Tag: Tornado

Hollywood’s Backdrop

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The History of the Universal Studios Japan

When 30,000 visitors means a less crowded day, and every local visitor seems to be wearing yellow T-shirts and blue overalls, then – and only then – you are in Universal Studios Japan and the Minions have found their way into the park.

When it comes to Universal Studios Japan, it is important to understand how successful this park is and that 30,000 visitors is not an everyday number for any major park in Europe, nor would it be a desirable starting point for the visitors; but how did it come about that the fourth most visited theme park is located in Osaka, Japan?

To answer the question, you have to go back in time a little, to the 1980s to be precise, when the group’s only theme park to date was located in Hollywood and offered little apart from a studio tour and a few shows. Plans to build a similar attraction in Florida were always on the cards, but it wasn’t until after the huge success of the King Kong expansion of the studio tour in 1986 that these plans were realised. At the same time, sites for another park in Japan were also considered – including Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation (NSSMC) sites in Kitakyūshū and Sakai. While the Space World theme park was built in Kitakyūshū, the Sakai site was abandoned in favour of an urban development project in Osaka. At the end of 1994, Osaka Universal Planning Inc. was founded and two years later renamed USJ Co., Ltd. Arnold Schwarzenegger broke ground in October 1998 and Universal Studios Japan opened in March 2001.

In the first year alone, more than 11 million visitors came to the park, an unparalleled success – because unlike most other theme park projects, the park did not miss its target number of visitors by miles, but topped it many times over. However, the number of visitors dropped to 8 million in the second year and stabilised at this level until 2011. With the construction of the children’s area Universal Wonderland in 2012, the average number of visitors changed to 10 million. In 2014, the inauguration of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme area was followed by a jump in visitor numbers to 12.7 million visitors and 13.9 million visitors the following year. Another boost came in 2016 with the opening of The Flying Dinosaur roller coaster, which, however, also led to waiting times of up to 750 minutes at the roller coaster.

Tour of the park

It’ s therefore no wonder that we have included the Universal Express Pass 4 – The Flying Dinosaur in our planning for the tour. Other fast passes are available, but the Express Pass 4 was the most reasonable because of the Flying Coaster. But before we reach it, we first have to walk around the central lake of the Universal Studios Japan theme park.

Space Fantasy – The Ride

We therefore start on the covered Main Street in the Hollywood themed area and disregard the highlight on the right side of this; instead, we continue straight ahead, where several studio buildings smile at us on the left, including the one of the indoor roller coaster Space Fantasy – The Ride.

The ride on the most Japanese of all spinning coasters from Mack Rides begins with a small right turn, which soon leads us into the first lift hill. To the sounds of the band Dreams Comes True, we now throw ourselves into a steep left turn that quickly turns into a 270° upward helix. After a short straight, we head towards the floor again in a similar manoeuvre and, after a crisp right-hand bend, into the first braking section. With reduced speed, we now tackle the path towards the second lift hill and have plenty of time to let the J-Pop sounds and grandiose design take effect on us.

At some point, the ceiling of the hall is reached again and a wonderfully jagged downhill helix follows. A short bend to the right in the valley then leads us onto a short ramp, whereupon we cross the track of the first section. Two serpentine curves follow, leading us directly into the third and last lift hill of the ride.

The finale of the spinning coaster then begins quite brilliantly with a steep curve down to the hall floor, followed by another steep curve to transport the train back towards the ceiling of the hall. After a short straight section, the train enters a 180° downward helix in which, visually very convincing, a supernova is ignited on the passengers. This is followed by a short bunny hop and after a small turn you soon find yourself in the final brake of the ride and shortly afterwards in the station.

Space Fantasy – The ride is completely convincing despite its low altitude and speed. The space ride has a great flow and a simply wonderful design, and the comparatively idiosyncratic layout with its many straights and rather leisurely gradients fits perfectly to this country – a true Japanese coaster and thus a great product out of the Black Forest.

Terminator 2 3D

Equally brilliant innovations can be admired at the Cyberdyne Corporation in the building next door. Accompanied by a hostess, we are guided through the annual Cyberdyne Expo, which includes an image film and a product presentation in the theatre next door. But one thing in advance, the lady is hilarious and so the audience is first made fun of in a bitterly nasty way – of course only in Japanese, but still (especially thanks to the lady’s over-acting) uproariously funny. The image film itself is interrupted by an announcement from John and Sarah Connor, and Cyberdyne’s employees do their best to somehow cachet the situation.

In the theatre, we then experience the presentation of the first Terminators and, more importantly, the Skynet. Sarah and John Connor break into the auditorium. The situation seems to be under control, but a T-1000 appears and pursues the two. But first he quickly gets rid of the hostess. A second Terminator then comes through a time portal on a motorbike and immediately appears on stage. He then grabs John and flees with him through another portal. A wild chase ensues between our hero duo and the T-1000, as well as other adversaries on the way towards Skynet. Once there, the aim is to destroy the central core of the system – yet the T-1000000 is waiting here as the final enemy. Briefly stopping the T-1000000, the T-800 manages to make the necessary preparations to send John back in time and destroy Skynet. During the ensuing explosion, the visitors’ seats abruptly lower.

It was not really our priority to see rides and shows that still exist in the other Universal Studios parks and can be marvelled over there with a shorter waiting time. Interestingly, shortly after our visit, it turned out that Terminator 2 3D is to be discontinued at Universal Studios Orlando. We were lucky, because the show itself is just fantastic, albeit a little tough in the middle part of the 3D film. The interaction of stage and screen is exceptionally well done and the finale is beyond surprising, likewise the special effects in the auditorium are all worth seeing. Awesome!

The Amazing Adventures of Spider Man – The Ride

Another extremely well-attended attraction at the studios, at least as long as a raving Elmo isn’t setting the mood on the big stage and most of the Japanese are attending the concert at Universal Studios Japan, is the dark ride The Amazing Adventures of Spider Man – The Ride, in true 4K3D style.

There’ s a lot of things one has heard about the Spider Man ride in advance. Statements like “The best darkride in the world” were definitely true, especially after the update of the video quality, but I was still extremely sceptical, after all, one should keep one’s expectations low in order to be all the more amazed by the system in the end.  Perfectly coordinated movements interact with the video projections in the most ingenious way, so that in the end you leave the ride vehicle speechless and amazed and would like to queue up again. Particularly noteworthy is the electric shock scene, triggered by the villain Electro, and the scene with the anti-gravity gun; otherwise it is difficult for me to describe this dark ride, as it really is simply overwhelming.

