Indoor Coaster

The Air Meeting of Nigloland

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Nigloland

Since 1987, the amusement park Nigloland has been located on the outskirts of the French village Dolancourt. It was founded by the showman brothers Gélis, following the example of Europa-Park in Rust. Over the years, the park has developed like no other French amusement park from a regional to a national destination in the middle of the beautiful Champagne region.

Anyone who now expects a park like the Walygator at Maizière-lès-Metz, due to the showmanship background of the park founders, will probably be pleasantly surprised. After entering Nigloland, the first glimpses fall on the beautifully shaped park landscape, which by French standards is simply outstanding. In this area you will find mainly more leisurely rides, such as the vintage car ride, the jungle raft ride or the grand prix, which looks amazingly similar to a certain ride from the Sauerland Fort-Fun Abenteuerland.

If you now turn left, you enter the Canadian part of Nigloland, which unfortunately is a dead end. Here you will find a log flume and a powered coaster made by Mack Rides as well as a nice little cogs ride.

Rivière Canadienne

The log flume Rivière Canadienne is, as so often in France, equipped with only one shot, but the layout is integrated wonderfully into the surroundings and thanks to the Train de la Mine, which is built in sections over the ride, a beautiful interplay of both rides is created. Even if the level of wetness was not particularly high, the ride alone is convincing due to its good condition and excellent decoration.

Gold Mine Train

To get to the powered Train de la Mine you first have to leave the nicely designed queue behind you and climb into the depth of the mine. The ride itself is quite surprising and can show some funny changes of direction. The speed of the train is constantly high, even if the last curve during the last lap is a borderline experience.

Grizzli

Somewhat more hidden in this area are the Zamperla Disk’o Coaster Grizzli, as well as the station of the Mississippi boat tour. While the second ride opened later, Grizzli enjoyed many satisfied passengers. Just like the Cobra from the English Chessington World of Adventures, Grizzli is not only a great ride, but also offers an outstanding design.

Manoir Hanté

Passing the ship swing Galion Pirate we now enter the righthand part of Nigloland. On this stretch of the path you usually meet a lot of people, so you might think that this area would be quite empty, which of course it is not. The first highlight in this area is the old Manoir Hanté, which is a bit on the edge of the path.

Through an access to the cellar you can reach the inside of the Manor House, where the ghosts are already waiting for you. In the self-built ride you take a ride in unique carriages, which turn more or less in the desired direction due to the inclination of the track. The ride is unexpectedly harmonious, both in terms of the rotation and the scenes. All of them genuinely tell a story line and are not stuffed with all kinds of junk like at the Geisterschloss in Europa-Park. Along with the comparable ride from Disneyland Park, this is definitely one of the better rides of its kind.

Air Meeting

Back in daylight, the next highlight is already waiting in direct sight. The new for 2012 ride was still advertised in the brochure under the name Sky Fly, which has now been changed to Air Meeting – a name that does not necessarily make sense. Nevertheless, the prototype installation from Gerstlauer is something very special, which should be placed in a similar form in every theme park. Apart from the absolutely positive feedback from the audience, which looks up to the sky full of astonishment and wonders how one can make a rollover so quickly, the operators also have a lot of fun giving the flying audience tips for the perfect ride.

That these tips were mostly given with a reference to some of the pilots was at least an honour for me, after all the staff themselves were amazed what some pilots got out of the second day of the ride. During my first ride I was quite astonished how fast one could make a rollover, during the 90 seconds of driving time there were 39 more, which was about the normal number of rollovers. The second ride showed that it is still possible to bring the whole thing to the top, where even the centrifugal force became so strong that my glasses had the constant urge to be pushed outwards and slowly move away. Even after I let go of a wing because of this, the rotation did not decrease. The fact that you only see circles during the 80-90 rollovers underlines the extremes of the ride – if you want it that way.

During the rest of the day there was a constant urge to visit the ride again and again to show the French audience of Nigloland how it really works. Hardly any other ride in this park captivated us as much as Air Meeting did, even if it paid back on our shoulders in the late evening. One can only wish Gerstlauer all the best for the further marketing of this ride, because it is simply perfect in many respects and serves such a wide range of park guests. I have only seen very few rides like this before.

Juke-Box

In the immediate vicinity of the air meeting you can see one of the most harmonious rides. Matching the 50s style and underlaid with a very great soundtrack, the Juke-Box is one of the most beautiful Schwarzkopf Monster. Apart of the look, the ride is not very interesting and even fast spinning ride is not really possible due to the padding in between the seats. However, the whole package is convincing.

