Tag: Inverted Coaster

Big Amusements in a strange Holiday Destination

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The holiday resort of Ingoldmells is mainly characterised by its numerous holiday parks; after all, the first Butlin’s Resort in the country has been located here since 1936. In order to expand the resort’s offerings, the Fantasy Island amusement park was built in the 1990s, including a large indoor area with an arcade and a bowling alley. Since 2016, the park belongs to the Mellors Group, England’s largest fairground operator.   

Rhombus Rocket

The Rhombus Rocket powered coaster was the theme park’s first roller coaster. As was often the case at the time, the roller coaster was paired with a log flume to place two of its main attractions in the smallest possible space. The interaction with the log flume is still the ride’s greatest charm today. The otherwise very family-friendly ride by WGH Transportation convinces with its long helices and the big dip just before the station entrance. As is often the case on a good powered coaster, you ride the layout several times.  

Volcano, Sea Storm and Magic

The Rhombus Rocket roller coaster is surrounded by some wonderfully designed rides. In addition to a typical English Twister, the Sea Storm ride and the classic Magic formerly owned by German showman Ludewigt, the Space Shot Volcano by S&S, which shoots out of an artificial volcano, is particularly impressive.

Pyramid Attractions

The indoor area of the Pyramid is the big flagship of Fantasy Island theme park. Around the Mystical Dragon Mountain, which houses a really fast dinghy slide, there are numerous really nice attractions here. The cute oldschool themed ride Seaquarium and the brand new interactive dark ride Harrington Flint’s Island Adventure’s stand out positively. But a ride on the monorail Toucan Tours or the flying theatre The Guardian should not be missed. In addition, the Pyramid features the Jellikins Coaster, a roller coaster for very young park guests, which is a rather uncomfortable experience for most adults due to its enclosed cars. 

Millennium

Until a few years ago, the entrance to the Millennium roller coaster was located directly in front of the pyramid. Nowadays, the waiting area is inside the pyramid, which on the one hand offers a clearly immersive experience, but on the other hand comes with the circumstance that you now call a largely unused station your own. Due to the lack of separation between entry and exit, one is held back in a small area until the last passenger of the roller coaster has passed it. Only then is the ascent into the station via the exit of the roller coaster. 

After entering the station, the train is quickly dispatched and sent on its way. Having reached a height of 46m, we immediately descend the first drop to the left. After we have smoothly passed the first valley, we immediately go through an unusually high loop – for an MK-1200. After a long straight, we skilfully change our direction in a sidewinder, but not without completing an oversized Bavarian curve above Ingoldmells Market – Europe’s largest weekly market. After a short climb, we plunge down once more and immediately into the ride’s second loop. The rest of the way around the pyramid is a little more relaxed as we glide over several hills before we move on to the grand finale. In a helix we are pressed into the seat for one last time before we reach the braking section of the ride and our ride soon comes to an end.

Millennium is one of the greatest roller coasters by Vekoma. Although the layout is not quite as imaginative as more modern rides from the manufacturer, the huge MK-1200 can convince with its pressure-rich elements and its fantastic ride characteristics. This ride is simply smooth. 

Family Roller Coaster and Wild River Rapids

On the other side of the pyramid, the big roller coaster Odyssey is joined by the small family roller coaster Family Roller Coaster and the water ride Wild River Rapids. The Spinning Raft from Reverchon is hit or miss, because the ride can very well get you soaked, but the likelihood of that is low. 

Odyssey

Originally opened as Jubilee Odyssey for Queen Elizabeth II’s golden jubilee, the ride is the tallest inverted coaster in the world to date at just under 51m. However, the ride, which was built directly on the North Sea, was rarely operated by the previous owner of the amusement park due to the high wind load, which gave the ride a questionable image. With the change of operator, the Odyssey also picked up speed again.

After leaving the 50m-high lift hill behind, the ride goes very steeply back down to the ground. With a lot of pressure we pass the first valley, whereupon a huge loop awaits us. Immediately afterwards, we shoot up a huge Cobra Roll, which turns us upside down two more times. In a very unusual way, we change our direction of travel once again in a huge turn. As if that wasn’t enough, a sidewinder follows immediately. We then circle the exit of the Cobra Roll in a large helix. Far from the ground we glide through a dip before we are turned upside down one last time in a corkscrew. With plenty of speed left, we reach the braking section of the ride and soon the station of the roller coaster.

