Phantasialand

Flying through Rookburgh

itemprop="discussionURL"6

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

 

What is your opinion about the Flying Coaster F.L.Y. and the themed area Rookburgh? Just write it in the comment field below the report or visit our social media channels:

 

          

Phantasialand

A short visit to a beautiful Tivoli

itemprop="discussionURL"0

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.

What is your opinion about the Tivoli Linnanmäki?  Just write it in the comment field below the review or visit our social media channels:

          

Linnanmäki

The roller coaster within the zoo

itemprop="discussionURL"0

Le Pal

The origin of the Le Pal animal and theme park dates back to 1973, when Moulinois André Charbonnier decided to build a zoo on his family’s farmland and sold his food factory in Moulins (Allier) in return. He was assisted in this by a veterinarian from the Paris Zoo de Vincennes.

Although the zoo has had a park railway from the very beginning, it was not until 1981 that it was converted into a theme park, when the King Kong observation ride moved into the park. In the same year, however, the park’s founder died. The following years are characterised by a rather fruitless interim management, which, however, was able to realise some large installations. In 1990 Andrés stepson Arnaud Bennet took over the management of the amusement park. The park has ever since been growing steadily.

Le Pal with its 640000 visitors is now one of the five most visited theme parks in France, behind the parks of Disneyland Resort Paris, Parc Astérix and the Futuroscope. The park is probably only known to the common German amusement park fan with the opening of the roller coaster Le Twist. This year, the Family Launch Coaster Yukon Quad has been added to the list, so a visit is now a must. At least that’s what I thought, which is why I wanted to go to France for the planned opening of the roller coaster. A tour was planned and finally the visit was postponed to the second day of the ride; Walibi Rhône-Alpes was too far away to justify a visit on the second day of the journey.

Shortly before the park opened, I reached the car park of the animal and theme park and quickly bought my ticket at one of these incredibly practical ticket terminals on the right side of the entrance. But before we start our tour of the park, here’s a quick note: The Le Pal amusement park is incredibly large and its rides take eftelingesque forms, plus there’ s the zoo. Even on an off-season visit day, it’s a good idea not to go wildly back and forth between the park’s attractions. A second visiting day is advisable and can be combined with an overnight stay at the Lodges du Pal.

Le Twist

In this respect I was completely surprised and after a one kilometre long walk I reached the first attraction on the map: the spinning coaster Le Twist from Mack Rides. Naturally, there was the longest queue in the morning, and I also overlooked a small detail, but more about that later.

After the train has left the station, we soon climb the lift to the starting height of 22m. At the top we have enough time to enjoy the view in a short turn before we plunge into the valley below us. We glide powerfully through an elongated curve at 70 km/h, cheerfully turning around our own axis. In the following Immelmann Turn we look at the sky, the ground or our passengers, just before we fall to the ground again. In a right-hand bend we immediately start to climb up again to initiate an unprecedented spin in a wonderful sloping position. After a downhill left turn, we now make a short zigzag curve combination, which then changes into a curve in the shape of an eight. This is followed by a few shorter swings, whereupon the final brake is already reached and the fast, funny and by no means powerless ride ends.

Le Twist, like its sister ride Dwervelwind of the Dutch amusement park Toverland, is completely convincing. The ride also offers everything a good spinning coaster needs; after all, the passengers can enjoy a nice flow and a certain amount of spin on the ride. Simply, a really great ride!

King Kong

With the next ride, however, one can argue about such a statement. I will make it relatively simple this time and concentrate on the historical significance of a King Kong ride in Le Pal. The park needed a new edition of the HUSS ride, because many customers remembered the typical French panoramic ride from their childhood (an active ride can still be found in the Cigoland amusement park today) and thought it a pity not to find that ride in the park anymore. The design of the queue with the curved railway wagons in the forest is also very successful. In contrast to the Belgian amusement park Bobbejaanland, the ride appears harmoniously staged and appropriate. But I don’t know whether these points overlook the inconsequential wobbling around at lofty heights.

