Roller Coaster

Jungle Jack’s Zoological Garden

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Powell, just slightly north of the city of Columbus, is home to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. Covering an area of ​​234 hectares, the park offers everything that appeals to the common friend of animal parks, as well as amusement park enthusiasts, golf veterans and water park fetishists. In other words, the park offers something for everyone, but the individual components are more interesting for one or the other group of people. The experience can further be spiced up by a bunch of up-charge attractions.

History of the Animal and Theme Park

The really promising water park Zoombezi Bay and the golf club Safari Golf have their own gate and are therefore a topic on their own. In this report, we concentrate on the actual animal park, as well as the amusement park Jungle Jack’s Landing. Since the zoological garden opened its doors in 1929, we start with the older amusement park, which startet in 1886 as the trolley park Wyandot Lake.

In the 1940s, a showman bought the grounds to use it as a winter storage. A short time later, the theme park Gooding Zoo Park opened. In 1956 the roller coaster Jet Flyer premiered, which still can be experienced today as the Sea Dragon. After the death of the showman in 1983, the park fell into the hands of the city of Columbus, who then leased the park to Funtime Inc. (then operator of Geauga Lake, Darien Lake and Lake Compounce). Renamed to Wyandot Lake, the park was taken over by Premier Parks in 1995. From 1999 the park belonged to Six Flags. When Six Flags stumbled right after the turn of the millennium, the park was sold to the nearby Columbus Zoo for $ 2 million in 2006. The zoo expanded vigorously and pumped  $ 45 million into the former amusement and water park.

However, since the zoo wanted to open the amusement park area sometime in the spring – but not for the local Spring-Break –, I could not visit this area of the park. The park itself was quite busy and the weather was without any doubt just fine. Regarding the water park, I can still understand it somehow, but in case of the quite manageable-looking amusement park not really. The first drop of the roller coaster Sea Dragon looks quite delicious – what a bummer.

Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

The animal park itself ressembles a mixture of Tierpark Hagenbeck (the old zoo of Hamburg) and the Erlebnis-Zoo Hannover. The enclosures are big and well designed. Unfortunately, you couldn’t find any animals. Many enclosures weren’t used at the time of our visit or simply closed for renovations. The zoo expands rapidly, but the offer is not.

Incidentally, the zoo is known for the first gorilla birth in captivity in 1956, which was also the start of a very successful breeding program. The gorilla lady Colo died at the age of 60, which made her the then oldest gorilla in human care.

The zoo director Jack Hanna, who ran the park between 1978 and 1992, was also well known. He was important for the current orientation of the Zoological Garden and ensured the dismantling of the show cages. As an animal expert in numerous television programs, he became known nationwide (he is also the reason why the amusement park section is called Jungle Jack’s Landing).

The park is divided into North America, Polar Frontier, Asia Quest, Shores and Aquarium, Voyage to Australia and The Islands, Heart of Africa and Congo Expedition. Every themed area look gergeous. You should definately have a look at the bear enclosure, the bat enclosure, and the steppe of Africa. However, the aquarium also included in the park name is less worth visiting, as it lacks a bit of content and therefore lags quite far behind a local Sea Life Centers, as well as the great tropical aquarium of the Tierpark Hagenbeck.

Pictures Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

Conclusion Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

The zoo and amusement park Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is a very recommendable zoo with small deductions in the B-note. For the entry price of $ 22  you just get the minimal basics, whereas the Zoo-It-All Experience Package with visits to all the side attractions and the theme park for $ 10 more would certainly have left a fairly round overall impression. In addition, the many empty enclosures clouded the impression a little bit. Nevertheless, a visit in conjunction with the adjacent water park and the theme park is highly recommended; I really would not be averse to this combo and will probably come back sometime.

 

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Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

Under the influence of the Wicker Man

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Preface

Having a Premium Annual Pass and not being able to get to the Midlands… Well, in my defence, I live in Southsea at the southern end of the island of Portland, on the Solent, and from there it’s a long way to Alton. Although not really, as there’ s an Alton just around the corner. Well, you know what I mean, it’s supposed to go to Alton in beautiful Staffordshire. Alton Towers is coming up with a new secret weapon: The Wicker Man.

