Tag: Heide Park

About Nemesis Sub-Terra and some Fireworks

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Preface

During the time after the first visit of this year, the Ministry of Joy moved into the park, which gave it an insane atmosphere, because wherever you looked, the Ministry of Joy was omnipresent. Since the whole action has a huge potential it would be a pity if the symbols would only be seen at SW7 next year. If you travel by car and can live without Priority Parking, you will find yourself at the other end of the park, not far from the Forbidden Valley theme area with its legendary roller coasters and the indoor attraction Nemesis Sub-Terra. From here, a monorail connects the parking lot with the entrance of the park, unfortunately, the view into the park through the windows covered with foil is hardly given. The fact that English people are not averse to joking is especially evident in the evening hours, when for example the cow train of the monorail is supposed to be greeted with a loud “moo”.

Nemesis Subterra

First Impressions

As I missed Nemesis Sub-Terra during my last visit, I had to take a closer look at it. The attraction can hardly be compared to a specific attraction, as Nemesis Sub-Terra is simply more. In a military tone of voice you are introduced to the upcoming experience. Shortly after the first preshow follows, where a newly discovered cave is pointed out, where some eggs of the legendary alien creature Nemesis have been found, which, tamed, has been used as a ride for the visitors of Alton Towers for several years.

The Experience

After entering the elevator you go down to the visitor center where one of the eggs is already in sight. After all guests have taken their places, something goes wrong. The egg breaks out and you immediately fall into the depth. While on the upper level one was only confronted with one egg, here one meets the siblings. You can feel that the crab-like creatures are not particularly friendly, especially on your legs.

Shortly thereafter, we get back on track and a countdown to self-destruction shows that we should leave the visitor center as soon as possible. It is loud, it is dark and not a soul is in range. In the elevator to the top you see yourself safe again, but even here not everything is right. The Nemesis Younglings attack the elevator, so that you can be glad to meet some employees of the Phalanx Operative, who are here for some aliens roast. Due to technical problems, we now pass through a stroboscope-like illuminated corridor, until we can see ourselves in security shortly afterwards.

Conclusion

Nemesis Sub-Terra is a terrific attraction, which even makes its real attraction, an ABC Rides Freefall, a minor matter. In contrast to Krake lebt! at Heide Park, which can only convince by its design, Sub-Terra offers not a specific attraction, but an experience which you should not be missed.

Fireworks

Towards the end of the season, Alton Towers blows up quite a lot of rockets into the air and presents a good 20-minute fireworks show, which is well synchronized to current as well as classic melodies. As Alton Towers is a quite big park, it is recommendable to get on the way early, as, among other things, the cable car Sky Ride stops its operation at an early stage. Also, some areas are widely closed and paths are narrowed down. Moreover, on these days, there is a very huge crowd of people in the park.

 

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Alton Towers

Nemesis Inferno in the rain

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Preface

If you can’t think of anything better on a Sunday than to drive to Thorpe Park and skilfully ignore any weather forecast and let yourself be dazzled by the sunshine on Saturday, it can happen that the English weather shows its supposedly typical side and thus makes for a very wet visit. What do you do for a ride on Nemesis Inferno…

The Island like no other

When you enter Thorpe Park, you still have that unique feeling of being immersed in a completely different world – something that amusement parks usually don’t manage to do. However, since this year, the view from the bridge is a bit clouded, because while the left side shows an idyllic panorama, the view on the right side is no longer dominated by Tidal Wave and Stealth, but disturbed by the rather unfavorable angle on The Swarm.

Storm Surge

Although it had been raining all the time, the novelty from last year was particularly popular. The queue of the Storm Surge round boat slide was well filled until the afternoon, which is certainly not only due to the low capacity of the installation. The ride in the smaller version of the Spinning Rapids Ride by WhiteWaterWest is gentle and, due to the tight curve radii and the resulting frequency of the brake mats, hardly gives you a noticeable spin – as you can experience for example in the Rio Dorado of Hansa Park. As with other installations of this type, the ride only gets you wet with a lot of luck, if only there weren’t the water jets and water cannons at the end of the ride. While the former helped the guests to cool down in the Cypress Gardens amusement park in Florida, this is of course not enough in the comparatively cold Surrey. Therefore some water cannons were provided for the park guests, which have a rather high range. If one should not be shot straight frontally with these, the degree of wetness is quite pleasant. The circumstance that the never visited toddler area of Thorpe Park was torn down was welcome.

