Germany • Page 4 of 72 • Themeparkblogger

Setting off for Mythica

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In recent years, Legoland Germany, like no other Merlin Entertainments park, has seen some great additions to its offering. The park finally became a full day destination. Since my last visit in October 2015, the park added the themed area Lego Ninjago World, two new rides to the Land der Pharaonen area and added a new B&M wing coaster to its line-up, as part of the Lego Mythica themed area.

Lego Ninjago World

Lego Ninjago World is so far the biggest extension Legoland Deutschland ever experienced. The themed area is based on the popular Lego Ninjago brand, famous for its well made TV show Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu. Back in 2017, it was the most expensive expansion of the park to date. The area offered a unique interactive dark ride experience that you could only experience at Legoland parks.

Lego Ninjago The Ride

Lego Ninjago The Ride is the first interactive dark ride where the passengers are using their hands only to target. The ride system is using an array of sensors to catch the movement of the hand. Depending mainly on the height of your hands and the angle to the sensor, your hand movement input is interpreted and a colour dot appears on the sensor so that you know where you are actually aiming. The whole process is not that intuitive and so confused hand waving actually is a good way to score quite a lot of points. The movements can be refined on the many screens the riders pass-by or stop right in front for a longer film sequence.

Overall, Lego Ninjago The ride is a very solid dark ride. Sure, the technology is not as sophisticated as the Web Slingers at Disneyland Paris, but for a worlds first, this ride system is actually quite alright.

Lloyd’s Spinjitsu Spinner

The newest addition to the Lego Ninjago World is Lloyd’s Spinjitsu Spinner, a Sunkid Loopster. This ride basically takes the old Luna Loop concept by Heege to a new level and is one of the hidden gems at the park. As you control the rotation of your ride vehicle, you can have a rather gentle ride, a ride full of backflips or you could try to take the whole ride in an upside-down position; albeit this is not that easy, as the ride vehicle will rotate back into its starting position after a while and you have to adjust the rotation quite often.

Land der Pharaonen

The Land der Pharaonen themed area was once created to house the interactive dark ride The Temple as its standalone attraction right next to the entrance to the Legoland Feriendorf resort. In 2019, the area was expanded with the interactive rides Pyramiden Rallye and Wüsten X-kursion.

Pyramiden Rallye

The Pyramiden Rallye is one of the classic rides from Metallbau Emmeln that you would like to see more often in family theme parks around the globe. The interactive ride is a nice work out for the whole family trying to extinguish fire in a pyramid located in the middle of the desert. While the story of this ride does not make a lot of sense, it still is one of the nicest additions we saw in Legoland Deutschland in recent years.

Wüsten X-kursion

The Wüsten X-kursion by RES is an interesting tower ride: the passengers can control the rotation of the gondolas, as well as their ride height by pulling a rope inside the gondola. Overall, rides can have a nice gentle observation ride towering the Land der Pharaonen section of the park and get a nice view onto the new themed area Lego Mythica right next door.

Lego Mythica

Lego Mythica is the newest area at Legoland Deutschland. It is based on the Legoland own IP. Its centrepiece is the Maximus roller coaster by B&M. The two family drop tower Fire & Ice Tower by Zierer and a small playground supplement the area. Lego Mythica is the most expensive expansion so far for the theme park.

Maximus – Der Flug des Wächters

When thinking about a roller coaster at Legoland, nobody ever would come up with the idea of creating a B&M wing coaster featuring two inversions, but somehow this project came true with Maximus – Der Flug des Wächters. The statics of the ride speak for a very family friendly ride, which we now want to have a closer look onto.

After we have finally left the extremely trivial queue behind us, the ride can already begin. Following a left-hand bend, we immediately reach the lift of the ride. Having reached the top of the lift hill at 17 m, we immediately drop down towards the ground. In an upward helix we experience a little pressure before flying over a small hill. In the following valley we experience the highest forces of the ride, before going straight into the first inversion of the ride. After the corkscrew, we continue our way to the left, before we change direction in order to prepare for the grand finale of the ride: a roll above the entrance portal. Shortly thereafter, we find ourselves in the brake section of the ride.

Maximus – Der Flug des Wächters is a fine ride for what it is: a nice family ride and the first one to feature an inversion for many of the park guests. The ride on the left side of the tracks is the overall better ride experience, while the right side offers a more pronounce ride through the first helix.

