Tag: Hafema

Riding a roller coaster at Mount Fuji

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The History of Fuji-Q Highland

Fuji-Q Highland at the foot of the majestic Fujiyama, the King of the Mountains, is one of Japan’s most famous theme parks, with four record-breaking roller coasters waiting for the masses of park visitors to storm them. The fact that outside of these roller coasters there is a rather shabby, but in part also very likeable, amusement park is of no significance.

It all began with an ice skating rink in 1961, and with the construction of the Fuji-Kyūkō Line in 1964, the park was renamed Fuji-Q Highland and expanded into an amusement park. Since then, the park has been operated by the railway company Fujikyūkō Co Ltd. (Fujikyū for short). In 1986, the park was upgraded to a resort with the construction of the Highland Resort Hotel. Although the original skating rink, in the middle of which the legendary roller coaster Moonsault Scramble was built at the time, no longer exists, the resort remains true to its roots. In winter, skating is possible on several rinks, including an oval-shaped stadium in Conifer Forest outside Fuji-Q Highland, which is used for festivals and concerts in summer. Two museums, as well as two other hotels and an onsen complete the resort.

Tour of the park

After checking in at the park’s hotel, we were drawn through the Ville de Gaspard et Lisa – a French-style shopping and food street, including Café Brioche, a terrific boulangerie that is perfect for breakfast – towards the main entrance of the theme park. Three of the four big roller coasters are located here. The exemplary Japanese now dutifully follows the floor markings and then gets into one of the queues; stupidly, this is one of the reasons why the rides increase in waiting time very quickly. The smarter park visitor, meanwhile, reaches into his wallet and buys priority passes at a small stand between the Mad Mouse roller coaster and the Panic Clock flat ride, which are available in such small numbers that they are sold out very quickly. So it’s a case of the early bird catches the worm, and consequently you can be happy about getting on all the roller coasters in just one day.

Do-Dodonpa

We start our tour of Fuji-Q Highland with the launch coaster Do-Dodonpa, which has undergone a significant makeover over the past year and now boasts a 49-metre vertical loop instead of a top-hat. At first approximation, this is nothing bad in principle – a nice loop can be the highlight of any ride – moreover, the speed of the air launch has been increased from 172 to 180 km/h and the acceleration phase has been reduced from 1.8 to 1.56 seconds; all this sounds quite promising and already too crazy to be true for most park guests.

That makes you all the more excited about your first ride and suddenly, as an experienced roller coaster enthusiast, you ask yourself questions you haven’t asked yourself in a long time: “Isn’t the acceleration of the launch already too much to handle?”. You then enter the launch tunnel and shortly afterwards the countdown to the launch sounds. Before you know it, you have advanced 60 m and are travelling at 180 km/h; that was fast and surprisingly smooth for around 4.75 G. However, the gradient of the launch is maintained and the train loses its speed steadily and very quickly. Even the short dip that follows cannot stop this behaviour. The train then makes its way through a very wide right-hand bend towards the loop, which is driven through very pleasantly. A short left-hand turn is followed by the first brake section. A strangely transverse right-hand turn then leads you back to the station.

Luckily, we had bought a priority ticket for Do-Dodonpa, because after four hours of waiting, the disappointment about the uneventful ride would have been many times greater. Sure, the launch does a great job – but it only does so for 1.56 seconds. The rest of the ride is unfortunately not worth mentioning.

A strong opening in the first act is of no use if the rest of the piece is dull. It’s a shame that the predecessor, Dodonpa, had a second element in the form of the bone-crushing top hat, which had a decisive influence on the ride and thus invited visitors to ride it again. Accordingly, the update of the roller coaster here is unfortunately an improvement for the worse, and the fans of the old ride at least will not like it any more than I did after my first ride.

Takabisha

It’s a good thing that the Takabisha roller coaster is right next door. Built by Gerstlauer, an expert in steep descents from Münsterhausen in Swabia, the ride impresses with the steepest of all descents worldwide and other tried and tested elements. So nothing can go wrong here, especially since you’re travelling in the classic, shoulder-bar-equipped, Eurofighter cars.

The ride begins with a tight left turn, followed by a short but extremely steep drop. With a lot of pressure, you cross the following valley and elegantly throw yourself into a 180° left turn, which is followed by a wonderful heartline roll. This then leads into another left turn and soon into the first block brake. Via a mini-drop à la Karacho from the Swabian amusement park Erlebnispark Tripsdrill, you then reach the launch area of the ride, which accelerates you extremely powerfully over a longer period of time. Actually, it would be wrong to say that Takabisha has the better launch of the two launch coasters of Fuji-Q Highland, but Takabisha has the better launch.

This is followed by an oversized corkscrew, reminiscent of a top-hat, before you approach an extremely interesting element at full speed, and at the same time you are riding through a valley with wonderful intensity. The element in question is the so-called banana roll, a kind of cobra roll in the shape of a banana. The turn within the element takes place at the highest point, which results in an interestingly twisted exit. This is followed by a classic corkscrew that transports the car across the ride to the other side. This game is repeated again over a twisted and airtime-embroidered hill, before the entry into the second braking section awaits after a short ascent.

Inside the metal hall you now complete a 180° turn, whereupon the ride’s vertical lift is waiting to be climbed. The lift transports the passengers steadily to the maximum height of 43 m, so that they can enjoy the view on the subsequent descent; before the 121° steep drop, there is a short holding brake to generate an effect similar to that of the Dive Coasters from the manufacturer B&M. A few seconds later, the car is gently carried over the crest and then falls rapidly to the ground. At the same moment, interestingly enough, the onride photo is taken from far away – surprise, surprise (after all, you’d rather expect a photo of the ride going through the valley, which wouldn’t capture the facial expressions of this WTF moment)!

The drop keeps its promise and so the car rushes powerfully through the valley ahead. With a lot of momentum, you climb a hill, turn around your own axis and dive into a dive loop. This is also the prelude to a visually impressive double turning manoeuvre, because you now change direction again in an inside-top-hat before you climb an Immelmann loop. On its exit, the final brake awaits the passengers and soon the station of the 1000 m long roller coaster.

Takabisha is an all-round successful roller coaster from the manufacturer Gerstlauer, which is particularly convincing thanks to its launch and the significant steep drop in the second half of the ride. The banana roll is also an extremely interesting element that pulls you back and forth wonderfully. The riding characteristics are brilliant thanks to the classic cars. All in all, this is a roller coaster that absolutely lives up to its waiting time – as you could queue just as long for the ride here in Europe; in general, the queue is moving quite fast.

