Volcano

Big Amusements in a strange Holiday Destination

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The holiday resort of Ingoldmells is mainly characterised by its numerous holiday parks; after all, the first Butlin’s Resort in the country has been located here since 1936. In order to expand the resort’s offerings, the Fantasy Island amusement park was built in the 1990s, including a large indoor area with an arcade and a bowling alley. Since 2016, the park belongs to the Mellors Group, England’s largest fairground operator.   

Rhombus Rocket

The Rhombus Rocket powered coaster was the theme park’s first roller coaster. As was often the case at the time, the roller coaster was paired with a log flume to place two of its main attractions in the smallest possible space. The interaction with the log flume is still the ride’s greatest charm today. The otherwise very family-friendly ride by WGH Transportation convinces with its long helices and the big dip just before the station entrance. As is often the case on a good powered coaster, you ride the layout several times.  

Volcano, Sea Storm and Magic

The Rhombus Rocket roller coaster is surrounded by some wonderfully designed rides. In addition to a typical English Twister, the Sea Storm ride and the classic Magic formerly owned by German showman Ludewigt, the Space Shot Volcano by S&S, which shoots out of an artificial volcano, is particularly impressive.

Pyramid Attractions

The indoor area of the Pyramid is the big flagship of Fantasy Island theme park. Around the Mystical Dragon Mountain, which houses a really fast dinghy slide, there are numerous really nice attractions here. The cute oldschool themed ride Seaquarium and the brand new interactive dark ride Harrington Flint’s Island Adventure’s stand out positively. But a ride on the monorail Toucan Tours or the flying theatre The Guardian should not be missed. In addition, the Pyramid features the Jellikins Coaster, a roller coaster for very young park guests, which is a rather uncomfortable experience for most adults due to its enclosed cars. 

Millennium

Until a few years ago, the entrance to the Millennium roller coaster was located directly in front of the pyramid. Nowadays, the waiting area is inside the pyramid, which on the one hand offers a clearly immersive experience, but on the other hand comes with the circumstance that you now call a largely unused station your own. Due to the lack of separation between entry and exit, one is held back in a small area until the last passenger of the roller coaster has passed it. Only then is the ascent into the station via the exit of the roller coaster. 

After entering the station, the train is quickly dispatched and sent on its way. Having reached a height of 46m, we immediately descend the first drop to the left. After we have smoothly passed the first valley, we immediately go through an unusually high loop – for an MK-1200. After a long straight, we skilfully change our direction in a sidewinder, but not without completing an oversized Bavarian curve above Ingoldmells Market – Europe’s largest weekly market. After a short climb, we plunge down once more and immediately into the ride’s second loop. The rest of the way around the pyramid is a little more relaxed as we glide over several hills before we move on to the grand finale. In a helix we are pressed into the seat for one last time before we reach the braking section of the ride and our ride soon comes to an end.

Millennium is one of the greatest roller coasters by Vekoma. Although the layout is not quite as imaginative as more modern rides from the manufacturer, the huge MK-1200 can convince with its pressure-rich elements and its fantastic ride characteristics. This ride is simply smooth. 

Family Roller Coaster and Wild River Rapids

On the other side of the pyramid, the big roller coaster Odyssey is joined by the small family roller coaster Family Roller Coaster and the water ride Wild River Rapids. The Spinning Raft from Reverchon is hit or miss, because the ride can very well get you soaked, but the likelihood of that is low. 

Odyssey

Originally opened as Jubilee Odyssey for Queen Elizabeth II’s golden jubilee, the ride is the tallest inverted coaster in the world to date at just under 51m. However, the ride, which was built directly on the North Sea, was rarely operated by the previous owner of the amusement park due to the high wind load, which gave the ride a questionable image. With the change of operator, the Odyssey also picked up speed again.

After leaving the 50m-high lift hill behind, the ride goes very steeply back down to the ground. With a lot of pressure we pass the first valley, whereupon a huge loop awaits us. Immediately afterwards, we shoot up a huge Cobra Roll, which turns us upside down two more times. In a very unusual way, we change our direction of travel once again in a huge turn. As if that wasn’t enough, a sidewinder follows immediately. We then circle the exit of the Cobra Roll in a large helix. Far from the ground we glide through a dip before we are turned upside down one last time in a corkscrew. With plenty of speed left, we reach the braking section of the ride and soon the station of the roller coaster.

Odyssey is a really strange roller coaster. The size of the ride speaks for itself, and the unorthodox layout is somehow appealing, but the rough ride characteristics don’t really make it fun to ride. 

Pictures Fantasy Island

Conclusion Fantasy Island

Fantasy Island is a thoroughly nice amusement park in a more than strange place. The large selection of rides and the very high quality are surprising and leave a very positive overall impression. Especially the attractions inside the pyramid stand out positively due to their immersive design. The rides outside the pyramid, on the other hand, are more classic and convince with their unique layouts. 