The past five years

It’s been five years since I’ve been to Alton Towers and the last time I sat in the third train of The Smiler roller coaster on its first official opening day, which was announced by the BBC at extremely short notice. For that I just stood around for three hours in an area where you probably don’t even wait on Halloween and was supplied with baked goods by an English mother. However, it was actually worth it, which is why I had to undergo the procedure one more time just before the park closed for the day.

In the past five years, a lot has happened and unfortunately a lot has happened. But the beginning was very positive, because the Storybook Land and Old MacDonalds Farmyard sections were merged into one section and immediately licensed. The toddler area, now called CBeebies Land, revitalized the previously rather orphaned corner of the park and offers a very nice atmosphere. No wonder that the children’s land was expanded the following year. With the Octonauts Rollercoaster Adventure another children’s roller coaster finally moved into the park; while only a few meters away a tragedy happened: a car of the roller coaster The Smiler stopped on open track.

The accident of The Smiler and its impact on the park

Actually not too bad – after all, it already happened in the past – but stupidly enough, they send a second car loaded with passengers right after it. However, nothing would have happend, if not all warnings of the ride have been ignored and the system has been overwritten without further ado. It came, as it had to come, and the moving car banged with a good swing against the standing one. Engineers always wonder at this point whether there were any fatalities. Fortunately, there weren’t, and apart from the fate of the passengers in the front row of the car, the accident ended surprisingly well. However, what had to follow followed. A shitstorm of the English press broke in over Alton Towers, according to which the park is still considered unsafe nowadays. No wonder that the number of visitors decreased drastically and since then Merlin Entertainments has been struggling in their own country.

Yet, there is also something very comical about it, when the technical director of the park is dragged in front of the camera, just because a roller coaster has just had a safety shutdown and The Sun is already raging against the park. Unfortunately, it also has negative effects for the normal park guest, as the park has closed for the first time this year within the season and also has extremely crappy opening hours. Supposedly, they are quite flexible; but in summary, one can say that most of the time, the park is open from 10 to 16 o’clock. A cheeky thing for a park of this size, especially as most of the rides can’t be used until 11 am anyway. Until then, one has to be patient within the park and can ride Nemesis almost continuously, thanks to the absence of operation of the park’s cable car – apparently it was too hot –. Prior to that, there is still the possibility for an early morning ERT at selected attractions, but for that, too, the rides would have to start operating first.

It would be easy for me to talk Alton Towers into the ground, but I do not. The park is still great. Even the fact that a lot of rides have left the park in the past years does not change that. Actually, you are much more focused on just getting all the roller coasters done somehow, especially if you are guiding a theme park newcomer through the park. Despite (with the exception of the roller coaster The Smiler) moderate waiting times, you hardly manage to do that in the end and still have a great day – that even speaks for the park. You should simply take your time for Alton Towers, preferably two days, maybe even including a visit to the water park and a booking for the roller coaster restaurant in the evening.

Wicker Man

First Impressions

But first we sanctify the Wicker Man. On the site of the old squeaky duck log ride The Flume, England’s first roller coaster from the manufacturer Great Coaster International was built during the last year and thus, after a very long time, a new wooden roller coaster. The theme of the ride is based on the cult of the Wicker Man, a sacrificial figure made of wicker – which in the past may have included people (be it only as a Roman fantasy or nowadays by dramaturgical means in movies and television) – and which was supposed to bring a rich harvest to the Celts by burning them. It is therefore quasi an analogy to Alton Towers itself, which hope for new streams of visitors by alienating visitors.

