Lands of the Crowns - Part 8: Sheep Summerland

[Rob Coasters]

So @Snoo I heard you wanted to know... everything?

Finally! I'm finally confident in my travels to travel internationally solo, and while this is still a daytrip technically speaking, it's a major breakthrough in this coastering career. The destination is, out of all parks, Tusenfryd in Norway. The Land of the Thousand Delights has a solid enough offering plus what would be by first triple launch roller coaster, requiring three boosts to get through the layout, which also opened this year in 2023 as of writing this.

The route would be to get the National Express coach from Finchley Road at almost 2am from Finchley Road to Stansted Airport, which gave me ample time to trot through the airport for my flight to Oslo Lufthavn at five to six in the morning. From there I had to buy tickets for the 'Flytoget' airport express train for a ride down to the Oslo city centre (Oslo sentralstajon), where I then found the Oslo bussterminal for the 505 bus that went to the park.

You see, when you do something solo in a city where neither you or your family or friends have been before, you tend to quad-check procedures that would be a complete walk in the park in your home country, or a place that you know well. I watched a video in full about four times about a guy who bought Flytoget tickets and then stood in a train for twenty minutes, something that I found extremely helpful and reassuring. I searched six separate times about whether my Visa debit card would be accepted, and even got a Google Wallet thing working just out of reassurance plus getting a bunch of Norwegian kroner in case for whatever reason the technologically advanced places didn't have a card reader. The things you do just to make sure you don't get caught with your pants down, when I would never bat an eye on any of this in England. Am I overdoing it?

In order to prevent a Flamingo Land Revenge from happening, I managed to snag a quick couple hours' nap before I had to leave, then got a few more on the coach towards the airport. The airport procedure was smooth, until my debit card was denied in a shop due to a faulty chip (this card still works despite that blip, I don't know what happened). I went into a slight panic mode, trying my hardest to get into my Metro Bank account which I didn't realise expired nine months ago until I was halfway through getting back into my account, where I promptly gave up. I realised that I had my Google Wallet (and my kroner), so I at least had some stuff to fall back on. Flight went well, I got +1.5 hours of sleep. In a shocking turn of events my Ryanair flight arrived in Oslo 25 minutes ahead of schedule, and then my card was accepted obviously when booking a return train ticket to the sentralstajon. From here it was awake time, and as fully expected it surprisingly went supremely well with zero faff except for someone else's suitcase tumbling out of the on-carriage luggage hold onto my feet which I picked up and returned because I'm normal sometimes.

From the sentralstajon there was a direct path that sent you to the bussterminal which I took great use in, and here's something I neglected to mention. You have to download the 'Ruter' app to book tickets for Norwegian buses, and this is not negotiable, you need the app. A 24 hour pass gave me basically an open return ticket between the bussterminal & park, and you have to show the ticket within the app as the barcode is animated, much like a concert ticket.

One scenic bus ride later, I surprisingly arrived at the park... before opening!


So when the park opened...

First course of action was, predictably, #203 HuriHuri which is known to get stupid queues all day in return for a silly ride that wasn't worth the hour long waits it always got. It did its job after one train's worth of passengers to wait through. The fact that I wanted to get off after just one lap didn't bode well for my day here, but we have literally just begun the day, so thoughts were silenced.


Deciding not to strategise and just wanting to loop the park clockwise from here instead, #204 Thundercoaster followed. A massive wooden coaster, an argument can be made for it being my biggest one yet although the old Irish warrior may prove to be quite some tough competition. The Phantom's Revenge hill that dived into a tunnel down a huge hill caught my eye immediately. The ride's screams and wheezes could seriously be heard from across the entire park like it was calling my name the whole time I was there. It's walk-on too, what's not to love?


Apart from a couple rattles here and there, Thundercoaster is a brilliant wooden coaster that has easy potential to shorten the monstrous gap in quality between my (at the time) #2 and #3, Ride to Happiness and the aforementioned Cu Chulainn. If anything it feels like a supersized Megafobia, even if that already exists and does it better, with the trains that Cu Chulainn has. It goes on forever, has huge drops, great airtime moments even for a morning ride and that Phantoms Revenge drop was as insane as it looked and then some. Proper gap-bridging potential, I prioritised a reride in the back row before proceeding with my park loop plan and this is where Thundercoaster's facade, coupled with any hope of it landing top three, was shunted into hell.


A powerfully unpleasant rattle was unceremoniously littered across the entire course. The extra airtime over the hills was obviously cool and all that but I'd been fighting for my life ever since the Phantoms Revenge drop, gripping the restraint and bracing myself towards it like it was a first love. The trains spectacularly failed to smoothly navigate the course, and I was very ready for it to be over before it was.
This was bad.


Well then. I'm... not sure what to think of this ride now. Do I like or dislike it? Shall I come back to it later? Perhaps.

Coasters continued.
#205 SuperSplash is up there for being one of the oddest-looking coasters I've come across in a while. It very much... existed, and falls into exactly the same boat as its Belgian cousin. Despite the different lift mechanisms, they're the exact same ride but the Plopsa version gains extra points simply for its funky indoor lift section.




Den Aller Spite was closed all day, and Western-Expresspite was closed due but was due to be open at some point. So I came up to the new inverted swing launch coaster thing which was open. However, the fact that SuperSplash of all things had decided to make me dizzy, perhaps aggravated by Thundercoaster's car crash of a back row, caused me to already put a pause to things and slow down so I hesitated to enter the queue for the new ride. Very obviously due to the failure to get enough sleep (totalling in at just around five hours), I was not going to let this ruin my day. I've learnt lessons from my previous encounters with this exact situation, so a few snacks along with my ever-trusty Mentos & Polo mints alleviated some of the dizziness. A few minutes of outage sat on a rock under some shade revived me enough to have #206 Storm - The Dragon Legend's queue be entered by me. A strange contraption is this triple-launch triple-dive-loop inverted roller coaster. I'd seen from the videos how the back rows are entirely upside down on the second launch and how weird a feeling that must be. However, the single rider line plops me in the middle row.


The first launch is nothing special, feeling like its service is preparing the rider for the second launch. As we were going backwards, we weren't speeding up or anything despite us passing over the motors that powered us up the first time. Then, halfway through the station, BANG. A sudden slam of energy comes out of nowhere as the motors are flipped on, causing an epic and sharp acceleration out of nowhere before the backwards hangtime section. If you're not upside down, you're instead looking straight down. The ride had barely started, and I had lost it from excitement. You're given absolutely no time to recover as the final launch kicks in immediately with a similar level of power, finally sending you through the layout.


The first dive loop is shaped like no other with the wackiest of wacky twists going into it like a dragon swooping down (obviously). A quick jump to the left follows a brilliant airtime hill which is rare to see on an inverted coaster, into a second wacky dive loop with even wackier unorthodox shaping. Just as good as the first, if not even better, 'awesome' describes it well.The third dive loop is more of a 'reverse sidewinder' than anything else and is also great, then it's over as the brakes turn on as you slow down and finish your epic adventure.


"This ride has a bad rattle" No It Doesn't! I Did Not Notice It!
After just one ride, Storm had solidified itself as a super good coaster. A lot of people will be quick to dismiss it because "it's the same thing 3 times mate" but if they're all awesome then what's not to love?

But, as epic as Storm was and as much as I wanted to do it again, it was back to having to pace myself and taking it sloooooow. After a little sit down I welcomed myself onto #207 Loopen.


Droppen, loopen, corken, braken, poor thing must be feeling a bit sorry for itself these days being so overwhelmingly overshadowed by bigger and better(...?) thrill rides. Serviceable and 'almost fun', though if a little on the "does it still have a place in the park?" side or if it's being kept around for heritage reasons. Park seems to love it and take good care of it though, so I think it's here to stay.


The pacing continued, but I figured that the queue for #208 Speed Monster was so oddly longer than anything else in the park that I could spend my break from the rides in the queue for it. It didn't take long to figure out that the length of the queue was entirely down to one train operations, that one train only seating 12 people if every seat is filled.



The launch is a little disappointing for being a hydraulic one, but it does a good enough job at getting the train up to speed (monster). The Norwegian Loop that followed was new to me. We're twisting, we're going down...


