The Smiler | Themeparkblogger

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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TKathke July 15, 2018 April 30, 2023 Alton Towers

The oath of Kärnan

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Preface

Four years have passed since the last half-finished roller coaster, the Schlange von Midgard, was opened at Hansa Park, four long years in which surprisingly little has changed at the park, except for the demolition of the vertical ride prototype by Maurer Söhne. In the course of financing the planning and realisation of this year’s project understandable, on the other hand the time could have been used for a renewal of the existing installations, or at least try to reduce the number of parents pushing in front of the above mentioned children’s roller coaster. But when Hansa Park published the plan to build a Hyper Coaster, I had high hopes that the park would follow the example of the English amusement park Pleasure Beach Blackpool, which is also located at the sea and has a very limited area at its disposal. As a big fan of the Big One, at least an almost two-kilometer long roller coaster by Chance Morgan or similar, which runs through the whole park, would be a reason to visit Hansa Park more often. Instead, the project suddenly became uninteresting by announcing a roller coaster with a vertical lift in a tower and a role as an inversion figure, as the roller coaster Der Schwur des Kärnan could now be classified as Fluch des Novgorod II.

The construction progressed and the bloody ugly concrete block, which you can probably still see in the next few years, grew in height. Some externally visible distance meters followed, but the interest was in other projects. At the beginning of this month the opening of the now third roller coaster from Gerstlauer followed, and of course, as it should be, it was half finished. Despite this, the Schwur des Kärnan was able to win the favour of its riders quite fast, because Kärnan is a lot of things, but above all it is mega extreme, powerful, super smooth and, so on and so on.

Der Schwur des Kärnan

The outer appearance

In Hansa Park, The Schwur des Kärnan is only negatively noticeable during the transition to the Spanische Glocke and the Rio Dorado, as the access to both rides seems to be slightly hidden now, otherwise, the tower is indeed unsightly but impressive. The flat layout above the meadow in front of the Barracuda Slide is quite respectable and because of the almost non-existent running noises of the cars one hardly notices how fast the trains are actually running here.

The queue

The queue generally seems very provisional, but offers a lot of potential due to the existing quite large rooms in the building. The baggage drop is the same as on the roller coaster Blue Fire from the Europa Park near Rust, but in a separate room. After that one enters the queuing area, where the four rows of four people each have to be filled. The gates are a little bit pulled forward and open synchronously to one of the doors behind which rows 1 – 4 are located. By chance the train is filled row by row, a very interesting and praiseworthy idea, which can be adopted by other amusement parks.

The ride

The ride on the Schwur des Kärnan begins with a small gradient, followed by a left-hand bend, sloping outwards. Before the vertical lift, the train waits for a short time until the preceding train has left it. As usual, the train goes uphill quickly, before it makes a stop shortly before the end of the vertical lift. The train is held in position while the driver of the chain is moved into position. Shortly afterwards the brake is released and as it must come, the train falls down backwards. By using brake swords at the lower end of the freefall section integrated in the lift, the magnetic brakes react and the speed of the train is reduced. Mechanical brakes stop the train completely, the chain engages once more and carries the train over the top of the lift.

In a vertical gradient with an additional turn of 90°, one now leaves the building, whereupon a section of track, which is reminiscent of a heart, appears on the outside. Basically, one performs a Non Inverting Butterfly, whereby the lateral inclinations of the track are skilfully interrupted by the horizontal crests. With renewed momentum, the track turns into a slightly higher banked right turn, where the first turn takes place. A small hill in the manner of a Bavarian curve initiates the second turn. Very close to the ground you make a wide right turn, followed by a nice zigzag combination leading slightly upwards. In another right turn you approach an Airtime hill, where you also take off wonderfully. Another generously designed Bavarian curve leads into the last curve combination on the way back to the station. A small hill later the brakes are taken and the ride seems to be over for the time being.

