Twister Coaster

The inclined track of Formule 1

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Parc Saint Paul

The origin of the Parc Saint Paul theme park dates back to 1978 when a small excursion destination with pony rides, boat hire and a restaurant was created on the outskirts of the village of Saint-Paul. Five years later the showman André Campion bought the site. He put a good twenty rides in the park and christened it by its now well-known name. In 1999 his son Gilles Campion took over the business. He then developed the park into a theme park. Where previously you could enter the park for free and had to pay for individual attractions, henceforth there was a uniform admission price. In the following year the Wild Train, the park’s first roller coaster, was launched. Since then, the amusement park has been characterised by an interesting selection of rides without neglecting its main target group: families with small children.

On the way to the entrance we already notice a number of children’s carousels and family-friendly rides. Most of these are from the SBF Visa Group and are of recent production. But the real attraction in this area is the staff, who not only control the entrance, but who are also available for photos. In the beginning I thought the staff was on stilts, but I was surprised to meet 2m20 tall people. One of them is Monsieur Brahim Takioullah, with 2m46 the second largest person in the world.

Aérotrain

The first roller coaster on our round course is the Aérotrain. This roller coaster from Vekoma was previously located in a shopping centre in Portugal, where it was operated as Montanha Russa until 2013. Thanks to its location and the resulting course above the visitors, the coaster is quite high. Fortunately, Gilles Campion was looking for a kind of monorail for the Parc Saint Paul, so that it could also be viewed from above, when Cedeal Rides presented him with this used ride as a proposal.

The ride on the Aérotrain begins with a short left-hand bend where the friction wheel lift joins the ride. Once you reach a height of 11m, you descend immediately. The short descent immediately changes into a left-hand bend followed by a right-hand helix. Over a very long left-hand bend we slowly increase in height again, before we reduce it again in another helix. After a longer straight line there is only a short left turn before we reach the station again. Another lap follows before the ride ends.

Even if the Aérotrain is not as fast as the air-cushion train that gave it its name, the ride is a thoroughly enjoyable experience. The ride is generally shallower than most roller skaters, making it an ideal entry-level roller coaster for the smallest park guests.

Arche de Noé

The Arche de Noé, a swing boat made by Metallbau Emmeln, is a little more exciting. This was designed to match the theme, which is why you can discover numerous animal sculptures on and around the ride. The ride itself is also very convincing with its smaller airtime moments.

Aqua Splash

Just as convincing is the Aqua Splash dinghy slide from the same manufacturer right next door. Meanwhile, we follow the path along the large lake, where some of the park’s pedal boats and the Mississippi steamship are located. Passing numerous playgrounds and a trampoline hall we reach the second roller coaster on our loop.

Mini-Mouse Cartoon

Mini-Mouse Cartoon is a very family-friendly roller coaster where a train is pushed through a series of hairpin curves. On the connecting straights there are also smaller hills, similar to those of a Wacky Worms, which loosen up the ride a bit. The ride itself, however, is very gentle. Depending on the rush you make several laps through the layout.

Téléphérique

Right next door is the Téléphérique, a seemingly harmless rail-guided cable car. But appearances are deceptive, because if you have had the idea of riding the ride with a backpack on your back, the centrifugal forces take over and you have to hold on tightly to avoid falling down. A very interesting play equipment and an even more interesting grey zone count.

Maison Foldingue

After I missed the Crazy House built by Preston & Barbieri in the Japanese amusement park Yomiuriland and in the Italian Mirabilandia due to a lack of language skills, I could finally test this bizarre ride. But the jokes and special effects of the Maison Foldingue are not really worth mentioning, as well as the ride’s sequence. A bizarre idea that will certainly go down well with children.

Souris Verte

Just like the children’s song of the Souris Verte. In the Parc Saint Paul, however, the green mouse embodies a spinning coaster made by Zamperla. Unfortunately, the ride through the familiar layout does not involve a major rotation of the gondola.