...and holy mother of positive Gs that hit so hard out of complete nowhere-ness that my head gets forced downwards. That shocked me, an extremely welcome part of the ride experience. We then casually sped (monstered) along like that never happened before a nice air hill into some sick whippy twisted airtime hills that caused the wheels to squeal as they traversed them. After those two, a corkscrew ends things off.


Speed Monster is great fun, a mostly not-that-intense accelerator coaster that for some reason temperamentally throws in some crazy but ultra-brief forces.

Time for rerides, #209 Western-Expressen had opened and when you need a short break before getting in the queue for a junior coaster you know it's not the bestest of days so far. However, I survived and it was actually quite fun if a little barebones.


Despite the pacing I still had hours left of the day and sat outside Storm craving rerides. Something in me slowly changed as my sheer determination to want to ride this as much as possible allowed myself to give it a short marathon. The single rider line decided my fate of row...
Ride #2 sat me near the back where I finally got that life-changing hangtime moment on the second launch.
Ride #3 sat me near the back where the dive loops hit as hard as they ever did, causing me to question if it can shorten the gap between #2 and #3.
Ride #4 sat me near the back where I got that incredible hangtime, the fantastic dive loops, the great airtime hill, the sharp force of the backwards launch, and everything else I got on my previous rides plus more. I was having so much downright true fun on this ride that I seriously thought that I enjoyed it more than any UK coaster plus Cu Chulainn.


By this point the queue manager was recognising me. Ride #5 sat me near the front, and where the upside down hangtime lacked the dive loop transitions instead tried to kill me in the best way possible. For the first time in years I genuinely feared flying right out as I ragdolled through the element screaming and shouting my lungs out.
It started raining.
Ride #6 sat me near the back where everything happened again but this time with rain. Everything felt faster, it felt like its high ranking was solidifed.
And I ended my run with ride #7 which sat me near the back where I took in everything I could as I was saying goodbye to this ride for now.


What rattle? I don't remember any rattle. I don't think there even was any rattle.


I don't think I can praise this ride enough. It's way too good for what it is, and I would love to get on one of these things again. I only stopped my mini-marathon to give the other two bigguns a second (or third) opinion.


Remember Thundercoaster? That I don't know what my opinion on it is because one ride was good and the next was bad? It'd been raining and the ride had significantly sped up. I wonder how it runs now? I snag a front row seat...
...and everything I thought I knew had collapsed.


Thundercoaster holds the record for being the largest roller coaster in Norway. Perhaps it could hold another record in the biggest battering on any ride in the country too. Yes, the airtime is good and the Phantoms Revenge drop into the tunnel is really good, but unfortunately a severely amplified rattle throughout the whole ride from start to finish obliterated nearly any love I gave to this ride. With endless jackhammering the entire ride (and a long ride at that too) my head was calling for help louder than the noise it makes clattering disgracefully through the layout. Bang crash wallop bang, these trains need to be swapped out for something (anything) else as it's very clear that they are absolutely tearing up the track beneath them. It's a blur of the worst rattle I have ever experienced on any roller coaster, only saved from being at the very bottom of the list by some great airtime moments and a serviceably alright layout minus a couple crashes when the straight track transitions into a corner.
Hitting the brakes, I was happy for it to be over as I suffered with a newly regained headache. Never again in this state will I get on this.


I however am not an advocate for the removal of Thundercoaster. I am a firm believer that there is a brilliant ride hidden under the jerky rough jackhammering, and an excellent ride can be carved out with a bit more love & care put into it. People are talking about the nonexistent rattle on Storm, but I think this ride needs to be addressed far more urgently.


I had an extended sit down after that before finishing my day on Speed Monster, which was the same as the first. The intensity graph holds up exactly with the random leaps in forces with the casual rolling in between. My only regret with this ride is that the twisted airtime hills could have been way improved with better restraints as if you don't exactly follow the train, you're sending your head into the side of it. Ragdolling is impossible as a result, you unfortunately have to follow the movement of the train but I still love this ride.


I had a great day at Tusenfryd getting on pretty much everything plus rerides that I wanted even considering all of the barriers that came with not getting enough sleep again and my journey home was easy & simple with the buses and trains running exactly to schedule. I munched down on two pizzas in the airport before flying back to Stansted and arriving back home at exactly the time that I left 24 hours ago.



Three days later...

 

[gavin]

Great report. I still haven't been to that park. I might have to finally get it done next summer, but I won't be day-tripping it.

In a shocking turn of events my Ryanair flight arrived in Oslo 25 minutes ahead of schedule

Ah, you fell for their bulls**t. Ryanair always add around half an hour to the actual flight time so that even if the flight is delayed, they can still claim an early or on-time arrival. I had a "two hour" flight with them from Liverpool to Paris once. It's good that you can usually plan not to arrive late though.

 

[Rob Coasters]

Ah, you fell for their bulls**t. Ryanair always add around half an hour to the actual flight time so that even if the flight is delayed, they can still claim an early or on-time arrival. I had a "two hour" flight with them from Liverpool to Paris once. It's good that you can usually plan not to arrive late though.

Aha! I did notice some slight inconsistency between their advertised flight times and the actual times but just thought that was them "being fast" or something. But nope, it all makes sense now. Thanks!

Also... good idea not to daytrip it. I can imagine Norway being something you need at least a few days at

 

[Rob Coasters]

If you haven't noticed yet, I've had to reduce the image quality due to my struggling computer being unable to handle image downloading as much as it used to. I will get a replacement soon where I will then reupload the images to be better, but I have no timeframe for this other than "the near future"! This thread will be notified when the change occurs.

Part 2: Liseberg 1

I wanted to ride Helix, so I booked flights to Gothenburg with my brother.

Well, no. I wanted to ride Flumeride, as it's closing at the end of 2023, so I booked flights to Gothenburg. As this was an actually multiple-day trip, the need to wake up at stupid o'clock was far less. A 7am start is child's play for me in terms of getting up for a park trip these days, but I know others may beg to differ!

At Gothenburg Landvetter we'd opted to get a Bolt to the park instead of the usual coach/bus/tram stuff. Would have preferred the latter, but just getting a direct connection to the park was the desired option. Wish I got a photo of Atmosfear and the rest of the park as it popped into view, the sight and seeing it all for the first time was like no other.

We arrived for dead-on 3pm which was the time that check-in for our rooms opened, and after a humourous and friendly chat with the counter man we familiarised ourselves with the room before heading to the rooftop for some phenomenal views of what we came here for.



It took me a while to tear myself apart from that viewpoint, but eventually we were in.

A plan in place to start at our end of the park before working our way backwards, what should we have started on other than Flumeride? I am a firm believer that water rides probably should not be done at the end of the day as you don't want to travel home soaking wet (we would ditch this concept later). This pleasing log flume was closing at the end of its fiftieth anniversary this year so getting on the thing we came here for was an absolute must. From here we got an introduction to just how close these rides get to each other, plus their stellar and world-class interactions.


Flumeride wasn't too much of a soaker but I definitely got sprayed. I'm very happy to have done this ride, and recency bias aside it's up there with my favourites.

Continued to #210 Valkyria. I've heard this ride has a good layout but unfavourable reviews of the vest restraints. We of course picked front row, and the ride was great! The hang over the first drop was pretty cool and the fact that you could feel yourself pushing forwards into the vest was pretty cool as you lurched over. The drop, however, is my one gripe with the ride in that you're released from the holding brake a little too gently for the drop to really do anything. With Oblivion you have that "bang" release whereas with Valkyria it's a far more gradual descent, which kills the drop a little.



The ride however immediately redeems itself with a great little layout with a much-loved tunnel (working mist!), a floaty immelmann, a quick overbank into a fun zero G roll before a corner into a hangtime-filled roll to end things off. I found Valkyria to be a very good ride, and my brother hailed it on the brake run as his new favourite roller coaster beating out Icon, his previous #1. For me, the ride just enters the top fifteen being my second favourite B&M falling slightly behind the awesome OzIris.

