Racing on the Minifigure Speedway

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Legoland Windsor

I haven‘t been to Legoland Windsor in ages. During the time since my last visit, quite a few attractions opened within the park – most of them unique to this Legoland park.

Lego Ninjago World

Lego Ninjago The Ride

Lego Ninjago The Ride is the first interactive themed ride where passengers use only their hands to aim. The ride system uses a series of sensors to detect the movements of the hands. Depending on the height of the hands and the angle to the sensor, the hand movement is interpreted and a coloured dot appears on the screen so that you know where you are currently aiming. The whole process is not very intuitive and so confused hand-waving is actually a good way to score a lot of points. You can refine your movements on the many screens you pass. All in all, Lego Ninjago The Ride is a very solid and fun attraction.

Lego Mythica

Since the second Lego movie was unfortunately a flop, the Merlin Entertainments Group decided to create the Lego Mythica brand for Legoland Windsor instead of a themed area based on the film. The Lego Mythica themed area includes the Flying Theater Flight of the Sky Lion, the two very fun family freefall towers Fire & Ice Freefall, and the redesigned Jet Ski attraction Hyda’s Challenge.

Flight of the Sky Lion

In true Lego style, the Flight of the Sky Lion takes you on a colourful adventure through the different realms of Lego Mythica. There is a lot going on during the wild ride, especially as every creature wants to start a fight with you. The ride itself looks good, has some accelerating movements and tells an easy-to-digest story – but that’s about it. If the queue is short, a ride on Flight of the Sky Lion is an easy recommendation.

Lego City

Lego City: Deep Sea Adventure

The Lego City: Deep Sea Adventure dark ride combines two of Merlin Entertainment’s core brands: Lego and Sealife. The ride through the aquarium is therefore quite impressive and a cool way to watch the goings-on in the large water basin around you.

Haunted House Monster Party

While Legoland Billund surprised everyone by creating a scare attraction with a cluster of small drop towers, Legoland Windsor took a more family-friendly approach by inviting everyone to the Monster Party. Here, guests enter a large room that turns upside down. Of course, this is only an optical illusion, as the ride itself only tilts back and forth by about 30°.

The Haunted House Monster Party is a nice addition to Legoland Windsor and a unique Mad House with a very cool vibe. Hopefully we will see this attraction at other Legoland locations in the future.

Duplo Valley

Duplo Dino Coaster

The Duplo Dino Coaster is the smallest roller coaster at Legoland. It has an oval layout with gentle drops and turns. The ride itself is fun and a great way to start your rollercoaster career as a toddler.

Bricktopia

Minifigure Speedway

High above Duplo Valley is the large family roller coaster Minifigure Speedway. The ride features two dueling tracks, each offering a forward and backward ride. Both tracks consist of a series of tight-radius turns with a gentle hill in between. Although the ride itself is very family friendly, the new Zierer coaster still packs a punch, especially during the backwards ride.

The Minifigure Speedway is a great addition to Legoland Windsor and a very special first for roller coaster manufacturer Zierer. It would be great to see similar rides at other Legoland locations around the world.

Pictures Legoland Windsor

$Dragon\'s Apprentice$

$Hydra\'s Challenge$

Conclusion Legoland Windsor

It is good to see that Merlin Entertainments is still investing in some of its parks. Although the presentation of the rides could be a little better – the Legoland Speedway and the Haunted House Monster Party in particular look a little uninspired and drab – the additions over the last 10 years add a lot to the line-up of this popular theme park. It will be interesting to see what the future holds, especially as a large plot of land, once occupied by the Vikings River Splash rapids ride, is set to become available soon.

What is your opinion about the novelties of the past 10 years at Legoland Windsor? Just write it in the comment field below the report or visit our social media channels:

Click here to go to the Legoland Windsor overview page.

TKathke May 13, 2024 February 22, 2025 Legoland Windsor

A visit to the World of Jumanji

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Room on the Broom – A magical Journey

Where the goblins once caused mischief in Hocus Pocus Hall, the nameless witch is now searching for her hat, bow and magic wand. In the process, we meet some animal helpers who gradually join us (just like in the children’s book). All in all, Room on the Broom – A magical Journey is a successful attraction for the youngest visitors to the animal and theme park.

Croc Drop

Where the Croc Drop now rises into the air, the HUSS Top Spin Rameses Revenge used to stand. The ride on the SBF Visa Drop’n Twist has no real sense of momentum and is therefore mercilessly insignificant compared to the more typical representatives of this type of ride from Zierer. It’s a shame that the old HUSS attraction has been replaced in such an unworthy manner.

World of Jumanji

One year after Gardaland unveiled a surprising and wild dark ride with Jumanji – The Adventure, a new theme based on the classic cursed board game is coming to the park in the World of Adventure. The World of Jumanji consists of the Mandrill Mayham rollercoaster, the Mamba Strike Miami ride and the Saltamontes Ostrich Stampede. While the roller coaster is from B&M, the other two rides are from SBF Visa.

