Super Splash

Batavia is burning – and you want to go there?

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Preface

Who would have thought that Batavia would actually burn down one day? Two years after the disaster at Europa Park, we were determined not to miss the new iteration of the Piraten in Batavia dark ride, as well as some of the other novelties of the last three years.

The Novelties of Europa Park

Voletarium

The Voletarium in the entrance area of the park marks the beginning of our little tour. The ride is the first project under the guise of the Adventure Club of Europe, a fictional adventurer’s club that brings together the innovations of recent years and is intended to be a trademark of Europa Park. As with the new Rulantica water park, this is taken ad absurdum by various novels, making it difficult to follow the plot.

However, to cut a long story short, the Voletarium is a flying theatre made by Brogent Technologies. The flight simulator offers a breathtaking but very family-friendly flight over Europe. However, not all the transitions between the different scenes are successful or logical, so the film is a little weak compared to the really well done film of Fuji Airlines in Japan’s Fuji-Q Highland or that of Sky Voyager in Australia’s Dreamworld.

Nevertheless, the location of the Voletarium improves the front section of the park. Overall, the ride is coherent and ideal as an in-between ride.

Jim Knopf – Reise durch Lummerland

It’s the same with Jim Knopf – Reise durch Lummerland. In true Europa Park style, another licence has been integrated into the park – this time one that is mainly known in German-speaking countries. The children’s locomotive Old’99, which previously had a circus theme, was redesigned for this purpose. It’s old decoration has found a new home in a small pavilion of the neighbouring Marionetten-Bootsfahrt. You can now travel through Lummerland with Emma, the locomotive from Michael Ende’s book, which is a great experience, especially for younger children.

Snorri Touren

It’s a similar story with the hugely popular Snorri Touren dark ride, which was installed in the basement of the Scandinavian themed area when it was rebuilt. On this tour, Snorri – the mascot of the Rulantica water park – leads us through the legendary water world just outside the gates of Rust. The ride gets a lot of things right, thanks to its vibrant design and largely successful media integration – only the short slide sequence, in which the car hits a moving platform, is reminiscent of early PlayStation 2 titles in its spongy graphics, which detracts from the otherwise cohesive overall impression.

Madame Freudenreich

Although you can somehow forgive Snorri, you can’t forgive Madame Freudenreich – after all, the Energy Universe was once the most coherent dark ride in the whole park. Now it is a shadow of its former self, an attraction to be avoided at all costs. Younger children might still enjoy the Alsatian Gugelhupf Dinosaur Mash, but I can’t imagine anyone else being able to put up with this nonsense.

Eurosat CanCan Coaster

It’s a good thing the Green Fairy moved in right above it. Since its redesign, the Eurosat CanCan Coaster indoor roller coaster has been taking us on a sensory high. Driven by absinthe and the familiar sounds of In A Second Orbit, we climb up the drum lift in the familiar way before the Galop Infernal kicks in and we find ourselves on what is essentially a brand new coaster.

Like a cancan, we swing through the turns. Past huge black light backdrops, we race through the dome at an ever increasing speed and are even lifted out of our seats at times. The fact that the experience is absolutely smooth makes the ride all the better.

Eurosat has always been a good indoor coaster. A bit rough on the ride, but quite entertaining. The Eurosat CanCan Coaster on the other hand is one of the best roller coasters in Europe. Perfectly balanced, atmospheric and with great show value. Everything about this ride is perfect.

Eurosat Coastiality

But that only applies to the CanCan Coaster. There is also the Eurosat Coastiality. While one of them has been able to reach new heights thanks to its collaboration with the Moulin Rouge Variety Theatre, the other is betting on a VR experience based on Luc Besson’s Valerian – City of a Thousand Planets.

In principle, I think VR coasters are fun, and Europa Park has already shown what can be squeezed out of a rollercoaster with the Alpenexpress Enzian. Despite the outdated graphics, the first film was an unparalleled revelation. After that, many parks jumped on the VR bandwagon and there seemed to be no stopping them. Fortunately, the trend disappeared as quickly as it came, so it’s a little surprising that Europa Park is the only park in the world that continues to promote the technology. However, thanks to the resort’s own attraction, Yullbe, this is no longer actively happening in the parks.

