Mack Rides

Sea World, not SeaWorld

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History of the Sea Mammal Amusement Park Sea World

The origins of Sea World go back to the year 1958 when the Surfers Paradise Sky Gardens opened on the south bank of the Nerang River in Carrara. The park by Keith Williams became famous for its water ski shows. In 1971 the park relocated to its current site on the Southport Spit as Ski Land. With the additions of dolphin shows and other attractions the park was renamed to Sea World a year later. It is important to know, that Sea World has nothing to do with the American theme park chain SeaWorld, which currently operates three parks under their SeaWorld brand. Yet, it is no surprise that there was plenty of skirmish over trademarks during the past decades.

In 1984, the park was sold to Pivot Leisure. During the following years, the park was expanded into a resort. Together with Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow, Pivot Leisure developed and opened the nearby Warner Bros. Movie World in 1991 and purchased the Wet ‘n’ Wild water park next door. In 1993 the Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow jointly acquired Pivot Leisure’s interest. In 2006 Village Roadshow took full ownership of the group which led to the Village Roadshow Theme Parks.

Tour of the Park

Penguin Encounter and Sea Jellies Illuminated

After entering the park, you will find yourself directly in front of a large lake. The only available path leads us to the left and soon we stand in front of the Penguin Encounter. This indoor animal enclosure reminded me a lot of the ones to be found at the SeaWorld parks and should therefore not to be missed.

The next-door Sea Jellies Illuminated is also a very interesting exhibition, as you can see Jelly Fish in a totally different light. Albeit they are still very mysterious creatures, the different light conditions give them a very fascinating appeal.

Monorail

Till the completion of the New Atlantis themed area in 2022, the park’s Monorail got suspended. It would have been nice to take a tour on Sea World’s iconic mode of transport. Right behind the station there is a helipad. Here, you can take a trip with the park’s helicopter fleet for a rather high upcharge.

Seal Guardians

As the Seal Guardians show was to start soon, we headed directly into the large theatre. Like most seal shows around the globe, the show is very much slapstick based. The story is based on the Seal Guardians and their mission to keep the oceans clean, but of course there an evil company which wants to see them tear down SeaLab1. At the end, everything is fine, everybody had a good laugh and a person from the audience got soaked.

Nickelodeon Land

Right next door to the theatre is Nickelodeon Land. In Sea World the famous children’s network presents a bunch of rides themed to Spongebob Squarepants, Dora the Explorer and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The most noticeable rides are Dora’s Fiesta Carousel, the Rockin’ Tug Bikini Bottom Crosstown Express, the teacups Patrick’s Jellyfish Frenzy, as well as the small family coaster Spongebob’s Boating School Blast – a standard family gravity coaster by Zamperla.

Jet Rescue

Right next to the former location of the Sea Viper roller coaster – Australia’s first looping coaster – there is the Intamin family launch coaster Jet Rescue. One year after Dreamworld opened Mick Doohan’s Motocoaster, Sea World opened Australia’s first double launch coaster featuring a very dense layout full of tight curves.

The ride starts with a launch to 60 kph and immediately settles into 270° righthand curve, which is completed extremely close to the ground. This is followed by a short camelback over the launch track that has just been passed. A slight turn to the left brings us into a small S-curve combination, which ends in the second launch section.

Here, we accelerate to our maximum speed of 70 kph. This is once again followed by a heavily inclined curve. In an alternating rhythm, we now race through a series of left and right turns, whereby we always keep ourselves close to the ground. After crossing the track a second time, we soon hit the brakes and return to the station.

Jet Rescue is a very fun coaster. Due to its formerly limited space, the ride squeezes a lot of action into a very small footprint. The tight and highly inclined curves and the overall high pacing throughout the layout make this coaster a very remarkable family ride and one of the best roller coasters in Australia.

Storm Coaster

Storm Coaster is the replacement of an old time favourite: The Bermuda Triangle. The large indoor flume ride featured two major drops and an extra-terrestrial story line which still can be experienced at its replica at Movie Park Germany – the former Warner Bros. Movie World Germany. The ride is nowadays called Area51. Storm Coaster reuses the Bermuda Triangle’s show building for the final splash down and for its station.