Fuji Airways

Admission to the Fuji Airways Flying Theatre is somewhat less rapid, as it always takes place at intervals. Built in 2014 by the manufacturer Brogent Technologies, the ride stands out above all (in the pre-show) for its absurd humour. Then in 2016, the film used was enhanced with 6K drone flight footage from the surrounding area and the inclusion of the gondolas from the nearby Tentekomai rollover ride. So they don’t take themselves too seriously here at Fujiyama, and so you glide over the landscapes with great enjoyment and perform an extremely impressive rollover in the middle.

Fans of this type of simulator will be thrilled; for me it was the first encounter with such a simulator and I thoroughly enjoyed the flight with Fuji Airways. The movements were fluid and the images shown were visually impressive; it didn’t really bother me that you could see the edges of the screen. Only the ride itself was a bit repetitive and generally a bit too long – but before the enthusiasm could die down too much, the roll over occurred and suddenly my enthusiasm was back again. All in all, a very nice ride at Fuji-Q Highland that you shouldn’t miss out on.

Tentekomai

In the same vein, one may also dare to take a ride on the Gerstlauer Sky Roller Tentekomai, which once again takes up the story of the fictional airline Fuji Airways and thus also does not take itself quite so seriously. The gondola rotation was easy, so you could get to the roll overs (if you want) quite quickly, however, the ride was over just as quickly. It took all the longer to clear the ride, which wasn’t too bad because of the crowds on the first day of the visit.

Thomas Land

We pass the Wave Swinger and the Shining Flower Ferris wheel, which is relatively small (only 50 m high) for a Japanese park of this size and now head for the children’s area of Fuji-Q Highland. This is based on the children’s series “Thomas & Friends” and was the first of its kind at the time. Since 1999, Thomas and other actors from the Railways Series have been transporting visitors across the island of Sodor. Sometimes even in alternating shifts, because on Thomas and Percy’s Fun Ride the locomotives are changed several times a day.

Otherwise, you feel like you’re in the middle of England. There is a pub ( which is unfortunately only a decoration), a tea room and much more to discover. In the middle of it all, four of the well-known locomotives are ready to be photographed and the fat inspector is of course also represented. In addition, the area is extremely well set up with a variety of rides, including the dark ride Thomas’s Party Parade (including turntable and switch), a very smartly integrated 3D Maze, a children’s log flume, a 3D cinema, and the L-shaped children’s roller coaster Rock ‘n Roll Duncan.

Mini-Fuji

At the back turn of the Do-Dodonpa roller coaster we leave Thomas Land and immediately find ourselves at the Mini-Fuji. There is a small slide here in winter, but otherwise this corner of Fuji-Q Highland lies largely unused. It is all the more interesting that you can actually climb this small mountain, which gives you a great view of the surroundings.

Adventure Land of Kaiketsu Zorori

At the foot of the small mountain is the star flyer Tekkotsubanchou, which fits in perfectly here with its construction site theme. Right next to it, you can explore the Adventure Land of Kaiketsu Zorori. A small, child-friendly funhouse with all kinds of interactive elements stretches across a 700 m² hall.

Ultimate Fort 2 und Super Scary Labyrinth of Fear

Nearby are two notorious indoor attractions; famous and infamous above all as the queues tend to reach their capacity limits by lunchtime. The Ultimate Fort 2 is an interactive walkthrough in the style of an Escape Room, where you have to carry out a seemingly impossible mission – the chance of success is about 0%, out of 100000 attempts usually only one group makes it. The second attraction is the Super Scary Labyrinth of Fear, a scare maze in the style of a run-down hospital with a running time of about 20-30 minutes; advertised, however, are 50 minutes, making the maze one of the longest of its kind.

Nagashimasuka

Interestingly, there is another maze right next to it with a much shorter run time. Our eyes, however, are drawn towards the elevated Hafema rapid river Nagashimasuka and its cute and mean winky cat design. The nasty aspect of these cats can only be seen from here; otherwise the ride is extremely inconspicuous. Even in the station, the degree of wetness seems manageable, as if Nagashimasuka is a simple round boat slide.

But this illusion is clouded; as soon as the ride’s high lift has been climbed and the boat has raced down the first incline, you are wet, or rather soaked, because the short braking distance causes quite a high wave to crash down on the four unsuspecting occupants. The boat then slides down a 670° helix, at the end of which another wave awaits. Now mostly soaked, you bob along a wide curve, pass the lift hill and another turning curve. This is followed, quite surprisingly, by a double drop. Here, too, some water sloshes into the round boat, but the ride is far from over and you land straight in a whirlpool, which is again very typical for the manufacturer. Those who have already completed a few rides of this kind will know that at the end there is usually a wave front waiting for the passengers, which can moisten them quite efficiently: This is also the case here!

The way back to the station is now through a classic rafting channel on the back of the once so friendly looking cat statues, here correspondingly in the angry version. Along the way, you pass a volume meter that switches on additional water effects at the edge of the path if the volume is loud enough. After a wide turn, the extremely wet ride comes to an end, whereupon we were invited to a photo session with our two Japanese passengers (who had asked us in a friendly way if we wanted to ride with them) in front of the two waving cats – in typical Japanese pose, of course.

Nagashimasuka is an extremely great rapid river, which is absolutely convincing due to its very high degree of wetness. The multitude of elements makes the rafting ride absolutely worth experiencing and the double drop alone makes the ride a must-do. Interestingly, you can also try the ride in winter, but then additional protective walls are attached to the gondola.

Voyage dans le Ciel (avec Gaspard et Lisa)

Right next door is the station of the roller coaster Voyage dans le Ciel (avec Gaspard et Lisa), formerly better known as the Hamtaro Coaster. But interestingly, the suspended coaster has an eventful history as the first flying coaster in Japan: Originally opened as Birdmen in June 2000 with flying gondolas very similar to a Zamperla Volare (but with only two seats side by side), it didn’t take long until the first incident happened – during an emergency stop in May 2001 – and the ride was subsequently closed for two years. As a result, the ride was fitted with new gondolas and has since become a child-friendly entry-level ride.

