Pirat

On an expedition in Bellewaerde

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Bellewaerde Park

The Bellewaerde Park is located in the Belgian province of West-Vlaanderen, which can certainly be declared by the city of Bruges as the most beautiful part of Belgium. Also, the roads are not as modest as in the rest of the country and the proximity to the French region Nord-Pas-de-Calais gives the park a more pleasant audience than for example at Walibi.

Tour of the park

Bengal Rapid River

If you enter Bellewaerde Park through the entrance A and go immediately to the left you will find the entrance to the Vekoma rafting ride Bengal Rapid River, which is located in the Indian themed area. The ride in the rafting boats, which most of you already have tested in the sister park Walibi Holland, is quite nice to look at. Unfortunately, due to the warm weather, it was very well visited. In the morning the queue just barely moved. Later the day, I had to get the ferry in the nearby Dunkirk…

Bengal Express

The second attraction in this area is the Bengal Express, a train ride in closed wagons in which you drive through the spacious tiger and lion enclosures. At the second turnaround the water treatment plant of the park is a highlight to admire – after all, this is even advertised via speakers. Overall a great ride, which should not be missed. Due to the nature of the ride, I would only recommend a ride if the train is still waiting in the station, as the ride duration is quite long. The generously-sized waiting area highlights the popularity of the ride.

Screaming Eagle

Located on the shores of a large lake is the theme area of Canada, which is home of the only visible attraction from outside of Bellewaerde Park: the Shot ‘n’ Drop Screaming Eagle, one of HUSS’ rare park versions. In contrast to the Space Shot towers of the manufacturer S&S Worldwide, which can be found quite frequently around the world, the system can shoot you upwards from a standstill position. In contrast to the rides, which could be found ages ago on the German fair circuit, the acceleration was very surprising as there was no hint whatsoever by the ride operator. Located in the Belgian wilds – without any houses surrounding – the ride’s noise level is quite low. Even through you can be of a different opinion as one of the riders. Overall the ride is rather tame compared with the S&S Towers, as there are basically no negative forces. The only big plus of the ride is its high capacity and the better launch.

Niagara

Next door, the Shoot the Chutes Niagara by the manufacturer Interlink shines in all its glory. This type of flume is characterised mainly by its large boats and the resulting wave at the end of the shoot. This one however has only a limited effect on the riders, as it does not get you as wet as Cataratas Salvajes from the Spanish theme park Parque Warner or as Tidal Wave from the English Thorpe Park. At least, it did not disappoint as Isla Magicas Iguazu. On the bridge, which strangely does not lead from the exit of the ride to the other side of the lake, many school kids had their fun by letting the boats soak them on a regular basis.

The other attractions in this area are a Mack rides cog ride, a wet-looking dinghy slide, and the somewhat strange pirate boat from Huss. From 1 pm to 4 pm, you could visit the squirrel monkeys located on a small island, as a path runs right through their enclosures.

On the right side of the park entrance A is the Kidspark theme area, which consists of a medieval designed area, some traditional rides and a mysterious mansion, as well as a large climbing and slide complex.

Maison Magique d’Houdini

I don’t know why this mansion belongs to the children’s area, as as the preshow is not necessarily made for anxious persons even through the actual topic is not scary. After entering the Maison Magique d’Houdini you can find some exhibits. A film about his youth is shown, which burns away after a short while accompanied by a nasty laugh. After some effects and some tricks were shown, you will be invited to attend the biggest tricks of them all.

Where the preshow room is designed in great detail, the main room is surprisingly empty. Compared to other mad houses of the same manufacturer, there is actually nothing located in the middle of the room. This of course makes it easier for the ride operators, but it is not as beautiful to look at. On the sides of the room there are some fixed mirrors, which later reveal another function.

The actual ride takes a while until the fake rollover happens. The music does not remain in your memory for a long time after the trip. However, Houdini is well remembered, as his trick was not yet finished even after begging for a liberation. Despite the statement that we are in our worst nightmare, Houdini recalls himself and after the words “Ce que vous pensez que vous voyez n’est pas ce qu’il semblait. “C’est ce qu’on appelle l’ illusion” you finally get freed. The mirrors show an animated key.