Once boarded, the ride starts with a small passage through the channel without any hint of theming. When reaching the end of the hall, we also reach the ride’s lift hill. Shortly after, we find ourselves at a height of 28m before plunging down a small curvy dip into the next block brake. The following steep curve downhill shot is the highlight of the ride and rushing through the valley without any mayor sideways bump a relief to everybody who ever experienced Poseidon at Europa Park. Soon after we reach the second block brake at a lofty height. Now, we drop down under the main path leading to the attraction before we take a hill and disappear into the show building. Here, we hit the water and get reasonable wet. A bit of theming to the right and left of the route makes the return to the station entertaining.

Storm Coaster is a very fun water coaster by Mack Rides. The show building features a great theming and the placement of the ride within the park was very well done. It just looks like a very huge coaster. Unfortunately, the ride is a bit spare on its theming during the ride especially when you compare it to the ride which was previously housed at this location.

Ray Reef, Polar Bear Shores and Shark Bay

Past the remnants of the Viking’s Revenge Flume Ride and the 3D Cinema which until recently was showing the Spongebob Squarepants 3D movie, we now make our way to some of the larger animal enclosures. The first one on our way is the large Ray Reef petting pool, where you can feed the rays for an upcharge.

Behind it there is Polar Bear Shores – the only polar bear enclosure in Australia. For a park like Sea World, such an enclosure should be a no-go as it does not house a marine mammal or related animal; however, it has been in existence since 2000 and you really don’t have to think twice to know that the Gold Coast’s subtropical climate is not suitable for housing polar bears.

Probably the best attraction at Sea World is Shark Bay. This large-scale area has everything you would want to see in an aquarium, and there are so many opportunities to catch a glimpse of the goings-on below sea level. Here, you can easily spend most of your time at Sea World and if you really want it or have a lot of spare money, there are many upcharge experiences to enjoy.

Castaway Bay

The area Castaway Bay consists of the upcharge high ropes course Castaway Bay Sky Climb, the play structure Castaway Bay Sky Fortress and the splash battle Castaway Bay Battle Boats. Especially, the last-mentioned attraction is a lot of fun on a typical day on the Gold Coast, as it allows you to cool down in a very efficient and drenching way.

Affinity Dolphin

The main attraction of Sea World is the dolphin presentation at the Affinity Stadium. It is a bit like a glimpse to the past, as dolphin presentation are not featured anymore in most parts of the Western world. It would be wrong by me to criticize this kind of shows, as I always enjoyed them. Yet, as we missed the first presentation, we decided not to wait for the second one in the afternoon.

Thunder Lake Stunt Show

After a view on the nearby Seal Harbour area, we headed back to the entrance area of the park for the Thunder Lake Stunt Show. The show features a competition between the Sun State All Stars (the good ones) and the Bay City River Rats (the bad ones) in wakeboarding, Freestyle BMX and water-skiing. If you ignore the trivial story with all its banter, the Thunder Lake Stunt Show is well worth seeing. Especially the fire-breathing waterborne lorry will remain in your memory. As many others, we left the park directly after the show.

Pictures Sea World

Conclusion Sea World

Overall, we had a great day at Sea World. Albeit the park is rather limited in size, it offers some very interesting animal enclosures and a bunch of great attractions. However, the park can be criticised for its high number of upcharge attractions and some of its animal enclosures. With marine mammal parks in general losing more and more acceptance by the public, it will be interesting to see how Sea World will develop in the future.

 

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Click here for the next report of the Hell Yeah, Schabelteah! Tour

Hell Yeah, Schnabelteah Day 15 to 19 / Sea World

Star Trek – Operation Enterprise

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The novelties of the last years

Movie Park Germany has always been one of my favourite parks in Germany, but I haven’t been to the park for the last three years. During this time, however, a lot has changed: The Intamin Rapids Ride Mystery River became Excalibur – Secret of the Dark Forest, the new roller coaster Star Trek – Operation Enterprise was opened and the dark ride Alien Encounter was redesigned to Area 51 – Top Secret.

Area 51 – Top Secret

The latter novelty was also the reason why I delayed my visit more and more, because a visit to Movie Park Germany without a ride through the volcano is just not the same. Instead of driving through an island in the Bermuda Triangle, we now go through a flooded mine in the middle of the Nevada desert. Where before there was a clearly defined arc of tension, there is now only a trivial and far-fetched story based on the scenes of the original story. Of course, aliens are more likely to be associated with Area 51 than with the Bermuda Triangle, but water travel in the desert just doesn’t make sense – even if it’s Groom Lake Air Force Base (Groom Lake is a dry salt lake).

