Funtime

Going on a Great Adventure

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Six Flags Great Adventure

Six Flags Great Adventure has a rather unusual park layout, with visitors entering the park at its narrowest point in the centre. Here there is a long midway that runs across the entrance, with the Giant Wheel at one end and a land of milk and honey themed area with a carousel and a tea cups ride at the other.  The main attraction in this area is the Sky Screamer swing ride.

Wonder Woman Lasso of Truth and Cyborg Cyber Spin

To the right of the Ferris wheel is the large Movieland themed area. In addition to the interactive dark ride Justice League: Battle for Metropolis and the two roller coasters The Dark Knight Coaster and Batman The Ride, there is also the large swing ride Wonder Woman Lasso of Truth and the flat ride Cyborg Cyber Spin. Unfortunately, the latter wasn’t on my schedule during my visit, so I didn’t get to ride an Intamin Tourbillon.

Justice League: Battle for Metropolis

Developed by the Sally Corporation, the Justice League: Battle for Metropolis dark ride combines large plastic scenes with 3D screens where you have to fend off all sorts of Lex Luthor’s gadgets before he manages to capture the entire Justice League with the help of the Joker. It’s great fun, as you’d expect from Sally, and a surprisingly well-made dark ride that can be found in many Six Flags theme parks.

The Dark Knight Coaster

The Dark Knight Coaster is proof that Six Flags can do theme rides when they want to. The indoor Wild Mouse offers an amazingly fast ride in total darkness, with the hairpin turns in the upper part of the ride being themed throughout. The wilder part of the ride on the lower levels takes place mainly in the dark. All in all a great attraction!

Batman The Ride

Directly after the great success of the B&M inverted coaster Batman: The Ride at Six Flags Great America, the Dark Knight found his place at Six Flags Great Adventure in 1993.

After climbing the lift hill, passengers can expect a pre-drop before the train finally plunges down the first drop in a steep curve. On the descent, passengers can expect high G-forces before entering the first loop. The second inversion, a zero-G roll, follows in no time at all. Then another loop is taken. The blood pressure in your feet rises instantly as you go through a steep bend and a straight section of the track. It then heads mercilessly towards the bottom, where the first corkscrew awaits us. This element is pure madness if you are travelling at the back of the train, as the acceleration changes abruptly. The second corkscrew follows after a short right-hand bend. After that, a left-hand bend takes you straight into the braking section.

Batman: The Ride is still one of the best inverted coasters out there. The ride offers an intense ride layout with lots of positive G-forces on a relatively small footprint. Apart from the theming, the ride experience does not differ between the different rides, which is a good sign.

Nitro

Since the release of the computer game Roller Coaster Tycoon 2, Nitro has become one of the most famous hyper coasters in the world.

After a turn, the ride immediately begins on the 230-foot lift hill. Once at the top, the ride immediately descends. Interestingly, we change direction on the very first hill. The momentum takes us through another valley and over a classic camelback before we change direction in the best out-and-back style in a horseshoe turn. Another airtime hill is followed by another hill where we turn left. With plenty of speed we then enter a powerful helix that gets tighter and tighter and ends in a block brake. We then ride a series of very nice airtime hills to the final brake.

Nitro is a very cool old school hypercoaster. Although you only get floater airtime during the long ride, the many hills make it a real experience. The highlight of the ride is the intense helix before the block brake. In short, a really great coaster.

Jersey Devil Coaster

Past the Intamin Rapids Ride Congo Rapids, which was unfortunately closed on the day of my visit, we now head to the park’s newest rollercoaster, the Jersey Devil Coaster. The ride on the RMC Raptor Track begins immediately with the ride’s lift hill. After reaching the starting height of 40 metres in no time at all, we plunge straight down a very steep descent. After a quick ascent, it’s straight back down again in a dive loop. With brutal airtime, we then go over a huge camelback and immediately afterwards into a zero-G stall. A steep ascent then leads us into a very tight turn. Now we descend again quite abruptly and immediately enter a zero-G roll. Another ascent then leads us into a block brake. Without much delay, we then enter the next descent, after which another turn awaits us. Still very fast, we now race over a series of airtime bumps before reaching the final brake.

