Alpenexpress Enzian

The home of the old Danish Rutschebanen

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Preface

I wanted to visit the Danish amusement park Tivoli Gardens for quite a while now. Unfortunately, visiting the Danish capital as a German student on a budget, this was not at all easy. Ideas to go on a road trip throughout Scandinavia were abandoned due to the lack of passengers to come along. Even day trips turned out to be not necessarily wise due to either high tolls or ferry fees, so that the cheapest way to travel from Hamburg to Copenhagen is surprisingly by train, although it takes quite a while even in an ICE. As at the beginning of the week there was supposed to be a return trip in the late evening and the hotels were comparatively cheap during an overnight stay from Sunday to Monday, a short trip to Copenhagen was quickly arranged. The Deutsche Bahn proved to be less reliable and the offered return trip could not be booked. A little research then resulted in a bus connection via Flixbus returning at the same time, which should actually arrive slightly earlier at the Hamburg main station.

The outward journey turned out to be a little nerve-racking. It all started with a bus, which actually didn’t show up (as it passed my station way too early), which resulted in a drive to the city where I parked my car nearby my university. It came worse, when a smelly stranger slept on my shoulder in the rail replacement service on the Danish part of the journey.

Tivoli Gardens

Arriving at the station, the reward for the morning’s exertions was immediately apparent, which was why I exchanged the prepaid all-inclusive ticket for admission, the wristband for unlimited rides on the rides, as well as the vouchers for a visit to the in-house aquarium, the meal and the ride photo. This package cost online around DKK 190 more than the regular entrance fee and the wristband, but as the meals in this city are generally in a similar price range, this is highly recommended. The offer varies according to the general price structure of the restaurants, so in cheap restaurants one additionally gets a big drink, in medium-priced restaurants a small drink, as well as in high-priced restaurants only the meal remains served. Without the voucher, I would have spent 210 DKK in addition to the 25 DKK saved at the aquarium, as well as the value of the ride photo.

Rutschebanen

Since I used the less frequented entrance at the main station the ways led me fast and directly to the over 100 years old wooden roller coaster Rutschebanen and thus to the longest-serving roller coaster of Europe. On the occasion of the anniversary Tivoli Gardens gave the old lady an elaborate cosmetic operation, reminding her of her original design – which had been redesigned out of respect for arriving guests from the alpine countries, as they should not be reminded of their homeland immediately after leaving the train station by the peaks of Rutschebanen. As is generally the case with the so-called Scenic Railways, the Rutschebanen also has a brakeman riding in the train, so that the ride is controlled by his know-how and can be quite exciting at the same time.

Shortly after the train entered the station it disappears into the first tunnel. After a left turn, the train engages in the elevator cable and is quickly carried up to the top. For a short moment, you can look into the Fun House Skaersilden beneath the ride. At the top you can have a short look at the alpine design before going down the first slope. With full speed we pass the first valley and then a camelback. Back at a higher level, a turn is now made with a pronounced speed, so that one involuntarily wanders from one side of the train to the other. After leaving the ice cave, the train dives down into the depths before reaching about half of the starting height. Barely braked, the next turn is made, which is the reason why a single rider changes sides again. Immediately after a short straight section you go downhill and shortly afterwards a fast-paced interplay of curves begins. Here a short S-curve is taken before a right-hand turn, which is further intensified by the gently rocking cars. Along the station you follow the same sequence of elements as at the beginning of the ride and immediately enter another cave. In this one you execute a combination of curves which would have been used in the computer game Roller Coaster Tycoon, ideally on a Virginia Reel. After a small turn to the right follows a small turn to the left, which then changes into a larger turn to the left. Shortly afterwards you leave the tunnel and are led into the station by the brakeman.

Rutschebanen is a timeless classic, which still excites the visitors today. The way the train takes the cars through the numerous mountains, valleys and bends is simply stunning and is further enhanced by the constant change of the cars’ sides for single riders. The design of the layout is worth seeing and creates a through and through original appearance in connection with the trains and the accompanying personnel, which you would not want to miss in Tivoli Gardens.

