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Seven-Country, Eight-Week Euro Jam (July, August '22)

redheadedRobin

Mega Poster
Hah, when I first noticed coaster count added that to the database, I was very much surprised as well. I think I now use it as a prime reason why people shouldn't count the 'undefined' category (or at least not everything in it) that's on there. I only took photos of you riding it and I'm not exactly sure how you feel about posting photos that feature you (I've never noticed you posting one on the forums at least), so these are the ones I took of it a few years ago.

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Enjoy the rest of your trip!

Now THIS is what you call an thrilling credit, the forces must be insane... 🤣
 

MestnyiGeroi

Giga Poster
MIRABILANDIA

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After a few coasterless days exploring Venice and one coasterless day exploring Ravenna, I hit my next park at Mirabilandia, taking a very inexpensive and easy bus from and then back to Ravenna.

This is a nice enough park on the whole, but for coaster enthusiasts it is ALL about those top two creds, neither of which disappointed — in fact, I think they just about managed to exceed expectations.

I’d heard about Katun for decades. First there was its reputation as one of the world’s best inverts, and then in more recent years there were frequent reports that it had become rough. So I really didn’t know what to think at this point.

At first glance I thought it might ride a bit like Banshee. No. I mean, there is a little pinch of Banshee in the layout, and a pinch of Montu as well, but it rides like neither of those. In fact, it felt distinct to me; I’ve ridden a lot of inverts and this one just felt a bit different. Now that distinctness applies to the overall layout, but for me this coaster really stood out for one thing, one thing that I loved: its first drop. I don’t know that I’ve ever heard anyone go on about this one element — maybe it’s just my obsession — but for me this was by far the best first drop on a B&M invert. After an initial twist, the drop is steep and straight! In the front row, you get wonderful airtime all the way down. In the back row, you get whip and more powerful airtime all the way down. I just loved this moment so much, that it made the coaster for me. This is what for me will make Katun stand out from the multitude of other inverts I’ve ridden (I could make a top tier list: Katun for the first drop; Black Mamba for visuals; Montu for intensity; Afterburn for pacing).

On my first ride, Katun did have a noticeable rusty/rattly sound/feel, which was not pleasant, but not enough to detract from the ride. Somehow, I didn’t notice it after the first ride.

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But my favorite ride in the park was iSpeed. Of course, I’d heard this coaster praised highly for years, but somehow never really bought it. Not sure why, just a stubborn instinct. Silly, because this coaster is a hell of a lot of fun. It has great examples of what I love the most in a coaster: steep drops with wild airtime. It has some great inversions, too, but I’m all about those wild drops and the ejector air. This thing is a delight, and it was nothing but sheer joy to ride. The only slight complaint would be that the second half is a bit anti-climactic after the awesome first half, but that’s not a major concern. I’ll sort out my rankings after the trip, but this one will make my top … whatever, at least a top 50 … we’ll see how much higher it lands when the dust settles and I sort it out.

Off to the next city tomorrow morning.
 

TilenB

Strata Poster
Good to hear Katun still delivers! That first drop was probably the first time I really noticed airtime on a coaster as a kid, just a brilliant start to the ride.
 

MestnyiGeroi

Giga Poster
MOVIELAND PARK

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Is it worth a visit to Italy’s Movieland Park?

If you’re a credit fiend and you’re visiting Gardaland, you might as well squeeze in some time to pick up the three credits (if they’re all open) at this park. In fact, Movieland is so close to Gardaland, you can actually see the other park from within either of these two parks.

If you’re a coaster fiend and you’re all about top-quality coasters, you can skip this park. There’s nothing here worth going out of your way for.

If you’re a parkgoer who likes unusual attractions, if you love getting off an attraction and asking yourself, “What the hell did I just experience?,” if you love riding something and saying, “I have never ridden anything like that,” if you are a seeker of the strange, a connoisseur of the odd, THEN MOVIELAND IS A MUST-DO PARK FOR YOU!

This place is weird. Not Mitsui Greenland or BonBon-Land my-that-was-quirky weird. More like “Did they just Jerry-rig that themselves out of a complete lack of budget?” weird. Or “How can this be legal?” weird. Or, of course, the obligatory “This would NEVER be allowed in an American park” weird. There are four attractions, not coasters, but rides, that are memorably unique — a Jeep ride, a high speed boat ride, a high speed truck ride, and a submarine ride — that are all like nothing you’ll experience anywhere else. I don’t want to give details, because a lack of spoilers is key here. I loved having no idea what was about to happen in each case.

But if “different” usually means “memorable” for you as a parkgoer, don’t overlook the chance to hit Movieland Park.

