Intamin

Hooray, I’m in the movie

itemprop="discussionURL"0

Movieland Park

The Movieland Park, founded in 2003, is the latest project of the Amicabile family, who already laid the foundation stone for today’s Canevaworld Resort in 1965 with a dance club. The resort now consists of the water park Caneva Aquapark, the Disko Night Festival, the dinner show Medieval Times and the Rock Star Restaurant, as well as the theme park.

After having bought the tickets at the central ticket offices at the water park, we follow the path along the high street in order to get to the actual forecourt of the film park. Until the previous season you entered the park through the big studio gate, now two buses serve as the new entrance portal of the Movieland Park.

Tomb Raider Machine

As a result, there is now a separate entrance to the Tomb Raider Machine, a Windshear by Zamperla, which is generously staged with water, fire, fog effects and some drama. Basically five different ride programs can be driven here, which are randomly determined by a selection disk, as long as the Ride-Op does not brake the disk before and then adjusts it to a mission. Depending on the selected mission, the duration, intensity and effects vary. The show of the system is more exciting than the ride itself, which is a bit jerky.

Horror House

By walking through the old entrance portal, you find yourself right on the Main Street of the park, in whose corner house there is something gloomy or better said in whose cellar there is something pitch dark hidden. Since its opening, the Horror House offers the park guests a year-round scare haunt, thus a non-temporary cabinet of horrors with actors, similar to the Krüeger Hotel in the Spanish theme park Parc d’atraccions Tibidabo in Barcelona. The queue line sets the mood of the attraction, which gains momentum in the completely bloodstained lift.

Released directly into the darkness you follow the red lights of the surveillance cameras through absolutely dark corridors until you slowly but surely get used to the darkness. From time to time we now pass through larger scenes, all of which have a reference to horror film classics and have been elaborately designed. I especially liked the cold room scene with the body bags, which first blocked the way through movement and then showed their full effect through the use of a stroboscope and Freddy Krüeger from the Nightmare on Elm Street movies. Fortunately a group of two people caught up with us in the last room in front of the stairs leading up. They took their way with the camera light of their smartphone and thus took away the atmosphere. At the end, Michael Myers from the Halloween movies waited with a chainsaw for us. Worried that it will continue as long up here as it did in the basement, we found the exit to the attraction.

The Horror House is a very atmospheric and beautifully designed haunt with an amazingly long lead time. The 600 seconds given by Movieland Park itself can only be reached if you are guided through the corridors with your hands on the shoulder of the person in front. It took two of us a little longer to find our way in the pitch dark corridors. The actors do their job very well, even though you can almost always guess what will happen right away. Compared to the similar Krüeger Hotel I like the staging and the story line in the Parc d’atraccions Tibidabo a little bit better, yet here you have a truly outstanding attraction that you definitely shouldn’t miss.

Addams House

However, it should be clearly pointed out that a visit under the age of 14 is not permitted. But also that is not a problem, as there is at least another access down to the cellar in the Addams House. Here, you pass through some rooms and corridors of the big horror haunt and get brilliant entertainment by Zombie-Hitler. Alone this moment is so delightfully abstruse that you inevitably have to love the park. After a short time, but with a really wide grin on your face, you leave the attraction. Understandably, the access to the Horror House is closed during the Addams House playtime.

Overdrive

On the back of Studio 1 a live set is currently located, on which the film Overdrive, generously advertised in the park, is recorded. In principle, this is a small stunt show disguised as a film recording, in which some park visitors are also involved. Some stunts will be shown, then the footage will be cut and at the end the film will end up on YouTube or the park’s website. Two takes per day are recorded, but the times were not advertised, so we both missed them.

The Illusionist

But we were able to watch the magic show The Illusionist, which is roughly based on the film Prestige. The show shows some well known magic tricks, which are accompanied by all kinds of effects. Unfortunately, I couldn’t follow the story very well, as we were a bit late for the show. Nevertheless, the staging is quite well done and the theatre itself is impressive.

Terminator 2 – 5D

Right next door you will find Terminator 2 – 5D, an Interactive Theatre, where you shoot with pistols at a screen, but also at plastic figures. The terminator animatronics are convincing, as well as the numerous additional effects. Unfortunately, you can’t see much of the screen from the side. The game is fun and certainly worth playing, even though the game is hard to beat and therefore ends with Game Over before you reach the end.

U-571

Passing the Fazenda di Zorro or the remaining entrances of the Rodeo Grill Restaurant (which was decoupled from the park in 2012 and was supposed to entertain visitors after the opening hours of the two parks (and during lunchtime in the Movieland Park), however after two years of operation it was sold and finally renamed to Ristoburger Zero21), our way heads towards the submarine simulator U-571.

In a submarine bunker we first wait for more recruits to be allowed to enter some time later by our commanding officer. He informs us, while a staggering sailor is joking with a bottle full of rum behind him. During this show the Allies suddenly attack and several bombs fall into the harbour basin. We have to flee, but all roads are blocked and so we approach the submarine of the model U-571 at a rapid pace, climb down, hurry through the underwater vessel and take a seat in a chamber while the boat is submerging.

Our drunken comrade now tries to save us both and the submarine and tells me to open and close some valves in it; meanwhile we dive further down, but something is leaking. Full of haste I now try to comply to the specifications and getting loaded with water every now and then, while the rest of the recruits are shaken a little during our dive. At one point, one of the valves is gone and the amount of water can hardly be stopped. However, like a miracle, we manage to surface without being discovered by the Allies.

The U-571 is a spectacular attraction with a breathtaking pre-show and outstanding actors who really put a lot of effort into staging this attraction. Unfortunately, there is not much to see of the replica of the submarine in scale 1:1, as you run through the boat rather quickly. The actual simulator is just an old movie rocket without a movie, shaky benches and a brilliant, yet extremely oppressive atmosphere. If you are sitting in the front left of the boat, you have absolutely no chance to avoid the water, so that you get drenched on a similar level as jumping into the neighbouring Lake Garda.

Troncosaurus

If your clothes are still dry, take a ride on the Troncosaurus log flume, which looked more like a multi-storey car park than a splashy tree trunk ride down two drops before the redesign of the dinosaur area at the bottom of the park. Nowadays, the ride looks just as good as the rest of the area, which is now an ideal children’s area with matching sound.

After leaving the station, you head towards the first lift hill in a wide right turn. When arriving at the top, the track turns around below a later section of the track, whereby the entrance and exit run almost next to each other. Thereafter, the first descent of the log flume follows, whereby the transition into the lower canal is quite abrupt and makes for very good splash. After that you find yourself in another long right-hand turn, which leads parallel to the first lift hill into the second ascent. At the top, you follow the same route as on the lower floor. Instead of taking the second drop, you head straight on to the other side of the lift, where you cross a left-hand bend and slowly but surely approach the second drop. The run-out section is not quite as wet as at the small slope earlier on. A further left turn is then taken before approaching the station.

Troncosaurus is a very special log flume made by L&T Systems, which not only accommodates as much water as possible in as little space as possible, but also makes good use of the applied technology and is as energy-saving as possible, e.g. by using only one water circuit. The ride itself is quite nice and the wetness level is quite respectable, especially since water is constantly dripping into the boat even beyond the two shooting runs.

BC-10 Airlines

Next door, the BC-10 Airlines boat swing is swinging upwards, though the original swing of the former Looping Starship Aerovarvet in the Swedish leisure park Liseberg was significantly higher. When the looping madness of the 80s started to subside, Liseberg rebuilt the Looping Starship by removing the counter weight and the shoulder harnesses. Later, it disappeared from the landscape for several years before Movieland Park took pity on it and bought and redesigned the ride. In its current form, the boat swing entertains passengers in three different cruising programmes, although there is no clear difference. Unfortunately, the ship always brakes a little as soon as it has reached the maximum swing. The tight lap bars and the ride circle are reducing the fun slightly.

