David & Dave Do Stuff (final score).
- Thread starter Howie
- Start date
Hutch
Strata Poster
All caught up now. I should really look into putting a trip together like this, particlaruly the German parks. I mean, I'd love something different than the typical American mega parks that lack charm.
And good work @daviddoc and @Coaster Hipster on the videos!
And good work @daviddoc and @Coaster Hipster on the videos!
Howie
Donkey in a hat
Yah, so not just a couple of new parks for me, but a whole new country, a new currency, a new language barrier, all manner of newness.
Getting adventurous in my old age!
This was our home for 2 nights, a 2 minute drive from Energylandia:
And yes, we did have full use of the plastic slide. Bonus!
No coasters today, what with the flight and everything, so in preparation for Zadra and Hyperion tomorrow we had...
...Lech beer in Fre-par-twee glasses! As you do:
Incidentally, 3 large pizzas and 2 bottles of coke - 12 quid... delivered! I love Poland! ?
Let's talk about Energylandia then. Bit of a strange one, it is.
Did I like it?
Hmm, no, not really.
Ok so it has 15 (soon to be 18) creds, it's expanding at a phenomenal rate and it's clear that the owners are chucking money at it left, right and center but... I dunno, I don't think they really know what they're doing. There doesn't seem to be a master plan, none of it seems to have been thought through. It's just build build build.
There's 15 coasters yeah, 2 of them are undeniably world class, 3 or 4 them make for mildly amusing fillers but the rest of them are absolute garbage.
Think Cedar Point meets Brean Leisure Park and you'll have roughly the right idea.
Seriously, I only rode 7 out of the 15 creds! ?
Like... by choice. Wasn't spited, didn't run out of time or anything, just didn't bother with 'em.
I can almost hear the collective gasps of horror from all the cred whores among you.
'You did WHAT?'
Yep, it's true. Some might say that I'm not taking this hobby seriously enough, but why would anyone waste time notching up SBF spinners, circus coasters and wacky worms when you could be getting extra rides on 2 of the biggest, baddest coasters on the continent?
Remember earlier when I said EGF was my favourite coaster of the trip so far? Yeah nah, not any more.
We did Zadra first. Headed straight to the back of the park and were on the first public ride of the day, front row!
It was pretty darn good. First drop is epic, speed throughout is amazing and dear lord, that zero g stall is something else. Perhaps a bit of warming up to do, not quite the airtime I was hoping for, but still an awesome start to the day.
^Photos by Hipster
No queue building up yet so we had some more goes. Middle, back and front again. Warming up now, getting better with each ride. Hipster got a back row POV too.
I'm the dude on the right in the red T shirt. No idea who the dude on the left is.
An awesome ride, no doubt about it.
So, the big question then: is it better than Steel Vengeance?
For me, absolutely not. Not long enough, see. And the layout, while excellent, is just not as crazy-ape-bonkers as Vengeance. For example, Zadra only has 3 notable moments of proper straightline airtime - the massive camel-back mid ride and the double down near the end (plus a couple twisty hills somewhere).
Vengeance has, what? About 46?
Not only that, Vengeance has a sense of fun about it. Despite its enormous size and overwhelming presence, there's a sense of mischief in there, a sense of playfulness, like... it kinda toys with your mind a bit.
Zadra on the other hand gets straight down to serious business, no playful, pre-lift hill bunny hops here, it's just 'Up you go, peasant. Enjoy. Don't forget your bag on the way out'.
A really great ride, just... not the greatest.
But enough about Zadra, let's mince back over to the front of the park to talk about Hyperion.
Great ride, this. One of the best in Europe, for sure. All of a sudden Expedition GeForce, the former favourite on this trip, is looking decidedly old hat:
That first drop is nothing short of biblical. Better even than Shambhala's I'd say, and that really is saying something. 269ft!! Another 31ft and it would be a giga coaster - it's enormous!
Then you hit that first airtime hill - wow! I can't think of a single element on any coaster that gives airtime that strong for that long. Technically, 'sustained ejector' shouldn't even be possible, but Hyperion's first hill delivers exactly that. It's insane.
The inverting turnaround comes next and that's insane too. It's like one of those inverting first drops on a B&M wing coaster, only you go into it at 60+ mph - it's insane!
^photo by Coaster Hipster.
Admittedly, after that turnaround things get slightly less awesome. Not bad, far from it, just a bit less awesome. The big floater hill is actually kinda weak compared to what just came before it, the shallow speed hills are barely noticeable and the twisty bits and over banked turns feel a little bit cumbersome in those big, 4-abreast trains. They're just not as agile or dynamic as Intamin's traditional 2-abreast trains, and not as fluid or graceful as B&M's hyper trains.