Jungle Mission

Passing by some very generous animal enclosures, which mainly showed African species, we are entering the jungle section of the park. The main attraction of this area and one of the main attractions of Bellewaerde Park is the Towboat Safari Cruise Jungle Mission, where you cruise past some animal enclosures (quite similar to boat ride at the Erlebnis-Zoo Hannover). Not long ago, the ride system was completely renewed, which is why the Jungle Missions looks quite new for such an old ride. While driving, some water effects are activated, only a few of them refresh visitors directly. The African theme features some vintage animatronics, which alone does makes this attractions quite exotic and as nice as La Jungla of the Spanish amusement park Parque de Atracciones de Madrid.

Coccinelle

The coaster with the longest queue on this day was the classic Zierer tivoli coaster Coccinelle, or Keverbaan in Dutch. Interestingly, the ride did not sounded like a starting jet, nor was it as slow that it needed additional friction wheels on the track as some other rides of this kind do. In fact, you could neither hear this ride, nor the air launched free fall tower tower from far. The design of the ride as the wildest ride of the wilderness is a rather strange choice for such a roller coaster, but it somehow works out perfectly. The surrounding walls and the roof over the lifthill are a nice feature.

River Splash, El Toro and El Volador

Next to the log flume River Splash and a bison enclosure there is the entrance to the Mexican section of the Bellewaerde Park. Here you can watch the movie Sammy’s great adventure in Dutch or French in the park’s 4D cinema or do a spin on the El Toro Break Dance. You can also find the only working HUSS Topple Tower outside of Scandinavia, named El Volador.

A Topple Tower of the manufacturer HUSS is a strange device, as it seems to be spectacular from the outside and the technology seems elaborate but the ride itself is rather boring. At least, the ride is not such a flop as the King Kong ride of Bobbejaanland, where neither the ride nor the appearance are particularly interesting.  The ride with El Volador resembles somehow a wave swinger when you drive it sideways, just way slower and with less degrees of freedom. You are secured by over the shoulder restraints as you tilt forwards. The best part of the ride are the synchronised water fountains, which unfortunately do not even wet your shoes.

Boomerang

A few meters from the ride, you can pay tribute to the first Boomerang ever opened. It’s actually a really good one and a worthy representative of this funny shuttle roller coaster build by the Dutch company Vekoma. Everything at this ride is build more suitable, as the ride station is not just a tent, it’s a Mexican temple. The ride in the 2nd generation Vekoma trains was surprisingly good, even through the sister ride in Walibi Belgium even runs a little bit smoother.

Huracan

This year’s novelty is the indoor coaster Huracan, which has replaced the old pirate themed dark ride within the same building. From the outside you can see a small part of the coaster and you wonder why they did not added some more track to actually come down to the ground. After all, the ride is quite high above the ground. If you enter the waiting area, it does not take long until you arrive in the beautifully designed station.

The journey begins with a small dark ride section, guided by the elements of fire, water and wind. Afterwards, the lift helps to reach the maximum height of the course and after a short straight, the curvy first drop follows. After a small climb the curve leads you back into the building. Now follows a surprisingly wild and at the same time very smooth ride. One turn is followed by the next one. After a handful of curvy goodness, you slam into the brakes where a laser show is being held.

Huracan is a great indoor roller coaster. The pace as well as the forces during the ride a just awesome. The dark ride part at the beginning of the ride is well done and features some great music and light effects.

Pictures Bellewaerde Park

Conclusion Bellewaerde Park

The Bellewaerde Park is one of the most beautiful parks in Europe. Since I could only stay for 3.5 hours, I could not admire the whole package, but I’m sure I’ll come back someday.

