Drop Tower

Heide Park (2020)

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Heide Park and the Corona measures

You can see that Merlin Entertainments is a little more professional than the medium-sized company nearby. It is therefore less surprising that the Heide Park Resort is also making exemplary progress in its implementation of the Corona measures. The entrance including instructions on how to wear your mask in the park simply works smoothly. In the park itself this is a different game, as many visitors do not want to follow the rules. Masks can be worn at will, often they only cover the mouth and not the nose. Also keeping distance is often an unsolvable task during the course of the day despite existing and clearly visible ground markings. Only in the attractions themselves the rules are respected. This is a pity and only ensures a large number of announcements.

Despite maximum capacity, the Corona measures taken result in longer queues at each attraction. The staff is visibly trying to keep the operation running at its best despite the measures taken. In this respect I would like to thank all the ride ops in the park; you guys are really great!

But as the queues were partly too exhausting for myself, I enjoyed the day with only a few rides. Especially because of that it was a quite relaxed day all in all, where a lot of videos but also some photos were taken.

Pictures Heide Park

 
 

Videos Heide Park

 

Big Loop • Vekoma Looping Coaster • Offride

 

 

 

Limit • Vekoma Suspended Looping Coaster • Offride

 

 

 

Krake • B&M Dive Coaster • Offride

 

 

 

Flug der Dämonen • B&M Wing Coaster • Offride

 

 

 

Desert Race • Intamin Accelerator Coaster • Offride

 

 

 

Indy-Blitz • Zierer Force One • Offride

 

 

 

Panoramabahn • Mack Rides Monorail • Onride

 

 

 

Käptn’s Törn Onride • Mack Rides Round Boat Ride • Onride

 

 

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Heide Park

A visit to the original Movie World

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Warner Bros. Movie World

Warner Bros. Movie World is one of the best-known theme parks in Germany and one of the most influential movie parks in the world.  The park was founded in 1991 by the film studio Village Roadshow, which belongs to WarnerMedia, and is the model for our local Movie Park Germany. From 1996 to 2004, the film park was also known as Warner Bros. Movie World. The Spanish theme park Parque Warner Madrid is also based on the park on the Gold Coast and continues to use the licences of WarnerMedia.

While Parque Warner Madrid is a huge park and Movie Park Germany is also of respectable size, Warner Bros Movie World is rather small. Apart from the Main Street, which is well-known to visitors of Movie Park Germany, the park only consists of a small children’s area, the log flume Wild West Falls and a DC Heroes themed area, where almost all attractions of the amusement park are located.

Tour of the movie park

Green Lantern Coaster

This area is located directly at the entrance of the amusement park, but is not a dead end due to the clever integration of the roller coaster Arkham Asylum. Right at the beginning we come across the Green Lantern Coaster, an El Loco from S&S.

Climbing the steep and fast lift, it quickly goes into a combination of curves without any cross slope, which shortly afterwards leads into a steep 120.5° drop. The associated world record was short-lived, as Takabisha opened in Fuji-Q Highland just a few months later. With a small sideways turn, it immediately goes up to the first block brake.

This is followed by a curve that could be used more often in various roller coasters, as the outwardly inclined section of the track is quite impressive. Unfortunately, this part is completed soon after and a seemingly conventional curve follows, which, however, becomes more and more inclined towards the end and quickly puts you in an overhead position. The hangtime is very pronounced and you are quite happy to fall towards the ground in a half loop shortly afterwards. However, the ride is not over yet and another incline with a subsequent barely regulating block brake follows. The last traditional curve comes next, which ends in a downhill heartline roll – actually the most interesting element of the ride. A trivial turnaround in the form of an Immelmann turn follows, after which the ride ends abruptly.

Thanks to the wider cars and the increased ride comfort due to the lack of shoulder claws, the ride on the Green Lantern Coaster is much more fun compared to other (almost) identical rides. The ride is exciting and bizarre – basically a bit Loco.

Batwing Spaceshot and Justice League: Alien Invasion 3D

Directly opposite is the Batwing Spaceshot, a vertical drop ride by S&S, which takes you up to a height of 61m at high speed. Once you’ve reached the top, you’ll get a good dose of airtime and a big grin in your face.