But if you can overlook the story, Area 51 – Top Secret is the HD version of an aging dark ride and that alone is simply wonderful. The ride finally shows its best side again and convinces with its numerous effects. Although little or nothing has changed in the course and the staging inside the ride, the lovingly audio-visual refreshment shows its effect. In this respect, thank you Movie Park Germany for the preservation of this ride!

Excalibur – Secret of the Dark Forest

While the Alien Encounter previously still had the story of the original version from the Australian amusement park Sea World Gold Coast, the Mystery River looked quite different after the license was cancelled. The ride was just a shadow of its former self and, except for its ride hardware, it was nothing more than construction foam. IMAscore and IMAmotion then breathed new life into the old ride and so Mystery River became Excalibur – Secret of the Dark Forest. Again, the theme is a bit generic, but the ride itself was definitely upgraded. The queue is now really well done and puts you in the right mood for the ride. It has also been enhanced with new figures, even if the focus here is more on the rapid ride through the current channel and less on telling a story.

Star Trek – Operation Enterprise

Things are different with Star Trek – Operation Enterprise, where the overall experience takes up the original idea of the film park and thus tells a rather round story. For this purpose, the former Marienhof was converted into the Federation Plaza and the once existing – but hardly noticed by the visitors – Film Museum was cleared out to accommodate the queue including the replica of the bridge of the Starship Enterprise. The external station can then be reached via a narrow corridor.

After you have taken a seat on the train, the journey can begin immediately. But first of all you are pushed over a transfer track onto the actual track.  Since this track section has no LSM modules, you are pushed forward very gently before you enter the launch section and accelerate slowly. After this, we climb the first element about halfway before we turn around and accelerate much faster. At the back of the transfer track building we shoot up the Twisted Halfpipe, a slightly twisted vertical section of track. Here, too, we change direction and race through the launch section a third time. With 90 km/h we race up the Top Hat and are immediately torn out of our seats. After a powerful valley we climb an Immelmann and see the world upside down for the first time. This is immediately followed by a heartline roll, which changes into another fall. After a jagged bend above the transfer track building we speed through the Borg Cube and immediately start the second part of our rescue mission. Extremely close to the ground we are now going over several smaller hills and then through a crisp left turn. Very smoothly this then changes into the last inversion figure of the ride, a Zero-G Roll. Directly after that our mission reaches its end. After the braking section there is only a short right turn before we find ourselves back in the station of the ride.

Star Trek – Operation Enterprise is a really nice roller coaster by Mack Rides. The ride through the compact layout can show some really nice elements, all of which are ridden with a good pacing. It may not be the most powerful roller coaster and the triple launch is a nice feature at best, but the overall package is quite impressive. Star Trek – Operation Enterprise is at least a very family-friendly launch coaster and fits perfectly into the park’s portfolio in this respect.

Pictures Movie Park Germany

Closing Words

What I personally dislike, however, is the new theme area around the roller coaster. The Federation Plaza looks naked and doesn’t look as inviting as the rest of the park. Here, one could and should have gotten out more.

Nevertheless, all novelties of the past years have been very successful and let you look into the future of Movie Park Germany with a joyful view – even if I can hardly imagine the new design of the Vekoma SLC with the henceforth extremely unwieldy name Lucky Luke – The Ride: Die Daltons brechen aus. At least you can be curious and that’s a good start.

 

What is your opinion about the last three novelties at Movie Park Germany? How do you like Excalibur – Secret of the Dark Forest, Star Trek – Operation Enterprise and Area 51 – Top Secret? Just write it here below the report in the comment field or visit our social media channels:

 

          

Movie Park Germany

A short visit to a beautiful Tivoli

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Linnanmäki

The story of Linnanmäki begins in 1907. Children’s Day events were organised across Finland in order to collect funds for child welfare. At first, the events were arranged on a non-regular basis but in 1945 Children’s Day became a regular annual event. In 1950 six child welfare organisations joined forces in the Children’s Day Foundation and opened the amusement park Linnanmäki.

Ukko

When you approach Linnanmäki one of the first rides you see is the roller coaster Ukko – a Maurer Sky Wheel towering the entrance area of the park. This ride features a vertical lift which goes over into the sky loop element.

