A (half) day in Rasti-Land

Rasti-Land

Not far from Hanover, Hildesheim and Hameln is the Rasti-Land amusement park, which has been in existence since 1973. The park is easy to reach via the main roads and the park fees do not empty your wallet as they are completely waived. After having passed the small tunnel at the entrance to the parking place, one drives once around the park to the park entrance. The first impression that one gets during this drive catches one’s eye in a positive way.

Monorail

Once one has paid the 19€ entrance fee, one finds oneself on the highest level of the park. The park railway (with a total of three stations) and the Mack Monorail await you here. Like the Tour de Fleurs in the Holidaypark, this ride is quite long and has several levels. Here, one also drives through a small dark ride section. The gondolas of the railway partly have a very nice painting.

Märchenfahrt

If you follow the paths to the left past some children’s attractions, you will find yourself on the Mack round boat trip Märchenfahrt. This one goes through the middle of the forest, past some statues. The design of the ride is quite impressive for such a park.

Gokarts

In the immediate vicinity you will find the go-kart tracks, which are mastered here either in single or two-seater. The track is basically an oval with some swings in it. Here one clearly notices that the park embeds its tracks into the terrain.

Koggenfahrt

Since the dinosaur theme area of the park opens at noon, the flat ride Koggenfahrt was tested. The forward ride was rather lame, but not the backward part. The ride is slightly elevated at the level of the surrounding curves of the tube slide next door. The ride also looks good from a design point of view.

Boots-Wasserrutschen

After you have climbed another mountain, you can grab a rubber dinghy and make your way down by either using the tube slides or the wave slides of the Boots-Wasserrutschen. These have a wide choice and are in better condition from the inside than they look from the outside. The disadvantage of the slide is the hill that has to be climbed again after the ride. Unfortunately, the neighbouring steep slides were out of order and it does not seem as if this will be changed in the near future.

Riesenschiffschaukel Santa Maria and Abenteuerfahrt durch die Piratenstadt

Other rides on the mountain are the giant Santa Maria ship swing from the manufacturer Metallbau Emmeln, as well as the dark ride Abenteuerfahrt durch die Piratenstadt, which are extremely convincing. On the dark ride you will not only meet the pirates but also numerous interesting effects and beautiful scenery.

Reifenrutschpiste

To make the descent easier you can use a slide to help you. Once you reach the bottom, you can go up the mountain again armed with a tire and then race down the tire slide track. If the synchronisation of the starting aids is right, you can have an exciting race. All in all we spent most of the time in the park right here – a great fun!

Wildwasserbahn

For the water enthusiasts among us there is a special kind of log flume in Rasti-Land. Most of the Wildwasserbahn was built in-house and only the boats come from the manufacturer Intamin. The course was perfectly integrated into the terrain like almost everything else in the park and can also soak you nicely.

Blizzard

The Blizzard bobkart track makes its way in places above the log flume. The track of the manufacturer Wiegand offers an extremely fast ride with a beautiful curve due to its high speed. However, you have to be able to drive at full throttle during the ride, because you can control the cars yourself.

Achterbahn

The pink painted roller coaster Achterbahn in Rasti-Land is clearly visible from far away. The ride was built by Dutch roller coaster manufacturer Vekoma and is one of the first Junior Coaster rides. The colour scheme takes some getting used to, but the ride is still incredibly photogenic, especially because of its placement.

Im Reich des T-Rex and Wasserschlacht

As it was now far after noon, we could visit the Hafema rafting ride Im Reich des T-Rex, as well as the Mack Roundboatblaster Wasserschlacht. The rafting ride is typical for Hafema and not too short, but the degree of wetness is limited (one does not get out completely soaked). The Wasserschlacht can be a good remedy for this. The round boats provide for an all-round wetness and for defencelessness, should the boat turn at the wrong moment. There is also the possibility to meet the guests of the rafting in some places.

Pictures Rasti-Land

Conclusion Rasti-Land

After a few hours we left the Rasti-Land, which we will remember with mixed feelings. In some places the park is really good, but in other places there is an urgent need for renewal. The staff should be better trained, if you wait for the right moment you can help yourself to drinks for free or go to the park. The waiting times are balanced everywhere, as the visitors are very well distributed.