But still, like I said, Hyperion is one helluva coaster and those first 3 elements alone make it a must-ride. Not quite a Shambhala beater for me personally, but I wouldn't argue with anyone who had this as a top 10 coaster.
Here is one of Dr Dave's POV's, recorded on a previous visit.
You can see what I mean about the Cedar Point meets Brean Leisure Park though can't ya? Massive Intamin hyper dominating the skyline and that cheap, fairground tat in the foreground:
^Photo by Coaster Hipster.
So which do I like best, Zadra or Hyperion? Honestly... dunno. After a ride on Zadra it was Zadra and after a ride on Hyperion it was Hyperion. Classic case of the freshest memory being the strongest, only in this case you could simply shimmy over to the other side of the park and 'refresh'.
We did that 4 or 5 times, it was ace! ?
To be honest that's pretty much all we did - and it's exactly what you should do too - simply spend the day going backwards and forwards between Zadra and Hyperion, occasionally stopping to pick up something else en route when the mood takes you.
Here's a brief run down of some of the other stuff we did:
We did Formula, a new-gen Vekoma launcher:
^pic by Hipster
It's actually pretty good. Bit short, but good. 3rd best coaster in the park and (probably) the 4th best coaster in Poland.
We did Mayan, the Vekoma SLC:
It's newer than most SLC's and comes with vest restraints so there's less headbanging than is normally found on these things, but it's still an SLC. It rides like an SLC, it shuffles like an SLC and it lurches like an SLC.
Meh, it's just another SLC.
Not too keen on the solid red paint job either.
We also rode the gyro swing next to it, that was alright:
Abyssus looks like it will be good, but the new area still a long way from being finished. I can't see it opening this year to be honest:
^picture by daviddoc
S'gonna be great when they open this new-gen Vekoma launcher (to go with the one they already got). In the foreground there you can also see the new Vekoma family boomerang (to go with the one they already got).
We also rode 'Energus' - a Vekoma family coaster, 'Frida' - a newer but slightly smaller Vekoma family coaster and the Dragon coaster, which is a suspended Vekoma family coaster.
Christ, what is it with Energylandia and Vekoma family coasters?
The SFC is pretty decent to be fair, bigger and faster than most and actually more enjoyable than the SLC.
(Expect a new gen STC to be added to the line-up any minute now).
Other stuff we didn't ride include the other Vekoma family boomerang, the 3 crappy SBF Visa creds (2 spinners and a kiddy), the crappy Circus Coaster, the crappy wacky worm and the new kiddy cred by Zadra.
Apparently, according to RCDB, there's yet another crappy kiddy cred somewhere in there too called 'Mars', but I don't recall even seeing that one, let alone riding it.
One thing I would have liked to have tried is 'Speed' - the Intamin water coaster cos I haven't ridden one of those before but it broke down literally as we were about to join the queue and didn't open again all day. Spite!
The first and only spite of the trip though, so that's not bad going.
I'm running out of things to talk about. Apart from Hyperion and Zadra, nothing about this park is really cradling my plums. I'm running out of photographs too so I'm gonna wrap things up:
Energylandia is a park of very stark contrasts - on the one hand you've got 2 of the very best coasters in the whole of Europe. New, massive, expensive, state-of-the-art and brilliant. And on the other hand you've got a whole load of cheap, tatty, fairground garbage that wouldn't look out of place turning up on the back of a wagon at your local playing fields once or twice a year.
Speed, Formula and the SFC make for reasonable enough fillers but the rest of it, including the flats and water rides, is utter trash.
Some other things I didn't like about Energylandia:
•The name. Energylandia is a crap name for a theme park.
•The logo. It's plain, anaemic and just bleurgh!
•The park has no trees whatsoever. Well, maybe it does but they've only been planted in the last 5 years so none of them are taller than 6' yet. Therefore no shade anywhere, just lots of concrete, steel and tarmac.
•Theming: It's a right mess. The Zadra area looks quite nice I guess, and I've no doubt that the Abyssus area will look cool, but throughout the rest of the park theming is sporadic, inconsistent and occasionally downright garish (or simply non existant).
•The ridiculously long hikes needed to get on to the 2 big boys.
And one other thing that isn't really Energylandia's fault, but I think the words 'face mask' have somehow been mis-translated into Polish as 'chin strap'.
Everyone, literally everyone!
Things I did like about Energylandia:
•Zadra.
•Hyperion.
•Cheap beer.
That's it, Zadra, Hyperion and cheap beer. Those are your only 3 reasons for coming to Energylandia. I feel like I accomplished those things and therefore won't be returning any time soon. Not for Abyssus, not for the mine train (Vekoma, by any chance?) and certainly not to 'mop up' the 8, count 'em, EIGHT, crappy kiddy creds that I skipped this time.
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I came. I was starting to feel like I was the only goon on here that hadn't been to Energylandia, and the 2 headline coasters were totally worth the trip, but Energylandia overall?
