Intamin

A day in the colourful sugar world

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Preface

Today was an early awakening, because Hauke had to be picked up to take the ferry from Puttgarden to Rødby. Unfortunately, the first ship departed before our nose. Thus they loaded the next ship with us first (luckily, the ferries here go every half hour). Arrived on the other side we went without any plan which exit leads to the park onto the motorway; a fatal circumstance, as most of the places of interest in Denmark are only announced shortly before reaching them and on the motorways, most of the times, only the first village of the surroundings is mentioned. But then a call from Hauke was enough and in the last moment we could take the right exit. The way led us into BonBon-Land, where we immediately noticed on the parking lot that it is a busy day today.

Tour of BonBon-Land

Logically, the same picture then emerged at the cash registers. But as we already bought our tickets online, things went fast here in comparison. From the outside you could already see the novelty of the year 2010 and inside we noticed that Sammy’s great adventure was shown in the 4D cinema. A positive thing was that everything was distributed relatively evenly in the park. At the beginning of the day it was sufficient to ride not yet at full capacity, but in the afternoon all available equipment was put onto the tracks.

Albatrossen

We started with the Albatrossen, a Zamperla Disk’o. In contrast to the Disk’o Coasters, the ride here is much more fun thanks to the pressure-packed ride. Also the change of direction was excellent to avoid a too monotonous spinning around.

Vildsvinet

Next door, the Eurofighter prototype Vildswinet did its laps. Unexpectedly gently, it raced down the course like a wild boar. Particularly noteworthy is the steep curve that followed the drop with a 97° gradient and ended in a loop. However, the course loses a little tension after the following block brake, so this part only complements the layout, but does not emphasize it again. The design of the ride is not only suitable for the Danish racer, it is simply convincing.

Svend Svingsarm

After a short examination of the queue, the novelty Svend Svingsarm was given a try. Since I only know the HUSS version of the big swings, I honestly didn’t expect anything, but what happened here deserves just one word: Ingenious! If you sit between two rests, you have enormous airtime. The swing-out reaches a very big radius and the gondola changes during the ride the speed of rotation and the direction of travel. Finally, a Zamperla device that is worth to be copied as often as possible. But the handling is too slow for one person and the ride is not themed according to the BonBon-Land standard.

Viktor Vandorm

For Hauke a new roller coaster was waiting for him and for me the longest Tivoli coaster from Zierer I ever rode. After you start unusually high at Viktor Vandorm you build up a lot of speed with the funny first drop. After that you have a part that looks like a splashdown from the outside. Long straights and curves follow until you are back in the station and start a second round. The capacity is of all expectations instead of a man-eater beneath all hell, so it’s not surprising to find the second longest queue here. The design seems strange, as one unfortunately notices that the layout must have stood somewhere else in the past; in this case in Panorama Park, Germany.

Rejen and Bæver Rafting

Near the Tivoli with the strange layout and partly above it there is the dinghy slide Rejen equipped with a photo system. A few meters away you can find the rapids ride of BonBon-Land. The Bæver Rafting has a beautiful, rough layout with, compared to other European rapid rides, a high degree of humidity. The design of the ride is well done and very convincing.

Hundeprutten

Since a waiting time of more than half an hour is clearly too much for Sammy’s big adventure, the nearby Hundeprutten roller coaster was examined more closely. The track layout is similar to a Zierer Force One, but the ride was elaborately clad and imaginatively designed. The fart gag when the train passes by is completely in keeping with the Danish humour and the eponymous candy.

Klaptorsken

Unfortunately, the entire Heege rides of the BonBon-Land and also the windshield wipers style ride are no longer available, but you still can find some remnants. Further away is the ship swing Klaptorsken, built by Metallbau Emmeln, which showed a very solid ride.

