Maze

Preface

Where the REWE Family Days took place last year, this year it should be a little more exclusive, at least for the annual ticket holders of Heide Park. Thanks to an action of the radio station FFN where their listeners could come to the park for only 25€, a Shitstorm was ignited by the fans, whereby an ERT of 3 hours at the Krake and the maze Krake lebt! was initiated to keep the fans happy.

First of all, this ERT would not have been necessary and so it turned out that the two attractions were comparatively full between 10 – 13 o’clock, while the rest of the park was as if extinct. As there were only annual ticket holders in the park, the queues for renewal or (re)application were the longest during the day, especially after closing time.

Heide park and its kraken

The fully themed Krake roller coaster

After the gate was opened shortly before 10 o’clock, most fans ran to the object they had missed so longingly the previous year, the Kraken’s Mouth. A few minutes later Hauke and I were able to take a closer look at it, after all we wanted to profit from the ERT, which as mentioned above turned out to be unnecessary. After a ride in the third row, where we didn’t really notice the octopus mouth, we planned to ride in the first row. The experience in the first row is now massively clouded by the visible. Where last year there was a clear view and you could develop a certain feeling of height, today you stare at an ugly mouth.

Also from the outside the mouth looks completely out of place and so it would have been better if it had never been attached. However, one must admit that Heide Park has managed to get rid of all its critics during the winter break. In the various forums it was quite a funny picture to suddenly hear even the biggest critics saying how great it is that Heide park has created something so fast and so good. The shipwreck on the other hand is well done and equipped with all kinds of details, also the tentacles that try to pull it into the depths look very good. Unfortunately the ship is not flooded by the water fountains, also the clearance gauge is much too generous, so that no head chopper effect could be created.

Krake lebt!

The follow-up story of the Krake is told at Krake lebt!, the first all-year-round maze in Germany. In a relatively large group you are taken to the chamber of horrors and are allowed to be scanned to prove your “deep vision”. The data recorded during the process can be viewed later, if you don’t just walk past it. In the following pre-show room you will be well prepared for the story, after which you should take a closer look at the wreck of the sunken ship. The fact that the crew went a little bit crazy during the process serves as an ideal model for what follows.

After leaving the dive capsule, you will find yourself in a room that should look familiar to every dungeon visitor, the Labyrinth of the Forgotten. Depending on how much buffer you need for the opening act you can spend some time here, but the effect is better than in the dungeons in Hamburg, London or other cities. Shortly afterwards you are picked up and basically feel like in a mini dungeon, which would have been quite original, but no, you are in a Maze. In the following rooms the actors try to be somehow creepy, but banging on pots and giving you a nasty look is not enough. There was only one person who was halfway convincing and brought the mania of the crew closer. It would have been better if the people would have said more, would have portrayed their roles and their fate better and would have described the fate of the group as relatively hopeless.

The rooms in Krake lebt! are quite neat, but in total a bit too darkly lit, or as in the case of the second queue room (room consisting of simple zigzags) simply not lit at all. So it doesn’t help much if you are told that you can orientate yourself at the left wall. Especially worth mentioning and to be positively emphasized is the room in which one is confronted with the octopus and is well humidified. You can also marvel at what the Maze has made of you. In contrast to other Mazes you are not chased out with a chain saw, which is quite appropriate.

The way the Maze Krake lebt! is currently operated in Soltau is absolutely ridiculous, just like in the Italian Gardaland or the English Thorpe Park. The potential of stringing together confusing corridors is not exploited and it would be better to really make a kind of mini dungeon out of it and thus at least increase the entertainment value considerably, even if the creepy factor, which is currently not available anyway, would probably suffer. Since it was basically the first day for the crew, things can still change for the better, but I advise everyone to visit the Maze, if at all, only when the queue is relatively empty. I myself will give the Maze another chance towards the end of the season with the hope that things have changed a bit.

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Parc d’Atraccions Tibidabo

On the Tibidabo – the local mountain of the city of Barcelona – beside a church and a television tower, there is the Parc d’Atraccions Tibidabo; one of the longest-running theme parks in Europe, which unfortunately is only an insider tip.

The ascent and descent on the Tibidabo are quite steep or even adventurous with the car, which is why it is worthwhile to climb the mountain with other means of transport, especially as these are deducted from the entrance fee and thus the possibility to have a closer look at the Catalan capital city is kept open.

Hurakan

If you enter the Parc d’Atraccions Tibidabo through the lower entrance, you will find yourself next to the beautiful HUSS Top Spin Hurakan, which offers a decent ride; unfortunately the water fountains were not used. If you look up you can see a Zierer wave swinger circling about you.

