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Nitefly does Europe

Nitefly

Hyper Poster
I managed 3 or 4 rides on Lech during my whole 6-7 hour day there a couple of years back and that was more than enough for me. After 2 consecutive rides I needed a break from it it was so intense! So to do 9 in a couple of hours feel insane, so well played!

I'm guessing you didn't try out their dark ride which is by their ferris wheel? Honestly one of my favourite dark rides and should be a must do really!
Interesting - perhaps I’m just second guessing myself when it comes to the intensity! I mean... it was hooning round the track...!

No, we missed the darkride. Something to check out next time! :)
 

Nitefly

Hyper Poster
Energylandia

We arose from our bed at Western Camp for our final day of theme parking at the mighty Energylandia.

Regarding Western Camp, which is one of the obvious nearby places to stay when visiting Energylandia, I’ll copy what I recently posted in the Abyssus construction thread: we arrived late on Thursday and checked-out before hitting the park on Friday, so my only real experience was walking round the lake after breakfast. It was very cute! The fire pit areas looked fun. We had a ‘log-cabin room’ which was quite roomy for two (and cheap). The walk to Energylandia and McDonalds was pleasingly short and there was also the shuttle as an alternative. All in all, I’d deffo stay there again - was quite impressed and it would be particularly good going as a group for late night beers. My only caveat (for anyone interested in staying) is that if you’re desperate for a quiet night and/or privacy (...?!) then you’d obviously be better off with a hotel room as there wasn’t much sound-proofing.

Now, our original plan for our honeymoon was a US road trip which would climax with Cedar Point, so Energylandia was our shonky European substitute. Instead of the drive round to Hotel Breakers, we got the walk up to Energylandia via McDonalds and our first daytime look at Hyperion. Half sincere and half for amusement, I started playing “The Ecstacy of Gold” from ‘The Good The Bad and The Ugly’ from my phone, which we had planned to blast out of the car speakers during our ‘cinematic’ drive round the back of Steel Vengeance (for maximum hype). But the intentionally goofy play of the epic music during our walk passed McDonalds quickly seemed apt - Hyperion looked ****ing massive. That turnaround.... oh my! We then saw Zadra looming in the distance, which would be our first RMC. Holy ****. Oh yes, my friends... this was no longer a joke.... game faces on, let’s get serious!!!

Of course, the seriousness would be fleeting. Energylandia is a funny park, isn’t it? Despite maximum coaster excitement, my expectations of park in general the were set to low further to reading @Howie ‘s (excellent and amusing) recent trip report. Fully anticipating a nonsense, fairground-like maelstrom, my mind was somehow in the right place and I ended up having a really good time and thoroughly enjoying it. It really was as if a 10 year old’s prize creation in the original 90s “Theme Park” video game had been brought to life. What a garish and cheerful mess! Very cheap looking models of sea monsters, Egyptian artefacts, dragons and what can only be described as ‘miscellaneous tat’ surrounded us at every corner. This was the absolute opposite of, say, Europa Park. Certainly ugly, but not without its own individual charm. My fondness for the park is somewhat similar to my fondness for garish 80s practical effects driven horror films - if you go in with the right mindset, you can have a great time... but it’s certainly an acquired taste!!

Despite the ugliness of duplo-like entranceway and strange name, there are two things that Energylandia gets 10/10 for; toilets and drinks/food stations. Any time we wanted either, they would magically appear next to us. This was an absolutely roasting day, hitting 30 degrees centigrade (and really being too hot for a visit to a theme park). But on almost every walkway there were cooling mist sprayers and, in stark contrast to the observations of @Howie, I found there to be lots of places to take refuge from the sun in the shade - despite the park being rammed there was never any wait for a sheltered table. There was an area near the RMF dragon that was almost entirely shaded with umbrellas, covered seating and (fairly tall) trees. OK, so it certainly wasn’t giving off a lush, green forest vibe, but it was not the concrete mess I had built up in my mind. I was also impressed that every single queue line, from memory, had mist sprayers and substantial umbrellas and shading to keep us going - which was really quite necessary in this obnoxious heat. Just goes to show the benefits of going in with low expectations... it can only be better!