 

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Hamburger Sommerdom (2009)

Who would have ever believed to attend the grand opening of a Schwarzkopf looping coaster in Hamburg, but here I am. Known as Laser in the American theme park Dorney Park for nearly half an eternity, it was now bought back by the showman Steiger. After a large overhaul, whereby the original trains got to be replaced by new ones from SAT, it now presents itself in all of its glory at the Hamburger Sommerdom.

 


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A day of disappointments

Erlebnispark Tripsdrill

The oldest and probably most beautiful amusement park in Germany, the Erlebnispark Tripsdrill, is situated between picturesque vineyards near the city of Cleebronn. The connection to wine is omnipresent in the park, as is the superstition of rejuvenating yourself with a bath. The Altweibermühle Tripsdrill has been in existence since 1929 and welcomes a good 600,000 park guests annually in its amusement and animal park.

In the front part of the park there are some rail-guided rides, all of which were built in the probably longest version possible, as well as some very special attractions. For example, there are also some ABC rides in the park, which are all rather leisurely, but at least can convince by their design. The soapbox race is especially worth mentioning, although the system is quite strange.

Rasender Tausendfüßler

The first roller coaster of the park can be heard very well from far away, as it is a large Tivoli Coaster made by Zierer. The design of the Rasender Tausendfüßler is pretty nice and the ride itself is very distinctive, although you don’t often get the chance to touch the lawn.

Gugelhupf-Gaudi-Tour

In addition to a Zierer Berg und Talbahn with a shoe look and a wave swinger from the same company, there is also a Gerstlauer Waltz Gugelhupf-Gaudi-Tour with gondolas designed like a Gugelhupf cake. As the ride was one of the reasons to visit the park, I was even more disappointed that this ride is simply to be defined as disgrace. The ride simply doesn’t do much at all; the potential of the ride is not even used to 5%. This is a pity, because the predecessor model of the 70s from the Schwarzkopf factory in Münsterhausen was simply ingenious.

Waschzuber Rafting

On the way towards the rear part of the amusement park you will find the Hafema rafting ride Waschzuber Rafting featuring a washtub theme. While the queue represents exhibits of various epochs of washing, one can get moistened in the boats with a lot of luck.  Unfortunately, this rather early installation does without the typical whirlpool with downhill run.

Mammut

Similarly shallow is the wooden roller coaster of the park, which is unfortunately rated by the fans of the park as very good, although it lacks almost all typical signs of a wooden roller coaster. The layout is actually quite nice, not very high, not very fast and without high forces, which suits the target audience quite well. Mammut is a middle-class family roller coaster and not a wooden roller coaster in the real sense, as the trains made by Gerstlauer are very much reduce the shocks and therefore the out of controle feeling. The roller coaster itself is better than the former wooden roller coaster from the Dutch Efteling, but that’s not very hard, either. At least, it is a wooden roller coaster and that’s actually a good thing. The time will surely enhance the ride.

G’sengte Sau

Right next door the G’sengte Sau, a Bobsled Coaster from Gerstlauer, shows a powerful performance. The manufacturer from Münsterhausen shows defines how a Wild Mouse style ride has to be and offers some forceful twist and turns. The result is one of the funniest roller coasters in Germany, which has found a nice home in the Rauhe Klinge castle with the neighboring log flume.  Besides the great camelbacks towards the end of the ride, the Wetten Dass…? sign as one of the highlights during the ride.

Badewannen-Fahrt zum Jungbrunnen

If you thirst for bare breasts you should go into the neighbouring log flume Badewannen-Fahrt zum Jungbrunnen. The fountain of youth shows its effect, just like the backward drop for some unknowing passengers. The course itself is one of the bigger and newer log flumes in Germany, but still offers a good amount of moisture, not including the small splash zone in the queue.

Pictures Erlebnispark Tripsdrill

Conclusion Erlebnispark Tripsdrill

The total package Erlebnispark Tripsdrill can be enjoyed every now and then. The park itself is a pity, but the Erlebnispark Tripsdrill gives away a lot of potential with its rides. The gastronomy is to be seen as deficient, which has a good price, but does not provide the necessary service.

 

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