Odyssey is a really strange roller coaster. The size of the ride speaks for itself, and the unorthodox layout is somehow appealing, but the rough ride characteristics don’t really make it fun to ride. 

Pictures Fantasy Island

Conclusion Fantasy Island

Fantasy Island is a thoroughly nice amusement park in a more than strange place. The large selection of rides and the very high quality are surprising and leave a very positive overall impression. Especially the attractions inside the pyramid stand out positively due to their immersive design. The rides outside the pyramid, on the other hand, are more classic and convince with their unique layouts. 

 

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Fantasy Island

Flying through Rookburgh

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A new themed area at Phantasialand

Phantasialand has once again built something new and of all things it was completed during the Covid 19 pandemic. Whereas elsewhere the opening of the new attraction, the new themed area and the new hotel would have been postponed until next year, the park in Brühl has once again taken the initiative to completely turn the theme park world upside down.

After the closure of the huge IMAX Simulator Race for Atlantis at the end of the winter season 2015/16, rumours about the future use of the area started. At the same time, the new themed area Klugheim was in its final preparations. Shortly thereafter, Taron became Europe’s most signature ride and Klugheim one of the most immersive areas in a European theme park.

A teaser of the new themed area appeared to the start of the 2017 season and in June of the same year, the roller coaster F.L.Y. was announced to the public. The first track was installed soon after. Yet, due to the location at the edge of the park and between the areas Berlin and Fantasy, there was not much to look at. Indeed, no visitor would know what Rookburgh and its flying machine would look like until the opening of the area.

The Pre-Opening of Rookburgh

With time, the anticipation grew immensely and all the sudden – and in a time when nobody would have thought about it – Rookburgh opened its gates for a preopening. Due to Covid-19, the number of visitors to the area was restricted and only the front entrance to the area was opened, which led to a long queue right from the start expanding over a large part of the Kaiserplatz and into the Fantasy area.

I joined the queue around noon and enjoyed the time in the open-air queue on the Kaiserplatz for quite a while. Once Rookburgh was in sight – all the sudden – a queue jumper thought it was a good idea to be a group member of mine. Apparently, he was an employee of the park on a day off and was just interested in the area. As I do not accept queue jumping, I informed the staff about his behaviour and he was denied entrance to the area for the day of visit. He called me – rather thankful, I guess – an asshole.

From the moment, he forced himself into my life, I was angry. But all the anger was forgotten once I stepped into the immersive world of Rookburgh. This steam punk paradise is just incredible. The way the roller coaster F.L.Y. is passing through the area and the nearby Hotel Charles Lindbergh is awesome. There is so much going on, yet everything is reduced to the new sensation of flying and clear in its visuals.

Apart of the main attraction, Rookburgh offers some delicious treats. In Emilie‘s Chocoladen & Candy‑Werkstatt you can buy high quality chocolate and candies, whereas Zum Kohleschipper offers a range of delicious sandwiches and the restaurant Uhrwerk fully concentrates itself on exclusive hamburgers, craft beer and Gin. This all comes for a price and covers a segment, which was not yet been covered by the park. Phantasialand therefore offers a large range of fantastic food options for a very reasonable price.

F.L.Y. – a flying sensation

The signature attraction of Rookburgh is the Vekoma flying coaster F.L.Y. Albeit Vekoma was the pioneer of this kind of coaster, their Flying Dutchman model can only be found in a handful of parks. The complicated loading mechanism and the lowered capacity in regard to the competitor’s product never led to another installation since 2001. In 2009 a first iteration of the train’s mechanic got presented with the short-lived Stingray coaster at the Giant Wheel Park of Suzhou. For F.L.Y. the Flying Dutchman design received a completely new development. Now the trains are featuring the vest design to be found at other modern coasters of the company and the shin clamps are fixed to the train and not to the restraints and can be entered while sliding into them. But the most important novelty is that you are entering the train whilst the track is in a 90° rotated position – a swivel turned the car to a horizontal position.  The station is therefore highly unusual, as it needs to be rather long.

The ride on F.L.Y.