Meh.
The last park of the trip gets even weirder and even more Polish....
Legendia, coming next. ?
Last edited:
davidm
Strata Poster
Sounds about right
FistedColossus
Hyper Poster
Said the exact same thing RE Zadra vs Steel Vengeance. Steel Vengeance is basically Zadra with Untamed attached to the end of it and wins hands down for duration and airtime.
Also spot on about that first hill on Hyperion, possibly my favourite airtime moment ever?
Also spot on about that first hill on Hyperion, possibly my favourite airtime moment ever?
Howie
Donkey in a hat
That is actually perfect: Zadra + Untamed = Steel Vengeance. ?
Rollercoaster David
Mega Poster
*cough* Hakugei is better *cough*
Keep up the good work with the trip report Howie! I've been enjoying reading your take on things and all the memories!
Keep up the good work with the trip report Howie! I've been enjoying reading your take on things and all the memories!
@Howie your trip reports are brilliant. They always make me laugh! This was super fun to read, as always.
I think Zadra is the first RMC that wasn't built to be airtime focussed. And I actually like that it doesn't try to heave your body from the train at every second! Of the 5 I've ridden (Hakugei, Storm Chaser, Wildfire Untamed) Zadra takes the crown for me. The turn around and the stall are just beautiful.
You appear to have missed off EnergyLandia's BEST (and most annoying) feature though...the theme song! "EnergyLandia, EnergyLandia..." try getting that bad boy out your head.
I think Zadra is the first RMC that wasn't built to be airtime focussed. And I actually like that it doesn't try to heave your body from the train at every second! Of the 5 I've ridden (Hakugei, Storm Chaser, Wildfire Untamed) Zadra takes the crown for me. The turn around and the stall are just beautiful.
You appear to have missed off EnergyLandia's BEST (and most annoying) feature though...the theme song! "EnergyLandia, EnergyLandia..." try getting that bad boy out your head.
Loved reading this - have just been to Energylandia and will share my thoughts on it in my own thread (once I’ve rested up).
One minor thing, the Mayan track is actually orange (albeit a reddish orange) and only the supports are red... but it’s a very subtle difference and it’s bizarre that they chose two colours that were so similar. Look closely in your photos and you’ll see what I mean! I absolutely agree with it chugging and lurching... I was just going “WTF” the whole way round ?
One minor thing, the Mayan track is actually orange (albeit a reddish orange) and only the supports are red... but it’s a very subtle difference and it’s bizarre that they chose two colours that were so similar. Look closely in your photos and you’ll see what I mean! I absolutely agree with it chugging and lurching... I was just going “WTF” the whole way round ?
Howie
Donkey in a hat
For the eighth and final park of this mini expedition, me, @daviddoc and @Coaster Hipster head to, where else? Legendia.
After all, when one visits Energylandia, goon law states that one has to tag on a half day at Legendia either before or afterwards.
Tis written, so shall it be.
It wasn't quite what I was expecting.
For a start, I had no idea that Legendia was a city park, sitting as it does in the middle of urban Katowice, surrounded by roads, traffic lights and tower blocks. Not that that is a problem, I mean, it works for Liseberg, right?
Yeah nah, this ain't Liseberg.
My suspicions were aroused when we pulled onto the weed infested and distinctly empty car park:
And if you think that is just a strategic photo of one section of an otherwise full car park, here is the other end of the same car park:
Apart from the random dog walkers, not a soul in sight.
Was it even open? It sure didn't look open, no sign of life inside the park whatsoever. Even when we got to the entrance, it still looked closed.
Where was everybody?
Amazingly, it was open.
Looks quite presentable to be fair. Well, to start with anyway...
Lake, trees, manicured lawns, Lech Coaster looking all impressive on the other side, all very nice, just... no people.
Like, literally. Not a soul:
In any case, we felt it was time to ride something so we decided to start with this Soquet looping coaster:
Soquet creds are like buses, you go your whole life without ever seeing one and then you ride 2 on the same trip.
Interesting fact: this coaster previously operated at Lightwater Valley and The American Adventure before being shipped to Poland. Who'd have thunk it?
All we needed was an operator to run it for us but so far, staff members were being about as elusive as other park guests. Also, the entrance to the cred was gated off. Eventually we found some lonely looking dude in a hot dog stand.
"Alright mate, we'd like to ride the coaster, is it open?"
"Yes" he said.
"Ok cool. Is there, like, an operator around?"
He looks over, sees that nobody else is around, shrugs, removes his apron and says "I vill do it."
That's a bit weird, I thought, but okay.
Hot dog dude then marches us off to the cred, unlocks the gate, straps us in, I swear I saw him plug the coaster in at the wall, and then proceeds to send us round without so much as a test run first.