What I did NOT have low expectations for, however, was the two star attractions. Upon entering the park, we bolted for Zadra, foolishly without picking up a map or doing any real research as to where it was and I quickly got in a mild hissy fit because, amongst the garish flat rides, I couldn’t immediately figure out how to get there. Hint - you have to find a tunnel that goes under a road, which is located near Formula. Still, there was very little signage to Zadra until we got to that area. Must have picked a duff route!! Eventually we stumbled across the tunnel and got our first up close look at our first RMC.


Good grief!!!!


Oh my!!!! Phwooooar!!!!

Looking at this thing is just pure coaster porn. You see that RMC track and your pulse starts racing. You gawp at the wood and the steel intertwining like some HR Giger monstrosity. You just can’t look away. Set against the epic music of the queue line, we were truly pumped to get on. I didn’t find the walk to the station particularly hideous... I think the walk on the standard queue for Wodan might actually be slightly longer?

Getting there, we encountered the our first locker system experience at the park. I must say, I really appreciated the Energylandia system of having the locker wristband. Safe, easy and quick (after the initial confusion as to what we had to do). Then, the lanes system for picking your row. Contrary to what everyone else has seemingly ever said about the park, and even what Energylandia advertise on the signage, “lane 2” on Zadra and Hyperion is NOT for single riders. Instead, it’s for rows 2-4. Obviously, we picked the front row. The go-pro was strapped on ready to record some memories. Sadly, a bit of research would have done wonders here - I was promptly asked for my “go pro wristband” and told that I’d have to go all the way back to the front of the park to get one. Noooooo!!! It seemed silly to avoid our imminent front row ride and trudge back just to capture the moment, so I accepted their offer of looking after the camera, sat down and got ready to rock.

Now, the very first thing I thought when I sat in the ride and got the restraint lowered was “... eurgh”. Wtf is this restraint. I knew that the ride had shin guards but they seemed to stab into my uncovered skin and I was immediately uncomfortable and relatively claustrophobic compared to my other rides on the trip. The lap bar was around mid-thigh and also quite firm. I checked-in with my wife and she was very comfortable, so this was clearly a me thing. But, I did my best to get over it.

I’m not sure there is much to say about the ride generally that hasn’t already been said. Woah! This thing flew around the track and gave us a really wild ride - we were laughing and cheering after we pulled into the (very aggressive!!) brakes.

Zadra delivers in spades. Heaps of airtime. Such ferocious speed. But I must give a mention to that stall. The stall on Zadra is currently sitting as my all time number one element/inversion/thing. It was just absolutely glorious!

We did five rides in total, all more or less walk ons, two of which were at around 4pm after a day in the unbearably hot sun. At this point the ride was visibly running faster. It was absolutely monstering round the track - quite intimidating! It was at this point we did a back row ride. That first drop in the back row was amazing. Bum out of my seat and in the air like I was twerk-ing. The rest of the ride was super wild and ferocious.

I can’t decide which was more intense out of Zadra and Lech Coaster. One thing is absolutely certain; Zadra certainly let me know it was ferocious, quite obnoxiously, because the restraint was digging into my thighs and shins and causing a fair bit of pain on that back row ride. By the time I got to the double-down, I found myself clinging onto the grips to pull myself down and minimise the crush. My wife, who is a foot shorter and many stone lighter, still had no complaints. On my final ride, which was around row 3, I found that I could alleviate the shin discomfort by going on ‘tip toes’ so the shin restraint didn’t touch my skin. That was my best ride on Zadra. I was really keen to to go on again but Mrs. Nitefly was extremely exhausted and reluctant - I though it best to end our run on a high and leave it there.

