Nessie and the Highlander

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Hansa Park‘s Beautiful Britain

Nessie

The Superrollercoaster Nessie is one of the most famous roller coasters in Germany. This Schwarzkopf looping coaster was the first stationary roller coaster featuring a vertical loop and is more or less a product of its time. Once the definition of a thrill coaster, it later became a beloved family coaster and the first roller coaster to go upside down for many growing up nearby the Baltic sea. It has been a very fine roller coaster for the past 38 years, but starting from this year it just got better.

During the past decade Hansa Park was working hard to get rid of its late 70s look and became a very Hanseatic theme park. After most of the facades were finally transformed, the park decided to expand its overall theme and added Britain as the first trade partner to the park. Hence, Nessie got a theme and moved back to its home in Scotland. The new station building looks amazing and due to the location of the new entrance, the ride regained a lot of its former popularity. Well done, Hansa Park!

Highlander

Another addition for this year is the drop tower Highlander, the tallest one of its kind. Built by the Austrian company Funtime, the ride offers a new way to enjoy the view onto the Baltic Sea and the surroundings, as well as the already proven drop experiences known from various German funfairs and other theme parks worldwide – currently, there are two options: a non-tilting one in the morning and a tilting one in the afternoon. I don’t particularly understand why they wanted to introduce two options, as the drop in the tilted position just enhances the overall experience without increasing the fear factor. Many visitors would not even notice it when looking at the ride. Needless to say, the Highlander became a hit among visitors during its first year of operation.

Personally, I don’t rank the Highlander as high as others. Compared to other installations of the manufacturer, it has some flaws. Yes, it might be the tallest one of its kind, but it lacks the thrills and the capacity of Donjon de l’Extrême at Nigloland. At least, the ride is far better than the Power Tower Montezuma, which used to stand at the park till the year 2012.

Pictures Hansa Park

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Hansa Park

A visit to the luges of Pottenstein

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Erlebnisfelsen Pottenstein

Hexenbesen

I can understand if you don’t run your luge due to the wetness of your track. I can also understand, that you don’t open anything where somebody might hurt himself due to the slippery underground and may even fall to the ground on your awesome looking Skywalk viewing platform. But Wiegand, why did you not operate your small suspended coaster Hexenbesen? It was the only reason why I had to stop at the Erlebnisfelsen Pottenstein on my way back from Munich to Hamburg and you did not operate it even though your website stated other things.

Don’t get me wrong. The route via Pottenstein is just gorgeous and I needed a break of all those road works anyways. It was interesting to see your new facilities, but it would have been nicer if I could use the bought ticket on more than just one of your rides. The Frankenbob is a beautiful looking Alpine Coaster, but unluckily it is also a rather tame one. The Frankenrodel on the other hand is just a nice luge and your Hexenbesen at least looks great and interesting. I’m pretty sure your expansion of the Rodelmekka Pottenstein was the right choice. I just can’t see it, if you don’t operate your rides at the Erlebnisfelsen Pottenstein in the late afternoon on a quiet Monday.

Pictures Erlebnisfelsen Pottenstein

 

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Erlebnisfelsen Pottenstein

Alpsee Coaster (2019)

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The Alpsee Coaster is a very exotic alpine coaster of the manufacturer Wiegand for me as a north German roller coaster fan, as it is located quite far away from any (relevant) tourists destinations; that means: It is located at the end of the world or as the south Germans like to say in Buxtehude. Without another reason, I would not have been able to pass near Kempten (Allgäu) so quickly, which is why the visit came into being after a refreshing session of whitewater rafting on the Iller river by the provider MAP-Erlebnis. My English buddy William was with me on the trip down south. On the way there – triggered by the end of the school holidays in Bavaria – we had to go through 5-6 hours of traffic jam and countless construction sites.

After a night in a hotel we went to the Alpine Coaster, which impresses with its location – directly at the Alpsee. It was a cold, rainy day and except for a few brave hikers there were no visitors; at least nobody was to be seen on the 2700m long track of the Alpsee Coaster. The temperature became lower and lower with every meter of the ascent. At the top, the rain started to fall. Thus, instead of a ride we first visited the cabin Bärenfalle, where we had a warm meal.

Well strengthened, we started the journey downhill, which was well lubricated by the rain. Since it is difficult to put the madness of the ride into words, I recorded a POV for you:

 
 

Directly after the first three serpentines we race over the first bigger jump, which brings the sled quickly to its maximum speed. A short time later we fly over another jump. After an extremely fast passage through the forest we pass several waves, which skillfully pull you out of your seat and shake you around a bit. With a fat grin on the face, several steeper curve passages follow, which are interrupted in between by waves and some jumps. After some calmer passages (which would be a highlight at other installations), it’s back to business at 1:01 am. A jump is followed by some very tight and steep curves in quick alternation. After you have recovered from this, a six-second airtime orgy starts at 1:25. After a number of serpentines, another wave passage follows after 2:15. After this, the ride continues to go down the mountain in serpentines, before a helix waits for the riders towards the end of the ride.

The Alpsee Coaster of the Alpsee Bergwelt offers an absolutely wild and breathtaking ride that hardly any other roller coaster in Germany can match. It is without a doubt superior to any other Alpine Coaster in Germany; especially since newer rides are nowadays equipped with magnetic brakes that usually interfere too much with the action (even older rides, like the Hasenhorn Coaster in Todtnau, were unfortunately made worse by an upgrade to this system). As always, however, there is still the risk of a sneak in front of you on your ride and by then the 2700m ride can become quite a test of patience. Without any brakes it is a real fun ride and should be ridden by every roller coaster fan (at least until a new safety system is installed here, too).

 

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Bavaria