Brontojet

Also rescued from disappearance was the Schwarzkopf City Jet Brontojet, which had previously entertained its passengers for several years in the English amusement park Lightwater Valley and was briefly operated by the Bemboom family in Loudoun Castle and then stored. In 2010, Brontojet was opened as the second roller coaster of Movieland Park.

After taking a seat in the comfortable train, a short track section leads us straight to the spiral lift of the ride, which supplies the driving motors of the two cars with power by a conductor rail and thus continuously transports us upwards. At the top, we can enjoy the view of Lake Garda for a short time before we head towards the ground. With full power we cross the first valley, where after we rise again. Just below the first descent, we now drive around the spiral lift in a gentle left turn, before we throw ourselves back into a steep turn towards the ground. Following a turn near the ground, the trail continues several metres upwards and descends as quickly as possible in an oval downhill helix, carried out in the finest Bavarian curve style. Right after a very abrupt transition from an inclined curve into a straight line, which is certainly not laid out according to the heart line, you immediately stop at the powerful brake of the course.

The Brontojet is a truly intense roller coaster with, aside from the transition to the brake, absolutely great ride characteristics. For me it was the second City Jet ride after Nigloland’s great Bobsleigh coaster. Here, the ride was also very convincing, even though the design of the ride is far more minimalistic. The Brontojet was my 400th roller coaster in Europe.

Bront-o-Ring and Octopus

Not quite as spectacular is the Bront-o-Ring, a small powered children’s roller coaster with a triangular layout, whose train is supplied with power via a cable in the middle of the ride. Here you turn round after round for a longer time interval, until you are happy to get off again. Opposite is Octopus, a stylish polyp ride by Soriani & Moser, which offered a long and joyful ride.

Back to the Back Stage

With Back to the Back Stage you will find a rather unusual monorail where you can take a look behind the scenes of the amusement park. For this reason you should only visit the ride after visiting all the main attractions. The monorail stops at several stations with some displays, where Doc Brown gives some insights into the individual attractions in short movies, before he is shocked by the catastrophes of Magma 2.1 and wants to travel back into the future. As a result – at least from the story’s point of view – at the end of the ride, we actually travelled one day into the future.

Kitt Super Jet

From the monorail you get a good insight into the wild action of the Kitt Super Jet boat drivers. Inspired by the still popular series Knight Rider (Supercar in Italian), the Foundation for Law and Constitution has commissioned a manhunt. However, not in Kitt, as that would be a catastrophe in terms of capacity, but in Super Jet, the equivalent on water.

After Michael Knight has personally prepared us for the mission in perfect Italian, the boat is lowered and leaves its harbour in reverse. The 600 hp engines start soon after and the boat accelerates in an incredible way. With full throttle we now turn lap by lap over the basin area of the neighbouring stunt show while avoiding some targets that have been lowered in the meantime. Occasionally the driver brakes spontaneously, turns a pirouette and accelerates at the same rate. Then, the boat disappears into a shed, which turns out to be an ambush. Under fire we leave the building shortly before it collapses and speed over the water surface once more, triggering some additional water effects. Shortly afterwards, the boat returns to its parking bay in the safe harbour of the Foundation.

Kitt Super Jet is probably the most breathtaking water attraction in Europe and definitely one of the attractions you should have experienced in your life. The integration of the series Knight Rider fits somehow perfectly, which is further underlined by the appearance of the original German superhero David Hasselhoff as a somewhat aged Michael Knight in the short pre-show. The ride offers a lot of speed, action and adrenaline and yet something for everyone. Therefore, you inevitably have to take your hat off to Movieland Park, which proved with Kitt Super Jet that Canevaworld Resort is the better choice for a successful theme park day at Lake Garda.

John Rambo Stunt Show

Shortly after 5 pm the gates to the John Rambo Stunt Show opened and the remaining guests could fill about half of the huge show arena. Shortly afterwards an old comrade of John Rambo and some visitors were captured by terrorists. John Rambo hurries to free his colleague, but is discovered quite fast. It begins an action sequence with motorcycles and quads, at the end of which Rambo has to take a good beating. In the meantime his comrade has freed himself and together they establish some order. A female soldier working undercover joins him, only to be caught in an ambush shortly afterwards. Meanwhile the hostages (the captured visitors) are brought to the main stage and can experience the spectacle up close. As the only person not captured, Rambo tries to free everyone in a one-man army sequence. He first frees his colleague and opens the escape routes, whereupon an action-packed show on the water takes place, in which also the remaining visitors gets quite wet. After most of the enemy forces have been defeated and the hostages have been brought to the front stage by motorboat, there is a little love story between Rambo and the soldier, who is fatally wounded by the only remaining adversary. Rambo then pulls out his bow, fires an arrow at the oil barrels on the opposite side and triggers an explosion that sets the enemy on fire.

Even though the story is a bit lengthy at times, the John Rambo Stunt Show is a show absolutely worth seeing. The show is fortunately does not use any slapstick, like its boring car stunt show counterparts often found in amusement parks around the world. Beside the well choreographed fighting performances there are also some surprises, which are well staged. The big cast does its job very well, which is why you shouldn’t miss out on the show.

Magma 2.1

Another highlight follows with Magma 2.1, a ride similar to the Studio Tram Tour from the Walt Disney Studios Park near Paris, only with spectacular special effects, motivated drivers and lots of action.

After the car has left the station, a short turn follows at the rear end of the Hollywood Action Tower, then the truck mercilessly plunges down a steep embankment, lifting the passengers neatly out of their seats. Passing the back of the stunt show, we now enter an obstacle course with several delightful mechanical gimmicks. First, we cross a small water basin above which a tanker truck empties itself, which in theory can be very wet. After that, we cross an oversized seesaw and in the next moment we are dried a little by cold air blowers. With a decent speed we drive around a small building, into which we enter shortly afterwards. Inside there is a small laboratory, which is now destroyed due to some earthquakes. The truck is shaken and there are some fire and light effects. A siren sounds and we leave the building as soon as possible. Outside it is burning everywhere and the landscape is mostly destroyed, to all misfortune the road breaks under us and we land quite surprisingly in water. By forced measures, we drive through another water basin where there is a water effect directed at the passengers. Likewise, the truck drives a little in reverse until it can drive up the embankment in another attempt. Once again at full throttle we pass the same road along the stunt show as at the beginning of the ride and arrive shortly after at the station, where the driver is usually bid farewell with some applause.

Magma 2.1 is a genuinely funny and effect overloaded attraction that unfortunately cannot be found elsewhere in Europe, even though in the English Chessington World of Adventure on Zufari you can at least guess the potential behind such an attraction. The drivers on Magma are merciless and the built-in mechanical effects are totally amazing, which is why you have to get a ride or two when you are at Movieland Park.

Hollywood Action Tower

You should also get a ride on the Hollywood Action Tower, a first generation free fall from Intamin. It was built in the 80s, before you could establish space-saving free fall towers with magnetic brake systems in amusement parks in the mid 90s. Before the system moved to Movieland Park in 2006, it stood until 2001 as Drop of Doom in the Galaxyland Amusement Park of the Canadian West Edmonton Mall, before it was replaced by a double shot of about the same height made by S&S.

After taking a seat in the car and closing the over-the-shoulder harness, the car sets itself in motion and first moves a few meters backwards into the elevator shaft. The nacelle couples into the shaft at the back and is immediately transported up the tower. When it reaches the top, the car is pushed forward a little to the sound of the Twilight Zone soundtrack and couples into the free fall shaft. Under a fog effect the letters of the Hollywood Tower logo break in and we fall into the depth. The first meters of it we approach the ground in a straight line, but then the falling distance bends in a quarter circle, consequently we find ourselves lying on our backs rather fast and continue to move before the mechanical brakes stops us noticeably. A dog grabs us and transports us over a turnout one level down, where we return to our starting position and are immediately brought to the station.

The Hollywood Action Tower is the only one of its kind in Europe and one of the few remaining rides of its kind in the world. For this reason alone, the trip to Movieland Park is worthwhile. The freefall experience is just an awesome experience – althrough, also a wacky one as well, which is why we joined the queue quite often.