Despicable Me Minion Mayham and Backdraft

Past the Minion Park and the dark ride Despicable Me Minion Mayham, which was characterised by horrendously long waiting times, as well as the fire effect show Backdraft – whose last show we unfortunately missed by just a few minutes – the path leads us directly to Jurassic Park. But not to the world-famous water ride Jurassic Parc – the Ride, which everyone knows anyway, but to the good new stuff that makes you fly. But don’t worry about the water ride, it’s still extremely exhilarating, just to say that in advance.

Flying Dinosaur

In fact, the ride on the Flying Dinosaur was our first of the day, after all, our Express Pass had a time slot that we were keen to heed – but that was still a little way off, so we dutifully joined the regular queue. Faster than expected, we made our way through the half-empty waiting area, which gave us a first glimpse of the immense willingness of the Japanese to wait, only to find ourselves 40 minutes later in the double loading station of the ride, standing in the front row.

After you have dutifully stowed your luggage, it doesn’t take long before the restraint is checked and you are waiting in the flying position for take-off. It is interesting, especially during boarding in the first row, how the staff in charge protectively stand in front of the wings of our chosen aircraft, knowing very well that some people have already bumped their heads. Via a switch we immediately reach the lift hill, which takes us up to an altitude of 38 metres. The first drop follows, which is extremely steep. In the first valley, we fly over the astonished passers-by at a lofty height that is nevertheless quite close to the ground, before we skilfully spiral upwards in an in-line twist. In doing so, we almost experience the crest again in flight position, but in the exit of the roll another half-twist is waiting for us to be pressed extremely brutally into the back cushions in the next valley. In the following inside raven turn, a kind of immelmann loop without a headstand, the dinosaur does not refrain from reducing the pressure in any way, which is why we only get to breathe again at a distant altitude.

But the next element is already approaching and after a short right/left turn far above the heads of the potentially riders at Universal Studios Japan, we reach it.  With a lot of momentum, we plunge into the Pretzel Loop, a ride manoeuvre in the shape of a pretzel, the valley of which we ride through in a lying position. With breathtaking speed and insane pressure on the ribs, we shoot through a short tunnel, just before we find ourselves again in lofty heights and lead our way from now on relatively close to the ground along the central lake. In a wide right turn we take momentum to be turned around our own axis once more in another in-line twist. This then turns into a beautiful and powerful 360° helix, which releases us parallel to the lift hill. A short dip later, we cross the last of the three in-line rollers before we soon find ourselves in the final brake of the ride.

The Flying Dinosaur is an insanely intense roller coaster that likes to use its high forces very often on its passengers. In fact, I would go so far as to call it the most intense roller coaster I have ridden (up to the time of my visit), and that includes calibres like the spinning coaster Tornado from the Danish amusement park Bakken, but with the fundamental difference that the Flying Dinosaur is also fun. Whether it’s the brutal in-line-twist-fly-to-lie combo and its subsequent breathtaking valley or the Pretzel Loop that is ridden through way too quickly – the flying dinosaur simply knows how to convince. Even the slow passages, which do exist, fit absolutely harmoniously into the overall picture and make The Flying Dinosaur one of the best rides of its kind.

Jurassic Park – The Ride

Another of the best rides of its kind is the Shoot-the-Chutes Jurassic Park – The Ride. The ride through the time-honoured dinosaur park is certainly one of the best-known rides in the world; so it’s all the nicer when the posted waiting times go by much faster than initially thought.

Since the ride is thankfully based on the first film, we are looking forward to an adventurous ride without divorce drama and genetically manipulated hyperdinos on the island of Isla Nublar. After leaving the station, a short lift hill takes us to an intermediate level, where we first bob through the channel for a few metres before approaching the significant gate from the film.  The gate opens, the music plays and you feel like you’re back in your childhood again, so my primary school self was addressed, and so the path leads us quite leisurely through the Ultrasaurus and Stegosaurus enclosures. In the hadrasaur enclosure we get a warning that the raptors have escaped. Meanwhile, two dilophosaurs fight over the remaining coat of a park employee, enough distraction to worry about our own escape. As we approach a building, a small container almost falls on our heads. In the building itself we use the transport device inside to get to the power station. On the now very long lift hill we gain some height and are attacked by velociraptors from both sides.  Once on the power station level we are attacked by more dinosaurs as we approach the evacuation path in a wide curve. A short lift hill brings us to the aforementioned shot, so that we can only very narrowly escape from a T-Rex that has just appeared. We now descend a good 26m, after which the obligatory splashdown takes place at the end.

This is also quite effective and can soak you wonderfully, although on the first trip we wondered when this would take place, before (quite untypically) it simply caught us ice-cold with a wave generated from behind. Although the subsequent trips used the more traditional method, you could observe it quite well on some boats. But before I digress too much, let me say that Jurassic Park – The Ride is a water ride that is absolutely worth seeing and should not be missed.

Jaws

Certainly worth seeing, but unfortunately only once a day, is the water stunt show Water World, which we actually wanted to watch – but which absolutely did not fit in with the time schedule. Instead, we now focus on the fishing village of Amity and its famous harbour tour in Jaws, which visits the sites of the shark attacks from the summer of 1974.

Passing numerous well-known buildings and locations from Jaws, we leisurely sail through the harbour of the coastal town before a distress call reaches us. A short time later we only hear screams and then a torn boat and the fin of a shark. The shark now passes under our boat, which is then shaken back and forth a little.  Our skipper grabs a gun and fires two shots at the shark, but both miss their target. Meanwhile, we drive into a nearby boathouse to wait for Chief Brody. But the inevitable happens and the great white shark attacks us here as well.

We flee, but the shark is always on our trail. Armed again, our boatwoman shoots the grenade launcher once more, but now hits a gas tank, whereupon it ignites. Again, we only just manage to escape. On a nearby pier the boat is now to be evacuated. The great white shark attacks again, but bites into a conveniently placed underwater cable of a nearby electricity platform and thus roasts itself. After this stroke of luck, we reach the saving harbour and a truly adventurous harbour tour comes to an end.

Jaws is simply sheer cult, but the ride itself varies greatly due to the performance of the ship’s captain. The ride itself is solid and visually convincing, but it’s only really fun when the staff are excited and slightly panicked, and some are much better at that than others. Nevertheless, you should by no means miss out on the fun at Universal Studios Japan, because solid as the first film is, it certainly is.

Wizarding World of Harry Potter

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, on the other hand, has led to a solid increase in the number of visitors to Universal Studios Japan, and today we can even enter the themed area without a time ticket. But before we stand in front of Dumbledore’s office entrance at Hogwarts, we have to explore the village of Hogsmeade and get a wand from Ollivander’s branch. Admittedly, the service is terrific and having a Japanese woman recite the spells from the Harry Potter universe was an extremely entertaining choice by the old man.