 

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Bellewaerde

With Dragon’s Fury through Chessington South

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Preface

If you order a Merlin Annual Pass in the UK, you will need to collect it from any of the attractions in the group as well as from the attraction from which you have ordered it. However, the Merlin attractions in the UK are of a very high standard, which can make choosing an attraction quite difficult. If you restrict yourself to the London area, there are three theme parks belonging to the group and a large number of smaller tourist attractions. The best choice, in my opinion, is Chessington World of Adventures. Not only is it easily accessible, but it also has two very fun rides within the park, the Dragon’s Fury and Vampire roller coasters.

Chessington World of Adventures

Entering through the Lodge Gate near Chessington South railway station, you will immediately find yourself in the Zoo area of the park. Turn right to see otters in action and enter Wanyama Village and Reserve, which opened in 2011. This area consists mainly of a large prairie and some smaller enclosures such as the meerkat enclosure. Next year the area will be expanded to include the Zufari Safari Tour.

Next to Wanyama Village is the Monkey & Bird Garden where you can see some larger birds and smaller monkeys. The Monkey Walkthrough is an interesting feature where a staff member takes a smaller group around and explains the animals in the outdoor enclosure.

On the way to the rest of the zoo area at Chessington World of Adventures, we recommend a visit to the local Sea Life Centre, which has a number of interesting aquariums. This is one of the larger Sea Life Centres in the group – very similar to Sharkbait Reef at Alton Towers. Unlike the smaller Sea Life Centres in Germany, you can easily stay a little longer in this one. With children, the visit is a completely different experience anyway.

The Trail of the Kings, together with the penguin and sea lion enclosures, completes the zoo area of Chessington World of Adventures. Unfortunately, at the time of my visit, half of the enclosures were closed for refurbishment. However, the animals that were present were very active.

Sea Storm and Black Buccaneer

The Pirates Cove themed area features the Mack Rides Sea Storm ride and the very interesting HUSS Black Buccaneer boat swing. Like many other attractions in the park, the ship swing is located in a pit, which means it does not reach above the surrounding tree tops – a common height restriction in the UK. In addition to a tingly feeling in the tummy, you are guaranteed to get a bounce or two at the top.

The neighbouring area of Transylvania is home to a night creature of a very special kind. It is also home to a bubble factory and one of the most interesting fast-food restaurants. The Burger King here is themed.

BubbleWorks

BubbleWorks, the bubble factory, failed to impress on my last visit due to the lack of soundtrack, but it did so on this visit. The quirky design, which has been executed with a certain perfection, and the magnificent finale, which takes you through numerous fountain tunnels, make this dark ride something very special and something not to be missed.

Vampire

Equally special is the now grown-up Vampire coaster. At 21 years of age, it still swings its guests through the treetops, and it does so with aplomb. The main highlight is certainly the big drop into the tunnel, after which the gondolas swing out very strongly, but the first part of the ride is also a lot of fun and can already show some strong swings. As with Arrow’s other European coasters, this bloodsucker will tempt you to take a second or third ride.

Dragon’s Fury

The Dragon’s Fury roller coaster in the Land of the Dragons themed area, which also features a Zierer Kontiki, a large children’s playground and an interactive water fountain, is often regarded as Maurer Söhne’s best spinning coaster. On this visit, however, I found it difficult to decide whether Alton Towers’ Sonic Spinball was not a little better. The big advantage of the Alton Towers ride is certainly the much smoother ride compared to Dragon’s Fury, but it lacks the first drop with that crazy S-curve combination that leads straight into Immelmann. Both layouts have their charms and are well ahead of the other layouts, it is just hard to say which of the two Merlin Entertainments models is actually better or worse. However, Dragon’s Fury is a truly great coaster.

Madagascar Live!

With the removal of the Smarties Cottage in the former children’s area of Chessington World of Adventures, the last stigma of the park has disappeared. All the attractions remained the same, except that the Flying Jumbos were moved closer to the Powered Coaster Runaway Train to make room for a stage for the very popular Dreamwork figures from Madagascar. From a distance, the Madagascar Live! show looked quite child-friendly, but the show value was still much higher than the 4D Ice Age experience at Alton Towers, which currently occupies a theatre over there.

