James F
Hyper Poster
Hansa-Park is one of those places that has held my interest since the installation of Fluch Von Novgorod back in 2009. It's not a big park by any means and at a first glace it doesn't seem like a ''destination park'' that is worth travelling abroad for, but honestly what this park lacks in quantity in more than makes up for in quality, but more on that later ...
The trip started with a early morning flight from Manchester Airport T3 to Hamburg. Got a taxi from my house at 4:30am, I was shattered and needed my coffee.
And Away we go!
The flight was shorter than I thought it would be. It said it would take 1hr 40, but it only took 1hr 20! We arrived at 9:10am local time.
After we laded at Hamburg Airport we got the S-Bahn train from there to Hamburg central station. We used the trains to get to our accommodation. To get from the airport to Sierksdorf (the town Hansa-Park is located in) you will need to travel on three trains. The second train took us from Hamburg to Lubeck. I loved this train. Why? It's a double decker!! plus look at how nice it is inside the carriage! this is better than any of the so-called first class services you will find back in the UK.
Once we got to Lubeck we got a McDonald's and then got the train to Sierksdorf.
The rest of the day we took it easy and went for a stroll along the beach, until we found out that we couldn't find a single F :emoji_zipper_mouth:ing shop in Sierksdorf! we stayed in an apartment so we needed to stock food for the next few days. We found a Sky Supermarket in the next town, but this meant a short train journey, walking for 15 minutes there and back and then waited another 30 minutes to get back on the train again, I sure missed having a car. :emoji_slight_frown:
So it's the next day and we are here at Hansa-Park! hooray! I ought to look more enthusiastic on photos!
First things first ... Kärnan!!!
As usual, I went through my mental anti-hype mode of telling myself ''It's going to be crap, it's going to be crap...'' to avoid disappointment.
Well, just on one early morning ride alone, I was speechless. If I was to describe Karnan in three words it would be ''mental and terrifying!!''
It's perhaps the only coaster I have ever been on which I was scared each and every time I went on it, and on the two days I went, I did 12 rides on the beast and the fear was still there. Of course I won't spoil it (although I bet most of you already know what I'm talking about)
This ride just keeps on giving. It has a fantastic mixture of elements which range from strong intensity to ejector airtime moments. What a ride! Defiantly a world class coaster!
Not only does Karnan offer a brilliant physical ride, but the theming is on another level. The queue line tops the likes of Wodan and Expedition Everest for having the most immersive atmosphere and detail.
After a two rides on Karnan we went on ''The Bell'' the park's pendulum ride. Apart from being a capacity nightmare with only 6 passengers per ride (although we got straight on it) the ride was pretty dull. Not very thrilling, but the fire and water effects were cool as well as the bell concept. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of it. We then went on STÖRTEBEKER'S SEA RAID the park's raft water slide. The pirate theming was cool and the ride itself was tons better than Storm Surge at Thorpe Park. Should of taken a picture of it while I was filming, but here is an aerial shot from the observation tower ...
We then headed for Fluch von Novgorod. The Gerstlauer Euro-fighter.
When I first came off, I didn't think much of it. Like most Euro-fighters the ride can be quite rough, but after more re-riding I figured that if you keep your head back at the beginning, until the launch and then keep your head forward for the rest of the ride, it can be a smooth and super fun experience! even on a first ride this is easily better than the likes of Saw and even Speed. The launch is punchy and the first hill delivers some good airtime. Like Karnan this ride is detailed in it's theming, while not on the same level as it's successor, the dark ride sections and two-in-one launch/chain ride make this a great supporting coaster, and certainly a re-rideable one as well. -- lucky for us the park was quiet so the queue was only 5 minutes :emoji_grin:
Gave Nessie a go. I really admire Schwarzkopf coasters and I think it's a shame that they are so few of them. Similar to Novgorod when I first came off I wasn't that impressed and I felt that the ride was tamer then I expected, however after doing rides in the front and back the ride dramatically improved! The front is great for the feeling the intensity of the vertical loop, but the back is the best as you experience a strong moment of airtime on the drop after the MCBR.
Rasender Roland is one of the park's family coasters. It rides how you would expect. I nicknamed it the ''Morrisons Cafe Coaster'' because of it's glass station and the colours of the cars. Yes I know I'm ''sad'':emoji_nerd:
The wild west section is done well.
And people said I wouldn't get any ''culture'' on this trip ...
This is Schlange von Midgard the park's Gerstlauer jr coaster. I'm not usually bothered about kiddie coasters, but this one is a must! perhaps the best themed kiddie coaster outside of Disney.
Next up was the park's Sky Fly ride. I actually managed to flip upside down on this one. I usually can't manage on the ones at Blackpool and Liseberg.
The dingy side was fun. My sister found it hilarious when I fell on my face after my dingy capsized when it was slowing down.
Hansa-park features not one, not two, but three flume rides! Supersplash (pictured) was my favorite.
Look at the size of it !! it's f:emoji_zipper_mouth:ing massive!!
I'll leave you with this picture of the park entrance.
Overall I think Hansa-Park is a great place to visit and is certainly worth the trip to Germany, if not for Karnan alone. The park seems to have a great future ahead of it and finds a way to improve upon what it already has.
Karnan is my new number two coaster. It didn't beat Helix, but it's a very close second place. The first drop out of the building is nuts! defiantly a must ride and a must visit park.