Not gonna lie, it was a wee bit scary. Not the ride itself, that was actually ok, I just wasn't convinced that proper safety procedures were being followed here. The fact that most of the coaster isn't even painted, just bare steel, added to the 'shonky', home-made vibe:
"Again?" said hot dog dude.
"Nah mate, you're alright."
"Ok bye" he said and shuffled off back to his hot dog stand, locking the cred behind him.
All very odd indeed. This is the kind of thing you read about in one of @gavin's or @HeartlineCoaster 's reports from some weirdo, faraway Asian place - abandoned parks with staff members who look at you funny if you have the audacity to want to ride something.
Weird... but also kinda cool. This was a new experience for me, felt like a 'proper' traveller... 'excluse'.
I realise Legendia isn't really that 'excluse', every goon and his dog seems to have been here recently, but it felt like it! ?
Right, enough faff. Lech Coaster:
Whole coaster to ourselves again sooo, front row please:
Yeah man, solid. It looks great, really nice location overlooking the lake, very well presented. It rides well too, the layout is great, no dead spots, some airtime, some +g's, cool inversions and all buttery smooth. Can't actually find fault with it.
But....
Where was this insanely intense grey-out machine that I'd read so much about?? This sure wasn't it.
Maybe the back would be better?
Hmm, marginally but not a great deal.
Maybe it just needs to warm up then? Trouble is, we were the only ones there and the ride ops wouldn't let us stay on board, they made us walk all the way round again, so the coaster never really had chance to warm up. After 3 or 4 laps we concluded that this was about as good as Lech was gonna get today, gave up and moved on.
Quality coaster, for sure, but clearly not running anywhere near its peak and therefore, sad to say, mildly disappointing.
But anyway, have one of Hipster's POV's, recorded on the day:
And yes, that is Pawel, the park manager being instructed by Hipster to whisper so as not to interrupt the video! Ssshhh! ??
Here is the ORP:
What next, then? Well, they've got a crappy Zyklon Galaxi cred called Scary Toys Factory but it's currently SBNO:
Luckily, on the other side of the park they've got another, identical Zyklon Galaxi cred called Dream Catchers Society (?) and this one IS operating so we decided to have a rip:
Slight problem though, the 4 seater carriages need to have at least 3 people in them otherwise they might stall! And seeing as there was only 2 of us (Hipster was off doing his journalism thing and trying to blag an interview with the park manager), Dave and I had a dilemma: skip the cred or loiter around for a bit in case any random couples wandered by who also wanted to ride it.
Amazingly, about 5 minutes later, 2 random Polish dudes sauntered into view and looked as though they might be heading for the cred. We shadowed them for a while, willing them towards the coaster. Will they? Won't they?
They will! Sure enough, the ride op turned them away too for being under manned. That's when we pounced, suddenly appearing from nowhere like 2 crazed fanatics.
"We'll ride it with ya!" we said.
And as the ride op pushed, yes pushed, the 4 of us onto the drive tires in our poxy little Zyklon carriage, I couldn't help but throw the guy a smug, sideways glance. "Ha!" ?
So, was it worth all the effort?
Nah it was sh*t.
That's all the creds then, what else does Legendia have?
Well, there's a fairly new rapids ride, not a massive one, not Mystic River Falls or anything, but decent. Didn't ride it or take any pics but it looked alright.
There's a dark ride too called Bazyliszek, a trackless shooter ride it is. Now pardon me, but aren't trackless dark rides supposed to be mega expensive? Where is Legendia finding the money for trackless dark rides, new rapids rides and Lech coasters when it doesn't have any visitors? ?
It was pretty good. Not Symbolica, not by a long way, but good. For example, apart from the nice entrance facade, you can clearly see that it's housed in a big tin shed and, funniest of all, one of the big interactive screens on the ride proudly displayed a Windows '404 error' message which made us chuckle quite a bit, but overall still a decent attraction.
From here on in though things get ropey.
Like, if I said to you they had a pendulum/ gyro swing type ride you might imagine something like Crazanity or Max Air.
Too big? Ok, maybe something more like Vortex then, or a travelling KMG Afterburner style one?
Nah you're still thinking too big, check this out:
What even is that? I mean, if Energylandia has fairground tat, then this can only only be described as a home made, back yard level attraction. Gross! Surprised they didn't buy 'Blue Flash' when it was retired.
Random flat ride. Think there might be a bit missing:
Pirate ship. Meh:
Big wheel:
Vintage flying machines, neat:
This would have been the obligatory splash photo, but with nobody in the park to ride the damn thing it now just becomes, err.. 'photo':
For a hedge maze to be effective, I feel it needs to be a little taller than knee height. Just my opinion:
Here is another flat ride. I think there might be a bit missing:
*Edit. I've just learned what this^ flat ride used to be. It was the Dragon Riders and I'm very very happy that there was a bit missing:
??