Skaersilden and Minen

Below the old Danish roller coaster you will find the Fun House of Tivoli Gardens – which is well worth a visit – as well as the boat dark ride Minen, which was apparently upgraded by a lot of Peng Peng or better said interactivity. The stream channel passes larger and very detailed scenes, whereby it is better to skip the interactivity function of the boat altogether and enjoy the ride.

Himmelskibet and Snurretoppen

The 80m high Starflyer Himmelskibet is located above the sleek and surprisingly fast moving Break Dance Snurretoppen. Here one notices for the first time that the Tivoli Gardens does not trust its foreign visitors without any amusement park experiences particularly much. As a result, the dispatching takes ages, despite the already optimised loading process. On the way up to the loading station, one is basically reminded at every meter which things one is not allowed to take along; a counted group is then let into the area with the luggage rack. Here, a very detailed verbal briefing is given which things one is not allowed to take along. Afterwards, only one of the possible access ways is opened. Then, the riders are forced to knock on their trouser pockets and are warned to go back in case of positive results and finally to take their things out of their pockets. After a quite decent ride with a fantastic view over the city at the same time, one is now left in a separate area on the other side and is held there until everybody has received their things.

Aquila

Interestingly, however, the dispatch was still reasonably justifiable, as the routine had become established during time. Aquila, an Zamperla air race from 2013 has a thoroughly abstruse dispatch time, as everyone sitting in the car is asked if they still have anything in their pockets, although the system never sweeps over the heads of others and the potential danger is minimal. Compared to the prototype in the Portuguese water park Aquashow Park, the ride is not very entertaining and thus falls behind the expectations.

Odinexpressen

In the immediate vicinity, just like everything else in Tivoli Gardens, is the entrance to Odinexpressen, a Mack Powered Coaster built in 1985. Throughout the entire visit there was always the longest queue of all the roller coasters, which was not due to the total duration of the ride of three laps, but rather to the fact that the people waiting for the ride were only allowed to enter the station when the train was already empty and each bar was checked individually.

The ride begins with an ascending helix to the left, followed by a change of direction above the station. A wide right turn leads the train upwards, followed by a left turn. On the roof of the arcades, a 540° downward helix is executed, after which the train always leads downwards at a clear speed parallel to the ascent. Once again above the roof of the station, the train plunges surprisingly fast to the ground and passes through a narrow righthand helix, whereupon you pass through the station at top speed.

Odinexpressen is a very nice example of a powered coaster due to the very well designed and space saving layout. Similar to the English Merlin Entertainments Group’s parks, the mood at the ride is outstanding and the delicious smell during the downhill helix on the roof probably served as inspiration for the Alpenexpress Enzian at Europa Park.

Den Flyvende Kuffert

Next to the arcades you will find the dark ride Den Flyvende Kuffert which tells the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen in many scenes with cute little dolls. The ride in the flying suitcases is held in either Danish or English, whereby you have to listen carefully to avoid being distracted by the narrations of the other gondolas. During the long ride, which always leads up and down, one gets a good insight into the well-known fairy tales.

Tivoli Aquarium and Linie 8

The Tivoli Aquarium is located in the foyer of the Concert Hall, a theatre with a capacity of 1660 that plays classical music as well as musicals. The Tivoli Aquarium is not included in the entrance fee and has smaller aquariums and a 30m long reef with more than 1600 inhabitants. In front of the concert halls there is the station of the historical railway line 8, which takes a little tour through the Tivoli Gardens.

Monsunen

Passing by countless restaurants we now enter the furthest corner of Tivoli Gardens, where the Arabic theme area of the park is located. Strangely enough, most people from the region spend their time in the Tivoli Gardens here and unconsciously create the proper atmosphere. Located directly at the edge of the park is a Suspended Flying Carpet by Zierer. Monsunen is the only one of its kind in Europe, with only a second ride being installed in the Japanese theme park Nagashima Spa Land. The ride resembles the standard model of the Flying Carpet of the same manufacturer, except for the different sitting position. The only difference is that here not the upper body reacts to the movement, but the legs. Altogether the ride is a very interesting and above all massive installation with an interesting lifting technology for the boarding platform.