Eurosat Coastiality is, at least in theory, a very passable upcharge attraction that, thanks to a separate station, has little or no impact on the capacity of the Eurosat CanCan Coaster, eliminating one of the main criticisms of VR coasters. However, the ride is tiring and the outdated graphics make it less than impressive. The show value of the coaster is completely lost, which is why there is no incentive to repeat the ride.

Piraten in Batavia

The Piraten in Batavia dark ride, which has been completely revamped thanks to the new construction, offers plenty of reasons to go on a ride. What used to be a lengthy rip-off of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean is now much more independent, thanks to a consistent storyline around the adventurer Bartholomeus van Robbemond and his otter Jopie. The Pirates of Batavia ride is thoroughly entertaining and has a high overall show value, which is why it is not to be missed.

Pictures Europa Park

Closing Words

As you can see, Europa Park has been on a remodelling spree over the past few years. Some of the projects were long overdue, and some of the park’s attractions would actually like to see some changes. Not every upgrade is a success and not every licence is a plus for the park, but in general the Mack family’s drive is positive. They are trying to present a world-class theme park to an ever-increasing number of visitors, but unfortunately they often forget that great attractions do not need additional media integration.

 

What is your opinion about Eurosat CanCan Coaster, Piraten in Batavia and the other Novelties? Just write them in the comment field below the report or in our social media channels:

 

      

Click here for the overview page of Europa Park

Europa Park

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

The Steel Eel

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History of SeaWorld San Antonio

What hasn’t one already heard about SeaWorld Parks. The park in Orlando has been one of the most famous amusement parks in the world since the 1970s, and the park in San Diego, California, has been offering a successful – albeit still rather critical – mixture of animal and amusement park since 1964. The most exotic park in 1970 was the one in Ohio, which, in agreement with the nearby amusement park Geauga Lake, only featured marine animal shows. Shortly before the takeover by Anheuser-Busch, the fourth and last SeaWorld Park in San Antonio followed in 1988.

First of all, it is important to note that only people who come to the park especially for the marine animals will be satisfied. Thanks to the current expansion offensive on the part of the amusement park, this may change at some point, but without the shows, SeaWorld San Antonio undoubtedly offers far too little for the extremely high admission price.

Tour of the park

Super Grovers Box Car Derby

Now that that has been cleared up let’s start our tour through the theme park. Right at the beginning we come across the large children’s area Sesame Street Bay of Play. Here you’ll find an oversized playground and a handful of selected children’s rides, including the Super Grovers Box Car Derby roller coaster. Known as the Shamu Express until 2018, it featured an orca-shaped train. After the recent rebranding, Grover guides us in his soapboxes through the oval-shaped layout by the manufacturer Zierer.

Steel Eel

Since some areas of the park were closed for annual ticket holders, I was forced to head for the park’s biggest roller coaster, the Steel Eel.

This roller coaster from Morgan has been in the park since 1999 and features the typical out & back layout of the manufacturer. The Steel Eel is the smallest representative of its kind – which fortunately doesn’t mean anything, because the steel eel knows how to entertain its riders very well.

After a short dip out of the station, the train immediately enters a curve, which releases the train into the lift. Arriving at a starting height of 46m, you immediately rush down the increasingly steep first shot. With a speed of65 mph and a good pinch of positive G-forces, the train goes straight through the valley. On the following camelback hills we are lifted out of our seats twice in the most beautiful floating airtime manner, before we head for another valley close to the ground. Immediately afterwards we are already approaching the intermediate brake. With noticeably reduced speed we turn into a steep turn, which serves as a prelude for the brilliant bunnyhop finale. The speed rush takes us over several smaller and smaller hills, which can tear you out of your seat. Last but not least we cross a supply track in a wide S-curve before we reach the braking track of the layout.