After you have squeezed into the two-seater gondolas (with seats behind each other), the ride can begin. A chain lift transports the rather bulky gondola to the starting height of 23 m. From here, the ride begins with a left turn and then a right turn. Then a left-hand bend and a right-hand bend take you steadily downwards, before a small dip and a hill follow. After a short ascent, the first block brake is reached, whereupon you complete a left-leading downward helix around the Red Tower freefall tower. This is followed by a short left turn, which turns into a beautiful descent at the Spillwater Cool Jappaan. The ride’s second block brake then awaits you beneath the lift hill. In a wide left turn, past the Fuji-Q Highland pedal monorail, you approach the last brake section of the ride, whereupon the thoroughly enjoyable ride soon comes to an end.

Eejanaika

Arriving at the entrance near the Fuji-Q Highland Station, we had to tackle a very special steel colossus – as most visitors do here from the very beginning, because the ride is always crowded quite quickly due to its location directly at this entrance. We are of course talking about Eejanaika, the second delivery of a 4th Dimension Coaster – at that time, it was the first delivery of the manufacturer S&S. The basic layout is very similar to the prototype ride X from the American amusement park Six Flags Magic Mountain, but the gondola rotation was increased a bit at the request of Fuji-Q Highland. The ride is also somewhat larger and has a significantly lower capacity.

However, this is not due to the optimised dispatch process, where passengers prepare for the journey in separate boxes (all loose items and also shoes are placed in lockers) and also not due to the triple bar check, where you also have to become active yourself (probably for legal reasons), as well as the final show interlude before the train leaves the station. It is simply due to the fact that the train only has five gondolas on each side.

Once cleared, however, the ride begins quite quickly and in a 180° turn you immediately find yourself in the supine position, slightly upside down. You then reach the lift in a backwards position before it takes you up to a height of 75 m while lying on your back. Although this happens very quickly, you still have enough time to take a good look at the surrounding mountains – but not at Fujiyama, which is directly behind you.

A short pre-drop gets the wagon group going and aligns us again in the original riding position before we are then directed head-on towards the ground or towards the row in front on the next crest. We then maintain this riding position for a large part of the vertical slope, but turn over once in the lower third so that we complete the following valley looking slightly upwards. In the inside rave turn, the direction of travel of the rail is now changed once, but we always experience the element in the horizontal position, just before the exit of it is reached and we perform a short somersault. The train itself, now hanging under the rail, goes down a slope and then turns around its own axis in a zero-G roll, while we race forward through the dense forest of supports and avoid a rollover in the roll with a 360° turn around our own axis. Facing forward once more, we then enter an over-inclined turn, at the crest of which we are turned towards Fuji-Q Highland. Continuing with a view ahead, we cross a powerful valley alongside the station. On the hill that now follows, the track changes its orientation in a fly-to-lie element and we cheerfully turn 180°. Leading backwards, we then pass a valley and immediately climb a hill at the end of which the entrance of the outside raven turn is waiting. In this variant of the rave turn, we are also kept horizontal while the train changes its driving position and thus continues hanging under the track. At a significantly high speed, we now race towards another fly-to-lie element, which, in combination with the gondola rotation, pulls us back and forth quite a bit. Shaken and stirred, we find ourselves in the braking section and shortly afterwards in the station.

Eejanaika is the most intense roller coaster I have experienced so far. The ride is extremely powerful, robs you of your sense of direction in an absolute way and is surprisingly smooth in its ride characteristics (apart from the last ride element). You are simply not beaten up, even though you are sitting in the train with your legs spread apart in Pasha style. The minimalist, yet quite complicated, restraint reinforces the ride and the respect for it immensely, even if you have already experienced it once. And even now, several months after the ride, my verdict of the ride is simple: Eejanaika is awesome!

Cool Jappaan

Eejanaika does not need any more praise than that, and so we quickly move on to the neighbouring ride, the Shoot the Chute Cool Jappaan from O.D. Hopkins. This ride is identical to the one in Nagashima Spa Land; however, it has a shelter on its bridge with some of the windows missing. The ride itself is slightly less wet than its sister ride, so you don’t get flooded until you reach the bridge. However, you should urgently ride in a poncho – although the staff are very happy if you don’t – because the water here (as in the rafting mentioned above) is unfortunately not really clean and leaves strange stains on your clothes, although this circumstance may only have been present temporarily – at least I thought it could be better.

Panic Clock

Past the Red Tower, an S&S Turbo Drop with a very shallow ride, the path takes us back to the large plane of Fuji-Q Highland. Here we meet the Panic Clock (or PaniClock, as it is written on the ride itself), a Vekoma Air Jumper. A further development of the Sky Flyer from the same company, the ride has gondola carriers with classic SLC seats instead of two open-plan cabins, where passengers are only secured by a lap bar. On this ride, passengers enter and exit on a straight plateau, and before the ride begins, the floor is lowered and the gondola carriers are hydraulically angled so that – unlike the related Fabbri models – the seats are all on a similar circular track. Both arms of the ride then start to move in opposite directions, which is why you keep meeting each other in the valley and in the loop. After 6 full rollovers, the ride ends again. Unfortunately, the ride characteristics are not optimal for this type of ride thanks to the given freedom in the SLC seats. Visually, however, the ride is convincing all along the line.

Much less appealing, however, is the makeshift tent in front of the old Moonraker back wall (which – for whatever reason – was simply not disposed of). Here you can experience the Fujiyama and Dodonpa roller coasters (i.e. Do-Dodonpa before the conversion) as a virtual ride. You sit in the original trains, get wind blown in your face and experience the ride, complete with VR goggles and headphones, almost exactly as if you were just getting on the ride a few metres further on.

Mad Mouse

On the other hand, there is the Mad Mouse roller coaster in Fuji-Q Highland, which we of course love to get on. The two-seater cars are all loaded at the same time and are then gradually sent on their way. As in Greenland, however, this is done very quickly, so that one wonders once again why the Spaniards in Parque de Atracciones de Madrid simply can’t manage it on their Wild Mouse Vertigo.

The ride begins with a tight right turn into the lift hill of the ride. Once at the top, there is another right-hand bend and then the first dip. After a short incline, a right-hand bend is also negotiated and a subsequent dip awaits the passengers. After this, you quickly pass through a block brake and then a fast combination of right and left turns, each briefly interrupted by three short straights. Once you reach the other side of the ride, the first hairpin bend of the ride follows. After a few (Big Apple-like) waves, you then reach the ride’s second block brake. Here, too, there is a hairpin bend. On a short descent, you immediately pick up some speed, after which you race through the third hairpin bend.

