Water Ride

Ninja training in Legoland

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Preface

What do you do if you are a fan of the Sky Fly rides of the manufacturer Gerstlauer and completely disregard the opening hours of the Holiday Park in advance but are already in Darmstadt? Certainly not the way back of 500 km to Hamburg, when you can also have a way back of about 1000 km, but with one or the other ride. Surely you shouldn’t make this decision at 10 o’clock in the morning, so that you don’t reach Legoland Deutschland until the afternoon due to the rather modest condition of the south German motorways. At the entrance to the parking lot we found out that the rides close already one hour before the actual closing time of the park, so we only had about 90 minutes left for the park and Flying Ninjago.

Legoland Deutschland

Tempel X-Pedition

In 2013, a good three years after Legoland Billund, the dark ride Tempel X-Pedition opened at Legoland Deutschland, where you can go on an interactive treasure hunt through the Egyptian temple armed with pistols in search of the tomb treasure of the pharaohs. The ride is handsome and original, but a little too short. Although the rides in Billund and Günzburg are the same, the outdoor area here is much more convincing.

Flying Ninjago

In the same year in which the prototype of the Sky Fly rides was presented to the public in Nigloland, France, Flying Ninjago, the second ride of this type, was opened. Since then, the prototype, which was designed after the quite popular in-house animation series Ninjago, has been putting its more or less daring passengers upside down or not, but unfortunately without The Weekend Whip, the title music of the series, as soundtrack. Instead, you accumulate your rollovers under shallow Asian-sounding music, which can be numerous even without much practice. Unfortunately, the ride was operated without the last two rows for most of the time, so that there was some waiting time in the otherwise empty park.

Halloween in Legoland

Interestingly enough, Halloween was already taking place at the time of our visit, which is why the medieval area was significantly redesigned and the Feuerdrache (fire dragon) was therefore shown in a different guise. Nearly all figures were transformed into ghosts with sheets and the soundtracks were deactivated or changed, but this limited the sense of the dark ride before the actual roller coaster part a bit. For the more courageous children there was also a little Maze, which was indeed operated during the week, despite the small crowd.

Pictures Legoland Deutschland

 

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Legoland Deutschland

Plenty of new things in the East

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Preface

The Freizeitpark Plohn, which originated from a trout farm with an attached restaurant in Plohn near Lengenfeld, had been on my must-do list for several years and was repeatedly considered in various excursion ideas before they were discarded. The decisive factor for this was the extremely positive reporting since the opening of the wooden roller coaster El Toro in 2009 and although Freizeitpark Plohn is hardly further away for me than Phantasialand in Brühl, I have never made it to the amusement park before.

After testing the local Allwetterbobbahn in nearby Eibenstock, I reached the parking lot at about 11 am and left it already half an hour later. I used this time in the queue in front of the only open cash desk before I was told that my bank card with PIN entry cannot be accepted here, but only one with signature. This is not my fault, it’ s the cash system of the park and therefore the park itself, I was told without even being told a reasonable alternative. In fact the not very friendly cashier basically meant that it was only me.

Extremely annoyed I drove to Lengenfeld to get some money at the local Sparkasse and then back to Plohn – after all there is a quite promising wooden roller coaster in the park and the way back would be 500 km long – where I had to stand in the queue again for another 30 minutes. Backed up by a deeply stupid comment I finally got into the Freizeitpark Plohn.

Freizeitpark Plohn

Fluch des Teutates

Thank God they are already working on a better entrance area at the Gaul village, hopefully with a better cash register system. In this area, next to the Drachenschaukel, a windshield wiper-like ride, which was not in operation, is the River Splash ride Fluch des Teutates by the manufacturer ABC Rides.

The trip in the round boats starts immediately with a slightly longer lift. At the top, you leave the lift in a right-hand bend and after a small straight section, a larger turn follows. Afterwards, relatively unusual for this type of ride, a small slope in lofty height under the lift hill follows. After another turn, but this time to the left, another slope follows immediately. Now, a downward helix on the right side of the slope takes up a lot of momentum. You leave this helix in a left-hand curve or rather in a left bend, which runs parallel to the lift for a short time, whereupon the final shot is initiated. This is followed by the return to the station.