Thing is, some parts of the park are really nice:
Very green and nicely landscaped, but overlooked by these grimy looking blocks of flats:
Our time at Legendia was coming to an end, so we figured that the best thing to do now would be to get a few more laps on Lech Coaster before heading to the airport for our flight home:
Nope, still hadn't 'warmed up'.
Despite the crummy rides, the dodgy location, and the grey, drizzly weather, I enjoyed our day at Legendia, maybe even more so than Energylandia the day before. EL may have "Hypadra" (as I'm gonna call them from now on ) but it's still a very normal, ordinary amusement park.
Legendia on the other hand is a far more interesting, unusual place with much more weird stuff going on. Never been to a park quite like it that's for sure, and I think that having the entire park virtually to ourselves gave it a kind of strange 'exclusivity'.
That's it then. End of trip. ?
Big thanks to Dr Dave & Phillippe for being great company - it was a blast!
(And also for letting me steal all your content to pad out this trip report. ?)
Final Score (new in bold):
Countries visited: 4
The Netherlands.
France.
Germany.
Poland.
Plus drive-thru's of Belgium & Luxembourg.
Parks visited: 8
Toverland.
Walygator.
Fraispertuis City.
Europa Park.
Tripsdrill.
Holiday Park.
Energylandia.
Legendia.
Best park: Europa, by a mile.
Best new to me parks: Fraispertuis City & Tripsdrill.
Total creds ridden: 37
New to me creds: 27
Skipped creds: 10! ? (worm at Waly, kiddy at Fraispertuis, kiddy at Holiday Park and 7, yes 7!! at Energylandia)
Spites: 1 (Speed at Energylandia).
Best new creds:
1. Hypadra. Still can't decide between them.
2. Expedition GeForce.
3. Wodan.
4. Arthur.
5. Blue Fire.
6. Lech.
7. Monster.
8. Can Can Coaster.
Coaster count before trip: 363
Coaster count after trip: 390
Yes.... I know, if hadn't skipped on all those kiddy creds and sh*tty spinners I could be on exactly 400 by now. Do I regret not riding 'em now that I know this? Not one bit. I still maintain that reriding Zadra and Hyperion was a much better use of my time in Poland. Besides, even if I had ridden 'em, the best option for #400 would have been Lech Coaster which, based on that day's performance, was not worthy of such an accolade.
The question now then is, what coaster would be worthy of such an accolade?
Time to start planning the next one methinks. ?
Thanks for reading.
After all, when one visits Energylandia, goon law states that one has to tag on a half day at Legendia either before or afterwards.
Tis written, so shall it be.
It wasn't quite what I was expecting.
For a start, I had no idea that Legendia was a city park, sitting as it does in the middle of urban Katowice, surrounded by roads, traffic lights and tower blocks. Not that that is a problem, I mean, it works for Liseberg, right?
Yeah nah, this ain't Liseberg.
My suspicions were aroused when we pulled onto the weed infested and distinctly empty car park:
And if you think that is just a strategic photo of one section of an otherwise full car park, here is the other end of the same car park:
Apart from the random dog walkers, not a soul in sight.
Was it even open? It sure didn't look open, no sign of life inside the park whatsoever. Even when we got to the entrance, it still looked closed.
Where was everybody?
Amazingly, it was open.
Looks quite presentable to be fair. Well, to start with anyway...
Lake, trees, manicured lawns, Lech Coaster looking all impressive on the other side, all very nice, just... no people.
Like, literally. Not a soul:
In any case, we felt it was time to ride something so we decided to start with this Soquet looping coaster:
Soquet creds are like buses, you go your whole life without ever seeing one and then you ride 2 on the same trip.
Interesting fact: this coaster previously operated at Lightwater Valley and The American Adventure before being shipped to Poland. Who'd have thunk it?
All we needed was an operator to run it for us but so far, staff members were being about as elusive as other park guests. Also, the entrance to the cred was gated off. Eventually we found some lonely looking dude in a hot dog stand.
"Alright mate, we'd like to ride the coaster, is it open?"
"Yes" he said.
"Ok cool. Is there, like, an operator around?"
He looks over, sees that nobody else is around, shrugs, removes his apron and says "I vill do it."
That's a bit weird, I thought, but okay.
Hot dog dude then marches us off to the cred, unlocks the gate, straps us in, I swear I saw him plug the coaster in at the wall, and then proceeds to send us round without so much as a test run first.
Not gonna lie, it was a wee bit scary. Not the ride itself, that was actually ok, I just wasn't convinced that proper safety procedures were being followed here. The fact that most of the coaster isn't even painted, just bare steel, added to the 'shonky', home-made vibe:
"Again?" said hot dog dude.