Tour Descente Extrême

Since the Wild Train roller coaster lacked the train, I unfortunately could not test this roller coaster. But next door there is another product of the former Russian company Pax, the Tour Descente Extrême, which was just waiting to be tested. The 40m high freefall tower offers a very bizarre ride, because before you can fall you are pulled forever through the magnetic brake, which takes up about half of the tower.  Because of this circumstance, the braking is also extremely rough. Ça me plait beaucoup! With the best will in the world I didn’t expect such a fall coming from Pax, it is grandiose. However, the ride itself takes its time, so it’s no wonder that you can’t find so many tower rides made by Pax.

La Pomme

Much more common, however, are roller coasters of the Big Apple type, also known as La Pomme in France. The local one comes from the Turkish company DAL Amusement Rides Company. One of the most striking features of this ride is its very present and inviting decoration, which adds a lot to the ride.

Past the Grande Roue Ferris wheel and the P’tits Lapins, we are now drawn to the rear of the park. In a mansion and its forecourt, we find many shops, the main gastronomy of the Parc Saint Paul, as well as the place of the wave swinger Chaises Aériennes, which was not yet set up at the time of our visit.

Château Hanté, Parcours 3D, Miroirs Magiques and Toi aussi deviens un Géant

Of the four walkthroughs Château Hanté is the most convincing. With its huge collection of animatronics and absolute darkness it is more frightening than many ghost trains in Germany. The Parcours 3D, on the other hand, is too short to really notice it. The Miroirs Magiques mirror cabinet and the crooked house Toi aussi deviens un Géant complete the offer.

Dino Splash

Right next door is the elaborately designed log flume Dino Splash by the manufacturer Interlink. Even the queue of the ride is surprisingly appealing and gives hope for an exciting ride.

The ride begins quite quickly with the ascent of the first lift hill. At the top we roll through a narrow left turn, before the first shot is already waiting. Over a striking double drop we descend at high speed and with shallow airtime. Well soaked we race through the run-out section before we are braked a little in the following right turn. Over a straight with some white water and a waterfall on the left hand side we are now heading for the second lift. This takes us up to 11m, whereupon a right turn follows. Shortly after that we descend the second shot with its significant dinosaur back wheel. Here we will get a proper shower, whereupon we spend the rest of the ride completely soaked. After a longer straight line past the front we reach the station of the ride and get out of this really great log flume happy and satisfied.

Safari Trip

While wood for the Wood Express roller coaster was stored in the Teen’s Party hall, park guests romped around on bumper cars, a carpet slide and the Music Express Safari Trip. The latter offers a really nice ride due to its forward and backward ride. What’s unpleasant, however, is that the carpet slide seems to be free of fools; here the park audience showed its most unpleasant side. In general, I noticed this rather negatively during the whole day, as especially a Moroccan family and birthday group really misbehaved and had to be constantly rejected by the park staff – who really acted exemplary.

In general, the staff at Parc Saint Paul is very friendly. For example, when I got stuck in the lift of the roller coaster Formule 1, as the ride unexpectedly had an emergency stop, they informed me about every step until the ride was running again. Even after the ride they apologised for the inconvenience and brought me my rucksack, because in this case I had to leave the car in the actual exit area and not in the station.

Formule 1

The ride on the somewhat different Wild Mouse Formule 1 from the manufacturer Pax begins with a very, very steep ascent, which is immediately followed by a pronounced pre-drop. Quite quickly we race through a hollow before we start the big shot ride. Over a narrow hilltop we shoot towards the ground and are lifted unexpectedly out of our seats. Over an extremely airy double-up we are then lifted up again. Following a narrow curve, the first block brake is already waiting for us.

Now the hairpin bends follow. These, however, also have a very special feature to offer. The entrance to these is always inclined outwards, while the exit is inclined inwards. A pretty wacky affair. After a total of five bends this section is over again and we enter (still inclined outwards) a U-turn. This is followed by several ups and downs, which once again lift you out of your seat. After another block area the ride becomes a bit more leisurely and so we drive across the ride with several right/left swivels. After a longer right bend, the ramp then joins the braking section. After passing through the exit area, you will reach the station shortly after and can get off the car.