Karavanen

Directly opposite you can find the small Tivoli roller coaster Karavanen made by Zierer. Their Tivoli coaster was an initial success in the Scandinavian countries, which led to many installations worldwide. Karavanen itself features a small variation of the original design, which made it a slightly more dynamic ride, which almost automatically makes everybody in the train smile.

Vertigo

The most interesting facility in this area is by far Vertigo, a Flying Fury by Technical Park. In the early years of this ride it was possible to rotate the passenger carrier around its own axis, as well as the axis of the main arm, by yourself which resulted in a rather wild and individual way of riding. There was also the possibility to press a button for full throttle which let to an acceleration of constant 5G. Since the technology for the steering is unfortunately susceptible to errors – which i doubt very much and would rather blame the riders, which did not understand the ride – two automatic programs are used nowadays.

The ride begins with a few rollovers in the station area with a simultaneous rotation around the vertical axis before the ride continues at a lofty height. Of course, the machine also goes upside down through the station before the nacelle is locked and the machine accelerates to a speed of 120 km/h. Over a period of time you will experience a constant 5G, while your field of vision will slowly but surely narrow. This is where the only difference between the driving programs becomes apparent, as this passage is performed either looking forwards or flying backwards. After a few, almost uncountable laps, the speed is slowly reduced and you turn upside down again. The small aircraft now performs its last rollovers and then slowly approaches its parking position.

Vertigo has an amazingly versatile ride to offer with its only 2 minute long ride program. As almost always in life, a backward driving style makes the ride much more exciting. The waiting times at Vertigo are among the longest in Tivoli Gardens due to its capacity, but as a single rider it can take as little as 15 seconds. However, in both cases you should definitely take a ride and try out both ride programs.

Gyldne Taarn

The last major attraction in this area is the golden painted Gyldne Taarn, a Turbo Drop Tower by S&S. This is a normal freefall tower where – similar to the freefall towers of the manufacturer Fabbri – you are shot downwards, which results in a pronounced airtime. Sadly, the Gyldne Taarn isn’t good at this when being compared to other towers of the same manufacturer.

Dæmonen

After such a disappointment you need a good ride. Thankfully, the B&M floorless coaster Dæmonen is nearby. This ultra-compact installation offers an untypical ride in the tightest of spaces. Usually, the ride features the lowest waiting time at Tivoli Gardens.

After reaching the maximum height of 28m the train runs over the crest and the first small drop. The train is now thrown into the first curve and crosses a direction change at dizzy height, a righthand helix follows to reach the starting height for the next drop. As soon as you have survived the combination of curves you immediately descend and shortly thereafter enter the looping of the ride. The subsequent change of direction takes place in an Immelmann just before the world turns upside down again in the Nul-G Loop (Danish for Zero-G Roll). Depending on your position in the car, you will be wonderfully torn back and forth, a truly incomparable experience. The final turns and hills towards the brake run are just as wild, offering some great airtime moments. Soon after, the ride is already over.

Daemonen is awesome, although a bit too short. From the first curves you can feel that this machine is by no means a sensitive one. The looping and the Immelmann support the general intensity of the ride tremendously, but they lose all meaning in consideration of the truly delicious Zero-G Roll and the great finale.

Pictures Tivoli Gardens

Conclusion Tivoli Gardens

The amusement park Tivoli Gardens is a worth seeing amusement park not only because of its long history. The atmosphere is very similar to that of the Pleasure Beach Blackpool, except that it is smaller and generally more tidy, which can be seen in the Smøgen alley. The rides have a thoroughly good quality and the many restaurants and small gardens create an ambience in which one likes to stay. The prices however are quite high and you may be surprised how many people use the ticket system and pay more than they should. A ride on Daemonen for example costs 75 DKK – which is about 10€ – the Wristband itself is available for 210 DKK, therefore it pays off after just three rides. During a well visited Sunday I was able to ride all the rides I wanted within four hours. A visit in the evening can be a great way to experience Tivoli Gardens without missing too much. Except there is the Fredagsrock Event, where the entry to the park is far more expensive during the evening (so make sure to visit the rides during the day to enjoy a great rock concert for free in the evening).