What is your opinion about the recent novelties and the B&M wing coaster Maximus – der Flug des Wächters? Just write them in the comment field below the report or in our social media channels:

TKathke March 25, 2023 March 25, 2023 Legoland Deutschland

A funky bumper car and a jousting tournament

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On my last visit to Heroldsbach, I was faced with closed gates at the Erlebnispark Schloss Thurn; in the low season, the amusement park is sometimes only open during the week. This time, however, a visit fell on a quiet Sunday within the high season.

Fledermauszentrum

Before we even get close to the castle that gives it its name and can pay our entrance fee, we are already in front of the first attraction. In the bat centre we can learn a lot about the animals in a fun way.

Schloss Thurn

The theme park originated in 1975 in the castle garden of the moated castle of Thurn. The origin of today’s Baroque castle complex was a fortified residential tower surrounded by several moats, which can be traced back to the year 1422. In 1747, the Bamberg cathedral chaplain Lothar Franz Horneck von Weinheim acquired the estate and began to convert the former knight’s castle into a Baroque pleasure palace.

The area around the castle mainly invites you to dangle your soul, and you can also explore the water around the moated castle with rowing boats and pedal boats.

Westernstadt

The first ride on our way to the western town is the small interactive water ride Piratenflotte. Along the way we also find numerous adventure trails for the younger park visitors before we then come across the Monzabahn vintage cars and shortly afterwards a fort.

The western town inside extends over a main street and a large square with a western show. The main restaurant of the theme park is also located in the saloon. However, the culinary offer is not quite adapted to the ambience, which is a bit of a pity.

Steampunk VR-Scooter

The main attraction in the Western Town is the Steampunk VR scooter. This bumper car is unique in the world because it is the only one with virtual reality (VR), which is a thoroughly immersive experience. A film is shown where you end up fighting a robot spider and where the ride floor suddenly curves. The quality of this trumps the VR attractions of most amusement parks and makes for an absolutely coherent overall concept.

To be honest, I’m surprised why the VR trend was mostly used on large roller coasters and thus went under again after a very short time, when it’s precisely the implementation on standard rides that offers a much better experience. Bumper cars in amusement parks always have the charm of a fairground and don’t really fit into the big themed worlds of today, but with the right idea you can definitely upgrade the classic ride principle, be it the former Space Race in Hansa Park or with the VR experience here. I only hope that in the future more parks will invest as courageously as Erlebnispark Schloss Thurn.

Wildwasserbahn

Behind the Western Town is the entrance to the park’s log flume. The ride, built by Reverchon, also has a rather classic appearance at the Erlebnispark Schloss Thurn, although the waiting area is quite unusual. The ride offers a total of two drops, with the smaller one offering an additional wave. The degree of wetness of both drops is within reasonable limits.

Magisches Tal

In addition to the Knappenschule electric horse track, the chain flyer Kettenflieger, the family free-fall tower Ritterschlag and the boat swing Schaukelschiff Fledermausflug, park guests in the Magic Valley mainly romp around the tournament square, where the knights’ tournament takes place.

Ritterturnier

Quite unusually in a theme park, you can experience a real jousting tournament at Erlebnispark Schloss Thurn. Two teams face each other in a jousting match. This is an exciting competition between good and evil. Despite the very simple story, the acting is extremely convincing and the games and the fight choreographies with sword and shield are breathtaking.

VR-Achterbahn

The VR roller coaster is a classic family roller coaster made by Zierer. The roller coaster, which is about 9 m high, offers a 220 m long, winding layout that is ridden through twice in a row.

Animal park and playgrounds

On the other side of the park there is a large playground and several smaller rides, such as the two Butterfly roller coasters, the carousel Schwanenkarussell and the Wasserbob dinghy slide. To get there, however, we have to pass through the beautifully landscaped game park. This is best done on foot or by taking a ride on the Westerbahn train ride or the monorail Schwebebahn.

Pictures Erlebnispark Schloss Thurn

Conclusion Erlebnispark Schloss Thurn

I really liked Schloss Thurn. The steampunk VR-scooter and the knights’ tournament are two highlights that you can’t even find in the big theme parks around the world. So a visit is definitely recommended, especially for families with smaller children.

What do you think about the Erlebnispark Schloss Thurn? Just write it in the comment field below the report or visit our social media channels:

TKathke July 19, 2022 March 16, 2023 Erlebnispark Schloss Thurn

Everything new at Freizeit-Land Geiselwind

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A lot has happened since my last visit to Freizeit-Land Geiselwind. In 2016, the animal and amusement park was taken over by showman Mathias Mölter and has been steadily expanding ever since. Interestingly, the charming funfair is developing more and more into a theme park as more and more funfair rides are added.