Monkey Swinger

In the Wild Asia section we immediately encounter the wave swinger Monkey Swinger, which drenches passengers with ice-cold water through its fountain play. Visitors get soaked by the fountains – not surprisingly there is a hairdryer at the exit for the passengers.

Lorikeet Lagoon

An attraction now found in many zoos around the world is the Lorikeet Lagoon free-flight aviary, where you can lure the colourful lorikeet with a bit of nectar. This made the birds look quite fat, probably due to their new plumage. As at Weltvogelpark Walsrode, the lorises were quite trusting, which led to some funny situations.

Dragon Falls and Peeking Heights

In the Mystic East themed area is the Dragon Falls log flume, which cleverly directed the water from the shots onto my shoes, resulting in wet socks. The Peeking Heights Ferris Wheel is supposed to offer views of Staines and nearby Thorpe Park, but the view was not that good on the day we visited.

Tomb Blaster

On my last visit my opinion of Tomb Blaster was a little clouded by the long breaks in the block sections. The ride is a real gem of an interactive dark ride, just like most of the other dark rides built by Sally. The story, however, is rather flat and doesn’t deserve any real attention, as you’ll mainly be shooting at ancient Egyptian enemies and bigger bosses. The length of the ride is also remarkable, partly due to the train system used.

Rameses Revenge

Next door is Rameses Revenge, one of the best top spins from HUSS. The ride not only manages to produce a good number of spins, but also provides a good shower for the passengers. On two occasions the water fountains were approached head on and luckily they caught you well so you left Chessington World of Adventures well drenched.

Runaway Train and Rattlesnake

In the Mexicana themed area, you can ride Mack Rides’ Runaway Train – which comes with a beautiful mountain range and a top themed queue – as well as another coaster highlight: the Rattlesnake. Due to the park’s height restrictions, this wild mouse was installed in a pit, giving it a very unique look. It also helps that the queue passes through the coaster’s inner courtyard.

Pictures Chessington World of Adventures

Conclusion Chessington World of Adventures

Chessington World of Adventures is the prettiest of Merlin Entertainments’ UK theme parks, although not the biggest. The park’s portfolio is well-balanced and boasts some real treasures, including some very special rollercoasters such as Vampire and Dragon’s Fury. The park, with its extraordinary ideas, has made the most of the constructive constraints. The integrated zoo, like Drayton Manor Theme Park or Tier- und Freizeitpark Thüle, provides an all-round successful package and a very good distribution of visitors within the park.

 

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Click here for the overview page of Chessington World of Adventures

Chessington - World of Adventures

A weekend in England’s best theme park

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Alton Towers

Situated in the middle of a quite hilly and at the same time beautiful region, out in the middle of nowhere, you will find the most significant theme park in England: Alton Towers. Around the ruins of the old castle and its gardens, an amusement park has been developed over the last three decades, which you simply have to see.

In contrast to comparable amusement parks like the Efteling or the Europa-Park, Alton Towers unfortunately does not show its splendour at the entrance, which simply does not want to fit into the overall concept due to its simple design. Even the upgrading of the forecourt by the corkscrews of the former Vekoma roller coaster Corkscrew doesn’t manage to increase the visitors’ anticipation.

Tour of the park

By entering the park, one is relatively soon confronted with the question in which direction one should go. This is further intensified by the early entry, since there are only a handful of attractions that are ready to ride at this time of day.

Following the way to the left, it is possible to get to the Forbidden Valley and/or to visit the Cloud Cuckoo Land in a very fast way, provided that the SkyRide – thus the gondola lift in Alton Towers – is running. If one has the pleasure to stand in front of a closed station, it is recommendable to follow the way further to the area Mutiny Bay.

Battle Galleons

The Battle Galleons can also be found in a slightly modified form at the German amusement park Heide-Park in Soltau. Even the music is the same. The level of wetness is quite high even though the weather was rather cold.