Tidal Wave

Probably the most popular attraction of the day is located only a few meters away from Storm Surge’s entrance, a prankster who thinks of the indoor roller coaster X:\ No Way Out. Of course it’s the great Shoot the Chutes ride Tidal Wave by O.D. Hopkins, which now even soaks its already superficially soaked passengers’ underwear. The results showed after the ride in the full body dryers confirm this thesis clearly.

X:\ No Way Out

The Vekoma Enigma roller coaster X:\ No Way Out had a breakdown in the early morning, but since the guests of Thorpe Park were left waiting in the rain in front of the ride, instead of waiting in the anyway way too long covered queue, more and more people joined the line, which is a rather rare sight on a roller coaster like X:\ No Way Out. The world’s longest and probably only backwards running dark roller coaster is an often underestimated roller coaster, which may be due to the family-friendly ride of the ride. Unfortunately, since the installation of a light effect above one of the block areas it is much too bright to use the darkness of the hall as an advantage. Now, the ride still goes haphazardly through the hall, but instead you can see the track next to you and which one you have already completed. The computer virus theme is still very odd, but it’s what makes this roller coaster so special; however, it would be immensely helpful to introduce a soundtrack within the whole layout.

Nemesis Inferno

Not far from the brilliantly staged fishing village of Amity Cove, things are a little more tropical, or rather more fiery. Inside a volcano is the station to Nemesis Inferno, the younger brother of the roller coaster Nemesis from the sister park Alton Towers. Luckily, both coasters are completely different and share the same type of ride, apart from the preference for more special layouts. After the first drop on Nemesis Inferno, you complete a swinging S-curve combination through a tunnel, usually in combination with a fog effect, before hooking into the lift. This is followed by the steep curve drop with looping and zero-g roll following, which are very intensively ridden. A curve follows before you see yourself upside down again in a corkscrew. Untypical for this type of track, another curve is followed by the second part of the Interlocking Corkscrew, which pulls you along nicely at the back of the train. Further curves and a helix follow until you are standing happily in the brakes of Nemesis Inferno.

It is the one big difference that makes Nemesis Inferno better than the first Inverted Coaster on European soil. Here you don’t get the feeling that the track could have been even longer, here you don’t do two slower turns that both end in an inversion and here you don’t advertise to be the most intense coaster in the world, which wasn’t the case at the opening. Nemesis is a good ride with a huge fan community, a unique layout that makes good use of the limitations of the environment, only the experience in all its attributed intensity is not as satisfying as it is on Nemesis Inferno.

Detonator

Thematically to the Inverted Coaster Nemesis Inferno belongs in close proximity the Fabbri Mega Drop Detonator, which does not have the traditional arrangement of the seats, but has designed them in a circular pattern. The ride in a Fabbri tower is outstanding, because a spring is tensioned when the car is lifted, whereupon noticeably higher negative G-forces are generated when releasing the Detonator. Strangely enough the deceleration was unexpectedly smooth.

Slammer and Samurai

Another interesting ride in the area around the Inverted Coaster Nemesis Inferno is the S&S Power Sky Swat Slammer. As luck would have it, the ride is currently closed and will probably not open again until Halloween. Since this was also announced on the website, the loss of a ride is not as shocking as it was in May 2010; if you have already enjoyed a Sky Swat ride once, you would like to repeat it. A few metres further on, one could see the Mondial Top Scan Samurai partly dismantled lying around in the way, practically set in a way that it was also not possible to make a trip in the railway of Thorpe Park. According to speculations, the ride is supposed to be renovated and repainted.

Saw – The Ride

Saw – The Ride has turned to the good again after its disastrous second year, at least as far as the speed of the ride and the condition of the stirrups are concerned. The cars, completely intact, are once again racing down the track, so that the inequalities during the ride are hardly noticeable. The biggest crime at the roller coaster still remains, the fast-pass queue still exists and generally makes the waiting time in the stand-by line feel a lot slower. It’s more convenient if a queue is moving and doesn’t stand still for minutes just because the other side is currently being let into the building. In this respect and for the sake of the ambience, which was destroyed by the division in front of and on the stairs, one wishes the old system back.

