Tag: Gerstlauer

The Biberburg of Familypark

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Since 2019, Austria’s largest amusement park has been part of the French amusement park group Compagnie des Alpes, which operates the Walibi amusement parks and Parc Astérix, among others. While it is a shame when a family-run amusement park is bought out, on the other hand, this can create completely different opportunities that ultimately benefit the park. Especially with regard to the investment-friendly Compagnie des Alpes, we can look forward to numerous new attractions.

Almjodler

One of the last investments before the takeover was the double family freefall tower Almjodler made by Zierer. The two freefall towers are interestingly located right next to the Verrückte Vogelscheuche, creating a fun little corner of family-friendly vertical rides, with all rides being equally popular.

Der durchgedrehte Wirbelsturm

Also from Zierer, the Kontiki Der durchgedrehte Wirbelsturm moved into the park in 2019. This is a rotating swing on rails that causes a lot of excitement – especially for the smaller guests of the family park.

Stellarium

Like hardly any other ride before it, the Zamperla NebulaZ is taking the theme park world by storm, including the Familypark in 2021. The visually stunning ride offers a wild ride that is, however, very family-friendly.

Biberburg

Intamin’s Biberburg log flume is the biggest ever attraction in the park’s history. Instead of being built somewhere on the edge of the park, the ride is located in the middle of the theme park’s farm area and therefore looks as if the ride, which opened in 2022, had always been there. The log flume is equipped with all kinds of technical gimmicks. For example, there is a clever switch track that allows you to gently enter or exit without a noticeable jolt, and a vertical lift that takes passengers up to a height of 17 metres.

The ride in the spacious boats begins immediately with a short shot into the cool water. Well moistened, we then enter the Biberburg Zentrale, where a small dark ride section awaits us. Back in daylight, we bob along the canal for a while and enjoy the view of the upcoming journey before we enter a sawmill. However, instead of being reduced to rubble, we quickly leave the mill in reverse and immediately descend the second shot.  After a few bends, the path leads us below the last shot, where the vertical lift is waiting for us. Having reached the starting height of 17m, we race down the big drop and immediately over a hill, which leads us into the final water pool. Well soaked, the return to the station follows.

The Biberburg is a really nice log flume ride. The integration into the existing themed area and the clever use of the terrain speak for themselves. Despite the three drops, the ride’s level of wetness is manageable. Unfortunately, the final hill lacks a bit of airtime; a slight lift-off on the hill would have made this really good flume ride an even better one. All in all, the Biberburg is a very successful novelty for the Familypark.

Pictures Familypark

 

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Familypark

The many novelties of the Wiener Prater

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Hochschaubahn

During my last visits to the Wiener Prater, the world-famous Hochschaubahn was closed each time. This time, however, I planned my visit much earlier so that I could take a ride on the classic Scenic Railway. The ride, which is still traditionally controlled by a brakeman who rides along with the train, impresses with its gradients and the quite distinctive curves. It is the most family-friendly of all scenic railways, but a ride on this 70-year-old roller coaster is a must for every theme park and roller coaster enthusiast.

Rollerball

Another novelty for me is the Rollerball. This utterly imposing roller coaster from RES is an extremely fun family roller coaster with one small problem: it’s a one-trick pony. The roller coaster, which runs vertically, convinces with its rocking moments initiated by the bizarre drops – but that’s about it. The very family-friendly ride is very enjoyable for a single ride, but the very repetitive course of the track does not awaken the desire to ride it again straight away. In addition, the ride is simply not accepted by the visitors and therefore you never know whether it is running or not.

King Size Turbo Booster

Also new to me is the King Size Turbo Booster – the second iteration of Funtime’s Vomitron, which is very popular in the Prater. However, instead of just doing its flips straight on a circle path, the King Size Turbo Booster takes it up a notch. The seats are now all separate from each other and can each rotate around their own axis. The gondola carrier itself also rotates and is driven by a motor. The superimposition of all the rotational movements creates an extremely fast ride in which you can experience all kinds of crazy moments. Interestingly, the ride is still quite stomach-friendly, although it doesn’t look like it from the outside.  

Gesengte Sau

The biggest novelty of the past years is the roller coaster Die G’gengte Sau. This is a bobsled coaster from Gerstlauer, but here it is primarily built up high and takes an absolutely wild route back to the station.

The start is made by classic hairpin bends, as you would find them on a Wild Mouse.  After a total of three, we race down a big drop. Just past the Black Mamba, the path leads us back up a little and immediately into two more hairpin bends. Straight away we are pulled down a steep bend. After another valley, we climb a small straight section before leaning further and further to the right and plunging towards the ground one more time. After another climb, we race through a block brake and into another hairpin. Once again narrowly missing the Black Mamba, we go down the biggest drop of the ride. On the other side of the ride, the facade of the Funhouse Funball awaits us, which we also narrowly miss. Three tight turns follow, which lead us to the other side of the ride. We then repeat the whole thing in a small steep curve and several bunny hops. For the finale, a downward curve and several swerves to the right and left await us before we find ourselves in the brake and the absolutely brilliant roller coaster comes to an end.

The Gesengte Sau is an outstanding novelty and one of the best bobsled coasters from Gerstlauer. The extremely compact ride convinces with its multitude of drops and breathtaking curves.