The layout of the Jersey Devil Coaster single rail coaster has a really nice flow. The inversions are all very easy to ride and the airtime is also very nice. I at least really enjoyed the ride, even if it is a bit tame compared to the other Raptor Track Coasters from RMC.

Skull Mountain

Every Roller Coaster Tycoon player will remember the Skull Mountain indoor roller coaster for its façade. The ride itself is a family roller coaster from Intamin, which is located in an unfortunately rather bright hall.

The ride begins rather curiously with a two-section lift and a short panoramic ride through the first level. Once in the main hall, the ride continues upwards for a while before a steep curve takes you straight back down to the hall floor. After an incline, we quickly change direction and make our way round a wide left-hand bend. After a short right-hand bend, we immediately enter a longer Bayernkurve, which leads us further and further downhill over hill and dale. After a right-hand bend, we enter a helix. Finally, after a short climb, we reach the braking section and soon afterwards the station, where our wonderful ride unfortunately comes to an end.

Harley Quinn Crazy Train and The Joker

Directly opposite the popular family coaster Harley Quinn Crazy Train – a Zierer Tivoli coaster that has run several laps in a row in this park – is the S&S free spin coaster The Joker. As always, the ride comfort on this coaster was quite good and there were plenty of rollovers at the end. For this reason, I can only warmly recommend a ride on the free spin coaster The Joker.

Houdini’s Great Escape

While Vekoma Mad Houses are a very common sight in European theme parks, they are not at all well known to an American audience with Houdini’s Great Escape being one of only two installations in the United States. In the story, we take part in a séance to bring Houdini back from the afterlife. In reality, however, we only experience a clever trick in which the benches each swing 30° to the side while the room rotates around us. A great attraction!

Twister and Parachute Training Center: Edwards AFB Jump Tower

Right next to the unfortunately closed HUSS Top Spin Twister is one of the park’s major attractions from the 1970s, which goes by the long name of Parachute Training Centre Edwards AFB Jump Tower. The Intamin Parachute Tower offers a great view over the park and the ride is quite fast. The actual drop, however, is very leisurely.

Superman – Ultimate Flight

Superman Ultimate Flight is located next to the entrance. As it takes a little longer to clear the coaster, it is advisable to get to the ride as soon as the park opens.

The ride on Superman Ultimate Flight begins immediately after a right turn as you enter the coaster’s lift hill. After reaching a height of 106 ft, the ride immediately descends in a right turn. The ride then climbs a hill, which introduces the main element of the ride: the Pretzel Loop. We are now pulled down with all our might and then hurtle through a valley on our backs. Once back up in the air, the ride takes us through three very gentle turns that add to the feeling of flying. A helix is followed by a nice roll. We then reach the braking section and shortly after the station.

The ride on Superman Ultimate Flight is very leisurely for a flying coaster, with the pretzel loop at the beginning being the highlight of the ride. Without it the ride would be a bit boring.

Green Lantern

The Green Lantern stand-up coaster has been located on the site of the Great American Scream Machine since 2011. However, the ride itself is much older and was located at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom from 1997 to 2009, where it was known as Chang.

The ride on the giant stand-up coaster starts right away with the lift hill, which takes us to a height of 47 metres (154 ft). After a bend at a lofty height, the big drop awaits. In classic B&M coaster style, a very large loop awaits us and after a right-hand bend we enter the equally large dive loop. After a sweeping ascent, we pass through a high left-hand bend and immediately afterwards into an Inclined Loop. After a quick change of direction, the route then heads uphill again into a mid-course brake. Without adjusting the speed, we head downhill again. Here we enter the first corkscrew and after a crazy right-left bend, we immediately enter the second corkscrew. Another right-left bend then takes us into the final braking section of the rollercoaster.

Green Lantern is one of the most modern stand-up coasters, so the ride is relatively fast. The ride is very spectacular due to the impressive height and the huge inversions, but not quite as pleasant due to the frequent contact with the bars.