On the following straight you pass through another block brake, but instead of going into a hairpin curve, you take a lap around the inner courtyard of the ride. After another block brake, however, you change back to the familiar driving behaviour of a wild mouse and ride through four more hairpin bends at short intervals before reaching the next brake. Now you make your way in quite wide right turns, each interrupted by longer straight segments, through the forest of supports of the ride, before some waves break up this behaviour again. After a narrow right turn, the waves increase and shortly afterwards you reach the final brake of the quite nice ride. From then on, the only thing left to do is to somehow heave yourself out of the wagons.

Tondemina and Evangelion World

Once you’ve managed that at some point, there’s nothing standing in your way for a ride on the neighbouring Giant Frisbee from the manufacturer HUSS. Except perhaps the fact that the Frisbee Tondemina is only distinguished from other specimens of its kind by its massive advertising for the pizza company Pizza-La. In this respect, a visit to the absolutely wild classic Japanese tea cups, the equally classic horse carousel or even the interactive experience Evangelion World around the well-known anime Neon Genesis Evangelion is recommended.

Fujiyama

Now let’s move on to the last roller coaster of Fuji-Q Highland, the King of Coasters himself: Fujiyama. Built by the Japanese manufacturer Togo and with a height of 79 m and a length of more than 2 km, the ride shows off wherever it can, which is partly due to the paint job on the trains. And yet the ride is surprisingly compact, which makes the former record holder look almost filigree. Interestingly, most opinions about the ride are mostly negative – time to change that.

After taking a seat in the very comfortable train, which is however equipped with a strange bar, the ride can immediately begin. Far above the visitors, we pass through a tight turn and immediately reach the lift hill of the ride. This takes us steadily up to the aforementioned starting height, where we now stay for some time. A friction wheel battery then gets the train going a bit, so that, after a short right turn, it plunges into the depths, carrying the passengers into the air. In the valley, you then return to your original seating position and experience wonderfully pronounced G-forces. After a long climb, you complete a wide turn with (theoretically) excellent views of the volcano of the same name. On the following crest, you take off from your seat once more and experience airtime as it is written in the book. When you reach the valley, you would like the airtime moments to go on forever; how nice when shortly afterwards a camelback actually takes you into the air.

With a beautiful pacing, you now cross an elevated turn below the lift of the ride. After the subsequent valley, a slightly left-bending ascent follows, which then leads into an airtime-embroidered double-up. From then on, you race along the support structure of the turning curve through hill and dale. You then leave the aforementioned curve via another peak and drive in a straight line through the following valley. In a steep curve, which later tapers more and more to a turning curve, you quickly build up height, just before you shoot down to the ground and remain there for a long time. At breakneck speed, you pass through a long straight and a right turn close to the ground before the train turns towards the sky again. Still at an extremely pronounced speed, you now pass through a series of hills that zigzag their way through the steel structure of the roller coaster. This is delightfully wacky and causes a broad grin on the faces of the passengers. After a total of 5 hills, you start to climb a hill for the last time on a straight section of track, but instead of a descent, the final brake of the ride is awaiting you. With a good amount of airtime and at a speed that is actually much too high, you are now slowed down to a standstill. Shortly after, the station is reached.

Fujiyama is a magnificent roller coaster that knows how to lift its passengers out of their seats. The ride in the Fuji-Q Highland is breathtaking, while never repetitive and knows how to surprise even the most avowed roller coaster fan during the ride. In this respect, I really like the ground-hugging curve in the last third of the ride, but also the totally crazy last hills have their charm; the core component of this roller coaster, however, is and remains the pronounced airtime during the ride. And there is plenty of it, which is why Fujiyama is the best roller coaster of Fuji-Q Highlands for me and also the best roller coaster of the entire tour. In any case, the amusement park is not exaggerating by singing the praises of the roller coaster as the King of Coasters in a continuous loop. Moreover, the waiting time here almost flies by.

Pictures Fuji-Q Highland

Conclusion Fuji-Q Highland

Fuji-Q Highland is a very strange amusement park that looks really run down in parts. On the other hand, the park has really nice corners and some very great rides. Unfortunately, everything here is concentrated on the Big 4, i.e. the roller coasters Takabisha, Do-Dodonpa, Fujiyama and Eejanaika – the rest of Fuji-Q Highland is partly extinct. Now, however, we were also lucky to experience the park on two empty days (although the second one wasn’t needed and I didn’t ride any other attraction apart from the rapid river); on a full day, a visit is only worthwhile without a free pass, as then you can hardly manage anything outside the big 4 and possibly not even these. From the afternoon onwards, possibly even earlier, the announcements of the attractions whose queues have now been closed become more frequent. Towards the end, there’s nothing left to do but ride the teacups or take a spin on the horse carousel. Nevertheless, I’ll gladly visit the park again.

 

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Click here for the next report of the Titanic Max Tour

Fuji-Q Highland / Titanic Max Day 11 and 12

# Final Summer

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History of the Space World

The amusement park Space World shows us in a very fatal way what fish frozen in an ice rink can do – despite record sales in the same year; whether the now internationally strongly criticised action towards the end of last year led to the collapse of the lease negotiations between the operating company Japan Park and Resort Co, Ltd. and the Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation (NSSMC) as the property owner is indeed written in the stars, but it is obvious, since it took place immediately afterwards: On 16 December 2016, it was announced that the theme park would close on New Year’s Eve the following year.

Before I move on to the #FinalYear celebrations, I would like to take a look at the history of Space World, because the land owners were once the main shareholders of the operating company and founders of the theme park. They were in the process of downsizing their local steelworks, which is why Japan Park and Resort Co., Ltd. was founded in 1988 to manage the vacated land and parts of the existing buildings in the future. Two years later, Space World was opened.

From then on, the amusement park was sensibly expanded at regular intervals. In 1997, the park reached its peak with 2.16 million visitors. A serious accident on the S&S Space Shot Atlas Tower, which had opened the previous year, led to the temporary closure of the amusement park in August 1998, whereupon visitor numbers also plummeted. Despite the opening of its own JR station and a 100m high Ferris wheel, visitors remained at a constant level, which is why the theme park was restructured in 2004. From then on, Kamori Kanko Co., Ltd. (operator of the Rusutsu Resort and Himeji Central Park, among others) became the sole main shareholder of the operating company. All kinds of redesigns followed, as well as the opening of the Zaturn launch coaster. At the same time, however, some rides were closed and the Astronaut Training Centre (Astresta), operated under the Space Camp Foundation licence in connection with Space Camp Japan, was abandoned. In 2008, the attraction was enhanced for the last time with the addition of a water park.