 

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Tivoli Gardens

A positive surprise at Europa Park

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Europa Park

As expected, Europa Park was a bit fuller on this holiday. Stupidly enough, this already turned out at the cash desks, so that I could not enter the park before 10 o’clock. After I had overcome the first hurdle in the middle of the path of standing French people the way to the big roller coaster novelty of the year Wodan – Timbur Coaster could be taken.

Past the topic areas Switzerland and England I went immediately to Russia and Luxembourg, where besides the advantageous monorail, at least this one has a station in the theme area Iceland, the revolving theatre show Historama, the small dark ride Schlittenfahrt Schneeflöckchen, as well as the revolving gondola roller coaster Euromir are located.

Historama

The Historama is actually a great attraction, after all, you can learn a lot about the founding family Mack and their history. But the first room is simply – like many things at Europa Park – much too cluttered. The last room, however, is very naked and shows the self-congratulation of the family. Of course, you can be proud of your own lobbying, but it leaves a very bland aftertaste, which is why you should avoid this attraction at all costs.

Schlittenfahrt Schneeflöckchen

The Schlittenfahrt Schneeflöckchen, on the other hand, is an absolute must. Although Bench – The Ride is actually very well visible, it is unfortunately a bit lost in the Russian themed area. The ride itself is one of the best dark rides in the park, despite its inconspicuous appearance, and should therefore be tested by every visitor. The soundtrack is suitable for the ear and effectively underlines the cheerful atmosphere of the ride.

Euro-Mir

A similar catchy tune can be found on the prototype of Mack’s spinning coaster, the Euro-Mir roller coaster. This roller coaster is a remarkable ride, because thanks to a drum lift and some blocks the capacity is high enough to keep the queue constantly moving, at least it does, if there aren’t any problems in the meantime. The ride is powerful and if you are lucky enough to ride the second part backwards, it’s really awesome. The curves tapering steadily towards the end form a racy finale, which you can unfortunately only find very rarely.

Whale Adventures

With the monorail arrived in Iceland you can see one of the biggest misdeeds of the park. How one can get the idea to remove the outer cannons of the interactive water ride Whale Adventures remains one of the biggest mysteries of all; after all, as a passenger one wants to get wet. The popularity of the attraction has at least suffered a big slump, after all, the ride is now only interesting for the smallest park guests.

Wodan – Timbur Coaster

In the background you can see a coaster that unfortunately hasn’t been awarded the title again until this year, because actually there should have been a wooden coaster at Europa Park long ago. Wodan – Timbur Coaster is the name of this gem from GCI, whereby the subtitle Timbur Coaster is of course absolute nonsense. Despite the fact that I didn’t really have any expectations of Wodan, I was positively surprised by the ride.

Wodan is, in contrast to most other GCI tracks, not a real Twister, but a mixture of Out & Back Coaster (straight course with several hills) and Twister (curves, baby!) and thus a mixture that doesn’t appeal to everyone and will disappoint especially the Twister fan fraction. Fans of the neat Out & Back layout will definitely find their fun on Wodan, though.

Walking through the queue of the wooden roller coaster Wodan you will be surprised at first how professionally everything has been laid out, after all you are not standing on uneven terrain somewhere between the wooden roller coasters like at Eftelings Joris en de Draak, but on a well constructed wooden path, pass some beautiful caves dedicated to various themes of Nordic mythology and march below the big helix at the beginning of the ride. Quite strange is the circumstance that nothing has been scribbled yet.

After finally being divided into the rows, the trip on Wodan can already start, but the trip to the lift alone is a real highlight. After climbing it, after an unexpectedly high drop, the ride continues with full force into the first curve only to be released quite steeply into the actual first drop. The following curves, tunnels, hills and valleys on Wodan are a dream, but the driving fun is interrupted by a rather unsuccessful part of the layout, only to be released into the last curve combinations. The whole thing is laid down on Wodan with a brute force I didn’t expect in Europa Park anymore, the constant high speed does its best.