Tibidabo Express

Continuing straight ahead you will find yourself in front of the first roller coaster, a Zamperla Powered Coaster called Tibidabo Express. The ride is quite strange, as it features an atypical layout without any helices. The funny zigzag track combination provides a very special ride. The tunnel at the beginning of the coaster makes the ride a bit more fun. Also the staff tries to create as much atmosphere as they can.

Castell Mysterios

After leaving the ride, you will unfortunately find yourself further down the hill, but you can visit the Castell Mysterios, an old walk-through ghost house with plenty of fun house elements. Unfortunately, it is somewhat too dark in here, such that you don’t necessarily know where to step. Nevertheless, the ride is off but awesome, which is also underlined by its musical background and should therefore be visited.

Muntanya Russa

The next highlight and our goal of desire is located at the highest point of the lowest level of the Parc d’Atraccoins Tibidabo. After an almost exhausting mountain ascent, passing some children’s rides and a boat swing, we find ourselves in the oval-shaped waiting area that spirals upwards. After having been assigned a place, we can start our journey on the Muntanya Russa.

After having climbed the lift for a few meters, a fantastic first drop takes you into a wonderful right-left curve, which you can experience much more slowly at Phantasialand’s Temple of the Nighthawk. The following spiral is superb and a bit more powerful, whereas the upcoming straight is more for recreation and for the view down into the valley, however it introduces the grand finale. The roller coaster itself is, like all other Vekoma MK-900s, very good, but not as intense and fast as Efteling’s Vogel Rok roller coaster. The great location and layout can compensate for that.

La Mina d’Or

A few meters further down you find the log flume ride La Mina d’Or by Reverchon, which – in contrast to other flumes by this manufacturer – offers a great, but also quite odd, costum built layout. The staff deserves a lot of recognition, as they ask politely if it would be so okay before they put a stranger in your boat.

Avio and Talaia

The rest of the Parc d’Atraccions Tibidabo is located on building levels that can be reached either by stairs or elevators. Last possibility is supervised by staff, which also serves as the control between the actual park and the Skywalk named public area. The nostalgic rides are located up here, two of which are particularly interesting. First of all, there is Talaia; basically the prototype of all modern propeller rides with the only difference that this system rotates much slower and thus allows a wonderful view over the park and of course Barcelona and thereby releases much more adrenalin. The other main attraction at this level is the self-propelled airplane called Avio. Unfortunately, the queue on the day of the visit was far too long and therefore I decided not to take the ride.

Museo d’automats

One level below there is way too empty place of the former roller coaster Montaña Rusa, as well as the entrance to the Museo d’automats, which is definitely worth a visit. Here, you will find not only a detailed model of the park, but also some quite interesting devices from long forgotten times. A real treasure trove, especially for nostalgics.

Miramiralls

Another pearl of the Parc d’Atraccions Tibidabo is the mirror maze Miramiralls, where the term maze does not fit very well, as it is more of an exhibition – indeed a very good one. Nearly everything you can do with mirrors is brought up.

Magatzem

The monorail dark ride Magatzem takes you into the world of magicians and witches, which is beautifully but strangely designed. A squeaky voice explains the whole thing, however without knowledge of the Catalan language this doesn’t help. At the end of the trip a surprise awaits you, which from my point of view just caught the right person.

Krüeger Hotel

Another floor below you will find a bumper car, but also the infamous Krüeger Hotel, a maze with outstanding quality and really dedicated staff. After the whirstbands has been marked, it’s time to visit the hotel.

After you were welcomed in the hotel lobby in a very nice and above all surprisingly frightening way, you pass through some hotel scenes until the horror movies take over. The Krüeger in the name of the maze is quickly explained by the appearance of Freddy himself. There are several scenes that are very amusing, in fact everything is designed to a very high level. The actors do their best and they constantly run after you, which is especially frightening in the last part of the maze, considering there’ s a life-size Chucky standing up and chasing you.

The Krüeger Hotel was the first Maze I truly loved. The scenes are awesome, everything is well lit and the maze is full of surprises.

Besides other children’s attractions and a 4D cinema, the park doesn’t offer much more, nevertheless it left a very good impression on me. All rides are very well maintained and they look as good as new, which strangely caused the other fellow travellers some concern, as they had the accident of the Fabbri Air Diver in the back of their minds and often blamed the park for it.

Pictures Parc d’Atraccions Tibidabo

Conclusion Parc d’Atraccions Tibidabo

No other Spanish park had as much charm as the Parc d’Atraccions Tibidabo and no other park had such a nice staff as this park has. They also take care of the improvement suggestions of the customers – as long as they are meant seriously – and reply in a very personal email. I don’t know any other park taking so much care about it. The park will certainly see me again someday.

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Pre-Opening with obstructions and Krake lebt!