Verrückte Farm

It all starts with the nice children’s area right at the entrance. The crazy farm is home to the Doggy Dog children’s roller coaster, a classic Big Apple.

Freizeit-Land

The charm of the old amusement park can still be discovered today in Freizeit-Land. Most of the rides have been given new names, and the Shot ‘n’ Drop Tower T-Rex Tower has been completely re-themed with an artificial volcano, from whose crater you are now ejected.

Drachenbucht

Wo früher noch Autos parkten, befindet sich heutzutage der Themenbereich Drachenbucht. Der weitläufige Themenbereich bietet fernöstlichen Charme, ohne dabei allzu kitschig zu wirken. Hauptattraktion hier sind die SBF Visa Frisbee Auge des Drachen, der überaus kurzweilige Walkthrough Meister Ling’s magisches Labyrinth (Master Ling’s magical maze) und die Drachenhöhle.

Drachen Höhle

Die Drachenhöhle ist die ehemalige Black Hole des Schaustellers Schierenbeck. Der Hell Diver aus dem Hause Zierer ist mit seiner rasanten Achterbahnfahrt in den kleinen Bobs auch heute ein wahres Highlight und sollte deshalb keineswegs ausgelassen werden.

Land der Piraten

The Land of the Pirates used to be home to the theme park’s terrific HUSS corner, where you could experience a variety of classic rides from the HUSS company. Today, the main attraction here is Jack’s Versteck (Jack’s Hideout)- a huge funhouse, as well as a variety of well-themed rides. Unfortunately, however, the new Bounty ship swing doesn’t really fit in here.

Fluch des Kraken

The world record roller coaster Boomerang now also belongs to this area. The ride, now known as Fluch des Kraken (Curse of the Kraken), convinces with a coherent overall concept and the still magnificent ride characteristics. Personally, however, I think it’s a shame that the original design has been thrown overboard, because it was actually very successful. It’s a pity that an Australian themed area didn’t fit into the concept of the theme park.

Safari

At the back of the Freizeit-Land, in the middle of the forest, is the Safari themed area. Here you will find a number of children’s rides, the great horror walkthrough Dr Lehmann Horror Lazarett, and the roller coaster Taka Waka.

Taka Waka

The roller coaster that sounds confusingly similar to Tiki Waka from Walibi Belgium is a cyclone coaster from SBF Visa. The medium-sized roller coaster offers a classic Figure 8 design based on the Pinfari model, with several smaller drops and a large number of helices, as well as rather rough brakes. The ride is not worth mentioning and looks outdated despite its fairly recent construction.

Forbidden Kingdoms

The newest themed area is the Forbidden Kingdom. This area is home to the Cobra roller coaster, as well as the Merlin sling shot and the Ramses walkthrough (the former Tal der Könige by showman Bügler). The theme area’s focus is a mishmash of all kinds of adventures, be it in mystical England, the ancient Egyptians or someplace in the jungle. Surprisingly, the concept works and the Forbidden Kingdoms proves to be an extremely coherent themed area.

Merlin

The undisputed main attraction of this themed area is Merlin – a Sling Shot from Funtime. The ride catapults two brave passengers to lofty heights, where they then experience several somersaults. The ride is absolutely breathtaking and definitely a recommendation for anyone who wants to brave the rather short (yet very long) queue.

For me, it was the first Sling Shot. Although I have already stumbled across many rides of this kind, the high price of the attractions, which are usually operated as up-charges, was never worth it to me. Here at Freizeit-Land Geiselwind, however, the ride is included in the park ticket, just like at Skyline Park, and is therefore a must for every amusement park fan. The ride, which seems quite extreme, is simply a great and surprisingly gentle experience in the end.

Pictures Freizeit-Land Geiselwind

Conclusion Freizeit-Land Geiselwind

Freizeit-Land Geiselwind has changed considerably. Although it was much emptier during my visit this year than during my first visit, I spent much more time in the park. Nowadays, there is something to discover around every corner, and sometimes you even come across attractions that you hadn’t even thought of before and which you really want to try out. Especially the self-built walkthroughs are all worth a visit. A visit is therefore definitely worthwhile, especially as the next few years will certainly offer one or two more surprises.

What do you think about the new attractions at Freizeit-Land Geiselwind? Just write it in the comment field below the report or on our social media channels:

TKathke July 19, 2022 March 13, 2023 Freizeit-Land Geiselwind