Austrian Antics (Fantasiana, Wiener Prater, and more) - Pt. 5: Böhmischer Prater, Epilogue

[NemesisRider]

Intro: Mack Produkt

As the old adage goes: “if I had a nickel for every time that an Austrian amusement park decided to open a Mack Big Dipper in 2025, I would only have two nickels, but it’s weird that it happened twice”.

I’ve had the pleasure of visiting Austria once before in the past, specifically when I stopped in Vienna for a few days as part of a longer Interrail trip. The Austrian year of the coaster seemed like the perfect justification to return, giving me an opportunity to explore cities beyond the capital and bag both of the new Mack Produkts. Whilst I’m no stranger to a solo trip, I do like to have company whilst travelling abroad, so the deal was sealed when I convinced one of my longest-standing enthusiast friends to come along for the ride. I devised a week-long itinerary featuring my patented blend of theme parks and culture, beginning in Innsbruck, stopping in Salzburg, and concluding in Vienna.



Part 1: Innsbruck, Mieders Sommerrodelbahn, and the 4 Euro Ghost Train

Whilst I am never exactly enthusiastic about being awake at 5:00am, I will tolerate it on occasion for an early flight. The Gatwick Gods were clearly feeling merciful on this overcast Wednesday morning, as we sailed through check-in and security to board our flight to Innsbruck.



For me, a plane journey is typically not a positive part of the trip, usually being focused on getting from A to B in minimal discomfort. This flight turned out to be an exception, for as we descended into Innsbruck we were treated to some utterly lush views of the alps.



Once we touched down, the race against the clock began. Thunderstorms were forecast for the afternoon, meaning we had only a short window to drop our bags at the hotel, reach the tiny town of Mieders, and snatch a ride on one of the most famous alpine coasters on the planet.



The mountainous geography of Austria has made alpine coasters something of a national speciality, with a majority of the nation’s RCDB listings being of the sort. One of the most famous of these is Mieders Sommelrodellbahn (also known by its government name, Sommerrodelbahn Serlesblitz), which I first learned of from a YouTube video showing the descent done brakeless. Needless to say, it looked bats*** insane. Since neither I nor my companion had tried an alpine coaster on this scale before, Mieders quickly became one of the most anticipated stops on our itinerary.



Reaching Mieders from Innsbruck Hbf is simple and only takes about half an hour – there’s a direct bus that will drop you at the upwards cable car station which runs every 30 minutes. A single ride up on the (surprisingly rapid) cable car and down on the Sommelrodellbahn will set you back 25 Euros and can be bought at the adjacent ticket office.



Thanks to both a remarkably efficient trip through Innsbruck airport and a welcome delay to the onset of the rain, we had ample time to take a short stroll around the peak at Mieders before blitzing down. Had we been less paranoid about the weather, I could have easily spent hours walking around here – the vibes were truly picture-perfect alpine in the July sunshine. Eventually we made our way back to the cable car station, where riders board the Sommelrodellbahn.



Mieders’ Sommelrodellbahn is a Brandauer design, featuring a minimalistic cart riding atop a single skinny rail with a guide. This results in a somewhat unnerving amount of exposure – it does feel a bit like you could derail at any moment. Since you’re already at the top of the mountain, there’s no excruciatingly long lift hills to be found – once the green signal is given, you’re in the hands of Isaac Newton.



Sommelrodellbahn has a seriously substantial ride time of about 5-minutes, offering a seemingly never-ending buffet of speedy straight-aways, unexpected drops, and tight turns. Most of the coaster’s track snakes through the dense forest on the mountainside, offering a real sense of spend and close near misses with the foliage. Whilst the length and setting alone would be something to write home about, the layout backs it up with some sensational and genuinely scary moments (assuming they are navigated at speed). The finale of the ride takes place under the path of the cable car, slaloming down the hill through aggressively steep turns and sharp drops. It leagues beyond anything I’d experienced on an alpine coaster beforehand, and about as out of control as one can safely get on a modern coaster.



Unfortunately, the biggest drawback to Mieders is the other guests. Most riders seem to enjoy an incredibly pedestrian pace which the dispatch interval doesn’t quite compensate for, so a fully brakeless run is tough to do in practice. This can however be resolved by making a couple of near dead-stops on the less exciting sections with good visibility towards the start of the ride, reducing the odds you need to slow down once you’ve built up momentum.