Runaway Mine Train

One of the theme park’s original attractions is the Runaway Mine Train. It is housed in a large fort. There is also a station for the Skyways gondola lift.

The ride on the rollercoaster begins with an unusually high lift hill. Once at the top, however, we first make our way through the treetops. The path first leads us through a long helix and then over several hills. After passing a block brake, we fall to the ground for the first time. Now the trail leads us into a surprisingly intense helix and over a flawless airtime hill. We then whizz over the lake past the fort before taking an incline and reaching the braking section of the rollercoaster shortly afterwards.

The Runaway Mine Train has a surprisingly high layout for an old school mine train. Although the start of the ride is not quite as exciting with the longer helix and the slightly descending and ascending straights, it gets really fast from the steep curve after the brakes. The Airtime hill and the bend at the lake around the fort characterise the overall very good ride.

Medusa

Passing the Saw Mill Log Flume, which was unfortunately still closed on the day of my visit, we now head to the back of the park, where the Medusa roller coaster is located. This rollercoaster is quite something and should definitely not be missed.

It is not to be missed. After climbing the coaster’s lift hill, you immediately descend into the depths. The ride takes you through the valley at high speed and immediately into the large loop of the coaster. A climb to the left turns out to be a dive loop and immediately brings us to the ground. With a lot of momentum we then go through a Zero-G roll and immediately into the Cobra Roll of the coaster. A climb then leads us into a block brake, where we get only a brief moment to catch our breath. A steep bend takes us downhill. We then enter an intense helix just above the ground. After changing direction we enter the Interlocking Corkscrews. A short turn to the left then leads us into the last incline of the ride, after which we enter the braking section of the roller coaster.

What a ride! The Medusa floorless coaster is an absolute fun machine with a breathtaking layout and a total of seven inversions. I always enjoyed getting on this ride, partly due to the very efficient handling of the ride.

Zumanjaro Drop of Doom

Unfortunately, the Zumanjaro Drop of Doom freefall tower, which is attached to the support structure of the KingdaKa rollercoaster, was out of service during my visit. This tower is the largest freefall tower in the world. Interestingly, in the early days of the attraction, the tower was only allowed to be operated when the rollercoaster was not in operation. This led to long queues for both attractions. However, this restriction has now been lifted and both rides can be operated at the same time.

Kingda Ka

Kingda Ka has been the theme park’s main attraction since 2005. The 456 ft high launch roller coaster from the manufacturer Intamin towers over the park and cannot be overlooked, casting a spell over everyone in its immediate vicinity.

Right at the start of the park, I was able to ride several laps in a row without having to queue for long. After all, the ride only takes a few seconds, during which you reach a top speed of 128 mph before climbing the tall Top Hat. We then cross its apex rather leisurely and with tension on the vertical slope directly in front of us. On the way down, we turn round once on our own axis. Finally, we race over a 130 ft high hill where the roller coaster brakes.

Kingda Ka is a damn short roller coaster, but also a damn good one. As the speed increases, you realise what forces are acting on the train before it goes up the top hat. You are really shaken up. The descent and the final rush of speed also provide enough endorphins to leave the ride overjoyed.

El Toro

Five years after Colossos revolutionised wooden roller coaster construction at Heide-Park in Germany, the El Toro roller coaster opened at Six Flags Great Adventure in 2006.

Here, too, the ride begins after a rapid lift hill with a high turning curve before entering the steep drop. We then experience the finest airtime and an unrivalled rush of speed over two consecutive airtime hills. After a lively turn, we ride over another airtime hill and then over a speed bump. At high speed, we are now drawn into a left-hand bend and immediately afterwards onto another airtime hill. This is followed by three quick turns in a row. With momentum, we then ride over a series of rather flat hills. Shortly afterwards, we reach the braking section of the rollercoaster.