The entrance to the dark ride Justice League: Alien Invasion 3D is located in a hall behind it. Previously, the simulator Batman: The Ride was located here. The dark ride, developed by the Sally Corporation, combines large plastic scenes with 3D screens where you have to fight off the aliens of the villain Starro before they take control of all mankind. It’ s the kind of delightful fun you’d expect from Sally. The ride itself was later the inspiration for Justice League: Battle for Metropolis, which can be found in various Six Flags parks.

DC Rivals HyperCoaster

One of the reasons to visit Warner Bros Movie World is the DC Rivals HyperCoaster. The roller coaster by Mack Rides has a breathtaking out & back layout including a highly twisted first drop, a 40m tall non-inverted loop, as well as a multitude of breathtaking turns and airtime hills and the possibility to experience it backwards for a small extra charge. It’s just a shame that the roller coaster was closed during my visit.

The DC Rivals HyperCoaster was not all that was closed on the day I visited. Actually, the Village Roadshow Theme Parks allow quite easy planning of the visit, because there is a maintenance calendar for each individual park, but they don’t plan these periods very well, so that the individual attractions usually have a longer maintenance period. At the same time, however, visitors are not informed about this, so that they are first confronted with it on site. Other amusement parks that are open all year round, such as the Disneyland Parks or Efteling, show how it could be done better, and the nearby Dreamworld amusement park does it better without question.

Road Runner Roller Coaster

Thus, once past the closed Roxy Theatre, we were drawn to the children’s area on the right-hand side of the main street. Some time ago, this was where the Looney Tunes River Ride used to be, but it was replaced by a covered money printing machine, the Junior Driving School. The Road Runner Roller Coaster, the theme park’s first roller coaster, has been located in the outdoor area in front of it since the year 2000.

Interestingly, the children’s roller coaster Coyote’s und Roadrunner’s Achterbahn from the German branch of Warner Bros. Movie World was used as a model for this roller coaster, but the elaborate rock structure of the roller coaster was not used on the Gold Coast. The coaster does, however, have a second train, which means that you only do one lap at a time through the tried-and-tested roller skater layout of the manufacturer Vekoma.

Hollywood Stunt Driver 2

Past the small collection of children’s rides, we are now drawn to the theme park’s big stunt show. Hollywood Stunt Driver 2 offers a similar spectacle to Moteurs… Action! Stunt Show Spectacular from the Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris and thus a very strong focus on filming with a few selected performers. We can be glad that Movie Park Germany continues to focus on a jam-packed stunt show like the original Police Academy Stunt Show with Crazy Cops New York. Unfortunately, the show over here was no good.

Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster

A roller coaster has moved into the former Gremlins dark ride building at both Warner Bros. Movie World theme parks over the years. Here on the Gold Coast, the Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster was created in 2002 and is based on the Scooby Doo live-action film of the same year.

The ride begins with the familiar ghost train ride from the film. The whole thing is peppered with a few small drops, swinging axes and animatronics worth seeing. Basically, the Spooky Doo Spooky Coaster is a dark ride well worth seeing, but then we enter the ride’s vertical lift. Accompanied by a scene in which Scrappy Doo mutates into a monster, we leave it facing backwards. Shortly afterwards we plunge down a 7m drop. On the other side of the ride we change direction again on a turntable. Accompanied by the song Scooby Doo, Where are you? we now go through the well-known course of a classic wild mouse. Where we would normally expect a double shot, we drive straight into a brake after only one shot. Shortly afterwards, we leave the Sound Stage, where a large part of the roller coaster is located. After a short interlude, another 3m high drop awaits us and soon the exit station of the ride.

Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster is a great roller coaster, but thanks to its limited capacity it often has a longer queue. However, the ride in the extended Wild Mouse is quite something and makes you leave the ride in a good mood – although the actual roller coaster ride mainly takes place in a dark hall with a light show.

Doomsday Destroyer and Wild West Falls

Passing the Doomsday Destroyer – a suspended version of the popular Kamikaze ride built by Intamin – which offered a very solid ride, we now approach the western area of the theme park. The only attraction in the area is the log flume Wild West Falls, the only remaining attraction based on the film Wild Wild West. Originally, however, the ride was supposed to be based on the film Rio Bravo, which is also reflected in the existing theming of the ride.