Mieders Sommelrodellbahn is definitely a black sheep amongst my top-ranked coasters, but it is a truly one-of-a-kind ride. Don’t be fooled by appearances – this should be on every enthusiast’s bucket list.

With the Sommelrodellbahn ticked off, we headed back to the city centre. Innsbruck’s old town is rather small, but undeniably pretty, with the towering Nordkette looming in the background.



After a good stroll and my first of many schnitzels on the trip, we realised that there was a mid-sized funfair set up around the Olympiaworld. So, like the diligent thoosies we are, we headed over for an explore.



Alas, upon arrival it became clear that no creds were present. Not so much as even a wacky worm. For lack of better options, we therefore decided to take a ride on the 4-euro ghost train (inventively named for the price of entry). This turned out to be spectacularly and hilariously awful, with a very short and very stupid layout. The bulk of the ride was effectively a set of switchbacks where deafening jumpscare noises played as you trundled past a handful of mostly static spooky things. 10/10, no notes.



Next time: culture, and an unexpected +1

 

[NemesisRider]

Part 2: Innsbruck to Salzburg, and Keltenblitz

Most of the next day was spent being tourists in Innsbruck. Since the Nordkette cable car was extortionately expensive, we instead chose to visit the Bergeisel for stunning panoramic views across the city. We also made a stop at the Hofburg (the first and perhaps most forgettable of several palaces throughout the trip), in no small part to dodge the afternoon rain. Whilst one only needs a day or two to thoroughly explore the city itself, the surrounding nature is stunning, and I’d return to Tyrol in a heartbeat. Spoilers, but this was probably my favourite city I visited across the week.



Around 7pm, we headed back to Innsbruck Hbf and took the scenic sunset journey onward to Salzburg.



Salzburg

Our trip included two full days in Salzburg – one would be spent primarily on the key culture stops in the city, and the other would be reserved for a day trip to Fantasiana.



Salzburg itself is an archetypical historic European city. The old town offers an array of narrow streets, churches and palaces, characterised by the white-painted Baroque architecture. Arguably the main highlight is the city’s icon and past seat of power, the Hohensalzburg Fortress, which offers great views and plenty of history. I was also impressed by the (admittedly modestly sized) Mirabell Palace gardens, which were a lovely place to just chill. Overall, it’s a very pretty place and quite reminiscent of a miniature Vienna, though I personally found Innsbruck more strikingly beautiful.



Bonus shout-out to Scooter Monk.



Unfortunately, one drawback we found to Salzburg was that accommodation costs were sky-high – even more so than Innsbruck. Even on the most basic package in an unglamourous hotel a 10-minute bus journey from the centre proper, we were paying nearly £180 a night! The only relief to our wallets was that staying in a Salzburg hotel granted us free and unlimited access to public transport via the newly introduced Guest Mobility Ticket, which is admittedly a plus.



Keltenblitz

After spending the morning of Salzburg day 1 visiting the main culture stops, me and my companion found ourselves struggling for ideas on what to do next. Whilst on the train from Innsbruck the previous night, I’d been doomscrolling Coast 2 Coaster and had spotted another Brandauer alpine coaster in Dürrnberg, which sounded like the perfect way to spend the afternoon. Google Maps revealed this was about an hour out from the city via bus, giving me just enough time to swipe the credit and be back on time for dinner. So, whilst my friend retreated to the hotel for a well-earned break, I sped South towards Keltenblitz.



After risking my life trying to acquire McDonalds and connecting buses in Hallein, I was soon enroute up to Dürrnberg. Upon arriving, I was greatly relieved to hear that Keltenblitz was open despite no small number of ominous looking clouds – my gambit looked to have worked.



Reaching Keltenblitz required ~10 minutes journey via chairlift up the top of the mountain. Here I found the peak was completely smothered by cloud and quite a bit colder than ground level – all the more reason for me to get down as quickly as possible! Surprisingly, the coaster did have something of a queue, but this was mostly as the operators were leaving a wide berth between riders to ensure anyone who wanted to go quickly could actually do so.