Oh, and try one of the themed restaurants right outside the park when you’re done. We went to Pizza Safari, themed like an African Rainforest Cafe, but with notably delicious pizza. And it’s all you can eat and drink for 20 Euros.
 
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MestnyiGeroi

Giga Poster
GARDALAND

A couple of days have slipped by and I haven’t managed to report this park. and now it’s late in the evening and I have an early morning at a new park, so I’m going to have to jot something down quickly here.

I visited with a local who knows this park well … and was able to point out the myriad places where the park has cut corners and made terrible decisions. This expertise certainly injected a fair amount of cynicism into the day, but we had a great time nonetheless.

Some quick highlights:

The floating island gives a great view of Lake Garda. We even rode it again for the sunset. Wow.

The Grand Lord Godfather of all wacky worms is at this park and goes by the name of Ortobruco Tour. This unbelievably long coaster must be the one other wacky worms pray to.

The park has a mine train called Mammut that I liked about twenty times more than I expected to. It has theming that reminds me of Big Thunder Mountain (sans animatronics), and the ride is really fun yet smooth. In fact, we came back and ended the day with a night ride on this, which was a great culmination.

Raptor is an enjoyable wing coaster, slightly better in the back row.

Oblivion the Black Hole was a lot of fun, and especially in the back row the airtime hill gives great airtime!

Finally, a highlight of sorts given that it is the lack of a lowlight: I had heard of Blue Tornado’s reputation for years, and boarded it with a fair degree of trepidation, but … yes, it was shaky, but it actually involved no pain. This coaster was nowhere near the worst SLCs I’ve ridden, and I’m not complaining about that.

Oh, and the kids area has a phenomenal giant tree in it! Too bad the rest of the area is lacking.

OK, that will have to suffice for this report!
 
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redheadedRobin

Mega Poster
The Grand Lord Godfather of all wacky worms is at this park and goes by the name of Ortobruco Tour. This unbelievably long coaster must be the one other wacky worms pray to.

When I rode this I was shocked at how long it was. It just kept going, and going, and going... All hail our lord and savior Ortobruco Tour.

The park has a mine train called Mammut that I liked about twenty times more than I expected to. It has theming that reminds me of Big Thunder Mountain (sans animatronics), and the ride is really fun yet smooth. In fact, we came back and ended the day with a night ride on this, which was a great culmination.

The theming on Mammut was amazing, I actually missed the huge mammut figure on my first ride because I kept admiring the details on some other parts of the ride. Rode it like 3 times the day I went, it's one of the top tier mine trains for me.
 

Rupert

Mega Poster
Yes! Loved Ortobruco Tour! :D

Really enjoying these reports, thanks! What a mammoth trip. Only question I have so far - I can’t find Wild Train at Prater on RCDB - is it the old wooden coaster or something else?
 

MestnyiGeroi

Giga Poster
Yes! Loved Ortobruco Tour! :D

Really enjoying these reports, thanks! What a mammoth trip. Only question I have so far - I can’t find Wild Train at Prater on RCDB - is it the old wooden coaster or something else?
I’m glad someone’s enjoying them. 😊

Wild Train is at Fantasiana, not at Prater. I took a day trip by train from Vienna, but I put both parks in the same post.
 

Rupert

Mega Poster
Ah thanks - that’ll teach me to read too fast! A seven hour return trip from Vienna? That’s commitment - not sure I can get away with that on a weekend trip to Vienna with my wife :p
 

MestnyiGeroi

Giga Poster
Ah thanks - that’ll teach me to read too fast! A seven hour return trip from Vienna? That’s commitment - not sure I can get away with that on a weekend trip to Vienna with my wife :p
I don’t remember exactly the times, but I don’t think it was that long. They were high-speed trains iirc. That said, there was a half-hour walk between the rural station and the park. No way could I have found it without my phone.
 

MestnyiGeroi

Giga Poster
PORTAVENTURA — Day One

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I’m at this park for nearly three days, so I wasn’t going to make a report after each night, but I can’t resist a quick summary of Day One.

I managed to get all the coaster creds in the main park, got a few other rides, had some nice meals (one Mexican, one American in their culinary theming). But I think I can distill the day into two big stories, one negative, one positive.

Let’s get the negative out of the way first. Operations. Incompetence? Apathy? Corruption (to sell more fast passes)? I am new to this park and can only guess from observation, but I’d go with a combination of all three with a heavy emphasis on the third. I’ll use Stampida as an example. Very busy day. ONE train ops. SLOW dispatches. Each train allowed to fill up 2/3 of the way with fast pass people. Just let the combination of those factors sink in and picture the reality. The line just didn’t move (except from fed up people leaving it). Baking heat and humidity. I waited for one side for two hours. For a fairly rickety and small CCI. Later I waited an hour for the other side (wanted both creds). At one point I thought there was going to be a rebellion in the station when people could see how much the fast passes were being favored. There kind of was a rebellion for a few minutes, as the suddenly emerging Che Guevara figure encouraged the proletarian regular line people to feed in and take more gates. Really, the ops I saw all day long were insulting.

