A magical land in February

Toverland

On my way back from France towards the most beautiful Hanseatic city in the world, after a short sightseeing tour of the city of Cologne with obligatory (once and never again) ascent of the Cologne Cathedral, I went with David and his little brother towards the Dutch theme park Toverland in Sevenum.

Thanks to the Korting voucher there was a lot going on in Toverland, but not so much that one had to wait somewhere, except for the Woudracer. Most of the attractions were running since the beginning of the park, only a few of them changed every half an hour this time. The area around Troy was supposed to open between 12 and 17 o’clock.

Since it was a first for David’s brother in the park we left him the agony of choosing the attractions. At the end of the day Toverland was able to convince him, as he was still haunted by a Schloss Dankern Dejavu when entering the park.

Woudracer

Starting in the second hall, the Wiegand Bobkart Woudracer, which had no queue in the early opening hours, was the first to be given a ride. Irritated by the yodeling sound of the other passengers (even if they were coming from the tape), David’s brother, too, was racing down the track at full throttle.

Booster Bike

In order to keep up the speed rush, a motorbike ride on rails was targeted. Contrary to the copies of Intamin and Zamperla, Vekoma has set value on a relatively true body posture for its Booster Bike. The ride is great fun for a family roller coaster with a launch as powerful as the one of Europa Park’s roller coaster Bluefire and can convince with its combinations of curves. The only thing that minimally reduces the fun is the lack of airtime on the last hill.

Backstroke

As the temperature outside was approaching freezing point, the log flume Backstroke was visited. Extreme soaking if you like, because no matter where I sat I was the only one who got wet. The ride through the metal channel is not the most beautiful of its kind, but due to its special features it is quite convincing.

Villa Fiasco

After a round of Zierer Kontiki we headed towards the first hall, but before that we stopped at the Villa Fiasco. This Fun House is one of the best of its kind and no matter when we came the Ride-Op was happy. He was also a bit surprised when David walked through the house in a speed run.

Boomerang

Once again in the first hall, the children’s roller coaster Boomerang was visited. The way too steep curves still ride themselves a bit strange, but the coaster is still in a class of its own and always worth a lap.

Theekopjes

The rides of the Zamperla company in this hall had a long cycle, but when you ride the wave swinger you wish that this one would finally come to an end. The tea cups spun very well, contrary to David’s opinion (very similar to the tea cups from the Zoo Safari- und Hollywoodpark Stukenbrock, as well as the tea cups from the Movie Park Germany and Hansa-Park).

Aqua Snake

The rubber dinghy slides can still get you soaking wet, even if it’s only me who’s been hit. I feel a little sorry for the staff at this ride, after all, they have to lift the boats themselves into the starting boxes all the time, which was solved better at other rides of this manufacturer.

Toverhuis

In addition to the many amusement options for small children, there is also an interactive house in this area where you can trigger some effects armed with a magic wand. After a while, the salami spell gets on your nerves, but it is still an attraction worth trying out.

I think the redesign of the first hall is a very laudable project, especially since it still looks like a cheap children’s play hall at first glance. In comparison to the second, much more open hall, as well as to the outside area, there is a clear difference in quality.

Ithaka

Speaking of outdoor areas, here you will find the log flume Backstroke, the above mentioned Vekoma Motorbike Launch Coaster, a horse carousel, a boat swing, an electric horse track, a high ropes course and the wooden roller coaster Troy.

Survival Parcours

If you are used to high ropes courses from Hansa-Park and think the shorter high ropes course from Toverland is easier, you are mistaken. Here you can spend half an eternity until you have climbed the course. For David himself the whole project was finished quickly, but his brother and I did the whole route. We had to do this one, as you can’t just turn around after the first exercise.

Scorpios

In contrast, the electric horse race track was a piece of cake. In the latest extension of Toverland, you can see a certain preference for products from Metallbau Emmeln, who were already present in the park with their teacup/giant wheel/lookout tower combo Twist ‘n’ Shout. The Scorpios boat swing from the same company may be a bit narrow, but it offers funny water effects, a good onboard sound and lots of airtime. The fact that this is only achieved with a wheel as drive is a masterpiece.

