Tag: ABC Rides

A tour through Steinwasen Park

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Steinwasen Park

Since 1974, Steinwasen Park has been attracting its guests with some wild animals to the vicinity of the village of Oberried in the Black Forest. With two parallel running summer toboggan runs they offered relatively early another attraction for their park guests. After the new entrance building was constructed, a Mack Powered Coaster and a Wiegand bobkart track were stationed in the basement shortly afterwards. Since the construction of the spinning raft ride by ABC Rides in 2008 at the latest, the park has also become better known nationwide.

After you have paid the price for the wristband you will first of all be confronted with the local patriotism of the park. Those who haven’t noticed it before know that they are in the Black Forest and that the whole thing is designed so lovingly and in such detail that one might think they are not in a small park.  Besides a dark ride and several small cinemas, there is also the park gastronomy on this floor.

Via a staircase you can make your way up to the ice world, which once again was too original and professional for such a park. Unfortunately, the entrance to the two attractions that drive through the ice world is at a completely different place in the park. So instead of on our way to the attractions we found ourselves in one of the helices of the Powered Coaster.

River Splash

In the outer area of Steinwasen Park there are wildlife enclosures and the above mentioned spinning raft ride River Splash. To reach it you have to leave behind an unconventional path with a helix and numerous serpentines. In order to give the onlookers an impression of the ride, there is a platform on the first helix of the water ride. The highlight of the ride is surely the impressive vertical lift, the following curves manage to make the boat turn well, but the purpose of a rafting ride is, as always, not reached with this type of attraction, as one does not get wet.

Space Runner and Gletscherblitz

When you finally reach the entrance to the attractions in the basement of the main building you have to choose between the Space Runner or the Gletscherblitz. While the Space Runner bobsled run offers a nice, fast, if somewhat jerky ride, the Powered Coaster Gletscherblitz scores with an interesting track and great effects.

The Berg Rodelbahn luges

The cable car takes you up to the entrance of the luges, which features a rather strange sled. As it had no real stiffness when folded out, the ride was a bit worrying, even though this was most likely an unfounded feeling, but it prevented me from going full throttle. Should there be bad weather, there is the possibility to arrive dry on the roofed side of the double layout.

Game Park and Suspended Bridge

If you are afraid of heights, there is the possibility to walk to the starting point of the luge through the game park, but since the way down is easier, it is recommended to take the chair lift and to walk down the zoo from top to bottom. The enclosures are quite large, although it may take some time to discover the animals due to the mountainous terrain. At about half way there is the possibility to walk on the longest adventure bridge in the world and enjoy the view.

 

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Steinwasen Park

Some hours in Potts Park Minden

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Potts Park

A park which I wanted to pay a visit for some time was Potts Park in Minden. After all the park lures with a prototype and a beautifully designed park landscape. The park can give this impression, at least if you look at the front part of the park, which comes in the charming industrial look of the last century. Here you can find, besides the unfortunately halfway broken and much too small velodrome, some rides from the house of Heege, which were very nicely designed.

Potzi-Mobile

Other rides from the same company have unfortunately been a little worse off, because the beautiful and really intense airtime machines Potzi-Mobile are located in the middle of a small go-kart track and on the other side there is an ugly water roundel.

Turbo-Drachen

Right next to it you will find the highlight par excellence in the park, the abc rides prototype Turbo-Drachen, which was built two years ago. The ride in this self steerable kite is very smooth and the cars swing out well to the side. However, the capacity is not the best, which is absolutely sufficient for a park of this size; so you are only a few minutes away from the check-in before the flying adventure can begin. For Potts Park at least, the Turbo-Drachen was a very worthwhile and also praiseworthy investment, because after all, they put a prototype in the park. From the actual ride you can compare it to a Bobkartbahn, even though the rides built by Wiegand are usually a bit faster.

Potts Blitz

The second roller coaster of the park is a Zierer Force Two, one of the bigger rides of the manufacturer and has been equipped with an unusual train and unique name. Luckily, the Potts Blitz is a bit older and can therefore score with more comfort than the new rides of the South German roller coaster manufacturer.

Pedal Track and the Slide Paradise

A few meters further on, there is a pedal track hanging under the rail, which unfortunately is only a simple oval, but offers a very interesting ride. In the middle of the ride there is the park’s aging slide paradise that offers some interesting slides but is simply not very nice to look at.

Faule Sau and Swins Gallop

If one continues to follow the path, one comes to some piggishness. The dark ride Faule Sau is a nicely designed, but unfortunately in some places very bald theme ride and in the Swins Gallop you could certainly have some races against each other, if the children and their parents would understand and use the ride system.

Giant Apartment and Science Centre

Potts Park also provides for education, because here you can see a giant apartment next to a badly lit and rather boring looking science centre. Where the science center is very far away from the Phaeno in Wolfsburg or the Universum in Bremen, the apartment is quite interestingly staged and can promote understanding between parents and child.