"Nah mate, you're alright."
"Ok bye" he said and shuffled off back to his hot dog stand, locking the cred behind him.
All very odd indeed. This is the kind of thing you read about in one of @gavin's or @HeartlineCoaster 's reports from some weirdo, faraway Asian place - abandoned parks with staff members who look at you funny if you have the audacity to want to ride something.
Weird... but also kinda cool. This was a new experience for me, felt like a 'proper' traveller... 'excluse'.
I realise Legendia isn't really that 'excluse', every goon and his dog seems to have been here recently, but it felt like it! ?
Right, enough faff. Lech Coaster:
Whole coaster to ourselves again sooo, front row please:
Yeah man, solid. It looks great, really nice location overlooking the lake, very well presented. It rides well too, the layout is great, no dead spots, some airtime, some +g's, cool inversions and all buttery smooth. Can't actually find fault with it.
But....
Where was this insanely intense grey-out machine that I'd read so much about?? This sure wasn't it.
Maybe the back would be better?
Hmm, marginally but not a great deal.
Maybe it just needs to warm up then? Trouble is, we were the only ones there and the ride ops wouldn't let us stay on board, they made us walk all the way round again, so the coaster never really had chance to warm up. After 3 or 4 laps we concluded that this was about as good as Lech was gonna get today, gave up and moved on.
Quality coaster, for sure, but clearly not running anywhere near its peak and therefore, sad to say, mildly disappointing.
But anyway, have one of Hipster's POV's, recorded on the day:
Here is the ORP:
What next, then? Well, they've got a crappy Zyklon Galaxi cred called Scary Toys Factory but it's currently SBNO:
Luckily, on the other side of the park they've got another, identical Zyklon Galaxi cred called Dream Catchers Society (?) and this one IS operating so we decided to have a rip:
Slight problem though, the 4 seater carriages need to have at least 3 people in them otherwise they might stall! And seeing as there was only 2 of us (Hipster was off doing his journalism thing and trying to blag an interview with the park manager), Dave and I had a dilemma: skip the cred or loiter around for a bit in case any random couples wandered by who also wanted to ride it.
Amazingly, about 5 minutes later, 2 random Polish dudes sauntered into view and looked as though they might be heading for the cred. We shadowed them for a while, willing them towards the coaster. Will they? Won't they?
They will! Sure enough, the ride op turned them away too for being under manned. That's when we pounced, suddenly appearing from nowhere like 2 crazed fanatics.
"We'll ride it with ya!" we said.
And as the ride op pushed, yes pushed, the 4 of us onto the drive tires in our poxy little Zyklon carriage, I couldn't help but throw the guy a smug, sideways glance. "Ha!" ?
So, was it worth all the effort?
Nah it was sh*t.
That's all the creds then, what else does Legendia have?
Well, there's a fairly new rapids ride, not a massive one, not Mystic River Falls or anything, but decent. Didn't ride it or take any pics but it looked alright.
There's a dark ride too called Bazyliszek, a trackless shooter ride it is. Now pardon me, but aren't trackless dark rides supposed to be mega expensive? Where is Legendia finding the money for trackless dark rides, new rapids rides and Lech coasters when it doesn't have any visitors? ?
It was pretty good. Not Symbolica, not by a long way, but good. For example, apart from the nice entrance facade, you can clearly see that it's housed in a big tin shed and, funniest of all, one of the big interactive screens on the ride proudly displayed a Windows '404 error' message which made us chuckle quite a bit, but overall still a decent attraction.
From here on in though things get ropey.
Like, if I said to you they had a pendulum/ gyro swing type ride you might imagine something like Crazanity or Max Air.
Too big? Ok, maybe something more like Vortex then, or a travelling KMG Afterburner style one?
Nah you're still thinking too big, check this out:
What even is that? I mean, if Energylandia has fairground tat, then this can only only be described as a home made, back yard level attraction. Gross! Surprised they didn't buy 'Blue Flash' when it was retired.
Random flat ride. Think there might be a bit missing:
Pirate ship. Meh:
Big wheel:
Vintage flying machines, neat:
This would have been the obligatory splash photo, but with nobody in the park to ride the damn thing it now just becomes, err.. 'photo':
For a hedge maze to be effective, I feel it needs to be a little taller than knee height. Just my opinion:
Here is another flat ride. I think there might be a bit missing:
*Edit. I've just learned what this^ flat ride used to be. It was the Dragon Riders and I'm very very happy that there was a bit missing:
Thing is, some parts of the park are really nice:
Very green and nicely landscaped, but overlooked by these grimy looking blocks of flats:
Our time at Legendia was coming to an end, so we figured that the best thing to do now would be to get a few more laps on Lech Coaster before heading to the airport for our flight home:
Nope, still hadn't 'warmed up'.
