Art Engineering Archives • Themeparkblogger

Preface

It has been a while since I visited Bad Wörishofen and their local amusement park the last time. Back then, I did a small internship at Gerstlauer Amusement Rides in nearby Münsterhausen and stayed at a friend’s house for quite some time. Since then, Skyline Park nearly doubled in size and some interesting rides came and go.

Skyline Park

As Skyline Park is one of the few theme parks, where a ride on a Funtime Slingshot is included in the entrance fee, I started my day in this area of the park. However, due to strong winds, the Sky Shot would not open on the day of my visit.

Also, the nearby Caripro Gyroflyer Sky Rider had some issues during its test run and had to be towed back to the station. The unique suspended spinning coaster did not run at all for the remaining time of my visit.

Sky Spin

As the queue for the Wiegang Bobkartbahn Bob Racing hardly moved at all, we continue our way to the spinning coaster Sky Spin. I rode this Maurer SC2000 twice on my only visit to the Oktoberfest in Munich so far. Back then the ride was still known as Cyber Space and was operated by the Kaiser family. Between 2003 and 2012, the ride was known as Whirlwind in the English Camelot Theme Park. After the park’s closure, the ride moved to Skyline Park in 2013 and continued to entertain its riders ever since. Unfortunately, the ride became quite jerky over time, which is a bit of a surprise when compared it to other installations of its kind.

Sky Dragster

Passing the Schwarzkopf Wild Cat Nostalgische Achterbahn, which I was not allowed to ride as a single rider (probably because of the Covid-19 rules), we now encounter another roller coaster made by Maurer. Skyline Park has a good connection to the Munich based manufacturer, which is why you can find two of their prototype coasters within the park. The first one was the SkyWheel and the second one is the Spike Coaster Sky Dragster.

The Sky Dragster is currently the only Spike Coaster in operation. Its design is a mixture between the classic Steeplechase coaster and a powered coaster, although the position of the rider is quite close to the rail. The cars are directly driven by a cogwheel which runs along a gear rack attached to the side of the track. Due to this configuration, a rollback is not possible, thereby the track can be bend in all different kind of crazy manoeuvres – it is even possible to accelerate the vehicle along a vertical stretch of track, which is otherwise quite complex to achieve on conventional track designs. Like a Bobkartbahn by Wiegand, the rider can control the speed of the vehicle and a control system adjusts the distance between the cars when needed. Moreover, everything is surveyed by the system, which on the one hand gives you a remarkably high security, but on the other hand led to a lot of issues during the first seasons of the coaster.

On the day of my visit, the coaster was running without issues. The track at Skyline Park features a long straight just after the station before you enter a horseshoe turn. This is directly followed by a 360° righthand curve. Two hills in a double-up fashion join immediately after. On the other side of the layout, you then enter a strangely banked upwards leading spiral. After a descend back to the station level, you then run through a very tight s-bend, before reaching the station. A second lap follows.

I really like the acceleration of the Spike Coaster. Compared to conventional powered coasters, the system is far less inert. The only thing I did not liked too much is the slow pacing on most of the elements on the Sky Dragster. I know that this is to limit the forces on the rider, yet it is kind of hilarious to allow a system to have a high degree of flexibility on the track design when you must regulate it massively to do so. However, if your design for the most part consists of straight sections, then this system is fine. Therefore, it does not surprise me, that the Spike Coaster will be most likely to be found exclusively on Cruise Ships like the Carnaval Mardi Gras. For a theme park, the low capacity of the ride is not at all justifiable, unless you are Mirabilandia and want to gain some extra revenue due to your fast pass system.

Sky Circle and Wildwasser 3

In the same corner as the Sky Dragster, you can find the Zamperla Turbo Force Sky Circle, as well as the large transportable log flume Wildwasser 3 by Mack Rides. It is the second transportable log flume of the park owner who found its way to Skyline Park. The first one was the Pirateninsel, which now have found a new home at Eiffelpark in Rhineland-Palatinate. The Wildwasser 3 was the largest log flume to be found on the German fair circuit and therefore features three shot rides, whereby the first one is being done backwards.

Allgäuflieger

Close to the Wildwasser 3, you can find the world’s largest Star Flyer. The chain swing Allgäuflieger offers a wide view onto open fields, the mountains and of course the Skyline Park just underneath. Due to strong winds, I had to give the ride a miss.

High Fly

A ride which I gave voluntarily a miss is the large inverting pendulum ride High Fly by SBF Visa, as I was already punctured by their restraints the day before on the Papageienflug at Tatzmania Löffingen and I did not want to risk it again. The High Fly is currently the largest inverting pendulum ride in Germany, but that record could be broken easily if a park is interested in doing so.