The good. Shambhala. Sublime. Just sublime. As good as I’d hoped, if not better. The one loophole to the day’s operations was a slow but manageable single rider line for this one coaster. Got one ride during the day. Two more at night just before the park closed the rides at 11 pm. The night rides — in the back rows — were especially a dream. This one ride makes up for all the crappiness of this park in other aspects. Just a divine experience. It is now my number one B&M hyper. Yes, easily. Sorry Behemoth and Mako and all the rest. In fact, I can say with confidence that this is a top ten coaster for me. Where, exactly, I’ll have to figure out when the trip is done. But it has oodles of what I love in a coaster: big drops and massive airtime. It seemed to me that every single drop has wonderful air all the way down, and sometimes over the entire arc. I love Shambhala. It’s love, I tell you, and I don’t care who knows it.

In the next two days I will, yes, get Ferrari Land done, but also concentrate on marathoning Shambhala as much as possible.

Another last-minute positive: the fireworks and water craft/light display at the end of the night in the lake area was rather excellent. It worked on me, as it left me leaving the park in a good mood (although Shambhala had a hand in that as well).

Another last-minute negative. I know some people think Furius Baco is great. Most think it’s a shaky headache inducer. Seems I’m in the majority. I’d heard the only smooth row is the front one. I managed to get the front, and still, after a great little launch, my seat started shaking like crazy, causing pain in parts of my body I didn’t expect to be feeling pain, and then the coaster was over very quickly. My only gratitude is to the friend who told me to hit FB right away, as it gets a massive line.

Oh, and Dragon Khan. Fairly fun, but shaky and nothing particularly outstanding about it.
 
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TilenB

Strata Poster
I agree about the operations. In PA you basically have to pay double to get anything out of your day and while it likely wasn't as bad for me visiting in late April (6 years ago), it was still a miserable experience. Hopefully you can still have an enjoyable rest of the stay there.

For people that actually like this park, how? Do you pay for fastpasses or do you visit in dead season? It can't be that most of us first time visitors just get an awful experience at a park that gets lauded by those who have been visiting for years.
 

redheadedRobin

Mega Poster
Let’s get the negative out of the way first. Operations. Incompetence? Apathy? Corruption (to sell more fast passes)? I am new to this park and can only guess from observation, but I’d go with a combination of all three with a heavy emphasis on the third. I’ll use Stampida as an example. Very busy day. ONE train ops. SLOW dispatches. Each train allowed to fill up 2/3 of the way with fast pass people. Just let the combination of those factors sink in and picture the reality. The line just didn’t move (except from fed up people leaving it). Baking heat and humidity. I waited for one side for two hours.
PA sadly has the worst operations of any park in the world. I last visited on August 2020 and the queues had gotten better because people were not going to the park due to the pandemic, and we still had to wait +1 hour to ride each Stampida side and 2 for Furious Baco, Dragon Khan and Shambhala. Decided I would simply not go to PA for a few years, and after going to other european parks I'm less keen to do so. Tibidabo might not have any stellar rides (it's a family park after all) but it sure has better ops that make a day in the park quite enjoyable.

Loving the trip reports, can't wait to see what park (aside from Ferrari Land) comes next!
 

redheadedRobin

Mega Poster
I agree about the operations. In PA you basically have to pay double to get anything out of your day and while it likely wasn't as bad for me visiting in late April (6 years ago), it was still a miserable experience. Hopefully you can still have an enjoyable rest of the stay there.

For people that actually like this park, how? Do you pay for fastpasses or do you visit in dead season? It can't be that most of us first time visitors just get an awful experience at a park that gets lauded by those who have been visiting for years.
There are different kinds of people who visit PA. You've got your school trips, the once-a-year-because-it's-too-expensive family trips, the people who have got a season pass, the ones who spend three days in the resort hotels, the ones who buy fast passes... but most of these and the rest of people have one thing in common: they don't know better.

Unless you live near another park that is just as big (which right now I'd consider it to be Parque Warner) PA is seen as the best park in Spain because of its size and rides, and people now think that going to a theme park = having to wait for hours to get on rides. And they hate having to queue, but they think 1-2 hour waits are the standard in theme park industry. I was one of these people until recently, when I got into the coaster world and visited other parks and realized how bad PA's operations are.
 

