Energylandia
Little Kids Zone, Family Zone & Extreme Zone
When Energylandia opened in 2014, it was by no means foreseeable how rapidly the park would develop in the following years. What initially appeared to be a collection of numerous rides straight out of the Italian car bootleg, complete with a cheap and hackneyed design, has fortunately quickly blossomed into a very respectable theme park thanks to European funding.
The park’s beginnings can be seen – at least in part – in the three children’s rollercoasters Circus, Frutti Loop and Mars, none of which are anything special, as well as the Pyramid 7D cinema and the Space Gun and Space Booster rides in front of it. Despite the numerous measures taken by the theme park, the corner of the park looks rather cheap and not at all attractive.
Speed
Past the SBF Visa Happy Loops Spinning Coaster and the entrance to the Energylandia water park, the route now leads us straight to the Intamin water coaster Speed.
Once you have left the long queue behind you, the ride can begin. As the ride’s vertical lift is still a long way off, we bob along the canal for a while, whereby, interestingly enough, a pretty good whitewater feeling is created here, with the waves almost hitting the boat again and again and making us literally jerk away from the water droplets that are whirled up. As soon as we reach the lift, we quickly get to the starting height of 60 metres. With the best view of the park, we’re soon pushed over the crest. On the following 45° gradient, we gain a lot of momentum and immediately whizz through the first water basin and over a hill with hardly any braking. Here we take off a little before throwing ourselves into a fast Bavarian bend. Hoping to lose a little speed through the following block area, we now pass through it without any braking effect and are then released into a right-hand bend. A brisk downhill helix follows, but then turns into a hill, which introduces the final shot of the ride. Well soaked, we are released back into the canal and reach the station shortly afterwards.
As with Divertical at Mirabilandia, the ride on the Intamin Water Coaster Speed is really impressive. However, I don’t recommend anyone to attempt a ride in late autumn, as the ride can turn out to be a little wetter than expected and the full-body dryers in the park can’t really dry you out.
Jungle Adventure
From the exit of the Speed rollercoaster, it is not far to the station of the Intamin Rapids Ride Jungle Adventure, but once again the park has built a very long queue, the entrance to which is unfortunately on the completely opposite side. The ride itself is quite fast, but unfortunately, with the exception of a few rapids, very uneventful.
RMF Dragon
When the Danish Fårup Sommerland opened the Orkanen roller coaster, the amazement was huge. The layout, which was specially designed for the park, was built on a lake and dives into a tunnel directly after the first drop, while the rest of the ride route runs largely close to the ground and over the lake. When Energylandia copied the layout, a large pool was built and the ride in Zator did not dispense with the tunnel either.
Here too, the first drop leads us directly into a tunnel, with the entrance modelled on a dragon’s mouth. Back on the surface, the route leads us smoothly through an overbanked turn and over a small speed bump, which leads us into a wide helix. We immediately cross the station building, only to end up in another helix on the other side. A compact right-hand bend then leads us into a small dip, whereupon we enter the station building after another bend and our extremely entertaining ride unfortunately comes to an end.
Formula
One of the most important milestones of the Energylandia theme park is the small Formula launch coaster. After leaving the station, we immediately enter the launch track, where we accelerate to 80 km/h after a short stop. We then enter the large Sidewinder with plenty of pressure, which we then exit in a curve close to the ground. This then leads us over an airtime hill and immediately into the second inversion of the ride – a corkscrew. We also leave this in a curve close to the ground. After a short turn to the left, corkscrew no. 2 immediately follows, which leads us into a Bavarian curve. From then on, we make our way over hill and dale, before we reach the braking section shortly afterwards and our ride on this cream of the crop from Vekoma comes to an end.
Anaconda
Intamin Spillwater lives from its design. Here in Energylandia, the ride is completely naked in the area. Thanks to the eternally long queue, which once again starts at the other end of the ride, you also have a very good view of the ride’s supporting structure. As the manufacturer’s standard model, the ride offers two shots and a fairly modest level of wetness overall.