Whilst the hardware is effectively identical to that from Mieders two days previous, Keltenblitz is undeniably a tamer experience. The coaster has its moments – there are a couple of terrifyingly steep corners towards the end, which were absolutely pant-s****ing moments when riding brakeless. Unfortunately, this contrasts with several long stretches of relatively straight and shallow track, which are much less exciting. I also thought that Keltenblitz had more restrictive automatic braking than Mieders, as it was more often noticeable that the ride was decelerating despite me keeping it at full throttle. Pacing aside, Keltenblitz’s setting also makes it feel less frantic and engaging. The coaster takes place mostly in open fields and near access roads on the mountain side, offering nowhere near the same sense of speed as the dense forest surrounding Mieders.



So, was Keltenblitz worth the money and effort? Absolutely, yes, especially since getting there was basically free. It’s a solid alpine coaster in a cool setting, and it would have definitely impressed me more if it I hadn’t ridden a better version mere days prior.



Unfortunately, that evening my companion received some news that meant he had to return to the UK immediately. This left me to complete the rest of the Austrian expedition alone. It’s definitely not how we’d planned it, but the show had to go on, and there were plenty more coasters to come.



Next time: the best coaster in Austria

 

[NemesisRider]

Part 3: Fantasiana

A little history lesson, for those not already in the know. For over a decade, Fantasiana – a tiny theme park in Straßwalchen, about 30 minutes’ drive from Salzburg centre – was quietly internationally infamous because of Wild Train. Whilst I sadly never got to ride this peculiar Pax coaster, it gained a reputation for being much more intense than its size suggested, and also for being totally unable to operate in the rain (a problematic feature given the Austrian weather). In late 2023, it became clear that the end of the line was near for Wild Train, as Fantasiana announced that the coaster would close forever at the end of the 2024 season. Its replacement would open in 2025 as the park’s largest ever coaster: a Mack Big Dipper named Helios.



The journey from Salzburg centre to Fantasiana is a little awkward. The good news is that there’s a comfortable, direct bus to Straßwalchen from the city centre which runs every 30 minutes. The bad news is that the bus stop for the park itself is very rarely used, and the nearest available stops in Straßwalchen are still a good 20 minutes’ walk away from the park. Luckily, on the day of my visit, the weather turned out beautifully, so I was quite content to take a short walk through the Austrian countryside.



Fantasiana has an incredibly lowkey entrance from street level, with only a single sign before you turn into the car park and see Helios. It’s obvious how much their new headliner has changed the place, with the coaster making a stunning first impression as it twists above the freshly redesigned entrance. Upon arrival I headed for the ticket office where I was able to bag myself a whopping €1 discount via a Bahn/Bus adult entry ticket, despite some slight translation struggles in the process.



10am arrived and the gates were flung open to the amassed guests. First stop for me was the brand-new area, Sonnenbucht (Sun Bay). This coastal-styled section features beautiful Greek architecture, with the highlight being the church-like tower housing the coaster’s station. It’s full of small, charming details, from the concept art diorama on display near Helios’ exit to the static seagulls perched above the “bay”. Sonnenbucht makes great use of water, incorporating an artificial pond, waterfalls on a themed rocky outcrop, and a large, dynamic water fountain in the centre of the plaza. The latter doubles as a splash pad for younger guests and was very popular due to the soaring temperatures during my visit. To top it all off, there’s plenty of opportunity for non-riders to interact with the coaster, particularly during its third act which runs closely along the plaza’s edge. Fantasiana should be very proud of their work here – it’s a seriously impressive little piece of area design which would easily feel at home somewhere like Europa Park.



Entering Helios’ short queueline, the theming continues, with a large statue of the titular god looming over riders in the indoor section of the queueline. Despite efficient operations, Helios has quite a poor throughput, so queues steadily built up during the day. This is down to the fact the coaster currently only has one train – Fantasiana couldn’t afford two trains off the rip, though they hope to buy a second if the ride is a commercial success. With that said, I never waited more than 20 minutes for a lap on this sunny Summer Saturday.



After boarding the very comfy Stryker trains, Helios dispatches with a definite flair for the dramatic. A velvet curtain opens, then the train begins to roll towards a projection of golden galloping horses, which disappear as another shutter opens to reveal the lift hill. Just before the chain engages, the IMAscore onboard audio begins with a dramatic organ refrain, which continues as the train zips up to the maximum height of 76ft.