After crossing the rather long queue, you can immediately take a seat in one of the boats. Shortly afterwards, the boat bobs past the maintenance hall of the ride towards the first lift hill. Once you have reached the top, you drive into the huge mountain massif where the first turntable is waiting for you. This then releases the boat into the first shot, which is completed backwards. This is followed by a small hill. Shortly afterwards, the descent into the cool water starts, whereby the level of wetness is still very manageable. After a bend, you reach another turning point, whereupon the boat moves forward again. The river now takes you unspectacularly through a canyon, an Indian village and the western town of Dogde City before entering the mine again. Once you reach the highest point of the ride, you are brought into position again via a turntable, whereupon the second and final shot is initiated. When you reach the bottom, you are pleasantly moistened. This is followed by the return journey to the station.

I love water rides from Hopkins and Wild West Falls is an all-round successful water ride with a great setting and two breathtaking drops. However, compared to the log flume Rio Bravo from Parque Warner Madrid, it is in many ways the weaker ride. The revision of Wild West Falls, built by Intamin, scores mainly with its airtime, which is unfortunately completely missing here on the Gold Coast. The ride in Spain also seems to be in a slightly better state. Nevertheless, the log flume Wild West Falls is not to be missed.

WB Studio Showcase

On the way to the next attraction, we stopped by the WB Studio Showcase, where some props from recent WB productions, including The Great Gatsby, Shazam!, Suicide Squad and Mad Max, were on display during our visit. Unfortunately, this was also the only attraction that took up the original idea of the movie park. I would have liked to see more of this.

Arkham Asylum – Shock Therapy

The Vekoma Suspended Coaster Arkham Asylum – Shock Therapy should have been open on the day we visited. On a later day, the ride was also closed until further notice. In fact, the coaster has not been operated since then and will probably disappear from the park soon. I would have loved to do a lap on the SLC with its bonus helix, as the ride also featured the VR film known from Parque Warner.

Superman Escape

The last attraction on our tour is the Superman Escape roller coaster. The queue for the roller coaster is rather inconspicuous and ends in front of automated doors behind which the MRT (Metropolis Rapid Transit) underground can be boarded.

The journey begins quite leisurely. However, it soon becomes clear that our situation is a little more tricky. Warnings of earthquakes ensure that we do not stop at the next stations. Burst gas pipes, which led to the blowing up of a pumping station, cause the railway tunnel to flood and suddenly police cars also crash into the tunnels. Although the situation seems hopeless, Superman comes to our rescue at the last moment. What follows is a breathtaking rollercoaster ride, starting with an insanely good hydraulic launch.

At a good 100 km/h we immediately climb a 40m high top hat, which we enter straight and leave to the side. After a high-pressure right turn along the ground, we immediately enter an airtime-rich camelback. This is followed by a left turn where we drive through a hall. After another turn, the path leads us through a further right turn close to the ground before we change direction again on the following hill and soon find ourselves in the braking section of the ride.

Superman Escape is a mercilessly good roller coaster. The ride through the compact layout is extremely tough and convinces with its fast turns and great airtime. Unfortunately, however, the roller coaster is only located at Warner Bros Movie World and not here at Movie Park Germany, which in turn reveals some weaknesses. The low capacity of the ride in a a one train operation is exacerbated by the high number of fast pass users, so that unfortunately you have to queue for a very long time at this ride. Movie Park Germany now has the immersive tunnel The Lost Temple and the roller coaster Star Trek Operation Enterprise in the same place, but I really wish they had taken another inspiration from the park on the Gold Coast.

Pictures Warner Bros. Movie World

Conclusion Warner Bros. Movie World

Warner Bros. Movie World, you must have been a really good theme park once. In the early 90s you surprised everyone with your concept, but now there’s almost none of that magic left. You’re more like a classic theme park these days, but your roller coasters can hardly hide your lack of attractions and shows. To be honest, I really wonder how one is supposed to spend a whole day here. A question that, interestingly enough, you would never ask at your younger sister in Bottrop.