Police Academy

As you could expect by the Police Academy, which has its own simulators for the driver training of the new recruits, also features a quite bizarre ride experience. The film shown here is quite good and, compared to other simulations, fortunately doesn’t use cheap computer generated animations instead of real film material.

Our driving doesn’t seem to be that great, which is why Lieutenant Harris interrupts the ride. Through a trick he is lured out of the room, whereby Mahoney and his clique take over the simulators and let us dance the duck dance first. After the return of Lieutenant Harris the original film is continued and brought to an end. All in all, this results in a really extraordinary ride that stands out from the crowd and thus offers a refreshingly different experience that you should not miss.

Diabolik Invertigo

Past the small Monza track Route 66 our way leads through the entrance portal to the forecourt of the Movieland Park, from where two bridges lead us to our next destination, the Diabolik Invertigo by Vekoma, which previously was Two-Face: The flip side at Six Flags America from 1999 – 2007. Even though the dismantling was handled rather carelessly at that time, the ride looks like new today and has been given an onboard sound and a continuous storyline by the Italian cartoonists A.M. Ricci and M. Ricci, as well as the lyricist Mario Gomboli based on the original comic Diabolik by the sisters Angela and Luciana Guissani.

The course of the ride is similar to that of a boomerang built by the same manufacturer; i.e. after the lift, the station is passed through, whereupon, in a Cobra Roll, you are turned upside down twice before seeing the world upside down for a third time in a simple loop, before you are taken up to the second lift, in order to experience the whole game again in the opposite direction. Nevertheless, there are some minor differences between an Invertigo and the standard Boomerang, e.g. the train is located underneath the rail and has a completely different seating arrangement, where you can even face each other, and the used technology is a bit different.

Like the Tornado of the former Danish theme park Sommerland Syd – now Triops in the French theme park Bagatelle – the ride comfort of the Diabolik Invertigo is extremely good. The ride is smooth! Due to this, I enjoyed the ride very much and could have done it over and over again. Of course, the excellent comic design of the ride contributes to this and the onboard sound was also a welcome surprise.

Pictures Movieland Park

Conclusion Movieland Park

But actually the whole Movieland Park was a big surprise, as such a park is hard to find. Beside its terrific main attractions and the rather negligible flat rides, the park offers a lot of entertainment at every corner, so you can spend a whole day at the park with only a few repetitions. As soon as you leave the Movieland Park, you are permitted to walk over the red carpet, applauded by all the actors that you had the chance to see during the day. Although it’s incredibly kitschy, it’s the kitsch that finally made Movieland Park my new favorite among all European theme parks.

What is your opinion about the Italian movie park Movieland Park? Just write it here below the report in the comment field or visit or our social media channels:

          

Click here for the next report of the Il Viaggio dei due Runner Tour

Il Viaggio dei due Runner Day 3 / Movieland Park

Oh, oh, oh Gardaland

itemprop="discussionURL"0

Gardaland

After a visit to Disneyland in Anaheim, California in the early 70s, businessman Livio Furini decided to create his own park. At that time no place seemed more suitable than an area within sight of Lake Garda, after all this is the first lake of its size that tourists, coming from the Brenner motorway, have been occupying since the late fifties and have not given it away since then; finest Mediterranean feeling without the Mediterranean Sea, of course. With the help of some local entrepreneurs, Gardaland opened its doors for the first time in 1975 and has been growing steadily ever since. In 2006 the British Merlin Entertainments Group bought the park for 550 million euros. Two hotels a few kilometres away complete the offer.

Arriving at the car park, the crowd of people promised a pleasant day’s visit, but this was not necessarily reflected at the cash desks and at the entrance. Really stupid German park guests in their teens, who had probably never been to an international amusement park before, also delayed the ticket purchase immensely by explicitly asking for two Eintrittskarten. It’s very easy to do so, if you order the tickets in English, put down your Merlin 2:1 voucher and pay the money. Afterwards they wish you a wonderful day in finest German. With the tickets in hand, we went straight into the park, where I had to wait for Dominik, as he hadn’t been able to close the gap behind an Italian family. In general, the access area to Gardaland is somewhat disadvantageously built.

Fantasy Kingdom

Right at the beginning you are spoilt for choice by walking through two children’s areas. You can choose between the medieval area of Gardaland, where there is a horse carousel and several playground equipment, and the Fantasy Kingdom, where you can find Prezzemolo and his friends, the park mascots. They are cult in Italy and in 2002 they even got their own TV series, incidentally one of the early projects of the Rainbow studio (Winx Club, Huntik and some more, whose licence is now used in Rainbow Magicland close to Rome), with 26 episodes in total. Prezzemolo, which translates as parsley in English, is a shy dragon who, while eating pizza topped with strawberries, becomes He-Man and helps his friends. The series is actually not bad, although I don’t understand a word of Italian, and it shapes the style of the theme area immensely.

The centrepiece of this is an artificial tree, which, similar to the Cabane des Robinson of the Disneyland Park in Paris, is accessible. Inside there are some rooms inhabited by Prezzemolo and his friends, which are very nicely decorated. Continuing upwards you climb a staircase until you reach the balcony in the artificial treetop. Up here you can have your picture taken with Prezzemolo or simply enjoy the view of Gardaland and nearby Lake Garda. A staircase around the tree leads you down again. It gets quite interesting in the cellar of the tree, where the Magic House is located.

Magic House

After entering the entrance hall to Prezzemolo’s happy home, a magician appears and speaks to the visitors. The room in which you are currently located is extended. Prezzemolo is greeted with great excitement in his living room and explains that the strange voice that is heard from time to time means that there are hardly any visitors left. Suddenly strange things happen and the magician speaks again to the guests of the house. Now the restless ghost explains that this was once his laboratory and he has got used to living in the same house with Prezzemolo a little bit, but now he declares it to be his own. He then invites the visitors to a small illustration of his powers, in which he turns the house upside down. On the way out, Prezzemolo tells his visitors about a strange dream in which his house and a magician played an important role.

It’s kind of cool to stand in front of a huge building and take a lift a few meters down to the basement to visit a completely underground Mad House. Unfortunately the comic look of the drum robs the illusion a little bit, here you could have achieved even more with additional effects. The music is coherent and the Italians listen attentively to the story, which makes it easy to follow the story, at least in theory.

The rest of Fantasy Kingdom looks like the prototype of all the more modern children’s kingdoms. Similar to the younger Sesamo Aventura from the Spanish Port Aventura near Salou, there are other rides, e.g. a quite neatly designed tractor ride, a small monorail and other smaller carousels in an elaborate design.

Raptor

A little above this area is the entrance to Raptor, the prototype of the Wing Coaster from Bolliger & Mabillard. Similar to the notorious roller coaster Nemesis of the English amusement park Alton Towers, this ride presents itself as an alien, which was found by chance during construction work in the park. While Nemesis was tamed into a steel-like structure and has been used as a ride for the towers’ guests ever since, the Genetix Initiative, a paramilitary organisation, tried to tame the found creature in the specially built X-Labs in Gardaland. But all attempts failed and Raptor succeeded in breaking out.

In a short left-hand bend, the train leaves the station and immediately climbs the lift hill. While the newer versions of the ride slowly turn their passengers by 180°, the Raptor plunges into the depth, which leads to unexpected airtime, especially in the back rows. Powerfully the train crosses the first valley and then makes a steep turn to the left. Without any rest, the alien falls to the ground again and doesn’t hesitate to use its power. In a zero-g roll you are now turned upside down for the first time, leaving it in a left turn. Now you cross the entrance portal of the ride on a hill, whereupon the train throws itself into a curve close to the ground, which serves as an introduction into a somewhat elongated corkscrew. A right-hand bend close to the ground, passing the lift hill of the ride, follows, but is immediately replaced by another left-hand bend. This leads into a very long in-line twist, a straight roll, which is equipped with some Near Miss elements. Shortly afterwards we land in the braking section of the track, where we can spend some time in the now tightly fitting restraint waistcoats. Another left turn brings us down to the hangar level again.