Helios’ first drop makes fantastic use of its modest height, plunging downwards whilst flipping riders through a direction change. From here, it’s up into the obscene looking outerbanked airtime hill, which offers sustained flojector at a funky angle. Whilst the airtime here is not as strong as, say, Hyperia’s outerbank, it keeps you firmly pressed upwards into the restraint as the onboard music swells. Levelling back out, the track steps down, offering a pronounced pop of ejector at speed.



Helios begins its second act with a floaty, hangtimey zero-G roll. Rising up, the train nearly stalls out, dangling riders sideways. The subsequent barrel roll downdrop turns the hangtime up to 11, and the pullout features a great near miss with a rocky arch. A mild floater pop sends the coaster into its final inversion, a Lech Coaster-esque corkscrew which fluidly careens through the station, offering another fantastic near-miss.



In its final moments, Helios does start to run out of steam. The high bank off the side of the station is more visual than forceful, though it was fun to wave at the onlookers in the plaza. A rising twist whizzes past more theming, and a tiny turnaround finally sends the train slamming into the brakes.



Across my 20 rides, I did find that my Helios experience varied quite a bit depending on where I sat. The wing seats give a noticeably superior ride compared to the middle seats, with the left wing providing the wildest whip through the first drop, but the right wing offering tighter near-misses and a better finale experience. In contrast, front or back row makes little impact forces-wise, though the front obviously has better views.

I’ve also seen a bit of discourse that the ride is rough – it’s not. There’s a bit of shuffle present on the apex of the downdrop and that final turn, but it had no impact on my enjoyment.



As is probably obvious from the length of this review, I absolutely loved Helios. Is it the biggest and baddest coaster in Europe? Of course not. Despite this, it ticks all the boxes in NemesisRider wish fulfilment: it’s beautifully presented, endlessly rerideable, and has great onboard audio. To have achieved all this on a shoestring budget of 7.5 million euros is nothing short of astonishing. It’s a masterclass in well-considered design, a perfect addition for Fantasiana, and simply a joy to experience.



There are other things in the park by the way.

The second and final cred for the day was Fridolin, an ART family multi-launch coaster. As is seemingly the norm with modern Fantasiana, the presentation is a strong suit, with the coaster being very well-integrated into the surrounding scenery. The hardware itself was another pleasant surprise which, much like Helios, achieves quite a lot with very little height. The trains are comfy, the tyre launches are exciting, the final helix has more heft than one would expect from a ride of this stature. Though the capacity is quite poor, it’s a very good family coaster.



At the park’s Eastern end sits the park’s starflyer, Flynosaurus. On the surface, this is a relatively tame and comparatively short starflyer, albeit one wrapped in some pretty Jurassic Park knock-off theming. The ride does however make the unique choice to include some very nice onboard audio, again from IMAscore, which makes the whole thing much more affective.



Working our way West, next up is the Knight’s Ride Tower (or whatever it’s called). The queueline is incredibly dark, to the extent that I needed my phone torch to see anything, so we’re off to an immersive start. The ride itself is an ABC drop tower not dissimilar to those on Nemesis Sub-Terra, incorporating leg ticklers and back pokers, which gradually ascends through several show scenes before delivering a respectable main drop. There be dragons, amongst other things. It’s a good family-thrill ride but maybe wasn’t quite as impressive as I was hoping for.



Mami Wata, the park’s log flume, is another standout. The ride is short but well-paced, packing in an elevator lift, two turntables, and a soaking wet finale.



Pendula – the park’s last addition prior to Helios – is as well-themed as their new E-ticket, offering a cute little preshow with an animatronic fairy. This ART Wild Swing is effectively a toned-down top spin, offering some funky sensations alongside far less restrictive restraints than on Huss’ model. It’s a great family-friendly flat ride which I’d love to see come to the UK.



Unfortunately, there is a bit of a drop-off in quality from here on in; Fantasiana evidently majorly upped their game in the 2010s, so everything remaining which pre-dates this is a bit meh. Nowhere is this better demonstrated than with Schloss Dracula, a weird and incomprehensible (mostly because it’s all in German) walkthrough/dark ride thing. It is worth a look for the WTF factor, but it’s not a particularly enjoyable experience.



Amongst the other stuff to do there is a cute Little Prince 4D thing, the Sinbad dark ride which seemed to break down every time I tried to get it on (I gave up after two attempts), and a variety of kids rides. Realistically most enthusiasts will spend little time riding anything that isn’t Helios, Fridolin, or perhaps Knights Ride.