I'll be updating soon (properly tomorrow) with a report from Lubeck and more Hansa-Park stuff.
The trip started with a early morning flight from Manchester Airport T3 to Hamburg. Got a taxi from my house at 4:30am, I was shattered and needed my coffee.
And Away we go!
The flight was shorter than I thought it would be. It said it would take 1hr 40, but it only took 1hr 20! We arrived at 9:10am local time.
After we laded at Hamburg Airport we got the S-Bahn train from there to Hamburg central station. We used the trains to get to our accommodation. To get from the airport to Sierksdorf (the town Hansa-Park is located in) you will need to travel on three trains. The second train took us from Hamburg to Lubeck. I loved this train. Why? It's a double decker!! plus look at how nice it is inside the carriage! this is better than any of the so-called first class services you will find back in the UK.
Once we got to Lubeck we got a McDonald's and then got the train to Sierksdorf.
The rest of the day we took it easy and went for a stroll along the beach, until we found out that we couldn't find a single F :emoji_zipper_mouth:ing shop in Sierksdorf! we stayed in an apartment so we needed to stock food for the next few days. We found a Sky Supermarket in the next town, but this meant a short train journey, walking for 15 minutes there and back and then waited another 30 minutes to get back on the train again, I sure missed having a car. :emoji_slight_frown:
So it's the next day and we are here at Hansa-Park! hooray! I ought to look more enthusiastic on photos!
First things first ... Kärnan!!!
As usual, I went through my mental anti-hype mode of telling myself ''It's going to be crap, it's going to be crap...'' to avoid disappointment.
Well, just on one early morning ride alone, I was speechless. If I was to describe Karnan in three words it would be ''mental and terrifying!!''
It's perhaps the only coaster I have ever been on which I was scared each and every time I went on it, and on the two days I went, I did 12 rides on the beast and the fear was still there. Of course I won't spoil it (although I bet most of you already know what I'm talking about)
This ride just keeps on giving. It has a fantastic mixture of elements which range from strong intensity to ejector airtime moments. What a ride! Defiantly a world class coaster!
Not only does Karnan offer a brilliant physical ride, but the theming is on another level. The queue line tops the likes of Wodan and Expedition Everest for having the most immersive atmosphere and detail.
After a two rides on Karnan we went on ''The Bell'' the park's pendulum ride. Apart from being a capacity nightmare with only 6 passengers per ride (although we got straight on it) the ride was pretty dull. Not very thrilling, but the fire and water effects were cool as well as the bell concept. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of it. We then went on STÖRTEBEKER'S SEA RAID the park's raft water slide. The pirate theming was cool and the ride itself was tons better than Storm Surge at Thorpe Park. Should of taken a picture of it while I was filming, but here is an aerial shot from the observation tower ...
We then headed for Fluch von Novgorod. The Gerstlauer Euro-fighter.
When I first came off, I didn't think much of it. Like most Euro-fighters the ride can be quite rough, but after more re-riding I figured that if you keep your head back at the beginning, until the launch and then keep your head forward for the rest of the ride, it can be a smooth and super fun experience! even on a first ride this is easily better than the likes of Saw and even Speed. The launch is punchy and the first hill delivers some good airtime. Like Karnan this ride is detailed in it's theming, while not on the same level as it's successor, the dark ride sections and two-in-one launch/chain ride make this a great supporting coaster, and certainly a re-rideable one as well. -- lucky for us the park was quiet so the queue was only 5 minutes :emoji_grin:
Gave Nessie a go. I really admire Schwarzkopf coasters and I think it's a shame that they are so few of them. Similar to Novgorod when I first came off I wasn't that impressed and I felt that the ride was tamer then I expected, however after doing rides in the front and back the ride dramatically improved! The front is great for the feeling the intensity of the vertical loop, but the back is the best as you experience a strong moment of airtime on the drop after the MCBR.
Rasender Roland is one of the park's family coasters. It rides how you would expect. I nicknamed it the ''Morrisons Cafe Coaster'' because of it's glass station and the colours of the cars. Yes I know I'm ''sad'':emoji_nerd:
The wild west section is done well.
And people said I wouldn't get any ''culture'' on this trip ...
This is Schlange von Midgard the park's Gerstlauer jr coaster. I'm not usually bothered about kiddie coasters, but this one is a must! perhaps the best themed kiddie coaster outside of Disney.
Next up was the park's Sky Fly ride. I actually managed to flip upside down on this one. I usually can't manage on the ones at Blackpool and Liseberg.
The dingy side was fun. My sister found it hilarious when I fell on my face after my dingy capsized when it was slowing down.
Hansa-park features not one, not two, but three flume rides! Supersplash (pictured) was my favorite.
Look at the size of it !! it's f:emoji_zipper_mouth:ing massive!!
I'll leave you with this picture of the park entrance.
Overall I think Hansa-Park is a great place to visit and is certainly worth the trip to Germany, if not for Karnan alone. The park seems to have a great future ahead of it and finds a way to improve upon what it already has.
Karnan is my new number two coaster. It didn't beat Helix, but it's a very close second place. The first drop out of the building is nuts! defiantly a must ride and a must visit park.
I'll be updating soon (properly tomorrow) with a report from Lubeck and more Hansa-Park stuff.