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Hell Yeah, Schnabelteah Day 15 to 19 / Warner Bros. Movie World

The Final Countdown

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History of the Theme Park Dreamworld

In 1974, John Longhurst bought 85 hectares of land to put his dream of building a theme park into practice. With a few attractions, Dreamworld opened to the public on December 15, 1981. A year later, the first expansion led to the world’s longest steel double loop rollercoaster, the Thunderbolt. With time, the park more and more expanded. In 1989 the park was sold to Bruce Jenkins’ Dreamco, yet due to Dreamco’s financial trouble in 1990, Ernst & Young, Receivers and Managers were appointed by the Mortgagee, IOOF Friendly Society, to take control. In 1994, Dreamworld successfully ended its liquidation. In 1995 the Park was sold to Singaporean Businessman and investor Mr Kua Phek Long. One of his first investments then put Dreamworld on everybody’s lips, as the fastest and tallest coaster was coming to the Gold Coast in 1997: the Tower of Terror. Two years later, Dreamworld was acquired by the Macquarie Leisure Trust, now Ardent Leisure Group.

Tour of the park

Sky Voyager

If you walk through the Disney-esque Entrance building, you find yourself directly in front of the Dreamworld globe. On both sides of the plaza, you can find buildings with typical Australian architecture, yet also a very futuristic looking building, which is home to Australia’s first flying theatre: Sky Voyager.

The large-scale motion simulator by Brogent Technologies features a very impressive flight along several famous Australian landscapes. We take off at the Gold Coast, have a look at the Wallaman Falls, follow the Tully River, fly over the Lancelin Sand Dunes, have a look at the Twelve Apostels from the seaside and experience a firework at the Sydney Harbour – the scenes are all loosely connected, yet the transition is always fluent, which gives you an overall coherent experience. Overall, Sky Voyager is one of the best Flying Theatre, I’ve experiences so far.

Buzzsaw

Right next to it, the roller coaster Buzzsaw was set at a very prominent position right at the edge of the park and very close to the entrance of Dreamworld. The ride itself was a Maurer Skyloop XT150, as you can still find them at several theme parks along the globe. It was the third SkyLoop, I’ve tried and yet I was still not very impressed with it. The extreme hangtime at a height of 46m, the descending heartline roll and the rush towards the ground creates a great experience, which is best when only experienced once. Buzzsaw was by no means a popular ride, so it isn’t a surprise that Dreamworld closed the ride for good after just 10 years of operation at the end of August 2021.

Giant Drop

Passing along the future site of the Steel Taipan roller coaster and former site of the Thunder River Rapids Ride, which had to be closed after a fatal accident where a boat was flipped on the ride’s lift, we now have a look on one of the main attractions at Dreamland: The Giant Drop.

For a very long time, there was no drop tower being taller than the Giant Drop and up to this date it is still in the top three just behind Lex Luthor’s Drop of Doom (122m, 2012) at Six Flags Magic Mountain and Zoomanjaro: Drop of Doom (126m, 2014) at Six Flags Great Adventure. All rides were attached to the support structure of a roller coaster made by Intamin. Yet, the Giant Drop was first and with a drop height of 115m it is not particularly lower.

Just one year after the inauguration of the world’s fastest and tallest coaster Tower of Terror, the 119m tall Dreamworld Tower received its second and final attraction when two drop lanes were installed to both sides of the roller coaster’s track. To maximise the ride’s capacity, both lanes feature a gondola for eight people each.

After leaving the heavily themed queue, we soon take place in the gondola to the front. After checking the restraints, we soon start our journey to the top of the tower. During our ascent, a vehicle from the Tower of Terror coaster gets the tower into vibration whilst shooting towards us. With a great view onto the surroundings, we then spend some time at the top before the Giant Drop. The hook releases the car, and we drop towards the ground accelerating to a max speed of 135 km/h before we hit the brakes and the awesome ride comes to an end.

Rocky Hollow Log Ride and the Dreamworld Corroboree

Past the now closed log flume Rocky Hollow Log Ride, which was not operating on my day of visit, we now enter Dreamworld Corroboree. This area is home to the Vintage Car Adventure ride, as well as a bunch of animal enclosures. Here, we can have a look to native Australian animals like dingoes, koalas, and kangaroos. Interestingly, the park is famous for its koala breeding programme. It is rather amusing to see how many Asian travel groups are guided into this part of the park only to take some pictures of them holding a koala.