Troy

The real highlight in Toverland, however, is the wooden roller coaster Troy, which came to a halt in the meantime because of a lost cap and the resulting failure of the lift. Without this ride you would leave the park quite fast, because you would lose the desire for further rides quite fast. However, since Troy allows you to easily stay seated for 40 laps at a time without suffering a blackout or other physical damage, you spend a few more hours in the park.

The ride turns out to be wild, sometimes a bit aimless and at the beginning quite intense (especially the first curve). However, it is always very smooth. The music in the station can drive you crazy after a few laps, but it fits perfectly to express the mood of this ride and luckily there are several tracks.

 

What is your opinion about Theme Park Toverland? Just write it in the comment field below the report or visit our social media channels:

 

          


Some hours in the Zoo Safari- und Hollywoodpark

Zoo Safari- und Hollywoodpark

Since most other amusement parks in the surrounding area had a day of rest on the program, today I went to the Zoo Safari- und Hollywoodpark in Stukenbrock. Since one could only read very little about this amusement park in the various forums, I was all the more excited to visit the second largest safari park in Germany.

Arrived at the park, I was very positively surprised by the reduced entrance fee on this rather quiet day. As one of the first guests I went on safari. In contrast to the Serengeti-Park in Hodenhagen, the route is much smaller, but you could observe many animals and was undisturbed by the clear view in the morning. The highlights of the tour are certainly the lions and tigers.

Flying Tiger

After the safari follows first of all an excursion through the park to get to the parking lot. The parking place catches one’s eye negatively due to the high concrete walls, but this hardly reduces the overall picture of the park. After a short exploration walk I went to the Super Tornado, alias Flying Tiger. The good condition of the somersault roller coaster with its classic Arrow-HUSS coaster trains catches the eye in a very positive way – the ride itself was ok, but there was some weight missing in the train (after all, the ride was started just for me), so compared to the sister ride Speed Snake at Fort Fun Abenteuerland, the ride was a bit too slow.

Flying Oil Pump

Like many other attractions, the second roller coaster of the Zoo Safari- und Hollywoodpark was not supposed to open until later. That’s why I was next drawn to the Flying Oil Pump, a Fabbri Cataclysm. The looping carousel with the imaginative name was my highlight in the park. The ride is exciting, fast and fun. Although you are secured with shoulder restraints during the ride, the big game makes for a very pleasant and extremely exciting ride. The many rollovers and the interaction with the second gondola make the ride to something very special and should be tried by each visitor of the park.

Giraffe Tower and Black Fly

The other Fabbri offer of the Zoo Safari- und Hollywoodpark is somewhat more borderline. At the Giraffe Tower freefall tower, for example, you hang at the top for just under a minute and the Frisbee Black Fly unfortunately hardly swings out at all. Nevertheless Fabbri could convince me of the ride comfort of her rides. Besides Zamperla the second Italian manufacturer who could score points with me.

Teetassen-Karussell

Speaking of Zamperla, there are also some rides from this manufacturer in the Zoo Safari- und Hollywoodpark. They are a lot more family-friendly, but this should not be missing in such a park. Thereby, the tea cup carousel Teetassen-Karussell is specially worth mentioning with its extremely smooth-running gondolas that can quickly give you a real turning worm.

Kongo River

Also worth a special mention is the log flume Kongo River by the Dutch manufacturer Van Edgom. The Kongo River is not convincing because of its extremely slow lift speed, but it can certainly knock the socks off any passenger because of its descents, the rapids and the enormous airtime in the double drop. A big praise is due to the personnel at the ride, who did not feel too bad to rescue my cap that flew off during the double drop.

Affenzug

Behind the water ride there is a place with some enclosures. Beside a large enclosure with mostly lazy white lions, one could observe extremely active white tigers during my visit. The station of the Affenzug with which one drives over the monkey island is also located here. During the trip, the monkeys climb around the train and can come very close to the visitor – if it were not for the grids on the train. You can also find the frisbee and a water roundabout.