Colossus

The 10 inversions roller coaster Colossus, which besides its name also shares the soundtrack with Colossos from Heide-Park, is a prime example for the design of a roller coaster, because the way the paths run here, especially the queue, is simply breathtakingly beautiful; as long as you can see over the blue painted tunnels.  The ride in the ride built by Intamin is also very borderline in the first three inversions, everything that follows from the two wonderful corkscrews, over the four consecutive heartlinerolls to the final, but directionally reversed roll, is just lovely or, as with the last roll, just outstanding. What Intamin has created with this inversion is simply perfect.

Flying Fish

On the way to the novelty of the year you will pass a powered coaster by the manufacturer Mack Rides called Flying Fish. Previously located in a cul-de-sac, visitors willing to ride now frequently pass by, but this does not mean that the queue gets packed – the train only runs more often. Due to the wide wagons, Flying Fish offers an unusual and strange riding experience on a powered coaster of this kind. Although one also has the feeling in the normal trains to hit the supports as soon as one raises the arms, it seems to be more distinctive in this train.

The Swarm

Strangely enough, the close calls at the Bollinger and Mabillard roller coaster next door don’t create this feeling and in general it is hard to say if and where it triggers feelings at all. The left side of the train experiences a very weak ride at The Swarm, while the passengers on the right side experience a very solid roller coaster ride. Above all, it is a much more impressive experience to ride over the top than underneath to experience the first inversion and simultaneous first drop. The following inversions are all more intense on the right side and even the Inclined Loop is much more fun due to the inner radius.

Hardly any other roller coaster made the classification as difficult as The Swarm. While the left side is even weaker, the right side with the ride experience is very nice, but nothing more. It complements the portfolio of Thorpe Park and makes sure that a few more people come to this part of the park, also the park doesn’t seem so small anymore due to the expansion.

Rumba Rapids

Due to the rather bad weather, most of the rides were left behind, also the Intamin Accelerator roller coaster Stealth was closed. But since the ride programs at all flat rides are hardly worth mentioning, which by the way also applies to the oversized compressed air swing Rush from S&S Power, this is not necessarily a tragedy. Apart from Storm Surge and the Rumba Rapids, a rafting ride with a level of wetness where you get off drier than you got on at the end of the ride, no water ride was visited. Regarding the Rumba Rapids, it should be mentioned that the installation not only has potential, but also convinces with the existing soundtrack. Although this facility is as wet as most other European rafting rides, it is nicely laid out.

Conclusion Thorpe Park

Thorpe Park is quite a nice amusement park. The park’s clientele is generally young, so there are some families to be found around here, but without small children – they are better off within 15 miles of the amusement parks Chessington World of Adventures and Legoland Windsor anyway. Its reputation as a thrill capital naturally attracts a group of visitors that don’t like to be seen in a park, but in general all visitors were able to behave themselves. The oh-so “grubby” park map with its hidden details is not as disgusting as many people think – it rather reminds of some of the details you can find in the Miniatur Wunderland. Of course, one can argue about the style and maybe a serious appearance would be better, but that’s just the way it is in Great Britain.

 

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Thorpe Park

One day in vertical reality

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Pleasure Beach Blackpool

The Pleasure Beach Blackpool amusement park, founded in 1896, is undoubtedly considered the roller coaster mecca in Europe. After all, there are ten different roller coasters here, whereby one ride is more special than the other. But also other, mostly very rare, rides can be found and so Pleasure Beach Blackpool has a very special atmosphere, something the rest of the area around does not have.

After having picked up one’s ticket in the ticket centre of the casino building beside the actual park, there is a short bag control before entering the park. If you have a bag with you, you can get a locker for a day’s rent, which is relatively low.

Flying Machines

The first impression of the park looks promising due to the imposing supporting structure of the Big One. The very spacious forecourt is dominated by one of the park’s most famous attractions, the Flying Machines. Built in 1904, it is the park’s oldest attraction and offers a fast-paced feeling of flying, once the machine has reached its full potential. A modern copy of the ride can also be found in Disney’s California Adventure.

