Tag: Wild Mouse

A lot of TNT for small (joy) explosions

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Parque de Atracciones de Madrid

Not far from the Batán metro station, the Puerta Batán is a side entrance to the Parque de Atracciones de Madrid, the Spanish capital’s inner-city theme park. In contrast to other urban theme parks, such as the Copenhagen amusement park Tivoli Gardens or the Parque de Atracciones de Zaragoza, the Tivoli principle, where you only pay a small entrance fee and pay for the rides in addition, is not applied, so that the Parque de Atracciones de Madrid functions as a theme park in the classical sense.

Nickelodeon Land

If you enter the park via the side entrance you will find yourself at the top of the Nickelodeon Land, a theme area that can be found in a similar form in the English Pleasure Beach Blackpool or the German sister park Movie Park Germany. Here too, existing rides were redesigned using licences from the well-known Viacom children’s channel Nickelodeon, and supplemented with a children’s driving school and additional artwork. What previously seemed to be a bit too much of a jumbled up children’s land now shows a consistently colourful mix, which is also very well done.

Padrinos Voladores

Especially the small roller coaster Turbulencia shows its full potential as Padrinos Voladores designed after the children’s series Fairly Oddparents. The layout features a few hairpin bends without any major difference in height; however, this makes the swing of the vehicles during the ride much more pronounced and thus also the riding pleasure. The Padrinos Voladores therefore offer a really great ride for smaller children, but can also be enjoyed by adults.

Vagones Locos

The Vagones Locos, on the other hand, are in the Naturaleza themed area, although the squeaky-coloured design makes the ride should be part of the Nickelodeon Land. This is the standard model of the Family Gravity Coaster of the Italian manufacturer Zamperla. Using a chain lift, you can reach the starting point for the winding descent relatively quickly. This is followed by a short ascent, whereupon a downward right helix and the return to the station takes place in a slightly Bavarian style.

Naturaleza

Telesaurio and Tiovivo

The Naturaleza theme area is by far the most beautiful area in the Parque de Atracciones de Madrid and, in addition to the larger attractions, is home to Telesaurio, a fully functional telecombat by Zamperla with lateral rotation, and Tiovivo, an old horse carousel as well as a 4D cinema.

TNT Tren de la Mina

However, the actual main attraction of the area is likely to be the family roller coaster TNT Tren de la Mina, which opened in 2012. As I had not followed the construction I did not know where exactly the German interpretation of a mine train should be located within the park and was therefore very surprised to find it perfectly integrated between the children’s area Nickelodeon Land and the Spillwater Los Fiordos. I was all the more surprised to find that a large part of the ride uses a large portion of the water ride’s queue, which had hardly been used previously.

As soon as the train is finally cleared, it leaves the station and immediately goes through a left turn on the way to the lift hill. In the beginning it is still moving up quite fast and loses speed very quickly and crawls slowly over the top of the lift. After a short curvy ride the train picks up speed again before it heads towards the abyss just below the hilltop of the lift. Still far away from the ground the train shoots up again and turns in a horseshoe element, similar to the Youngstar Coaster of Mack Rides, whereupon an upward-moving swivel adds up. In a steep curve below the first helix the train seeks contact with the ground level for the first time, but the stay is only short, because an upward helix leading to the left is entered immediately. This is followed by a small drop with a subsequent camelback through a grotesquely shaped environment. In a right-hand bend, contact with the ground level is re-established, followed by some increasingly tighter curve changes, whereupon the brake section is reached immediately and shortly thereafter the station.

Gerstlauer has created a very neat family roller coaster with TNT Tren de la Mina, which gets a little lost in the fast-moving part of the layout. The strength of the roller coaster lies in its beginning and middle part, which is surprisingly close to the competing product from Mack Rides, only the end spoils the general ride pleasure, as well as the general handling of the ride – which is why TNT Tren de la Mina is not the kind of roller coaster I would go for if I had to wait longer. But for in between, this ride is more than perfect.

Los Fiordos

Formerly passing lush greenery that covered an entire show stage, the boat of the Spillwaters Los Fiordos chugged through the canal until the lift was climbed parallel to the park’s border. The aforementioned stage of the Parque de Atracciones de Madrid fell victim to the construction of the family roller coaster TNT Tren de la Mina, as well as the vegetation, which is why you can now ride below the roller coaster through a rather bare landscape, but with good views. After climbing up the rocky mountain, after a short bend to the right, the only downhill run of the ride follows. Once you reach the bottom, you will immediately come into contact with the water, whereupon, after a short 180° turn and a wide left turn, you will start your return journey towards the station. To my own surprise, the degree of wetness did not correspond to that of a normal log flume, as I had experienced on my last trip four years ago, but to that of the passage through a wall of water, which resulted from the direct reflection of the water at the bridge. Soaking wet and quite satisfied we left the ride, which I would like to describe as the wettest ride of this kind in Spain.

Vértigo

The dispatch of the Wild Mouse Vértigo is an outrage! Actually, there would be nothing, absolutely nothing to complain about with this stylish mouse featuring the well-known layout and absolutely great handling characteristics, if only instead of 10-15 minutes you wouldn’t have to invest a good hour of your valuable time for a ride. Due to the lack of separation between the boarding and deboarding areas, all cars are loaded simultaneously and then sent on their way one by one. The new passengers are only allowed into the station after all the cars have returned and been unloaded – a total of 16 people. This procedure reduces the capacity of the ride immensely, so that one always longs for a normally operated Wild Mouse, such as the other half of this former double ride, which is still located in the Belgian amusement park Bobbejaanland.