The park’s well-stocked main shop can be found towards the exit to the park. I picked up a Helios T-Shirt which was was unexpectedly cheap at under €20; alas, it was probably cheap for a reason, as the front logo started peeling off after literally one wash.



Merchandise failures aside, I had a very good time at Fantasiana. The place is a real hidden gem, oozing with charm, and now has a headlining coaster to back that up - I'd 100% recommend stopping by. Whilst I much doubt I’ll find myself back here anytime soon - Salzburg isn’t the most convenient city to get to - I wish the park every success and hope that Helios proves to be a smash hit. If management are reading this, know that I’d happily chuck a fiver in a GoFundMe to buy that second train.

Next time: more Mack Produkt

 

[TilenB]

Love to hear more people getting to Fantasiana. I went there for the first time last year when we made a quick stop to ride Wild Train on a family trip and returned a few weeks ago on the ECC trip through Austria and Switzerland. It's really crazy how much basically half of the park changed in the year between my visits, so kudos to them for making Helios a properly finished product.

We did have a bit of a backstage tour where they mentioned using different sorts of wheels in colder and hotter times of the year, saying that the 'hot weather wheels' generally give smoother rides. I guess you managed to grab your rides on those, as I figured it was kinda shakey in the wing seats during the rides I got in. Still an excellent coaster, though.

 

[NemesisRider]

Part 4: Vienna, and Wiener Prater

After a slight panic over the validity of my train ticket the next morning – it turns out that one person is indeed fine to travel on a two-person small group ticket – it was bye-bye Salzburg and onwards to Vienna.

As I mentioned at the start of this report, unlike the prior two cities on this trip, this was not my first Viennese rodeo. Despite the beautiful old town, immaculate palaces and great public transport, I didn’t quite fall in love with Vienna when I visited back in 2018 – I found it was a little too slick and characterless to truly endear itself to me. Unfortunately, my 2025 revisit ended up doing little to improve my view of the place, primarily as the promised rain I’d been evading rolled in to dampen the finale of my Austrian adventure.



Undoubtedly my personal highlight of that first visit was visiting Wiener Prater. This was still relatively early in my thoosie career, back when I didn’t insist on riding every Wacky Worm I chanced upon and thought Blue Fire Megacoaster was a top 5 coaster worldwide. Much has changed since, of course. During my 2018 visit I had taken a fairly relaxed approach to Prater, sampling only a handful of flat rides and coasters, including the iconic big wheel and the now defunct Super 8er Bahn. Returning to Prater in 2025, the gloves were coming off – I was going to grab every new-to-me cred I could or go bankrupt trying.



By the time I arrived at Prater in the early afternoon, the weather timebomb was beginning to tick. Thunderstorms were due by dinnertime and things weren’t meant to clear up until after I left. Let’s try to make this quick?

I thought I’d get the likely worst cred in the place over and done with early, so I started at Volare. It’s absolutely f***ing atrocious. I thought it tracked even worse than Hero, and the cage-like trains leave plenty of room for your body to be banged around. Easily one of the top 10 worst coasters I have ever had the displeasure of riding. Urgh.



I had to treat myself to something good after that trauma, which took the form of Gesengte Sau. Like with most rides at Prater, the operator at Gesengte Sau seem insulted by my very existence, let alone my audacity to try and ride the roller coaster he operated. Somehow my train dispatched with only one out of four bars down, which I didn’t even think was possible. Questionable ops aside, this is probably the best themed coaster at Prater – there’s a charming little preshow with animated characters and smoke before you dispatch, and there’s a few decent near-misses throughout the ride. Whilst I found the layout a little on the pedestrian side, there are some surprising nippy drops and moments of hefty laterals. It’s probably the 2nd or 3rd best coaster at Prater, but it’s nothing to really rave about.



At this point I finally caved to the cred anxiety and headed for Wiener Looping.

As most readers will be aware, following an absolute fiasco of a construction process and numerous delays, Wiener Looping finally opened in late May this year. Austria’s second new-for-2025 Mack Big Dipper represents a huge win for Prater, finally giving it a unique and permanent headline coaster. This is especially important as their historic headliner, the travelling classic Olympia Looping, looks likely to be forced out of the park as the land it sits is up for redevelopment.