Ronde des Grenouilles and Disque du Soleil

While others are still allowed to think about it, we very quickly devote ourselves to two perennial favourites from Italy. With the Ronde des Grenouilles we have a brand new Jump Around for the smaller park guests and with the Disque du Soleil a Disk’o Coaster in a sleek Aztec look. Both rides are fun, but you won’t expect anything else from Zamperla. Interesting at the Disque du Soleil is the evacuation platform in the second valley – the French are probably a bit more careful there.

Azteka

Past the Rapido dinghy boat slide, the path leads us to the Azteka roller coaster. Somehow the roller coasters of the French manufacturer Soquet nowadays seem to exist only in two versions, one with several short trains and one with a long train.  This ride is one with shorter trains, which again looks quite impressive.

After leaving the station in a right turn, the lift hill of the ride is already waiting for you. At a height of 17m, you immediately start a lively 360° helix sightseeing tour. With a very high speed you will now plunge over a narrow hilltop and immediately hit the ground. With full speed, you will now rush through a curve close to the ground, which will gain more and more height over time. As in an inclined loop, you now pass through a sloped curve, whereby the crest has only little inclination and offers a short moment to catch your breath. Also the following valley does not spare neither its pressure distribution nor its cross slope, which leads to an interesting driving experience. After the following ascent, we now quickly pass through a block brake, just before we throw ourselves into another downward helix. With a running start we now reach a short ramp, on which we change direction very leisurely, which makes the transition to the following right-hand bend quite interesting.  After a short camelback an upward helix follows, which then changes into a kind of steadily widening up and downhill curve and then into the braking section of the ride. Shortly afterwards the ride comes to an end.

Azteka is quite an interesting roller coaster, as it combines the thrilling ride of the Mine Trains with the sloping valleys of the Le King roller coaster by Soquet. As a solo traveller you will be shaken up quite a bit. As the ride is not very small, the ride can be described as impressive. It is surprisingly wild and untamed, just as you like a ride by Soquet.

Chaises Volantes

You still remember the little detail I kept from you on the roller coaster Le Twist? Good, because at the latest at the wave swinger Chaises Volantes it became clear to me that the park is a single rider park like no other. While other amusement parks abolish their queues for single riders, here in Le Pal there is the possibility to fill up seats at almost every attraction. This is exemplary and ensures that the use of the single rider queue is considered normal in the whole park – no envy, no vulgarity, nothing. Le Pal is just great!

Tigre de Sibérie

After such a peculiarity, the park certainly doesn’t offer any more peculiarities, does it? Well, you thought wrong. Right next to the wave swinger, the Tigre de Sibérie roller coaster extends into the sky – a large roller coaster made by Reverchon. What the carousel builder and later specialist for spinning coasters had in mind for this ride is best experienced by taking a seat directly in the hard shells of the train.

Directly adjacent to the station, the lift hill of the ride is already waiting to take us up to a height of 13m. At the top we cross a short hilltop, followed by a slightly longer curve. After the last car has left the lift, we soon fall down a steep curve. In a flowing movement we maintain the radius of the curve and storm skywards, which causes pronounced centrifugal forces especially in the valley. On the upcoming hill we change the direction of travel quite leisurely and enter a somewhat oversized downward helix with up and downhill sections. Thus we descend steadily over two valleys before leaving the element on a long ramp. After a short bend and a very wide right-hand curve, we reach the braking section of the ride. Since we are just too high to pass under the monorail shortly before the station, we have a short dip in the final bend. Shortly after that the ride is over again and we get off.

The Tigre de Sibérie is a very interesting ride with excellent driving characteristics. Unfortunately the ride flattens out towards the end. The reason for this might have been the former roller coaster Chenille Fantastique, whose thematic remains still characterise this part of the ride today. Nevertheless, the ride offers really nice curves that should not be missed.

La Randonnée Africane, La Conquête de l’Ouest and Lac de Chercheurs de l’Or

Nor should we miss the old theme area we are now entering. Passing by the vintage car ride La Randonnée Africane, which reminds us of Danish dark rides of the same theme, and the French Old’99 La Conquête de l’Ouest – which is just as long – we are drawn to the Lac de Chercheurs de l’Or on which a raft ride is taking place. This is how fast the transition from Africa to North America can go.