The Fluch des Teutates is a nice ride, which can be put into a more than decent rotation with some weight shifting in the boat. But even without it, this was probably unintentionally possible for everyone without any problems at the beginning of the year due to a somewhat too rough paint on the deck. This was then sanded down and the ride was repainted with the correct paint, which is why the ride was out of order for a longer period of time this year.

Passing an animal enclosure, the trail now leads to the Plohnidorf, where a former carousel from the North German amusement park Heide Park, a dark ride and a roller coaster are located. The houses are decorated with jokes about the park’s own mascot and in numerous shop windows the pranks of Max and Moritz by the poet and illustrator Wilhelm Busch are told.

Plohseidon

The family roller coaster Plohseidon is a Force 190 of the manufacturer Zierer, which was built over a water basin and has an imaginative underwater design. Here the design was perfectly adapted to the slightly stretched layout.

The journey begins with a shallowly ascending straight, which soon leads into a left turn. A small swivel to the right and a small straight line later the friction wheels of the lift hill take you up. You leave the lift hill in a shallow steep curve to the left whereupon the maximum height difference of about 7.5m is reached. In an upward helix, you pick up again in altitude and immediately change direction. In a bavarian curve you now go downhill, followed by the return to the station.

The family roller coaster Plohseidon is a nice roller coaster with a surprisingly fast layout, but with quite modest ride characteristics. Well, the kids probably won’t even notice it, but the ride feels like a relatively old ride of the same type.

Plohnis Tauchfahrt

In the immediate vicinity is the small dark ride Plohnis Tauchfahrt. Similar to the former dark ride Ocean of Darkness of the Dutch amusement park Attractiepark Slagharen, you will pass through a colourful underwater world. The plastic design is supported by some well integrated screens, in which the park mascot appears among others.

El Toro

Through a passageway you reach the Westernstadt, the western area of Freizeitpark Plohn and immediately stand in front of the wooden roller coaster El Toro of the American manufacturer Great Coaster International. Along the rear turn of the roller coaster you can reach the entrance of the wooden roller coaster, also coming from the other side. After a small ramp you’re immediately inside the station and have more or less free choice of seats, because there wasn’t much action here despite the ride’s only train.

After the train is finally cleared, the lift chain takes you up to a height of about 25m. With a lot of momentum you make the first descent, which is quite straight before it turns into a steep curve. In the valley you go under the lift hill of the log flume for the first time and change direction immediately. An upward leading left turn follows, but changes its direction relatively quickly. Now a wide bend leads the train to the lowest point of the layout, but even here you only stay for a short time. Over a hill, the train passes again under the lift hill of the log flume and shortly after through a curve parallel to the first drop. Now several hills follow, all of which carry you slightly out of your seat. Past the station you make a small detour and then a turn. With full speed you go down again and take a picture of the ride. The following hill initiates a right turn close to the ground with two hills attached to it. A last curve leads the train up to the brakes and back to the station.

El Toro is a really good roller coaster with an absolutely brilliant start, but a rather mild end. Although the wild bull could already convince at noon, it showed its full potential only in the late afternoon when the coaster is in its run-in condition and this invites, similar to the never full station of the visiting day, to constant repetitive rides. But when the crowd of the station did not allow a simple shifting anymore I left the ride, because the way from the exit to the entrance was not worth it anymore. El Toro is not Troy from the Dutch amusement park Toverland, but at least it is a very good wooden roller coaster and an enrichment without equal for the previously hardly known amusement park.

Westerneisenbahn and Westernrodeo

In the main street of the themed area is the station of the Westerneisenbahn, a round trip through the Wild West past the rides of the area and below the wooden roller coaster. Interestingly, the ride passes the entrances of the Westernrodeo, a break dance of the manufacturer HUSS featuring a long and varied, albeit slow ride, and the roller coaster Silver Mine and blocks it.

Silver Mine

The Silver Mine is a Flitzer roller coaster made by Zierer, which is similar to the ride High Explosive which travels in this country under Vorlop. Started under a German showman in the 70s, it emigrated quite quickly to America, where it entertained its passengers in the Adventureland amusement park in its original design until 1990. In 1996, the ride presented itself as Rioolrat in a new look and with new cars at the Dutch amusement park Avonturenpark Hellendoorn. These cars in the form of a canal rat were also used on the mouse roller coaster of the Spielerei Rheda-Weidenbrück, but here they were still used in combination with the originals. The ride lost all of its fun in 2000 when it was equipped with mine cars and presented itself to the public. It’s a difference like day and night when you ride the minimalist racers or when you constantly bump into the high walled cars during the ride, as it is the case here.