The ride itself seems a bit strange, only up close it can really convince. The Wicker Man itself is an impressive structure and looks surprisingly good with the artificial fires. The real fires on the shoulders of the sculpture on the other hand were stopped shortly after the premiere – you can guess why. The queue leads you next to the Wicker Man on a hill from which you have a wonderful view of the hustle and bustle underneath you. In a very fast rhythm, train after train is climbing the two-stage lift hill, which reminds a little bit of old Rct times, because it is first steep and then a bit flatter. In reverse order, the way leads us down the hill. I really appreciate the ingenious solution of the lift, as this solution provides an ideally accessible engine house. I also found the guidance of the chain for the first part of the lift personally quite exciting. Anyway, after some stairs we can hand in our bag. Actually Merlin-typical, but here in the park it is a return to old traditions. It was somehow silly that this system was removed everywhere else in the park. After a short holding room, a pre-show room follows, in which it is revealed to us in a very effective way, that we should be sacrificed right away. Of course, we are not averse to all this and soon we take a seat in the provided train.

The Ride

We leave the station of Wicker Man in a right turn, which promptly becomes steeper and steeper. In the perpendicular to the station line we change direction and throw ourselves into our fellow passenger or into the side wall of the car. Parallel to the station, we then reach the lift hill of the complex that first takes us up a little steeper and then a little less steep. At the top we turn immediately into a tunnel. In a left helix we gain a little bit of speed before a sudden descent skillfully lifts us out of our seats. Back in the daytime, we thresh through a valley, only to dive into another tunnel shortly afterwards. During this dive we board over an unmatched airtime hill, whereupon all contact with the seat is interrupted at first.  This is followed by a very steep drop that leads to the right and to the valley to the left. With 70 km/h we cross the Wicker Man for the first time and immediately climb a hill. In the following turn we race around a part of the queue before we approach the detonator with small airtime hops. Following the valley after the second passage, we climb another hill in two stages, where we could at least theoretically take a short breather. But instead of a neatly inclined right turn, another highlight of the layout awaits us, after which we mercilessly snuggle up to the left side of the train. Oh, lateral forces are something nice. Just before we know it we drop down the last big hill of the layout into the valley. Here we cross the Wicker Man a third time and get moistened with steam. In another right/left turn combination we climb the hill once more, whereupon we find ourselves immediately in the braking section of the layout after a short straight line. This is followed by the maintenance house of the ride, where many park guests now prepare for the free fall. Th13teen probably disturbs a lot of people.if you asked yourself “What’s in the shed?” the answer is quite simple: Nothing.

Conclusion

The Wicker Man is a really awesome wooden roller coaster that fits perfectly into the park’s secret weapon line-up. The ride doesn’t reinvent a wooden roller coaster, but it defines an overall experience that has never been seen before in the park’s roller coasters. Furthermore, the ride lives through its literal interplay of valley and hills including the triple interaction with the wicker man. Since Alton Towers – like many parks in Great Britain – is subject to strict height restrictions, the layout is always very close to the ground, which is very beneficial for the up and downhill ride. I also like the length of the ride, as it feels just right, which makes the layout in contrast to many of the newer European wooden coasters, like Heidi-The Ride from Plopsaland De Panne and Timber! from Walibi Rhône-Alpes, which are far too short for my personal taste. To sum up, I was surprised and still am blown away by the ride, which I think is on top of the GCI roller coasters.

Miscellaneous

After five years, the queue of The Smiler roller coaster looks quite battered, which of course doesn’t affect the quality of the ride. I just love the coaster. The VR update of the roller coaster Air and the name Galactica on the other hand just don’t please me. Without the glasses, the ride is still my favourite Flying Coaster, but with the glasses, the pacing or the feeling of speed during the ride is missing. Furthermore the picture was so strangely shifted to the left when the ride started, which makes the VR experience rather limp. Anyway, the movie doesn’t look that cheap, just a bit unimaginative. Theoretically, there is also sound, but that was missing completely.