Wodan is not a perfect wooden roller coaster, but it is one of the better ones I have come across from time to time. It beats the often highly praised twister Troy in his sleep, but can’t hold a candle to Joris en de Draak Water. Also in national comparison Wodan lags behind the colossus of the Lüneburger Heide, but in southern Germany it is the first choice, which is also a rather easy game with its one competitor.

Blue Fire Megacoaster

Since I criticized the neighboring Blue Fire Megacoaster three years ago too deeply, another ride had to be dared to update this criticism if necessary. As always, pure chance wanted me to take a seat in the second row and thus find an optimal basis for comparison, and to my surprise a lot has happened.

The dark ride part is still absolutely nonsense, after all there is now an animatronics that tells you that something is going wrong. The launch has increased in intensity and is now similar to the launch of a Vekoma Launched Coaster and not the Dutch company’s Motocoaster. Therefore the following part is not driven through so slowly anymore and you can finally guess that the looping is a looping. The part after the block brake is still not very exhilarating. The corkscrews are still going too fast, at least hangtime would be an advantage here, the curves that lead into the still failed roll are somehow stupid and so one is happy to be back at the station again.

Blue Fire is a nice roller coaster for in between, but that’s it, I still can’t understand the hype about the ride and probably never will. The real attraction next to Wodan in this area is and will be the coffee house in close proximity to Blue Fire.

Tiroler Wildwasserbahn

Passing Portugal with his wannabe Spillwater imitation Atlantika Supersplash, where I had to give up a ride due to time reasons and listlessness, I went to Austria to finally get wet. The Tiroler Wildwasserbahn is one of the best in Europe and due to its first shot it is definitely a very wet log flume. You won’t notice the age of the ride at all, so you can literally race through the canal, just like on the Wildwasser 1 in Heide-Park. It is nice to see parks taking care of their rides and renewing them if necessary.

Alpenexpress Enzian

The Powered Coaster Alpenexpress Enzian shares a grotto with the log flume and a walk through the magical world of diamonds. The ride itself has quite a bit of speed and, like the other attractions that share the grotto, is worth a ride just for the scent in it. The wave swinger next door shows that the park also knows a thing or two about rides and runs it, untypically, not on a low flame.

Jungfrau Gletscherflieger

Speaking of rides, the best flat ride Europa Park is in the Swiss themed area and is called the Jungfrau Gletscherflieger. This unique ride is not dissimilar to a Zierer hang-glider, but it offers much better comfort and more fun and can show a high degree of swing, especially when riding at ground level. Since the waiting time at most roundabout rides is close to zero, you should definitely try a ride or two on this ride.

Schweizer Bobbahn

The Schweizer Bobbahn in the same theme area is not really a good roller coaster despite its idiosyncratic layout, which you can somehow understand on a prototype. However, for the family audience of Europa Park, which certainly didn’t come in contact with any other bobsleigh coaster, this is certainly sufficient. But the beautifully designed inner courtyard and the general design of the coaster can convince.

Matterhorn Blitz

Three years ago, the extended Wild Mouse with vertical lift Matterhorn Blitz was my 100th roller coaster, a fact I was not very satisfied with. However, as my reputation against Wild Mice grew from year to year and I got to know the dead-braked X-treme racer from Legoland Billund, I have to admit that the ride is definitely worth a ride. Unfortunately the layout does not correspond to the standard layout and a certain madness as you can find on a Wild Mouse by Gerstlauer or Maurer Söhne is missing, but you can take a ride without hesitation, even if you should reconsider this at a certain queue length.

Eurosat

In the French themed area you can find by far the best roller coaster of Europa Park, the dark roller coaster Eurosat. Due to the immense capacity, one never really queues for a long time, even if the queue is full. The ride itself is very powerful, although slightly jerky and equipped with some strong jolts. The curve combinations are sometimes so bumpy that it can only be good. The biggest innovation are the magnetic brakes which bring the train to a halt with such a force and without any acoustic warning that it borders on sheer madness and underlines the characteristics of the track.

Universum der Energien

The ride Universum der Energien hidden under the roller coaster is the best dark ride in Europa Park. Some would say it’s the sleepy, boring boat ride Pirates in Batavia, but such a ride has to be consistent and not overloaded and that’s the ride through the land of the dinosaurs.