ABC Rids World

Through the toddler area ABC Kids World, where the small trackless dark ride Big Red Car featuring the Australian children’s music group The Wiggles is located, we now make our way towards the first installation of the family launch coaster by Intamin is located.

Mick Doohan’s Motocoaster

Similar to the Motorbike Coaster by Vekoma, Mick Doohan’s Motocoaster features a seating position which resembles the one on a 500cc racing bike. In comparison, the train design is slightly more complex, which makes the boarding a bit harder. Here, you have to climb onto your seat first, move your upper body under the harness, pull the front part of the bike towards you (which also locks your legs in place) and then the harness will be automatically moved into position. As only the bike’s side panel fixes your legs from any sideways movement, a rough surface keeps it from moving in any other direction, which makes the ride a rather uncomfortable one. But you could ride in a sidecar, which features a more traditional ride experience located in the back two rows of a train. Due to its lower high restriction, these are a great way to experience the ride with your kids.

After boarding is completed and everything is clear, the ride immediately starts with its launch. After reaching the ride’s top speed of 72 kph, we now enter an ascending wide curve which leads us to the highest point of the ride reaching 7m. A wide curve to the left gets us a bit closer to the ground and soon we race over a small bunny-hop. After another 270° curve close to the ground, we change direction and climb a bit upwards in a helix. This is then followed by a wide curve to the left, which features a small dip in the middle. We then make our way towards the front of the ride in a bunch of alternating curves. After a short hop, we then hit the brakes. A short turnover then leads up to the station’s exit position.

Mick Doohan’s Motocoaster could be a great ride if the bikes would be slightly more comfortable. The fast-paced layout loses a bit of momentum towards the end of the ride, yet it has a ton of great curves which makes up for that, so that in an overall rating the ride features an okay experience.

The Claw and Tailspin

The Claw on the other hand is a superb ride. The monstrous looking pendulum ride by Intamin features a very high acceleration which in return led to a very fast-paced experience with tons of airtime and a lot of pressure. This Gyro Swing is brilliant!

Right next to The Claw, we can find the entrance to Tailspin – a ride where the riders can actively control how intense they want their experience to be. As a daredevil myself, I like to have tons of rollovers on a Gerstlauer Sky Fly – something, which was very easy to achieve back in the past, when the first models came up. Tailspin on the other hand is a rather new model and a rollover therefore isn’t as easy to initiate, yet still manageable; once you did the first one and hold your wings in position it is easy to do a lot more in a row.

HotWheels Sidewinder

Past the closed Disk’o Coaster Shockwave, we now make our way to Dreamworld’s large Looping Coaster: HotWheels Sidewinder. The ride was recently redeveloped to the Gold Coaster and got a surfing theme – a very fitting move if you ask me.

The Arrow Coaster previously known as the Big Dipper at Milton Points Luna Park in Sydney moved to Dreamworld at the end of the 2001 season. As the ride was tailored to fit into a very specific footprint at Luna Park, which is why the station is located high above the ground, a new entrance and exit path had to be designed to bring the guest to and from the ride. Unfortunately, Dreamland has chosen to install a large spiralling ramp, which takes ages to climb. Once at the top, we cross a small bridge and wait until the previous guests have left the station and the doors open for boarding.

The ride starts with a small dip out of the station. In a left-hand turn, we rapidly approach the ride’s lift hill. Arrived at a height of 40m, we immediately take another small dip and a turnaround, before we drop down. With full throttle, we now race into a large turn, which takes us high above the ground. After another drop, we then take a long turn to the left before we make our way into the waterpark Whitewater World. Here we rush through a long left-hand curve close to the ground before we initiate the first inversion of the ride: a sidewinder. Here, we first turn to the left while rotating around our axis before we plunge down towards the ground in a half loop. This is followed by a full vertical loop. Soon after, we take a large hill, race over a long straight into a turnaround and come to a stop in the ride’s station.

