Roller Coaster

Nessie and the Highlander

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Hansa Park’s Beautiful Britain

Nessie

The Superrollercoaster Nessie is one of the most famous roller coasters in Germany. This Schwarzkopf looping coaster was the first stationary roller coaster featuring a vertical loop and is more or less a product of its time. Once the definition of a thrill coaster, it later became a beloved family coaster and the first roller coaster to go upside down for many growing up nearby the Baltic sea. It has been a very fine roller coaster for the past 38 years, but starting from this year it just got better.

During the past decade Hansa Park was working hard to get rid of its late 70s look and became a very Hanseatic theme park. After most of the facades were finally transformed, the park decided to expand its overall theme and added Britain as the first trade partner to the park. Hence, Nessie got a theme and moved back to its home in Scotland. The new station building looks amazing and due to the location of the new entrance, the ride regained a lot of its former popularity. Well done, Hansa Park!

Highlander

Another addition for this year is the drop tower Highlander, the tallest one of its kind. Built by the Austrian company Funtime, the ride offers a new way to enjoy the view onto the Baltic Sea and the surroundings, as well as the already proven drop experiences known from various German funfairs and other theme parks worldwide – currently, there are two options: a non-tilting one in the morning and a tilting one in the afternoon. I don’t particularly understand why they wanted to introduce two options, as the drop in the tilted position just enhances the overall experience without increasing the fear factor. Many visitors would not even notice it when looking at the ride. Needless to say, the Highlander became a hit among visitors during its first year of operation.

Personally, I don’t rank the Highlander as high as others. Compared to other installations of the manufacturer, it has some flaws. Yes, it might be the tallest one of its kind, but it lacks the thrills and the capacity of Donjon de l’Extrême at Nigloland. At least, the ride is far better than the Power Tower Montezuma, which used to stand at the park till the year 2012.

Pictures Hansa Park

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Hansa Park

Alpsee Coaster (2019)

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The Alpsee Coaster is a very exotic alpine coaster of the manufacturer Wiegand for me as a north German roller coaster fan, as it is located quite far away from any (relevant) tourists destinations; that means: It is located at the end of the world or as the south Germans like to say in Buxtehude. Without another reason, I would not have been able to pass near Kempten (Allgäu) so quickly, which is why the visit came into being after a refreshing session of whitewater rafting on the Iller river by the provider MAP-Erlebnis. My English buddy William was with me on the trip down south. On the way there – triggered by the end of the school holidays in Bavaria – we had to go through 5-6 hours of traffic jam and countless construction sites.

After a night in a hotel we went to the Alpine Coaster, which impresses with its location – directly at the Alpsee. It was a cold, rainy day and except for a few brave hikers there were no visitors; at least nobody was to be seen on the 2700m long track of the Alpsee Coaster. The temperature became lower and lower with every meter of the ascent. At the top, the rain started to fall. Thus, instead of a ride we first visited the cabin Bärenfalle, where we had a warm meal.

Well strengthened, we started the journey downhill, which was well lubricated by the rain. Since it is difficult to put the madness of the ride into words, I recorded a POV for you:

 
 

Directly after the first three serpentines we race over the first bigger jump, which brings the sled quickly to its maximum speed. A short time later we fly over another jump. After an extremely fast passage through the forest we pass several waves, which skillfully pull you out of your seat and shake you around a bit. With a fat grin on the face, several steeper curve passages follow, which are interrupted in between by waves and some jumps. After some calmer passages (which would be a highlight at other installations), it’s back to business at 1:01 am. A jump is followed by some very tight and steep curves in quick alternation. After you have recovered from this, a six-second airtime orgy starts at 1:25. After a number of serpentines, another wave passage follows after 2:15. After this, the ride continues to go down the mountain in serpentines, before a helix waits for the riders towards the end of the ride.

The Alpsee Coaster of the Alpsee Bergwelt offers an absolutely wild and breathtaking ride that hardly any other roller coaster in Germany can match. It is without a doubt superior to any other Alpine Coaster in Germany; especially since newer rides are nowadays equipped with magnetic brakes that usually interfere too much with the action (even older rides, like the Hasenhorn Coaster in Todtnau, were unfortunately made worse by an upgrade to this system). As always, however, there is still the risk of a sneak in front of you on your ride and by then the 2700m ride can become quite a test of patience. Without any brakes it is a real fun ride and should be ridden by every roller coaster fan (at least until a new safety system is installed here, too).

 

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Bavaria

We have to talk about Karl

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Karls Erlebnis-Dorf Elstal

We normally don’t speak about landlords, but we have to make an exception for the Dahl family, as they started to run small amusement parks along the German coast line of the Baltic Sea. As they are also prominently represented in many areas of Brandenburg, you also have a Karls Erlebnis-Dorf (named after the grandfather Karl Dahl) located nearby Berlin in Elstal.

The Dahl family are farmers specialised on strawberries. Similar to the Staveley family of Lightwater Valley, Robert Dahl searched for ways to attract more and more people onto their property in Rövershagen, as their farm shop was running surprisingly well even after the harvest. Overall, the mixture of farm shop, gastronomy and playground was very well received. With time new ideas were added and at one point, the amusement rides were built by abc rides.

K2

The good cooperation between Karls and the manufacturer then lead into the installation of the roller coaster K2 at Karls Erlebnis-Dorf Elstal. Due to the success of the roller coaster, other rides then were installed at the other Erlebnis-Dorf locations and its just a matter of time till every one of them will be a go to location for amusement park enthusiast, as the location in Elstal certainly is due to its highly immersive experience.

The roller coaster K2 for example takes account for the history of the family and gives it a modern twist. In cooperation with the design team of the Filmpark Babelsberg, Karls created a roller coaster based on potatoes and it’s actually pretty good. The theming is done by perfection, but is the hardware worth the wait?

The ride starts with a descent into the cellar, where some smaller scenes were passed by. Through a small tunnel, in which you can see an underground view of the potato plant itself, we reach the lift hill of the ride. Shortly after we climbing to the top, we plunge down the first drop in a steep right-hand curve. A camelback with a nice pinch of airtime follows directly. After a small inclining curve, we quickly enter a small double-down element. In a left-hand helix and a double-up element we gain some height, before entering a small storehouse on top of the building where the block brake section of the ride is located. The speed if throttled in a relatively rough way, before we drop down once more in a right-hand curve. A large downward helix follows. After a short s-curve manoeuvre and a bend to the left, we reach the final brake of the ride. Hereupon, the train enters a second lift before reaching the exit position of the ride.

K2 is a fantastic roller coaster for families. The ride is fun and offers many exiting ride elements, which makes the roller coaster to stand out of the crowd. The only downfall is the capacity of the ride, which is basically too low for a well visited park like the Erlebnis-Dorf.

Pictures Karls Erlebnis-Dorf Elstal

Conclusion Karls Erlebnis-Dorf Elstal

Overall, I was very impressed by the concept of the Karls Erlebnis-Dorf Elstal. If you are in Berlin and have some spare time, please visit this park. Just make sure you have enough money with you, as there is a high chance that you will buy a lot of things in their farm shop or have a nice meal in one of their restaurants.

 

What is your opinion about the small theme park Karls Erlebnis-Dorf Elstal and its roller coaster K2?  Just write it in the comment field below the report or visit our social media channels:

 

          

Karls Erlebnis-Dorf Elstal