Fort Fun Abenteuerland

Wild eagles and fog-shrouded tracks

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Preface

It was crazy to go back home one day after driving 500km to the south, only to drift off towards the Netherlands. On the other hand, the trip to the Fort Fun Abenteuerland in Sauerland to test the new attractions, including the Top Spin Yukan Raft, was a necessary part of our plan, which no minefield in Hesse could stop us from doing. Our trip was unforeseenly made more expensive by the community of Wetter and their hilarious and unfortunately very modern photo equipment by 25€. Therefore, it is no wonder that the more beautiful part of the Sauerland makes fun of the neighboring Hesse by a mercilessly oversized number of speed cameras, namely a single one (even with a warning when entering the state).

Arrived at the cash desk of the Fort Fun Abenteurland we first got ourselves the annual passes which are very important for us to mercilessly and honestly raid the service station. On the question if we are only here for the vouchers we got the tip that you don’t even have to come to Fort Fun, after all the annual tickets including the vouchers can be sent by mail. A great offer for the coming years, of course, but on the other hand, the park under the guidance of the Companie des Alpes is definitely worth a visit.

Tour of the park

Wild Eagle

At the time of the visit, not too many people saw this, so that the rush was very limited and apart from a company meeting, hardly any other guests got lost in the foggy abysses of the park. For this reason Jan, Julian and I dared to take a ride on the Wild Eagle, which is an upcharge attraction for only 1€ p.p. and really doesn’t matter to anyone. The Wild Eagle is a suspended ride. Lying on your stomach, it is pulled backwards up the mountain to reach its maximum flying height about halfway down the Alpine Coaster Trapper Slider. Shortly after that it goes flying downhill, whereby the actual ride pleasure is very limited in order to be braked very early. All in all, the whole thing was an action you should do once if there is a reasonable waiting time at the ride, but you can also do without it.

Speed Snake

So early in the morning there was a wonderful atmosphere at the Vekoma roller coaster Speed Snake. The undeniable photogenicity of the Arrow’s rail profile and the all around existing infrastructure made for countless photos, even though most of them could be taken without a train. In order to make this possible for Jan and Julian, I decided to take a ride in the second car, which strangely enough just hopped over the rail, while all the other cars offered a smooth and rock solid ride.

Rocky Mountain Rallye

Further down in the valley and past the still closed Marienkäferbahn (ladybird coaster), which was still closed due to the cold, and the luckily removed children’s parking area, we made our way to the Rocky Mountain Rallye, the newly designed Monza track. Although the changes were really only made on a small scale, the ride now appears coherent in the overall concept of the park.

Yukan Raft

The second innovation this year, Yukan Raft, is similarly coherent. As with the Indoor Round Up Dark Raver, Fort Fun has proven that they have a knack for designing used rides appropriately and making them interesting. The fact that the ride on the Yukan Raft turns out to be outstanding is something you can be very happy about with a permanently installed Top Spins, because such an exciting ride as well as an intensive ride has rarely been offered by the showman Plaenert, who previously owned this ride, although he could be taken as a benchmark for a good ride.

Secret Stage of Horror

On the top level of the park, the last novelty since my last visit is revealed to the visitors. This is the newly designed and highly praised ghost train Secret Stage of Horror, which did not really surprise us. Where the ride was a very bizarre but good ghost train before, it is now a good ghost train with really good ideas, but somehow nothing more. The video projections are all good, the house in general is really well darkened, but during the ride nothing happens and the rest of the ride is not enough to really get you into the story line.

Pictures Fort Fun Abenteuerland

Conclusion Fort Fun Abenteuerland

Although I considered Fort Fun a good park on my last visit, this visit helped me to see it as one of the better parks in Germany. The Companie des Alpes is doing a lot of work here, although they wanted to sell the park. The existing territory leaves room for more and so one can only hope that in the future more people will make their way to Fort Fun Abenteuerland to make room for further investments.

 

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Fort Fun Abenteuerland

Scharmützelbob (2012)

Close to the town of Fürstenwalde/Spree you will find the Scharmützelbob, an Alpine Coaster from Wiegand, well signposted in a wooded area. However, the Lake Scharmützel, which gives the coaster its name, is a few kilometres away.

The ride, which was built in 2010, is one of the younger representatives of its kind and features two lifts which are not installed at the beginning and the end of the ride, but which, like many Minetrain roller coasters, initiate two rapid descents. Due to the compact design of the ride another factor of complexity is brought into play, which is simply missing on the very simple track layouts of comparable rides and provides more dynamics and fun.