I therefore have a slightly blighted view of Zadra. I can definitely see why many would rate this higher than Lech coaster - in fact, Zadra is now my wife’s new (and current) number one coaster and it’s certainly up there for me. But I can’t overlook that I spent a lot of time trying to maximise my comfort for the ‘perfect ride’ and that I did experience leg pain on that back row ride and some discomfort on all of my rides. I’m not a gross porker but I am sitting pretty heavy at the moment and do need to lose weight, so perhaps I will have a better experience when I’m a little more slender. What I can say is that if Zadra had the ultra comfortable Lech Coaster trains, it would probably be my number one.

So, where’s my Zadra POV? Well, I didn’t manage to get one. Or any POVs at this park. When I tried to get my go-pro wrist band, I was directed towards a very hench and intimidating security man who firmly told me that no filming was permitted at the park before walking off to attend to something else. Suspecting a language barrier problem, I then spent 5 minutes trying to ask others for the wrist band. Each time, I was pointed towards the same wrestler-esque security man and I thought I better not push my luck by asking him a second time (or make him figure out that I was trying ‘get passed his authority’). Later in the day, Mrs. Nitefly was deployed with the go-pro to get a wristband but she had the exact same problem and was directed to the same person. Wrestler man purportedly firmly barked at her that absolutely no filming was allowed and his say was clearly final. Simply put, if he is working the front gates you haven’t got a chance of getting a go-pro wrist band, even though the other staff members seemed to infer it was possible. Still, with the matter concluded, we were then free to enjoy the rest of our day.

Next up was Hyperion. Wow, what a monster!!! Expectations were also extremely high. Could this be a Shambhala beater? The queue was pleasingly cool to walk through and, again, I didn’t think it was THAT long to walk through. I really enjoyed the triumphant theme (it reminded me of Galaxy Quest) and the short loop didn’t bother me.... until the ride broke down for 15 minutes and then it’s chirpy triumphantness began to grate in close proximity to the swarms of non-mask wearers.

If Energylandia is anything to go by, coronavirus will end the human race. Nobody had any regard whatsoever for social distancing or mask wearing in the densely packed queues. It was too hot to wear masks for any prolonged period, granted, but it was telling that we saw many people turned away from rides for not having a mask - it wasn’t even on their mind that they needed one, despite all the signage.

Back to Hyperion. We managed 3 rides on this, including the front row and the back. Absolutely phenomenal! Bravo!! My last ride, being a back centre seat, was particularly immense. The airtime and speed were sensational. The drop is obviously world class and the air time hill that follows probably gave me the most sustained airtime on any ride to date. In the back middle seat, the final sections were all forceful yet smooth. The ride ended and I had a grin on my face just like I did when I came off Lech. However, my wife in the back wing seat had a very different experience... in her view, the ride was as rough as Silver Star!!! What!!! I couldn’t believe that I could have such a buttery smooth experience and one seat away, she was being rattled all over the place. I think my only wing seat experience was in the front row and that wasn’t noticeably rough, so I didn’t get a bad ride on Hyperion. My final ride was so good that I did think it topped Shambhala... I guess I’ll just have to get back to Spain ASAP for a comparison!

This post has been long enough so I’ll be quick with the other rides:

RMF dragon - we had a back row ride and it was snappy and forceful for a family ride. Really good.

Forumula - OK. Sort of a filler coaster. Absolutely nothing like Lech.

Mayan - our first SLC. My wife’s two word review on the brake run was “****-balls”. It just sort of chugged and lurched. Very disorienting in the middle of the train with the lack of vision and even now I’m not really sure of the layout, so I did therefore think the layout was quite good, for an SLC virgin. Sadly, discomfort was the most noticeable thing so I think that’s my SLC riding saga nipped in the bud.