Wildwasserbahn mit Geisterbahn

On the other side of the spacious course is the entrance to the log flume Wildwasserbahn mit Geisterbahn, although the Geisterbahn (ghost train) part probably only really shows up on Halloween. After leaving the station, the canal leads the boat through a small themed passage towards the first lift hill. Once you reach the top, the first shot of the ride takes place, which can be a little bit moistening. After a turn and a right bend you leave the plateau and curve a little bit in zigzag movements through the tree tops and over the second slope until after another right bend you reach the second lift. At a lofty height you make another turn whereupon you slowly but surely approach the big descent. Without much fuss it goes down the slope at the end of which the cool water is waiting for you. This is followed by the return trip to the station of this rather neat log flume.

Holzmichl-Villa and Crazy House

At the exit of the log flume there is interestingly enough a small bumper car and above it the Geistermühle (ghost mill), which has some vibrating plates, distorting mirrors and many bad jokes.  Above the log flume there is also a special attraction. Next to Germany’s largest tree house with the slide Wilde Sau, there is the Holzmichl-Villa and the Crazy House attached to it. Contrary to my previous presentation of Freizeitpark Plohn, the number of amusement elements is unfortunately quite manageable.

Miniwah und das Geheimnis von Gold Creek City

In a former riding and show hall, whose show was probably cancelled due to horrendous GEMA fees, the roller coaster Miniwah und das Geheimnis von Gold Creek City is located since this year. A good ten years after the last Powered Coaster of the manufacturer Mack went into operation in Europe, an equally impressive ride including a regular multimedia show and a spectator stage is presented here in an impressive setting.

Miniwah and the secret of Gold Creek City is a really good powered coaster. The general design is surprising, as well as the fast riding, in this very compact layout. Even the first, slowly driven round with its sightseeing like character is enough to find the ride good.

Raupe

As convincing and harmonious as the western city is, the oldtimer park on the other side of the path with its lake stage and smaller attractions for children is just as unattractive. This is also where the last roller coaster of Freizeitpark Plohn is located, the children’s roller coaster Raupe, a Big Apple made by SBF Visa featuring the well-tried layout.

Freefall im Urzeitdorf

Adjacent to this area is the fairytale forest with some hidden carousels and nicely designed fairytale scenes. If you follow the paths you will find yourself in Dinoland, the most remote part of the Freizeitpark Plohn. Here you will find, besides the Floßfahrt durch die Urzeit, the rather nicely operated Family Freefall Tower Freefall im Urzeitdorf of the manufacturer Zierer and a pedal boat rental.

Pictures Freizeitpark Plohn

Conclusion Freizeitpark Plohn

Freizeitpark Plohn is without question a good amusement park, it just lacks a little bit of professionalism. It’s a bit strange when you have hardly any food left in the park at shortly after 2 pm, no more coffee and cake at 4 pm and instead you are about to complete and concede the checkout. Beside the generally unmotivated and unfriendly staff, the experience at the cash desk joins in and creates a somewhat unsatisfying picture of the amusement park, which is generally very much praised – I am a customer and I am willing to spend money, so please take it and don’t constantly refer me back for avoidable mistakes.

 

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Freizeitpark Plohn

Bavaria’s strongest piece of leisure

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Preface

On my way to Munich, I have already passed Bavaria’s strongest piece of leisure twice; the first time ignorant of the existence of the amusement park as a child, the second time out of respect for my passenger, who had promised to visit the park to another person for years, and a rather strict daily schedule. Since I accompanied my father on a bicycle tour along the Tauber river to the Main river, starting in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, the 30km long detour off the A7 motorway to the Freizeit-Land Geiselwind was finally tackled.

Freizeit-Land Geiselwind

The amusement park, which opened in 1969, has its origins as a bird and pony fairy tale park, a mixture that was already extraordinary back then. Although remains of the fairy tale park have been preserved, the animal enclosures dominate the amusement park, which has also featured an increasing number of rides since the 1980s. Since then, these rides have generated the greatest interest. At the same time the zoo is quite respectable and, similar to Weltvogelpark in Walsrode in Lower Saxony, it can boast a great variety of species in sufficiently large aviaries and enclosures.