Spatiale Expérience

The intergalactic travel agency Spatiale Expérience in the row of houses next to the Juke-Box knows the way into the depths of our universe. The ship which is waiting for its passengers is similar to the EuroSat roller coaster from the Europa-Park in Rust and so it is not surprising that the propulsion is also similar to that of the Rust model. The following ride is often described as quite brute and there is also talk about miscalculations by the company Mack Rides. However, this ride resembles more the indoor roller coaster Vogel Rok from Efteling and was quite amazing.

The trip through the galaxy features very ingenious interactions of right and left turns and offers a smoothness of running that one would not expect due to the prototype of Europa Park. The scenery during the ride is minimalistic but effective and the soundtrack to the ride is just great. The speed at which you race through the ride is constantly high, but the forces involved are just right, even the braking is almost harmless.

Apple Flight and Grand Roue

Past last year’s novelty, the Apple Flight from Zierer, which like all new wave swingers is somehow slow-moving, we go to the big attraction from Gerstlauer. We are talking about the Ferris wheel Grande Roue, which fits quite well into Nigloland, despite its transportable construction.

Schlitt’Express

Next to it, the latest roller coaster Schlitt’Express is making its rounds. As with the other roller coasters in the park, great importance was given to a coherent appearance. The roller coaster itself fortunately corresponds to the standard layout of a wild mouse, only with minor changes, as you can see for example at the end of the ride. The cars have been adapted to the latest standard from Mack Rides, which is rewarded with very comfortable seats and great bars, but the possibility to crush each other in the curves is massively limited, which somewhat diminishes the fun of the ride.

Chenille

In the small children’s area you will find the smallest roller coaster of the Nigloland, which was very popular in the afternoon. We’re talking about the Wacky Worm roller coaster Chenille, which even features a grown apple. I found it quite amusing that the staff was the only one who noticed that I was wearing my Gerstlauer Fleece Jacket, after all it wasn’t the warmest day despite the constant sunshine, but it didn’t make the ride better than it is.

Dinosaures Aventure

With the Dinosaures Aventure, Nigloland offers a small walk-through attraction, which is enhanced by a preshow. If you understand the French language, it is even quite interesting to follow. The following dinosaurs, on the other hand, have all been seen somewhere, whether in the queue to Rasti-Land’s great rapid river, in the dinosaur park Münchehagen or in various other small theme parks. Honestly speaking, it could be better.

Bobsleigh

The most hidden entrance in all of Nigoland is at Schwarzkopf’s City Jet ride called Bobsleigh. Here it’s a little surprising that the queue basically runs above one half of the roller coaster, but is tastefully decorated as is typical for the park. The loading station is a bit awkward, as many of the park guests just stand in the way and the trains start with empty seats most of the time.

Once you have made it into the very spacious and comfortable vehicles, the journey can begin. Typical for this type of ride the lift is solved by an upward spiral with conductor rails. Once you reach the top, the ride goes down so abruptly that airtime forms in the back of the train. The following curves are so brutal that one is glad to have some short relaxing phases in between. The brakes at the end of the track are typical for the manufacturer, so it is best to hold on tight.

Bilder Nigloland

Fazit Nigloland

Nigloland gave me a lot of satisfaction during the day. Even when I lost my wallet in the meantime, thanks to the help of the very competent staff, I was able to quickly retrieve it without anything being missing, whereas in Hansa-Park it would have been lost forever. The park itself is charismatic and not as detached as many other family-run parks. There is a good atmosphere in the park, which is mainly created by the family audience, which knows how to behave very well. The reasonable price is simply outstanding for what is on offer, even though there is clearly room for improvement in the catering.

 

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Nigloland

A roller coaster ride in Phantasialand

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Phantasialand

Due to a competition with a low participation for the attraction Maus au Chocolat, which had not been opened yet, Phantasialand gave away several tickets for this year’s season. Since the time of my last visit in 2009 a lot has changed, for example the old Schwarzkopf dark ride Gondelbahn has been demolished. In addition, many new children’s rides from Zamperla have moved into the park, the neighbours have found a reason to complain – about the whisper-quiet water attraction Wakobato – and an extension is still far in the stars because of some environmental activists.

The first impression from the old entrance, which now only serves the shuttle guests, is quite nice, even though Main Street used to look nicer. The now present space looks quite strange at Phantasialand and the construction sites don’t fit into the ambience. A similar situation exists with the huge passage from Berlin to the fantasy area.