Despite the crummy rides, the dodgy location, and the grey, drizzly weather, I enjoyed our day at Legendia, maybe even more so than Energylandia the day before. EL may have "Hypadra" (as I'm gonna call them from now on
) but it's still a very normal, ordinary amusement park.Legendia on the other hand is a far more interesting, unusual place with much more weird stuff going on. Never been to a park quite like it that's for sure, and I think that having the entire park virtually to ourselves gave it a kind of strange 'exclusivity'.
That's it then. End of trip. ?
Big thanks to Dr Dave & Phillippe for being great company - it was a blast!
(And also for letting me steal all your content to pad out this trip report. ?)
Final Score (new in bold):
Countries visited: 4
The Netherlands.
France.
Germany.
Poland.
Plus drive-thru's of Belgium & Luxembourg.
Parks visited: 8
Toverland.
Walygator.
Fraispertuis City.
Europa Park.
Tripsdrill.
Holiday Park.
Energylandia.
Legendia.
Best park: Europa, by a mile.
Best new to me parks: Fraispertuis City & Tripsdrill.
Total creds ridden: 37
New to me creds: 27
Skipped creds: 10! ? (worm at Waly, kiddy at Fraispertuis, kiddy at Holiday Park and 7, yes 7!! at Energylandia)
Spites: 1 (Speed at Energylandia).
Best new creds:
1. Hypadra. Still can't decide between them.
2. Expedition GeForce.
3. Wodan.
4. Arthur.
5. Blue Fire.
6. Lech.
7. Monster.
8. Can Can Coaster.
Coaster count before trip: 363
Coaster count after trip: 390
Yes.... I know, if hadn't skipped on all those kiddy creds and sh*tty spinners I could be on exactly 400 by now. Do I regret not riding 'em now that I know this? Not one bit. I still maintain that reriding Zadra and Hyperion was a much better use of my time in Poland. Besides, even if I had ridden 'em, the best option for #400 would have been Lech Coaster which, based on that day's performance, was not worthy of such an accolade.
The question now then is, what coaster would be worthy of such an accolade?
Time to start planning the next one methinks. ?
Thanks for reading.
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JoshC.
Strata Poster
I swear every Legendia Trip Report I read just gets worse and worse
When I went in 2018, I was super impressed by the park. It felt like somewhere that had a really bright future. This was before they ripped out half their flat rides and also had staff manning every ride.. It also has one of my favourite park restaurants (the place by Lech).
But now, it just seems to have spiraled down. I hope whatever the reason for the decline, things change.
I do wonder if Energylandia's growth is partly to blame? They're far enough away that I'd have thought they have different markets and wouldn't tred on each other's toes when it comes to locals, but who knows.
Great report though - loved reading it!
When I went in 2018, I was super impressed by the park. It felt like somewhere that had a really bright future. This was before they ripped out half their flat rides and also had staff manning every ride.. It also has one of my favourite park restaurants (the place by Lech).
But now, it just seems to have spiraled down. I hope whatever the reason for the decline, things change.
I do wonder if Energylandia's growth is partly to blame? They're far enough away that I'd have thought they have different markets and wouldn't tred on each other's toes when it comes to locals, but who knows.
Great report though - loved reading it!
lol that sounds like a hair raising safety check! ? ?
What a complete bummer re: Lech, I’m gutted for you! I’ve just spent the last 5 minutes crawling over your POV and my one (in my trip report thread) and from being horizontal on the lift hill until being horizontal on the break run, there is a conservative ~4 seconds in it based on a clumsy phone comparison (40 seconds vs. 44). That suggests a ~10% difference... is that really all it takes to have such a different experience? Surely not... Half explained by the speed and half explained by the weather and the mood it brings, maybe?!
Completely agree with you about it being interesting, but based on your report I’m not entirely sure I missed out on the other rides ?
What a complete bummer re: Lech, I’m gutted for you! I’ve just spent the last 5 minutes crawling over your POV and my one (in my trip report thread) and from being horizontal on the lift hill until being horizontal on the break run, there is a conservative ~4 seconds in it based on a clumsy phone comparison (40 seconds vs. 44). That suggests a ~10% difference... is that really all it takes to have such a different experience? Surely not... Half explained by the speed and half explained by the weather and the mood it brings, maybe?!
Completely agree with you about it being interesting, but based on your report I’m not entirely sure I missed out on the other rides ?
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Benenen
Hyper Poster
That's summed up the quirkiness of Legendia nicely. I went last Halloween and they had scare actors hiding actually inside the toilet cubicles. Like your experience with the hot dog dude I was thinking surely this can't be allowed. Shame to see the big flat rides gone, they padded out the (half) day nicely and provided very unique and intense experiences.
Howie
Donkey in a hat
Gosh, you're right, have just done the same and yep, I make it about 4 seconds too. No wonder I was so meh-ed by it.