Hankatten

The last roller coaster we looked forward to was the Gerstlauer Spinning Coaster Hankatten, which doesn’t come close to the spinning coaster deity Dragon’s Fury by the manufacturer of Maurer Söhne, but will still remain in my memory as a more amusing example. The inward facing seating position is what makes this coaster built by Gerstlauer different from the other manufacturers. The track itself is fast and has some helices and funny drops, but lacks an Immelmann turn to make the track perfect. The design of the ride is well done, even if it is mostly just the remains of the design of the former HUSS Condor. Furthermore, the sound effects are in a class of their own.

Cobratarnet

Also worth mentioning is the Fabbri drop tower Cobratarnet due to the forceful drop and suprising launch downwards. The ride at Cobratarnet is very soft during the deceleration, hence a very good tower for the park’s audience. Luckily you don’t have to wait an eternity at the top of the ride like you do at the Zoo-, Safari- and Hollywoodpark Stukenbrock.

Søløven

The sealion also wanted to be ridden by us. This is a theme ride through the various continents of our world. As kitschy and convincing as the design is, there is unfortunately something missing that most kitschy world travel attractions contain, a catchy song. So the Søløven turns out quite pleasing, however, it could be even better.

Miscellaneous

There is also a small white-water ride with a canal-rat theme with an unfortunately dry ride, an excellent wave swinger with a turtle look and much more. The portfolio of the park is well chosen and the design of the rides is very convincing. It is a pity that the clearance is too slow in some places and the limited queues are a little too short, so that you inevitably block the way for other passers-by.

Pictures BonBon-Land

Conclusion BonBon-Land

The BonBon-Land is a very bizarre amusement park, which can certainly be a lot of fun at a lower crowd. The capacities are limited, there are gaps of old rides everywhere and somehow everything seems to have been placed a little bit without a concept; which again fits very well to the actual design of the park – because BonBon-Land is just like the portfolio of the confectioner next door, who also founded the park.

 

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BonBon-Land

A (half) day in Rasti-Land

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Rasti-Land

Not far from Hanover, Hildesheim and Hameln is the Rasti-Land amusement park, which has been in existence since 1973. The park is easy to reach via the main roads and the park fees do not empty your wallet as they are completely waived. After having passed the small tunnel at the entrance to the parking place, one drives once around the park to the park entrance. The first impression that one gets during this drive catches one’s eye in a positive way.

Monorail

Once one has paid the 19€ entrance fee, one finds oneself on the highest level of the park. The park railway (with a total of three stations) and the Mack Monorail await you here. Like the Tour de Fleurs in the Holidaypark, this ride is quite long and has several levels. Here, one also drives through a small dark ride section. The gondolas of the railway partly have a very nice painting.

Märchenfahrt

If you follow the paths to the left past some children’s attractions, you will find yourself on the Mack round boat trip Märchenfahrt. This one goes through the middle of the forest, past some statues. The design of the ride is quite impressive for such a park.

Gokarts

In the immediate vicinity you will find the go-kart tracks, which are mastered here either in single or two-seater. The track is basically an oval with some swings in it. Here one clearly notices that the park embeds its tracks into the terrain.

Koggenfahrt

Since the dinosaur theme area of the park opens at noon, the flat ride Koggenfahrt was tested. The forward ride was rather lame, but not the backward part. The ride is slightly elevated at the level of the surrounding curves of the tube slide next door. The ride also looks good from a design point of view.

Boots-Wasserrutschen

After you have climbed another mountain, you can grab a rubber dinghy and make your way down by either using the tube slides or the wave slides of the Boots-Wasserrutschen. These have a wide choice and are in better condition from the inside than they look from the outside. The disadvantage of the slide is the hill that has to be climbed again after the ride. Unfortunately, the neighbouring steep slides were out of order and it does not seem as if this will be changed in the near future.

Riesenschiffschaukel Santa Maria and Abenteuerfahrt durch die Piratenstadt

Other rides on the mountain are the giant Santa Maria ship swing from the manufacturer Metallbau Emmeln, as well as the dark ride Abenteuerfahrt durch die Piratenstadt, which are extremely convincing. On the dark ride you will not only meet the pirates but also numerous interesting effects and beautiful scenery.