Flight of the Hippogriff

Since we were already close to Hagrid’s hut, we didn’t miss the chance to pay him a visit and take a flight on the Hippogriff. Flight of the Hippogriff is the standard model of a Vekoma Roller Skater with a little special feature, namely two trains.  Accordingly, the ride begins with a short curve out of the station and the subsequent lift hill. Immediately, you complete a left-leading steep turn with a subsequent upward helix, cross a short valley and a wide right turn near the station. Over a hill you cross the course you have just covered, whereupon you lose some altitude in another helix. A left turn follows, and soon the braking section is waiting. Here you wait a little until the train has been dispatched at the station and you can enter it.

Harry Potter and the forbidden Journey

Inspired, we joined the guided tour of Hogwarts, after all, we wanted to see what the castle looked like inside and we did not planned to experience the normal queue with its length of 120 minutes on this day. With our express pass in hand, going through the express queue at Harry Potter and the forbidden Journey was also of an enjoyable nature, even though we had no further rights after checking in our hand luggage and had to wait there for a few minutes.

But that was also only of short duration, so that a short time later we could take a seat on one of the four-seater gondolas. The wild ride through the old walls begins with Hermione’s generous use of flea powder, on which we are soon to find ourselves in the observatory. Slight tilting effects to the side provide initial excitement during the transport, because all movements are absolutely smooth – which is quite unexpected, given the otherwise very rough movement profiles of the stationary robo-coasters. In the observatory itself, we join Harry and Ron and experience a fabulous ride over the rooftops of Hogwarts towards the Quidditch game. Meanwhile, we encounter Hagrid, who confronts us asking if we’ve seen the dragon, only to encounter said dragon moments later. Pushed by the dragon, our path leads us into a bridge, where it then waits for us as an animatronic, but we manage to escape.

Shortly afterwards we find ourselves in the forbidden forest, where we immediately encounter Aragog. Hermione rushes to help and chases him away, while we continue our escape. More spiders get in our way, but we manage to leave the forest. In the clearing, the whipping willow awaits us, although we are able to avoid it quite well, it eventually catches us and we are thrown into the Quidditch stadium. So far so good, after all it was our goal and we are live in the action – which is much cooler than the trendy sport of the Muggles in Europe.

When Slytherin unfortunately scores a goal against Gryffindor, Dementors enter the arena, and since evil plus evil always results in evil, Harry immediately escorts us out of the arena. In the process, we get separated from Harry and soon find ourselves in the Chamber of Secrets. Another Dementor chases after us and even Lord Voldemort gives in. We manage to escape, but a horde of Dementors is already waiting for us. It is getting cold, the movements of the gondola carrier noticeably slow down and a heartbeat sounds from the subwoofers of the gondola is played. At the last possible moment, Harry chases the Dementors away and we follow him through the collapsing entrance towards Hogwarts. In the main hall leading to the grand staircase, we meet all kinds of students and teachers and, last but not least, Albus Dumbledore, who uses flea powder to transport us to the Room of Requirement, i.e. the station of the ride.

I was flabbergasted. I would never have thought that the Kuka robots could make such a journey. I was also simply overwhelmed by the scale of the decorations and screens. The whipping willow in particular thrilled me so much that I could only respond to the rest of the ride with a broad permanent grin. The symbiosis between projection and real scenery works just perfectly and the ride system supports this in the best way. The great freedom of movement of the robots in particular brings an incredible dynamic to the ride, which is also used perfectly and thus ultimately offers an absolutely wild but extremely harmonious ride through the Harry Potter universe. I’d love to see more of it!

Wonderland

I’m at least looking forward to returning to Hogwarts at some point and taking another ride on the magical benches, but before that I’m heading to see Harry Potter And The Cursed Child in London and for you now to the Wonderland themed area, where characters from Snoopy, Sesame Street and Hello Kitty can be found.

There are all kinds of children’s rides here, such as a horse carousel, a Kontiki, a children’s driving school and much more. In one of the halls of Snoopy Studios there is another children’s roller coaster, which unfortunately had horrendous waiting times during the day, but luckily in the evening you could get on directly, which is why I didn’t miss out on a ride – especially as it is a Japanese ride from the manufacturer Senyo.

Snoopy’s Great Race

The ride in the soapboxes of Snoopy’s Great Race begins with a small right turn out of the station. The friction wheel lift quickly transports the train up to the ceiling of the hall, whereupon it quickly picks up speed on a short straight. In a left turn in Bavarian curve style, the train leads over hill and dale before it dives under the lift hill. In a wide right-hand bend, the train breaks through a large billboard and shortly afterwards gains height on the rear wall of the hall. A short dip to the right leads the train into the rapid finale of the ride.  After a short uphill section, a wonderful left-hand helix follows, whereupon the braking section and station are soon reached and the ride on this wonderful family roller coaster comes to an end.

Hollywood Dream – The Ride

Passing the show theatre of the Universal Monsters Live Rock and Roll show, which we once again just missed, we head for the last roller coaster at Universal Studios Japan: Hollywood Dream – The Ride. Universal wouldn’t be Universal if the B&M Hyper Coaster didn’t have one or two special features – so it’s no wonder that in addition to a selection of different songs, there’s also the option to ride the ride backwards in the backdrop train.

Since the waiting times for both options differed only minimally, we naturally chose the backdrop option for our first ride, as we wanted to be surprised by the track layout. Since three of the four trains are forward-facing, the queue was always pushed forward, but with the handling here at Universal Studios Japan, even this circumstance hardly mattered, so that we were able to board the train quite quickly.

Once dispatched, the train leaves the station via a switch and then takes a wide left turn with a straight intermediate segment before reaching the lift. For us at this moment, of course, everything happens the wrong way round, which is why a short time later we are hanging in the clamshell bars. To the sound of Justin’s Timberlake’s Can’t Stop The Feeling in a rendition by the in-house music band R&B The Voice, we climb the 44m-high lift hill and immediately plunge down to the loud cries of jubilation of the first shot. With the flow of the music, we pass the first slightly transverse valley, whereupon we shoot up a camelback and immediately lose contact with the seat. Landing on the seat again, we are immediately torn back and forth in a wild S-curve manoeuvre, very similar to the finale of the Silver Star roller coaster from Europa Park, only to then tackle the front turn of the layout. This is shaped like a classic horse-shoe element and is driven through with a lot of pressure. The exit of this element is much lower than the entrance, because the next metres of the track we now complete directly below or slightly parallel to the track we have just completed. In the process, we cross two more wonderful camelbacks before the train takes a new path. Another camelback follows after a short curve, just before the intermediate brake of the ride is reached.