The end of the story is known and yet it is celebrated. Honestly, I don’t want to know how many desperate roller coaster and theme park enthusiasts have been drawn to Kitakyūshū this year and will be drawn after this report is published. At least one thing is certain: the time to experience this extraordinary amusement park is dwindling. Tick, tock.

Tour of the park

Clipper

After passing through the generously designed portal, we immediately find ourselves on the Space Bazaar, the main street of Space World. From here, we turn right towards the Big Bang Plaza. Passing the huge show theatre, the anime museum Gundam World and the Astresta Hall – which is empty except for a meteorite and some moon rocks – we head towards the roller coaster Venus GP, which we already marvelled at on the way to the Space World. But shortly before that, we turn left and queue up for the children’s roller coaster Clipper. Because let’s face it, you’re certainly not that interested in a roller coaster from Germany in a report from Japan if there’s also something from Togo. With this in mind, let’s get into the small, extremely cute spaceships.

The ride on Clipper begins with a small right turn that leads the spaceship train directly into the ride’s lift. A short time later we reach the starting height of 10m, whereupon the train immediately throws itself into a left turn. The train then climbs a shallow incline and turns to the right with a pronounced dip in the middle. In a shallow Bavarian curve manner, we float through a high double curve-interchange play before approaching the ground in a right-hand curve. Then, at high speed, we pass through a final left/right combination of curves towards the station. But just before reaching the station, a short dip awaits us, where on other rides of this kind the brakes would be located.  All in all, this is a great little ride with a surprising finale that should be moved to another location in the near future.

Venus GP

A fate that will be certain for the neighbouring roller coaster. After all, Venus GP is one of the first roller coasters of the Munich-based Maurer AG, which shortly before took over the roller coaster division of the Bayerische Berg-, Hütten- und Salzwerke AG (BHS for short), which in turn took over the production of already commissioned roller coasters when Schwarzkopf of Münsterhausen went out of business. To sum up: Venus GP is a genuine Schwarzkopf product, just not from Münsterhausen and certainly not from the manufacturer. But that doesn’t interest anyone, given the external values of this snazzy ride: A height of 40m, a total length of just over one kilometre, a total speed of 86 km/h and an extremely twisty layout speak for themselves, don’t they?

In any case, the staging of the ride with the boarding to the beat of the Queen classic “We will rock you”, the scream rehearsal before the start of the journey and the ear-catching station music when the train is just whizzing along the track makes this a special experience.  In any case, time flies by and before you know it you’re already on the train.

This is then also quickly dispatched, whereupon we leave the station in the direction of the lift hill. After a left turn, a chain takes us up to the starting height of 40m. Once at the top, there is a short moment to enjoy the view before being plunged full of anticipation into the depths on the back of the space shuttle Discovery. With the speed now built up, we climb a high banked turn before entering the almost circular loop with pinpoint accuracy. In the finest S-curve manner, we rapidly gain height, whereupon the train just barely scrapes past the lift hill in a tight curve. The train then crashes to the ground and reaches the lowest point of the ride. Mercilessly, the train turns around another bend, crosses the heads of the willing park guests and the station at a lofty height, and almost madly throws itself to the ground again. This is followed by an extremely rapid section of track in the form of a figure eight, which is followed by an intense upward helix. At high speed, we now go through a wide left-hand bend, which immediately turns into a downward helix. Shortly afterwards we reach the braking section and soon the station.

I have to admit, Venus GP sounds like the perfect roller coaster: powerful, brutal and merciless. During the ride in the Galaxy Racer, you only go through crisp curves and a beautiful loop – there is actually only time to breathe during the ascent in the lift and in the final brake. But why does my euphoria remain so low?! The answer is simple: the restraints!

In addition to the normal lap bar, the ride has shoulder claws à la Olympia Looping, only in extremely crappy. Well, the ride on the Olympia Looping is already a drastic experience due to the (more harmless) variant – but you can endure that if you strictly adhere to the given seating position. With Venus GP, on the other hand, you should give up hope of that as soon as you get in. This is how you experience the extremely appetising track layout with the constant fight with the bar – not pleasant, but the ride is actually top class.

Space Shuttle Discovery and the Space Museum

Let’s now turn our attention to the remaining edutainment offerings of the theme park, i.e. the replica of the space shuttle Discovery on a scale of 1:1 – which is extremely impressive in itself and makes the space station above the queue of the roller coaster Euro Mir at Europa Park look old without any effort – and the Space Museum. The former clearly has the advantage of not being overlooked by visitors, while not a soul gets lost in the well-made museum. Interestingly, an irrelevant anime was shown in the museum’s own screening room and some of the rooms were no longer open to the public – in the early years of Space World, it was certainly once a great attraction, which could actually continue to exist as an independent attraction in the future due to its location together with the space shuttle.

Boogie – Woogie Space Coaster

Past the Space Eye, the 100m high Ferris wheel of Space World – from which you have a great view of the neighbouring Venus GP roller coaster – we follow the path along the Boogie – Woogie Space Coaster, whose entrance is stupidly on the other side. Arriving at the entrance of the queue, you then have the choice between two backward and three forward facing cars. To increase the surprise factor of this little rust bucket a bit, the first ride was of course in the rear front row.

In a wide 180° curve, you leave the station in the direction of the lift hill. The lift then takes us slowly but surely to the top, where we are allowed to enjoy the view in another turn. On the following shot, in a tunnel through an oversized tetrahedron, we quickly gain speed, before the G force tries to kill us in the following valley, which is strangely inclined to the side. This in turn gives rise to a laughing fit that doesn’t subside until the end of the ride. Full of joy, we pass through the next turn, at the end of which a descent with a powerful valley is waiting. Finally, there is a grandiose downhill helix before one is guided in the direction of the station.

The Boogie – Woogie Space Coaster may not be a milestone among roller coasters, but from a ride-technical point of view it’s just great, which is why we were always happy to get on board. Especially the backwards ride adds a lot of value to this snazzy ride. Due to its condition, Space World will probably be the ride’s last venue – which is a shame.

Planet AQA

The situation is just as regrettable with the Planet AQA rapid river. This is the first product of the manufacturer Hafema. In spacious 10-person boats divided into 5 segments of two people each – which, however, due to the Japanese mentality are only loaded with further groups of people if the first group admits to it – you wind your way, after a long wait, through a channel full of rapids. The ride is similar to that of the rapid rivers made by Vekoma, which makes for an extremely interesting, albeit less thrilling, ride.