I'm guessing the total weight of riders also played its part, there was only me and Doc on our rides, presumably you had full or nearly full trains?
But wow, 10% difference, that's quite a big margin. You can really see it in the videos too, it looks almost sluggish in places on Hipster's vid compared to yours.
Such a shame.
Luckily we had no such issues with Hypadra, fairly sure those boys were going hell-for-leather!
I would like to have seen that tbh, I can imagine it being a great park for a large group of goons... if everything was open and it had, like, other people there too.
But that day, it was more like a spooky ghost town. We saw 4 other park guests all morning - the Polish dudes we shared the cred with and an elderly couple riding the vintage flying machines (probably rekindling their youth or sumat, was actually quite cute ? )
Matt N
CF Legend
Great series of reports @Howie; looks like a great little trip, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading your reports from each park!
With regards to Legendia, I get the impression that they’re trying to become a more... upmarket (for lack of a better word) park in order to compete with Energylandia with the recent additions like Lech, Bazyliszek and the new rapids ride for 2020, as well as the park’s rebrand to coincide with Lech’s opening (the Legendia rename only happened in 2017; the park was called something different for the 60 years prior to 2017) which might explain the closure of some of the park’s more low-budget installations. However, I admit that your experience on the Soquet looper does give off quite the opposite impression... maybe the ride had already been tested at some point that morning prior to the park opening?
Sorry to hear that Lech proved disappointing. Maybe it’s one of those coasters that is somewhat temperamental dependant on external conditions?
With regards to Legendia, I get the impression that they’re trying to become a more... upmarket (for lack of a better word) park in order to compete with Energylandia with the recent additions like Lech, Bazyliszek and the new rapids ride for 2020, as well as the park’s rebrand to coincide with Lech’s opening (the Legendia rename only happened in 2017; the park was called something different for the 60 years prior to 2017) which might explain the closure of some of the park’s more low-budget installations. However, I admit that your experience on the Soquet looper does give off quite the opposite impression... maybe the ride had already been tested at some point that morning prior to the park opening?
Sorry to hear that Lech proved disappointing. Maybe it’s one of those coasters that is somewhat temperamental dependant on external conditions?
Yeah we had walk-ons but with full / mostly full trains.
You’re right there is visibly a difference in the POVs too. I made a thread some time ago about rides ‘warming up’ etc somewhat doubting that the ride experience could vary so dramatically in general and I think this pretty much proves that you can get a very different experience from the same coaster in different conditions (weather, time, number of riders - whatever the difference was).
Meanwhile, Zadra was so furious at the end of the day in the 30 degree heat that it was unholy - it even looked out of control. I would say that in those conditions Zadra did beat Lech for intensity but there wasn’t a huge amount in it and I’d say that my experiences that my rides on Lech were at least as intense (if not more so) than first thing in the morning on Zadra... which probably sounds ridiculous if you’ve only had duff rides on Lech, but that’s the ballpark we’re talking.
I guess we just have to keep visiting the parks to make sure we get the best possible rides! ?
Howie
Donkey in a hat
Ohhh, that was you, was it?
Yeah I remember that thread. I seem to recall you were rather sceptical at the time, said it was all in our heads? That we're all just spouting rubbish to sound cool and knowledgeable. I'm sure the word 'bogus' was even used!
So, now that you're officially 'one of us' and have become full goon, have you accepted the truth now?
What's that, you say?
You'd like to eat your own words?
Served in a big slice of humble pie?
With a side order of egg-on-face?
Comin' right up, Sir! ?
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Sandman
Giga Poster
Epic report, now just imagine if Brean Leisure Park had an RMC and an Intamin Hyper. That'd certainly change things.
Also, spotted a few 'additional' items beside that Lech beer, in typical Howie fashion
Glad you had a good time though mate, certainly convinced me I need to get to Poland... or Brean.
Also, spotted a few 'additional' items beside that Lech beer, in typical Howie fashion
Glad you had a good time though mate, certainly convinced me I need to get to Poland... or Brean.
Coaster Hipster
Giga Poster
Regarding the performance of Lech, my rides in 2017 were considerably more intense than my recent experience this July.
From what I gather, Vekoma made adjusted wheel friction in order to tweak the overall speed of the ride.
Comparing my 2017 vs 2020 POVs, the former one clearly shows the train overshooting the braking zone. I remember some decent ejector pop entering the uphill brake run back then.
In fairness, I rode Lech on an empty train in a cold rainy-ish morning this year. (Couldn't find you @daviddoc @Howie !)
Since Lech is Vekoma's first Next Gen non-launch Sit Down Thrill Coaster, I wouldn't be surprised to see them further adjust their vehicle performance to obtain the perfect balance between intensity and maintenance.