Wiener Looping certainly has plenty of pull from offride, as trains twist through the Smiler-esque main knot of inversions. It pays suitable homage to the original Wiener Looping, and the Austrian national colours are a great choice for the track and supports. The ticket booth, queueline and station are a bit spartan, but that is par for the course for Prater.



Once seated snugly in the original style Big Dipper trains, riders exit the station and climb the 100ft lift hill. At the apex, a panoramic turn brings the train into a set of brakes, where they slow to a crawl before plunging down the fantastic first drop. This double down features two powerful ejector airtime moments: the first comes on the Eurofighter-esque beyond vertical manoeuvre which narrowly dodges Prater’s ghost train, and the second is delivered as the train dives down into a trench. From here, riders enter a flowing gauntlet of quick-fire inversions: a banana roll, a Finnish loop, and a dive drop. The Finnish loop is by far the best of the bunch here, offering plentiful floaty hangtime at the top and hefty positives during the pull-in/out. In comparison, the other two inversions are more visual than forceful, being neither particularly whippy nor particularly floaty. On exiting the dive drop, the train enters a forceful turn which offered surprisingly sustained positives, leaving my feet tingling by the time the train left the element. From here, a final (relatively forceless) turn leads into the brakes, ending a short but satisfying ride.



As Wiener Looping is pay-per-ride, I only went for two laps, sitting in the far left then the far right on the front row. Both seats offered very similar experiences, in contrast to the noticeable variations I found between seats on Helios. Furthermore, Looping offered a smooth ride (smoother than Helios), with no memorable shuffling or rattle.



So, the million-euro question – is Wiener Looping better than Helios? As a full package, obviously not. I’ve yapped Helios world class theming and audio at length; something at Prater cannot hope to compare with this. However, even as a layout alone, I would personally still give the slight edge to Helios. Looping has a more conventional layout with less varied sensations – only the first drop/double down and the Finnish loop felt really memorable to me. In contrast, Helios offers everything from outerbanked ejector to incredible hangtime, only losing its killer instinct after the final inversion.



Wiener Looping feels like everything the Gerstlauer Eurofighter wants to be - a compact and inversion-focused layout, featuring a standout drop, aided by trains that allow buckets of freedom. It’s easily the best thing at Prater and I suspect it will prove to be a huge crowd-pleaser. I’ll certainly be back if they start running that backwards train…



Onwards and downwards. Roller Ball is a bigger and dumber version of the chicken-themed one at Schwaben Park. The lady on the desk didn’t really want to sell me a ticket, but they let me on eventually. It looks better than it rides, swinging uncomfortably around a few corners before abruptly ending.



Dizzy Mouse is your standard Reverchon fairground mouse. It’s on the rougher end for the model, but it ran untrimmed and spun like a top once it got going. Good fun all things considered.



Insider is a far more interesting (and incredibly camp) coaster. After coughing up more of what little cash I had left, I proceeded into a darkened mirror maze, which seemingly lead nowhere. My confusion did not subside when I finally reached the station to find the ride op was literally shoving the cars until they settled onto the drive tyres – a sign of quality if I’ve ever seen one. The actual layout is just a shortened wild mouse, but it’s redeemed by the darkness, lasers and pumping techno music.



Also by Maurer, Wilde Maus is comfortably the worst of the wild mouse-esque coasters available at Prater. It’s ugly, rough and very uncomfortable, with aggressive laterals.



Maskerade is a unique indoor Gerstlauer spinner with an elevator lift – whilst that sounds promising on paper, reality is somewhat disappointing. Things do start well, as the first drop is fun and the subsequent elements offer some nice spin. Unfortunately, the ride is laughably short, and it’s over before it’s really begun.



During my first visit to Prater, I did want to ride Hochschaubahn. Unfortunately, searching in the dark without a proper map to hand, I literally couldn’t find the damn thing (I gave up looking after wandering into a particularly insalubrious alley). Revisiting in 2025, I see how I missed it, as Hochschaubahn is located in a weird spot behind Maskerade. The ride is more interesting as a heritage experience than a coaster, in my books – the layout doesn’t do much and the brakeman keeps it on a tight leash. Still, it’s rather a quaint attraction, and it is certainly novel to ride a coaster with no restraint whatsoever.