The Scharmützelbob is a pretty good Alpine Coaster, which is mainly due to its route and the quite fast downhill runs after the lifts. Compared to the great rides Hasenhorn Coaster and the Trapper Slider in Fort Fun Abenteuerland in Bestwig, the ride is not as exciting despite its twisted course, but it is much more impressive than most of the other ones of its kind. A ride is therefore highly recommended.

 

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Brandenburg

The Air Meeting of Nigloland

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Nigloland

Since 1987, the amusement park Nigloland has been located on the outskirts of the French village Dolancourt. It was founded by the showman brothers Gélis, following the example of Europa-Park in Rust. Over the years, the park has developed like no other French amusement park from a regional to a national destination in the middle of the beautiful Champagne region.

Anyone who now expects a park like the Walygator at Maizière-lès-Metz, due to the showmanship background of the park founders, will probably be pleasantly surprised. After entering Nigloland, the first glimpses fall on the beautifully shaped park landscape, which by French standards is simply outstanding. In this area you will find mainly more leisurely rides, such as the vintage car ride, the jungle raft ride or the grand prix, which looks amazingly similar to a certain ride from the Sauerland Fort-Fun Abenteuerland.

If you now turn left, you enter the Canadian part of Nigloland, which unfortunately is a dead end. Here you will find a log flume and a powered coaster made by Mack Rides as well as a nice little cogs ride.

Rivière Canadienne

The log flume Rivière Canadienne is, as so often in France, equipped with only one shot, but the layout is integrated wonderfully into the surroundings and thanks to the Train de la Mine, which is built in sections over the ride, a beautiful interplay of both rides is created. Even if the level of wetness was not particularly high, the ride alone is convincing due to its good condition and excellent decoration.

Gold Mine Train

To get to the powered Train de la Mine you first have to leave the nicely designed queue behind you and climb into the depth of the mine. The ride itself is quite surprising and can show some funny changes of direction. The speed of the train is constantly high, even if the last curve during the last lap is a borderline experience.

Grizzli

Somewhat more hidden in this area are the Zamperla Disk’o Coaster Grizzli, as well as the station of the Mississippi boat tour. While the second ride opened later, Grizzli enjoyed many satisfied passengers. Just like the Cobra from the English Chessington World of Adventures, Grizzli is not only a great ride, but also offers an outstanding design.

Manoir Hanté

Passing the ship swing Galion Pirate we now enter the righthand part of Nigloland. On this stretch of the path you usually meet a lot of people, so you might think that this area would be quite empty, which of course it is not. The first highlight in this area is the old Manoir Hanté, which is a bit on the edge of the path.

Through an access to the cellar you can reach the inside of the Manor House, where the ghosts are already waiting for you. In the self-built ride you take a ride in unique carriages, which turn more or less in the desired direction due to the inclination of the track. The ride is unexpectedly harmonious, both in terms of the rotation and the scenes. All of them genuinely tell a story line and are not stuffed with all kinds of junk like at the Geisterschloss in Europa-Park. Along with the comparable ride from Disneyland Park, this is definitely one of the better rides of its kind.

Air Meeting

Back in daylight, the next highlight is already waiting in direct sight. The new for 2012 ride was still advertised in the brochure under the name Sky Fly, which has now been changed to Air Meeting – a name that does not necessarily make sense. Nevertheless, the prototype installation from Gerstlauer is something very special, which should be placed in a similar form in every theme park. Apart from the absolutely positive feedback from the audience, which looks up to the sky full of astonishment and wonders how one can make a rollover so quickly, the operators also have a lot of fun giving the flying audience tips for the perfect ride.

That these tips were mostly given with a reference to some of the pilots was at least an honour for me, after all the staff themselves were amazed what some pilots got out of the second day of the ride. During my first ride I was quite astonished how fast one could make a rollover, during the 90 seconds of driving time there were 39 more, which was about the normal number of rollovers. The second ride showed that it is still possible to bring the whole thing to the top, where even the centrifugal force became so strong that my glasses had the constant urge to be pushed outwards and slowly move away. Even after I let go of a wing because of this, the rotation did not decrease. The fact that you only see circles during the 80-90 rollovers underlines the extremes of the ride – if you want it that way.