The Sky Wheel itself is a roller coaster experience that is quite difficult to describe. In the moment before you are relieved from the elevator upside down, there is a strange feeling in your stomach, which returns to normal within the first roll. This is followed by a descent with high centrifugal forces in the valley before you rush backwards through the valley again shortly afterwards in order to partially climb the sky loop element. After another pass through the station, the vehicle comes to an abrupt stop on the ride’s lift and is then lowered to the station again.

To be honest, I am not a big fan of Maurer’s Sky Wheels. The sensation is good, do not get me wrong, but they are not my kind of ride. The feeling of hanging upside down in 46m only hold by a lap bar is weird and not very enjoyable and the rest of the ride is just okay.

Raketi and Vuoristorata

Past the great S&S Space Shot drop tower Raketi, we now head towards the oldest roller coaster of Linnanmäki: Vuoristorata. The name translates to or better said defines the term roller coaster in Finnish. It is the last of the four scenic railways by Valdemar Lebesch, who also built the two Rutschebanen of Bakken and Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen.

Vuoristorata starts with a long curve leading to the left before the train engages with the cable lift. With a great view onto the roller coaster Ukko just in front, we quickly rise to the top to the lift. Another left curve follows before we dive towards the ground in a large drop. Now, we transverse the Figure-8 ride diagonally and climb a hill while doing so. On the front end of the ride, we now turn around in a curve leading to the right. We take off a bit on the double down, before racing over a large camelback. On the other side of the ride, we now take a left turn. This is followed by another double down leading into one more camelback. On the next hill we gently take another turn around. Parallel to the lift we now initiate the grand finale. Hereby we dive into a tunnel after another camelback. In darkness, we now pass the last curve before we reach the station of the ride and come to a halt.

Vuoristorata is a nice wooden roller coaster which offers a good amount of airtime, speed, and forces during its two-and-a-half-minute long ride. The scenic railway built in 1951 sure offers a great experience and should not be missed when visiting Helsinki.

Kirnu

One of the most interesting coasters of Linnanmäki is Kirnu. This Intamin Zac Spin is one of the earliest examples of a 4D coaster and resembles a large marble run. After the lift, the ride vehicle races towards the edge, plunges down, hits a high forced valley, and turns around on the next crest while the gondola can freely rotate around its own axis. Normally, a roll over is inescapable on the last hill of the ride.

Kirnu might just be a short ride, but also a very unpredictable and powerful one too, so you better not underestimate it.

Linnunrata eXtra

In the large water tower, situated right in the middle of the park, you can ride the Zierer family coaster Linnunrata eXtra which opened in the year 2000 as Space Express. Nowadays, the ride is not only named after the Finnish word for Milky Way, but also offers VR goggles, which makes it eXtra special. I rode the ride without the glasses, which I immediately regretted. The theme inside is dark and not longer visible. The ride itself is very gentle and therefore without any surprises. Unfortunately, I did not have the time to test the ride with the glasses, as it started to have a queue shortly after my ride.

Kieputin, Taikacircus and Mustekala

Back to the light, we quickly encounter the HUSS Top Spin Kieputin, which offered a short, but quite intense ride cycle. In the same corner of Linnanmäki, you can ride the dark ride Taikacircus, have a walk through the nearby funhouse or encounter a well-hidden Schwarzkopf ride called Mustekala at the end of a cul-de-sac.

Kingi

The 75m high drop tower Kingi does not have the best reputation among theme park enthusiasts. Albeit the ride on the Italian made ride offers a very intense drop, the experience itself sits on the uncomfortable side. The restraints by Moser Rides are very tight and the seats themselves are not made for Northern Europeans as they are simply not wide enough. Therefore, if you do not want to squeeze yourself into the seats for a rather long period of time, you should be either very slim and short or still a kid.

Magia

Passing the equally high observation tower, we now step down to another level where another Italian made ride awaits us. Here, however, we find ourselves in seats with a little bit too much room. The Technical Park fying pen Magia offers some heavy rotation and huge forces. It is a fun ride, which does not create a dizzy aftertaste.

Salama

The spinning coaster Salama at Linnanmäki is a great example for an efficient use of space as it is located right on top of the rapid river Hurjakuru. As one of the latest spinning coasters built in Europe, it still offers the excitement of previous Maurer installations like Tarantula at Parque de Atracciones de Madrid or Spinball Whizzer at Alton Towers.