Pictures

 

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Alton Towers

The Gruffalo and Tiger Rock

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The changes of the past five years

The UK’s greatest theme park has been going through a period of renovation, or rather transformation, for some time now; there is no other way of explaining the changes that have taken place over the last five years – apart from last year’s Adventure Tree Carousel, no new attraction has been added to Chessington World of Aventures. For example, the Runaway Train is now the Scorpion Express, the dark ride BubbleWorks is now Gruffalo’s River Ride Adventure and the log flume Dragon Falls is now Tiger Rock. Sadly, there have also been some retirements, such as the Monorail, which used to dominate the area around the Hocus Pocus Hall and the Zoo, and the Peeking Heights Ferris Wheel.

Scorpion Express

This development started with the Runaway Train rollercoaster, which lost all the artificial rock that had so impressively decorated the ride. Although Scorpion Express now stands relatively naked in the area, it is hard to miss. A huge mechanical sculpture in the shape of a scorpion adorns the rear helix, creating all sorts of effects that make for a very fun and lively ride. There are also a number of terrariums in the queue to entertain the waiting passengers. All in all, the upgrade of the ride has been successful. In any case, a ride on the Scorpion Express is a lot of fun.

Gruffalo’s River Ride Adventure

Similarly, the squeaky duck dark ride BubbleWorks in the Transylvanian area, next to the awesome Vampire suspended coaster, was a lot of fun – let’s see what happened to it.

Originally opened as Prof Burp’s BubbleWorks, the first 15 years were spent in round boats sailing through a fizzy drink factory before Imperial Leather’s ducklings took over the dark ride. In 2014, the soap manufacturer’s sponsorship with Merlin ended and all references to the manufacturer were removed from the park. While the theme of the ride may have lasted for the time being, the design elements used did not. So a new IP was needed, and a classic children’s book was chosen to fit in easily with the theme. The last ride with the old design followed in 2016, before Gruffalo’s River Ride Adventure opened on 18.03.2017.

The ride itself offers a very healthy mix of static design elements and video projections. The atmosphere inside is now very dense; it feels like following a stream through a forest in a small boat. Each room tells a part of the first children’s book, in which the Mouse stops the Fox, the Owl and the Snake from eating him by threatening them with the Gruffalo – a hitherto fictional creature. In the following rooms, the Mouse meets the aforementioned Gruffalo, who also wants to eat him, but does not, thanks to the Mouse’s explanation that all the other animals are afraid of him. Together, the Gruffalo and the Mouse climb up the ride’s lift and then make their way to the former bathing room. There they meet the other animals, who take to their heels. This scene succeeds despite the relatively open design and retains some of its old charm thanks to some of the remaining fountains. On the way back to the station, the Mouse chases the Gruffalo away, leaving him to crack his nuts in peace.

As I am not familiar with the franchise, I will refrain from making a comparison at this point. The ride itself is once again fascinating. The mix of static design elements and video projections works very well and doesn’t seem out of place anywhere; despite the rotation of the gondola, you can actually catch it at any time. In general, the ride is now consistently well attended.

Tiger Rock

The Tiger Rock log flume, on the other hand, is much less popular, although this does not apply to the new and much larger tiger enclosure which now occupies the former open areas of the log flume. This is where most of the work has been done, as the renovation of the log flume was unfortunately not carried out. So you float through a channel that could have been re-coated and have a great view of the animals in the (at least partially) surrounding enclosure. This is a good thing, especially as the animals really do congregate in these areas and it is actually the best view from the Tiger Rock log flume, but it could have been more. The hardware of the ride contrasts with the new layout of the ride and in my opinion this is a missed opportunity. As Tiger Rock is the last remaining log flume of the group in England, it is sadly foreseeable that the ride will be closed in the next few years.

Pictures Chessington World of Adventures

Conclusion about the visit

Of the three theme parks near London, Chessington World of Adventures remains my first port of call. The three major additions of the last five years all have their place and are all either fully or largely successful. With a revamp of the Hocus Pocus Hall walkthrough already announced, we can look forward to more to come. In any case, it’s a park to include in your UK plans, especially if you’ve never been there and want to visit a theme park near London.

 

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Chessington - World of Adventures