Although Raptor is the smallest representative of its kind with a height of 33m and a length of just 770m, the ride is one of the better ones, as long inversions are accompanied by tight curves and forceful valleys. Although the Near Miss elements are negligible, the ride in Gardaland surprises all the more with its rather unconventional first drop (it’s strange that through the whole hipster movement with its unconventional mainstream, something absolutely classic can now be called unconventional, as nobody uses it anymore). Compared to the other European rides, Raptor is clearly ahead due to its more dynamic ride, especially since The Swarm from Thorpe Park, England, has lost all of its driving sophistication again due to the renewed rotation of the two rear cars.

4D-Adventure Cinema

A few meters further on you will find the Spectacular 4D-Adventure Cinema, which contains a simulator with quite long rows made by Intamin. The ride was opened in 1990 under the name Cinema Dinamico as the first of its kind in Europe and showed up to 6 different films per day, including a film showing the wooden roller coaster Colossus from the amusement park Six Flags Magic Mountain. In 2001 the theatre was rebuilt, whereupon 3D films were shown, which were lifted into the fourth dimension by the additional movements. As always with such attractions the quality of the films varies immensely, mostly the movements of the passenger carrier are jerky and moreover asynchronous to the image, which makes them a guarantee for whiplash injuries of any kind and motion sickness.

I Consari

A little quieter, but by no means less spectacular, is the dark ride I Corsari. In defiance of the imminent opening of the Euro Disney Resort in Paris in 1992, Gardaland created the most expensive attraction in the world at the time. And so it is hardly surprising that the already very limited space of Gardaland was optimally utilised by an additional underground hall. Access to the dark ride is on the deck of a huge galleon, in whose hull the queue including the station is located.

Hired as sailors of a huge galleon we immediately try to escape the cruel captain Jason Montague in two nutshells. Our way leads us directly into the jungle, where dangerous animals and dead pirates make us understand the cruel reality of our business. A parrot tries to keep us from our goings-on, but we know that returning to the captain will be no less harmless. In a cave we meet a rotten ship whose restless crew is still among us. We narrowly escape and end up in a supposedly safe environment. The pirates here seem to be nice and friendly, but above all, they like to drink. We are advised to turn left and through a sewer system we end up in a swamp. If this environment was not deadly enough, we are attacked by a sea snake with human appearance in the next moment. But even here we manage to escape and are immediately rewarded with a legendary treasure. Freshly hanged pirates do not bode well and so we are not surprised when a huge galleon sounds the order to attack. It is our old team leader Captain Montague, who not only destroys the fort next to us, but also guides us into the depths of the sea.

I Consari can easily be called the best pirate theme cruise in Europe without devaluating the Disneyland classic Pirates of the Caribbean too much. The ride itself is extremely harmonious and the animatronics used are impressive, as is the entire set design.

Sequoia Adventure

Next to the log flume Colorado Boat, which was built in 1984 and is a rather classic ride with two shots, is the entrance to Sequoia Adventure, a truly special roller coaster made by S&S. The layout of the Screaming Squirrel promises a very exciting ride with three, slightly longer, overhead passages.

Once the manufacturer’s typical airy brackets have been set and locked, the car starts to move and immediately rolls towards the curve, which grips the car over two raised rails under the arms and lets it slide onto the actual track. Here, the trolley couples back to its original rail profile and is immediately transported upwards in the lift. Once at the top, the car completes a short straight line before it is braked and transported very slowly over the hilltop. In the so-called saxophone element, which actually looks a bit like the musical instrument, you drive back the straight line upside down before you are slowly turned around in a turn. The whole game is repeated two more times, whereby after the second saxophone it goes up a little bit to get to the correct starting height for the third saxophone. Towards the end another turn leads the car back to the station.

Sequoia Adventure is a wonderfully wacky roller coaster that celebrates its longer overhead passages virtually by itself. All these passages are quite pleasant, but the turns are unfortunately not without jerks, which is especially noticeable after the second saxophone with its free cut. But the ride itself is fun and with its wonderful different layout it is a real eye-catcher.

Magic Mountain

In 1981 the Dutch amusement park Efteling presented Python, the largest and most exciting roller coaster in Europe. Two years later, Heide Park Soltau introduced Big Loop, a similarly exciting but higher ride, which attracted a lot of attention. Gardaland also recognised this trend and in 1985 offered Magic Mountain, the most exhilarating roller coaster in Italy at the time, also modelled on the Carolina Cyclone of the American amusement park Carowinds.

As with Python, the train leaves the station in Gardaland on a small gradient, followed by a left turn. Shortly afterwards the train hooks up to the lift chain, which takes it to a starting height of 29m. This is followed by a small gradient and another 180° left turn before the train races down the track. The colourful train advertising for Coca Cola now passes through a very powerful valley and immediately passes the first loop and then the second loop of the ride. On a straight line the train gains a bit of height and shortly after that it takes a curve. This brings the train up to the starting height of the corkscrews, which you enter at a remarkable slant. While the wagons are screwed through this, the world is turned upside down two more times. After a small hill, you now complete an upward helix around a fountain, after which the braking section is waiting.

Magic Mountain is a great older type of roller coaster, which doesn’t have to hide from newer rides due to its truly intense dynamics, even though both trains were only half occupied. (One train with three cars, the other with four). The ride itself runs faster than its Dutch counterpart and therefore has a lot of pressure from the beginning, which is transferred to the passengers as well as to the track. Vekoma’s new trains generally enhance the ride, but the strange Coca Cola branding and the even stranger clearance on the day of the visit detracts from it.

Kung Fu Panda Academy

Behind the big looping roller coaster, the Kung Fu Panda Academy in Gardaland is currently under construction, which will feature the Fabbri Spinning Coaster Kung Fu Panda Master, the redesigned tea cup carousel Mr. Ping’s Noodle Suprise and the Kung Fu Panda Chi School.

Ortobruco Tour

In the farthest corner, still behind the entrance to the monorail, the cog ride and the toddler carousel is the entrance to the Ortobruco Tour, probably the world’s largest Big Apple. The ride opened in 1990 with a much shorter layout, but this was extended to its current length in 1993, probably also for capacity reasons. From a technical point of view, the Pinfari roller coaster is quite impressive due to the number of friction wheel lifts, as well as the fully automated trains.

After a right-hand bend, the train goes through a longer straight line, whereupon the first lift hill follows after another right-hand bend. At the top, the train passes a left turn and slowly picks up speed. Over hill and dale or the typical waves of every Big Apple the way to the next curve is now overcome. After the turn, the second lift follows, whereupon a downward right helix is added. This is followed by the third lift above the queue, which merges into a right-hand bend. In its original version, this lift led the train into the station, but in the current version it leads the train into the fourth lift. Now one circles the building of the toddler carousel by about 90°, completing a straight drop and a straight gradient after a slightly bent valley. Immediately you go downhill again in another right helix. You leave this one in a slight incline, which here also merges into a lift. In a helix to the left the train makes the subsequent descent. Here too, the speed of the train is kept alive by additional friction wheels in the following ascent. Now the train goes through a right-hand bend, which is then transferred to a left-hand bend after a slight bend; shortly after that the station appears.

The Ortobruco Tour is a nice children’s roller coaster, which always gives the feeling of sitting in a bigger Zierer Tivoli than in a Big Apple, because the speed and the track length suggest it. The ride is at least good and the decoration, which interestingly comes from the former Gardaland Waterpark near Milan, is quite impressive.

Ramses Il Risveglio

The first major dark ride in Gardaland opened in 1987 with Valle dei Rei, which, due to the seemingly endless popularity of interactive dark rides, was redesigned into Ramses Il Risveglio in 2009. The ride suffered the same fate as Duel from Alton Towers and Tomb Blaster from Chessington World of Adventures.

The story is now about strange phenomena that occurred during restoration work and an evil that wants to subjugate the world. We already had a similar storyline with Raptor, but in contrast there are robot mummies and finest metal sounds. If the typical sound of the guns would not be there, as for example in this year’s redesign of Tomb Blaster, I would really enjoy the ride. All in all, the ride is of course well worth seeing and the ride system by Pinfari is well worth experiencing. The general design is outstanding and the futuristic metal mummies are a pretty cool idea.