Marienkäferbahn

Close to the Flying Oil Pump there are several Heege motor swings, which have a nice portion of airtime, as well as a water playground, several children’s attractions and hardly slippery slides by Metalbau Emmeln. The park’s second roller coaster, the so-called Marienkäferbahn, is also located here. In a small wooded area, the big Tivoli Coaster by the manufacturer Zierer takes you through the ground level curves of this classic family roller coaster.

Pictures Zoo Safari- und Hollywoodpark

Closing Words

The Zoo Safari- und Hollywoodpark has a great price/performance ratio. 24€ is quite affordable for what is offered and if you go on a day without shows, like I did, you only have to pay a reduced price (17€50). The rides are (almost) all in a good and well-kept condition and can convince. The park is definitely worth a visit.

 

What is your opinion about the Zoo Safari- und Hollywoodpark Stukenbrock amusement park and zoo? Just write it in the comment field here below the report or on our social media channels:

 

          


A day in the world of adventure

Chessington World of Adventures

The day after Whit Monday we took the train to Chessington South and from there we walked about 1km to Chessington World of Adventures – a Merlin Entertainments theme park. There we immediately came across a wonderfully deserted animal and theme park. On the day we visited, all the rides were doing two laps in a row, which was quite amazing, especially on the roller coasters.

Dragon’s Fury

Passing the tigers and lions, which were still moderately active in the early morning, we made our way to the first object of desire, the Dragon’s Fury spinning coaster. This ride, built by Maurer Söhne, is relatively easy to describe as it is simply brilliant. The first drop ends in a crazy S-curve combo that leads into an Immelmann turn. This is followed by a couple of turns and helices, which then lead into another weirdness, the second fairly flat lift hill, which gives you the potential energy to complete the rest of the rather bizarre layout.

Dragon’s Fury is by far the best spinning coaster in the world, which is no mean feat with rides like Sonic Spinball at Alton Towers or Tarantula at Spain’s Parque de Atracciones de Madrid. The ride itself usually has a very good spin, which adds to the great layout of the ride.

Wild Asia

Next door, the newly designed Wild Asia area took us straight to Asia. The former Beanoland, which was dedicated to an English comic series, has been revamped for the 2010 season and now welcomes visitors with two new features.

Monkey Swinger

As well as a bumper car, a playhouse and a crazy bus by Zamperla, the area also boasts a very remarkable installation: A Zierer Wave Swinger. Normally found in almost every amusement park, Chessington World of Adventure manages to make the Monkey Swinger something very special by using water fountains. In contrast to the installation at Phantasialand, the fountains at the Monkey Swinger are not only an impressive decoration, but also serve as ice-cold refreshment. This is where you realise that the English are not really averse to water. It is not surprising, then, that you will find yourself running through the water fountains at least a dozen times during the ride. The outer seats, where you are already soaking wet, are still the driest seats.

Kobra

To get dry you can go to the body dryer or take a ride on the new Kobra ride, a Zamperla Disk’o Coaster. Unfortunately, the ride itself looks much more impressive from the outside than it is from the inside. Nevertheless, a ride on the Kobra is still a nice in-between ride.

Lorikeet Lagoon

The second new feature is the Lorikeet Lagoon, an attraction that is becoming increasingly common in zoos such as Erlebnis-Zoo Hannover and Weltvogelpark Walsrode. This is a walk-in aviary where lorikeets do their rounds and you can buy food for these birds for a small fee. The nature of these parrots is such that you can get into some pretty funny situations, as long as you have some nectar to attract them.

Dragon Falls

In the Chinese themed area of Mystic East you will find the log flume ride Dragon Falls next to the Peeking Heights Ferris Wheel, from which you can theoretically see all the way to Thorpe Park. This ride is beautifully designed but has a very low water level and a rather bizarre layout.

