Grona Lund - 19th September
- Thread starter Mushroom
- Start date
Why has no one else posted anything yet? I took minimal photos and they don't really show anything from the day so I'll leave that to someone else. However I will write up a small report.
Sunday 19th September
It was the day after the Coasterforce Live at Liseberg and we awoke and met in the reception of our Ibis boatel. It was me, Will, Richard, Peter, thx, David, Brad and Mushroom and we met very early so we could catch our train to Stockholm.
We walked from the boatel to the main train station in Gothenburg. We had time to collect a few bits and pieces for breakfast. Some of the group opted for Subway but I went and got a few pastries from a newsagents. We then met Loefet and his brother on the platform for our train. We were all in different carriages and it was quite a busy train so we couldn't move around and sit together. I found this quite relaxing as I read some of my James Bond book, had my foodage and had some extra sleep.
We were now in Stockholm. We now had to navigate to the correct tram stop to get to the park. Purchasing the tram tickets from a little newsagents within the station before making a small journey to the tram. We passed several McDonalds in a short distance much to my amusement (not sure why it amused me, London has loads too). We were walking past like a huge department store when a massive crowd of peeps started walking towards us from across the other side of the road. We spotted peeps dressed as a rabbit and carrot much to our confusion, seriously wtf? Someone then pointed out that it was something to do with the election which made more sense, especially as there were loads of camera crews.
Anyway we were finally at the tram stop which was also the starting point for this tram line. We got on and it got busy, very squishy. However it was no time at all before we got to the park. The entrance is very similar to Liseberg's entrance in my opinion. As like the day before the group split into two, ones with cards (mainly ECC) and ones who had to pay normal rates. Just like with Liseberg the passes got us free entry and free wristbands, uber win. There wasn't much faffing about and soon enough we were queuing for our first ride of the day.
The first ride is a brand new coaster for the 2010 season. Hehe, don't go getting excited, it's a tiny kids coaster called Tuff-Tuff Taget (or Choo-Choo Train as the map tells me is it's English translation - who knew?). It was very random and it only just passes as a coaster as it only has one very minor bump in the track, rest of it is just down very minor slopes and tight corners which was quite painful at times (what with Richard barging into me at every turn lol). Richard's day was made at the exit when he had some fun playing with the bell they have in the station.
Our next ride was also a coaster and yep, another kids coaster. This one is themed to a ladybird and it's name (Nyckelpigan) actually translates into Ladybird coaster. The queue was actually very slow and felt like it was taking forever. Once on the ride we laughed a lot as it was a CF takeover. We wanted it to fail on the lift hill due to our combined weight, however this was not achieved, oh well, the thought of it was amusing.
After that exhilarating ride we exited the kids part of the park and over the bridge into the main area. One of the first things that caught my eye was an indoor Huss Breakdance and it looked good, I wanted to ride but coasters were the priority here so we would have to come back for that later.
So what was next I hear you ask. Well, it was an interesting ride called Insane. I'd previously not thought much of these Intamin coasters and just thought they'd be a bit lame. However my ride on Insane was about to completely change my opinion of this coaster type. It really is Insane. The way you just flip about so much is just bizarre and coming into the station brake run upside down is so strange. Oh and no queue = win. This also meant a second go was in order. Even more spinnage and just pure crazy moments were had.
As we came down the exit of Insane we spotted some dodgems, this was clearly what we were going to ride next. They were good fun but the bumpers were really soft making impacts with other cars quite minimal, but they drove smoothly and at a decent pace. Short cycle was also annoying.
Next was their Mouse coaster, a Gertslauer bobsled. It was great fun and with the limited space they have it's fantastic. Very good fun with some great transitions and the random banked turn is crazy.