The gate opens and an inversion, which is very reminiscent of the last role of the smiler from the English amusement park Alton Towers, comes to light. Thanks to the almost non-existent speed, one drives through it with a decent hangtime. A last right turn with a small dip before the station brake follows, and strangely enough, this is the first place where the pictures are taken.

Conclusion

The Schwur des Kärnan is a thoroughly nice roller coaster, but definitely not the best roller coaster in Germany, nor is it the most intense roller coaster in this country. The backwards freefall is a nice feature, which, if you were the park, you would have to advertise great, as well as the whole ride. However, this element is at the same time very capacity-reducing and actually unnecessary for the overall experience. The real drop on the other hand is absolutely brilliant and the heart element is also convincing. During the following part of the track, which is close to the ground, one quickly loses the overview and except for the hill and the subsequent meters, it hardly remained in my memory. The part at the end is quite good, except that a ride like this doesn’t really need it. The smoothness during the ride corresponds to the typical ride behaviour of the manufacturer and is quite good for a roller coaster of this height, but far away from smooth.

Pictures Hansa Park

Fluch von Novgorod • Gerstlauer Eurofighter

Rio Dorado • Whitewater Spinning Rapids Ride

Schwur des Kärnan • Gerstlauer Infinity Coaster

Closing Words

One thing is completely incomprehensible to me, as why does one open a half-finished roller coaster for the third time in a row at the beginning of the main season? Even The Smiler, a roller coaster that was affected by breakdowns and a very hard winter, opened in the off-season, whereas other half-finished coasters like the Sky Scream from the Holiday Park even opened at the beginning of the season, whereupon they were even finished during the season, at least externally. I understand if you don’t want to take an example from your closest competitor, but in the Lüneburg heath, roller coasters are now finished the season before, tested in time and opened on time. The Schwur des Kärnan at least would be better off with a finished design, because although it is a lot of fun, it is not really earth-shattering.

What is your opinion about the Infinity Coaster Schwur des Kärnan at Hansa Park? Just write it in the comment field below the report or in our social media channels:

TKathke July 26, 2015 February 7, 2022 Hansa Park

Of wind gods, pharaohs and lateral rollovers

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Preface

The amusement park Belantis near Leipzig is not the best park in Germany if you believe the reviews of various forums, it is considered poorly equipped both in terms of number of attractions as well as planting and can hardly please anyone. In fact, the Saxon Terra Mitica is good for a surprise or two, which is why the park as a whole could convince me in its entirety.

Due to a car that broke down after a construction site, in which the previously two-lane A9 changed back to three lanes only to be reduced to a single one, a completely unnecessary traffic jam was created, which meant that a visit to Belantis was not possible until around 3 pm. In the remaining two and a half hours the time was only just enough to explore the park, despite the already reduced rush at the rides. It remains a big mystery why the rides are closed half an hour earlier than usual, despite an opening time until 6 p.m.

Tour of the park

Fluch des Pharao

Starting counter-clockwise, you first come across the most famous ride of the amusement park, the Hafema Splash Ride Fluch des Pharao. Although the ride looks like a log flume, it is very special in many ways. Just like the Van Edgom Kongo River ride from the Zoo Safari Park Stukenbrock, the ride offers rubber boats, which adapt to the ground due to their flexible material and are also a little more agile. Although the river ride does not offer extraordinary airtime moments as the Congo River does, it does offer a whirlpool as you can find it almost exclusively at the rafting rides of the same manufacturer.

After boarding the boats and lowering the completely unnecessary sidebars, the journey can begin. Passing the desert-like landscape, the river leads the expedition through some bends towards the biggest pyramid of Europe, inside of which unfortunately only a small stage set and the vertical lift is waiting for you, in which you enter and exit in an interesting way sideways. Arrived at the maximum height level, the 26m high shot ride goes down rapidly in order to get completely soaked in an untypical way. The degree of wetness can be compared with a better Shoot the Chute, like Cataratas Salvajes from the Spanish Parque Warner or Tidal Wave from the English Thorpe Park.