Below the Gardaland Theatre is the 4D cinema of Gardaland, where an Ice Age film is currently being shown. Normally this is reason enough to stay away from the cinema, after all the first Ice Age 4D film was a poorly edited version of the otherwise brilliant third cinema adventure around Manny, Sid, Diego and Co., but now the Blue Sky Studios have released a 4D film especially tailored for Scrat and it is really good. Scrat finds a time machine and travels through several eras, of course always in search of his hazelnut. The effects were well used, but the few Italian text passages were not subtitled and are not necessary for the overall understanding of the film.

Space Vertigo

Space – the final frontier. The year is 1998, and these are the voyages of the starship Space Vertigo. Its crew of 16 is on its way for about 30s to investigate basic physical equations. In not quite as many vertical meters as comparable towers, Space Vertigo boldly go where no one has gone before on a freefall tower. Aha hahahaha ha (3x).

Somehow this convoluted nature of the Star Trek intro text fits in well with Gardaland and Space Vertigo, after all the space theme has its origins in the opening year of Gardaland and thus on the European wave of popularity of the series, which was discontinued at the end of the 1960s. The queuing area consists mainly of octagonal corridors in which monitors with outdated visual material are embedded. The station is no less purist, but apart from bulky lamps it has hardly any decorative elements; but that is not what really matters here either. The tower shows, similar to the Funland drop ride on Hayling Island, that height is an extremely negligible parameter for a free-fall tower. This tower rocks tremendously, but the waiting time here was a bit long.

Oblivion – The Black Hole

Just as high as the tower next door, Oblivion – The Black Hole, a dive coaster by Bolliger & Mabillard, freely inspired by Oblivion from its sister park Alton Towers, stretches up into the sky. While Oblivion’s story revolves around the ride itself and the hole to be passed through, the story of Oblivion – The Black Hole concentrates on the black hole in its name, which is to be investigated.

After passing the stylish, partly interactive, queue and boarding the train, the journey begins after a short countdown. Following a small bend, you immediately climb the lift hill, which takes you up to the starting height of 42.5 m. At the top you approach the position of the black hole through a left turn. The track bends downwards, the train follows this movement but is still prevented from falling vertically by a holding brake. A few seconds pass by and the train approaches the black hole at a rapid pace, with the surrounding objects which have been attracted by the hole showing their near miss character more closely than on the Wing Coaster in the same park. The train now makes its way through the adjoining tunnel, which attracts attention through fog and integrated lighting effects. In an Immelmann you skilfully change direction and then approach the ground level. Through a small building you pass another valley before you climb up the camelback, which skillfully takes you out of your seat. This is followed by a 270° downward helix, which releases you into a heartline roll rotating in the same direction. A short climb later you reach the braking section and soon after the station.

Oblivion – The Black Hole is a good roller coaster with an excellent layout, but a little identity problem. In theory, the ride covers almost the same story as Oblivion, only that the whole layout at Alton Towers is simply better. It looks like a half-hearted remake of an indisputably brilliant movie, yet the hardware of the ride is not responsible for this feeling. This and the general layout of the ride ultimately ensure that Baron 1898 from the Dutch amusement park Efteling is the better of the two Dive Coasters that opened in 2015.

Mammut

Passing the Flying Island with the same name and an overall successful design that fits the theme area, the way leads us towards the roller coaster Mammut, which uses the basic layout of the Vekoma Mine Trains and adds a total of 245m track length. The design of the ride is supposed to be an expedition to the North Pole and can convince with its general theming and the presence of a giant mammoth, but things look a bit different when it comes to the ride.

It starts off immediately with a right-hand bend, followed by the first lift hill, which unfortunately takes you up in a very straight line. Once there, you leave the hill in a left helix, where you pick up some speed. Three 180° curves with implied valleys and hills follow each other like in a slalom, the first of these curves running to the right. After a drop below the lifts, and a subsequent uphill left turn, you reach the first brake. This is followed by a left turn and the second lift hill, which again runs in an unorthodox straight line. So far the mother of all Vekoma mine train coasters Calamity Mine from the Belgian amusement park Walibi Belgium is already a lot more entertaining due to its sloping lifts, but there are still some more meters to go to generate a completely different opinion. Slightly higher than after the first lift hill you see daylight again and shortly after that you descend a long righthand helix and get a little closer to the ground. A wide left turn brings you a little bit up the hill again, but this is also followed by a downward helix to the right. Normally a left turn follows into the braking section and straight into the station, but in Gardaland the train now takes you into a left turn and up the third lift hill, because we haven’t discovered the mammoth that gives the ride its name yet. We leave the highest point of the ride, how else could it be, in another helix, this time leading us down to the ground. Passing the mammoth, we make a small turn in lofty heights and immediately make a right turn. After a steeper descent we pass under the first two lifts and make a last 180° turn, whereupon the final braking section awaits us.

Mammut could be a really good Mine Train, if it weren’t for the rather miserable ride characteristics. Compared to almost all other Mine Trains of the same manufacturer, the ride vibrates unpleasantly, so you can’t really talk about having fun after the first two parts of the ride. Only the third part of the ride brings something unexpected out of the standard layout, but unfortunately this does not improve the ride characteristics.

Jungle Rapids and Fuga da Atlantide

Behind the very neatly designed rapid river Jungle Rapids with a good degree of wetness lies the Intamin Super Splash Fuga da Atlantide. With a rather classic spillwater layout, the ride humidifies the passengers with bravura, even though much less than a Shoot the Chute normally does; this may also be due to the (at least for sun-drenched Italians) rather wintry temperature of about 18°C. Interestingly, the descents here run on roller coaster tracks and the lifts were solved by cable lifts. Apart from that, the wonderful design of the ride is inevitable, but the ride itself could be better.

Blue Tornado

As the only attraction visible from afar, mainly due to its elevated position in Gardaland, the suspended looping coaster Blue Tornado stretches upwards. Due to its open design, this toy jet coaster is an unparalleled eye-catcher, which is mainly due to the extraordinary photogenicity of the track profile. The ride is always in motion due to the three-train operation, which theoretically results in lots of photos, if you are not distracted by dancing robots.

As in every standard SLC, the ride begins with the gain of potential energy by a chain lift on a straight line leading upwards. Once there, you cross or rather undercross a hilltop, which immediately releases you into a steep curve. At a decent speed you now cross the following valley before you are turned upside down twice in a roll over. Back at ground level, the train shoots up a sloping hill. Parallel to the station you now reach the lowest point of the ride, which is also flooded with fog. In a sidewinder you now change direction, whereupon a helix is added. You leave the station with two in-line twists. A right turn lets you cross the first slope, but instead of approaching the end in a staggering manner, the train shoots down one last time and passes a helix close to the ground, which is often called bonus helix in the (roller coaster) vernacular. This is followed by the braking section and the return to the station. Surprisingly, the ride is fun and the ride characteristics are good. We even rode it more than once.

Pictures Gardaland

Conclusion Gardaland

Gardaland is a nice and above all good amusement park, which can be relatively easily described as the Italian Alton Towers. The theme areas are mixed and only rarely have a clear line, but the park scores with its exceptionally good rides, especially the dark ride I Consari. In general, there is a visible effort to make the guests have a pleasant day, which is also reflected in the guests of the park. In spite of the popular holiday region, the park guests behave in an exemplary manner, there is no queue jumping at all, groups even let you in and you can easily hang your luggage on the appropriate storage facilities, usually far away from the actual attraction, without the risk of something being stolen. In addition, the park is filled with songs composed especially for the park, so that at the end you have to rave to Oh, Oh, Oh Gardaland in the disco tunnel leading to the car park.

