SBF Visa Archives • Page 3 of 11 • Themeparkblogger

Everything new at Freizeit-Land Geiselwind

itemprop="discussionURL"0

A lot has happened since my last visit to Freizeit-Land Geiselwind. In 2016, the animal and amusement park was taken over by showman Mathias Mölter and has been steadily expanding ever since. Interestingly, the charming funfair is developing more and more into a theme park as more and more funfair rides are added.

Verrückte Farm

It all starts with the nice children’s area right at the entrance. The crazy farm is home to the Doggy Dog children’s roller coaster, a classic Big Apple.

Freizeit-Land

The charm of the old amusement park can still be discovered today in Freizeit-Land. Most of the rides have been given new names, and the Shot ‘n’ Drop Tower T-Rex Tower has been completely re-themed with an artificial volcano, from whose crater you are now ejected.

Drachenbucht

Wo früher noch Autos parkten, befindet sich heutzutage der Themenbereich Drachenbucht. Der weitläufige Themenbereich bietet fernöstlichen Charme, ohne dabei allzu kitschig zu wirken. Hauptattraktion hier sind die SBF Visa Frisbee Auge des Drachen, der überaus kurzweilige Walkthrough Meister Ling’s magisches Labyrinth (Master Ling’s magical maze) und die Drachenhöhle.

Drachen Höhle

Die Drachenhöhle ist die ehemalige Black Hole des Schaustellers Schierenbeck. Der Hell Diver aus dem Hause Zierer ist mit seiner rasanten Achterbahnfahrt in den kleinen Bobs auch heute ein wahres Highlight und sollte deshalb keineswegs ausgelassen werden.

Land der Piraten

The Land of the Pirates used to be home to the theme park’s terrific HUSS corner, where you could experience a variety of classic rides from the HUSS company. Today, the main attraction here is Jack’s Versteck (Jack’s Hideout)- a huge funhouse, as well as a variety of well-themed rides. Unfortunately, however, the new Bounty ship swing doesn’t really fit in here.

Fluch des Kraken

The world record roller coaster Boomerang now also belongs to this area. The ride, now known as Fluch des Kraken (Curse of the Kraken), convinces with a coherent overall concept and the still magnificent ride characteristics. Personally, however, I think it’s a shame that the original design has been thrown overboard, because it was actually very successful. It’s a pity that an Australian themed area didn’t fit into the concept of the theme park.

Safari

At the back of the Freizeit-Land, in the middle of the forest, is the Safari themed area. Here you will find a number of children’s rides, the great horror walkthrough Dr Lehmann Horror Lazarett, and the roller coaster Taka Waka.

Taka Waka

The roller coaster that sounds confusingly similar to Tiki Waka from Walibi Belgium is a cyclone coaster from SBF Visa. The medium-sized roller coaster offers a classic Figure 8 design based on the Pinfari model, with several smaller drops and a large number of helices, as well as rather rough brakes. The ride is not worth mentioning and looks outdated despite its fairly recent construction.

Forbidden Kingdoms

The newest themed area is the Forbidden Kingdom. This area is home to the Cobra roller coaster, as well as the Merlin sling shot and the Ramses walkthrough (the former Tal der Könige by showman Bügler). The theme area’s focus is a mishmash of all kinds of adventures, be it in mystical England, the ancient Egyptians or someplace in the jungle. Surprisingly, the concept works and the Forbidden Kingdoms proves to be an extremely coherent themed area.

Merlin

The undisputed main attraction of this themed area is Merlin – a Sling Shot from Funtime. The ride catapults two brave passengers to lofty heights, where they then experience several somersaults. The ride is absolutely breathtaking and definitely a recommendation for anyone who wants to brave the rather short (yet very long) queue.

For me, it was the first Sling Shot. Although I have already stumbled across many rides of this kind, the high price of the attractions, which are usually operated as up-charges, was never worth it to me. Here at Freizeit-Land Geiselwind, however, the ride is included in the park ticket, just like at Skyline Park, and is therefore a must for every amusement park fan. The ride, which seems quite extreme, is simply a great and surprisingly gentle experience in the end.

Pictures Freizeit-Land Geiselwind

Conclusion Freizeit-Land Geiselwind

Freizeit-Land Geiselwind has changed considerably. Although it was much emptier during my visit this year than during my first visit, I spent much more time in the park. Nowadays, there is something to discover around every corner, and sometimes you even come across attractions that you hadn’t even thought of before and which you really want to try out. Especially the self-built walkthroughs are all worth a visit. A visit is therefore definitely worthwhile, especially as the next few years will certainly offer one or two more surprises.

What do you think about the new attractions at Freizeit-Land Geiselwind? Just write it in the comment field below the report or on our social media channels:

TKathke July 19, 2022 March 13, 2023 Freizeit-Land Geiselwind

Red Force Alert

itemprop="discussionURL"1

Ferrari Land

After the Caribe Aquatic Park in 2002, Port Aventura Resort expanded once again in 2017 with the Ferrari Land theme park. In the tradition of many European second gate parks, the offer here was also very limited at the beginning. The addition of a children’s area the following year significantly expanded the range of attractions for families.

Red Force

The park’s main attraction is the Red Force launch coaster by Intamin. The 112-metre-high roller coaster towers over the Port Aventura Resort and thus captivates everyone in its immediate vicinity and, unfortunately, draws them into its queue. Shortly before the attraction went into operation, the queue was already completely full and stretched over the course of the day to below the top hat of the ride, which corresponded to a waiting time of over three hours.