We then went and did Jetline (their Schwarzkopf coaster) which I thought was ok but not as amazing as people had tried to hype it up to be. Maybe a second go later on will make me feel otherwise? In the queueline we were actually very distracted by a lady running the game stall opposite. Basically she was hot and she noticed us lot looking at her lol. Richard actually waved at her, much to her amusement. Her stall gave away Toblerone and daim/dime bar so she is now called Dime bar lady
Next up was the last coaster the park has to offer, Kvasten, a suspended Vekoma. This has some epic seat design. It's a big seat with a lap bar, just such a random experience. Feels so open and actually quite scary and I want Chessie to update Vampire with them, really adds to the ride. However the ride doesn't really do much, has a very small layout and it builds up lots of speed just as it gets into the station which is a shame. Talking of the station, it is awesome, a big Witches house with some amazing music, really wasn't expecting that.
We then went back to do Insane some more. Muchroom and Richard were sitting together on all the rides and getting some mental spinnage. I wanted a go and my forth go I got to sit on the same car as them. As soon as we exited the station the car moved so Mushy and Richard were facing down and Peter and I were facing up to the sky, was crazy. The rest of the ride was just plain mental (not as crazy as some of their other rides) but being upside down on the mid course brake-run is just messed up and such an unusual feeling.
So after two rides on Insane we were all feeling a little light headed, so why not do the breakdance now? I was uber excited about riding this. I still miss Rodeo (probably my first major thrill ride) and the one we went on in Holland was pants, this one looked awesome so I was really hoping to get a good ride. The music was loud (latest club tunes) and it had some lights, good enough for me. The ride was actually really good, could have been a little bit faster but I can't have everything I wish the cycle was a tad longer too, oh wells.
I think this is when we called for lunch. I opted for the burger place. The food wasn't badly priced and was actually very nice. Don't really remember the specifics apart from it being a burger and I enjoyed eating it.
I told Richard that I had spotted an epic ice cream place earlier on and that was it, we were going there for some ice cream. Brad, Will, David and Richard opted for the mega cone and ice cream thing but I just went for a pot with 3 scoops, Strawberry, Vanilla and Chocolate - Neapolitan ice cream ftw. It was very nice ice cream, very smooth and tasty. We finished eating our ice cream outside the fun house. It was really odd, the fun house has about 12 rows of benches facing it, it's not like it's a show, it's a fun house, weird.
Seeing as we were sitting outside it, once Will had stopped making a mess with his ice cream we decided to do the fun house. Just getting in to it was fun, one of those steps split in half that move up and down in a different pace, know what I'm on about? Hope so, well I struggled to get up but I managed it in the end. Inside were loads of different rooms and lots of dodgy stairs, the UK health and safety department would have a field day complaining about it lol. It was awesome though and the spinning tunnel was really effective, great stuff. To get out you sit on a mat which then goes down a slide really fast, very impressive.
We then opted for another go on Jetline. I did enjoy it a lot more this time round, the first drop is quite awesome and one of the other drops goes into quite a forceful turn which is quite cool.
Wandering around we then opt for the drop tower. It actually wasn't until we were sat on the ride and getting to the top I realised how high it is, it just kept climbing and climbing. The actual drop was ok but not very forceful compared to other towers I've been on.
For some reason a random fascination about some themed toilets grew and we ended up having our group photo in lol. It was all greek-like with some random fountains etc. At one point while we were getting ready to take the pic a man came in to use the urinals and with all of us standing there he got stage freight lol. We then kept Brad in one of the cubicals until the very last moment for the photo, I can't wait to see how it turned out.
Time was running out now and we could only go on one more ride. We finally decided to ride the mouse coaster again because of its randomness and cool banking. I has photo.
Time was now up and we headed over to the tram stop to get back to the train station. It was sad because our time in Sweden was coming to an end. When we got to the station we then had to catch a coach to the airport, we had to say our goodbyes to thx, loefet and his brother which was a shame.
On the coach we were all split up so most of us just got some extra sleep in on the way to the airport. We then had quite a wait at the airport for our flight which was boring because there was nothing there. I spent most of the flight listening to my music and reading more of the James Bond book I had with me. Great stuff. At the airport the group got smaller still with Brad, Mushroom and David going one way and Richard, Peter, Will and I going the other. Richard drove us back to his where we stayed the night, by the time we got back we were so tired with all the travelling we had done in one day.
Overall it was an amazing weekend. Thanks to everyone with help organising the trip and making it awesome. Thanks also goes out to all that read my trip reports, hope you enjoyed reading up on our little Swedish adventure. Sorry for the lack of pics.