Next to Valkyria is #211 Balder, my first "prefabricated" wooden roller coaster. A 'prefab' woodie is where the pieces are cut with lasers so they fit together during construction like Lego bricks. I can only imagine how the instruction booklet must have looked... "take piece 4,284A and combine it with 219B but only on the south side after constructing everything up to page 790. For ages 4-99, small parts are a choking hazard". Balder has been often criticised for its multitude of dead spots with its forceless corners, yet praised at the same time for having an incredible first drop and powerful airtime moments between each corner.


And I can say it is exactly like that, though thankfully the powerful moments of ejector airtime and the awesome first drop are enough to outweigh the negatives of the corners being utterly useless. You may be thinking, "why is a roller coaster that is 50% dead spot your 5th favourite roller coaster of all time?", to that I answer that the airtime hills are just that good. If the dead spots were all in one spot, then yeah, I'd probably lower it a bit. But they're kind of evenly spread out with brilliant airtime hills wrapped neatly around them, so I don't really care as much. I always have something to look forward to with the ride, and the fact that the ride both starts and ends on a high note is the least I could ask for. Great ride.


Following our way down the park our next stop was Kållerado, my first new rapids ride since Congo River Rapids in 2018. Will be the first rapids ride that I actively enjoy, with all of the previous ones I've done having glaring flaws?

I'm pleased to announce that Kållerado knocked it out of the park then landed a hole-in-one in the adjacent golf course. The pure fun of this immersive rapids gets it all right with perilous rapids sections, brilliant immersion into the forest theme and utter chaos as every single person in our boat scrambled to dodge the incoming bullets from the frog fountains who sometimes, not always, spat over the water. I got got once or twice and flooded my slushy with water, rendering it now undrinkable. After the rest of our boat escaped that, a few more rapids followed before the home stretch.


Unfortunately, there was more. I was directly pelted with yet more water jets like they were out to get me, when suddenly a vertical explosion of hydrogen oxide blasted all of us to end it all. Kållerado ruined us, our whole boat erupted in laughter. This is what a rapids should be.
Watching from offride, the explosion of water got almost zero boats so we just got supremely unlucky in the best way possible.

Sat down for a while to take in some gorgeous views.


All aboard #212 Lisebergbanan, this ride had a phenomenal capacity shoving out trains every second, so it was walk-on all day every day. We sat near the back and it was an excellent terrain coaster that was bucketloads of fun, if a little jolty in some places and got a little repetitive by the end. It's a blast from the past and they simply do not make terrain coasters like these any more.



Up next was #213 Helix which was a solid multi launch coaster, then it was time for credding.



We actually came across some sort of concert thing going on in the park but we never went down to investiage.


Credding involved starting out with #214 Rabalder, which felt like a modern-age Tivoli Medium.


And then #215 Stampbanan, which served its purpose (new manufacturer cred edition),


and #216 Luna which is (obviously) by far my favourite family boomerang. Dare I say, I enjoyed it more than the old thrill stock models that this ride manufacturer used to offer. It also compliments the park's skyline very well.




Before dinner I then took the plunge on the awesome Atmosfear, an absolutely terrifying drop tower. I opted not to take VR as my intention was to have another go on it with it later, but then forgot. The views from the top are unbelievable and it just keeps going up forever, but I half expected the gondola to rotate and the drop wasn't as forceful as others I've done though dropping for that long is a great-enough spectacle in itself.

The loading bay reminds me of Apocalypse, which makes me .




After that I returned to the hotel for a delicious buffet dinner, and from here there wasn't long until the park closed and there were two coasters I wanted to get a night ride on.

I wanted a night ride on Balder, so I got a night ride on Balder. This time I got the back row, and got the most out of the massive first drop that it has to offer. The rest of the ride pulled some forceful but smooth bark to it with the airtime hills littered everywhere throughout the extremely compact layout.

It was coming up to 9:46pm with me checking the clock twice every time I got it out.
The distance between Balder and Helix is very, very far. So I had to run as fast as I physically could to get a night ride on this euphoric roller coaster.
It all grinded to a halt when a misjudgment in my route landed me behind a family on the escalator who would not move. After I got my clearing though on the second escalator, I clattered up before screeching to a halt at the closed doors of Helix which had shut early.
I had a think. It was coming up to 9:minutes-from-closepm with me checking the clock twice every second I got it out.

The distance between Helix and Balder is very, very far. So I had to run as fast as I physically could down the Liseberg hill, clattering down stairs at speed to get another night ride on what might be my new favourite wooden roller coaster.

The open entrance in the background came into view as my pace picked up more than it ever had, and I had made it into the station...
...and got the last ride of the night on Balder in the back row, just as good as it ever had been though our train was half-empty due to there not being enough people to fully fill the final train.

I could not have asked for a more chaotic end to the day. Drenched with sweat was my final ride, there was some sort of Swedish chant (an 'A' person says something and the rest of the crowd 'B' chants something else back) in the station and the vibes were great with the few people that were on. After leaving the park we went to bed.

I really, really like this park. What more have they got tomorrow? Couple rides I want to talk a bit more about, but I felt like I needed some more thoughts on them...

 

[Matt N]

Great report @Rob Coasters! I'm glad you seemed to have a great day at Liseberg; that ending in particular with the final ride on Balder sounds epic!

I'm guessing there's a reason why you haven't touched too much on Helix in this report compared to the other rides at the park... given that it's arguably the big enthusiast draw to Liseberg, will you be talking more about it in the next instalment, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Rob Coasters]

Great report @Rob Coasters! I'm glad you seemed to have a great day at Liseberg; that ending in particular with the final ride on Balder sounds epic!

I'm guessing there's a reason why you haven't touched too much on Helix in this report compared to the other rides at the park... given that it's arguably the big enthusiast draw to Liseberg, will you be talking more about it in the next instalment, if you don't mind me asking?

Thank you! My mentions of Helix have been kept intentionally short in this first part, as people believe you need a few rides on it in order to gain a solid opinion. It's definitely a "it grows on people" ride. I got several rides in on the next day where I will go far more in depth of what my proper thoughts on it are!

I also thought it would be slightly funny to write three paragraphs on one of the smaller supporting rides then Helix gets just one sentence. But it will get the justice it deserves!

 

[Rob Coasters]

Once again I apologise for the image quality.

Part 2: Liseberg 2

After an excellent breakfast it was time for Lis--
Sleep. It was time for more sleep. We had our fuel-up at 10am, the park opened at 1pm, the ten-ish hours I got the night before clearly wasn't good enough...

So at 1pm we woke back up and entered the park. We both agreed to start with a reride on Valkyria, so we respected those wishes by riding i----
Flumeride. We went to Flumeride.


Flumeride!


We rode Flumeride.
And then we went to Valkyria. For real this time.
Front row again!


Wooo! Yeah!



...I'm sorry. I've said a lot of things about these two rides above. It wouldn't make a terrible amount of sense to just repeat the stuff I've said before about rides I've ridden less than twenty four hours ago, especially when my opinions of both these rides have changed by a factor of exactly null, I still like them just as much as before.

My thoughts of Balder, however, slightly changed. A ride directly up front caused this to be my new favourite row as, oddly, the push that you got over the airtime hills was something I enjoyed more than the whip you got over them in the back. It's always odd when the front is better than the back for airtime and I wonder how many other rides share this funny little quirk?



It was finally time for flats. I had heard that Loke was a contender for the best flat ride in the world.
Do I agree with the claims of Loke being the best flat ride ever made? No.
Do I agree with the claims of Loke being one of the best flat rides ever made, but definitely not #1 potential? Yes.
That pretty much sums up my thoughts of the ride. The absolute sense of freedom that you got with those wonderfully open restraints is ace, but after a couple full-height swings I was kind of 'getting' the ride, for lack of a better way of describing. I was getting used to the forces concerningly quickly which wasn't welcome as I wanted to spend far more time enjoying the ride at its fullest potential.


I came off Loke thinking it was slightly overrated, but disappointed in myself for thinking that. Because it has virtually everything it needs to be world-class but there was just something missing. Still by far my favourite pendulum-type flat ride and certainly a top 10 flat ride generally speaking though, so its mysterious flaw matters not.



Up next was the only 'miss' of the trip, Mechanica. This ride is more 'look at it' than 'ride it' where it's an absolute visual spectacle but lacks quite harshly in terms of ride experience. A family ride that pretends to be a thrill ride, Mechanica had no real moments of any intense moments at all despite its intimidating appearance. A phenomenon that has now dampened Air, these Star Shapes feel like they don't run at their full potential (any more). Ashamedly disappointing, may we one day run into one that's better.