We pass through it at a good speed and immediately plunge down again a few metres. We throw ourselves into a transversely inclined hill and plunge towards the ground. With insane pressure we now cross a 540° helix close to the ground before we take the way back just below the route we just completed. In the process, we cross a small hill, pass through a house façade and end up in the final brake after a small S-curve swerve. The band says goodbye and wishes us another wonderful day at Universal Studios Japan, whereupon we reach the station.

We leave the ride full of enthusiasm and immediately agree that Hollywood – The Ride Backdrop is the best roller coaster at Universal Studios Japan and one of the surprises of the entire tour. Everything is just right here, so of course we didn’t miss the chance to do a little marathon on the ride; after all, the waiting time in the single rider line flew by despite the waiting time indicated. Unfortunately, there are deductions in the B grade for the forward ride, as you can already see the track in front of you and there are no surprises. On a positive note, however, even in this case the ride is outstandingly good and makes all European rides of this kind look so old. To be fair, however, it should be mentioned that I generally find the smaller rides from the manufacturer B&M much better than the large representatives.

Pictures Universal Studios Japan

Conclusion Universal Studios Japan

We ended the day at the nearby Hard Rock Café, because apart from its catering prices, Universal Studios Japan is the best amusement park I have visited so far. Despite the crowds, we were able to ride all the roller coasters more than once and probably got our money’s worth thanks to the Express Pass. Of course, the question is whether we would have needed it, but the answer is definitely no – it was just nice to have it because it allowed us to do more. Since we still didn’t see any of the shows and even did without a ride on the Minions, we definitely recommend a longer stay at the studios, because Universal Studios Japan is simply not doable in one day – it’s hard to imagine what it would be like if the park is actually full (which is often the case) and you can’t even get into The Wizarding World of Harry Potter or take a ride on The Flying Dinosaur.

 

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Titanic Max Day 6 / Universal Studios Japan

Ultimate waterslides and pure Swiss madness

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Preface

After our more or less racy toboggan ride on the Pradaschier, we headed back downhill to Chur, where we took a lunch and discount-finding break in a pyramid-shaped Mc-Donald’s-Ibis hotel combination on the way to our next destination, the Alpamare Pfäffikon. Interestingly, the discount on the voucher on the back of the receipt was less than the discount on the website of the water park itself. Strengthened and equipped with e-tickets, we went directly to the bath, where we immediately received the chip wristbands for the lockers at the cash desk.

Alpamare

Erlebnisbad:Alpamare (seit 1979)
Adresse:Gwattstrasse 12
8808 Pfäffikon
https://www.alpamare.ch
Betrieb:Aspro Parks

In 1970, the wave pool and later Alpamare water park in Bad Tölz, Bavaria, celebrated its premiere and quickly developed into a nationwide crowd puller. This was followed in 1977 by the sister park in Pfäffikon, Switzerland, as an additional leisure facility to the Seedamm-Center next door, which was built in 1974. As in Bad Tölz, the bath initially consisted of a wave pool, wellness area and two thermal pools, before it was continuously expanded from 1985 onwards and the first larger slides were added to the swimming pool.

AlpamareFunnily enough, the Alpamare has practically developed downhill over the years: Three of the eleven water slides are located in the upper area near the Rio Mare river pool – Alpabob, Wildwasser and Mini Canyon. Most of these slides are located in a hall – sometimes they lead out of the building, but then they are completely covered, so that on these three slides you never actually get outside. They end on a level about ten metres below. From there, the starting point of seven further slides that overcome a height difference of approximately 17 m is located, the Alpa Canyons. These slides run over a hill and are partly open. Thus, one gets some fresh air even in the winter time. The longest slide, Balla Balla, overcomes the biggest difference in height: it starts on the top level and ends where the drop-offs of the Alpa Canyons are. These differences in height, which are quite remarkable in relation to the length of the slides, allow for exceptionally fast and wild runs with one drop after the other. What makes the slides generally very violent but also demands top physical performance from the swimmers: the many stairs.

Alpabob

It all started with the Alpabob in 1986, a Crazy River slide by the manufacturer Klarer, which runs over several levels with intermediate pools and offers some nice slide sections. The blue main slide was (at that time) joined by three more slide starts, the Mini Canyon and whitewater.

Mini Canyon

The Bodyslide Mini Canyon has always been known only as a depot slide, as it leads directly to the final pool of the Alpabob, where the slide tubes are stored. The 72m long slide is not very spectacular, but the numerous S-curves and jumps make the whole thing a surprisingly swinging experience with the right sliding technique.

Wildwasser

The neighbouring Wildwasser slide offers an interesting and historically significant alternative possibility to slide into the Alpabob: in the past it consisted of two separate and parallel tracks, which merged in a rather idiosyncratic plop run-up manoeuvre directly onto a narrowing Crazy River slide. According to Daniel’s tales, this unhealthy combination of hops and subsequent pinball check only survived the fewest without bruises. What at that time incited to numerous repetitive rides has nowadays lost a lot of its attraction, because the initial white half-shell slide profile has meanwhile been extended by a few meters, so that one now slides relatively unspectacularly into the arcane intermediate pool or rather into the secret love grotto. This hidden corner in the Alpamare is actually the biggest attraction of the otherwise very boring slide due to the tubes in bodyslide width – because very few swimmers ever find it. After a short shot, the track leads over a very slow stream section finally into the second last intermediate pool of the Alpamare.

Balla Balla

Via the former access of the right whitewater lane you enter the wonderfully wacky Proslide Balla Balla since 1999. The slide can be used either head first or in a conservative supine position. For the time being the slide leads you down the slope parallel to the whitewater slide. On a somewhat steeper straight, you now increase your speed quickly before you swing up in several consecutive S-curves. After 111m you leave the closed tube section and are immediately confronted with the cold ambient air. While constantly shouting out the outside temperature, “Cold, cold, cold!”, you pass a downward helix, where in former times balls were said to have flown around your ears. Through a car wash portal, one makes a short change of direction, which is also followed by a curve through an oversized water tap. A short right bend follows with a subsequent jump, which leads into a wrongly signposted left helix. After a rather abrupt swerve, you end up in the run-out pool of this 261m long themed water slide. The biggest disadvantage of this grandiose slide are the steps and the rather unpredictable waiting times due to the slow traffic light switching time and the remote start, if you want to use a slide mat.