However the entire photo album can be found HERE
Sunday 19th September
It was the day after the Coasterforce Live at Liseberg and we awoke and met in the reception of our Ibis boatel. It was me, Will, Richard, Peter, thx, David, Brad and Mushroom and we met very early so we could catch our train to Stockholm.
We walked from the boatel to the main train station in Gothenburg. We had time to collect a few bits and pieces for breakfast. Some of the group opted for Subway but I went and got a few pastries from a newsagents. We then met Loefet and his brother on the platform for our train. We were all in different carriages and it was quite a busy train so we couldn't move around and sit together. I found this quite relaxing as I read some of my James Bond book, had my foodage and had some extra sleep.
We were now in Stockholm. We now had to navigate to the correct tram stop to get to the park. Purchasing the tram tickets from a little newsagents within the station before making a small journey to the tram. We passed several McDonalds in a short distance much to my amusement (not sure why it amused me, London has loads too). We were walking past like a huge department store when a massive crowd of peeps started walking towards us from across the other side of the road. We spotted peeps dressed as a rabbit and carrot much to our confusion, seriously wtf? Someone then pointed out that it was something to do with the election which made more sense, especially as there were loads of camera crews.
Anyway we were finally at the tram stop which was also the starting point for this tram line. We got on and it got busy, very squishy. However it was no time at all before we got to the park. The entrance is very similar to Liseberg's entrance in my opinion. As like the day before the group split into two, ones with cards (mainly ECC) and ones who had to pay normal rates. Just like with Liseberg the passes got us free entry and free wristbands, uber win. There wasn't much faffing about and soon enough we were queuing for our first ride of the day.
The first ride is a brand new coaster for the 2010 season. Hehe, don't go getting excited, it's a tiny kids coaster called Tuff-Tuff Taget (or Choo-Choo Train as the map tells me is it's English translation - who knew?). It was very random and it only just passes as a coaster as it only has one very minor bump in the track, rest of it is just down very minor slopes and tight corners which was quite painful at times (what with Richard barging into me at every turn lol). Richard's day was made at the exit when he had some fun playing with the bell they have in the station.
Our next ride was also a coaster and yep, another kids coaster. This one is themed to a ladybird and it's name (Nyckelpigan) actually translates into Ladybird coaster. The queue was actually very slow and felt like it was taking forever. Once on the ride we laughed a lot as it was a CF takeover. We wanted it to fail on the lift hill due to our combined weight, however this was not achieved, oh well, the thought of it was amusing.
After that exhilarating ride we exited the kids part of the park and over the bridge into the main area. One of the first things that caught my eye was an indoor Huss Breakdance and it looked good, I wanted to ride but coasters were the priority here so we would have to come back for that later.
So what was next I hear you ask. Well, it was an interesting ride called Insane. I'd previously not thought much of these Intamin coasters and just thought they'd be a bit lame. However my ride on Insane was about to completely change my opinion of this coaster type. It really is Insane. The way you just flip about so much is just bizarre and coming into the station brake run upside down is so strange. Oh and no queue = win. This also meant a second go was in order. Even more spinnage and just pure crazy moments were had.
As we came down the exit of Insane we spotted some dodgems, this was clearly what we were going to ride next. They were good fun but the bumpers were really soft making impacts with other cars quite minimal, but they drove smoothly and at a decent pace. Short cycle was also annoying.
Next was their Mouse coaster, a Gertslauer bobsled. It was great fun and with the limited space they have it's fantastic. Very good fun with some great transitions and the random banked turn is crazy.
We then went and did Jetline (their Schwarzkopf coaster) which I thought was ok but not as amazing as people had tried to hype it up to be. Maybe a second go later on will make me feel otherwise? In the queueline we were actually very distracted by a lady running the game stall opposite. Basically she was hot and she noticed us lot looking at her lol. Richard actually waved at her, much to her amusement. Her stall gave away Toblerone and daim/dime bar so she is now called Dime bar lady
Next up was the last coaster the park has to offer, Kvasten, a suspended Vekoma. This has some epic seat design. It's a big seat with a lap bar, just such a random experience. Feels so open and actually quite scary and I want Chessie to update Vampire with them, really adds to the ride. However the ride doesn't really do much, has a very small layout and it builds up lots of speed just as it gets into the station which is a shame. Talking of the station, it is awesome, a big Witches house with some amazing music, really wasn't expecting that.