Helix is a steel roller coaster located at Liseberg in Gothenburg, Sweden. The ride, built by Mack Rides, features two linear synchronous motor launches and has a top speed of 100 km/h (62 mph). It features a 41-metre-tall (135 ft) dual-launch helix.
My first ride of Helix yesterday had the anticipation levels at a solid zero point five, with both the queue and station music being completely turned off. What was supposed to be the moment of the trip was a nothingly awkward walk & board, and they still seemed to be having technical difficulties today with the music continuing to be a little sporadic throughout which wasn't great but hey ho we're walking through the queue.

We dispatched to the sound of silence.
The layout starts with a fun drop out of the station into a powerful little cor---
A rattle. Helix starts with a rattle. Yeah this isn't the smoothest coaster in the world and it perfectly explains why my brother largely preferred Valkyria. It's definitely most noticeable right at the beginning for me, where the first launch happens and I then entirely forget it exists until the ride ends. My brother didn't hold the same thought though.
So the layout starts with a fun drop out of the station into a powerful little corkscrew, and that's how you know this ride means business.


The first launch happens into a quality corkscrew before two quick switchbacks with a rad twisted airtime hill to contribute, before my second of three Norwegian Loops. This definitely doesn't have the head-shoving G force of Speed Monster as this one is a lot more spread out but it's still great and the beginning of a superior flow of back-to-back hits. A superb airtime hill follows that beautifully compliments the exquisite Zero G Roll that then travels straight into a whippy transition to the 360 degree spiral that has an alternative name I'm not going to bring up. This flow of elements is pretty much layout perfection in my eyes.


A couple twists and turns leads us into the second launch, and there's just this thing about a second launch. You get that giddy little feeling that the ride is not over yet, in fact it's only just gotten started, and you have so much more to experience even after all that you just did. So you're zooming across going faster and faster into a positively brilliant inverted top-hat. Some call this the best inversion in the world, I... don't think so, but it's still so cool and satisfying to go through either way.


After that you get the famous "ejection into Gothenburg" hill which is a transcendent ejector airtime hill that truly makes you feel like you're going to fly out with the iconic city background view being the last thing you'll ever see. It is admittedly not the strongest hill in the world, but it is sustained with a backdrop rarely seen anywhere else. This is the last world-class element of the ride where things significantly calm down after with a few twisty S-bends into a hangtime-centric twist into the brakes.


After three more rides, alternating between front and back, and the music finally turning on, I had my opinion set on Helix that while it's not the best thing ever made it still holds up nine years after its opening. A lot of people go into Helix expecting a new #1 after having ridden the likes of other multi launch coasters but always come off disappointed and expecting more because they fail to realise that Helix is simply a product of its time. It was world-class #1 in the world back when it opened, but rides have simply improved since then. Helix is still an icon to this day, its ranking slips by the year, but it's still a very special ride and it's very very very clear to understand why. It sits comfortably at #3, stomping the dragon legend but predictably behind Tomorrowland's electronic dance machine.


Uppswinget is Rush if it ran a somewhat acceptable cycle. I got the side where it swung towards the edge which was utterly terrifying, and it felt fantastic having a ride of this type go on for such a long time when you're so used to the pathetic fart of the English one's runtime.



AeroSpin was my first thrill-level interactive ride experience in a very long time which I also walked straight onto. Obviously it being my first ever ride on one of these things I failed to get even a single flip in but I did manage to get an intensely long moment of hangtime several times which was insane but this length of being upside down unfortunately put me off a reride to set things right and go three sixty. Loads of these things are popping up though so I know another chance is just around the corner whenever I feel like it.


From here on out it was rerides. I had another go on Lisebergbanan, this time nearer the front, and it remains as a solid ride experience. If a little repetitive, the novelty factor and its sheer wackiness and "nothing else like it" factor and that comical triple helix plus its funny little transitions makes this a brilliant ride of pure fun. It's still not the smoothest ride in the world, but whatever.






Next up was Balder in the same front row seat which proved to be just as good, and solidified Balder's position as my new #5 above Cu Chulainn but not quite sticking up to the pure chaos of the dragon legend.


Then it was time for dinner, and after that there was time for one more ride... maybe two.
Here's how that went.

We both wanted a night ride on Flumeride and Helix. Ultimately, we started for a front row night ride on Helix. With the music booming loudly the clock was intensively ticking as our time to sprint down the hill (again, seriously, two nights in a row now) to nab a night ride on Flumeride shortened by the second.
The night ride on Helix was absolutely euphoric.
But when we hit the brakes, there was one thing on our minds.
Get.
The.
F**k.
Off.
This.
Train. NOW.
I sent my brother for a head start as he was taking the escalator route (which is known to have people on it but he is known to have persuasion) as I bought the onride photo at blistering speed. As he ran to Flumeride, I finalised my purchase and here started yet another life-or-death sprint for the last ride of the night. Racing down the alternate escalator-free route by clambering down stairs in almost pitch-black, I know how much this ride meant, and I was desperate for this night ride to happen.

Unfortunately, we lost as we ran up to a closed queue as final rides were going through. We tried our hardest to get both Helix & Flumeride night rides in, but ultimately it all came down to barely missing out on managing to do both. At least one was done, but my wishes to ride an outdoor log flume in the dark remain unanswered for the time being.



We accepted our loss as we headed to the rooftop to take in night views of the park before heading to bed. The day may have ended on a downer but at least we were still buzzing on the sheer greatness of a night ride on Helix.

 

[HeartlineCoaster]

Fun read as always.

A lot of people go into Helix expecting a new #1 after having ridden the likes of other multi launch coasters but always come off disappointed and expecting more because they fail to realise that Helix is simply a product of its time. It was world-class #1 in the world back when it opened, but rides have simply improved since then.

While I like this theory, just curious as to if there's anything you think has specifically improved over those years? A product of its time implies there was a technology or concept that was missing in 2014, but I'm not sure what that would be in this case.

 

[Rob Coasters]

Fun read as always.

While I like this theory, just curious as to if there's anything you think has specifically improved over those years? A product of its time implies there was a technology or concept that was missing in 2014, but I'm not sure what that would be in this case.

Not sure, I think I would most likely put that down to incorrect usage of the term. Might replace. But the general idea with the rest of the paragraph is that "roller coasters have gotten better over time" with all the 'new #1 potential' coasters being rides that opened more recently than not.

For me I think one of these reasons for what exactly has improved is that manufacturers have been slowly working out what people like - or prefer - in a coaster. Dead spot? Take that one out mate. Taiga looks to have zero dead spots. Velocicoaster looks to have zero dead spots you get the idea.
"Let's put a hill in the middle of this launch. Let's swap out this hangtime-based roll for a faster one, leave the hangtime to the stall. Our trains have been hand-crafted to smoothly glide the track perfectly. A tunnel goes here, this quick snap outwards will send people to space."

As your #1 is Helix, which means every other multi launch you've done is behind, I might be talking utter bananas with my only other full-scale thrill-based standard non-spinning multi launch coaster being, errr, Icon. What if I'm just assuming a ride like Taiga will be better, but Helix just ends up beating it out somehow? The anticipation excites. What if Velocicoaster just... underwhelms for whatever wacky reason? The prospect scares.

My idea of how good a roller coaster is is measured by how much fun I'm having on it (with its length then being taken into account). A ride like Storm I'm having an unrivalled level of pure fun with on the entire ride, but I don't feel like I can move it up any further because of its length which is why it falls behind Helix. Helix I have an utter truckload of fun on and goes on forever, but the barrage of incredible element after incredible element essentially ends after the massive ejector hill, which contributes to it ultimately falling behind Happiness.

The main thing with that paragraph is people expecting Helix to be firmly squaring up against rides that opened more recently because they heard Helix is "the best in the world" but they neglect to see the full story: "Helix was the best in the world in 2014". I feel like people come to expect a little too much of the ride, then act surprised when they come off thinking "expected a little more from you my guy".