Fröhliche Bienenjagd

As one of the newer attractions, the Fröhliche Bienenjagd (Happy Bee Hunting) in particular was a good investment. From the outside, the ride can be quite inconspicuous, but this perception changes during the ride at a stroke when the car first dashes over the small hill. The corners of the mouth distort and a wide grin appears.

Hollywood Tour

The off-the beaten track located dark ride Hollywood Tour should separate itself from the old-fashioned theme, which is hardly recognisable during the ride. However, the ride is still more exciting than Pirates in Batavia at Europa-Park, where you can take a nap for 2/3 of the 20 mins journey. Still, there is so much more potential in this ride that can be used; a look at the current state of the ride is too much of an effort and should be avoided by any means.

Temple of the Nighthawk

One floor above the Hollywood Tour you will find the Vekoma roller coaster Temple of the Nighthawk. Unfortunately this roller coaster could hardly reproduce its once fast past ride. If you ride through the pitch dark with its constant changes of right and left curves at a snail’s pace, you can definitely do without the ride despite its outstanding length. Efteling’s Vogel Rok shows how intense comparable rides can be.

Winja’s Fear and Winja’s Force

Next door you have the choice between two mediocre spinning coasters, one of which is rather bad and the other simply better in almost every respect. Of course we are talking about Winja’s Fear and Winja’s Force. If you have to queue here for more than 30 minutes, only a ride on Winja’s Fear is worthwhile, as the layout tends to approach the top-class spinning coasters Dragon’s Fury and Crush’s Coaster due to its choice of elements. Only the special elements make the rides on both tracks an experience that you should – if still unknown – experience.

Race for Atlantis

If you walk up the hill, the first thing you encounter is the simulator Race for Atlantis, the highlight of which is the safety rap of the preshow if you are guided into one of the cabins at all, as the staff often forget the passengers. The simulation itself isn’t very worth mentioning, which is a shame, as the way the movie is shown has a lot of potential.

Talocan

The HUSS Suspended Top Spin Talocan is quite stylish from the outside, but always has the problem that more people watch than ride and therefore stand gawping in your way. The ride itself is balanced, intense and can score with its rollover series, which fortunately are longer than with an older Top Spin. You get the better – and also more stomach-friendly – ride on the spectator-directed side, as the wall doesn’t constantly rob you of your orientation.

Stonewash Creek and Wildwash Creek

If you enjoy the water, you can use two water playgrounds, the multi-storey rafting ride River Quest, as well as the two log flumes Stonewash Creek and Wildwash Creek. The left side of both rides has a much too short outlet, while the other side can be surprisingly wet. However, both rides are very in need of restoration and thus it wouldn’t be really surprising to see both rides soon levelled to the ground.

River Quest

With a little luck, the Hafema raft ride can make you more wet than the two log flumes together. However, if you are really lucky it can happen that you get soaked down to your underpants. But if you are damn very lucky, it can also happen that you are temporarily flooded with so much water that the other passengers in the boat cannot even see you for a short time. Amazingly, the shoes stayed dry, so there was no danger of catching blisters or other unfavourable stuff.

Mystery Castle

In order to get dry again, a trip on the nearby freefall tower can be taken. Unfortunately, the ride which is located in a high masonry does not offer, what it should offer. Basically, Mystery Castle is just a very loud elevator in a building. There is a lack of forces which prevents the ride of being as awesome as other Intamin installations worldwide.

Silbermine and Geisterrikscha

The Silbermine and Geisterrikscha dark rides were unfortunately not worth mentioning this time, although the Silvermine had no reputation to defend, as the ride is generally considered to be boring and, above all, lengthy. In the case of the Geisterrikscha, some of the scenes were literally made worse. If you don’t want to renew the entire ride, you should make sure that the charm of the ride is not damaged by your actions.

Feng Ju Palace

In the Feng Ju Palace – the Vekoma Mad House from Phantasialand – nothing wanted to run as it should. The projection towards the end of the ride missed the intended surface and was shown on the still spinning drum. At the end of the actual ride, this mistake caused the doors to be in a rather awkward position. After some time the drum was brought back to its starting position and the doors opened.

Black Mamba

It remains a mystery how the newspaper Bild titled the roller coaster Black Mamba as a crash-coaster, as the death of the person last Saturday was not caused by an accident, but by the carelessness of the victim. Despite all attempts to experience a crash by ourselves, the Black Mamba offered the solid ride for which it is well known. Since remaining seated in spite of empty seats is still not allowed and the queue is simply too long for such undertakings, we did not make many rides.