Infusion

As most of the attractions did not open until later in the day we went to the newest roller coaster of the park, the Vekoma Suspended Looping Coaster Infusion. The ride, previously known as Traumatizer at New Pleasureland Southport, was placed on the area of the park’s former log flume, where it now stands out between the roller coasters Big Dipper and Big One. The way to the roller coaster turns out to be quite long, but gives you a wonderful insight into the action.

The ride itself is of the usual quality for this type of roller coaster, but no major strokes during the ride are to be expected. The water effects you are exposed to during the ride are nice and appear especially nice in the front row of the ride.

Big Dipper

One ride that looks a lot bigger in pictures than in reality is the Big Dipper, a wooden roller coaster from 1923, a special feature of this coaster is, besides its age, the tower on which the turnaround takes place before the first big drop. The ride on the well-padded, even if a little bit tighter, trains is amusing, even if it bounces strangely around especially in the rather flat part of the track. Fortunately, the ride with the Big Dipper is equipped with rather pronounced forces and thus you can enjoy a lot of airtime moments.

Big One

The roller coaster that brought the Pleasure Beach Blackpool to everyone’s attention in 1994, and one of the most accurate name is the Big One. At the time of its opening, it was the highest, steepest and fastest roller coaster in Europe and has only been beaten twice so far. Nowadays, however, it is still the highest, steepest and fastest roller coaster, at least in the vertical reality that only this roller coaster offers.

The Big One is an underestimated roller coaster, which is often criticized by all kinds of amusement park fans, mostly in connection with its manufacturer Arrow Dynamics. However, the fact that the roller coaster rides much better than some of the European versions of the luxury roller coaster manufacturer Bollinger & Mabillard is usually ignored or simply not noticed due to fanaticism. The almost 1700m long ride itself is first class and very impressive. The first drop is simply ingenious and the following hills offer a distinct feeling of speed, which is rounded off with very strange airtime in front of the block brakes.

If you look at the Big One with respect to the vertical reality that this roller coaster undeniably embodies, you will find one of the best roller coasters in Europe – a bit more neutrally, it is at least the best roller coaster of the park with an unmistakable view of the Irish Sea.

Steeplechase

Opposite this ride you can discover another roller coaster made by Arrow Dynamics, which is dedicated to the horse racing culture of the English. Steeplechase is one of the most special roller coasters in the world and the only roller coaster in the world that still runs with three tracks. As special as this is, the riding position is the real reason why the ride is so remarkable. Similar to a bigger horse carousel you sit relatively free on the horse-like wagon, which is quite adventurous because of the strangely shaped curves. Unfortunately, on the day of the visit only the red lane was running.

Blue Flyer

A little less adventurous is the children’s wooden coaster of the park Blue Flyer. Like Tomahawk from Port Aventura, this roller coaster uses the small PTC trains, but there is at least some space left. The ride itself starts quite nicely with some hills, until the curve through the building of the former indoor coaster Space Invader 2 slowly ends the ride.

Nickelodeon Streak

Right next to the blue painted roller coaster is the orange Nickelodeon Streak roller coaster. The medium-sized Out & Back roller coaster offers a wonderful ride in five-row cars, where you can get a little scared during the turns, because the cars are noticeably drifting apart.

Dora’s World Voyage

Furthermore, Nickelodeon Land offers one of the most kitschy and best dark rides in Europe. In several areas in Dora’s World Voyage you will be taught the welcoming phrase of the corresponding countries by the adventurer Dora, whereby the choice of Tanzania is rather questionable. Nevertheless, We did it! and an imitation is highly recommended.

Avatar Airbender

Besides other children’s rides and a log flume, you can discover a Mack Rides Twist & Splash with Spongebob Splash Bash, which probably still likes to suffer from children’s illnesses, which is why a ride was unfortunately not possible. At least the Zamperla Disk’o Avatar Airbender was running, which showed a surprisingly intense ride.

Avalanche

Similarly intensive, at least according to the general tenor, is the roller coaster Avalanche. The ride itself can indeed be described as quite exciting, as it is rapidly gaining speed. Remarkable is the well maintained canal, which the trains run down. However, the ride does not come close to the Schweizer Bobbahn roller coaster at Heide-Park. Also, the laughing man in the immediate proximity creates an atmosphere that one does not like to be exposed to.