The HotWheels Sidewinder is a very nice coaster, which reminds me a bit of a mine train. The ride has a very fun pacing, albeit the layout is a bit off due to its main elements being placed at the end of the ride. Therefore, the HotWheels Sidewinder is more about speed and acceleration than it is about inversions and honestly, I liked that a lot. Surplus, the ride has a great smoothness to it, which makes it a good ride for tons of re-rides.

DreamWorks Experience

The DreamWorks Experience is a large themed area with dedicated areas for three of the studio’s most popular films: Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar and Shrek! While Shrek’s Faire Faire away is home to many of the park’s children rides, the two other areas all feature one of Dreamworld’s mayor attractions. Unfortunately, the suspended family coaster Escape from Madagascar in the Madagaskar Madness area was down for maintenance.

Pandamonium

Next to the Skadoosh Bumper Cars, you can find in Kung Fu Panda Land of Awesomeness the Zamperla Air Race Pandamonium. The popular ride comes in two experiences: soft-style and hard-style. While the soft-style cycle just rocks a bit sideways without going upside down, the hard-style run cycle is pure madness! I have been on quite a lot of these rides before, but Pandamonium is way faster than most of them and features far more rollovers. I had a blast!

Tiger Island

We now could get to the next ride via the adjacent souvenir shop, but we chose to have a look onto Tiger Island before. This large area is home to two animal enclosures, as well as a large area used for the Tiger presentation. You can also take a picture with you and a tiger over here.

Tower of Terror II

When I planned my Australian road trip, I had no clue that Tower of Terror II will close. Once the announcement was made by the park, I was very happy that the final day of operation would be during our planned trip to the Gold Coast, so that I did not even have to reschedule the entire trip to ride Intamin’s first opened launch coaster for the first and last time.

When the Tower of Terror opened in 1997, it was the tallest and fastest ride on earth. Together with Superman: Escape from Krypton at Six Flags Magic Mountain, the ride held the speed record till Dodonpa at Fuji-Q Highland opened to the public in 2001 and the height record until Top Thrill Dragster opened at Cedar Point back in 2003. In 2010, the Tower of Terror received an overhaul consisting of a new theme and new trains. It was time to Face Gravity, Face First on the Tower of Terror II.

After passing through the ride’s iconic skull entrance and the futuristic queue, I boarded the ride for the first time on November 2nd, one day before the ride’s closure. Unfortunately, the ride was down for most of the day of our visit. I returned for the last day of operation for several re-rides, as well as one of the last rides being held on that day. It was an amazing experience to walk through the skull and listen to Europe’s Final Countdown while doing so.  Overall, the excitement of the enthusiasts to catch the final Escape Pod was contagious.

The ride itself was an exciting experience. Once the vehicle was cleared, the lights of the boarding area are turned down and a countdown sets in. The light effect in the tunnel starts to go faster and faster and all the sudden the vehicle starts accelerating. For the next seven seconds, we accelerate to the max speed before we start to climb the tower. Now in a vertical position, the car loses more and more of its momentum while we are experiencing some of the finest airtime on a coaster. For several seconds, we now face gravity before plunging down again. We then race back into the tunnel, where we are smoothly reducing our speed and come to a halt in the station. After disembarking the ride, we then walk through a small corridor and take a lift ride into the shop.

Tower of Terror II was a great coaster! The ride was all about the launch, which was perfectly set in place by the lightning effects and noise in the tunnel. It just felt super-fast for a very long time. Once on the tower, the ride surprised everyone by its long-during airtime and the views towards the ground. I was glad, that I had the chance to experience such an iconic coaster on its last days of operation. I just wish, I could do it again.

Pictures Dreamworld

Conclusion Dreamworld

Dreamworld is a very nice theme park with a very solid ride collection. You can easily spend a full day at the park and the adjacent water park Whitewater World. Nevertheless, inform yourself in advance which rides will be closed on the day of your visit, as unfortunately the park’s line-up was reduced quite a bit during the past few years and closed attraction might not give you the best impression of the theme park. Having new attractions in the pipeline, I just hope that the current strategy of the Ardent Leisure Group will pay off.

 

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Click here for the next report of the Hell Yeah, Schabelteah! Tour

Dreamworld / Hell Yeah, Schnabelteah Day 15 to 19