Rivière Canadienne

As in every French family park, a good log flume is a must, usually called the Rivière Canadienne, as is the case here. The ride in Le Pal is made by Soquet and is particularly impressive because of its course up to the lift hill – after all, you pass the lift hill twice and bob along the landscape for a surprisingly long time. The ride itself is very wet. All in all a really solid ride.

Les Caravelles

If you are not careful, you will end up in a dead end at the Forêt Enchantée. As we are less interested in the toddler ride than in the ride whose passenger carriers have passed us several times before, we quickly look for another way. On an island we then meet the cog ride Les Caravelles, which looks really good both forwards and backwards.

Alligator Baie

But just before we reach our actual destination, another ride magically attracts us. I don’t know how I could have missed it completely in advance, but here in France we have Alligator Baie, probably the most stylish Splash Battle from Mack Rides. Thematically beautiful and also technically wonderful, a truly extraordinary ride is presented here in Le Pal. Unfortunately there were no rivals for a splash water battle. But those who were there made good use of the system.

Descente du Colorado

Now finally arrived at the Descente du Colorado it doesn’t take long until we take a seat in one of the rafting boats. The trip through the beautifully designed canal, which is full of rapids at the beginning, convinces all along the line. On the way we will experience the proven elements of a European rapid river of the early 90’s, such as a tunnel with an included waterfall and a waterfall section with falls on both sides. However, the actually obligatory wave machine is missing. The level of wetness is manageable.

What fascinated me personally is the station of the ride, as this is also where the unused boats are stored. A crane is available for this purpose, which can be moved into position via a rack. What is amazing is the adjustment of the jetty roof so that the crane can be used without major conversions. Another fun fact is the circumstance that the ride used to use boats with individual seats and later replaced them with the manufacturer’s proven 8-seater boats.

Voyage au-dessus du Monde

Fun facts are almost as exciting as Easter Eggs. One such can be found at the station of the Voyage au-dessus du Monde – i.e. the journey around the world or, more appropriately (if translated literally) the journey above the world – where we encounter the Tigre de Sibérie as painting. Shortly afterwards, the ride in the monorail also offers an excellent view of the aforementioned roller coaster.

Ciné Dinamique 3D

Past the station of the Train Aventiers, a park railway with special effects, the tour continues into an oriental-looking area. Here you will find numerous rides by Zamperla, including a teacup ride and a children’s free-fall tower, a Fabbri ship swing, and the 4D simulator Ciné Dinamique 3D. The latter one interested me very much, because it shows the 4D film Happy Family, a Mack Media production. Many of you may know the film from Europa Park, but I personally didn’t know the film before. I was quite astonished when half of the film was told in the pre-show and you were only invited to board the simulators shortly before the roller coaster sequence of the ghost train ride. Other parks would have shown the full movie in the pre-show. The ride in the large-capacity simulators scores with its timing and the beautifully animated film. Hats off!

The Zoo

On the way to our last attraction, we now enter the park’s zoo. First we follow the Circuit Court with its 90 minutes, before we change to the Circuit Long with its 3 hours, after all we want to see the meerkats. French people have to sprint through a zoo, because both times are wrong, here you can easily spend a whole day. At a normal visitor’s pace, 4-5 hours should quickly come together here.

Passing the giraffe enclosure we follow the signs before we come across a large lake. There we watch the hustle and bustle of the squirrel monkeys a little closer before we enter the farm area with its integrated petting zoo. I like the concept and the animals have really large areas of retreat.

Past the chimpanzees, the path now leads us into the predator area directly at the entrance. Both lions and tigers have enormously large enclosures here, which teem with retreat areas. Since the enclosures are only visible to the visitor in a few places, you have to search for a long time until you meet the animals.

Just wow, but the elephant enclosure in the immediate vicinity clearly hits the target of species-appropriate enclosures. The enclosure is larger than many German zoos or amusement parks! You’d think Flamingo Land in Yorkshire would have big enclosures, but Le Pal tops it all. I did not expect that in advance. The amusement park is already great, but the zoo has a lot more to offer and we have only managed a good third of it.