The trip through the whirlpool followed in complete surprise, at the end of which, fortunately, no wave front was waiting for you, as in the Hafema Rafting El Rio of the Bobbejaanland. Shortly afterwards, the trip towards the station follows, where the neighbouring waterfall also moistens the passengers of the boat a little.

Götterflug

Drenched and a little bit freezing I went to the greek themed area of the park, where beside some Heege products and the long boat trip ride of Odysseus the Gerstlauer Sky Roller Götterflug is located. Unfortunately, the prototype of the interactive equipment for side rollovers is often operated incorrectly, so that a boring excursion ride in lofty heights takes place. As a student of mechanical engineering with a working knowledge of physics and a constant urge to press things or flip levers it is of course easy to find out the right technique to perceive the world in circles. However, curious people with a longing for an exciting ride will soon realise that a constant interplay of the wings hardly leads to a proper result. All that is needed is a little wind and the release of the gondola brake in order to stay in a permanent rollover before the final position.

A good 90 seconds and 96 rollovers later, the first ride was already over and the thesis that the wind is just awesome is quickly put forward, because unlike the Sky Fly products, this one actively intervenes in the pleasure of riding and facilitates the formation of rollovers rapidly and to such an extent that one can get a little sick. Like at the Air Meeting in Nigloland, France, the system makes you addicted within a short time, but unfortunately it also bruises quickly, which is especially noticeable if you have more than just one ride the following days.

From the Greek themed area it is only a short way to the Middle Ages. Passing one of the most beautiful backdrops of the German park scene we head towards a castle, where a bobsled roller coaster from Gerstlauer and a small Vekoma Mad House share the place. Compared to the variation with a log flume, as you can find it in Erlebnispark Tripsdrill and finally in the Wild- und Freizeitpark Klotten, this structure looks less naked and altogether rounder.

Verlies des Grauens

The queue of the Verlies des Grauens starts quite unusually for a dungeon on the roof of the castle. Through a staircase you will descend into the dungeon, where the preshow is already waiting for you. The dark sheriff has claimed the castle for himself and subjugated the land, full of lust for power he has stolen Merlin’s crystal and it’s up to the intruders to get it back before they figure out how to use it.

In the main chamber a dragon, the sheriff’s pet, is waiting for you and it becomes a little bit more incomprehensible, because there is actually too much talk. The music during the ride is well composed, but is constantly disturbed by the story in its effect. The chamber is small, but therefore effective and well designed.

All in all, Verlies des Grauens is a good witches’ swing, which could have been better with less story. The dragon is absolutely unnecessary and only brings more hustle and bustle into the main chamber, which at best should concentrate on the fight between Merlin and the sheriff.

Drachenritt

At least when you ride the Drachenritt, you should not miss the dragon. The Gerstlauer ride is the most beautiful of its kind with Thor’s Hammer from the Danish Djurs Sommerland, but it also has a really good course and not only a Wetten Dass…? sign as a special feature of the ride, as you can experience in the adventure park Tripsdrill on the G’sengte Sau.

After climbing up the lift hill, a surprisingly steep first descent follows, which at the same time ends in a bend. This drop is something special and is only beaten in its perfection by the Big One from Pleasure Beach Blackpool and the Haßloch expedition GeForce all over Europe. A short drive up is followed by some powerful mouse bends, which with the right riding partners could end up in a proper torture game. A block brake is followed by a downward helix with a subsequent upward helix, which then leads into a terrific airtime orgy. A further downward helix and a short tunnel ride round off the pleasure. After a left turn into the light, unfortunately, the speedy ride comes to an end.