The ride built by Pax was the reason for me to go to Parc Saint Paul some time ago. As there are rumours that the ride will be closed soon, a visit was unavoidable. I didn’t care if the wooden coaster Wood Express would open sometime during the season. Pax comes first. As expected the ride on Formule 1 is brute, bizarre and superb. The airtime on the ride is unparalleled and the mouse curves are simply brilliant. A really beautiful and interesting ride.

Pictures Parc Saint Paul

Conclusion Parc Saint Paul

Parc Saint Paul is a very strange amusement park. It seems conceptless and gossipy. On the other hand, however, it offers many interesting rides that are not often found in this abundance. Only the rides built by Pax are worth a visit. But I doubt whether I want to go back to the park so quickly. As the only park of my trip, the park could not really convince me. This was mainly due to its rather antisocial audience.

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Parc Saint Paul / Tron-Tron-Trône Day 5 to 8

Italian Miniatures and Rollercoasters

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Leolandia

The history of Leolandia starts 45 years ago, when the entrepreneur Guido Pendezzini presented his miniature park under construction, modelled on the Dutch miniature park Madurodam near The Hague, to the public. However, the park was not officially opened as Minitalia until three years later. The centrepiece of the park, which has also been a prominent feature of the park’s official name for a very long time, is the Italian-style miniature village Minitalia with its replicas of striking Italian buildings and towns. In addition, the country was presented with smaller regional stands and even back then some rides were offered.

In 1997 Pendezzini sold his park to the Triberti and Fabbri families, who, as showmen and manufacturers of amusement park equipment, had considerable experience in this field. They developed the park into an amusement park and operated it as Fantasy World Minitalia until 2007, when the Zamperla family, also an amusement ride manufacturer, took over the park. Since then Leolandia has been regularly expanded and supplemented with products from the company’s own catalogue.

Twister Mountain

A prominent example of this is the Twister Mountain spinning coaster, which is perfectly placed directly at the exit to the park, next to the already oversized park sign, to attract customers of the hypermarket opposite to Leolandia. However, this is only the small version of the well-known funfair model based on the layout of the French manufacturer Reverchon.

After leaving the station you climb the 10m high lift hill. At the top, you pass through two hairpin bends at a rapid pace, whereupon the first descent is already waiting. Above the station you pass through a block brake and shortly after that, halfway parallel to the lift hill, the second major shot of the ride. Without any strange bumps in the ascent you reach the other side of the roller coaster. In the next brake the rotation of the car is released, whereupon the next four hairpin bends are passed with surprisingly much momentum. Without a bump, the return to the other side of the ride follows and finally, after another hairpin bend, the brake track.

Although the Spinning Coaster variants by Zamperla are not considered to be very spin-friendly thanks to their optimised carriages and therefore usually miss their target, the Twister Mountain offered us a solid, albeit quite short, ride. The comfort in the gondola is unfortunately not quite as high as with Reverchon, but in theory the ride offers better restraint, especially for smaller children, thanks to the single bars.

Electro Spin and Donna Cannone

Just as solidly we were entertained by the Mega Disk’o Electro Spin and the Flash Tower Donna Cannone. While the Disk’o offered intensive spinning action, the pulley tower could convince with surprising airtime at the upper turning point. Unfortunately a launch from the cannon is not simulated.

Leo Coaster

The other attractions of the rather sparse Expo 1906 area are a cogs ride with a king kong look, a fire fighting carousel, a wave swinger and the small children’s roller coaster Leo Coaster. This roller coaster comes in the standard version of the manufacturer, i.e. oval-shaped with a helix in the middle, but has comparatively good riding characteristics.

Mondo di Peppa Pig

With the Mondo di Peppa Pig, an attempt was made last year to establish a toddler area in the park based on the English model. However, what in England ensures that Paultons Park is only known as Peppa Pig World and provides it with masses of visitors, seems a little unlovingly put up here. Although there is the possibility to look at the original house of the main protagonists of the series and to take a photo with the actors, the merchandising sales seem to be the only basis for this area.

Il Trenino

The whole thing continues with the Masha e Orso (Mascha and the Bear) show and the train ride Il Trenino by Thomas & Friends. Admittedly, a train ride with Thomas and his friends is always a good idea, as you can see at Drayton Manor in England, but outside of the shape of the train there is no reference to the series.