Sharkbait Reef

The other rides in this area are very family-friendly. In addition to a Zierer Kontiki, you can also ride a teacup train with cups in the form of powder kegs. But also the pirate show and the Sea Life Centre Sharkbait Reef can be found here. Luckily the aquarium is not as small as the versions from the Legoland theme parks or some German centres. The choice and number of species can be compared to the version from Chessington World of Adventures, but luckily it doesn’t share the tent look with it.

The Flume

Alton Towers has managed to create one of the most original themes for a water attraction with The Flume. It is all about bathing, which is very much in keeping with the wetness of the ride. Squeaking ducks and a more than brilliant soundtrack complete the installation, which unfortunately is in need of a lot of renovation. The ride itself starts relatively unspectacular, considering the fact that after the first drop down you curve around in a forest for a few meters. After climbing up the second lift hill you find yourself in the middle of a house, where the second shot is taken in complete darkness. After having met the huge duckling, one leaves the house wonderfully soaked. A further lift hill brings you to the height of the final shot, which fills the bathtub again with the intended amount of water. If one is still dehydrated, the showers at the end of the ride will help.

Congo River Rapids

In contrast to The Flume, the Congo River Rapids are much drier. Unlike Drayton Manor’s Splash Canyon, there is not even the slightest chance of getting wet. The layout was also designed more for capacity, after all there is no possibility to overtake the boats. Creatively the rafting offers a nice station, but unfortunately that’ s it. However, the interaction with the small roller coaster Runaway Mine Train is absolutely worth mentioning.

Runaway Mine Train

The Powered Coaster Runaway Mine Train is a very special ride from Mack. After the first helix the train gains not only height but also speed and after a few hills it goes down a steep curve. Two helices follow and the tunnel where you interact with the rapid ride before you speed through the station after a small curve and start the second round. The atmosphere created by the staff and the mutual cheering between the passengers of the passing rafts and the train passengers is just wonderful.

Duel

Just as atmospheric, but a lot darker is the ghost train Duel. An interactive dark ride in which zombies have taken over the house of a scientist who has experimented a little too much with death. The ride itself is based on the Haunted House dark ride, which has been spiced up with some changes.  Especially worth mentioning is the ride system that helps you to make your way through the quite large show building, because it is especially the single cars that create an eerily beautiful and most of all creepy atmosphere. The effects that are triggered during the ride are ingenious and even manage to scare you out of your wits, which is even intensified by the focus on the targets. Duel offers a ghost train experience of the special kind, which doesn’t take itself too serious and can convince without looking cheesy. The accompanying music underlines this aspect excellently. The only weak point of the layout are the guns themselves, which are not easy to hold in the long run and distract from the great atmosphere with their noises, but otherwise this ride is definitely one of the best of its kind.

Nemesis

Passing last year’s novelty Nemesis Sub-Terra, an indoor freefall from ABC-Rides, which was only running sporadically or not at all due to work during the visiting days, we now head to the roller coaster which every student from Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein knows from their English textbook since many years, namely the B&M Inverted Coaster Nemesis.

The journey begins with a comparably rather small lifthill, from which one is released in a lively manner. Quite untypically, a corkscrew inversion follows, which you would expect towards the end of the ride. The exit from this element leads into a helix, which can be described as bloody intense, as it pumps the blood into your feet like no other coaster. Thereupon you are turned upside down for the second time in a zero-g roll, only to make a rather boring turn towards the looping afterwards. This loop is luckily done the way a loop should be done and ends in the last inversion after another turn. Shortly after that the brake run is reached. Overall, Nemesis is a good and above all smooth ride, which is very entertaining.

Air

Only a few meters away from Nemesis, Alton Towers can call a prototype its own, which is quite airy. It should be noted that Air is not the first Flying Coaster out there but the manufacturer’s first installation.