 

[HeartlineCoaster]

But the general idea with the rest of the paragraph is that "roller coasters have gotten better over time" with all the 'new #1 potential' coasters being rides that opened more recently than not.

The main thing with that paragraph is people expecting Helix to be firmly squaring up against rides that opened more recently because they heard Helix is "the best in the world" but they neglect to see the full story: "Helix was the best in the world in 2014". I feel like people come to expect a little too much of the ride, then act surprised when they come off thinking "expected a little more from you my guy".

Completely agree with the sentiment, just in my head that sort of era began with Helix, rather than after it.

For me I think one of these reasons for what exactly has improved is that manufacturers have been slowly working out what people like - or prefer - in a coaster. Dead spot? Take that one out mate. Taiga looks to have zero dead spots. Velocicoaster looks to have zero dead spots you get the idea.

Not so sure on any of this. Examples of slowly working out what people like is very micro level and centred around people like us who overthink these things way too much. Call me pessimistic, but I don't think it really happens that way. In 2023 we still get features that serve a marketing gimmick rather than the ride experience and dead spots are still a prevalent thing everywhere if you're really looking for it. I'd say there's more on the two you named, but we may also need to split hairs on what we're calling a 'dead spot' here.

For Helix, for you, it seems to be two elements that didn't hit the mark (even if just comparative to the rest of the layout), rather than a section of track with not much going on. I think that's a significant distinction, even if it's just 'Balder's corners are boring' vs 'I don't like the last inversion on Helix'. Different elements hit the mark for different people and I think we're now at the stage of coaster design where it's impossible for any sequence to be perfect for everyone. Which is exciting.


The real answer was a spinning car on Helix.

 

[Rob Coasters]

Not so sure on any of this. Examples of slowly working out what people like is very micro level and centred around people like us who overthink these things way too much. Call me pessimistic, but I don't think it really happens that way. In 2023 we still get features that serve a marketing gimmick rather than the ride experience and dead spots are still a prevalent thing everywhere if you're really looking for it. I'd say there's more on the two you named, but we may also need to split hairs on what we're calling a 'dead spot' here.

For Helix, for you, it seems to be two elements that didn't hit the mark (even if just comparative to the rest of the layout), rather than a section of track with not much going on. I think that's a significant distinction, even if it's just 'Balder's corners are boring' vs 'I don't like the last inversion on Helix'. Different elements hit the mark for different people and I think we're now at the stage of coaster design where it's impossible for any sequence to be perfect for everyone. Which is exciting.


The real answer was a spinning car on Helix.

Yeah I pretty much agree on everything here. Parks putting marketing gimmicks over quality of ride experience is definitely still prevalent (feels like it's more common than ever thinking about it) & the differences in what people want in a coaster leads to very different experiences of the same ride. For example I said somewhere else that I was not a huge fan of the rotating tunnel on Curse at Alton Manor, before someone almost immediately replied saying it was their favourite part of the ride. Also, having not ridden the coasters I mentioned obviously puts me at a disadvantage too as at the moment I can only judge from POVs!

And yep, the S bends and final roll on Helix are definitely elements that were still good but didn't hit as hard as everything else (which was a very high bar admittedly!), I'll also agree there. I wasn't sat in my train "waiting for something to happen" or anything like that, but still enjoying them just not to the degree of, say, that sequence in the first half.

And yes, spinny car is a must.

 

[Rob Coasters]

Part 4: Liseberg 3

Surprise! We still have half a day left here. As it's a Saturday heavy queues were anticipated all day so we decided to get one last ride each before exploring the Gothenburg city then leaving.

My brother wanted to splash on Flumeride which had developed a huge queue of around 30 minutes which was the longest queue we had ever seen this whole trip. I too wanted to say a goodbye to this awesome log flume ride.
Unfortunately it broke down shortly after and the queue was very quickly evacuated as we were encouraged to explore other options while a possible fix was found, so we wandered over to Kallerado instead.


Despite our successful attempts to remain almost entirely dry throughout outside of one or two splashes, it still remains as by far my favourite rapids. A stark contrast from my last ride where every single one of us was drenched.

My option for the last ride was, a ride that I have neglected to mention for the entire trip so far, Jukebox! You haven't forgotten about Jukebox, have you?
Jukebox is my second 'polyp' style ride (or my third if HUSS Magics count) and I was laughing throughout. This ride provides better and more airtime than virtually any three UK coasters combined, and was simply a blast to ride. It's a ride type that I need to get on more, and I wish there was more than one in the UK alongside the one I've done that very rarely travels!


Flumeride still closed, we agreed to return to the park to give it one last chance before leaving for the airport.

We finally used the public transport of Sweden, heading into a nice little tram which we also need to see a lot more of in the UK (and basically anywhere else).
Our exploring through the city centre had me thinking that Gothenburg is oddly industrial but at the same time it's no real surprise that it's been ranked as one of the most sustainable cities in the world with its great walkability, prominent cycle lanes and frequent reliable public transport.












Liseberg was still visible from essentially the other side of the city!


Despite it being a nice change of scene from what we've had the past couple days, we quickly realised that there wasn't really all that much to do in the city from our brief looking around so we rented out an electric scooter to ride back to the tram station.
This is my first time on one of these. They were great fun to exist on, just a shame that they're incredibly looked down on here in the UK.
After parking up, we figured that the park was busying up unsurprisingly quickly (remember, it's a Saturday!) and the queue for Flumeride, which had reopened, was pushing nearly 45 minutes so to get back to the airport on time we had to return.

The park had packed up as we entered the long line for our final ride of the entire trip which was one that we started it on, and the knowledge that it might be my last ever ride on this thing caused me to just appreciate everything that the ride had to offer.





We were seated with two other people creating a completely full log of people who were all just as enthusiastic as each other, which made a memorable end to our time here. The final drop had immaculate vibes from everyone who was screaming & shouting the way down like it was our last ever time on not just this, but log flumes as a whole.


Couldn't have asked for a better ending.


But we're not done with crowns yet... I've been called to defend the pirate's jewel from the dragon king.

 

[Rob Coasters]

I will go through with upscaling the images on previous parts. Enjoy high quality photos from here on out.

Part 5: Tivoli Friheden

“Why are you going to Tivoli Friheden?”
“SCAD Tower mate”
“Ahhh, understandable, I respect that.”

This was once again a 1:57am coach into Stansted, an exact clone of what I did to get into Norway, but this time we’re going into Aarhus. It was another fairly simple flight but the thing that took me by surprise was how small Aarhus airport was. It’s tiny! We disembarked the plane into a gazebo into a very temporary building where our passports were processed before being moved into the main building where our 925X bus into the city centre was. The buses are basically the only non-car/cab form of transport in and out of the airport, so it made sense for the buses to leave at times that compliment the flight arrivals.

We arrived in the city centre and from there we checked our bags in before having a wander. And I must say, I was already a fan of Aarhus with its friendly atmosphere and walkability that were integrated into the city - always a fan of this. Joggers everywhere, people cycling together… it’s just something that you never see in the UK. This was in a coffee shop:



I remember having a walk through my local town’s high street one day with a friend of mine, where we both expressed our disdain for where we lived.

“This place… it just feels like a system. Where it’s just made to be, kind of a cog in the machine.”
“Yeah, it just feels like a place just built entirely to make money. No one’s friends here, no one wants anything to do with each other here. Everyone’s just wanting to ignore each other really.”
“You don’t travel to [town]. You use it as a means of getting somewhere else.”

We were quite happy with the fact that Aarhus is a coastal town, so we looked by the beach before grabbing an ice cream and making a nice walk down to the park. Looking back we probably should have rented an e-scooter, or a bike, but we were happy with walking.






We entered the park, which had a very nice presentation to it wherever there weren’t any rides. The park is quite beautiful when there are no rides, but the visual appearance of the place falls off quite considerably when you get to the ‘proper’ amusements area. I hugged the mascot before setting sail.



First coaster in Denmark, #218 Bisværmen wasn’t any top 100-smashing potential but fine enough for what it was. I wasn’t expecting this ‘triple loop’ variant of the standard double-loop version to be any better, but it surprisingly was.



#219 Dragen, can’t escape the Pinfaris.