Silver Star

One of the novelties for this year can be found in the Mercedes Benz exhibition, where they have fortunately decided to decorate the walls with new motifs. To make the whole theme more French, the racing driver Michel Vaillant is now decorating the hall. Unfortunately, the cult intro song for the cartoon series was not included, which would have been good for Silver Star.

The ride, built by Bollinger & Mabillard, looks quite good from the outside, scores with its height and its speed, but apart from that the ride can’t do much. Unfortunately the ride comfort is not equal to any ride built by Intamin of this height and so there are annoying vibrations in the valleys. The floating airtime is unfortunately on a very low level, at least I remember it a bit more pronounced and the last curves don’t make the ride any better, so that the ride is the worst coaster of this manufacturer in Germany, even if the Black Mamba from Brühl is only a touch better.

Magic Cinema

At Magic Cinema you can watch a new film this year, which is a daring self-production. The story is suitable for children and seems to have been made perfect for the French audience by the well-rehearsed effects, after all I have never seen so many people being scared by such predictable things.

The animation of the film surprised me in a positive way, I only expect such a detail accuracy from a few companies, only at one point I would have wished for something more, because at least I could hardly make out a difference between before and after immersion in the water, and at the same time animals in particular should just drip with water. The 3D effects are offered in a purity that I have never seen before in a theme park. The child-friendly humor is very similar to the humour you are confronted with, especially in Denmark, which is a pity. There was a part with a flat joke that only I could laugh about, which, like in the new Muppet movies, speaks rather against the audience and not against the kind of humour. Here I would have wished for more in this respect. One part that could have been better avoided is the part with the Euromausi and the commentary about the men, in general you could have avoided the Euromausi in the film, because apart from the fact that she is there she makes no difference. Apart from the dubbing voice of Euromaus, it has to be pointed out that Böckli is one of the leading roles in the film, after all the best mascot of Europa Park, as well as the commentary with the wooden roller coaster Wodan.

Piccolo Mondo and Geisterschloss

In the Italian themed area you will find last year’s novelty, but also two dark rides. The short ride in Piccolo Mondo through Italy is well done, due to the high kitsch content again a bit too kitschy, for in between the ride is at least quite nice. The big dark ride Geisterschloss right next door offered a live assassin in the queue but otherwise the creepiness was gone. The ride is neither convincing as a dark ride nor as a ghost train, everything is mercilessly overloaded and simply not nice to look at. The fact that you leave the ride through the little horror shop doesn’t make the ride any better, but it gives you an idea for the redesign of the ride, because Audrey II would surely be happy about food on the assembly line.

Pegasus, Poseidon and Fluch der Kassandra

One area that is best visited late in the afternoon is the area of the EU’s problem child: Greece. Here you can find the witches swing Curse of Cassandra, the darkride expedition Atlantis, as well as the two roller coasters Pegasus and Poseidon.

Pegasus itself used to be the most airtime-rich roller coaster at Europa-Park, three years later I was surprised not to feel it anymore. In general, the ride did not stay in the same condition as before, so in contrast to the newer Carrecaminos Bip Bip from the Spanish Parque Warner, the ride was even slightly jerky.

Poseidon is still the epitome of a water coaster. A great, although at some points borderline, track and shot rides where you can also get wet with a little luck complete the experience. The setting of the ride and the possibility, like on Atlantika Supersplash, to get into a soak zone is still exemplary.

The fact that Spaniards babbling from all sides can spoil a ride in a witches’ swing was shown in Parque Warner, but that three prepubescent girls are enough is a pity and shows once again that the youth is absolutely spoiled. Such a type of attraction is only visited for one thing: the story and the music. Since the story is unfortunately lost in the Fluch der Kassandra anyway, you should at least be able to let the music take effect on you.

Pictures Europa Park

Closing Worlds

The Europa Park is and remains one of the best European theme parks, the fact that I didn’t watch any show this year was only because the only show I was interested in premiered at the end of the month with Ornella de Santi. Especially worth mentioning is the way the park’s opening hours are handled, so far no visitor has to leave the park before one hour after the original closing time, which is neither possible nor common practice at most other amusement parks.

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