Sky Rafting

The next ride on our path through the park is Sky Rafting, formally known as Wild ‘n Wet. The transportable water ride by ART Engineering starts off with a vertical lift. Once at the top, a long slide section is initiated. Due to the curvy layout, the boats start to rotate heavily. A short drop nearby the end of the slide section comes a bit by surprise, as nobody in the boat knows who will get wet.

Kids Spin

Not as unpredictable, yet kind of spiny is the small spinning coaster Kids Spin. The small coaster by SBF Visa comes in the proven 3 loop layout, whereby upward leading curves to the right always lead into a downwards leading curve to the left. Due to the constant change in curvature, the cars can get a good spin. After several round, the train then comes to a stop in the station and the cars must be manually turned back into position before you can exit the ride.

Geisterschlange

Passing the large thrill coaster SkyWheel, we now have a look onto the ghost train Geisterschlange. The old ride by the showman Lehmann has found its retirement home at Skyline Park. The ride is simply a beauty of a ghost train and it is nice to see that it gets preserved for the future in an amusement park like Skyline Park.

Zero Gravity

As the weather during my visit got worse and worse and heavy rain started to fall around lunch, let us now have a look into the only indoor attraction at Skyline Park. The hall opposite of the cute Baustellenfahrt once offered a motion simulator. It is now home to the Rotor Zero Gravity by SBF Visa. The Italian company gave the famous ride concept a new life by introducing translucent walls to the ride, where traditional rides feature a wooden barrel. To further increase the friction, the walls are also angled and feature a rather rough surface. The ride could therefore run slightly slower, but it does not. For minutes you are now pressed onto the wall, which becomes more and more exhausting over time. The light show is a plus, nevertheless, I was quite happy when the ride finally came to a stop.

Pictures Skyline Park

Geisterschlange • Mack Rides Ghost Train

Highfly • SBF Visa Maxi Dance Party • Skyline Park

Nostalgische Achterbahn • Schwarzkopf Wildcat • Achterbahn

Closing Words

It was nice to get back to Skyline Park after so many years. Unfortunately, due to the weather and because of the Covid-19 guidelines, I could not give every attraction I wanted a try. Nevertheless, I was quite happy to have tested the new Sky Dragster roller coaster and spend some time with some classic rides before I moved on earlier than expected.

What is your opinion about the novelties of Skyline Park and the Sky Dragster? Just write them in the comment field below the report or in our social media channels:

Off to Ireland

Actually, the Irish themed area was last year’s novelty and it would certainly be more interesting to talk about this year’s novelty; but just like the redesigned children’s land with the children’s roller coaster Ba-a-a Express, the new flight simulator Voletarium will not open until the peak season. On the one hand, it’s a pity, as always, when a new attraction doesn’t open at the beginning of the season, on the other hand, it’s Europa Park – you’ll soon find out again anyway, regardless of the self-congratulation as the best amusement park in the world, the negative touch of this boastful advertising campaign is only of interest to the brains behind the advertising anyway; the rest knows anyway that Europa Park is one of the best amusement parks.

In contrast to other amusement parks worldwide, however, Rust is surprisingly down-to-earth when it comes to the design of the children’s area. In fact, they are surprisingly independent and do not rely on small children’s series licences, as is the case with the English population who are enticed en masse into these areas (whether at Paultons Park, Alton Towers or Drayton Manor). Instead, they trust their own concept and allow the former world of children to have a comprehensive theme area design with lots of humour and wit. St. Patrick at least can be satisfied, the Irish themed area is pretty nice.

Ba-a-a Express

The main reason for visiting the park on this Easter Sunday was a ride on the Ba-a-a Express, the park’s newest roller coaster. Designed and built by ART Engineering GmbH, with the rails themselves bent at Mack Rides, this small ride primarily entertains the park’s younger audience; whose entry into roller coaster riding previously could only be made on Pegasus or the Alpenexpress, or possibly on the Wild Mouse Matterhornblitz or the Schweizer Bobbahn.

The compact layout can be quickly reproduced and is just as easy to drive through. After you have gained a few meters of altitude in a right-hand bend equipped with friction wheels, you descend on a leisurely straight. This also leads immediately into a left-hand bend, whereby a change of direction follows just as quickly and you complete the rear turn. Thereupon a short S-curve follows, after which one reaches the station. All good things come in twos and so you cross the track once more before you finally come to a stop.

The Ba-a-a Express is a nice children’s roller coaster with a surprisingly comfortable train and an admittedly very interesting technology; after all, the floor of the station is lowered on both sides before the train can leave it, but the railings at the station ends are not folded away. I didn’t quite understand that, but I suspect maintenance reasons for this, because it really doesn’t seem to be safety-relevant to me. Well, for the target group the roller coaster definitely is more than adequate, and parents will certainly have fun during the ride, too. Moreover, the design of the ride is quite fluffy.