El Toro is a really great rollercoaster with a genuinely good layout. Unfortunately, the ride characteristics of this wooden roller coaster are no longer the best compared to the other Prefab wooden roller coasters from the manufacturer Intamin. Despite being retracked during the seasonal break, the ride is quite bumpy. Accordingly, I like Colossos much better than El Toro, and not just because I have ridden Colossos hundreds of times and El Toro only once.

Pictures Six Flags Great Adventure

Conclusion Six Flags Great Adventure

My visit to Six Flags Great Adventure left me with rather mixed feelings. On the one hand, the park has a lot of really good roller coasters to offer, but on the other hand, the park simply has no charm. The existing buildings are all getting on in years, and the park really does have a lot of open spaces and lots of areas covered in concrete. Nevertheless, the park is very popular and was accordingly well attended on the day I visited. In the end, I was able to try out all the attractions except for the water rides, which were unfortunately closed. I think I’ll have to come back sometime in the middle of the season to experience the park in its entirety.

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Six Flags Great Adventure / The Stumbled Runner Day 8

Enjoying the Smoky Mountains at Dollywood

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Dollywood

Timber Canyon

The Timber Canyon themed area is home to two of the theme park’s largest roller coasters, as well as the small children’s roller coaster Whistle Punk Chaser.

Thunderhead

The largest roller coaster in the Timber Canyon themed area is Thunderhead, a wooden roller coaster built by GCI in 2004.

The ride on Thunderhead starts with a short pre-lift section consisting of a right turn and a small left turn. Shortly afterwards we enter the lift hill which takes us up to the starting height. With the best views over the Wildwood Grove themed area, we then descend in a steep turn. While climbing a hill, we first turn left and then right. We then cross the next valley and immediately climb another hill. A wide right-hand bend takes us over several hills and through the station. We then ride over hill and dale to the other side of the track, where we enter a sweeping helix. After two more turns we reach the final brake of the ride.

Like Troy at Toverland, Thunderhead is a really good wooden coaster. The GCI coaster is a merciless fun machine, especially in the rain, giving the layout an even wilder feel due to the limited visibility. In short, a truly great coaster!

Drop Line

Due to an incident on a similar tower from the same manufacturer, the Drop Line freefall tower was unfortunately closed during my visit.

Mystery Mine

Mystery Mine is one of the first Eurofighter coasters from Gerstlauer. The ride has a very impressive setting and is designed to simulate a ride through an abandoned mine.

The ride on Mystery Mine starts with a small drop out of the station. The ride then goes up to the first vertical lift. Interestingly, the ride doesn’t go straight down, but through a series of small drops. Where before there was a big drop followed by an Immelmann turn, now there is a left turn. This is followed by a fairly steep descent and the steep bend that leads to the block brake. After a Bayernkurve we return to the building where we enter the second vertical lift. At the top, we narrowly avoid an explosion by plunging into an overhanging and twisting drop. Back in daylight, we ride through a 1. 5-fold roll and finally into the final half loop. Shortly after we reach the brakes.

Mystery Mine is an interesting mix of roller coaster and dark ride. All the turns are extremely tight and make full use of the Eurofighter car’s capabilities, to the regret of the passengers, as the ride characteristics are not the best on this ride. However, the high-speed finale of the ride makes up for all the effort. All in all, a fun rollercoaster.

Wildwood Grove

Wildwood Grove is a very nice themed area. In addition to the large suspended family coaster Dragonflier, there is the ship swing Giant Tree Swing and the flying scooter Mad Mockingbird, where you can control your own flight. 

Dragonflier

When the Orkanen roller coaster opened at Fårup Sommerland in Denmark, it was met with great amazement. The layout, which was specially designed for the park, was built on a lake and dives into a tunnel immediately after the first drop, while the rest of the track runs largely at ground level over the lake. When Dollywood then built a ride with the same layout, a tunnel was also included. After the first drop, the track leads us very smoothly through an overbanked turn and over a small speed bump into a wide helix. We immediately cross the station building to land in another helix on the other side. A compact right-hand bend leads us into a small depression. After another bend, we enter the station building and our very entertaining ride unfortunately comes to an end.

