I’ve visited Passau during a business trip. Although I mostly spend the time in the halls of ZF looking onto very interesting test machines, there was enough time to explore the lovely Dreiflüssestadt (“City of Three Rivers”) in the afternoon.
Riding the Batukai Racer: A Thrilling Adventure
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
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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 most influential amusement parks in the United States. Since opening in 1972, the park has played a major role in the development of the amusement park industry. Originally built by Taft Broadcasting, it later became the flagship of the Paramount Parks chain before joining the Cedar Fair group in 2006.
Throughout its history, Kings Island has introduced attractions that helped shape the modern amusement park. The Racer sparked renewed interest in wooden roller coasters during the 1970s, while Flight of Fear was among the first roller coasters in the world to feature a linear induction motor launch. Today, the park is home to a diverse collection of roller coasters, family attractions and live entertainment, making it one of the Midwest’s most popular destinations.
Beyond its attractions, Kings Island is known for its beautifully maintained grounds, extensive entertainment program and one of the largest children’s areas in the United States. Together, they create a well-balanced park that offers far more than just world-class roller coasters.

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.