Rameses Revenge

Much to the surprise of the staff, we took a ride on the Top Spin Rameses Revenge. As the first guests of the day, we were surprised not only by the ride’s fountains, but also by the staff’s knowledge of German, who appropriately referred to the machine as a ‘Waschmaschine’.

Tomb Blaster

In the same themed area is the interactive dark ride Tomb Blaster, an attraction by Sally that is well worth seeing. A long train takes you through a series of breathtaking backdrops. Due to the yawning emptiness of the park and the resulting long pauses in the block areas, you could score a lot of points, but the ride also lacked some momentum.

Rattlesnake

Somewhat hidden in a pit like Top Spin, the cars of Rattlesnake – a Wild Mouse by Maurer Söhne – make their rounds. The waiting area in the middle of the layout alone deserves some attention, but the ride trumps that. Unlike the Crazy Mine at Germany’s Hansa Park, the original ambience has been preserved and not enhanced by functional additions.

Runaway Train

Slightly off to the side is the Powered Coaster Runaway Train – a Blauer Enzian model from Mack Rides. This standard model is perfectly suited to Chessington World of Adventures, as you can see from the queue that has somehow been inserted into the ride. The coaster itself is also much more harmonious than its sister ride Flying Fish at Thorpe Park, which is barely 15 miles away. The friendly staff also contribute to the great atmosphere.

Hocus Pocus Hall and Sea Life Centre

An interesting attraction is the passage through the Hocus Pocus Hall, where you can see some effects with special glasses. Another interesting walk is through the Sea Life Centre, which unfortunately has an ugly tent look from the outside. Inside, however, the aquarium is very impressive. The large variety of species and the elaborate design make for a high entertainment value. Thanks to the very low number of visitors, it was finally possible to take a closer look at the fish.

BubbleWorks

The Transylvanian themed area is home to the world’s most beautiful Burger King and a very special dark ride about squeaky ducks. The tour of the BubbleWorks bubble factory is quite amusing and has one of the most impressive finales as you literally take a bath. You won’t get wet, but the water jets you pass through are impressive.

Vampire

The last roller coaster in the park is an Arrow Dynamics and is a true suspended coaster. This rare type of coaster is mainly found in America and unfortunately the very few examples are getting rarer and rarer with time. So it’s good to know that there is one in Europe. The new Vekoma trains at least give hope for a long future.

The ride on Vampire starts out quite amusing with some combinations of curves where you are already swinging a bit to the side. Shortly after that the ride climbs the second lift hill, which completes the visible part of the ride. Passing the row of houses by the Burger King, you quickly reach the treetops where you continue to swing back and forth. The highlight of the ride comes shortly after when you exit a tunnel and swing out hard after a big drop. Unfortunately, you end up in the brake section, where you swing out a bit before returning to the station.

Vampire is a very surprising coaster, and the ride comfort for those who wear glasses is noticeably improved as soon as you take them off. Although Vampire is neither the tallest nor the fastest roller coaster in the park – mainly due to the local constraints of the park – Arrow Dynamics have managed to give the park an extremely entertaining ride that is definitely unique, at least in Europe.

Black Buccaneer

Next to it, in a very interesting location, you can admire the park’s boat swing, which, like all the other big rides, is located in a pit. Bizarrely, the entrance to Black Buccaneer is in a rather illogical position, so you might need to spend some time looking for it. Once you have made the impressive descent to the ship swing, you will be rewarded with a great ride with a rather large swing out.

Pictures Chessington World of Adventures

Conclusion about our first ever visit

Chessington World of Adventures is one of the most exciting animal and theme parks in Europe, with top quality rides, beautifully designed themed areas and a really good zoo. If you are in the London area and have to choose between Chessington World of Adventures, Legoland Windsor and neighbouring Thorpe Park, Chessington World of Adventures is well worth a visit.

 

What is your opinion the theme park Chessington World of Adventures?  Just write it in the comment field below the report or visit our social media channels:

 

     


Click here for the overview page of Chessington World of Adventures