And then a flat ride I hadn’t done before, Sommerfuglen. I’d done a variant of this ride from the same manufacturer, AeroSpin back at Liseberg, but I never managed to get a single flip. I must say I definitely preferred this version of the ride as it felt far easier to flip the seats and the whole ride simply span faster. I got flipping oddly quickly as I already had the rhythm down, but unfortunately a running pattern arrived. I get up at stupid-o-clock in the morning I don’t get my eight hours in, so after five flips in very quick succession I got dizzy enough to unfortunately force-stop my flipping. Having to halt my run early was disappointing but I can’t say I wasn’t expecting it, but at least I’m happy to have found out how to flip the seat much better than before which can translate to when I next get on one of them.

My dizzying ride ended with me needing to have an extended sit-down, and after around twenty minutes I was ready to ride Hjertekig, the park’s 50 meter drop tower. I believe this is a new manufacturer credit in Ride Engineers Switzerland. The height was surprisingly a little intimidating and the full scale of Sky Tower could really be seen and acknowledged. The drop was forceful albeit with a little clunk, but however I enjoyed the minimalistic restraint quite a bit. I also noticed that the drop tower had an observation mode where it sends you up before gently lowering you back down, to which I passed.


#220 Tyfonen was the spinning mouse coaster. Zamperla’s attempt of this model still doesn’t compete against Reverchon in the slightest with the cars failing to make more than one rotation across the whole spinning portion, but the others on my car were enjoying the ride to its fullest. Admittedly I was happy with the non-spinning this time, but perhaps another day it would be welcome.

Take note of how much of the baseframe crosses the river unsupported; I found this very amusing!


Construction of the park's coaster for next year was (predictably) zero; the plot was occupied by a busy playground that actually looked alright for how temporary it is.

It was at this point where we made a discovery where the whole reason we came to this park, the complete freefall Sky Tower, was closed all day due to unknown reasons. While irritating, the city of Aarhus is nice enough to want to come back to (and I will anyway to visit the other parks around it) so if I spot it open again I know the park’s only a short cycle away.

We ended the day on Illusions Fabrikken which was a comedic laugh full of tricks and surprises, including by far the standout part which was a slanted room with slanted stairs designed to fool your body into thinking you’re upright. This room, while small, was unbelievably fun and a definite recommend for the trip.


Thus concluded our day at Tivoli Friheden. The park felt a little overpriced for what it had, but the visual presentation outside of the ride areas was nice & pleasant and the general crowds seemed happy with what they had.


Tomorrow - bigger rides

 

[Rob Coasters]

This one has been sitting nice & ready for a while. Here's an early present.

Part 6: Djurs Sommerland

Today was the big adventure day, with a choice between here or Fårup I decided to roll with the park where the three standouts are all from the same manufacturer. Our convenient hotel location landed us within 3 minutes' walk of the train station, and after (very briefly) getting lost in the train station we found our way to our target - which was a Letbane, destination Grenaa. Only our destination wasn't Grenaa, but it was the train's. Our destination was Ryomgård.

At Ryomgård we got a shuttle bus whose arrival time was well-woven within the train's arrival, but the interesting part was the fact that you had to cross directly over the rails in order to get between the platform & exit. Something that would never happen in the UK.

Bus went smooth, and in a short time we were in.

Kicking off with the first train of the day on #221 Thor's Hammer, an almost exact clone of Cobra at Paultons Park but with one extra helix at the end and no funny floaty chain. Looking far better than the other, but this one ranks slightly below as it ran considerably slower due to it being, well, the first train of the day. The extra decorations are a very welcome addition though that I was happy to see, and it made the ride quite impressively presented for being a clone coaster. We never came back to this ride so we didn't experience it having sped up, but we had our reasons.



Overall Thor's Hammer is a decent bobsled package that packs in quite a fair amount into its layout.

#222 Juvelen was one of the most hyped up rides for the trip, also known as "the ride Chessington should have gotten". The ride has a few surprisingly intense moments such as both turns out of the launches, and by far my favourite part of the ride which was a quick collection of tight S-curves sprinkled with near misses shortly after the second launch. A ride that gradually increases in intensity as it goes along, Juvelen is a fantastic ride that begins with a cool pre-show but admittedly ends on a couple hills that miss the mark a bit - starts on one too - but everything else is great. Learning from Heartline Coaster's words, they're not 'dead spots' which is something I've come to agree with. Another ride immediately after, nearer the back, cemented this ride as even more awesome.


Making our way over to Dinosaurland, we got distracted by a bubble pool which surprisingly was a highlight of the travels. Living a childhood dream, the bubble pool was filled with handles of all odd shapes & sizes where with the right method you could create some seriously impressive bubbles!


Now making our way over to Dinosaurland, the Disko Coaster was walked past as we entered the queue for the oddly named #223 T-Rex Family Coaster, which sounds more like an unfinished working project name than a final product name. It was a strange ride, being elevated off the ground for almost the whole ride resulting in you just kind of faffing around in the air not really achieving anything. Easy missed potential for some dives away from menacing dinos. It probably happened though, but I forgot, which speaks words.



The onboard audio being broken didn't help either but at least the second lap was quite faster than the first. The coaster is a little strange but I guess it has its market.

Next, a go on Dino Xpedition a gentle car ride through some silly dinosaur-themed scenes. Disappointingly unlike Flamingo F1, the steering wheels didn't do anything - I wish they did something. But otherwise it was a quirky little family trek. Definitely wildly popular with the young'ns.


We next stepped foot into Wild Asia where instead of a lorikeet lagoon and a waveswinger we came across #224 Drage Kongen.

"If I had a nickel for every launched dragon-themed suspended/inverted launch coaster I'd ridden, I would have two nickels. Which isn't much, but it's weird that it happened twice." The launch out of the station on this ride is super cool as you experience a short indoor section before the main lift hill. While this part is devoid of theming, it's still a fun start.


The ride then descends into a fun & twisty but not-that-smooth layout, however not bad enough to leave a negative impression on the ride at all. While I do admittedly forget some things that the coaster does and had to remind myself of some parts with a brief look back at the POV, I like all the helices and the drop and the overbanked turn. It's definitely something that I have to come back to later.


#225 Jungle Rally.


The main deal of the park is #226 Piraten, a coaster type known as a 'Mega Lite' often praised for their relentlessness, intensity, and also commonly known for staying low to the ground after a huge drop into a crazily intense turn on the ground immediately after. The sustained positive G forces are crazy! The ride then progresses into a large twisted hill into an elongated valley before a powerful ejector hill into another intense turn on the ground, this time in a tunnel.


Then comes one of my favourite parts on any coaster, three insanity-filled twisted airtime hills taken at high speed that all immediately come after you. Seriously, this sequence is far too good. The ride ends on a couple short but sweet airtime hills before a long turn into the brakes.

Piraten is a short but incredible ride that really packs a massive punch... I fully understand the hype surrounding it. The only two parts that don't hit as hard as the others are the valley between the twisted hill after the drop and the straight hill, and the final turn, but those really just feel like stupid nitpicks for such tiny parts of the ride. Does it really matter at all? When the rest of the ride hits *that* hard?


Tearing myself away, there's credding to do. My third water coaster, and the first one that has some semblance of a layout, #227 Skatteøen. The big helix drop is great fun to be had, and the funny two-stage drop that suddenly increases in steepness for no reason is also silly. Gets you mildly wet.



I craved four more rides on the brilliant Piraten, and tried both ends of the train where I very quickly learnt that front was the way to go. My thoughts remain unchanged, it really is a great ride highly deserving of a top 5 spot in my rankings. It's Balder but if the corners had infinitely more force, but doesn't match the sheer chaotic nature of Storm. Gives it a damn good go though.

Following my quick reride session, we hopped onto Djurs Expressen with a train driver who loved his job and could perfectly impersonate a train's 'hoot' with nothing but mouth and hands. Our attempts were feeble and useless despite his visual explanation!


Eight for eight and matching my 'credits gained in one day' record, #228 Vilde Hønsegajt was a clone of Rabalder themed to chickens. I suspect that this won't be the last chicken-themed coaster that I'll ride...


With the credits done it was time for the bonus round. Starting with one more lap of Juvelen where I experienced its greatness for a third time, I truly cannot get enough of these low-to-the-ground turns that this park has on all three of their major coasters.