During the rest of the day there was a constant urge to visit the ride again and again to show the French audience of Nigloland how it really works. Hardly any other ride in this park captivated us as much as Air Meeting did, even if it paid back on our shoulders in the late evening. One can only wish Gerstlauer all the best for the further marketing of this ride, because it is simply perfect in many respects and serves such a wide range of park guests. I have only seen very few rides like this before.

Juke-Box

In the immediate vicinity of the air meeting you can see one of the most harmonious rides. Matching the 50s style and underlaid with a very great soundtrack, the Juke-Box is one of the most beautiful Schwarzkopf Monster. Apart of the look, the ride is not very interesting and even fast spinning ride is not really possible due to the padding in between the seats. However, the whole package is convincing.

Spatiale Expérience

The intergalactic travel agency Spatiale Expérience in the row of houses next to the Juke-Box knows the way into the depths of our universe. The ship which is waiting for its passengers is similar to the EuroSat roller coaster from the Europa-Park in Rust and so it is not surprising that the propulsion is also similar to that of the Rust model. The following ride is often described as quite brute and there is also talk about miscalculations by the company Mack Rides. However, this ride resembles more the indoor roller coaster Vogel Rok from Efteling and was quite amazing.

The trip through the galaxy features very ingenious interactions of right and left turns and offers a smoothness of running that one would not expect due to the prototype of Europa Park. The scenery during the ride is minimalistic but effective and the soundtrack to the ride is just great. The speed at which you race through the ride is constantly high, but the forces involved are just right, even the braking is almost harmless.

Apple Flight and Grand Roue

Past last year’s novelty, the Apple Flight from Zierer, which like all new wave swingers is somehow slow-moving, we go to the big attraction from Gerstlauer. We are talking about the Ferris wheel Grande Roue, which fits quite well into Nigloland, despite its transportable construction.

Schlitt’Express

Next to it, the latest roller coaster Schlitt’Express is making its rounds. As with the other roller coasters in the park, great importance was given to a coherent appearance. The roller coaster itself fortunately corresponds to the standard layout of a wild mouse, only with minor changes, as you can see for example at the end of the ride. The cars have been adapted to the latest standard from Mack Rides, which is rewarded with very comfortable seats and great bars, but the possibility to crush each other in the curves is massively limited, which somewhat diminishes the fun of the ride.

Chenille

In the small children’s area you will find the smallest roller coaster of the Nigloland, which was very popular in the afternoon. We’re talking about the Wacky Worm roller coaster Chenille, which even features a grown apple. I found it quite amusing that the staff was the only one who noticed that I was wearing my Gerstlauer Fleece Jacket, after all it wasn’t the warmest day despite the constant sunshine, but it didn’t make the ride better than it is.

Dinosaures Aventure

With the Dinosaures Aventure, Nigloland offers a small walk-through attraction, which is enhanced by a preshow. If you understand the French language, it is even quite interesting to follow. The following dinosaurs, on the other hand, have all been seen somewhere, whether in the queue to Rasti-Land’s great rapid river, in the dinosaur park Münchehagen or in various other small theme parks. Honestly speaking, it could be better.

Bobsleigh

The most hidden entrance in all of Nigoland is at Schwarzkopf’s City Jet ride called Bobsleigh. Here it’s a little surprising that the queue basically runs above one half of the roller coaster, but is tastefully decorated as is typical for the park. The loading station is a bit awkward, as many of the park guests just stand in the way and the trains start with empty seats most of the time.

Once you have made it into the very spacious and comfortable vehicles, the journey can begin. Typical for this type of ride the lift is solved by an upward spiral with conductor rails. Once you reach the top, the ride goes down so abruptly that airtime forms in the back of the train. The following curves are so brutal that one is glad to have some short relaxing phases in between. The brakes at the end of the track are typical for the manufacturer, so it is best to hold on tight.

Bilder Nigloland

Fazit Nigloland

Nigloland gave me a lot of satisfaction during the day. Even when I lost my wallet in the meantime, thanks to the help of the very competent staff, I was able to quickly retrieve it without anything being missing, whereas in Hansa-Park it would have been lost forever. The park itself is charismatic and not as detached as many other family-run parks. There is a good atmosphere in the park, which is mainly created by the family audience, which knows how to behave very well. The reasonable price is simply outstanding for what is on offer, even though there is clearly room for improvement in the catering.

 

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Nigloland