Reifenrutschpiste

To make the descent easier you can use a slide to help you. Once you reach the bottom, you can go up the mountain again armed with a tire and then race down the tire slide track. If the synchronisation of the starting aids is right, you can have an exciting race. All in all we spent most of the time in the park right here – a great fun!

Wildwasserbahn

For the water enthusiasts among us there is a special kind of log flume in Rasti-Land. Most of the Wildwasserbahn was built in-house and only the boats come from the manufacturer Intamin. The course was perfectly integrated into the terrain like almost everything else in the park and can also soak you nicely.

Blizzard

The Blizzard bobkart track makes its way in places above the log flume. The track of the manufacturer Wiegand offers an extremely fast ride with a beautiful curve due to its high speed. However, you have to be able to drive at full throttle during the ride, because you can control the cars yourself.

Achterbahn

The pink painted roller coaster Achterbahn in Rasti-Land is clearly visible from far away. The ride was built by Dutch roller coaster manufacturer Vekoma and is one of the first Junior Coaster rides. The colour scheme takes some getting used to, but the ride is still incredibly photogenic, especially because of its placement.

Im Reich des T-Rex and Wasserschlacht

As it was now far after noon, we could visit the Hafema rafting ride Im Reich des T-Rex, as well as the Mack Roundboatblaster Wasserschlacht. The rafting ride is typical for Hafema and not too short, but the degree of wetness is limited (one does not get out completely soaked). The Wasserschlacht can be a good remedy for this. The round boats provide for an all-round wetness and for defencelessness, should the boat turn at the wrong moment. There is also the possibility to meet the guests of the rafting in some places.

Pictures Rasti-Land

Conclusion Rasti-Land

After a few hours we left the Rasti-Land, which we will remember with mixed feelings. In some places the park is really good, but in other places there is an urgent need for renewal. The staff should be better trained, if you wait for the right moment you can help yourself to drinks for free or go to the park. The waiting times are balanced everywhere, as the visitors are very well distributed.

 

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Rasti-Land

In Honour of O.D. Hopkins

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Preface

After Stefan unfortunately couldn’t come with us to England last year due to a small fracture and we received a ticket for this season through the Guest Relations, we went to the English island once again, where we not only encountered minimal waiting times at Pentecost, but also the best weather to celebrate O.D. Hopkins masterpiece Tidal Wave extensively.

Tour of the park

X:\No Way Out

The beginning of the visit was the magnificent and completely screwed up indoor roller coaster X:\No Way Out made by Vekoma. For many roller coaster fans of the world this ride is wrongly considered one of the worst steel roller coasters par excellence, but the ride only does what it was designed for. The strange lifthill passages, the reversing train, as well as the computer virus that the ride reflects story-wise, make the ride something very special.

Tidal Wave

In the immediate vicinity is Tidal Wave, a masterpiece of a spillwater from O.D. Hopkins. Tidal Wave scores with its enormous wave and the resulting high – but pleasant – degree of wetness. Unfortunately, the founder of the spillwater manufacturer O.D. Hopkins died shortly before our visit, so some laps on Tidal Wave were made in his memory.

Nemesis Inferno

Because Stealth was not running for a while the nearby Inverter of the park was visited. Nemesis Inferno is the bigger brother of its sister ride Nemesis from Alton Towers and has an equally good and fun layout.

Of particular importance is the start of this layout, where after a downhill bend you pass through a fog-filled tunnel before the train enters the lift. After having climbed it, a curvy descent follows in order to be released in a powerful loop. Typical for the manufacturer now follows a wonderfully intense Zero-G Roll, which then releases you into the interlocking corkscrews. After the last curves are completed, the short ride is unfortunately over again.

Detonator

Thematically, Nemesis Inferno forms a fiery unit with the Fabbri Freefall Tower Detonator. While the inverter is completely dedicated to the volcano, Detonator is already a little bit aside at the foot of it. The fall from the only 40m high tower lets nearly every other tower look old, because here you are not only dropped, but shot down by a preloaded spring.