Wilderness Pass

FireChaser Express

Firefighters are considered heroes in America. So it’s no surprise that Herschend Family Entertainment’s two major theme parks have a roller coaster and even an entire themed area dedicated to them. Dollywood is home to the FireChaser Express family roller coaster.

The ride on the FireChaser Express begins with a launch out of the station. After two sweeping turns, we reach the coaster’s lift hill. Once at the top, the track first takes us through a right turn and a dip. After a left turn, there is a larger drop, which then turns into a steep turn. We then go over two hills at some speed. We then cross another dip and climb a slope.  After passing a block brake, the track takes us through another left-hand bend, which again drops off quite steeply. Now it’s over hill and dale to the other side of the track. After a fun ride around a bend, we ride over a switch to the next block brake. Here we are treated to a little show. As the fireworks go off, we back out of the area, then ride over a short hill and through a Bayernkurve. After a steep descent we reach the final braking section. Shortly afterwards we reverse into the station.

FireChaser Express is the perfect family rollercoaster. The impressive height and the great location in the park make the ride even more interesting and the backwards final is a real highlight.

Wild Eagle

One of the most impressive roller coasters at Dollywood is the B&M Wing Coaster Wild Eagle. The ride looks even more impressive from a distance thanks to the track layout on a mountain ridge. But before the ride begins, passengers can expect a Dolly Parton song on a loop and really bad jokes from the staff.

After a left turn we reach the lift hill. Once at the top, the descent is unusually straight for this type of coaster. After a steep descent we enter a huge loop. A short left turn then leads us into a zero-G roll. With a lot of momentum we enter the classic Immelmann and then a long corkscrew. Finally, the ride takes us over an airtime hill into the double helix finale of the ride, before coming to a stop in the coaster’s braking section.

The Wild Eagle Wing Coaster is particularly impressive due to its breathtaking location. The layout has some great elements, but at the end it seems a little too long due to the double helix finale. All in all, Wild Eagle is a very solid coaster.

Craftman’s Valley

Craftman’s Valley is the most beautiful part of Dollywood. As in its sister park Silver Dollar CIty, numerous artisans showcase their skills in this area. In addition to many already manufactured goods, you can also buy individual products and watch them being made.

Tennessee Tornado

Tennessee Tornado is Arrow’s latest looping coaster. It is also the only looping coaster from the manufacturer that was developed with a different design philosophy – so there are no copy & paste elements like on their previous rides.

After a ride through the coaster’s maintenance hall, we immediately climb the coaster’s lift hill. Once at the top, we enter a very tight turn before plunging down into a large tunnel. Back in daylight, we immediately enter an oversized loop that is slightly tilted to one side. After a steep turn we enter the second, more classic loop. Finally there is a quick change of direction in a sidewinder. Our path then takes us through a very sweeping turn, before the final climb towards the brakes. The transition is very abrupt, which makes for some great airtime, especially in the front of the train.

Tennessee Tornado is a really nice looping coaster with unusually sized loops. While the airtime is very pronounced as you enter the braking section at the front of the train, the drop at the back of the train is much more of a pull. All in all, a great ride!

Blazing Fury

The Blazing Fury indoor roller coaster is based on the Fire in the Hole dark ride from its sister park Silver Dollar CIty. Passing various scenes, the ride continues uphill in a large oval. We watch as the residents try to extinguish their village before we cross a collapsing bridge, giving the ride a rollercoaster feel. A second descent follows when we have to dodge an oncoming train. Shouting “Fire in the Hole”, we crash into a dynamite store, which fortunately can be extinguished. Shortly afterwards, the train slows down and the lovely dark ride comes to an end.

Daredevil Falls

The Daredevil Falls log flume is a beautifully slatted super flume by O.D. Hopkins. The ride has a single drop with additional water fountains that set the scene nicely. However, you won’t get particularly wet on the ride.

Owens Farm

Owens Farm is home to the big Barnstormer Swing. Made by S&S, the Screamin’ Swing is one of the most beautiful flat rides in the park and offers a terrific ride.