As soon as you have left the fluffy waiting time, in a rather bare and boring waiting area behind you, you are introduced to your row of seats and the airy experience can begin. After one is dazzled by a light on the floor in front of the lift, it already goes upwards, but with a little stop in the lift, so that one can still wave to some people who have placed themselves curiously under it. The first descent brings you a little closer to the ground before you are turned on your back and stay that way for quite a long passage. The feeling is very surreal and therefore simply ingenious, especially if you think you are quite close to the trees during your first ride. One turn further on you do a complete roll before you get quite close to the stones in the last curves and turns. Overall, Air is a wonderfully intensive ride with little floating airtime moments, great close calls and a fantastic setting. If you have the pleasure to fly in the first row you will surely appreciate the ride, but also the other rows will offer the same airy riding pleasure, even if the visibility is a bit limited.

Blade and Ripsaw

The Blade and Ripsaw attractions complete the Forbidden Valley named area. Where the Blade swing ship, apart from its appearance and location in the valley of the former Thunder Looper roller coaster, a Schwarzkopf shuttle loop, offers few special features, Ripsaw can use its full potential. The Top Spin by HUSS is probably one of the best known representatives of its kind, but this is not due to its ride programs. Ripsaw usually makes you wet and this even outshines the Rameses Revenge from Chessington World of Adventures. Unfortunately, on the day of our visit there was hardly any playing with the water fountains, so that we went out of the ride wet, but not soaking wet.

The Gardens

If one has the pleasure to do without the cable car, one can now either walk around the gardens or through them in order to get to the other side of the park. From many sources one hears that a crossing of the gardens is time consuming and that one can get easily lost if one does not follow the signpostings anymore. That these sources are wrong can be clearly seen, as long as one has done the rather short distance by cable car. The gardens themselves are arranged in a valley and can be crossed in a short time, as long as one does not shy away from the descent and ascent. Even if one has a closer look to the gardens, one does not need much time to see everything, getting lost is quite impossible.

Hex the Legend of the Towers

Another interesting attraction is located in one of the side wings of the Towers, the old castle ruins of the Alton Towers theme park. With Hex the Legend of the Towers Vekoma has delivered a masterpiece of a witches’ swing which fascinates visitors with its storyline. The story isn’t far-fetched, after all it’s basically just a spiced-up version of a local legend. The curse that led to Chained Oak is in the center of the story, only the end, where the Earl of Shrewsbury experimented on the first fallen branch of the oak tree in a well hidden laboratory, is new. The musical background, which is the leitmotif of the attraction, is simply brilliant, as is the atmosphere created by the high-quality pre-shows.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

After leaving Hex you will find yourself in the courtyard of the old building. A few meters further on you can visit Cloud Cuckoo Land, probably the weakest area in Alton Towers. Here you will find the park’s 4D cinema, the wave swinger Twirling Toadstool and the dark ride Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, as well as some attractions for younger children.

The dark ride brings the modern fairy tale of Roald Dahl closer to the visitors and is divided into two ride sections. On the first section, you accompany Charlie and the children on their boat trip through the chocolate factory, which gradually falls victim to their spoiled behaviour. When only Charlie is left, the journey continues in an elevator, which is one of the best simulations you can experience despite the animated characters and landscape. The experience itself corresponds to the original and is quite convincing.

Ice Age 4D

This year, the 4D cinema will be showing the film Ice Age 4D, where you can watch a bad recording of the probably best Ice Age (Ice Age 3 – Dawn of the Dinosaurs) film to date. The story has been shortened to the basics – where a few effects could be added – which unfortunately fell victim to the cheap jokes that make up this movie. The recording itself is therefore a bad joke. For Alton Towers itself, the movie might be an enrichment, but one could have done without it.

Th13teen

Located in the Dark Forest, Th13teen is the newest roller coaster of the park. Marketed as the ultimate, yet most terrifying roller coaster, the ride, built by Intamin, is an ideal family roller coaster, which manages to scare even the youngest passengers.

The ride itself starts relatively fast before it goes up the lift. The following descent manages to build up a good amount of speed, but the integrated trim brake is a little bit annoying, as the deceleration is noticeable and the turns are only passed somewhat faster instead of having a very pronounced airtime. As soon as you have conquered the second lift you enter the crypt only to crash through the floor. This is the first time that a freefall element has been installed in a roller coaster, which is quite convincing despite the low height. After the fall the ride continues backwards in form of an oversized, but at the same time simply ingenious Bayernkurve back out of the crypt. In the end, friction wheels accelerate you towards the station in a suprisingly fast fashion.

