Raging through the Helices

Preface

It’s the second year of the Covid-19 pandemic and things are getting a bit back to normal as the numbers are currently dropping in Germany and more and more people are getting their vaccinations. Previously excisting restrictions are dropped and a visit to a theme park feels great once more – even though we are all wearing masks once we cannot avoid getting too close to people and of course on the rides.

Serengeti-Park and its Serengeti Safari

Since my last year’s visit was not the best, as Serengeti Park was crowded and the capacity of the rides was restricted to a minimum, I took a day off and visited the park on a very quiet Friday. This of course had the advantage of experiencing the awesome Serengeti Safari – one of the few drive-through safaris you can experience in an animal park – at my own pace and without being too restricted by the other cars. I was also right in time for the feeding of the lions, which led to some awesome pictures.

Splash Safari and the Black Mamba

After driving through the Serengeti Safari it was time to experience the theme park. Here, I mainly focused on the other “safari” experiences, which are mainly rather unique attractions and for the most part don’t feature any animals. I especially enjoyed the Splash Safari and Black Mamba Jetboat experiences, as both of them were extraordinary good in keeping you cool on a very hot summers day. While the Splash Safari offers a nice RIB speedboat ride on the park’s central lake, the Black Mamba jetboat safari just got you drenched the second the ride started – not to any surprise: It was the most popular ride on the day of visit.

Batukai Racer

The most recent addition to Serengeti Park is the roller coaster Batukai Racer by Technical Park which replaced the aging Chura Racer – a large Tivoli coaster made by Zierer. The layout of the 13m high family coaster basically only consists of a steep drop followed by three helices one after the other. The first of them is of special interest, as its curvature gets smaller when approaching the ground, which results in some very high G-forces and a rather awkward inclination. The second one acts like a small break in between as you get some more altitude before the final helix hits the ground. The ride itself is a bit jerky, yet not uncomfortable and a rather thrilling experience.

A story of a lost phone

So thrilling, that shortly after my first round, I wanted to do a second. I was a bit distracted taking photos with my camera so that I did not realised that I let my phone on one of the benches nearby before queuing up for the second ride. After the ride, my phone was gone and I started to panic a bit. I asked the ride operator if he saw anything, but that did not help. He gave me the information that it might end up at the service centre nearby the park’s main ticket booths at the end of the day. I waited some time and decided to give it a try and walked all the way to service centre, but they did not yet got anything. They asked me to come back shortly before their closure or write an email after my visit. So I went back around 5pm and to my own surprise they actually found it!

Even though I had to worry a bit about the phone, I had an extraordinary day at the park and enjoyed it quite a lot. The drive through the empty Serengeti Safari, the rides on the park’s roller coaster Safari Blitz and Batukai Racer, as well as the refreshing and drenching boat experiences on the Splash Safari and Black Mamba made my day.

Pictures Serengeti-Park

 


What is your opinion the new coaster Batukai Racer?  Just write them in the comment field below the report or visit our social media channels:

 

          


Kings Island



Theme Park:Kings Island (since 1972)
Address:6300 Kings Island Dr.
45040 Mason
https://www.visitkingsisland.com
Operated by:Cedar Fair

Kings Island in Mason, Ohio is one of the largest amusement parks in the US. Founded in 1972 by Taft Broadcasting, the amusement park was the starting point for some of the most influential theme parks in the world, which later became the Paramount theme parks. Nowadays, the park is part of the Cedar Fair group. The amusement park is not only historically significant from an economic point of view. Kings Island led to a renaissance of the roller coaster with the wooden coaster The Racer and paved the way for modern day launch coaster with Flight of Fear.

The park itself offers a large variety of family-friendly rides and roller coasters. The park also offers plenty of street entertainment and a variety of shows in the park’s own theatres and the huge amphitheatre.

Fun Fact #1: The original Suspended Coaster The Bat was only short lived. Its station and foundations was reused for the looping coaster Vortex.

Fun Fact #2: The wooden coaster The Beast was built completely inhouse. Up to now, it is still the world’s longest wooden roller coaster.

Fun Fact #3: The park’s huge Eiffel Tower was originally planned for Cincinnati’s Coney Island amusement park.

 
 
 

Highlights of the Theme Park

 




 

Adventure Express

A mine train adventure awaits you

 


 

Backlot Stunt Coaster

Special Effects on a roller coaster

 


 

Banshee

The largest Inverted Coaster

 


 

Diamondback

Airtime Galore

 


 

Drop Tower

Gyro Drops are awesome

 


 

Flight of Fear

Indoor Launch Coaster

 


 

Invertigo

Face to Face and upside down

 


 

Mystic Timbers

GCI at its best

 


 

Race for your Life Charlie Brown

Oldschool Log Flume

 


 

The Bat

Kings Island loves Suspended Coaster

 


 

The Beast

The legendary wooden coaster

 


 

The Racer

The first of an era

 


 
 

Past Highlights of the Theme Park

 





 

Vortex

Giant Looping Coaster

 



Tatzmania Löffingen



Theme Park:Tatzmania Löffingen (since 2017)
Schwarzwald Park (1968 - 2017)
Address:Wildpark 1
79843 Löffingen
https://www.tatzmania.com/
Operated by:Fam. Braun

Tatzmania Löffingen located on the edge of the community of Löffingen near Freiburg in Baden-Württemberg is a medium-sized, family-run zoo and leisure park. With its game park, two roller coasters, as well as a large selection of rides for smaller kids, the park offers an enjoyable mix of animal park and family-friendly rides.

 
 
 

Highlights of the Animal and Theme Park

 




 

African Spin

A Family Spinning Coaster

 

 

Gold Rusher

The wild family roller coaster

 

 

Papageienflug

The self-piloting flying machine