T-Rex World

In terms of design, however, the Freizeit-Land Geiselwind is dominated by extinct creatures. In addition to a railway in dinosaur look and numerous figures, the dinosaurs are particularly popular in T-Rex World. This is a small exhibition worth seeing with animatronics, which were skillfully staged. Interestingly, the exhibition here convinced me more than the guided exhibition of newer Era T-Rex in the Portuguese amusement park Zoomarine, despite the much smaller size.

T-Rex Tower

In front of the hall is the T-Rex Tower, a Shot ‘n’ Drop by the manufacturer HUSS, a vertical ride that has become extinct at least at German fairs. While Robrahn’s Countdown travels through France under Fleur and Goetzke’s Freefall was sold to the Australian amusement and water park Adventure World near Perth, Roies Shot ‘n’ Drop is the only ride remaining in Germany. Like the towers mentioned above, the T-Rex Tower delivers a solid ride with a very nice shot up and drop down. Despite the lack of negative acceleration compared to the manufacturer S&S Sansei, the ride is always a little more fun due to the beautiful launch, although the end of the ride is reached after just one cycle.

The HUSS Corner

Next to two water basins with Nautic Jets and water roundabouts, which always had the longest waiting time, there is a corner exclusively consisting of rides from HUSS, as could be experienced before, in a similar constellation, in the Lower Saxony amusement parks Heide Park and Serengeti Park. Besides a stylish condor called Ikarus and a Ranger called Shuttle, you can ride an Enterprise, as well as a Break Dance. All rides offer a long ride with more or less balanced programs. I found the acceleration phases of the Ranger interesting and at the same time a bit disturbing, because it always decelerated in the valley, which was never the case with the identical Fliegender Hai ride in Hansa Park.

Wildwasserbahn

If you follow the paths further on you will come across the big log flume Wildwasserbahn with its three shots. This is a slightly modified version of the standard model of the French manufacturer Reverchon, which has been supplemented by a further downhill run. Although the ride reminds of a funfair of the past due to its large back wall, the general design of the ride, especially the nicely designed waiting area, is successful.

After the boat has left the station, one rumbles a little through the channel along the maintenance hall of the Freizeit-Land Geiselwind before taking the first lift. At the top you make a small curve behind the back wall on rollers until a friction wheel pushes the boat into the first shot. This is designed as a double gradient and releases you a little wet into the further course. One S-curve later it goes up again and a small right curve follows. Now the smallest descent of the ride follows and as fast as this one came, as fast the end of the run-out distance is already reached and you rapidly make another right turn. After a slightly longer straight, the boat accumulates for the last time in altitude. Arriving at the top, the game repeats itself and a high shot follows without any interruptions. Arrived at the bottom you get properly moistened just before you continue the rest of the way towards the station. By ingenious technology, which I actually noticed for the first time at the ride, the boats are stopped briefly before they are gently put on the conveyor belt of the station without crashing against the other boats.

Top of the World

Similarly interesting from a technical point of view, but on a much larger scale, is the Top of the World observation tower, which can be briefly described as a monster with a capacity of 132 people. The formerly largest transportable ride in the world measures a total height of 95 m, with a ride height of 72 m. The ride was built in the mid-90s by Nauta Bussink for the Bremen showman Finnendahl, who operated the 270-tonne structure until 1998. Compared to the modern free-fall towers of the manufacturer Funtime, the ride is very massive, which is already noticeable by the four outriggers. The tower itself is relatively wide, which certainly did not make transport easy. The technology of the nacelle, however, is very simple and is driven by two steel cables that are rolled up and down and thus lift and lower the counterweight and thereby influence the position of the nacelle. After the gondola has been lifted a little, a power rail ensures the supply of the motors for the rotation of the gondola. The ride itself, however, is relatively slow in both movements and thus offers a good view of the amusement park. Thereby, also the air-conditioned gondola is a very special, as most of the seats are designed as standing places and are arranged in two rows. Moreover, the view from the windows is surprisingly clear, as there are no traces of scratches and other wear and tear.

Drehgondelbahn

Quite inconspicuous and easily overlooked even from above is the Drehgondelbahn, a truly unique roller coaster at Freizeit-Land Geiselwind. This is the only spinning coaster of the company Zierer, which has been making its rounds in the park since 1994. This fact alone is more exciting than the actual layout of the ride, as there is only a simple oval with a descending helix in the middle. As simple as the track seems to be, as good it makes the gondolas turn, so that a thoroughly amusing ride emerges. For three rounds, one makes the way through the course before the gondolas are automatically aligned in the station.