What is your opinion about Gardaland theme park? Just write it here below the report in the comment field or visit our social media channels:

          

Click here for the next report of the Il Viaggio dei due Runner Tour

Gardaland / Il Viaggio dei due Runner Day 2

Busy times for Looney Tunes

itemprop="discussionURL"0

Preface

Four years have passed to the day when I last walked through the gate of the Parque Warner Madrid theme park. At that time as part of a comprehensive tour of Spain with the, admittedly quite creative, name Coastern con Carne, now as the main reason to finally take a closer look at the Spanish capital Madrid. Decisive for this was the airline Norwegian Air Shuttle, which offers really low prices to Spain from Hamburg, as well as a meeting with Daniel (@Danieldikay), who is a student of the Spanish language and currently completing his compulsory stay in Zaragoza just 300 km away. The stay was booked through Travel Parks, the travel agency of Parques Reunidos, so we paid about 176€ for two nights in a Holiday Inn Express including breakfast and two entrances each for the Parque de Atracciones de Madrid and Parque Warner Madrid (each for up to 2 persons per ticket, as well as the possibility to go back to Parque Warner Madrid on the next day of the visit). A price that could hardly be lower without an annual ticket to one of the Parques Reunidos parks.

We stayed overnight in Alcorcón with good connections to the Cercanias Renfe, the suburban railway system of Spain, and the metro of Madrid. The journey to the Parque Warner Madrid turned out to be quite easy, only the departure from the park after midnight worried us. Via the central train station, and junction of all Cercanias Renfe, Atocha Cercanias, you can get to Pinto station quite quickly where you can take bus 413, which will take you directly to the park in a quarter of an hour. In the evening the bus takes you back to Pinto, where the last Cercanias Renfe back to Madrid leaves at 23:48. Another alternative had to be found, so we took the bus 412 to Villaverde Bajo-Cruce and got into the metro, which is still running until shortly after 2 o’clock.

Parque Warner Madrid

Theatro Chino 3D

After passing through the entrance gate you will find yourself on Hollywood Boulevard, the main street of the park. Here you will find some shops, some restaurants and the Theatro Chino 3D, a replica of the famous TCL Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. Besides the film Coyote y Correcaminos (a compilation of the last Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote cartoons), the film Marvin el Marciano en 3D (Marvin the Martian in the third dimension) is also shown here; especially the second film should not be unknown to visitors of the former Warner Bros. Movie World Germany near Bottrop Kirchhellen. It is about Daffy Duck and Marvin the Martian, and is of a surprisingly good quality for its age, especially with regard to the effects used. The film always looks like an old Looney Tunes cartoon and the story of it can entertain you very well.

 Oso Yogui and Cine Tour

If you enter the park at the beginning of the opening hours, it is advisable to start your tour counter-clockwise and visit the Cartoon Village with all its attractions first. However, if you enter the park slightly later, you can expect longer waiting times, so a clockwise tour is the more sensible choice. The Movie World Studios are a wonderful themed area, where the theme of film, as in the entire park, now plays a much less important role than in 2011. While the Splash Battle Oso Yogui in its full splendour is still wetting the passengers down to their pants, the vintage car ride Cine Tour lacks all the figures from the Looney Tunes universe, so that in the end only a modest capacity remains on a somewhat longer ride. Here you also learn for the first time to hate the owners of Pase Correcamino’s Platinium wristbands, as they constantly pass before you.

Stuntfall

It’s only good that during the roller coaster Stunfall, due to an incident in which the train swung out in the first inversion figure and some rows, despite the existing platform, could not be evacuated easily, always runs with some blocked rows in the front and rear part of the train and therefore has a reduced capacity. Like at Shambhala in the Spanish Port Aventura, the train is almost exclusively filled with Pase Correcaminos owners, so that there is always a longer queue at this roller coaster. Stuntfall is a special kind of treat that you don’t want to ride only once.

After the corridor has been lowered, the wagon group is pulled backwards up a vertical tower. As soon as the tower reaches a height of less than 60m, it is released and thus puts its passengers in free fall before the train goes with full force towards the horizontal station passage. With rapid pace you approach the Cobra Roll, the first inversion figure of the track, and do two headstands. After you have left the element, a truly huge loop follows immediately, in which there is hardly any lack of pressure in the forward direction. Without any brakes you race up the second vertical tower, as well as the now synchronously running catch-car, which catches you and carries you up. By engaging the sled, the body is now at the upper end of the shoulder restraint and thus without any contact to the actual seat. The part that inevitably follows could have been the inspiration for the Schwur des Kärnan from the North German amusement park Hansa Park, but it is much more extreme, because on the one hand the incipient free fall is of longer duration and on the other hand it is only ended by the body in the middle of the looping by renewed contact with the seat shell. The loop is now traversed with pronounced pressure, whereas the Cobra Roll is traversed much more slowly. On the way back, you are caught in the tower by a catch-car, which is now also running synchronously, so you inevitably get to know the restraint and hang in it for some time. Shortly afterwards you will be driven back to the station.

The Giant Inverted Boomerangs are a really great invention. During the development process, the responsible engineers of the Dutch manufacturer Vekoma certainly took their breaks in the coffee shops in the area. The synchronously running sleds alone make the ride interesting, at least in terms of control technology. It is also quite complex, which is why it is already a miracle that Stuntfall makes its rounds without any major problems compared to the very error-prone rides of the same series. The ride on the Stuntfall is relatively smooth, but thoroughly intense and peppered with a great pinch of airtime without straining the body too much. All in all a great ride, where the crew has done everything possible to get the ride moving.

Hotel Embrujado

In a side street is the entrance to the Hotel Embrujado, a run-down hotel that seems to be cursed. Here the story of Isabella, henceforth referred to only as the bride, and Rikardo, her groom, is told. During a fire the night before the wedding, Rikardo died in the house’s secret library, access to which was at first not found; the bride, on the other hand, waited and waited and waited. Years later, an access to the library was discovered, whereupon the tragedy of the past days seems to repeat itself. A passageway leads from the library to the richly covered banqueting hall, but it is only a projection of days gone by. It gets dark and the bride awakes from the dead. Her mood sets the room in motion, varying from grief to despair and anger over the fact that Rikardo has left her. In the end she realises her mistake and chases the visitors away.

The Hotel Embrujado is a good Mad House with a well implemented storyline, but also a lot of Spanish visitors, so the atmosphere suffers from the general and quite loud chatter among each other. In addition, the queue inside the building moves very slowly, which is why a visit in the evening with much less crowd creates a much more atmospheric overall picture.

Parque Warner Beach

If you follow the main path, you are in an escape with the lift hill of the supposed main attraction of the park, at least the steel track would be according to our definition. But now we turn left shortly before and stand in front of the entrance of the water park Parque Warner Beach. It was opened in 2014 and offers new perspectives on the two roller coasters Stuntfall and Superman: La Atracción de Acero. Inside it offers a Lazy River and a larger wave pool. Fans of impressive water slides will not always get their money’s worth at Parque Warner Beach, as there are only smaller slide complexes or play structures with integrated slides from the manufacturer Van Edgom, including an interesting body slide with a funnel. The general design of the water park has been consistently implemented in the style of the Looney Tunes and Hanna Barbara (The Flintstones, Scooby Doo, Yogi Bear) figures and is worth seeing, even if the figures from the Cine Tour had to give up their place for this. Due to lack of time we were unfortunately not able to visit the water park, so I cannot say if it is worth the additional entrance fee. At least it seemed to be accepted by the population despite the end of the season. An extension with bigger and more appealing attractions would at least be desirable, but then also with an entrance outside the amusement park.

Superman: La atracción de Acero

As already mentioned Superman: La atracción de Acero is the supposed main attraction of the park, at least it is one of the bigger roller coasters of the manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard, so by definition it is already better than good. At Parque Warner Madrid, on the other hand, the steel coaster has an average waiting time of only about 15 minutes, thanks to halfway competent staff and two-train operation, no matter how crowded the park got later in the day. It’s quite funny that many visitors don’t see the roller coaster with all its supports and rails and often clog the entrance of the queue with their pushchairs.