Once the train is boarded, the ride can begin. In a dark ride section, we climb a ramp while still sitting in an upright position. In a curve, we then change into the flying position in probably the most elegant way so far. Shortly thereafter, we are accelerated in the first launch section of the ride and into a wide and upwards leading curve. Along and above facades of Rookburgh, we now twist ourselves around in a corkscrew. After a left-hand bend, we cross the first launch section in an airtime hill. Accompanied with a lot of pressure, we fly through the back section of Rookburgh before gaining a bit of height in a curve to the left. We then make our way through the centre of the area before we descent in a very wide left-hand curve. A tight bend to the right then leads us towards the area front right corner of the area, where we descend to the ground level in a tight helix. Here we hit the second launch track and accelerate once more towards the Hotel Charles Lindbergh.

As the launch track is leading upwards, we soon have a view onto the upper levels of the hotel. A steep curve then takes us down. With a lot of momentum, we now fly over the restaurant Uhrwerk, before we make our way through the centre of the area once more. In a left-hand bend we then surprise the visitors of the Chocoladen & Candy-Werkstatt, while continuing our journey towards the front right section of the area. Here, we descent in a left-hand helix, before we plunge down towards the ground. In an intensive left-hand bend, we now head towards the second inversion of the ride, whereupon we continue in a wide curve close to the ground. A short swivel to the right later, we then hit the brakes. Like the start of the ride, we are then turned back to the horizontal seating position while passing through a short turn. We are now waiting for debarkation in a very comfy position. Shortly after, we reach the exit station.

Conclusion F.L.Y.

Rookburgh is without a doubt one of the most immersive areas in any theme park and F.L.Y. is its masterpiece of a roller coaster. It became my favourite flying coaster somewhere in the middle of the ride, as I could not stop laughing. As most of the flying coasters out there, F.L.Y. is a very intense experience, yet a very enjoyable one. The trains are a lot comfier than the standard ones to be found on a B&M coaster of the same type and guarantee a very safe journey through the air. The high capacity, the long ride time, the technology of the ride and its location certainly enhance the overall experience on F.L.Y.: a ride which got with ease the next big signature ride of Europe.

Pictures Phantasialand

 

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Phantasialand

Parque Warner (2020)

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A visit of Parque Warner during the Covid-19 pandemic

I haven’t been to Parque Warner in a long time. The park belonging to Parques Reunidos is known to have a great selection of breathtaking roller coasters and water rides soaking through to your underwear. However, 2020 is now the year of Covid-19 and the Spanish are known to have taken it a little harder, so I was very curious to see how the amusement parks are run in this country. Due to my experiences concerning the protection measures in Germany, I expected very long waiting times from the beginning and therefore bought the Pase Correcaminos Platinum in advance; a quite expensive ticket for pushing the queue with theoretically unlimited access to the attractions.

As I had made a little mistake in the bus schedule, I reached the park much later than originally planned. As the entrance was narrowed to two access points, there were already two very long queues at my arrival. On the day of my visit, there were no day tickets; unfortunately, shortly before my visit, the park offered 50% reduced tickets, thus the park was relatively full. As I could not find the office for the Pase Correcaminos right away, I also lost some time; who could have guessed that the man at the lockers would take care of it.

Equipped with my wristband it could go through the park. Basically, masks are obligatory everywhere – the correct way of wearing them is meticulously observed. The staff is perfectly trained for all Covid-19 measures and at all shows and attractions they take care of the hygiene measures, e.g. you have to disinfect your hands every time in front of the watchful eye of an employee, at the shows you are accompanied to your seat (even after the show you are only allowed to leave the theatre in groups) to guarantee the safety distance. The attractions are additionally disinfected after each use, before the next passengers are allowed to board. All this of course reduces the capacity, but the Spanish staff is surprisingly fast. The only thing I honestly should have saved was the visit of the mad house Hotel Embrujado.

Pictures Parque Warner

Closing Words

At the end of the day I could ride all the attractions at least once. Thanks to the Pase Correcaminos, the waiting time at the roller coasters was a maximum of 30 minutes, without of course much more. At the water rides and all other attractions I had a little more luck. Of course, a visit outside of Corona would have been much more fruitful, but nevertheless I am impressed by the professionalism of the park and therefore recommend a visit to Parque Warner this year.

A visit to the theme park could hardly be safer!

 

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Parque Warner