Erlebnispark Schloss Thurn in the small community of Heroldsbach, Bavaria is a medium-sized amusement park in Germany. Opened in 1975 in the gardens of a Baroque pleasure palace, the amusement park hosts a solid selection of family-friendy rides, interesting attractions and breathtaking shows.
Highlights of the Animal and Theme Park
Ritterturnier
What a Joust
Steampunk VR-Scooter
The awesome bumper cars experience
VR-Achterbahn
A nice family roller coaster with the option to use VR
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:
Roller coaster, Adventszauber, mascot and entrance area with show stage
Munich/Reisbach, 1 March 2023: Good news for all theme park fans! Bayern-Park, the excursion destination for the whole family, will be even more colourful in the coming season and will be coming up with various new attractions and events. The highlight is a new family roller coaster that offers fun and excitement even for the youngest adrenaline junkies. The season starts on 1 April and the last regular day of operation is 8 October 2023.
Open End Family Coaster
The new roller coaster will be a real eye-catcher! The open end of the track, which rises eleven metres into the sky, makes many visitors ask: Where does the ride go on the new Family Coaster?
The roller coaster, which was individually designed for Bayern-Park by the renowned company Gerstlauer Amusement Rides, is also suitable for small children and can travel both forwards and backwards thanks to an ingenious set of points and other special effects. The Family Coaster guarantees great fun for the little ones and still enough thrills to excite the whole family.
In addition, the amusement park will have a newly designed entrance area from Whitsun onwards. The lovingly and cosily designed area directly opposite the car park will then allow better access to Bayern-Park and faster entry at up to eight ticket booths. The new entrance area consists of a large forecourt, a half-timbered building with a new kiosk, a large fountain with a lion statue and a large show stage.
During the holidays, guests will be greeted by a life-size version of the mascot, the lion Franz Xaver. He received an update during the winter break and shines in new splendour. In cooperation with an animation studio, the “real Bavarian park animal” has been created as a fully movable 3D model as a further development of his analogue predecessor and will also be available as a merchandise item in the souvenir shop.
Bayern-Park Adventszauber
A special highlight awaits visitors even after the end of the season. On the first three weekends in December, Bayern-Park invites you to a stylish winter opening in an extraordinary ambience. In addition to fun and action in many rides, guests can look forward to Christmas decorations and treats, a festive show programme and a variety of market stalls – from regional to traditional.
Prominent guests and extraordinary events
A regular guest at Bayern-Park this year is Ben Blümel. The popular KiKa (german children’s TV) presenter, pop singer and actor is not only the new brand ambassador of Bayern-Park, but also a passionate theme park visitor and roller coaster lover himself. Visitors can look forward with anticipation.
In addition, there will be other events and special campaigns. On 22 April, the “Applicants’ Day” is on the programme. On this day, interested people can take a look at the leisure park and look over the shoulders of the various employees. From 5 to 7 May, the Bavarian Championships in Target Sprint, a combination of running and shooting, will be held on site. In addition to normal operations, those interested can watch the competitions here.
On 3 June, there is a must-attend event for all fans of the popular Eberhofer crime novels when actors from the films and fans meet at Bayern-Park for the first Franz-Eberhofer e.V. Fan Club Day. Then, on 31 July, there will be a big action day in aid of the Bavarian Radio charity Sternstunden e.V. with a world record attempt at Bayern-Park. And from 12 to 13 August, visitors from near and far can already look forward to the popular Sternkrieger und Fantasy Treffen (Star Wars and Fantasy Reunion).
The most important dates 2023 at Bayern-Park at a glance:
Date
Event
01.04.2023
Season opening
22.04.2023
Applicants' Day
28.-30.04.2023
Free admission for winter birthday children (birthday in the period 11.10. - 31.03.)
05.-07.05.2023
Target Sprint
03.06.2023
Franz Eberhofer e.V.-Fan Club Day
31.07.2023
Action day in aid of Sternstunden e.V. with world record attempt
12.-13.08.2023
Sternenkrieger- und Fantasytreffen (Star Wars and Fantasy Reunion)
12.-17.09.2023
Free entry for school starters
07.-08.10.2023
Last regular operating weekend
01.-03.12.2023
Bayern-Park Adventszauber
08.-10.12.2023
Bayern-Park Adventszauber
15.-17.12.2023
Bayern-Park Adventszauber
Secure tickets now
Bayern-Park opens its doors again on 1 April. The season ends on 8 October. Day tickets, season tickets and blue tickets (valid on all “blue”, i.e. normally less frequented opening days) as well as the corresponding vouchers are already available in the online shop.
Birthday children, regardless of age, have free admission on the day of their birthday upon presentation of ID. From 28 to 30 April, all “winter birthday children” up to the age of 13 who have a birthday during the closure period from 11 October 2022 to 31 March 2023 will also be allowed to “re-celebrate” their birthday and enter the park for free. At the beginning of the new school year, from 12 to 17 September 2023, first graders pay no admission fee and also receive a small gift.
What do you think about the new offerings at Bayern Park?Just write it here under the report in the comments field or in our social media channels:
Erlebnispark Schloss Thurn in the small community of Heroldsbach, Bavaria is a medium-sized amusement park in Germany. Opened in 1975 in the gardens of a Baroque pleasure palace, the amusement park hosts a solid selection of family-friendy rides, interesting attractions and breathtaking shows.
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. 
The new roller coaster will be a real eye-catcher! The open end of the track, which rises eleven metres into the sky, makes many visitors ask: Where does the ride go on the new Family Coaster?
During the holidays, guests will be greeted by a life-size version of the mascot, the lion Franz Xaver. He received an update during the winter break and shines in new splendour. In cooperation with an animation studio, the “real Bavarian park animal” has been created as a fully movable 3D model as a further development of his analogue predecessor and will also be available as a merchandise item in the souvenir shop.