TilenB

Strata Poster
@redheadedRobin, I totally understand what you're saying, but my question wasn't really geared as to why people from Spain (or other non-enthusiasts from elsewhere) like the park. I get that, it's a well established place and when they get there, they just take it as a fact that theme parks are supposed to be run like this.

But I'm wondering why a lot of CF members keep acting that the park is bee's knees (see https://coasterforce.com/forums/thr...p-in-mainland-europe-after-europa-park.45469/), when it feels like a lot of first timer's experiences with the park are far from great. I'm just left to wonder how can one as an enthusiast (who I assume wants to actually ride the attractions and not just look at them) enjoy the place unless they either visit in like November or pay extra for the fastpass.
 

redheadedRobin

Mega Poster
Ah, okay! I completely understood it was a question about non-enthusiasts. About CF members, my best guess it's the same as yours: they either visit during off-peak seasons or spend a lot of money in either a few days in the resort or fastpasses.
 

MestnyiGeroi

Giga Poster
@redheadedRobin, I totally understand what you're saying, but my question wasn't really geared as to why people from Spain (or other non-enthusiasts from elsewhere) like the park. I get that, it's a well established place and when they get there, they just take it as a fact that theme parks are supposed to be run like this.

But I'm wondering why a lot of CF members keep acting that the park is bee's knees (see https://coasterforce.com/forums/thr...p-in-mainland-europe-after-europa-park.45469/), when it feels like a lot of first timer's experiences with the park are far from great. I'm just left to wonder how can one as an enthusiast (who I assume wants to actually ride the attractions and not just look at them) enjoy the place unless they either visit in like November or pay extra for the fastpass.
I recall that when Coaster Studios first made a European coaster tour, he visited about twenty parks, including Europa, Phantasialand, Efteling, and Alton Towers. Afterward, he ranked the parks he visited and put PortAventura as number one. Now I’m all for understanding these matters are subjective choices, but in recalling this week the influence he has and the pick that he made, it almost makes me angry. 😂 (‘Almost’ because I do still recognize that his view is his view.) I can only assume that he bought the fast pass for every day he was here and remained oblivious to the way the majority of park goers were treated.
 

MestnyiGeroi

Giga Poster
Loving the trip reports, can't wait to see what park (aside from Ferrari Land) comes next!
Glad to hear it!

Tomorrow evening I head to Barcelona where I’ll be doing non-coastery sightseeing for about five days (with the exception of Tibidabo). Then it’ll be off to another country! Two months is a very long time for a trip, but for me it’s absolutely flying by. Wish I could slow it down somehow! 😂
 

Tonkso

Hyper Poster
PA is an off-season park, we did 3 and a half days there a few years back and absolutely marathoned everything, I mean full chain rides on Shambhala where we didn't even leave the train. I mean splitting up, running through the queue line to race each other on Stampida. The park was dead.
 

MestnyiGeroi

Giga Poster
FERRARI LAND and Day Two of PORTAVENTURA

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It’s 8:30 pm, so the day isn’t over, but I’m taking a quick moment to sum up Day Two. This report will be similar to yesterday’s positive and negative distillation. Let’s start with the positive:

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Red Force is awesome. I liked it much more than I expected to. In fact, while it’s far less epic feeling than Top Thrill Dragster and Kingda Ka, I think I liked it more than those two because of the full airtime over the entire top hat and for the entire vertical drop. And is it coincidence or is the launch themed to sound like a Formula One car?

And while I’ll ride it more tonight, I got in three more rides post-Ferrari Land on Shambhala, and it continues to be phenomenal. It’s best in the back, but every seat is great.

The negative. Same negative: operations. But now really cementing my opinion that this is a crap park that disdains its normal paying customers and pushes its fast passes through corrupt intimidation tactics. In Ferrari Land, I skipped the flying theater as it looked the same as the one I did at Ferrari World, but I thought I’d give the simulator ride a try. Two hours in line. Two hours of watching them admit what was easily ten fast pass guesses for every one normal guest. Just outrageous. And again there was nearly a revolution in the station, with a lot of shouting at the attendants, and one of them shouting back. There is nothing to argue back; anyone should be ashamed to work for this park.

My first ride on Red Force was right after the opening running of the bulls, so I waited maybe half an hour. But in the afternoon, it was a two-and-a-half-hour wait, as the fast pass people whizzed by us all that time. And they put the single rider line at the end — as if they’re afraid to really commit to the concept.

Some may ask, why not just buy the fast pass? Fair enough, but no park should be skewing everything toward the fast pass in such an extortionate manner. It’s pay your admission price twice or be treated like garbage. This park really is a joke, at least during prime season.

Oh, and yes, of course I rode Red Force Junior. A cred’s a cred.
 
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