Speed - The water splash coaster. Pretty good! It’s not immediately noticeable but the single train/boat is actually divided into two cars and row 3 is the start of the second car. As a result, we got soaked in row 3 as the water came up at us and surprised us from the gap at the back of row 2 on both drops, which was quite funny. It was very smooth and completely unlike Poseidon at Europa Park (which I found rather rough / unpleasant). Definitely worth a ride.

We also had a ride on the Europa Park inspired “Swiss slow-raft” ride which was fun although a little too long (in the blistering heat). Otherwise, we had no desire to ride any of the other coasters/tat.

Leaving Energylandia marked the end of our trip. We had a final encounter with a wasp (which by this point we had decided was the same wasp that had been following us the whole trip since Greece - like a horror movie villain) and set off for the airport and home.

I’ll post some final thoughts another time, as we learned a lot from this trip and I think I know my own preferences a lot better now. But, in summary we had an absolute blast! :cool:
 
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Howie

Donkey in a hat
Fab report, that. I particularly liked the word 'shonky', gonna be using that one in future! ?

Glad you had a good trip, I feel as though my setting of low expectations was instrumental in your enjoyment of Energylandia. You're welcome! ?
You're right about the water misters everywhere, that was appreciated in the heat, and although the trees aren't very big yet they have installed sun shades over some of the queue lines. So y'know, there IS some effort there, Energylandia are trying, there just doesn't appear to be a plan, that's all.
 

Nitefly

Hyper Poster
Fab report, that. I particularly liked the word 'shonky', gonna be using that one in future! ?

Glad you had a good trip, I feel as though my setting of low expectations was instrumental in your enjoyment of Energylandia. You're welcome! ?
You're right about the water misters everywhere, that was appreciated in the heat, and although the trees aren't very big yet they have installed sun shades over some of the queue lines. So y'know, there IS some effort there, Energylandia are trying, there just doesn't appear to be a plan, that's all.
Haha you probably did help, I concur ?

It was very all over the place - a total sprawl of mostly utter garbage!

I particularly enjoy how the map (when we got one) showed that the only entry to the Abyssus area is from the very back of the Zadra area.... that is going to be one hell of a march to get there!!! ?
 

Nicky Borrill

Strata Poster
Energylandia isn’t there yet... But it gets infinitely better each year... Most noticeable this year is how it feels less like a ‘car park’ due in part to new theming, but mostly due to trees, shrubs and plants beginning to mature and get some size to them... The front of the park in particular is benefitting hugely from the increase in size to the trees in that area. The space between the tunnel and Zadra will feel like a forest in a few years too :)

They’ve kind of ruined the Formula area in the last few weeks... It was looking well themed a month or so ago on a previous visit, however on my visit last week they’d added lots of new advertising / product placing for a local petrol station company, all in blue... Ruining the original red white and black colour scheme to the area.

I didn’t have the best experience of Europa Park’s Accommodation either, though it was partly my fault, it is interesting to note that your biggest complaint is similar to mine in that the accommodation facilities seem dated and lacking. Phantasialand has never disappointed me though, have always, on every visit found the staff to be kind, polite, helpful and friendly, and have always found them to be very good with my ignorant none native speaking english ass. Never have enjoyed any of the restaurants there though, the breakfast is OK, and that’s about as nice as I can be about the food options at PL hotels!!!

Europa Park has nowhere open for food and drink early on, not that we could find anyway. I think I mentioned it in my report. Whatever you do, don’t skip breakfast when visiting!!!

Lech, Zadra, Hyperion... What an amazing selection of coasters all within 45 mins of each other... Soon to be joined by Abyssus... Do you think you’ll return soon? Given how cheap it is to short trip Poland from the UK?

Thanks for the report, enjoyed reading it, and found myself agreeing with a lot of it. :)
 

Nitefly

Hyper Poster
Energylandia isn’t there yet... But it gets infinitely better each year... Most noticeable this year is how it feels less like a ‘car park’ due in part to new theming, but mostly due to trees, shrubs and plants beginning to mature and get some size to them... The front of the park in particular is benefitting hugely from the increase in size to the trees in that area. The space between the tunnel and Zadra will feel like a forest in a few years too :)

They’ve kind of ruined the Formula area in the last few weeks... It was looking well themed a month or so ago on a previous visit, however on my visit last week they’d added lots of new advertising / product placing for a local petrol station company, all in blue... Ruining the original red white and black colour scheme to the area.