Rita Queen of Speed

The neighboring roller coaster Rita Queen of Speed was renamed Rita as a result of the reorganization of the area and now features a distinctly gloomy look. An aura like the one of Stephen King’s Christine now surrounds the trains of the ride, which now serve as escape cars. But what you are fleeing from is completely irrelevant, but de facto you should flee.

The layout itself serves as a model for the catapult launch coaster Desert Race from Heide-Park Soltau, but differs in some details. The launch track is not only longer, but also leads into the first turn a bit more leisurely. The following hills offer wonderful airtime before the brakes are reached. Compared to the sister coaster Rita seems a bit more leisurely, but due to the paths underneath the layout it is at least more convincing in terms of design. As the queues at the ride fill up very fast, it is recommended to ride the ride as early as possible or to get a fast pass instead.

Oblivion

On the other side of the towers is the X-Sector, a themed area around the Oblivion roller coaster. The world’s first Dive Coaster offers a very special kind of free fall experience, after all, the hole is waiting for you. The rest of the track is relatively irrelevant, even though the turnaround with a 90° bank is a nice one to ride. Oblivion is basically all about the fall, and despite the comparatively short stop, it is extremely convincing and also quite refreshing. Unfortunately, the appearance of the ride is massively clouded by the exit, as you first have to make your way through an arcade.

Enterprise and Submission

The other attractions in this area are a HUSS Enterprise and a Chance Double Inverter. The Enterprise has been placed really ingeniously and can actually have a 90° inclination, which is not noticeable from a technical point of view, but visually unusual. The inverter named Submission is a very special ride for Europe, after all, there is only a second other installation in Walibi Rhône-Alpes in France. Technically, the ride is quite curious, but it is a nice ride. The further inside you sit, the more distinctive is the feeling of the ride with its strange ride cycle.

Riverbank Eye Spy

Close to the entrance are the three themed areas Adventure Land, Storybook Land and Old MacDonald’s Farmyard. These three areas can be described as the better children’s areas in Alton Towers, after all you can find some interesting and beautifully designed attractions. Besides a merry-go-round and a tractor ride, you can also try out Mack’s canal ride Riverbank Eye Spy at Old MacDonald’s Farm. This ride offers an unusual feature and can therefore be seen as an interactive dark ride, although unfortunately not every button actually works. The Squirrel Nutty Ride in Storybookland is a beautiful high-level ride with a rather strange layout in places. As with Air, you should pay attention on your head when entering the ride.

Sonic Spinball

The last roller coaster in Alton Towers is dedicated to the Knight of the Wind. Originally opened as Spinball Whizzer, the ride is now entirely devoted to Sega’s video game hero Sonic the Hedgehog, which is very popular in England. Also thematically the choice is quite reasonable and understandable, after all many Sonic titles have a connection to the pinball theme. Unfortunately, the design of Sonic Spinball is kept very minimalistic and the music can only be heard in the entrance area of the ride. It’s a pity, after all, the titles of Crush40 and Co. are simply brilliant.

The ride on the huge pinball machine keeps its promise and offers a ride that can only be trumped by Dragon’s Fury of Chessington World of Adventures. The part in front of the lifthill is to be seen as relatively bizarre, as it brings the cars into an unconservative starting position in front of the lift. The rest of the ride is fast and sometimes quite abrupt, which is especially good for the part after the big Immelman Turn. Surprisingly, the clearance of the ride is very fast, which invites one to several rides in a row.

Pictures Alton Towers

Conclusion Alton Towers

Alton Towers is one of the best European amusement parks and can convince by its beautiful location. The distances you cover during your day in Alton Towers are not as long as a visit to the Efteling theme park in the Netherlands, but this might be an advantage. Next year, SW7 will fortunately upgrade the X-Sector and another visit to the park is a must do.

 

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Alton Towers