Bilder Wiener Prater

 

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Wiener Prater

The overambitious theme park

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Schwaben Park has its origins in 1972 when the Hudelmaier family’s animal and amusement park opened its doors as Safari Park. The park became famous for its chimpanzee show, which was discontinued in 2017.

To be honest, I never had any desire to visit Schwaben Park. However, since the focus has been shifted more and more to the classic amusement park business and the zoo has been reduced in the same process, things have changed a bit. The park now stands out positively because of its interesting ideas.

Santa Lore

Since almost all the main attractions are in the same corner of the park, we start our walk clockwise. The first ride we come across is the Santa Lore ship swing by Metallbau Emmeln, which – for whatever reason – has its own soundtrack by IMAscore. The ride itself is pretty solid and great fun for the whole family.

Azura

One of the main attractions of the amusement park is located in an old riding hall: the Azura water ride. The combination of the quiet boat ride with a fountain show is convincing all along the line. You wouldn’t expect such a spectacle in a medium-sized amusement park, and yet you can experience it at Schwaben Park. Hats off!

Schwaben Express

One ride I’ve been looking forward to for ages is the Schwaben Express from Gerstlauer. This flat ride has a rather steep hill in the course of the ride, which is travelled at a decent speed both forwards and backwards.

Bobkart

The Bobkart ride in Schwaben Park is a rather short one. As soon as we leave the station, we take the first wave. After a ride through a helix, we speed through a wide left turn. Parallel to the monza track Anno 1950, we race over several waves and a few curve swerves before we enter a helix once more. After a change of direction, we continue spiralling upwards, but then drive directly into the exit area of the ride, where the fun ride unfortunately comes to an end.

Das Sägewerk

Past the Märchenfahrt, which is a leisurely boat ride past numerous fairytale pavilions, as it was at Heide Park, we head straight to the log flume ride Das Sägewerk (The Sawmill). The classic Reverchon ride with its two drops convinces with its elaborate design and a fitting soundtrack.

Raupen Express

Directly opposite is the entrance to the family coaster Raupen Express. The Force Zero from Zierer convinces with its classic Tivoli Coaster layout including this funny little twist. In keeping with the rules, several laps are made one after the other.

Märchenturm

In addition to the abc rides children’s log flume Kroko Splash, the Pferdereitbahn and the dinghy slide Wellenreiter, you can also ride the Twist & Turn Märchenturm in this area. The mixture of a teacup ride and a Ferris wheel is always a guarantee for a good mood in Schwaben Park.

Kreiselkarussell

The Kreiselkarusell is another ride from Gerstlauer that I’ve been looking forward to for ages. The gondolas of the ride are similar to those of the Suppenfahrt in Erlebnispark Tripsdrill, but here they run on a circular track. The rotation of the gondolas creates a real spinning sensation in no time at all.

Verrückte Palme

Directly above the Kreiselkarussell is another family classic that no amusement park should be without these days. The family free fall tower Verrückte Palme convinces with its fun ride programme and the hopscotch included in it.

Wilde Hilde

Passing no less than three scenic rides – the Oldtimerbahn, the Papageienbahn and the Traktorbahn – we now approach the corner mentioned at the beginning, where three highlights of the amusement park are located. The first is the Wilde Hilde. 

This roller coaster from RES runs mainly vertically. To prevent the whole thing from becoming too fast, a large part of the ride is slowed down. The highlight, however, is that the gondolas can swing freely and the transitions to the next level always result in very funny swinging sections. Unfortunately, however, the ride is ultimately a little too repetitive, so that you rarely get to enjoy the chicken cackle of IMAscore à la Popcorn. 

Hummel Brummel

Things are a little different with the Hummel Brummel. Wiegand’s Wie-Flyer is basically a suspended Bobkart track. Passengers decide on their own travel speed as they whiz around the track.

The ride begins quite leisurely in a wide left-hand bend, where we gain a little height. A few bends in the airy heights follow before we make a small turning manoeuvre in a tight right-hand bend. This is followed by several wide left and right turns. Another tight right-hand bend later, we approach the station again.

Unfortunately, the suspended powered coaster Hummel Brummel lacks a bit of speed. If the ride were a little faster and the swing of the gondolas a little greater, the ride would be a lot more fun. As it is, the fun is unfortunately a little limited.

Force One

The biggest roller coaster in Schwaben Park is Force One. This ESC by Zierer offers a thoroughly impressive layout, which is notable for its numerous drops. The ride starts with a shot from a height of 22 metres. After the big drop, we immediately shoot just below the lift, where a big helix awaits us. After a smaller dip, we take another drop parallel to the first. Immediately we race into another helix close to the ground. A short turn just above the lift entrance later, the path leads us over hill and dale before we reach the final brake following several small hills.

Force One is a really cool family coaster with unfortunately not so cool ride characteristics. The ride vibrates, and not too little. Interestingly, this only slightly reduces the repeat factor. After all, Force One is still a good, albeit not perfect, family coaster in the end.

Pictures Schwaben Park

Conclusion Schwaben Park

Schwaben Park is a very solid amusement park with some really good ideas. They try to make the best of the park and that is definitely noticeable. The concepts are good, but some of them are a bit overambitious. However, I think that once the discovery phase is over, a coherent overall concept will emerge at some point. Until then, we can’t wait to see what else Schwaben Park will surprise us with.

 

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Schwaben Park