Mayan
The ride through the tried-and-tested SLC layout with the roll-over, sidewinder and the two inline twists is really impressive, which is mainly due to the modern trains and the resulting smooth ride – the Mayan roller coaster therefore shows in a very pleasant way that Vekoma suspended looping coasters are not bad roller coasters from the ground up.
Aztek Swing und Apocalypto
The Aztek Swing and Apocalypto rides were also opened in the theme park’s first year of operation and therefore hardly fit in thematically with the theme park. While the Aztek Swing is more popular, the small Top Spin Apocalypto is rarely used, which is simply because it can be easily overlooked.
Viking
The SBF Visa roller coaster Viking is a bottomless cheek; whoever came up with the idea of fitting a simple Crazy Mouse roller coaster with a over-the-shoulder restraint deserves to have to ride this roller coaster for eternity. Everyone else should avoid riding this rollercoaster.
Boomerang
The Boomerang family roller coaster impresses above all with its curves close to the ground and the small hill above the station. The layout itself resembles a figure of eight, with the two ends running over the loops.
After riding backwards up the lift hill, we descend rapidly and then go full throttle through the station. This is followed by a left-hand bend close to the ground and the aforementioned hill over the station, where a slight airtime sets in. After a right-hand bend under the lift hill, there is a hill over the first bend, which has a small bump in the middle. Here we come to a standstill, whereupon the reverse journey begins. A little more leisurely than before, we now make our way back to the station, where the rather pleasant ride comes to an end.
Atlantis, Splash Battle und Toffifee Gold Mine
Directly opposite the Boomerang children’s rollercoaster is the SBF Visa Rafting Atlantis, which – with the exception of a few tame rapids – is more like a calm water ride. Right next door, there are two more water rides with a much higher degree of wetness: Splash Battle and the Toffifee Gold Mine log flume.
Śmiejżelki Energuś
The family roller coaster Śmiejżelki Energuś is located directly at the entrance to the theme park. After a short curve and the subsequent lift hill, we immediately take a steep curve with a subsequent upward helix to the left, pass through a short valley and then ride through a wide right-hand curve near the station. Over a hill, we cross the route we have just travelled, whereupon we lose some height in another helix. This is followed by a left-hand bend, after which the braking section awaits. After one lap, the ride is already over.
Hyperion
The Hyperion roller coaster, which runs prominently alongside the theme park’s car park, characterises Energylandia like no other roller coaster. The Hyper Coaster from Intamin impresses with its 77 metres in height and the large out & back layout, which becomes more twisted towards the end of the ride.
The ride on Hyperion begins with the fairly fast lift hill, after which we immediately take on a descent of 82 metres. This is followed by two wonderful airtime hills, where we turn to the side on the crest of the second one and initiate the oversized dive drop. The rest of the route then takes us over several hills close to the ground before we take on another airtime hill. From then on, the route leads us through a large overbanked turn and immediately through a series of hills and curves close to the ground. With plenty of steam, we then race over another classic airtime hill before we are led into the braking section after a climb.
Hyperion is a really good roller coaster, which is characterised above all by the curves close to the ground after the big dive drop. The ride is extremely fast and – with the exception of the rear outside seats, which have an interesting swinging behaviour – absolutely worth experiencing.
Dragon Zone
The Dragon Zone is a medieval themed area on the other side of the access road to the theme park, which can be reached via a tunnel. In addition to the two family roller coasters Draken and Frida, the park’s large Ferris wheel and the RMC hybrid roller coaster Zadra are also located here.
Frida
The Dragon Zone also has its family roller coaster from Vekoma. However, the layout itself is unique in Europe, even though it is one of the most frequently copied Dutch-made installations and was built a total of 16 times in 2017 alone. The major customer in this case is the French company Carrefour, which ordered the rides for its Transmart shopping centres in Indonesia.
As in East Asia, the route first takes us to a height of 13 metres, whereupon we hurtle down a steep bend. This is immediately followed by a wide helix to the right, which then turns into an equally wide helix to the left. After a short turn to the right and a short turn to the left, we immediately find ourselves in the station of the ride. This is followed by a second lap on the family roller coaster, which is quite nice overall.