Minitalia

In the rear part of the Leolandia park, right next to the miniature village Minitalia, there are several animal enclosures, most of which show indigenous farm animal species. The enclosures are sufficiently large and resemble a farm. Unfortunately there are some smaller aviaries with parrots next to them, which is a great contrast to the newer looking farm area.

The Cowboy Town forms the western part of the Leolandia, where the combination of log flume and powered coaster, well-known from the Wunderland Kalkar, is presented. In addition, there are several round and high rides in this area, including the very uncomfortable kite flyer Wild Avvoltoi, as well as a larger show stage.

Gold River

After leaving the station of the log flume Gold River, the boat bobs a little through the channel and after a longer S-curve and a short left turn you reach the first steep lift hill, which takes you into the equally steep shoot. After a good moistening you are released into the channel again and cross a larger right-hand bend to climb the second lift hill at a 90° angle to the first shot. Typically Zamperla, the second downhill run is no less steep than the first one, so that one is led quite abruptly into the second run; here too, the wetness of the downhill run is within a pleasant range. The return journey to the station follows.

Mine Train

Above the log flume is the access to the Mine Train roller coaster, whose course runs mostly over the fairway of the Wild River. After a somewhat longer ascent with a slight left bend, which is climbed quite leisurely, a rather long right turn follows. The first increase in speed is in the downward helix to the left. Immediately afterwards, the waterway’s channel is crossed at a dizzy height in a right-hand bend. In a slightly larger downward helix you now circle the second shot of the log flume, followed by a rather wide right turn, which immediately closes the course. The train then races through the station and completes another, rather leisurely round.

Although the track of the roller coaster from the Wunderland Kalkar was built much more compact it is clearly the better roller coaster of this quite special combo. The Mine Train from the Leolandia, however, crosses the track a little bit too slowly and unfortunately also very jerky, so there is no fun to ride on.

Rapide di Leonardo

Opposite it is the round boat slide Rapide di Leonardo, an Italian interpretation of the popular River Splash rides by the manufacturer ABC Rides with a very special twist. After leaving the station, you immediately make a small right turn and enter the vertical lift, which brings the boat into position, holds it and lifts it up without any technical control frills. After you have been quickly transported upwards, the basket tilts forward and the boat rolls out of the lift. You are now thrown into the first helix at full pelt, whereupon the boat is immediately set in rotation. After a few meters you make an S-curve combination around the tower, which makes the boat turn at a breathtaking speed. This speed increases in the following downward helix and lets you play Russian Roulette during the following shot. After the soaking, the boat goes through a 180° turn, where a round and spinning cannon apparatus fires water at the passengers at regular intervals. The return to the station now features some elements of a rapid river, such as a waterfall that turns off and various rapids. It is the much quieter part of the ride, which allows you to put what you have just experienced into words and makes you wonder why Zamperla has not been able to sell another ride of this kind. The Hydro Lift at least is an unparalleled fun machine and wins every prize for the best dizz with ease.

Riva dei Pirati

The visually most convincing theme area at the Leolandia is the pirate area Riva dei Pirati, which consists mainly of children’s rides, but which is presented in a great design. Besides the good ship swing Galeone and the beautiful Splash Battle Mediterranea, you will find the prototype of the Stand-Up Disk’os Surf’s Up Scilla e Cariddi. Although the ride through the long gondola is a bit rough in parts, the Floating Airtime is worth an experience, so it is a pity to find only a small version of this ride. Unfortunately, the restraint system charges you a little bit statically, so you can get a little shock at the exit.

Pictures Leolandia

Conclusion Leolandia

Leolandia is a really nice theme park with a pretty good idea right from the beginning of its existence. The Minitalia is quite nicely realised and can keep you busy for a few hours, compared to the Legoland parks around the world. At the same time this miniature outdoor wonderland offers a wonderful view of the corners of this charming country, which you would like to see in real life. The quality of the theme park is, with the exception of the Expo 1906 area, very high and is further underlined by the matching workers’ uniforms, divided according to the theme areas of the park.

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Il Viaggio dei due Runner Day 1 / Leolandia