It’s strange to find only one roller coaster of this kind from Zierer, because the potential to be a box office hit today is shown by the compact spinning coasters from SBF Visa with their even simpler layout. Especially for smaller amusement parks a ride like the Drehgondelbahn would be more than ideal, so a new edition of this classic ride would certainly not be the worst idea.

Boomerang

In an alignment with the Top of the World observation tower and the Drehgondelbahn, there is the biggest roller coaster of Geiselwind, a Vekoma Boomerang. Although it looks relatively normal from the outside it is an elaborately designed ride in Australian style, including the eponymous throwing weapon. Access to this ride is around the engine room, whereupon you are directly inside the station. Compared to similar rides, this one hardly vibrates when the train passes through, which is why, interestingly enough, televisions adorn the station.

After the driver has gripped the train, it is slowly pulled up the first ramp. At the top of the ramp it automatically disengages, whereupon the train descends and crosses the station at top speed. The train then shoots up the first manoeuvre and stands upside down for the first time, before it goes overhead again in the second half of the Cobra Roll. A classic looping, which is powerfully passed through forwards, is added. In its exit, the first brakes are applied and thus reduce the speed just before the train engages a lift chain. This in return brings the train back to its maximum height before a mechanism lowers it and thus releases the train. Now it goes backwards down the second ramp and at top speed into the loop, which has now noticeably gained pressure. The Cobra Roll, on the other hand, will pass through a little slower before the train enters the station once more and the brakes engage. The riding characteristics are, similar to the ones from the Belgian amusement parks Bellewaerde and Walibi Belgium, extremely good and invite to several rides.

Cobra

On the site of the former roller coaster Marienkäferbahn, which left Freizeit-Land Geiselwind for reasons of cost and age, this year’ s roller coaster Cobra by showman Agtsch is located. In the years before, the place was already occupied by two Wild Mice, the indoor roller coaster Black Hole and a ghost train, which is understandable on the one hand, but on the other hand is not really needed due to the already large offer of rides. Because of the barriers along the ride this place doesn’t look very nice, a non-temporary attraction would surely be an advantage here in the future.

Blauer Enzian

Right next door is a Blauer Enzian roller coaster of the same name from Mack. Like many rides at Freizeit-Land Geiselwind, this is a former travelling ride, which can be seen by the two water basins that make the sole of the ride heavy. Since the bridge above the station was not built, the exit happens on the same side as the entrance. Therefore, one side of the train was closed off.

The ride begins with a wide left turn, followed by a leisurely climb. Once at the top, the train makes a downward helix to the left before climbing up a steeper straight. Now the train makes a wide downward right-hand bend, crosses under the track just passed and surrounds the first downward helix in another left-hand bend. With much more momentum, the car now crosses the station and then lap by lap the course. Except for the abrupt second change of direction, it’s a nice ride.

Fränkische Weinfahrt

In addition to a 4D cinema, which is currently showing a film in the style of Jurassic Park, the Freizeit-Land Geiselwind also offers a number of flat trips, all of which have been well designed. However, only the Fränkische Weinfahrt (Franconian Wine Ride), a teacup ride, shows the regional reference of the park. Everything else is bavarian, which also keeps the gastronomy prices in a good range.

Pictures Freizeit-Land Geiselwind

Conclusion Freizeit-Land Geiselwind

The Freizeit-Land Geiselwind is a rather neat amusement park. The rides are all in a very good condition and generally appear to be very well maintained, as are the gardens. Despite the parcel-like division of the rides, the routing does not remind of the computer game Roller Coaster Tycoon, a state of affairs that can be experienced for example in the rear part of the Erse Park in Uetze, so that a harmonious overall impression is created. Although the origin of many of the rides cannot be denied, the impression of a permanent funfair is by no means created by the nice integration of the rides. At least, the Freizeit-Land Geiselwind easily manages to entertain its visitors for a few hours and offers a good price-performance ratio, which is why I would like to call the park Bavaria’s strongest piece of leisure, which makes the park’s slogan more accurate (but the competition in this federal state is very manageable).

 

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Freizeit-Land Geiselwind