Cobra

The legendary tube slide Cobra is probably without exaggeration one of the most thrilling thrill slides in Switzerland, and is definitely one of the most extreme water slides in the classic non-turboslide profile, so to speak the Bakken Tornado among slides. It starts quite harmlessly and quickly develops into absolute madness, as you almost lie down in a racy S-curve before descending a borderline violent steep helix, which presses you into the sliding surface with tremendous pressure and accelerates you to an almost inhuman speed. With this speed you fly over the following jump, which is about five meters high and also quite steep, whereby the speed rush increases even more into insane spheres. With this now truly beyond good and bad speed, you now shoot through an extremely dangerous S-curve combination, in which you swing out so violently that you almost end up lying on your face. Absolutely nothing for weak nerves or douchbags! The last little jump before the run-out pool is guaranteed to be done in RMC style – with airtime in a full 90 degree lateral angle. Accordingly painful you rush into the run where you can hardly believe what this beast has just done to you.

The Alpamare is well aware of the cult status of its Cobra, as the new construction, also by Klarer in 2013, not only retained the very heavy layout 1:1, but even returned to the original plans from 1990: Over the years, the old, blue Cobra has been given some defusing tube segments in a slightly darker blue, which softened excessive rocking movements in the last part and also flattened the last jump. What is considered aggravation by Tuberides is in fact only a return to the original state from the opening year. Whether this is a good or a bad move, it remains to be seen – Daniel even prefers the variant with the changed blue segments due to a rounder speed retention and less risk of injury – but you definitely have to admit that a different water park might have presented a completely different layout. In this respect, the Alpamare can in any case be credited with fidelity to its history and courage to be fierce.

Cresta Canyon

Daniel likes to refer to the tube slide Cresta Canyon, built in 1990, as the airtime slide of the Alpamares; no wonder considering that the slide provides certain moments of weightlessness right at the beginning of the slide. After the start of the slide, the track leads directly into the first jump, which after a minimalist left bend immediately leads into a surprisingly high drop. This is followed by a terribly tight helix, which is driven through with a lot of pressure and gives you fear and anxiety during the drop. An abrupt change of direction lets you swing up in the following helix before you go down the third jump. After another bend you reach the run-out pool.

Thriller

The Black Hole called Thriller, built by Proslide in 1998, may be ridden using double or triple tubes and replaced the red Bodyslide Grand Canyon, which had been here until then and was almost even more violent than the Cobra. It caused many an accident, especially with a 7-meter fall directly into a super narrow right helix with a separately edged splash water rim. Today’s thriller slide is a lot safer, but in its own way quite untamed in terms of layout. Right at the beginning there are some very tight changes of direction in more or less complete darkness – you don’t see them coming at all and are thrown wildly from one to the other sloping position accordingly. After a somewhat calmer middle part with water curtains and a little bit wider curves, the final is a huge drop, which lets you surf over the water surface of the drop-off pool. This pool should not be shorter in any case, as you get so fast that you can regularly watch how the sliders roll almost over the edge behind it.

Ice Express

The Ice Express, opened in 2008, is a 158m long bodyslide on which you can also slide head first with a mat. It essentially retains the course of its predecessor Niagara Canyon, which was here at the time, with the main difference that, unlike its alternating open and closed predecessor, it now runs almost continuously as a closed tube. But not quite: After the first helix, the slide has always been buried underground in the slope – the Ice Express adapted this very well to its theme, so that one rushes through a veritable ice cave with penguin figures and purple strobe flashes. More jumps and tight helices complete the layout – especially on the mat in prone position an intense pleasure. The unbelievably tight final curve before the last jump sends the sliders up to the edge once more by force – this shows an advantage of having designed the slide as a classic tubular slide for the new construction, as the old version, which had the tunnel roof mounted just beyond the edge of the half shell, offered a not to be despised accident potential. Daniel would actually have liked it best if the slide had been provided with the now existing classic continuous splash water rim at such places during the new construction, but still kept the open sections. But even here you can be happy, as the original and great layout has not been changed. My personal favourite in the Alpamare.

Double Bob Splash Pipe

The Alpamare manages like no other water park to make existing slides look like an absolute insider tip by clever positioning. The Crazy River slide Double Bob Splash Pipe, built in 1991, which you can rush down in double tyres is such a slide. In general one hopes for a good steering skill of the pilot to have a smooth ride; but this is anything but easy. After the start, the boat leads you down approximately a straight line in alternating contact between the two bands. After a fast turn, the first jump follows, whereupon a helix combination in form of a figure of eight is added, in which the contact with the side-bands is also not missing. After a short curve over a triple-down at full speed, an ultimate laughing flash hits you. This is followed by a turn and a short right/left turn, just before you find your way back into the bath via a final helix. If Lightwater Valley’s roller coaster The Ultimate was a water slide, it would be the Double Bob Splash Pipe – or in other words, the mad hatter’s wet dream. The 175m slide length guarantees in every respect an extra-long and extremely rugged sliding experience.

King Cone

The latest full-value slide in the Alpamare is the 2012 retrofitted King Cone, a Cone Slide by Klarer. The 153m long track is designed in the Magic Tube profile and offers a total of three sloping mini cones, in which you swing around quite considerably and turn backwards, before you are released into the next slide sections by quite idiosyncratically constructed steering measures. The special feature: Apart from the use with single or double tubes, which is usually allowed on similar installations, you can also slide head first on a speed mat, which gives the rocking experience in the cones a unique and peculiar gain. It gets really weird when you exit the last cone backwards and the mat rolls away underneath you after the last fall into the run-out.

Tornado

On the same side of the slope is the super-crater slide called Tornado, built in 2004 by the manufacturer Van Edgom. You build up a considerable speed on a very long straight line before you are led over a rather narrow curve into the large funnel, where you now make your rounds before you reach the tunnel entrance in the middle of the oversized bowl. As all slides in the Alpamare are also operated in winter, the outdoor fun can be a real test of courage; at least we were lucky, the temperature was only slightly negative. A short shot through two waterfalls leads you into the run-out pool of the slide.

Beckenwelt and Rio Mare

When the endless climbing of stairs and the sliding marathon in the Alpamare, which is generally quite exhausting when there is absolutely no crowd, push you to the limits, it is best to go to the Beckenwelt on the entrance level. In the wave pool you can let off steam in pleasantly oldschoolish and thus powerful waves. The Alpa-Therme next door invites you to enjoy all kinds of bubbling pleasures or a Kneipp-style contrast bath in the cold water pool. The iodine-brine thermal spring, which is unique in Switzerland, with its strange greenish-yellowish-brownish-reddish shimmering foaming bath water in the evening hours, offers a similarly relaxing bathing pleasure, although at 36 degrees, the temperature is much warmer; extremely beneficial for skin and nose. In addition, the Rio Mare flow pool is open every half hour to play driftwood through the 100-metre-long stream channel. The intensity of the water jets on the level “strong”, which are run at :45, is known nationwide – in this respect sensitive body parts such as ears or shoulders should be kept as far away from the pool edge as possible.