Ostrich Stampede und Mamba Strike

Merlin Entertainments has been buying from SBF Visa a lot in recent years. The Italian ride manufacturer generally offers mass instead of class, and so the rides on these two rides offer a lot of wasted potential, as well as the uncomfortable seats and restraints that are typical of the manufacturer. As filler attractions in the World of Jumanji themed area, they are quite nice to look at, but a ride here is only worthwhile if no one is actually queuing.

Mandrill Mayhem

The big top dog in the World of Jumanji is B&M’s Mandrill Mayhem rollercoaster, which completely encircles the themed area. In addition to two smaller launch areas, the coaster consists of an overbanked spike right at the start of the ride, a long roll and an upward spiral around the towering jaguar statue.

The Mandrill Mayhem ride starts with a short backwards ride out of the station. With momentum we go through a dip and then up the overbanked spike, which is a very nice introduction to the ride, especially in the last rows. Shortly after, we pick up speed again and leave the station in a left turn that takes us straight into the ride’s rollover element and over the entrance portal to the World of Jumanji. In a turn we pass the Ostrich Stampede ride and after a short turn we approach the upward spiral to the Jaguar statue. Once we put the Jaguar’s Eye jewel back in its place and call out Jumanji, the curse is broken and everything goes back to normal. Including us. Now we go through the short chicane again, turn upside down in the inline twist and then enter the station again.

Mandrill Mayhem is a very fun coaster. Similar to Maximus – Der Flug des Wächters at Legoland Deutschland, the ride is rather short, but scores with its staging and integrated elements. Despite two roll-overs and numerous launch sections, the ride is very family friendly and a great introduction to roller coasters.

Pictures Chessington World of Adventures

What do you think of Mandrill Mayhem and the other new additions at Chessington World of Adventures? Just write them in the comment field below the report or in our social media channels:

Click here for the overview page of Chessington World of Adventures

TKathke May 8, 2024 May 26, 2024 Chessington - World of Adventures

A trip to Croatia on Voltron Nevera

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The latest roller coaster at Europa Park is called Voltron Nevera and is located in the brand new and unfortunately not yet fully completed themed area Croatia. In terms of type, it is a Stryker coaster, which is basically a further development of the already well-known Big Dipper. However, this Mack product offers a longer train and is even more flexible in its design, meaning that the roller coaster can, among other things, travel both forwards and backwards, which was not yet possible on the original model.

Overall, Voltron Nevera scores high on features. Once the train is loaded, the shoulder restraints automatically lower. A quick check and you’re off to the first highlight. But first the car is lifted up and shaken a little at the same time as the first show scene. A nice effect, if a bit tame. Shortly after, the actual start of the coaster follows and we shoot up a steep incline with a bang. We are now pulled with force into the first overhead element, which is very similar to a humpty dump lift on a Maurer X-Car Coaster. The following drop leads directly into a roll – a wonderful moment. After a speed bump the ride goes up an Immelmann. Immediately after the change in direction we enter another very similar element, but this time with a beautifully initiated banked turn at the top. In the valley we find the second launch area, which is actually a separate block area where the cars can be brought to a safe stop; when they come to a stop the cars rock back and forth a bit to gain enough momentum to continue. With a lot of speed we then go through a stall, where we are weightless and upside down for a few seconds. After an airtime hill, the ride continues upwards, changing direction several times. A sideways dip then leads us into a dive loop, after which we are guided quite hard into the block brake. A large turntable awaits, which doubles as a siding switch. This is well designed, but does not add any narrative depth to the ride, which splits the ride in two.

After a 180° turn, the second part of the ride begins directly with a backwards launch into an overhanging spike. We are then catapulted to our top speed with momentum and immediately ride up a tophat. A bend then leads us to another airtime hill. An interesting airtime hill tilted to one side then releases us parallel to the stall, which we cross in a wonderfully intense double-up. After another block brake, we are pulled smoothly into another roll. This leads us straight into a steep turn past the buildings visible from the themed area. Lined with ruins, the ride then leads into an Immelmann turn, which releases us directly into the final inversion of the ride. After another airtime hill, we reach the braking section of the roller coaster and are gently slowed down to walking speed.

Voltron Nivera is a world-class rollercoaster up to the stall, after which it unfortunately falls into a very repetitive pattern of airtime hills and corkscrews, which is briefly interrupted in the middle of the ride. You have to put your sidings somewhere if there is no room near the station, but the placement leads to an unnecessary splitting of the ride in two and a fairly linear ride to and from the turnout. Voltron Nevera scores particularly well with its compact design, especially at the beginning and end of the track.

Even though I personally find other roller coasters at Europa Park more exciting than Voltron Nevera, it has turned out to be a very nice roller coaster. The ride is fun and impresses with a really great track layout, especially in the first third. The roller coaster is definitely fun and that’s all that matters.