Thanks for the good feeback peeps! Have another, since these have been hanging over me for too long.
Day 2 - Heide Park
Movie Park was the only park on this trip that I hadn't been to before, so from now on, bar a couple of new rides, we're treading familiar ground. The late night and long drive meant the morning was faffy for a few. I was worried this might put the mood of the group down, but as it turned out, those worries were unjustified. Maybe it helped to cast aside bad vibes by dispatching with the SLC first. Limit is awful and for some reason, I thought being near the back was a good idea. No.
The group started on a tour of the back of the hill to tick off the mass of white coasters at the back of the park. Their bobsled is long and forceful, with some great interaction moments with scenery and other rides. Definitely my favourite of its type.
Next up around to the drop tower, Scream, which is amazing! To make a good drop tower, it turns out the recipe is just to make the train ****ing heavy and the tower ****ing huge.
Continuing down the hill, we stopped at Flug der Dämonen. After being reasonably impressed with it last year, it fell a bit flat this time around. I'm noticing the repetition, and I've started to notice the wobble on the train. Raptor still continues to rule as king of the wing.
Pretentious photo of people taking photos
Queues and faff made an early lunchbreak quite attractive. People who wanted Big Loop went off to do that, and I headed to the Admiral cafe by the Battle Galleons. Sue ordered a jacket potato, which arrived swimming in a lake of sour cream. I went for schnitzel with a million chips and a huge slice of apple pie. Would recommend that place. Lovely.
And the outdoor area is lovely and scenic
"Look, I know he's booked to our hotel room, but I just can't trust a guy in his twenties that's still obsessed with trains!"
We reconvened at the mine train, Grottenblitz. Apart from a bizarre indoor section with a unicorn and the monorail, it's not particularly exciting. It does have some very pleasant viaduct theming, and some terrifying Halloween additions.
I love the wolf just chilling at the back
Tag yourself
The plan from here was supposed to be Desert Rita next, but not unlike Forest Rita, Desert Rita was experiencing technical issues, so the group nabbed the opportunity to be shameful again. Luckily, this is a kiddie cred I'd plucked up the courage for last time, so I sat out, took pictures and chatted with goons about future CF Lives (next year gon' be guuud).
Group of goons plus photogenic windswept German lady
Heide Park had a new simulator. Ghostbusters! It's got a big ol' Ghostmobile and a big shed with the ride in it. And of course, being Merlin, the queue has...
Shipping Containers! Actually seriously ****ing shipping containers, well done Merlin!
So, Ghostbusters... there's a lot to like about different bits of the ride but as a whole it falls apart. There's some good work on the physical sets and the vehicles' motion. The whole concept should work as an immersive storyline, but as a shooter, nothing works because I have no idea which of the different coloured beams is mine. Shame, a well designed screen shooter can be wonderful.
Desert Race reopened. It's a critical flop for most, but if a coaster has a good launch, I'm willing to forgive a lot. Desert Race is not as good as Rita, and it's fading on me, but it's still a favourite. It's OK, Chris put Bandit in his top 10, giving us the strength to be comfortable giving our eye-cancerous opinions.
Present from the ride-ops
Attempted launch-face photo
The one on the left just farted
We dropped in a couple of water rides while in the area. I don't remember much from the rapids or the log flume, so I guess they weren't hugely exciting. Some people toyed with the idea of grabbing the super-splash looking thing, but even in an unusually warm October, nobody really fancied it. Just Krake left to go then.
I like to think this is just a decayed summer prop
I swear, the monorail ruins every photo of Heide Park ever
Krake!
We saved the best until last! Krake is short but sweet, and just as good as it was last time (maybe better). A punchy drop, followed by an airtime filled half-loop and an airtime hill. It feels whippy and doesn't outstay its welcome. Plus the theming looks fab!
The evening was spent unsuccessfully trying to find food in Hamburg that was open and reasonably priced. Turns out McDonalds is usually open late as a last ditch option for a
Hamburg/er.
Coming up next: the one we've all been waiting for! Revisiting my favourite roller coaster.