Salama begins with a short curve into the lift. Once at the top, the descents start with a tight turn leading into a curvy drop. With a good spin, we now cross the first valley and enter the large Immelmann turn, the track’s main element. Shortly thereafter, we climb a hill and find ourselves in the first block section of the ride. Another drop follows, whereupon we swirl over an inclined hill. After another upwards leading curve, we enter the second block brake. From here on, the hills get a little bit gentler. In a zigzaggy style, we now make our way towards the next block section. The finale of the ride consists of a downwards leading curve, a small hill and curve with a dip leading into the last brake section of the ride.

Salama is a great spinning coaster with an excellent spin. The ride offers a cool layout and a great pacing. Although the ride is quite short, it gives you a good repeatability factor.

Hurjakuru

Something you could also say about Hurjakuru. The compact rapid river by Intamin offers a refreshing ride through a well themed tunnel, various rapids, and along numerous water effects. Moreover, it also gives you an excellent view onto the spinning coaster above the ride.

Pikajuna

Another ride which is located above the rapid river is the powered coaster Pikajuna by Mack Rides. Like many of the old-style powered coasters, the ride features a bunch of helices and curved sections in a rather compact layout. Unfortunately, the ride is quite slow.

Tulireki

The exit of the ride leads us directly to Tulireki: a Mack Rides E-Motion Coaster. The prototype coaster is a rocking sensation, as the ride vehicle can rock forwards and backwards, as well as sideways. Nowadays, only the sideways rocking remains.

The ride starts immediately after a short curve with the incline of the very steep lift. At the top, we can enjoy the view onto Helsinki during our race through the gentle serpentine curves. After the first block brake we quickly head downwards in the largest drop of the ride. The following incline leads us into a spiral before we change direction at a lofty height. A downward leading curve to the left quickly goes over into a curve to the right and then into the second brake section of the ride. We continue our journey on Tulireki with a shallow downward leading curve to the left into a upwards leading curve to the right. Shortly thereafter we find ourselves in the final brake of the ride.

Tulireki is a fun little coaster when you are sitting in the front row on the vehicle, otherwise the ride can be very bumpy and not as satisfying. The ride system was a good trial, but it did not work out as expected.

Taiga

Right next door, you could ride the water coaster Vonkaputous by Premier Rides till the end of the 2017 season. Nowadays, this space is used for Taiga, the large Intamin LSM launch coaster which dominates Linnanmäki since June 2019.

The ride on Taiga starts with a launch into the first inversion. This is basically an oversized corkscrew, whereby the entrance to the element is initiated by a twist to the right while climbing a hill. According to the roller coaster database (rcdb.com) this element is a Zero-G Winder. With a lot of momentum, we now race through the valley and swivel over hill and dale in a large curve to the right. On the crest of a hill, we quickly change direction and race along the ground. After another change of direction, the second launch section is reached, and we accelerate towards the next element: a 52m Top Hat.

With an awesome view onto the city of Helsinki we now dive down towards the powered coaster Pikajuna. In an inverted airtime hill, we now cross the roller coaster Tulireki and experience a moment of pure joy before turning towards the ground again. In the next valley, we reach our top speed of 106 kph. After flying over a bunny hop, we head upwards and change direction in an Immelmann. Hereafter, we climb a left-hand bend into an s-hill followed by a right-hand turn. At a lower speed, we now swivel a bit from left to right, before plunging down to the ground for one more time. In an airtime hill, we enter an inclining left-hand curve, which releases us into the final inversion of the ride: a heartline roll. One last right-hand bend then leads us into the brakes and shortly thereafter the ride comes to an end.

Taiga is awesome. This coaster is simply terrific, and the layout is just perfect. Intamin did an incredibly good job by giving its masterpiece from Phantasialand some new elements and include a bunch of outstanding inversion.

Pictures Linnanmäki

Conclusion Linnanmäki

Linnanmäki is a great amusement park and one of the best Tivoli, I visited so far. The atmosphere within the park is great and the attractions are amazing. You simply cannot have a better day in an amusement park while supporting a large child welfare foundation at the same time. You are doing something good while having fun and that is something you will not find that often.

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Linnanmäki