Colorado Adventure

One or two rounds – this time with remaining seated – were instead taken on the park’s showpiece roller coaster, the Colorado Adventure. The right side of the train became compulsory for friends of water sports, as it was not spared by the waterfall of the third lift. The strangely banked curves and the generally high speed make the ride one of the best of its kind, even though the back cushion is still not very comfortable.

Tikal

This year, in addition to a good and, above all, fast wave swinger made by Zierer, which also offers a wonderfully refreshing ride, two children’s free-fall towers from the same house were able to move into Phantasialand. Even if the size is deceptive, both towers of Tikal, as well as almost all children’s rides in Phantasialand, are very convincing. The ride is very surprising and unlike elsewhere it is very dynamic.

Conclusion Phantasialand

Phantasialand is a recommendable amusement park if you either have too much money or just won a card somewhere. Unfortunately, most rides are not worth mentioning anymore. It is also astonishing that several construction sites exist until the high season. Thus, there is unfortunately the hint that there are also other amusement parks in the vicinity of the city of Cologne that do a lot better than the park in Brühl. Phantasialand currently invests a lot, so the future remains open.

 

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Phantasialand

A great weekend at Europa-Park

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My first visit to Europa Park

Blue Fire Megacoaster

As Blue Fire was new this year and the first roller coaster to open in Southern Germany, the ride was targeted right from the start. This approach was absolutely justified, because while the queue for Blue Fire was only about 20 minutes in the morning, it was much longer in the afternoon. Somehow everyone wanted to ride Blue Fire.

After taking your seat in the very comfortable trains of the Blue Fire roller coaster, you pass through a small, nonsensical dark ride section, where you are launched at a snail’s pace with all sorts of effects. This is followed by a very modest turn which, like the following element of a looping, is taken far too slowly. The steep turn before the climb up to the block brake can be seen as the highlight of the ride, as long as you don’t come to a stop in the block brake. The following corkscrew is a lot of fun at the right speed, but unfortunately you don’t get to enjoy it very often. The absolute outrage, which fans unfortunately call the highlight of a coaster par excellence, is the supposed and completely miscalculated heartline roll towards the end of the ride on Blue Fire.

Blue Fire is by far one of the most boring roller coasters around, nothing is right and one can only hope that Mack Rides will realise the potential of the following rides. Where the first part of the ride is far too slow, the second part on Blue Fire is unfortunately far too fast, leaving guests with a weak, boring and bad coaster that they will think is better due to their lack of experience with inversions and launches.

To wake up from this deep sleep, the café next to the ride was tested. The coffee served there is damn good and is the real highlight of the Icelandic themed area.

Atlantica Supersplash

After leaving Iceland and heading towards Portugal, you find yourself in front of the impressive structure of the Atlantica Supersplash. Unfortunately, like other rides of this type, it can’t do anything, but there’s a drench zone to get a little wet. The nonsensical backwards part of the ride can be complemented by an even more nonsensical 540° turn on the first turntable, as long as the capacity is not fully utilised.

Tiroler Wildwasserbahn

If you want to get really wet, make a pilgrimage to the Tiroler Wildwasserbahn, which lives up to its age. Especially on this ride you can see how much Europa Park takes care of its rides, as this log flume looks and rides like new, which is not the case in other parks. The level of wetness is excellent and the cave you go through is just great.

Alpenexpress Enzian

The Alpenexpress Enzian also makes its rounds through the same cave and is just as impressive as its slightly longer brother from Soltau Heide Park. But not only the Powered Coaster shows clear parallels to Soltau, you can also find a bigger version of the Seerestaurant in the Lüneburg Heath, as well as some smaller attractions that are more or less the same.

Fjord Rafting

Fjord rafting also looks like a small version of Mountain Rafting, but unfortunately the ride itself is not really exciting or even wet. The rapids, the waterfalls and the wave pool are particularly mild. The design is nice, but you can see the age of the Intamin ride.

Apart from the HUSS Pirate nearby, there are not many rides from other manufacturers in the park. Apart from the Zierer Wellenflug in Austria, the Zamperla attractions in the English themed area and the Chance C.P. Huntigton train, there is only the Intamin Gyro Tower in the French themed area and the biggest European roller coaster by B&M.

Silver Star

Silver Star is the quintessential car park roller coaster and makes perfect use of this fact with a fitting theme. The layout’s out & back design looks breathtaking due to the height, but the ride is relatively harmless. While in the front row you only get an unpleasant breeze during the ride, in the back row you get some nice floating airtime at its best. Unfortunately, the ride has the worst queue since the invention of the queue, so a 20-minute wait in the summer is definitely not worth it.