Conclusion Alpamare

As the first bath of its kind, the Alpamare is synonymous with every water park in Switzerland. It is a bath steeped in history, and a number of changes have been made to it over the years, whether through the addition of new slides or structural changes to the existing structure. In general, like hardly any other swimming pool, the people here have always shown courage for new things and tried out a lot. You can see this in the slides, which is why Pfäffikon is home to one of the most interesting public baths in Europe, which also stands out internationally. One could criticize the horrendous entrance fee, but we are here in Switzerland – it is normal – and if you are honest, it is worth paying for.

 

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Alpamare

Hooray, I’m in the movie

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Movieland Park

The Movieland Park, founded in 2003, is the latest project of the Amicabile family, who already laid the foundation stone for today’s Canevaworld Resort in 1965 with a dance club. The resort now consists of the water park Caneva Aquapark, the Disko Night Festival, the dinner show Medieval Times and the Rock Star Restaurant, as well as the theme park.

After having bought the tickets at the central ticket offices at the water park, we follow the path along the high street in order to get to the actual forecourt of the film park. Until the previous season you entered the park through the big studio gate, now two buses serve as the new entrance portal of the Movieland Park.

Tomb Raider Machine

As a result, there is now a separate entrance to the Tomb Raider Machine, a Windshear by Zamperla, which is generously staged with water, fire, fog effects and some drama. Basically five different ride programs can be driven here, which are randomly determined by a selection disk, as long as the Ride-Op does not brake the disk before and then adjusts it to a mission. Depending on the selected mission, the duration, intensity and effects vary. The show of the system is more exciting than the ride itself, which is a bit jerky.

Horror House

By walking through the old entrance portal, you find yourself right on the Main Street of the park, in whose corner house there is something gloomy or better said in whose cellar there is something pitch dark hidden. Since its opening, the Horror House offers the park guests a year-round scare haunt, thus a non-temporary cabinet of horrors with actors, similar to the Krüeger Hotel in the Spanish theme park Parc d’atraccions Tibidabo in Barcelona. The queue line sets the mood of the attraction, which gains momentum in the completely bloodstained lift.

Released directly into the darkness you follow the red lights of the surveillance cameras through absolutely dark corridors until you slowly but surely get used to the darkness. From time to time we now pass through larger scenes, all of which have a reference to horror film classics and have been elaborately designed. I especially liked the cold room scene with the body bags, which first blocked the way through movement and then showed their full effect through the use of a stroboscope and Freddy Krüeger from the Nightmare on Elm Street movies. Fortunately a group of two people caught up with us in the last room in front of the stairs leading up. They took their way with the camera light of their smartphone and thus took away the atmosphere. At the end, Michael Myers from the Halloween movies waited with a chainsaw for us. Worried that it will continue as long up here as it did in the basement, we found the exit to the attraction.

The Horror House is a very atmospheric and beautifully designed haunt with an amazingly long lead time. The 600 seconds given by Movieland Park itself can only be reached if you are guided through the corridors with your hands on the shoulder of the person in front. It took two of us a little longer to find our way in the pitch dark corridors. The actors do their job very well, even though you can almost always guess what will happen right away. Compared to the similar Krüeger Hotel I like the staging and the story line in the Parc d’atraccions Tibidabo a little bit better, yet here you have a truly outstanding attraction that you definitely shouldn’t miss.

Addams House

However, it should be clearly pointed out that a visit under the age of 14 is not permitted. But also that is not a problem, as there is at least another access down to the cellar in the Addams House. Here, you pass through some rooms and corridors of the big horror haunt and get brilliant entertainment by Zombie-Hitler. Alone this moment is so delightfully abstruse that you inevitably have to love the park. After a short time, but with a really wide grin on your face, you leave the attraction. Understandably, the access to the Horror House is closed during the Addams House playtime.

Overdrive

On the back of Studio 1 a live set is currently located, on which the film Overdrive, generously advertised in the park, is recorded. In principle, this is a small stunt show disguised as a film recording, in which some park visitors are also involved. Some stunts will be shown, then the footage will be cut and at the end the film will end up on YouTube or the park’s website. Two takes per day are recorded, but the times were not advertised, so we both missed them.

The Illusionist

But we were able to watch the magic show The Illusionist, which is roughly based on the film Prestige. The show shows some well known magic tricks, which are accompanied by all kinds of effects. Unfortunately, I couldn’t follow the story very well, as we were a bit late for the show. Nevertheless, the staging is quite well done and the theatre itself is impressive.

Terminator 2 – 5D

Right next door you will find Terminator 2 – 5D, an Interactive Theatre, where you shoot with pistols at a screen, but also at plastic figures. The terminator animatronics are convincing, as well as the numerous additional effects. Unfortunately, you can’t see much of the screen from the side. The game is fun and certainly worth playing, even though the game is hard to beat and therefore ends with Game Over before you reach the end.

U-571

Passing the Fazenda di Zorro or the remaining entrances of the Rodeo Grill Restaurant (which was decoupled from the park in 2012 and was supposed to entertain visitors after the opening hours of the two parks (and during lunchtime in the Movieland Park), however after two years of operation it was sold and finally renamed to Ristoburger Zero21), our way heads towards the submarine simulator U-571.

In a submarine bunker we first wait for more recruits to be allowed to enter some time later by our commanding officer. He informs us, while a staggering sailor is joking with a bottle full of rum behind him. During this show the Allies suddenly attack and several bombs fall into the harbour basin. We have to flee, but all roads are blocked and so we approach the submarine of the model U-571 at a rapid pace, climb down, hurry through the underwater vessel and take a seat in a chamber while the boat is submerging.

Our drunken comrade now tries to save us both and the submarine and tells me to open and close some valves in it; meanwhile we dive further down, but something is leaking. Full of haste I now try to comply to the specifications and getting loaded with water every now and then, while the rest of the recruits are shaken a little during our dive. At one point, one of the valves is gone and the amount of water can hardly be stopped. However, like a miracle, we manage to surface without being discovered by the Allies.