Belanitus Rache

A little hidden and only accessible via the queue of the Drachenritt, the most beautiful theme area in Belantis stretches along the lake with the prairie of the Indians. At the end of the area in Fort Feuerwasser is Belanitus Rache, a HUSS Frisbee of the old design. So that smaller children can also ride the ride, it offers two ride programs with separate queues, which is a good choice because the full-grown ride program is really something special.

The frisbees with inside looking seats are quite powerful in their ride, as long as they are handled properly or better said not at all. Normally, ride programs in amusement parks are almost never perfect, but since the showman Robrahn hardly ever uses the potential of the ride outside the Bremen Freimarkt, these versions are much better, despite the lack of announcements. Although Belantis version is not as insanely powerful as La Maquina of the Spanish Parque de Atracciones de Madrid, it is completely convincing due to constant changes of direction and the length of its ride. Those who like the big HUSS versions of this ride should definitely be cured of their delusions by one of the small installations.

Unfortunately, the prairie of the Indians is a dead end, but a direct connection to the roller coaster Huracan would be commendable. It’s one of the few real problems of the amusement park Belantis, because where it would be worthwhile to go straight ahead, for example, the path meanders leisurely back and forth. As a result, there are either trails or traffic jams and both could be prevented by a better infrastructure.

Drachenflug

On the way to the big roller coaster in Belantis you have to cross three different themes. Here you will meet the park’s HUSS Condor, whose design with gondolas in dragon design is quite successful. The Drachenflug, like other rides of its kind, not only looks impressive from the outside, but can also offer a good ride experience.

Piratentaufe and Santa Maria

In the spanish looking area Coast of the Discoverers there is an ABC Rides tower with tilt effect, where the queue alone provides for sufficient leaning. The actual ride on the Piratentaufe is quite convincing and can provide one or two laughs.

It is a little different with the Santa Maria ship swing, where the laughter fades very quickly. The ride offers a pretty nasty shock, which I never noticed on any other HUSS swing boat before. Stupidly the outermost place towards the shore is closed for people who want to set sail.

Huracan

Although Belantis has always expanded with smaller installations and can show the latest novelty with the Dancing Pavilion, it is the Huracan roller coaster that attracted most attention. This ride is considered to be famously infamous, which is said to be the result of one or the other hit. Starting with the, but quite strangely shaped, Cobra Roll, which was the only element that was negative by one hit during the ride at Alton Towers The Smiler, I was prepared for the worst and was quite surprised.

After the car has left the station, it slowly picks up speed and then brakes rather rough. Shortly after that the car hacks into the driver and it quickly goes up the lift to complete the steep gradient even faster. What follows is quite reckless, because it goes up quickly only to beat up its passengers even faster. Where the Zero-G Roll is still bearable, the following Cobra Roll is much worse than expected. The following speed bump is quickly passed and you have a short break which is best used to keep your head as rigid as possible between the restraints, because the entry into the downhill bend is anything but smooth. Two corkscrews that are not exactly polished and intertwined are luckily leading into the final of the circuit.

Although the train looks so promising, the ride, unlike what you are used to from Gerstlauer, is absolute grits. Although Typhoon from the Belgian Bobbejaanland and Saw – the ride from the English Thorpe Park were similarly brutal in the meantime, there were measures for both rides that had a positive effect on the ride. Something similar should be done urgently, at best one should reconsider the type of trains on the layout, which would at least lead to a significantly higher capacity.

Pictures Belantis

Drachenritt • Gerstlauer Bobsled Coaster

Conclusion Belantis

Belantis is, with the exception of its alleged main attraction, a really good park, which reminds one of a Scandinavian summer land by many points. Outside of its rides, the offer is varied and available at every corner, there is actually only a swimming pool missing, which could suit the park quite well. The general design in Belantis is outstanding and can be really seen in its entirety, moreover Belantis is really well planted with greenery, what is often missed in other fully developed parks which opened lately.

What is your opinion about the Belantis theme park? Just write it in the comment field below the report or on our social media channels:

TKathke August 25, 2013 January 14, 2022 Belantis