The milestone 10th coaster was Race. I boarded alone – as has become tradition with these kinds of shameful kiddie creds – and was treated to an excessive number of laps of poorly tracked comedy. I fear I’m starting to enjoy these things.



Last but not quite least was Zug des Manitu. It’s a rather odd powered kiddie coaster which scared the life out of me by starting off going backwards. +1.



At last, the gauntlet was finished. Acquiring the 11 new credits had cost me a little under 60 Euro, which was frankly less damage than I had expected. Wiener Prater remains largely a cash only operation, so take heed and prepare accordingly if you want to actually get on Wiener Looping.



The clouds were just starting to break, so I made a quick exit and beelined towards some Käsespätzle.



I don’t know whether to blame on it fatigue, having to do Vienna solo, or some secret third thing, but my visit to Wiener Prater felt more of a chore than a pleasure. Trying to do a near-complete cred run, one discovers that the line-up is almost entirely filler, with only a couple of attractions being genuinely worth the money. Perhaps most disappointingly, I just didn’t find the park a particularly nice place to spend time in, in stark contrast to the quiet magic of Fantasiana the day prior. Prater also has the dubious accolade of being the first (and only) amusement park in the world where I’ve been harangued for spare change by beggars. Wiener Looping alone does make the park worth a visit, but it’s certainly not up there with the greats in Europe.

Next time: ending on a washout at Prater 2

 

[DJ Tripper]

Really enjoyed these reports. Thanks.

 

[NemesisRider]

Part 5: (a failed trip to) Böhmischer Prater

The final couple of days of my Austrian excursion ended up being a bit of a washout, as the thundershowers which set in post-Prater evolved into a sort of persistent omni drizzle. Whilst there were a handful of dry spells, it wasn’t the ideal conditions for wandering the charming old town.



Feeling a bit uninspired by the cultural options, my mind turned to creds. Familypark had crossed my mind as a potential day trip from Vienna, but I ultimately erred against it. The weather forecast was equally wet, the journey looked to be a massive and expensive faff via public transport, and the ride line-up wasn’t setting my heart aflutter. Luckily, Coast 2 Coaster revealed there was an alternative +1 much nearer central Vienna.



Böhmischer Prater is a permanent funfair located in the Southeastern suburbs of Vienna. In contrast to the incredibly well-connected Wiener Prater, Böhmischer Prater has a lack of nearby public transport stops, requiring 15-20 minutes’ walk from the nearest ones. Still, it doesn’t take much more than 30 minutes to get there from Wien Hbf.



Upon arrival, I quickly discovered that Bohmischer Prater was less of a funfair and more of a glorified corridor with a few rides on it. The atmosphere was best described as eerie; whilst I expect the place to be rammed on a damp weekday in term time, it was so deserted that I was concerned Google Maps had listed incorrect opening hours. There were easily less than 10 guests present, and barely any staff.



The one coaster up for grabs here, Shark Trip, a standard SBF kiddie coaster much like Race at The Good Prater. Unfortunately, today I found it in an advanced state of non-functionality with no operator to be found. After tracking down a helpful staff member at one of the other kiddie rides, I discovered that Shark Trip did not operate on days where they have had any rain, and so likely wouldn’t be reopening until the day after I left Vienna. Be warned, future cred hunters.



Epilogue: Goodnight, Vienna

All in all, I had a pretty good time in Austria, despite the trip happening under unideal circumstances. I got to ride the two new Macks, I got to see some pretty mountains, and I got to eat my body weight in schnitzel - isn't that more or less the ideal Austrian experience? My main regret is not spending more time in Tyrol and the other more alpine provinces, as there looks to be even more beautiful scenery and deadly-looking alpine coasters.



In terms of proper theme parks, to me the Austrian line-up remains a bit middling. 2025 has been their best year in quite some time - I adored Fantasiana, and Prater is more than ever a veritable cred buffet. However, less experienced cred-hunters would probably be better off spending their time and money in the neighbouring Germany, which has a much greater supply of stacked theme parks. I also found Austria a fair bit more expensive than most other countries I've visited, with near-Scandinavian prices for many things, not least accommodation. Budget accordingly.



One closing thought: God, I wish Paultons were getting a Mack Big Dipper and not a Eurofighter. Urgh.

Next time: Madrid (when I finally finish the reports as flat hunting has taken up all of my time of late)