The U-571 is a spectacular attraction with a breathtaking pre-show and outstanding actors who really put a lot of effort into staging this attraction. Unfortunately, there is not much to see of the replica of the submarine in scale 1:1, as you run through the boat rather quickly. The actual simulator is just an old movie rocket without a movie, shaky benches and a brilliant, yet extremely oppressive atmosphere. If you are sitting in the front left of the boat, you have absolutely no chance to avoid the water, so that you get drenched on a similar level as jumping into the neighbouring Lake Garda.

Troncosaurus

If your clothes are still dry, take a ride on the Troncosaurus log flume, which looked more like a multi-storey car park than a splashy tree trunk ride down two drops before the redesign of the dinosaur area at the bottom of the park. Nowadays, the ride looks just as good as the rest of the area, which is now an ideal children’s area with matching sound.

After leaving the station, you head towards the first lift hill in a wide right turn. When arriving at the top, the track turns around below a later section of the track, whereby the entrance and exit run almost next to each other. Thereafter, the first descent of the log flume follows, whereby the transition into the lower canal is quite abrupt and makes for very good splash. After that you find yourself in another long right-hand turn, which leads parallel to the first lift hill into the second ascent. At the top, you follow the same route as on the lower floor. Instead of taking the second drop, you head straight on to the other side of the lift, where you cross a left-hand bend and slowly but surely approach the second drop. The run-out section is not quite as wet as at the small slope earlier on. A further left turn is then taken before approaching the station.

Troncosaurus is a very special log flume made by L&T Systems, which not only accommodates as much water as possible in as little space as possible, but also makes good use of the applied technology and is as energy-saving as possible, e.g. by using only one water circuit. The ride itself is quite nice and the wetness level is quite respectable, especially since water is constantly dripping into the boat even beyond the two shooting runs.

BC-10 Airlines

Next door, the BC-10 Airlines boat swing is swinging upwards, though the original swing of the former Looping Starship Aerovarvet in the Swedish leisure park Liseberg was significantly higher. When the looping madness of the 80s started to subside, Liseberg rebuilt the Looping Starship by removing the counter weight and the shoulder harnesses. Later, it disappeared from the landscape for several years before Movieland Park took pity on it and bought and redesigned the ride. In its current form, the boat swing entertains passengers in three different cruising programmes, although there is no clear difference. Unfortunately, the ship always brakes a little as soon as it has reached the maximum swing. The tight lap bars and the ride circle are reducing the fun slightly.

Brontojet

Also rescued from disappearance was the Schwarzkopf City Jet Brontojet, which had previously entertained its passengers for several years in the English amusement park Lightwater Valley and was briefly operated by the Bemboom family in Loudoun Castle and then stored. In 2010, Brontojet was opened as the second roller coaster of Movieland Park.

After taking a seat in the comfortable train, a short track section leads us straight to the spiral lift of the ride, which supplies the driving motors of the two cars with power by a conductor rail and thus continuously transports us upwards. At the top, we can enjoy the view of Lake Garda for a short time before we head towards the ground. With full power we cross the first valley, where after we rise again. Just below the first descent, we now drive around the spiral lift in a gentle left turn, before we throw ourselves back into a steep turn towards the ground. Following a turn near the ground, the trail continues several metres upwards and descends as quickly as possible in an oval downhill helix, carried out in the finest Bavarian curve style. Right after a very abrupt transition from an inclined curve into a straight line, which is certainly not laid out according to the heart line, you immediately stop at the powerful brake of the course.

The Brontojet is a truly intense roller coaster with, aside from the transition to the brake, absolutely great ride characteristics. For me it was the second City Jet ride after Nigloland’s great Bobsleigh coaster. Here, the ride was also very convincing, even though the design of the ride is far more minimalistic. The Brontojet was my 400th roller coaster in Europe.

Bront-o-Ring and Octopus

Not quite as spectacular is the Bront-o-Ring, a small powered children’s roller coaster with a triangular layout, whose train is supplied with power via a cable in the middle of the ride. Here you turn round after round for a longer time interval, until you are happy to get off again. Opposite is Octopus, a stylish polyp ride by Soriani & Moser, which offered a long and joyful ride.

Back to the Back Stage

With Back to the Back Stage you will find a rather unusual monorail where you can take a look behind the scenes of the amusement park. For this reason you should only visit the ride after visiting all the main attractions. The monorail stops at several stations with some displays, where Doc Brown gives some insights into the individual attractions in short movies, before he is shocked by the catastrophes of Magma 2.1 and wants to travel back into the future. As a result – at least from the story’s point of view – at the end of the ride, we actually travelled one day into the future.

Kitt Super Jet

From the monorail you get a good insight into the wild action of the Kitt Super Jet boat drivers. Inspired by the still popular series Knight Rider (Supercar in Italian), the Foundation for Law and Constitution has commissioned a manhunt. However, not in Kitt, as that would be a catastrophe in terms of capacity, but in Super Jet, the equivalent on water.

After Michael Knight has personally prepared us for the mission in perfect Italian, the boat is lowered and leaves its harbour in reverse. The 600 hp engines start soon after and the boat accelerates in an incredible way. With full throttle we now turn lap by lap over the basin area of the neighbouring stunt show while avoiding some targets that have been lowered in the meantime. Occasionally the driver brakes spontaneously, turns a pirouette and accelerates at the same rate. Then, the boat disappears into a shed, which turns out to be an ambush. Under fire we leave the building shortly before it collapses and speed over the water surface once more, triggering some additional water effects. Shortly afterwards, the boat returns to its parking bay in the safe harbour of the Foundation.

Kitt Super Jet is probably the most breathtaking water attraction in Europe and definitely one of the attractions you should have experienced in your life. The integration of the series Knight Rider fits somehow perfectly, which is further underlined by the appearance of the original German superhero David Hasselhoff as a somewhat aged Michael Knight in the short pre-show. The ride offers a lot of speed, action and adrenaline and yet something for everyone. Therefore, you inevitably have to take your hat off to Movieland Park, which proved with Kitt Super Jet that Canevaworld Resort is the better choice for a successful theme park day at Lake Garda.