4D-Vision Pop Stella

If you do get a little wet, you can get a free blow dry in the drying rooms next to the ride.  A slightly different solution would be a visit to the cinema room of the 4D-Vision Pop Stella, where a BBC nature film with all kinds of effects is shown. Here you can experience the daily routine of a chipmunk.

The next attraction on our tour is in the central building complex, which is probably a remnant of the former steelworks. Although you always walk past it, it can happen that you never look inside the building – which we felt compelled to do only when we were looking for the last roller coaster; luckily, however, we knew how many roller coasters there actually are in Space World.

Mission to Mars

In the building complex itself, visitors are greeted by the ice skating rink, which is open in winter, a children’s play area, the Black Hole Scramble indoor roller coaster and the Mission to Mars Imax simulator. After a long pre-show in which the rescue mission is discussed, you board the large-scale simulators and then get a surprisingly stomach-friendly shake.

Black Hole Scramble

The main attraction in this area, however, is the aforementioned Black Hole Scramble indoor roller coaster. After taking a seat in one of the two six-passenger cars, the ride can start immediately. On the way to the first lift hill, you first pass two long straights, each of which is followed by a left turn. The following lift is climbed leisurely and releases you into another left turn. This is followed by a shallow descending straight where the train picks up speed a little. After a short ascent, a long right-hand bend follows, which immediately turns into a Bavarian bend and finally ends in a block brake. You leave this in a very tight right-hand bend, which shortly afterwards turns into an equally tight left-hand bend. After a short straight and another left turn, a surprisingly steep drop follows, after which the subsequent (also very narrow) right turn is traversed with a lot of pressure on the body. Shortly afterwards, you pick up a few metres of altitude again in lift hill no. 2. You then leave this in a right-hand bend, whereupon the train quickly gains speed on the following straight. After the subsequent right-hand bend, the train performs a short dip, whereupon the next right-hand bend is already waiting for you. After this, you climb a comparatively high ascent, which first releases you into a block brake and then into another right-hand bend. This is followed by the second major drop of the roller coaster, which then releases you into the final left turn and shortly afterwards into the braking section.

Even though the indoor roller coaster seems to consist only of tight curves and a few straight connecting sections, Blackhole Scramble is a true indoor roller coaster of Japanese design, which offers a lot of fun in a very small space. So much, in fact, that I would call it one of the best of its kind.

Twin Mercury

The log flume duo Twin Mercury also falls into this category, where you can either go on the Adventure Cruise or the Fun Fun Cruise. While the Adventure Cruise is meant to appeal to the more courageous passengers, you can let off steam with water pistols on a more leisurely ride on the Fun Fun Cruise. However, as we stood our legs in the queue for the Adventure Cruise due to the minimal number of boats, we refrained from taking any further rides.

When it was finally our turn, we boarded the boat and the ride could begin. After a few metres of bobbing around in the channel, the conveyor belt of the first lift hill was already waiting for us, releasing us into the opulent mountain massif. After a short left turn, it becomes increasingly darker and light effects appear. After these are extinguished, you can only hear the water flowing faster and faster, so a drop is imminent, the only question is when. Suddenly you shoot down into the depths, but the water doesn’t come, instead you dash over a small hill and experience a shallow airtime before you finally come into contact with the cool water. Through openings in the façade, we can now recognise the course of the track and so we bob up to the second lift, quite surprised. This quickly brings us towards the second shot, which is completed in the form of a 500° downward spiral – an absolutely magnificent spectacle. Very well moistened, we now bob past the downhill of the Fun Fun Cruise and immediately disappear once more into the rock massif. After a right turn, we reach the third and final lift of the Adventure Cruise. Having reached the highest point of the ride, we now cross the inside of a crashed UFO in a short right turn and soon enter the last descent of the ride. While we are descending, two water cannons are fired in parallel, so that we get in contact with most of the water already during the drop, while the actual watering is relatively harmless. Shortly afterwards we reach the station again.

The Adventure Cruise of the Twin Mercury is undoubtedly one of the best log flumes in the world. The descents are all magnificently staged, whereby the drop in the inner area is an absolute surprise and almost knocks the second shot ride off its throne. This one is known for its unorthodox shape and the resulting, almost absurd, length. In combination with the Fun Fun Cruise children’s whitewater ride, Twin Mercury offers a unique combo that will soon be a thing of the past.

Titan Max

As much as most likely the Arrow roller coaster Titan Max, which was refurbished in 2015. A roller coaster that I was personally very much looking forward to and for which I read over all the negative reviews, because firstly, the ride was from 1994, the same year as the Big One from the Blackpool Pleasure Beach, and secondly, all roller coasters from the manufacturer are usually very good, but often frowned upon by roller coaster fans because of their rougher ride. Admittedly, it was not the reason to come here, but it was the deciding factor for the tour title Titanic Max.

After you have survived the extremely annoying queue including the continuous announcement from tape, you can climb the staircase up to the station and wait there for a few (many) minutes. Of course, Space World does not run at full capacity, so you can look forward to a freshly dispatched train every ten minutes. With 24 people per train, this is a capacity of 150 people per hour, instead of the 1500 people that were originally possible.

The ride begins with a short dip out of the station, followed by a tight turn towards the lift. This then brings us relatively quickly to the starting height of 50m, where the first drop is waiting for us. On the now existing height difference of 54m, the train accelerates to a speed of 115 km/h in a short time. The following valley is glided through smoothly, as is the subsequent camelback. In the second valley, the acceleration values are a little more pronounced, but again not worth mentioning. Now follows a highly banked curvy part with gentle gradients and climbs in the middle, something like a very long and rather shapeless Bavarian curve. After spending a lap in a triangle, the last curve narrows visibly, whereupon we turn to the block brake. This reduces the speed a little so that one crosses the following part with the required speed. Although the subsequent long ramp hardly makes it seem so, we are now approaching the highlight of the ride. The curve narrows increasingly to a radius where it is a miracle that the very massive Arrow trains could have passed through at all. But while the lateral acceleration values get out of hand, the train immediately plummets abruptly towards the ground. The valley that follows is wonderfully powerful and also features a very nice change of direction. The game then repeats itself in reverse order, whereupon the element in the form of a figure eight unfortunately comes to an end. A shallow ramp with an included left turn now leads us parallel to the first camelback of the ride, whereupon the return of the station is initiated. Here, three gentle hills then await the passengers, where one honestly misses the negative forces a bit.  After a short kinky ascent, the final brake is reached and the ride draws to a close.