The Village and Country Fair

The Village and Country Fair themed areas are located close to each other. Most of the theme park’s family attractions are located in these areas, including the Waltzing Swinger wave swinger, the Lemon Twist tea cups ride and the Aviator Sky Rider, where you can control the flight of your own car. The main attraction in this area is the film Heartsong, which is shown in the Heartsong Theatre and features a flight over the Smoky Mountains and several scenes with the young Dolly Parton. Basically, Dolly hasn’t changed in all these years, but the film technology has, which is why the film looks a bit old-fashioned today despite the many special effects. The fantastic flying scene at the beginning of the film would really come into its own in a flying theatre – an attraction that unfortunately does not yet exist here in Dollywood. In any case, you shouldn’t miss a visit to the Heartsong Theatre.

Dollywood Express

The Dollywood Express takes us on a longer tour of the park. Unlike the train ride at its sister park, Silver Dollar City, the train does not stop for a comedy show in which the train is robbed. However, the views of the park and the Smoky Mountains are well worth the ride.

Rivertown Junction

The Rivertown Junction themed area is home to the Smoky Mountain River Rampage rapids ride. Here you go through a neatly designed canal with all kinds of obstacles. Fortunately, the ride wasn’t too wet on the day I visited, as the water here was quite cold.

Jukebox Junction

The Jukebox Junction themed area takes you back to the 1950s. In addition to the main attraction Lightning Rod, you can also take a ride on the beautifully designed vintage car ride Rockin’ Roadway.

Lightning Rod

Like Silver Dollar City, Dollywood is home to one of RMC’s masterpieces. As the first wooden coaster with a launch, Lightning Rod takes its passengers up the mountain and then back down over a series of wild elements.

Even before I could take my first ride on Lightning Rod, the ride came down for several minutes. While waiting, I struck up a conversation with another rollercoaster fan, with whom I quickly became friends. As a big fan of the Kangaroo Chronicles, I was delighted to meet a variety artist who travels around America’s stages as Showtime Steve. In this sense, I am the kangaroo. His act of balancing two ladders on his chin is pretty crazy.

After a bend, we immediately enter the launch section of the track, which takes us up the hill quite quickly. However, the following crest is crossed at a more leisurely pace. After another hill, we start to descend relentlessly. We then shoot up a hill, where we experience the greatest airtime when tilted 90° to the side. Following the terrain, we then enter a wide right-hand turn, at the top of which we briefly turn in the opposite direction. Back in the valley, the track climbs up over several hills. This is followed by the quadruple down, visible from the park, where we find our way back into the valley over four airtime hills and are mercilessly lifted out of our seats. Finally, we climb a steep turn. After another descent we finally reach the braking section of the coaster.

The Lightning Rod is a world class ride. The launch up the hill is pretty awesome. The rest of the layout is also very impressive and fits perfectly into the topography. The quadruple drop towards the end of the ride is awesome. Unfortunately the last turn ends with a drop that is a bit too high.

Pictures Dollywood

Conclusion Dollywood

Like Silver Dollar City, Dollywood is an amusement park that is second to none. What Dolly Parton has created together with Herschend Family Entertainment since 1986 is impressive. The park has its very own charm, which is not only due to its location in the Smoky Mountains, the great atmosphere and the remarkable attractions, but above all to the people who work here. You simply feel at home. I for one can hardly wait to go back to the Smoky Mountains.

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Dollywood / The Stumbled Runner Day 4 and 5

Testing the Sky Dragster at Skyline Park

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Preface

It has been a while since I last visited Bad Wörishofen and its local amusement park. Back then I did a small internship at Gerstlauer Amusement Rides in nearby Münsterhausen and stayed with a friend for a while. Since then, Skyline Park has almost doubled in size and some interesting rides have come and gone.

Skyline Park

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

The nearby Caripro Gyroflyer Sky Rider also had some problems during its test run and had to be towed back to the station. The unique suspended spinning coaster did not operate at all for the remainder of my visit.