John Rambo Stunt Show

Shortly after 5 pm the gates to the John Rambo Stunt Show opened and the remaining guests could fill about half of the huge show arena. Shortly afterwards an old comrade of John Rambo and some visitors were captured by terrorists. John Rambo hurries to free his colleague, but is discovered quite fast. It begins an action sequence with motorcycles and quads, at the end of which Rambo has to take a good beating. In the meantime his comrade has freed himself and together they establish some order. A female soldier working undercover joins him, only to be caught in an ambush shortly afterwards. Meanwhile the hostages (the captured visitors) are brought to the main stage and can experience the spectacle up close. As the only person not captured, Rambo tries to free everyone in a one-man army sequence. He first frees his colleague and opens the escape routes, whereupon an action-packed show on the water takes place, in which also the remaining visitors gets quite wet. After most of the enemy forces have been defeated and the hostages have been brought to the front stage by motorboat, there is a little love story between Rambo and the soldier, who is fatally wounded by the only remaining adversary. Rambo then pulls out his bow, fires an arrow at the oil barrels on the opposite side and triggers an explosion that sets the enemy on fire.

Even though the story is a bit lengthy at times, the John Rambo Stunt Show is a show absolutely worth seeing. The show is fortunately does not use any slapstick, like its boring car stunt show counterparts often found in amusement parks around the world. Beside the well choreographed fighting performances there are also some surprises, which are well staged. The big cast does its job very well, which is why you shouldn’t miss out on the show.

Magma 2.1

Another highlight follows with Magma 2.1, a ride similar to the Studio Tram Tour from the Walt Disney Studios Park near Paris, only with spectacular special effects, motivated drivers and lots of action.

After the car has left the station, a short turn follows at the rear end of the Hollywood Action Tower, then the truck mercilessly plunges down a steep embankment, lifting the passengers neatly out of their seats. Passing the back of the stunt show, we now enter an obstacle course with several delightful mechanical gimmicks. First, we cross a small water basin above which a tanker truck empties itself, which in theory can be very wet. After that, we cross an oversized seesaw and in the next moment we are dried a little by cold air blowers. With a decent speed we drive around a small building, into which we enter shortly afterwards. Inside there is a small laboratory, which is now destroyed due to some earthquakes. The truck is shaken and there are some fire and light effects. A siren sounds and we leave the building as soon as possible. Outside it is burning everywhere and the landscape is mostly destroyed, to all misfortune the road breaks under us and we land quite surprisingly in water. By forced measures, we drive through another water basin where there is a water effect directed at the passengers. Likewise, the truck drives a little in reverse until it can drive up the embankment in another attempt. Once again at full throttle we pass the same road along the stunt show as at the beginning of the ride and arrive shortly after at the station, where the driver is usually bid farewell with some applause.

Magma 2.1 is a genuinely funny and effect overloaded attraction that unfortunately cannot be found elsewhere in Europe, even though in the English Chessington World of Adventure on Zufari you can at least guess the potential behind such an attraction. The drivers on Magma are merciless and the built-in mechanical effects are totally amazing, which is why you have to get a ride or two when you are at Movieland Park.

Hollywood Action Tower

You should also get a ride on the Hollywood Action Tower, a first generation free fall from Intamin. It was built in the 80s, before you could establish space-saving free fall towers with magnetic brake systems in amusement parks in the mid 90s. Before the system moved to Movieland Park in 2006, it stood until 2001 as Drop of Doom in the Galaxyland Amusement Park of the Canadian West Edmonton Mall, before it was replaced by a double shot of about the same height made by S&S.

After taking a seat in the car and closing the over-the-shoulder harness, the car sets itself in motion and first moves a few meters backwards into the elevator shaft. The nacelle couples into the shaft at the back and is immediately transported up the tower. When it reaches the top, the car is pushed forward a little to the sound of the Twilight Zone soundtrack and couples into the free fall shaft. Under a fog effect the letters of the Hollywood Tower logo break in and we fall into the depth. The first meters of it we approach the ground in a straight line, but then the falling distance bends in a quarter circle, consequently we find ourselves lying on our backs rather fast and continue to move before the mechanical brakes stops us noticeably. A dog grabs us and transports us over a turnout one level down, where we return to our starting position and are immediately brought to the station.

The Hollywood Action Tower is the only one of its kind in Europe and one of the few remaining rides of its kind in the world. For this reason alone, the trip to Movieland Park is worthwhile. The freefall experience is just an awesome experience – althrough, also a wacky one as well, which is why we joined the queue quite often.

Police Academy

As you could expect by the Police Academy, which has its own simulators for the driver training of the new recruits, also features a quite bizarre ride experience. The film shown here is quite good and, compared to other simulations, fortunately doesn’t use cheap computer generated animations instead of real film material.

Our driving doesn’t seem to be that great, which is why Lieutenant Harris interrupts the ride. Through a trick he is lured out of the room, whereby Mahoney and his clique take over the simulators and let us dance the duck dance first. After the return of Lieutenant Harris the original film is continued and brought to an end. All in all, this results in a really extraordinary ride that stands out from the crowd and thus offers a refreshingly different experience that you should not miss.

Diabolik Invertigo

Past the small Monza track Route 66 our way leads through the entrance portal to the forecourt of the Movieland Park, from where two bridges lead us to our next destination, the Diabolik Invertigo by Vekoma, which previously was Two-Face: The flip side at Six Flags America from 1999 – 2007. Even though the dismantling was handled rather carelessly at that time, the ride looks like new today and has been given an onboard sound and a continuous storyline by the Italian cartoonists A.M. Ricci and M. Ricci, as well as the lyricist Mario Gomboli based on the original comic Diabolik by the sisters Angela and Luciana Guissani.

The course of the ride is similar to that of a boomerang built by the same manufacturer; i.e. after the lift, the station is passed through, whereupon, in a Cobra Roll, you are turned upside down twice before seeing the world upside down for a third time in a simple loop, before you are taken up to the second lift, in order to experience the whole game again in the opposite direction. Nevertheless, there are some minor differences between an Invertigo and the standard Boomerang, e.g. the train is located underneath the rail and has a completely different seating arrangement, where you can even face each other, and the used technology is a bit different.

Like the Tornado of the former Danish theme park Sommerland Syd – now Triops in the French theme park Bagatelle – the ride comfort of the Diabolik Invertigo is extremely good. The ride is smooth! Due to this, I enjoyed the ride very much and could have done it over and over again. Of course, the excellent comic design of the ride contributes to this and the onboard sound was also a welcome surprise.

Pictures Movieland Park

Conclusion Movieland Park

But actually the whole Movieland Park was a big surprise, as such a park is hard to find. Beside its terrific main attractions and the rather negligible flat rides, the park offers a lot of entertainment at every corner, so you can spend a whole day at the park with only a few repetitions. As soon as you leave the Movieland Park, you are permitted to walk over the red carpet, applauded by all the actors that you had the chance to see during the day. Although it’s incredibly kitschy, it’s the kitsch that finally made Movieland Park my new favorite among all European theme parks.

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Il Viaggio dei due Runner Day 3 / Movieland Park