Zadra
The Zadra roller coaster is the largest roller coaster built by RMC to date. While many of the IBox Track Coasters have breathed new life into existing wooden roller coasters, Zadra is a completely new installation. Accordingly, the ride is more comparable to the Goliath roller coaster from the American theme park Six Flags Great America.
After climbing the 62.8 metre high lift hill, we are ready to go. With plenty of momentum, we are pulled towards the ground and immediately over a wave close to the ground. After a steep curve, the path leads us back towards the lift hill and immediately into the Zero-G stall, where we remain upside down for a few seconds and experience a very fine feeling of weightlessness. Back in an upright sitting position, the path immediately leads us behind the station, where we are first turned 90° to the right in an airtime hill before exiting it in a left turn. After a right-hand bend close to the ground, a classic airtime hill follows, which allows us to skilfully glide out of the seat. Shortly afterwards, we dive into the rafters in a zero-G roll. A steep turn is immediately followed by two smaller airtime bumps. A short turn then takes us to the other side of the wooden structure, where another zero-G roll awaits us. Shortly afterwards, we reach the braking section of the ride.
Zadra is a really good rollercoaster, although it is surprisingly gentle by RMC standards. Instead of being mercilessly sent from one airtime hill to the next at a rapid pace, the ride takes much more time – the pacing of the ride is therefore not quite as insane as on other rides, which also makes the ride itself feel much more rounded. It is a pleasure to get on here again and again, although this is made much more difficult if the shortcut at the lockers is closed during the course of the day and you have to walk through the overly long queue again as a result.
Aqualantis
The Aqualantis themed area shows once again how well Energylandia can realise themed areas when they try. In addition to a large number of rides from Zamperla, including the Disk’o Coaster Tidal Wave Twister, the area is particularly impressive with its two roller coasters Ekipa Light Explorers and Abyssus.
Ekipa Light Explorers
As every type of rollercoaster at Energylandia has to be built at least twice, there is also a Family Boomerang from the manufacturer Vekoma in this area. While the Boomerang roller coaster is rather compact, the track on Ekipa Light Exploreres takes you across the lake, with several small turns along the way.
Abyssus
Abyssus is basically the same roller coaster as Formula, only longer and bigger. After a rather leisurely launch, the track immediately leads us into a right-hand bend and over numerous turns with small airtime moments and wonderfully smooth curve changes before we reach the actual launch section. Here we are accelerated to the maximum speed of 100 km/h. We immediately ride up an interesting-looking hill, on the top of which we experience some really great airtime. Unfortunately, the descent is a little trimmed. Nevertheless, we cross the subsequent valley with a lot of pressure, as well as the following loop. An extremely fast right-hand bend then leads us into an airtime hill, whereupon the prominently placed Batwing at the entrance to the ride is initiated. This is travelled through very quickly and is the highlight of the ride. After a large turn and an airtime hill, a fairly flat corkscrew follows, which then leads us into a heavily banked airtime hill. After a fairly fast helix, there is one last quick turn, which then leads us into the braking section of the ride.
Abyssus is a really fine rollercoaster with a great layout and a very long track. Unfortunately, however, the ride is located at the very end of the theme park in a cul-de-sac, which will only be resolved at some point by the candy-themed area that has been under construction for years. As a result, you might want to think twice about whether you actually want to take the long walk to the rollercoaster or whether you would rather take a ride or two on Hyperion and Zadra.
Pictures Energylandia
Conclusion Energylandia
Energylandia is quite a pleasant theme park and home to many attractions. Accordingly, my image of the park is not necessarily the best, as apart from the very good roller coasters Abyssus, Formula, Hyperion and Zadra, there is also a lot of junk around. Two more roller coasters are currently being built, one of which will once again be a family roller coaster by Vekoma. The large number of very similar roller coasters does the park no favours, nor do the very extensive grounds and the miserably long queues. In addition, the division of the theme park into two parts creates a less homogeneous overall impression.
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