I didn’t have the best experience of Europa Park’s Accommodation either, though it was partly my fault, it is interesting to note that your biggest complaint is similar to mine in that the accommodation facilities seem dated and lacking. Phantasialand has never disappointed me though, have always, on every visit found the staff to be kind, polite, helpful and friendly, and have always found them to be very good with my ignorant none native speaking english ass. Never have enjoyed any of the restaurants there though, the breakfast is OK, and that’s about as nice as I can be about the food options at PL hotels!!!

Europa Park has nowhere open for food and drink early on, not that we could find anyway. I think I mentioned it in my report. Whatever you do, don’t skip breakfast when visiting!!!

Lech, Zadra, Hyperion... What an amazing selection of coasters all within 45 mins of each other... Soon to be joined by Abyssus... Do you think you’ll return soon? Given how cheap it is to short trip Poland from the UK?

Thanks for the report, enjoyed reading it, and found myself agreeing with a lot of it. :)
Thanks for the comments. I’m definitely up for returning to Poland when Abyssus opens (although as will be the case for everyone, ideally also when the pandemic comes to an end) so hopefully next year. I’m intrigued by F.L.Y. so I may well book Charles Lindberg when it opens. All pending on other life plans, of course!

Because we did our trip on the hoof, and only booked it whilst in Greece, it was jaw droppingly expensive this time around... but how often are you on honeymoon, **** it! A well planned, economical trip would be most welcome ??

As a taster, when we got back into London Stansted at around midnight, we then had to Uber over time London Heathrow (which cost nearly £100) to pick up the car... and it was so late it made more sense to stay in a hotel at Heathrow... argh!
 

Nicky Borrill

Strata Poster
Thanks for the comments. I’m definitely up for returning to Poland when Abyssus opens (although as will be the case for everyone, ideally also when the pandemic comes to an end) so hopefully next year. I’m intrigued by F.L.Y. so I may well book Charles Lindberg when it opens. All pending on other life plans, of course!

Because we did our trip on the hoof, and only booked it whilst in Greece, it was jaw droppingly expensive this time around... but how often are you on honeymoon, **** it! A well planned, economical trip would be most welcome ??

As a taster, when we got back into London Stansted at around midnight, we then had to Uber over time London Heathrow (which cost nearly £100) to pick up the car... and it was so late it made more sense to stay in a hotel at Heathrow... argh!
Oh gawd ? Your costs on returning to England were more than the average price of a trip out to Poland!!!

A 3 night trip to poland is usually around £150 per person ish...

flights under £40 return
Parking £30 - £40 (/2 £20 each)
2 x Ubers in Poland £60 (/2 £30 each)
Accommodation at Western camp £135 (/2 £67.50 each)

£157 each.

And that can be done MUCH cheaper by NOT staying at Western camp, and buying flights way in advance during sales when they can be had for as little as a tenner!!!

The cost of living when there is soooo much lower. And if you have the smoking contacts, the entire trip’s costs can be offset, if you know what I mean ;)
 

Nitefly

Hyper Poster
Not a single one of the flights (to Germany, to Poland, to the UK) cost less than £157 each >< but it was worth it!

I’m not quite sure what you mean by your last comment but it sounds... illicit ??
 

Nicky Borrill

Strata Poster
Not a single one of the flights (to Germany, to Poland, to the UK) cost less than £157 each >< but it was worth it!

I’m not quite sure what you mean by your last comment but it sounds... illicit ??
Well cigarettes are a couple of quid, and can be brought back in unlimited quantities for personal use..... I am a heavy heavy smoker!!! Honest!
 
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