The Steel Eel is a great roller coaster with a good amount of floating airtime, which probably gets even more when the coaster is run in and under the (more normal) Texan temperatures. At least I had a lot of fun on this ride, but unfortunately the dispatch was very slow, because first the seatbelt and then the bar are checked, which means you only saw the train rolling over the track every 5-10 minutes.

Wave Breaker – The Rescue Coaster

At the nearby Wave Breaker, fortunately, things looked a bit different and after a short wait, it was possible to go on a rescue mission sitting in the first row. After a short turn you get your mission briefing in a hangar, before you accelerate via a friction wheel launch. Immediately you go up a hill in a slight turn, which you leave in a wide steep turn. After two ground-near swings, you’ll make a right turn, followed by some ground-near maneuvers. A steep left turn leads us to the second launch section, which presses you into the backrest as usual. This is also followed by a high hill, which you leave in a steep left turn. Once again on the ground, we whizz across the lake in slight swings before we make our way back after a left turn. This takes us over a multitude of very flat hills and pressure-laden passages before we even reach the braking section of the layout.

Wave Breaker: The Rescue Coaster is a very cool roller coaster with a beautiful pacing and a good flow. It is a lot of fun to ride over the high hills and ground level passages. Of course the ride is not comparable to Djurs Sommerland’s Juvelen or Le Pal’s Yukon Quad, but this roller coaster is an excellent and welcome addition to the otherwise rather meager portfolio of the amusement park.

Great White

A good nine years after the amusement park opened its doors for the first time, SeaWorld San Antonio presented its first roller coaster to visitors. The Great White is the seventh delivery of the popular Batman layout from the manufacturer B&M and at that time the only ride of its kind in Texas. Compared to the rides at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags Over Texas, the Great White is the one where the park took the most effort and adapted the terrain to the ride’s layout. The result is a wonderful ride, which even after more than 20 years of operation is largely without any parallel. The ride through the two loops, the Zero-G Roll and the two corkscrews is simply timeless and mercilessly intense.

Rio Loco

An equally timeless classic are rapid rides. The ride through the rapids is always a refreshing experience, especially since there is also a waterfall here that catches everyone in the boat. The Rio Loco was my first rafting ride through a waterfall and is therefore especially memorable. As well as the Arab family, who entered here with a big suitcase. I have seen a lot of things in amusement parks, and it remains a mystery to me that the employees let them ride.

Sea Swinger and Riptide Rescue

This year, a new area is being created with Turtle Reef, where the rescue of sea turtles will probably be the theme. However, the aquarium was still under construction. The two associated rides Sea Swinger and Riptide Rescue could already be tested. These are a Zamperla Discovery and a HUSS Airboat.

Journey to Atlantis

The last attraction on our trail along the central lake is the Mack Rides SuperSplash Journey to Atlantis. The water roller coaster is similar to the Atlantika SuperSplash from Europa Park, but does without the small hill during the final descent, making the ride more like a classic Shoot the Chute. The wetness level of the ride is however very manageable.

In the end, all that remains is the animal shows and show feeding. Since the combined entrance ticket with the water park Aquatica San Antonio was a little bit cheaper online than the regular entrance ticket, I was drawn to the neighboring water park until the show One Ocean.

One Ocean

Just in time for One Ocean I got myself a tasty beer at the Food & Wine Festival and then watched the orca show. Generally I’m glad to have seen a whale up close, but the show itself was a waste of time and largely consists of soaking the visitors in the front rows with salt water. This was well received, after all it has been part of the concept since the 70s, but honestly, you don’t have to see the show.

Pictures SeaWorld San Antonio

Conclusion SeaWorld San Antonio

SeaWorld San Antonio is a huge theme park, but it lacks attractions. Fortunately, the original concept has been heavily criticized nowadays, forcing the park to expand massively in order to survive at all. The animal shows will give way to another range of attractions over time, so you can look forward to the future of the amusement park with great anticipation.

What is your opinion about the marine animal park SeaWorld San Antonio?  Just write it in the comment field below the report or visit our social media channels:

          

Click here for the next report of the Texas Round-Up Tour

SeaWorld San Antonio / Texas Round-Up Day 4