Pottwal

By the way, the park has also thought of the water enthusiasts in us and so, besides the inflatable boat slide, which is obligatory for small and medium sized parks, you can also try the log flume Pottwal from Bear Rides, which alone can convince with its beautiful and very originally designed boats.

Pictures Potts Park

Conclusion Potts Park

Unfortunately, I was probably a little too much blinded by the pictures of previous reports, so that I unfortunately left the park faster than planned. For a family from the region Potts Park is very worthwhile thanks to the cheap family annual ticket and also for the bidding the entrance fee is justified. The staff was mostly very friendly and also the park guests mostly knew how to behave – so it was a very pleasant visit that one could gladly repeat.

 

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Potts Park

Some hours in Erse Park Uetze

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Preface

After a few days in the city triangle of Bremen, Hamburg and Hannover, I went to the city triangle of Celle, Braunschweig and Hannover to visit the Erse Park in Abbeile, a small town just behind Uetze.

Originally I had planned to go to Potts Park near Minden, but I couldn’t get into the park because the highway A2 was closed due to a bomb clearance. After half an hour of traffic jam I decided to change my mind and make a small detour with a short stop on the way to Hamburg. Because my Navi did not save the park as a special destination (which surprised me very much, after all it knew the Magic Park in Verden), I finally found the right way after a little detour through Uetze.

Erse Park

When I arrived at Erse Park, I realized for the first time at a park of this size that they wanted my money after all. Here there was not only staff, moreover, they were very nice. The first impression promised a lot, which among other things was due to the beautiful park.

Reise in die Urzeit

A somewhat longer walk followed, past some exhibits of the primeval era, until you reach the first rides of the park. Here you will find with the Reise in die Urzeit a guided motorboat ride through primeval times, which was staged absolutely great, as well as an older Mack’s monorail, which you often find in amusement parks of the 70’s.

If you follow the path, you will soon find yourself in front of some fairy tale scenes that are more or less well done. You can clearly see the age of the scenes, and the same is true for the historical rides that are located in the immediate vicinity, which give a lovely impression.

Wackeltaxis

Meanwhile, things are getting really strange with the shaky Wackeltaxis from Metallbau Emmeln, whose course of travel is extremely wacky due to the eccentrically arranged wheels. As soon as you leave the station, the shaking starts immediately. It is a pity that there are not more installations of this kind. Thus, a ride on the unique piece of equipment is a duty of each visitor of the park.

Heege and the Looping Star

Fans of the interactive rides from Heege, which are often found in wildlife parks and smaller amusement parks, will get their money’s worth at Erse Park. Apart from wonderful airtime in the comet swing, the proven roller coaster fun on the Butterfly, two skydives, a Nautic Jet, a Luna Loop and a water roundabout, you will also find a very rare ride from the manufacturer: a Looping Star. This is a small, interactive ferris wheel, where you can make the gondolas roll over.

Just as well represented is the company Metallbau Emmeln, which, in addition to the above-mentioned wacky ride, offers a self-service boat swing (as you can also find in Magic Park Verden), a carpet slide and an electronic horse riding track, with which you can gallop through a dino landscape.

Bobkartbahn

Close to the horse-riding track there is a summer toboggan run from Wiegand, which does not have any mountains. Although the Bobkartbahn can only offer a very compact layout with a travel length of 300m, it convinces more than many other considerably larger facilities of its kind due to its well thought-out track layout.

Furthermore, in the rear part of the park, one finds some devices that require a sportive participation. Beside the water tricycles which are rather difficult to handle as a single person, the canoe ride is especially recommendable, because here you can get some insights into the very well presented dinosaurs.

Lost World Rafting

The ABC Rides Spinning Raft Prototype Lost World presents a similar picture. Besides the prehistoric exhibits, the prototype can impress with its built-in lift technology. The ride itself has little in common with a real rafting, but it is fun due to the winding descent. The return to the station is unfortunately very slow, as there is only a minimal current.

Wasserrutsche

Since the level of wetness was unfortunately limited, the nearby rubber dinghy slides from Dutch production had to be tested. As they obviously missed to install the boat return in the middle of the layout, you have to carry your boat to the starting position yourself. Similar to the Schloss Beck you are allowed to press the button to start the slide yourself. Especially worth mentioning is the variety of slides, which besides the usual wave slide, had one steep slide and one with a curve.

Familien-Achterbahn

The park also has a roller coaster with the so-called Familien-Achterbahn. The Force One ride built by Zierer is of course perfect for the target audience of the park and was wonderfully integrated into the park landscape. The train is much more comfortable than on newer installations, only the mechanical brake is a bit unexpected.

Pictures Erse Park

Conclusion Erse Park

The Erse Park is one of the small parks that you should definitely visit if you find yourself in this area. The staff members were all more than friendly and you never had the feeling to be unwanted. The park itself has a wonderful portfolio of rides, which you should definitely have experienced once. The continuously present primeval theme may be a bit strange at first, but can show some very well presented, although sometimes violent scenes. Fortunately, this does not belong to the image of an average small park. Erse Park is simply above avarage.

 

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Erse Park