After the floor in the station has tilted to the side, the wagon group leaves the station and immediately completes a small turn in a typical Bayernkurve. Now the lift hill leads to a height of 50m, whereupon a small intermediate slope is passed before the actual first drop. Shortly afterwards, the train disappears towards the ground and the body reacts sluggishly. Almost continuously without any contact to the seat shell you fall down the drop to find your original seat again shortly before entering the loop. This is passed relatively quickly and thus with clearly pronounced forces. The following valley is crossed with full force just before you climb the Immelmann. A Trim Brake in the next valley reduces the train noticeably, which makes the Zero-G Roll, an inversion figure in which one turns around one’s own axis without any acceleration, quite pleasant to ride. This is followed by a generously designed Cobra Roll in whose exit you pass a second reduction brake. This is necessary because on the following hill you are transported out of your seat with extraordinary force.  The first corkscrew is then entered in a straight line and after a short turn the exit of the first corkscrew is crossed by a second corkscrew, thus forming the element of the Interlocking Corkscrews. This is followed by a very intense curve close to the ground, whereupon the train takes another hill and carries the passengers up into the air again. An even more intensive upward helix follows, and shortly afterwards the brakes are reached.

Superman: La Atracción de Acero is simply brilliant. The ride offers everything a really good roller coaster needs, namely a great layout with its specific characteristics, in this case fast inversions and a balanced, although not lax, play of forces. The ride comfort is extremely good, although Superman: La Atracción de Acero is the ride with the most shoulder bar contact in the whole park and the condition of the trains in general is poor, as almost every headrest of this ride is now damaged.

Lex Luthor and Sillas Voladores de Mr. Freeze

Opposite the steel track, Lex Luthor, one of Superman’s opponents, bores his guests to death in a top spin with a lousy ride programme; interestingly, however, the ride is very popular with the park’s visitors. One of Batman’s opponents is much more fast-paced, however, as the Sillas Voladores de Mr. Freeze, a very nice wave swinger with an unusual design, offers a pretty good ride programme.

La Venganza del Enigma

High above the ground is La Venganza del Enigma, where you are transported to a height of 100m due to the Riddler, also a villain from the Batman universe. The 120m high Combo Tower of the company S&S has in theory three different modes. On our visiting day two lanes were operated in Space Shot mode and the third lane, which only functions as a turbo drop, was closed although the waiting area was quite well filled towards the end of the day. While I described the ride in 2011 as a damn high observation tower at best, I have to revise my opinion now, because the ride, perfectly placed in the park, can do more than just look good. The launch in space shot mode pulls surprisingly strong and just as long before you reach the maximum height and are lifted out of your seat a little bit. Up here you have a wonderful view of the underlying Parque Warner Madrid and theoretically of the Spanish capital before commuting at a leisurely pace. At least it is no comparison to other Space Shot rides and so La Venganza del Enigma is quite high in my favour, especially since it is the only tower above 71m height that is still fun to ride.

Batman: La Fuga

On the other side of DC Super Heroes World is Arkham Asylum, Gotham City’s asylum, where a large number of the most famous and dazzling Batman opponents decided to escape at the same time. As Dark Knight, you’ll have to catch them again. On your way up to the station of the Inverted Coaster Batman: La Fuga, you can explore the asylum from the inside. This can, if the ride is operated in the move-in mode, due to the minimal number of employees and surreal-looking processes, sometimes take a little longer.

After you have boarded the train and it has finally been checked in, the journey can start immediately. You don’t spend much time on the lifthill before you make a small predrop and get pulled into a steep curve. With immense force you pass the first valley and are immediately pushed into the first loop. Before you know it, you’ll be upside down again in the following zero-g roll. Without mercy, you now perform another loop, whereupon a left-hand upward helix introduces the supposedly most harmless part of the layout. But as soon as you make the turn at a lofty height, you no longer feel your legs. A steep turn brings you back to ground level, whereupon the first corkscrew is introduced. Especially in the rear part of the turn you pull through the element with quite high acceleration. After a rather tight turn you are again standing upside down in a corkscrew, whereby the play of forces of the first corkscrew is presented here even more intensified. After an upward left turn you reach the brakes and shortly afterwards the station.

Batman: La Fuga is short, not very high, but distributes the G-Forces like no other coaster; at least in Europe. The 11 sister installations, 6 of which have a similar theme, on the other hand, are burdening the passengers in the most positive sense in the rest of the world, but mostly in North America and there from time to time also backwards. Batman: La Fuga is a great roller coaster through and through, even though it is a very intense roller coaster, which is why it wouldn’t be a pity if, besides the current renaissance of the Suspended Looping Coaster by the Dutch company Vekoma, other rides of this kind were built by Bolliger and Mabillard.

Passing through the beautifully designed Gotham area of DC Super Heroes World, the tour will take you past the bumper car Los Coches de Choque de el Joker and the former simulator Batman: la Sombra del Murciélago, which had its last season in 2014 and may be replaced by a Justice League style dark ride, into the Old West Territory. Here you will find the break dance Los Carros de la Mina, as well as the two water rides Cataratas Salvajes and Rio Bravo.

Cataratas Salvajes

The wild waterfalls, i.e. the Cataratas Salvajes, are a very efficient and in my opinion very beautifully staged spillwater from the company Intamin. The efficiency of the ride is simply based on the simplicity of the layout, which is an oval without unnecessary frills. So after the boat has been transported up the lift hill, it makes a turn at lofty heights and immediately plunges down the only shot of the ride. This creates a large wave, which is then showered down on the boat’s occupants or moistens the daring passers-by on the bridge over the lane. The degree of wetness of the ride is relatively high already, but on average it is on a par with other rides of this type.

Coaster Express

The roller coaster Coaster Express is the only roller coaster of the park which can show an eventful history after the American Six Flags group as the operator of the park was discontinued. Like Bandit at Movie Park Germany, the ride started as Wild Wild West, designed to match the movie of the same name from 1999. As this movie was a flop without equal and meanwhile, partly unjustified, is considered as one of the worst movies, it was decided not to use the licence for the roller coaster and the theme area of the same name any longer when the park changed its operator to Parques Reunidos in 2005. The oversized queue underneath the station was shortened to the outside area and the space is now used for other purposes, but you can still have a look at the train with the ejection seat from inside the station.

After leaving the station, you cross the transfer track for a short time, whereupon a left turn follows. The train then hooks into the chain and is transported up the lift hill. Arriving at a height of about 36m the train immediately turns into a wide right turn, which turns out to be a 590° helix. The speed in the valley is about 80 km/h before it starts to rise again. At a higher level, you now wrap around the First Drop until you reach the ground again. A longer straight section is followed by a small right bend at a lofty height, after which a wide straight drop joins. Now you make a higher right turn, which at the same time changes into another drop. Here you make the second and last change of direction of the layout, because shortly after that you cross another transversely inclined helix, but this time leading left and only 520° wide. This is followed by a hill relatively close to the ground, whereupon another left turn follows. This is joined by another hill across the support structure, on whose descent there is a reduction brake. This brake is noticeably effective, which is even useful in the following and quite funny curve; it was exactly this curve which set the maximum size of the passengers to a comparably low 1m85 until a few years ago. Shortly afterwards the brakes engage and the train returns to the station.

While on my last visit in 2011 I had warned against getting on the ride at all and described the ride as a torture, I have to say that the Coaster Express is a pretty funny roller coaster and not to be missed. Although this wooden roller coaster offers absolutely no noticeable negative forces, the feeling of speed in the curves is very strong; at least the ride made me laugh almost all the time. The ride characteristics on Europe’s longest wooden roller coaster are generally good and the ride looks good from the outside.

Rio Bravo

The Reversing Boat Ride Rio Bravo from Intamin is a copy of the Hopkins ride Wild West Falls from the original Warner Bros. Movie World on the Australian Gold Coast, but is based on the original design idea after the movie Rio Bravo. So you can enjoy the ride all the more, because it has been thematised down to the last detail.