Sky Spin

With the queue for the Bob Racing bobkart track barely moving, we set off for the Sky Spin spinning coaster. I rode this Maurer SC2000 twice on my only visit to the Oktoberfest in Munich. Back then the ride was known as Cyber Space and was operated by the Kaiser family. Between 2003 and 2012 the ride was known as Whirlwind at Camelot Theme Park in England. After the park closed, the ride moved to Skyline Park in 2013 and has been entertaining riders ever since. Unfortunately, the ride has become quite jerky over time, which is a bit of a surprise when you compare it to other rides 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 come to another coaster made by Maurer. Skyline Park has a good relationship with the Munich-based manufacturer, so you can find two of their prototypes at 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 cross between a classic steeplechase coaster and a powered coaster, although the rider’s position is quite close to the track. The cars are powered directly by a cogwheel running on a rack mounted on the side of the track. Because of this configuration, there is no rollback, so the track can be twisted into all sorts of crazy manoeuvres – it is even possible to accelerate the car along a vertical section of track, which is otherwise quite difficult to achieve on conventional track designs. Just like a Wiegand bobkart track, the rider can control the speed of the car and a control system adjusts the distance between the cars as needed. In addition, everything is monitored by the system, which on the one hand provides a remarkably high level of safety, but on the other hand has caused a lot of problems in the coaster’s early seasons.

On the day of my visit, the coaster was running smoothly. The track at Skyline Park has a long straight out of the station before entering a horseshoe turn. This is immediately followed by a 360° right turn. Two double-up hills follow immediately after. On the other side of the track you enter a strangely banked uphill spiral. After a descent back to station level, you run through a very tight s-bend before reaching the station. A second round follows.

I really like the acceleration of the Spike Coaster. The system is much less sluggish compared to conventional powered coasters. The only thing I did not like too much was the slow speed of most of the elements on the Sky Dragster. I know this is done to limit the forces on the rider, but it is kind of funny to allow a system to have a high degree of flexibility in track design when you have to regulate it massively to do so. However, if your design is mostly straight, then this system is fine. So I am not surprised that the Spike Coaster is 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 justifiable at all, unless you are Mirabilandia and want to make some extra money with your fast pass system.

Sky Circle and Wildwasser 3

In the same corner as the Sky Dragster is the Zamperla Turbo Force Sky Circle and the large transportable log flume Wildwasser 3 by Mack Rides. This is the park owner’s second transportable log flume to make its way to Skyline Park. The first one was the Pirateninsel, which has now found a new home at the Eiffelpark in Rhineland-Palatinate. Wildwasser 3 was the largest log flume to be found at a German amusement park and as a result has three drops, the first of which is backwards.

Allgäuflieger

Close to Wildwasser 3 is the world’s largest Star Flyer. The chain swing Allgäuflieger offers a wide view of open fields, the mountains and of course Skyline Park just below. Due to strong winds I had to cancel the ride.

High Fly

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

Sky Rafting

The next ride on our way through the park is Sky Rafting, formerly known as Wild ‘n Wet. The transportable water ride by ART Engineering starts with a vertical lift. Once at the top, a long slide section begins. Due to the curvy layout, the boats start to rotate strongly. A short drop at the end of the slide comes as a bit of a surprise as no one in the boat knows who is going to get wet.

Kids Spin

Not quite as unpredictable, but still a bit spiky, is the small spinning coaster Kids Spin. The small coaster from SBF Visa has the well known 3 loop layout, where the right leading curves always lead into a left leading curve. Due to the constant change of curvature, the cars can get into a good spin. After several loops the train comes to a halt in the station and the cars have to be turned back into position manually before you can exit the ride.

Geisterschlange

Passing the big SkyWheel coaster, we take a look at the Geisterschlange ghost train. The old ride from 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 it being 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

Closing Words

It was nice to return to Skyline Park after so many years. Unfortunately, due to the weather and the Covid-19 guidelines, I was not able to try every attraction I wanted to. However, I was very happy to have tried the new Sky Dragster coaster and to have spent some time on some of the classic rides before moving 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:

 

          

Skyline Park