Time for a show. Along the enclosures of the red pandas, gibbons and jeladas, we will go to the big bird of prey show. We will have a look at it from the entrance path, because in Le Pal the paths are blocked right on time at the beginning of the show. So it is not worth coming late. But what is very worthwhile is the show itself. One by one, numerous birds of prey are presented, before the park moves on to the brilliant finale and releases all the large birds present to the show visitors. All of a sudden storks, ibises and cattle egrets are in the middle of the crowd. This show is not to be missed!

I was immediately drawn to the next show, which was to start just a few minutes later. Parrots are the stars of the Carnival des Plumes. Although not everything went well so shortly after the start of the season, nobody should be forced in animal shows. Here, too, the educational approach is dominant, but even those who don’t speak the language get their money’s worth. After all, you can watch parrots during recycling.

The next show will be a while away, so let’s get into round no.2 through the magnificent zoo. This time we concentrate on native species and watch wolves and lynxes before we turn to snow panthers and exotic birds. The Alligator Park – a fully themed walk past American alligators and turtles – is a particularly interesting attraction, which could be standing around somewhere in Florida.

After a fleeting glimpse of the flamingos, the time has come to take a seat in the large stadium, as the sea lion show Le Ballet des Otaries is about to begin. Apart from all kinds of slapstick, visitors can expect a brilliant spectacle of balancing tricks, jumps, swimming passages with the trainers and a nasty shower for selected park visitors. You should have seen this show too.

Slowly the review of Le Pal is coming to an end here, but the zoo is still not quite finished yet. Hopefully you had enough time to take a breather, so let’s go for round no. 3. This time the path leads us to the big steppe, where zebras, numerous antelopes and ostriches cavort. On the opposite side of the steppe there is a kind of game park, which is beautifully situated in a wooded area with a treetop path, from which you have an excellent view of the great novelty of this year.

Yukon Quad

Past the meerkats, whose enclosures are literally hidden away, as well as the kangaroos, hyenas and emus, we are now drawn to the park’s largest and longest roller coaster, the Family Launch Coaster Yukon Quad. It’s not my fault that Le Pal really did put the ride in the middle of its far too big zoo. Although the ride is still brand new, it already looks incredibly harmonious, as the vegetation also plays along. But the general design of the ride is a class of its own. But before I go any further, let’s take a seat on one of the quads.

The Preshow tunnel is quickly reached. A few light effects, some fog and zack, you will be accelerated by the friction wheels. With a pronounced speed we now throw ourselves into a left turn close to the ground before we climb a hill. We cross this hill with shallow airtime, but the following course presses us well into our seats. With good luck we now go over hill and dale in a curve and then wonderfully alternate between left and right curves close to the ground. On the following straight the second launch follows, which, as we all know, adds a good amount of fun. With 90 km/h it goes immediately into a right turn close to the ground, which changes into a short zigzag passage. Now one races up and down through a turn-around curve before a change of direction close to the ground follows. The following curve leads into a higher hill, which results in a turn close to the ground. Now two straight hills follow crosswise to the other end of the ride. After a right bend close to the ground, which changes into a wide left turn, the braking track of the ride is reached, whereupon the ride of more than 1000m slowly comes to its end.

Those who know Juvelen from the Danish amusement park Djurs Sommerland will also get their money’s worth with the mirror-inverted Yukon Quad. The ride convinces with its near-ground and quite wild curve manoeuvres. Furthermore, the pacing of the roller coaster is simply fantastic. It is therefore hardly surprising that the ride was immediately well received by the park’s family visitors. As the wildest family roller coaster since Taron, it can’t be marketed Europe-wide, but for France this statement is absolutely true. A great ride, which hopefully serves as a beacon in the French park landscape.

Pictures Le Pal

Conclusion Le Pal

We are now done with Le Pal. I hope you enjoyed this park as much as I did. The mix of zoo and amusement park is presented here in perfection; thanks to Yukon Quad, the areas are also becoming increasingly mixed. Nevertheless, each area can fully convince on its own. The amusement park is great and the zoo is terrific, so you should definitely take enough time. The advice about the two visiting days is serious, because even on my visiting day, time was running out quite quickly.

What are your thoughts about the French animal and theme park Le Pal? Just write it here in the comment field below the report or visit our social media channels:

          

Click here for the next report of the Tron-Tron-Trône Tour

Le Pal / Tron-Tron-Trône Day 2