After crossing the long queue you can take a seat in one of the boats, at least in the evening. To my astonishment the seat belts have been abolished in the meantime, which at least adds to the capacity of this quite popular attraction. Shortly afterwards the boat bobs past the maintenance hall of the ride towards the first lift hill. At the top you enter the huge mountain range, where the first turntable is waiting for you. The turntable then releases the boat into the first shot, which is done backwards. So far so good and often experienced, but Rio Bravo wouldn’t be an extraordinary log flume if there wasn’t a special feature following it. For many people, it is often very unexpected to see a camelback coming up, which will take you 10-20cm into the air on its crest. Shortly afterwards the descent into the cool water follows, whereby the degree of wetness is still very manageable. After a bend, you reach another turning point, whereupon the boat is on its way forward again. The river now leads you through a canyon, an Indian village and the western town of Dogde City, before you enter the mine again. Arriving at the highest point of the ride, you are brought back into position by a turntable, whereupon the second and final shot ride is initiated with a fantastic view of the wooden roller coaster Coaster Express. Once you arrive at the bottom you will be pleasantly moistened. This is followed by the return trip to the station.

The Rio Bravo log flume is a great ride with a bigger element of surprise at the beginning of the ride. The general design is terrific, but it lacks a bit of effects after leaving the second turning point. Although I don’t ask for buckets of water to be thrown in my face like on the magnificent log flume Valhalla from the English Blackpool Pleasure Beach, a little more would have been possible here, especially since the other water rides of Parque Warner Madrid are all wetter.

Tom y Jerry

You can hear the Tom y Jerry children’s rollercoaster at Parque Warner Madrid from far away, as the ride sounds like a jet plane flying over the park. This is one of the last Zierer Tivoli large coasters produced, which was commissioned by Six Flags at the turn of the millennium and therefore has supports that meet the clearance gauge in comparison to the rides from the 1970s, which are often to be found in Germany. The layout can be described relatively simply as two adjacent eights, in which the rather wide curves are negotiated by a train that is all the longer. Mostly the course will be ridden through several times, but not at Parque Warner Madrid. Otherwise the waiting time at this very solid roller coaster would be hard to control, because Tom & Jerry is one of the most popular rides at Parque Warner Madrid.

Cartoon Village

However, this generally applies to the Cartoon Village theme area with its two children’s lands and the Rápidos Acme rafting. It is true that the situation in Spain is not quite as extreme as in England, where basically only well-known, or for us sometimes completely unknown, children’s series bring the masses into amusement parks. Paultons Park has shot the bird with the Peppa Pig World, so that it is only known to the public as Peppa Pig World and various advertising brochures can already be found in Scotland. In Spain, on the other hand, although the children’s areas are more important, other visitors also come to the park and are spread over the other theme areas of it, although this proportion has increased significantly in recent years.

What is interesting about the Parque Warner Madrid children’s areas, however, is the way they are designed. One area was completed for the opening in 2002 and the other in 2011, with the roller coaster Correcaminos Bip, Bip from 2009 being halfway integrated. While the old children’s area has countless rides in a narrower area, always in the shade of countless trees, the new area has few rides in a larger concrete area without any shade. Although these are all neatly arranged, there is no atmosphere whatsoever in this addition. What is interesting here is that almost every new plan park has these patterns, which in my opinion is a no-go. The Academia de Pilotos, a children’s monorail from SBF Visa from 2013, has at least tried to break up this situation.

Correcaminos Bip, Bip

The roller coaster with the supposedly strange-sounding name Correcaminos Bip, Bip is a Youngstar Coaster by the company Mack, which has the same layout as the one year younger Götterblitz from the Austrian Familypark. Just like at Lake Neusiedl, the ride begins with the ascent of the lifthill. After reaching the top of the lifthill, a small gradient leads into the first curve, followed by the big drop. At full speed you pass the first valley and immediately a horseshoe, an element which is shaped like an elevated horseshoe. In a right-hand bend, you accumulate meters of altitude once again, whereupon these are reduced in a downward left helix with subsequent gradient. Now follows a curve combination of up and down helices, which resembles an eight when viewed from above.  Finally, another right turn leads the train up to the braking section and then back to the station.

Correcaminos Bip, Bip is a very elaborately designed ride, but also a very unlovingly staged roller coaster with a great layout and equally good ride characteristics. It’s a bit of a pity to see that the hunt for the Road Runner, i.e. Correcaminos, is hardly visible from the outside because of the high wooden fences with peepholes. It’s also a pity that the ride is a stand-alone attraction in a dead-end street. But all of this would not be so bad if Correcaminos would not get on the nerves of the waiting people at some point due to his pass for the queue, the Pase Correcaminos. Although the queue is manageable, it takes half an eternity until it is your turn. So somehow you can understand Wile E. Coyote. However, he only caught the Road Runner at Family Guy.

Rápidos Acme

An extraordinary ride for Europe can be found in the park with the Rápidos Acme. Even if you find it hard to believe, you will get wet on this ride. Now you could argue that River Quest from Phantasialand in Brühl often releases its passengers completely soaked from the ride, but not everyone is affected. The secret recipe of the Parque Warner Madrid is as simple as it gets, as the park does without unnecessary gadgets like waterfalls or wave pools and instead concentrates on creating as many rapids as possible on a very curvy route, which constantly splash into the boat, while always directing water jets into the boat from the outside. The whole action is nicely designed by the characters of the Looney Tunes, but to be honest, you can hardly concentrate on them during the ride. Unfortunately the effects had all been switched off towards the end of the ride, which is a pity, but it was probably a bit too cold for the Spanish.

La Aventura de Scooby-Doo

Right at the beginning of the Cartoon Village, coming from Main Street, is the interactive dark ride La Aventura de Scooby-Doo. This was designed in the comic style of the Hanna Barbara series Scooby-Doo Where are you! and features the typical elements of this series. This ride was produced by the Sally Corporation and can also be found in two Six Flags Parks and previously in each of the Paramount Parks, but now under the management of Cedar Fair as Boo Blasters on Boo Hill. The ride itself should be experienced directly after the opening of the ride or with a corresponding Pass Correcaminos, because the handling of this dark ride is more than just a bad joke. In addition, Scooby-Doo itself is very popular with the local children, which is why the crowds at the ride are always relatively high. The ride at least is nicely designed and can be fun, but it is one of the weaker rides made by the manufacturer.

Although the rush at the big roller coasters was always manageable and appropriate, the park was very well visited. In fact, during the visit it seemed as if the park was almost overcrowded, this was mainly due to the general preferences of the Spanish and so it should not surprise anyone that the waiting time before each show was over an hour. This is also the reason why we left the Scooby Doo musical and the Police Academy stunt show. One could think that this was a big mistake, as the shows in Spain are generally not as negligible as those of German amusement parks, but on the other hand we could not have managed the park completely in one day. In fact, the offer of these at Parque Warner Madrid is also significantly lower than at the amusement park Port Aventura near Salou, whose recipe for success is actually due to the big show theatres. Here, the park might add another theatre or at least show the shows more often.

Parque Warner Cinematic

However, this does not work for the evening show Parque Warner Cinematic, as it only really comes into effect after dark. This is a fountain show with projections of well-known Warner Bros. films and commercials for upcoming films of the studio. The show, which takes place on the lake in the Movie World Studios, is supported by fire and laser effects, as well as a quite appealing final fireworks display. The show was already worth seeing on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the park and even now not much has changed. Definitely worth seeing, especially as it is a great ending of a great park day.

Pictures Parque Warner Madrid

Conclusion Parque Warner Madrid

Parque Warner Madrid is still a very great theme park and in my opinion still the best park in Spain. Compared to four years ago, the number of visitors has developed quite well, which unfortunately makes the Pase Correcaminos very annoying, especially since it can be used almost everywhere, unlike Port Aventura. Except for Batman, which features a one train operation, the handling was much quicker than before and in the case of the roller coaster Stuntfall even exemplary. At least for the time being one is on a good way that should be maintained. But if the rush should be as high on the next visit, I will definitely treat myself to a Pase Correcaminos.

 

What is your opinion about the spanish theme park Parque Warner Madrid? Just write it here below the report in the comment field or visit or our social media channels:

 

          

Parque Warner