Eurosat

Not far from the steel giant is the dark roller coaster Eurosat, one of the best roller coasters of the park. Although the curves are sometimes quite borderline in complete darkness and the brakes are adjusted very strongly, but you wait no matter how long the queue is, at most 30 minutes, because it moves steadily forward.

Universum der Energien

Beneath the ride is one of the better attempts to copy Disney’s universe of energy. Even if very few people notice or even find it, this dark ride is definitely the most coherent one in the whole park. The dinosaur theme is a bit out of fashion, but should be back in fashion by the time the fourth Jurassic Park is released.

Schweizer Bobbahn

The Swiss themed area features the prototype of Mack’s bobsleigh run, which has nothing to offer other than an attractive design. The Swiss bobsleigh track is one of the most harmless and, unfortunately, boring rides of its kind. Unfortunately, the queue is usually the longest, as the capacity is not very exciting.

Matterhorn Blitz

Similarly boring is the second coaster in this area, the Wild Mouse with an extended layout and a lift instead of a lift. Matterhorn Blitz was my 100th roller coaster and unfortunately the ride and the longest queue in the whole park were not worth it. The extended Mice lack basically everything that makes the more compact and better standard Mice.

Jungfrau Gletscherflieger

Probably the best attraction in this area is the Jungfrau Gletscherflieger, a ride that is very reminiscent of a Zierer hang glider flight, but with the ground beneath your feet. Unfortunately, this very fast ride has never been widely available.

Fluch der Kasandra

In the Greek themed area there is a witches’ swing, which for once was not built by Vekoma. Unfortunately, The Fluch der Kasandra has no story to tell, and apart from the main room, there’s nothing more than some nice atmospheric music. The additional effect of the pop massage is a novelty, but completely unnecessary.

Poseidon

The nearby Poseidon water rollercoaster is a good example of how a water rollercoaster should be ridden, as if you are lucky you will get wet, or if you are unlucky it will happen before the ride as you wait under the Trojan Horse. The twisting rollercoaster section has some interesting strokes, but nothing to spoil the ride.

Pegasus

Pegasus is the most airtime-rich and family-friendly rollercoaster in the park. Named after the winged horse, the coaster offers a twisting track that finishes at a decent speed, perfect for young audiences.

Euro-Mir

In the Russian themed area you can visit the Russian space station Mir. Much quicker, though no less exciting, is the neighbouring Euro-Mir. One of the best soundtracks of all time plays as you climb up the harmonious lift. Once at the top, you take a few turns around the Mir towers as the gondola spins. Before the first descent, the gondolas lock into place, so that the next part of the ride is either forwards or backwards, until the gondolas turn 180° on the hill. The following part of the coaster is very intense and remains so as the radii get smaller and smaller. As on the Eurosat roller coaster, the brakes are very strong, but if you are lucky enough to hit them backwards, it is not too bad.

Schneeflöckchen Schlittenfahrt

Tucked away is the Schneeflöckchen Schlittenfahrt, a beautiful and harmonious dark ride with puppets and probably the most iconic car in the form of a sleigh with benches, hence the attraction’s nickname, Bench the Ride.

Piraten in Batavia

In the Netherlands you can visit the Piraten in Batavia dark ride. Like so many others, this dark ride tries to be like Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean. Unfortunately, the ride does not succeed at all and for me it is one of the worst and most boring dark rides ever. Not only is it an unparalleled waste of time, but it is also the perfect attraction to put you to sleep.

Magia

The Variety Show in the Italian themed area was equally successful to put me into sleep at the time of my visit. I did not see much of the show called Magia, but the clown at the beginning of the show was quite original.

Geisterschloss

Nearby are the dark rides Ciao Bambini and Geisterschloss, both of which are more or less copies of well-known Disney attractions. While Ciao Bambini was not tested by me, the completely trivial Ghost Train enjoyed a visit from time to time, as the Geisterschloss is not so bad after all.

In the Spanish themed area, there are two other smaller attractions, including a sea storm ride with a decent enough ride that you can usually just get on without having to wait. There are also a number of show arenas scattered around the park. The ice skating show is one of the best, although the clown before the show is always the highlight.

Pictures Europa Park

Closing Words Europa Park

In contrast to Heide-Park, Edeka Day at Europa Park is a very special day. Apart from free samples at every corner, there are many other activities. Strangely enough, this day was also much emptier than the day before and it was open longer. If you still have time in the evening, you can watch the latest films in the park’s own 4D cinema, which is mostly in 2D, but with the appropriate special effects.

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Europa Park