We then went back to do Insane some more. Muchroom and Richard were sitting together on all the rides and getting some mental spinnage. I wanted a go and my forth go I got to sit on the same car as them. As soon as we exited the station the car moved so Mushy and Richard were facing down and Peter and I were facing up to the sky, was crazy. The rest of the ride was just plain mental (not as crazy as some of their other rides) but being upside down on the mid course brake-run is just messed up and such an unusual feeling.
So after two rides on Insane we were all feeling a little light headed, so why not do the breakdance now? I was uber excited about riding this. I still miss Rodeo (probably my first major thrill ride) and the one we went on in Holland was pants, this one looked awesome so I was really hoping to get a good ride. The music was loud (latest club tunes) and it had some lights, good enough for me. The ride was actually really good, could have been a little bit faster but I can't have everything
I wish the cycle was a tad longer too, oh wells.I think this is when we called for lunch. I opted for the burger place. The food wasn't badly priced and was actually very nice. Don't really remember the specifics apart from it being a burger and I enjoyed eating it.
I told Richard that I had spotted an epic ice cream place earlier on and that was it, we were going there for some ice cream. Brad, Will, David and Richard opted for the mega cone and ice cream thing but I just went for a pot with 3 scoops, Strawberry, Vanilla and Chocolate - Neapolitan ice cream ftw. It was very nice ice cream, very smooth and tasty. We finished eating our ice cream outside the fun house. It was really odd, the fun house has about 12 rows of benches facing it, it's not like it's a show, it's a fun house, weird.
Seeing as we were sitting outside it, once Will had stopped making a mess with his ice cream we decided to do the fun house. Just getting in to it was fun, one of those steps split in half that move up and down in a different pace, know what I'm on about? Hope so, well I struggled to get up but I managed it in the end. Inside were loads of different rooms and lots of dodgy stairs, the UK health and safety department would have a field day complaining about it lol. It was awesome though and the spinning tunnel was really effective, great stuff. To get out you sit on a mat which then goes down a slide really fast, very impressive.
We then opted for another go on Jetline. I did enjoy it a lot more this time round, the first drop is quite awesome and one of the other drops goes into quite a forceful turn which is quite cool.
Wandering around we then opt for the drop tower. It actually wasn't until we were sat on the ride and getting to the top I realised how high it is, it just kept climbing and climbing. The actual drop was ok but not very forceful compared to other towers I've been on.
For some reason a random fascination about some themed toilets grew and we ended up having our group photo in lol. It was all greek-like with some random fountains etc. At one point while we were getting ready to take the pic a man came in to use the urinals and with all of us standing there he got stage freight lol. We then kept Brad in one of the cubicals until the very last moment for the photo, I can't wait to see how it turned out.
Time was running out now and we could only go on one more ride. We finally decided to ride the mouse coaster again because of its randomness and cool banking. I has photo.
Time was now up and we headed over to the tram stop to get back to the train station. It was sad because our time in Sweden was coming to an end. When we got to the station we then had to catch a coach to the airport, we had to say our goodbyes to thx, loefet and his brother which was a shame.
On the coach we were all split up so most of us just got some extra sleep in on the way to the airport. We then had quite a wait at the airport for our flight which was boring because there was nothing there. I spent most of the flight listening to my music and reading more of the James Bond book I had with me. Great stuff. At the airport the group got smaller still with Brad, Mushroom and David going one way and Richard, Peter, Will and I going the other. Richard drove us back to his where we stayed the night, by the time we got back we were so tired with all the travelling we had done in one day.
Overall it was an amazing weekend. Thanks to everyone with help organising the trip and making it awesome. Thanks also goes out to all that read my trip reports, hope you enjoyed reading up on our little Swedish adventure. Sorry for the lack of pics.
However the entire photo album can be found HERE