Tree (really good fun and great views of Winjas) I left Fantasy and headed back to Klugheim for another go on Taron and Raik, and then for one of my most anticipated rides of the day: the new and improved River Quest!
I've always loved River Quest - it is one of my all time favourite rides. I've quite a history with it as well. As a child I was dying to go on it after hearing about it from my parents and watching the boats go by. And as said earlier I really like water rides. However I wasn't 1.40m yet so I couldn't ride. There was at least 2 years in a row where I tried to go (I even resorted once to buying boots to wear to make me taller) but was turned away. Throughout those two years I constantly measured my height, impatiently waiting to grow taller... Finally one summer I was at last 1.40m and I've loved it ever since!
It is so much fun. I love the social aspect of the rapids boats and again like Winjas this is a great attraction to watch the reactions of others - which on River Quest is perhaps one of the most entertaining parts and the russian roulette factor - where you don't know if you will get wet or really wet.
The new theming is amazing! The tunnel, lifts and whirlpool look wonderful and RQ looks brand new despite being 15 years old! I especially love the new music in the lifts from IMAscore - really builds up the tension.
I rode River Quest 4 times that day - which really wasn't the best decision I've ever made as unfortunately every single time I got completely drenched. But it is just SO MUCH FUN! Normally when I ride it is the summer, it is really warm and you dry off in the sun. However it was April and 11 degrees.... I was freezing and dripping wet now for the rest of the day. Clever me..
I then rode Mystery Castle. It was running the short cycle - which is still good fun but I returned after 2pm when they normally switch over to the longer cycle. Thankfully I did then get the longer cycle. The effects, music and audio do really add to make it a great experience. One advantage of being on my own in the park was that I took longer to look at and appreciate all the theming and details around the whole park but particularly in the queueline of Mystery Castle. It is a wonderful experience attraction.
Maus au Chocolat was next - another great experience attraction. I love the theming, details, smells, effects and the interactive aspect of this dark ride. A great family attraction. However while in the queue I noticed there was still water dripping off me and creating a small puddle ...damn you River Quest!
I then went into the park's fun house Hotel Tartuff. This is one of my favourite attractions. It is weird, wacky and wonderful, really well themed and a lot of fun!
Next up was Black Mamba which has never really been a favourite of mine, and it still isn't. I mean it is a great ride - fun, forceful + smooth - and the theming is amazing, but I just don't find it as fun and exciting as some of the other rides in the park. Out of all the coasters in Phantasialand it is my 2nd least favourite. I waited longer for the front row which was great and is definitely my favourite row as you get a clear view of your surroundings - I feel in other rows you can't see that much because it is an Inverted train. I also don't really like OTSRs on any coaster. Maybe it is a coaster I'd appreciate more if it wasn't in a park full of other great rides.
After another ride on Colorado Adventure, I ended the long (and wet) day on Taron!
Interlude - Kölner Frühlingsvolksfest
I spent the next day in the city of Cologne and in the afternoon decided to visit the funfair/German Kirmes on the Deutz side of the Rhine river.
It was a decent size and primilary consisted of food stalls and attractions for kids.
Ferris Wheel and one of the thrill flat rides.
I was really impressed by the size of the travelling Mack Rides log flume they had.
Some kind of Pirates themed walkthrough thing... I think... Not really sure what it was.
Wild Mouse coaster.
In the end I only went on the Log Flume and Wild Mouse (5 euro each). Both were really good fun. The Wild Mouse was nothing special but its placement next to the road bridge and river meant at the top corner it seems as if you are about to be flung into the traffic, and then for the rest of the coaster, into the river.
Rest of my Phantasialand report coming soon covering the remaining attractions and the 50th anniversary itself.