Grand Prix

Below the bobsleigh track you will find the Grand Prix ride, which has a very interesting layout. Especially the beginning and the end in form of a parking helix are remarkable.

River Caves

Equally remarkable is the theme trip River Caves. The ride through the caves is so well designed in places that the course can easily keep up with the larger boat dark rides such as Fata Morgana from the Dutch Efteling theme park.

Wild Mouse

Right next door you can find the best wooden roller coaster of the park, the Wild Mouse. It is better not to ride this roller coaster in pairs, as this can be slightly painful. The ride itself is the epitome of the word wild and knows how to convince with its intense ride. The airtime that is generated during the descents is pronounced, which is even increased by the safety belt. Very remarkable is the brake system of the layout, which is rather modern.

Grand National

Between the supports of Big One is the entrance to one of the last Möbius roller coasters in the world. Here, the left lane ends on the right side and of course vice versa, so both lanes are always running and allow racing operation even on empty days. The Grand National roller coaster itself promises so much, but unfortunately it can’t keep it. An airtime orgy, as some videos suggest, is not to be found here, only the racing feeling is guaranteed.

Valhalla

In a hall with a rather ugly facade and a comparatively puny station in front of it, one can visit the Asen in Valhalla. But as the Nordic gods are rather choosy, one has to face three challenges. After passing the first lift one is confronted with enormous heat until after some time there is the first drop that takes place backwards. Because heat is not fun when slightly moistened, one is sent to a cold room, where many a viking has found their bitter end. The next drop already manages to make you a little bit wetter, the following water effect makes you soaking wet. Again you climb a lift and the effect of a swinging axe will drench you from the side. The final shot shows a double drop, which is much wetter than the other slopes and starts the second downhill run unexpectedly late. In the following room you get a little warmed up, however, this passage could be a little longer to actually have the chance to dry again.

Valhalla is good, but not outstanding. The mixture of water ride and dark ride is a mixture that you should see more often. The design unfortunately seems a bit sparse and less original in some places, which even the whole water effects cannot compensate. The wetness level of the ride is extremely wet, but it can’t compete with O.D. Hopkins Tidal Wave from Thorpe Park in England, which outshines any Intamin water ride just because of the wave it creates.

Ice Blast and Derby Racer

On the place in front of Valhalla is the S&S Power Space Shot Ice Blast, which unfortunately doesn’t do anything special. In this respect, even the 90m high scenic ride of the same model from Parque Warner in San Martin de la Vega, Spain, is much more fun. Luckily, the Derby Racer next door is a rare and fast-paced attraction, which basically resembles a somewhat oversized horse carousel and shows a remarkable speed.

Alice Ride

Visibly close to the Derby Racers is the Alice Ride theme ride, where a journey to Wonderland is on the agenda. The black light effects make the ride look slightly spooky, just like the Snow White theme ride at Disneyland Park in Paris. The ride itself is great, especially since you ride on concrete slabs which is kind of unusual.

Ghost Train

Directly opposite is the Ghost Train, the world’s first ghost train, which has been in operation in Pleasure Beach Blackpool since 1930. The ride itself is beautifully designed and can show some effects that you rarely see in ghost trains, but the ride is not really spooky. Those who like great dark rides will get out of the car with a happy grin on his face.

Revolution

The last roller coaster of the park is currently being renovated, which is a pity on the one hand, but if it will make the Revolution even more revolutionary it is a welcomed project, after all there have been many rumours about the demolition of this roller coaster. So one of the last three Arrow Dynamics Launched Loop layouts will remain and the English can continue to enjoy their first looping roller coaster. Due to the continuous work that has been done during the visit, the ride is likely to open towards the end of the month.

Pictures Pleasure Beach Blackpool

Conclusion Pleasure Beach Blackpool

Pleasure Beach Blackpool is a nice amusement park with good roller coasters and good theme rides where you can spend a few hours. The park itself is a ray of hope for the city that surrounds it, but the park has some gaps or simply closed attractions, which spoils the atmosphere and the portfolio at the same time. In this respect, it would have been nice to ride with Bling, the Spin Doctors, the Trauma Towers, the Bumper Boats, etc. At least the first visit was worth it, but for the time being I won’t have to return to Pleasure Beach Blackpool.

 

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Blackpool Pleasure Beach