I myself was only in the official queue and therefore had to spend about an hour in it. As soon as I took my seat in the twelve-passenger train, the ride started. Once out of the station, the train starts to accelerate and it becomes increasingly uncomfortable. The train then climbs up the Top Hat with a brute force and immediately descends again, but without the spiral during the descent of the two preceeding Accelerator Coasters, Top Thrill Dragster and Kingda Ka. At full speed, you soon hit the brakes and after a short uphill section, you come to a stop again.

Red Force is a very short, but damn good roller coaster. Here, as the speed increases, you notice the forces acting on the train before it reaches a height of 112 m, which is extremely impressive, especially in comparison to the Shambhala roller coaster – currently the third-highest roller coaster in Europe with a height of 76 m. The descent and the final rush of speed also provide sufficient endorphins so that you leave the ride extremely happy. Regrettably, however, at this point another ride on the roller coaster was out of the question, unless you buy the expensive Express Pass for Ferrari Land, which gives you one-time access to the 4 ½ main attractions.

Junior Red Force

As impressive as the Red Force roller coaster is, the Race Coaster Junior Red Force from the SBF Visa Group is not. The ride in the small roller coaster offers basically nothing apart from a tapering downward spiral and a brute upward curve. Sure, the setting of the children’s coaster in the inner courtyard of the much larger Red Force is very nice, but that’s about it.

Miscellaneous

As it was getting increasingly crowded, I didn’t test any other attraction in Ferrari Land apart from the two roller coasters. The Flying Theatre Flying Dreams and the Racing Legends simulator ride would have been of particular interest here. In addition to a handful of children’s rides, the very nice-looking car ride Maranello Grand Race and the two S&S towers of the Thrill Towers (one Space Shot and one Turbo Drop) complete the contemplative offer.

Pictures Ferrari Land

Crazy Pistons • SBF Visa Fly Over • Ferrari Land

Red Force • Intamin LSM Launch Coaster • Ferrari Land

Red Force Junior • SBF Visa Race Coaster • Ferrari Land

Thrill Towers • S&S Space Shot and Turbo Drop • Ferrari Land

Conclusion Ferrari Land

Ferrari Land is not a theme park where you would spend more than one or two hours, but you have to in high summer thanks to the low capacity of the rides. Overall, the entire amusement park is more like a themed area of the amusement park next door, which offers an extremely immersive experience in this respect. But as a stand-alone theme park, the park simply lacks what it has to offer.

Sure, Red Force is good and the Flying Theatre and the simulator are probably very nice, but that’s about it. The Ferrari theme is also extremely specific, which will certainly appeal to one or two visitors to the Costa Dorada, but unlike Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi, you’re not standing right next to a race track here. It will be interesting to see how the park develops.

What is your opinion about the theme park Ferrari Land? Just write it here below the report in the comment field or visit our social media channels:

TKathke August 26, 2021 August 5, 2022 Ferrari Land

Raging through the Helices

itemprop="discussionURL"0

Preface

It’s the second year of the Covid-19 pandemic and things are getting a bit back to normal as the numbers are currently dropping in Germany and more and more people are getting their vaccinations. Previously excisting restrictions are dropped and a visit to a theme park feels great once more – even though we are all wearing masks once we cannot avoid getting too close to people and of course on the rides.

Serengeti-Park and its Serengeti Safari

Since my last year’s visit was not the best, as Serengeti Park was crowded and the capacity of the rides was restricted to a minimum, I took a day off and visited the park on a very quiet Friday. This of course had the advantage of experiencing the awesome Serengeti Safari – one of the few drive-through safaris you can experience in an animal park – at my own pace and without being too restricted by the other cars. I was also right in time for the feeding of the lions, which led to some awesome pictures.

Splash Safari and the Black Mamba

After driving through the Serengeti Safari it was time to experience the theme park. Here, I mainly focused on the other “safari” experiences, which are mainly rather unique attractions and for the most part don’t feature any animals. I especially enjoyed the Splash Safari and Black Mamba Jetboat experiences, as both of them were extraordinary good in keeping you cool on a very hot summers day. While the Splash Safari offers a nice RIB speedboat ride on the park’s central lake, the Black Mamba jetboat safari just got you drenched the second the ride started – not to any surprise: It was the most popular ride on the day of visit.

Batukai Racer

The most recent addition to Serengeti Park is the roller coaster Batukai Racer by Technical Park which replaced the aging Chura Racer – a large Tivoli coaster made by Zierer. The layout of the 13m high family coaster basically only consists of a steep drop followed by three helices one after the other. The first of them is of special interest, as its curvature gets smaller when approaching the ground, which results in some very high G-forces and a rather awkward inclination. The second one acts like a small break in between as you get some more altitude before the final helix hits the ground. The ride itself is a bit jerky, yet not uncomfortable and a rather thrilling experience.

A story of a lost phone

So thrilling, that shortly after my first round, I wanted to do a second. I was a bit distracted taking photos with my camera so that I did not realised that I let my phone on one of the benches nearby before queuing up for the second ride. After the ride, my phone was gone and I started to panic a bit. I asked the ride operator if he saw anything, but that did not help. He gave me the information that it might end up at the service centre nearby the park’s main ticket booths at the end of the day. I waited some time and decided to give it a try and walked all the way to service centre, but they did not yet got anything. They asked me to come back shortly before their closure or write an email after my visit. So I went back around 5pm and to my own surprise they actually found it!

Even though I had to worry a bit about the phone, I had an extraordinary day at the park and enjoyed it quite a lot. The drive through the empty Serengeti Safari, the rides on the park’s roller coaster Safari Blitz and Batukai Racer, as well as the refreshing and drenching boat experiences on the Splash Safari and Black Mamba made my day.