We entered the queue for Rio Grande Expedition right as it broke down to our lack of knowledge, in fact we only noticed that it was broken when I spotted that the trough was drained. However, when the ride was fixed I lived an enthusiast's dream as I watched the trough get refilled.

Rio Grande is not as wet as Kållerado but it's still a fun rapids ride that shreds all of the UK ones, but not like those fools put up any sort of fight at all.

I apologise for bad-mouthing Loke and calling it a little overrated, because Tigeren did the exact same thing and I came off seriously impressed with this incredible pendulum ride. I don't understand why I thought those thoughts on Loke; the only thing I can think of is that Tigeren simply provided a much better sense of height, but otherwise both rides provided the same experience and I can now comfortably say that they're also in the competition for my favourite flat ride type too.



I wasn't expecting to find a clone of the late Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach Log Flume here, but here Long Cun Expedition is. A taster to what the ride would be like if it wasn't themed in a brutalist and industrial way, this was a pleasant ride that didn't soak as much as the dead one but still nothing hits like the peril you get sitting in a log at the peak of a huge dip.


Drage Kongen rerides in, my second ride was just as good as the first but however my third had developed a rattle that was a lot more noticeable this time around. Not bad enough to bring down the ride as hard as Thundercoaster's thunderous downfall, but still left a little to be desired. However the ride sits comfortably just barely in my top 25, so thankfully it gets to sit in that prestigious position for at least a while.


Søulken is the final new-to-me ride of the day, another excellent polyp style ride that also provided airtime similar to Jukebox (why are these ride types called polyps?).


And my final ride on Piraten, in the front row of course, was by far my best ride on it with crazy ejector airtime neatly intertwined with the strong sustained positives.

So I voice my thoughts on Piraten, proudly proclaiming its high placement where I'm immediately questioned on why it placed below Helix by at least two people. I... admittedly struggled quite badly with trying to come up with a justification. But then after a good few minutes of thinking, I came up with something.
Untamed, Ride to Happiness, Helix, Storm - The Dragon Legend. Those are my top 4. Those four rides I scream & shout on to the point of fear of losing my voice if I ever marathoned them. They all share this similarity of a simple impossibleness for me to shut up on them, and while Piraten definitely gives it a damn good go it gets me "woah"ing but not quite to the level & consistency that's required to take down the fearsome four.
It sits comfortably at #5 though, and I reckon that's still a brilliantly high praise.


However, the final ride of the day went to Juvelen where a back row ride solidified its placement in my top 5% of roller coasters I've ridden. It was everything I'd said before, and it felt like it was faster than ever. It was a great way to end the day.
Alright, I ended the day by getting my photo with the mascots. And then almost getting stung in the face by a wasp who wants your 'pirate burger'. That's how you end a day.

Djurs Sommerland was a park that I seriously enjoyed a lot, with a solid selection of water flat & roller coaster rides. I was surprised to find that the park had no real dark ride of any sorts, perhaps they could work on adding that next.


That concluded my Danish weekend, but all priorities are set on returning... the polarising opinions on modern Vekoma have finally gotten to me. Who's right, and who's wrong then? Find out... errr, later. I hope.

 

[Rob Coasters]

Part 7: Legoland Billund

Yeah, I came back. Said I would. My base of Aarhus remained the same, in fact it was just the exact same trip just going to two different parks. I'm ready, and on my own this time.

As I wanted to drop my bag off at the hotel ASAP I flew into Aarhus instead of what would have been the obvious option of Billund, for Legoland, looking back this would have been the smarter idea as obviously Legoland has lockers don't it. But I just wanted to keep things simple.

I discovered that my Midttrafik app was useless on DSB trains, which I only found out after using the app to book a DSB train to Vejle. So, that money gone, I used the good old ticket machine to get my ticket instead. Nothing happened on the train, but that's the way I like things.
At Vejle I once again tried using my Midttrafik app to get the 43 bus from Vejle trafikcenter to the park, but I was angrily told that I had the wrong ticket (apparently you're supposed to use the Sydtrafik app round here).
"Okay, Legoland please."
"Huh?"
"Lego land"
"Where???"
"Legoland"
"Okay, Legoland, that'll be 64 krone."
Sheepishly pulled out my card before realising it was cash only.
Sheepishly pulled out some kroner, not realising it was Swedish. "No. Danish krone. ATM is over there."
Left the bus.
Went to the ATM.
Got my Danish krone.
Bus was gone.

Thankfully a 143 bus appeared just a few minutes later who finally let me on after I presented the cash. Needlessly overcomplicated, why do I need different apps, why can't you just take card. But I got to Legoland, on 'not enough' hours of sleep (running trend).

That's behind me now though. #229 Polar X-plorer is how things began. Solid family coaster carried pretty hard by the beginning, but the drop track may as well have been the end of the ride with how weak the section after is. But the first half is plenty fun, which is appreciable. Reminds me of Dino Dash.



The coaster is basically reverse Th13teen. Compared to that ride, I think I prefer this one, but there really is not much between the two.

The first flying theatre I'd done was at the tail end of 2021, at the other Legoland. It's been long enough, so I was happy to be getting on another. So how was Emmet's Flying Adventure?


So it starts off where there's a contest for the "master builders" where if they can build the best thing and then pass it through a bunch of tests they're crowned 'master master builder'. Our mates Lucy Wyldstyle, Benny & Unikitty all built space-ship style stuff with things there to fit their personalities. Lucy Wyldstyle added a hoverboard, Unikitty has rainbows and sunshine and ultradeath killer mode, and Benny's whole personality is spaceship. Our boy Emmet went for the triple decker "couch" which is essentially the ride vehicle. Smart.

The ride starts, I forgot what happened, there's a DUPLO invasions, an overload of colours & chaos then we're declared the winner (master master builder) then you're done and turn around and get off. What just happened?
I think that Flight of the Sky Lion was far better personally. It was much easier to follow, as Emmet's felt like nothing more than pure visual overload at multiple points which made it quite hard to keep track of what exactly was going on. Call me basic but as a result of its lack of complexity I can recall far more from Sky Lion, and while none of the effects were working on that run (some strong smells on Emmet's though)... eh. Sky Lion still preferred.

Back to crediting, #230 X-treme Racers is neither x-treme nor does it race, nor do really any semblance of racing at all, it trims to a crawl several times through the layout never really gaining any proper momentum outside of the 2 drops. The trims aren't uncomfortable, just ruin what could have been a better ride.


I went in expecting #231 Dragen to be nothing special, but I left thinking it was one of my favourite powered coasters (now matter how low a bar you think that might be). First the indoor section was just a laugh, much better than the other Dragon, then we come to the outdoor section where ride then stops for a couple minutes. Then suddenly you accelerate, and while way too short it's a great section of roller coaster that was honestly just fun. It ends so fast again, but I came off thinking "solid".


#232 Flying Eagle, miserable queue and one of the worst coaster logos I have ever come across, but I like these layouts for what they are.


Somehow I'd forgotten about the incredible Miniland - I will let the photos do the talking.


And as zombie form continued to take shape, I wanted to do one more ride in Ghost - The Haunted House before making my way out.


A few impressive sets in darkness led to a positively awful drop tower that did virtually nothing, then ended. What a low point to end the day on.
And then, I was out.
I remember considering this park to be my first ever international daytrip, which later went to Tusenfryd as I concluded that flight timings would "only" have allowed me to spend four hours at the park before having to leave.
Today, I spent 2 hours and 40 minutes there before departure. Interesting how things sometimes don't go the way you plan it.

Bus to Vejle came, this time cash in hand.
"Vejle please"
"????"
"Vejle, trafikcenter"
"Vejle?"
"The one near the train station"
"Yes, yes, 64 krone please"
Why do the drivers here act like they've never heard of the place you want to go to? Pronounced it right and everything. Guess they don't expect people to not have the Sydtrafik app.

Got to Vejle.
Got my DSB ticket.
Went to Aarhus. Got pizza. Slept.

Faffy, didn't have to be though. My lack of research is to blame, but why don't you just have a card reader on your bus.