Unlike other roller coaster fans, I don’t want to complain about the ride characteristics, because they are absolutely fine. Personally, something else bothers me about the ride, because it is simply boring. There is only one element during the ride that stands out in any way, the rest is like a classic jet coaster and let’s be honest, the Japanese can do that much better than the Americans from Utah. All in all, the Meteor Liner with music selection is a nice roller coaster, but not one that I would queue for half an eternity for in the existing conditions at Space World.

Zaturn

The situation is different with the launch coaster Zaturn, where the waiting time never exceeded 20 minutes, despite the pull-in operation and safety briefing ritual. This is a clone of the Stealth roller coaster from the English amusement park Thorpe Park, which is why the layout is quickly told. After the pulse of the light show has subsided, the train accelerates to a speed of 130 km/h. The train then shoots up a 60m high top-hat and leaves it in the same direction from which it came. In the following valley, a vertical acceleration of 5G awaits you before the braking section is initiated on the following hill. After a bend, you reach the separate exit platform.

Zaturn is solid and, despite its short travel time of about 30 seconds, actually offers everything that is missing on Titan. But compared to Stealth, the ride is unfortunately a bit weak, somehow I missed the atmosphere or at least the spillwater that you drive under on the ride; but it may also be due to the minimally shorter acceleration phase on the minimally older sister..

Along the closed Galaxy Theatre and the Maze Alien Panic Revolution, which we spared ourselves due to the high number of visitors, the path now leads us back to the Space Bazar and thus to the end of this report.

Pictures Space World

Conclusion Space World

Space World is a good amusement park, but it has already left its best days far behind. This is evidenced by the many empty spaces, especially in the area around the Big Bang Plaza. On the other hand, the roller coasters (with the exception of the Boogie – Woogie Space Coaster) are well maintained, which is not surprising when they are temporarily closed during operation. Either way, it was a great day in an extraordinary amusement park, which we will soon be able to talk about with a good dose of pathos; after all, at Space World we don’t mourn, we celebrate.

 

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Space World / Titanic Max Day 3

Full speed ahead on Karacho

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Preface

Erlebnispark Tripsdrill is not a good theme park. Although my reports always reflect a very differentiated and well-considered opinion, it makes sense for once to anticipate a judgement and play with open cards. I don’t like this park and I will probably never like it. The fact that I visited the park for a second time after 2009 was only because of the rather new launch coaster Karacho and even for this one I would never want to visit the park again, but more about that later. In general, the Erlebnispark Tripsdrill is overpriced, has an inferior gastronomy and demands a small contribution at every corner to be able to use the full offer. The wildlife park that belongs to the park is, as also the parking, included in the entrance fee, but is probably not really visited by many visitors; after all, the only reasonable connection to it is your own car.

History of the Theme Park

It all began in 1929 with the construction of the Altweibermühle zu Tripsdrill. Eugen Fischer, the owner of an inn in Treffentrill, took the idea of building the Weibermühle von Tripsdrill from the singspiel by Georg Anton Bredelin after some hikers in the region had explicitly asked for the mill. The allegedly rejuvenating cure of the wild slide was soon on everyone’s lips and thus Tripsdrill steadily developed into a popular excursion destination in the region. In 1957 the first zoo in the immediate vicinity of the mill followed and from the 1960s on the first rides.

Tour of the park

The rides of the front area

When you enter the park, you will immediately find yourself on the nicely designed village street, where you will find the pleasant panoramic Maibaum ride next to the Gaudi quarter, a covered children’s playground featuring a free fall. Here you can also buy the tickets for the crossing to the Wildparadies.

The Mühlental with the famous Altweibermühle is located next to it. To prevent the men from idly assisting the women’s rejuvenation there is also the Altmännermühle, a mechanical open-air obstacle course of an older construction. The Doppelte Donnerbalken, a more than modest vertical ride with a strange inclination effect, the leisurely boat ride Spirtztour der Seefahrer, the children’s log flume Mühlbach-Fahrt, as well as the unique Seifenkistenrennen round off this area.

Friends of overlong leisurely rides will find what they are looking for at the wedding market. Here you will find three of these attractions: the vintage car and horse-drawn Hochzeitsreise, the Schmetterlingsflug and the Wiegen-Hochbahn. Since marriages nowadays tend to be of shorter duration, a trip on the wine bucket ride Weinkübelfahrt is recommendable, before you try your hand at the soup bowl ride Suppenschüsselfahrt through the individual soups in a similar way. With the coffee cup ride, the spinning game could continue, but unfortunately the park runs all flat rides on a low flame, so that even the prototype of this popular classic is not convincing. But this only really gets worse with the Gugelhupf-Gaudi-Tour, the first and only modern waltz ride from Münsterhausen, which, with the best will in the world, has nothing in common with its predecessor. The three other rides, Wäschekorb-Rundflug, Schlappen-Tour and the Wellenflieger Wirbelpilz, are, outside of their design, accordingly worth no mention. After all, the big Tivoli roller coaster Rasender Tausendfüßler by the manufacturer Zierer still manages to entertain the passengers well.

Up to the present time of the report, the front theme areas of the theme park have been covered because they more or less form a unit and are connected to the rear area only by a rather narrow path along the outer park boundary. So there is no direct connection to the quite dominant roller coaster Karacho, which means that you can get lost mercilessly if you don’t know the place.  The peeps of the notorious computer game Roller Coaster Tycoon would have complained loudly about not being able to find attraction XY, especially since the signage is not optimal. In fact, I don’t know of any other amusement park in Europe that is as badly constructed as Tripsdrill, although it can’t be that difficult to build an overpass or underpass and create a second access route, which should also benefit the general distribution of guests.

Waschzuber-Rafting

But if one should have made it to the back area, one immediately comes across to the first big attraction of the park, the Waschzuber-Rafting. This stylish Hafema ride is completely dedicated to the topic of doing the laundry and has some interesting exhibits in its queue that reminds of a museum. The ride through the winding road is not particularly wet, nor fast, but nice and really well embedded into the landscape.

Badewannen-Fahrt zum Jungbrunnen

Behind the round boat rafting, the facade of the Rauhe Klinge Castle attracts all eyes, after all, this beautifully designed concrete block on one side houses two larger rides, which complement each other extremely well. The log flume Badewannen-Fahrt zum Jungbrunnen (Bathtub Ride to the Fountain of Youth) is quite unusual, its name says it all and surprises some, let’s say rather prudish, passengers a little bit.