 

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Fantasy Island

Visiting the little prince

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Parc du Petit Prince

After the Futuroscope near the French city of Poitiers quickly developed into one of the most successful theme parks in the country, the Grévin & Cie Group planned a similarly oriented park in 1993, where the theme “Man and Nature” was to be dealt with in various pavilions (similar to a world exhibition). It was not until 13 years later, and now under the Compagnie des Alpes, that the Bioscope near the French city of Mulhouse was put into reality with the help of public funds (which brought the park into criticism quite early on). Unfortunately, the number of visitors did not meet expectations, so that after only six years CdA sold the park to Aerophile SAS, a manufacturer of captive balloons and other observation flights. They redesigned the park around the stories of the author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, whose great-nephew and estate administrator first gave them the idea. Since the summer of 2014, visitors have been able to experience the world of the little prince up close in the Parc du Petit Prince.

The Parc du Petit Prince describes itself as the world’s first and only flying park, which is probably mainly due to the two captive balloons and the Aérobar. Interestingly, this was usually done by the simplest means, e.g. the impact crater in the centre of the park, around which the Parc du Petit Prince is arranged in several circles, was supplemented by the asteroid B-612, i.e. the home of the little prince.

Les Chaises Volantes and Courrier Sud

We now start our round in a clockwise direction, where we are immediately greeted by the wave swinger Les Chaises Volantes from Zierer. This is the first classic ride was the first flat ride of the park and was installed here for the reopening of the park. Directly next to it is the Courrier Sud, an interactive walkthrough where you have to answer various questions by standing on the corresponding field on the ground or, later on, by using your hands. In Bioscope’s time, this attraction was known as the Planète Party, which describes the actual game inside a little better. A great game!

If you follow the paths, you will soon find yourself in a short cul-de-sac, where you will find the Volcano, a covered children’s playground with various bouncy castles, but also this year’s novelty Le Serpent and the Petit Train station.

Le Serpent

The ride on the roller coaster Le Serpent begins with a small right turn, after which the 9m high lift hill is quickly climbed. After a short straight line at a lofty height, the train plunges down a right turn. After a flat hill there is now a wide left turn, which crosses under the lift towards the end. This is followed by a slightly undulating right turn, where you enter an oversized tree trunk. You leave the tree trunk under hissing of a snake and immediately find yourself in the braking section of the roller coaster. After another short right turn the station follows. However, for the time being you only cross the station. In the following second session you will get to know the snake that gives the roller coaster its name and all kinds of water mist.

Aérobar du Buveur

As the two captive balloons had to stay on the ground because of the strong wind, we only had the Aérobar du Buveur, i.e. the air bar of the drunkard, left to observe the park from above. This is a very interestingly constructed observation tower, where the passengers sit around a table with dangling feet. As an interesting gimmick, you can and should take drinks and food to the top, but there is no obligation to do so.

Métamorphose

In the former Bioscope Pavilion Métamorphose, during a film screening, you can observe the various stages of the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly. There are also several butterfly houses in the immediate vicinity. On the wide meadows at the rear of the park, the park also has several animal enclosures and a dovecote. The animals are presented at regular intervals, but have plenty of room to retreat if necessary.

Planète Sous-Marine 4D

The Planète Sous-Marine 4D features an interactive theatre by the manufacturer Alterface, similar to the Desperados ride at the Danish amusement park Bakken, where you can sit on moving vehicles and shoot at the screen with pistols. Interestingly, the original film has already been reworked slightly to take into account the characters from the Petit Prince universe, but the realisation is not yet 100% ideal.

Le Petit Prince et la Cigogne and L’Aviateur vous raconte

The neighbouring Petit Théâtre hosts two puppet shows during the season. Le Petit Prince et la Cigogne focuses on the park’s younger audience, while L’Aviateur vous raconte is also dedicated to older audiences.

La Tyrolienne and Le Petit Prince 3D

Past the cable car roller coaster La Tyrolienne, which was still in maintenance at the time of our visit, we were drawn into the park’s huge 3D cinema, where the worth seeing film Le Petit Prince 3D (among others also in German) is shown.  Together with the main character of the park and his best friend the fox, you travel around different planets in search of his rose.

Atlantique Sud

Next to the cinema hall, the log flume Atlantique Sud by the French manufacturer Soquet is currently under construction. This is characterised by a single, but quite high shot and promises a wet and cheerful ride.

Labyrinthe de la Fontaine

Right next to it is a rose garden, as well as the maze Labyrinthe de la Fontaine, in which you can not only lose your way mercilessly later on in the tour, but also get the fountain at the end of the path running by entering a solution word. The individual components of the solution can be found under the statues of each person from the corresponding universe. Here it is recommended to have actually read the little prince at some point.

The small fun house Vol de nuit, the children’s carousel Aérousel, and the trampoline hall Trampoline Park in the entrance building sometimes complete the park’s offer. And this is, without exaggerating, simply great.

Pictures Parc du Petit Prince

Conclusion Parc du Petit Prince

The Parc du Petit Prince is an extremely professional amusement park, where you can look forward to the future with justifiable anticipation. At least we had a very successful afternoon here, where we even had a very short time to get everything done in time, as there seems to be another surprise at every corner. The entrance fee of the park is very fair, so a visit is recommended without any restrictions, but you should spend a little more time here and if necessary read the book before, it’s worth it!

 

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Parc du Petit Prince