Tomorrow: cabbage

 

[Rob Coasters]

Part 8: Fårup Sommerland

Early DSB train was direct from Aarhus to Aalborg. This time I came prepared, and after extensively asking about what bus tickets the Aalborg area served, I discovered the existence of 'NT (Nordjyllands Trafikselskab) Tickets' where I was able to smoothly book my bus from Aalborg St. to the park. I was happily accepted on, thank the lord, and thus began the day. Modern Vekoma, here I come!


But not yet, there's credding to do. The park introduces you with a small live band playing happy upbeat music, and to the left were some roller coasters, starting strong with #233 Pindsvinet. +1.


Followed by a back seat ride on #234 Falken, my first (and probably last, let's be honest with ourselves) wooden coaster from S&S the dudes who make those launch towers and Mumbo Jumbo. No stupid trims on the drop here thankfully, because this proves to be quite the rickety fun ride with great moments of airtime. Unfortunately ends on a low point with an uncomfortable helix, but generally a positive experience to be had.



Followed by a back seat ride on #235 Orkanen, my first (and certainly not last) of these clone models from Vekoma the dudes who make most roller coasters these days. This being the original of the lot, it surprised me in how enjoyable it was. The dive under the lake, the overbank, the zooming over the water, the helices. Goes around twice too, nice.


The whole thing put a huge involuntary smile on my face, and while I did say in the past that putting both helices going in the same direction was a strange decision, it somehow works from onride. Similar enjoyment levels to Polar X without ending on a fart.

I made my way over to #236 Flagermusen, the spinning mouse with a solid entrance to it. While only a moderate spin, I enjoyed this secluded tree location more than the waterside pier ones back in Brighton and Blackpool.


#237 Saven was my next family boomerang. slightly better than Velociraptor but Luna still reigns supreme. Four family boomerangs, four different layouts. Can we shoot for five and five?


And #238 Mine Expressen, another 335m junior coaster.


This run of family rides had killed me a bit, as I realised I wasn't really even enjoying myself riding these rides. It felt like box-ticking at its worst, and even though these rides are fun, there was something slightly off about them. I used to be a guy who loved everything, but now bigger and bigger rides fail to scratch my itch. I wish I enjoyed more rides for what they were, but something was definitely off.

Having accidentally walked right past the launch coaster, I wanted to do #239 Fønix next, a big reason to why I'm here (okay, THE reason to why I'm here). The new age of Vekoma had taken the world by storm, with everyone and their mother praising these coasters into the heavens for being the greatest thing ever made, the second coming of God, something that needs to pop up everywhere immediately as fast as possible right now. Unfortunately I disagree quite heavily, as Fønix proudly stands as the single most overhyped roller coaster I have ever ridden.


Vekoma has outdone themselves in the smoothness department, but it's gotten to where the ride feels a little... too smooth now. The would-be twisty transitions that would have turned you into a right angle now do nothing because of the tight vests that quite badly restrict any movement you might have, and the refined-ness of the ride causes the experience to feel very controlled. I like coasters that provide an out-of-control experience without doing my head in, and Fønix feels a little too calculated in what it's doing, turning what *should* be a remarkably intense thrill coaster into a deceptively tame family thrill ride, the type of thing that DIsney would put in a box. The twists that look like they would send you flying don't, and the rolls feel less forceful than they realistically should be. The most forceful element is the bottom of the first drop, and the airtime moments *should* be fantastic ejector but end up not doing that because the vests are quick to stop you from flying too far up.


I will admit on one of my five rides the airtime felt far more powerful than usual, but still dampened by the restraints, but after riding again in that same row it went back to doing less again. So I'm not sure what happened.


After one ride in the front and one ride in the back I won't deny that it's a good ride, but not one of the best rides ever made, and it's not even close, and I'll be honest - if you love incredible intensity in your coasters (RMC #1?), and have these new Vekomas in the "off the charts" hype levels, then I think the expectations should be lowered a bit. I understand that this smoothness & gracefulness & calculated forces are exactly what some people want in a ride, it would be a fantastic "first inversions" coaster, but it doesn't go much further than 'excellent for a family thrill ride' for me. I do wish the ride ended after the wave turn, as the two turns after felt pointless and meandery, where the ride starts to drag a bit, but that's only minor. The twist out of the stall loop also looks INCREDIBLE in the back seat, but unfortunately again the vest restraints nullify any tossing about that it would have given you.


It's still in my top 10% of coasters I've ridden, but I can't help that it should have been top 5% or higher.

Then I finally made my way over to #240 Lynet, also heard good things about this coaster. Unfortunately this has become my new least favourite Gerstlauer thrill coaster, as it navigates the track horribly like Saw on a bad day. Sitting in the back seat obstructs your view to the point where it becomes impossible to prepare for what's coming up next, and this ride is bad for that because it seems to just do stuff without much thought put into it. It gets quite bad after the first midcourse, where it turned from "good fun" to "this is not good fun any more".


As much as I didn't really like it, I wanted to give the ride another go in the front row where I would be able to see where I'm going. While I could now, it solved a couple problems but still didn't really help the rattles & jolts plus a few uncomfortable elements still appearing out of nowhere. It's like the Danish Speed, where the ride stops being good after the ejector hill.


Having done the rides I was finally able to take in the general vibe of the park and... man is it a beautiful little place. They intentionally don't play any music in the park outside of the band at the entrance to make it feel like an authentic country park that has rides in it, and this idea is sold perfectly. It truly, really does feel like you're in a nature park, even when the roller coasters are in view. Just like Djurs there were open campfires dotted around everywhere, with the locals donning sticks and marshmallows as they roasted them over the fireplace. I'm in love with this park, and while the coaster lineup isn't the greatest ever, it excels simply everywhere else.




I found the entrance to Skattejagten, not knowing what it was, not realising it was a colossal obstacle course with a ridiculous amount of features in it, nicely tucked away in a sweet foresty area of the park with a couple rivers running through it. You can just see how much love goes into this park, and by far my favourite bit was the Tarzan Ruten that went over the river, and if you failed the monkey bars, you went plop into the water. And this river, one of the four paddleboat attractions goes through this river. Did I mention I love this park? It's such a sweet place to be in. Everyone loves it, I love it, you'll love it. I got lost several times before pulling myself back over the river, and getting lost again before returning to the pathways. It's just a silly obstacle course, yeah, I'm probably getting giddy over nothing special, but I've never seen anything like this on this scale before, and... I think I like this park.


I decided to try one of the paddleboat rides, the first being Fårup Bådene. This was clearly the tamest of the lot, but by far the easiest one to control as I was solo, I imagine the others would have been difficult,


as demonstrated with Kanoer. I was told several times that I needed to do this, but after getting in I lacked the strength it needed to get it going on my own, so that's at the top of the list for when I come back here with a friend. Quite sad I had to miss this one.


Yeah the park was not busy at all. Most rides walk-on all day.

So I returned to Fønix for three more rides in hopes of something changing, it hadn't. It's a solid family thrill coaster, but simply lacks what I look for in a ride. It's still my favourite ride in the park, but only out of Lynet & Falken being a little too rattly to reride. Ironically, out of the top 3, one is too smooth while the other two that have potential to top it aren't.


And my final new-to-me ride was Træstammerne, a clone of Long Cun Expedition which is a clone of the now-dead Great Yarmouth Log Flume. This one was the driest of the lot, predictably as there was just a single person in my boat.


While this park and the vibes/atmosphere it emits is one of my favourite things ever, I wish the ride lineup was just a little stronger to invoke staying a little longer so I decided that I had 40 minutes left before leaving. I tried out the cabbage bowling which was a hilarious laugh,


before getting two consecutive rides on Falken near the front. This is still a brilliant ride, if a little unsmooth round the corners but does provide my favourite moments of airtime in the park.


Then ended the day with one final two-lap special on Orkanen before seeing myself out to the tune of the live band.



Did I say I loved this park? I don't think it can be stated enough. The bus back to Aalborg gave me a weird emotional feeling. I can't decide whether that's out of the overhypeness of Fønix or the fact that this trip is almost over or how much I enjoyed existing in this park. I think it's all three. I have a lot of feelings towards Fårup Sommerland, it may be obvious that I struggle to put into words exactly what it is. It may not be my favourite park ever (no rides in my top 25) but something hit different about it. Probably a top 5 park though.


Where to next?