After one has left the, once again museum-like, queue behind him and got into his tub, the trip can start immediately. As soon as the boat swims freely in the canal, one dumbles a little towards the castle Rauhe Klinge. Parallel to the walls, the first lift takes the boat up for a short time before it goes down a short shot. In a right bend the canal leads you into the building, whereupon you have found the fountain of youth and indeed the old women seem to taper off into young, crisp and well-built women. But the view is only short and so the second lift leads up quickly. This is also where the first turntable is waiting for you, whereupon you take the second, medium sized downhill run backwards. At the back of the castle you now make a turn including the second turntable. Thereupon another lift hill leads you up one last time. At the top you can have a last look at the surrounding landscape before you turn left and enter the upper floor of the castle. After a shorter straight section the big and final shot of the lift takes place, whereupon contact with the wet element is inevitable. The spray is refreshing, so after returning to the station you will be very happy to get out of the tub.

G’sengte Sau

The second ride of the Rauhe Klinge Castle is the 1998 built bobsled coaster G’sengte Sau by the Münsterhausen manufacturer Gerstlauer and its sign the first new roller coaster from the former factories of the legendary roller coaster smithy Schwarzkopf. After the brisk lift hill, the ride starts with a very steep right-hand downward curve, whereupon an outward helix is completed in the same direction of rotation. This is followed by four powerful, contiguous serpentines, which are perfect for exerting some pressure on the person sitting next to you, before the ride, still introduced by the “Wetten, Dass…?”-sign of the famous bet of extreme sportsman Dirk Auer in 2001, goes into a rapid helix combination. The following camelbacks are quickly driven through and can lift you a little bit out of the car before it goes into a final helix-combination. After that the final braking section is reached immediately and shortly after that the station.

The G’sengte Sau offers all kinds of riding fun on the wild ride through the naked concrete world of the Rauhe Klinge castle. Beautiful is certainly different, which is shown above all by the identical Thor’s Hammer ride from the Danish amusement park Djurs Sommerland, but the ride is also incredibly cult, especially because of the banner of the family show “Wetten, Dass…?”, which was cancelled almost two years ago.

Mammut

If you follow the circular route, the next big attraction of the park is the wooden roller coaster Mammut. The roller coaster opened in 2008 and was designed and built by the company Holzbau Cordes, but the trains used are from Gerstlauer. The perfectly joined track and the trains with their sprung axles made for a much too smooth ride, especially in the first years, so that a wooden roller coaster feeling did not exist. A circumstance that made me call Mammut a rather bad wooden roller coaster, but the ride has aged nicely!

The journey begins with a short left turn out of the station and into an unsuitably designed disco sawmill. A small dip and the train hooks into the chain, whereupon it is brought to a starting height of 30m. The first descent is a steep left turn down to ground level. Here one passes a powerful valley before it immediately goes along a high turn with a good speed. A high camelback follows, where you are lifted out of your seat. This is again followed by a turning curve, but this one leads into a steep curve to the left, whereupon the train dives into a small ditch. A clearly low camelback now repeats the game of weightlessness of the passengers, whereupon a fast Bavarian curve is made. Now the track leads through the framework of the lift hill and along the back of the layout. Over a short zigzag track some shake & roll – attributes of a really great wooden roller coaster – takes place, before the train dives into a tunnel after a left turn and a short change of direction. Here, the wonderfully dynamic zigzag course is repeated one more time, whereupon the braking section is already reached.

Mammut is fun! In fact, so much so that, with the best will in the world, you wouldn’t expect it if you’d only seen it in 2009. It’s the best roller coaster of the park, which is why it’s even more a shame that it was on n one train operation during the visit, although there was quite a rush.

Karacho

Let’s get to the last and newest roller coaster of the park, the launch roller coaster Karacho. The expectations were quite high, because if there’s one thing Gerstlauer can do, it’s to launch a roller coaster onto a ride offering a very funny track, and indeed Karacho has both. But the layout couldn’t convince after getting on the train, as these trains are really uncomfortable and the operating personnel additionally pushes the bars down so far that the legs are literally squeezed between the bars and the edge of the seat. Ouch! Kärnan from Hansa Park, a theme park in northern Germany, shows how it’s done differently, but until the trains were delivered two years later there were certainly some changes to them.

The ride on Karacho begins with a slow right turn out of the station. After a short and relatively steep dip, a heartline roll is initiated on a straight line. This happens rather clumsy in my opinion, as the dynamics seem to be missing during this roll; an example how to do it better can be found at the English amusement park Thorpe Park on Saw – The Ride, where the roll is passed after a short bend. Then you pass the first block brake and shortly after that another, in my opinion much too small, dip. With Karacho you are now accelerated to a speed of 90 km/h, whereupon you shoot up a top hat element. Without taking a breather, the car crashes towards the ground, passes the following valley with full force and daringly shoots an oversized corkscrew towards it. Here you are turned upside down for a second time before the train is longing for the ground again. Very restless and quick-witted, the car now takes you over a hill that is strongly inclined to the side, just before you screw up to the block brake in a steep curve. Here you are slowed down to walking speed, whereupon the following part of Karacho is driven through very leisurely. A short gradient changes into a short and uneventful camelback, whereupon you stay in a right turn for a very long time. But then the car takes momentum again and turns the passengers upside down once more while going down in a diveloop. Another corkscrew joins in and at the same time leads into the braking section, whereupon the station of the roller coaster Karacho is reached soon.

Karacho is not only uncomfortable, it also lacks the bite. The ride would be just ok if you could ride it without pain, i.e. with the classic roller coaster trains of the manufacturer, but it wouldn’t be anymore either. Especially the part with the dive loop is done without the insane force of earlier coasters and therefore hardly gives an impression; not to mention the absolutely nonsensical ride part before. Karacho certainly does justice to the target audience.

Pictures Erlebnispark Tripsdrill

Conclusion Erlebnispark Tripsdrill

The Hansa Park of the South is not a good park; it is a nice park, but simply not a good one.  I have tried to understand and comprehend the whole adulation of various roller coaster and amusement park fans in different forums, but I just can’t. It’s a fact that even among Swabians (at least the one I met during my time in Stuttgart) it’s more of a toddler park. There’s simply nothing here that justifies the high entrance fee. Let’s see if the novelties after Karacho can change my opinion…

 

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Erlebnispark Tripsdrill