Saw Alive

As Saw – The ride was out of service and there were high queues at the Maze Saw Alive, as well as at the neighboring multi-inversion coaster Colossus, the Canadian area was examined more closely. Unfortunately there seemed to be a lot of downtimes in general, so it was no surprise that the huge S&S Power Sky Swat Slammer didn’t ride.

Logger’s Leap

However, the neighbouring log flume Logger’s Leap sent one boat after the other down its double slope, so a ride on the ride was targeted. The small boat tour starts quite nasty with a shot in the dark before it gets quite strangely closer and closer to the big shot. Once up it goes immediately downhill and this luckily with a pronounced airtime on the second gradient. Unfortunately the level of wetness is limited, but the ride on the log flume is always a pleasure. Besides there is also Tidal Wave to get you wet.

Stealth

Since Stealth was back on the road again, we went to the Amity Cove area again to be transported to the sky with the appropriate music playing. Stealth offers quite a short ride time, but you can rarely be faster in 60m height and back again, especially since the launch just rocks. Unfortunately, the ride doesn’t end after the Top Hat, rather on a hill where you get to know the shoulder restraints in an unpleasant way. At least the whole package is convincing, especially since the trains here are a bit bigger than on Desert Race and Rita.

Flying Fish

A little bit hidden and since the Swarm probably also more popular, you can enjoy the probably coolest powered coaster by Mack Rides. The Flying Fish does not only greet its passengers with the word Dude but can also show a quite interesting train. Unfortunately, another train rarely seems to be a good choice for a powered coaster of this model, especially since the whole thing can turn out quite painful like in the travelling version Feuer und Eis (fire and ice); over here, the train seems a bit too wide. This is evident in the ride, but the unharmonious transitions are hardly disturbing, as the train itself is equipped with the latest generation of seats and restraints.

Saw – The Ride

Because Saw – The Ride finally started to run again, we had to dare a ride there as well. Unfortunately, the course already showed significant losses in the second year, which was mainly due to the additional queue for the fast pass owners.

After finally being cleared, the car is starting to move. The first part can still be seen as brilliant, but unfortunately the outer part of the ride seems to have taken a turn for the worse. The first change you notice is the lower speed, as there is no longer the almost indescribable rush and the resulting forces. The second change is the rather ungentle approach with its passengers; the ride was suprisingly rough.

Samurai

More or less next door and unfortunately a little bit inappropriately designed for this area is the Top Scan Samurai by Mondial. This ride, that is very popular especially in the United Kingdom, is very convincing – at least if the rotation of the gondola also allows some rollovers. But the constant shifting of the legs to the right is not very pleasant in the long run.

Colossus

Also the world’s first 10 inversions roller coaster Colossus wanted to be ridden. The very photogenic ride, which by the way has the same epic soundtrack as its namesake from Heide-Park in Lower Saxony, continues to convince, provided you have completed the first three inversions. What the looping and the following cobra roll do to you isn’t that nice, but what follows is basically just great. The two corkscrews are passed with a wonderful speed before the four Heartlinerolls are started. These are slightly monotonous but are – at least in Europe – a unique experience and the prelude to the best inversion of a roller coaster par excellence, the final fifth Heartlineroll in the opposite direction. The roll is something special and rides wonderfully harmonious; a basically unique feeling.

Rush, Quantum, Vortex and Zodiac

In the same area there are still some rides, like the boring S&S swing Rush, where with a bit of luck a giant dragonfly is slapped in your face, which can be considered a highlight during the short ride program. The flying carpet Quantum and also the neighboring Afterburner Vortex show hardly any ride characteristics worth mentioning except for their manufacturers. The HUSS Enterprise Zodiac is a very interesting ride, not only because of its short ride program, like all rides in this area, but also because of its safety belt to attach the grid to the nacelle.

Rumba Rapids

The park’s Intamin Rafting ride is not really worth mentioning, because Rumba Rapids clearly gives away a lot of potential. The course itself features a wonderful wave pool that could flood the boats nicely. As always on European rapid rides, one remains dust-dry.

Pictures Thorpe Park

 

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Thorpe Park