Los Rápidos

Los Rápidos is a truly special rafting ride in the Parque de Atracciones de Madrid, as it is the only ride of its kind in Europe by O.D. Hopkins. With it the Naturaleza area was founded in 1996, which can be seen in the consistent and beautiful design of the ride. The level of wetness is still elevated due to the rather wild end of the ride, unfortunately during our visit we did not see the metre-high fountain, which regularly rained down on the passing boats.

Maquinismo

Top Spin, La Maquina and La Lanzadera

In the Maquinismo themed area, three cream cakes are waiting to be taken right in the entrance area, because here the crème de la crème of the Spanish flat rides are gathered together, all of them of course beautifully designed. We start off with the Top Spin from HUSS, which has a similar ride programme as the Aqua Spin ride from the German amusement park Heide Park, but which turns into a totally wild swing at the end of the ride. Right next door, the Frisbee La Maquina, also from HUSS, is making its rounds. Thanks to the great ride programme, you should take a ride or two on this outstanding attraction. Last but not least, the Intamin Freefall La Lanzadera offers a great view over the Casa de Campo and Madrid and a quite intense fall with good airtime at a comparably low altitude.

Abismo

The access to the roller coaster Abismo – so far the only XT 450 ride by the manufacturer Maurer – is slightly elevated. The roller coaster can be described relatively simply as a 300 meter extended Sky Wheel ride from the German amusement park Skyline Park. The start of the layout is identical, as well as the length of the cars, so even with a manageable crowd there are always long waiting times. However, this is always the case even on empty days, because the roller coaster only runs as soon as the train is fully loaded.

After the unfortunately somewhat time-consuming clearance, the train starts moving and is immediately transported upwards in a vertical position. A special feature of the Humpty Bump Lift is that the train is turned upside down at the top of the lift, creating an extremely queasy feeling at a height of about 46m, which is briefly interrupted by the subsequent roll at a lofty height. Now, one races towards the abyss in the true sense of the name of the ride. With a little more than 100km/h the train shoots past the station and passes a valley full of pressure before the lift is surrounded in a steep curve. The following drop is initiated with a strong cross slope, which leads you far above the waiting area. This is followed by a classic camelback, which, at least in theory, lifts the passengers out of their seats. Still far above the heads of the passers-by, another valley follows before a 127° steep Immelmann Turn introduces another turn in the layout. On a straight line the speed for the following finale is adjusted, because instead of the classic transition to the brakes, you now shoot through the station and up the vertical tower once more. Relatively high up and thus without great energy loss the train is stopped and hooked into the chain, whereupon it is quickly driven back to the station.

I do not like Abismo. Actually, this should be enough to sum it up, because I simply don’t enjoy riding this roller coaster very much. The ride characteristics are profound, it rattles like crazy. During my last visit, I’ve searched for the airtime of the ride and now I’ll give it up for good. The ride could be very good, as Daniel, who was sitting to my left, had experienced during the same ride, but for that the restraint system would have to be upgraded a lot.

Tarántula

Practically speaking, the entrance of the Tarántula spinning coaster is located directly opposite the exit of the Abismo Sky Loop. Despite single cars, the ride offers the highest capacity of the whole park, probably because of the separate entrance and exit areas. At least the queue is moving pleasantly fast, which makes the waiting time fly by compared to all the other rides at Parque de Atracciones de Madrid.

Shortly after you have taken a seat in one of the four seated chaises, the ride starts with a left turn towards the rather large lift hill. At a height of more than 25m, the gondola begins to rotate, so that the first slightly twisty descent can be made with a slight turning motion. This is followed by a generously designed turn, which slightly resembles an Immelmann Turn. Now the rotation of the gondola can hardly be stopped, which is also due to the rather steep and winding ascent into the first block brake. You pass this brake quite fast, whereupon you are torn into the depth by another curve. This leads into a generously designed bend with up and down movements until the second block brake is reached at an airy height. This releases you into an incline, which immediately leads into an Immelmann Turn, similar to the one from Dragons Fury at the English amusement park Chessington World of Adventures. A steep curve follows, which after a change of direction leads into the third block brake. A rapid zigzag course determines the course to the next block brake.This is followed by a left and a right turn before reaching the end of the ride.

Tarántula is a really good spinning coaster with a fantastic layout, although unfortunately the track is not as outstanding as the two English representatives of this type. However, the spin on the ride in the Parque de Atracciones de Madrid is pronounced and therefore almost automatically provides a great overall experience. Furthermore, the design of the ride is excellent, even if it is only very minimalistic, especially as it forms a unit with the dark ride La Cueva de las Tarántulas below the roller coaster. Unfortunately, this interactive dark ride is only a shadow of its former self, because apart from darkness you can hardly see anything.

El Aserradero, Tifon, Rotor and Sillas Voladores

Besides the rather long log flume El Aserradero by the manufacturer Zamperla featuring two shots and a tunnel at the end of which a waterfall awaits you that only switches off at the right moment from time to time, the Maquinismo themed area also features a Disk’o called Tifon, the wave swinger Sillas Voladores and the HUSS Condor Rotor, from which you have a wonderful view on the roller coaster Tornado below.

Tornado

Since 1999 the Intamin Suspended Looping Coaster Tornado is located in a dead-end street without equal. The ride, which used to be painted in lemon yellow and lemon green, has been completely painted in black for several years now. The layout of the ride is generally quite wide and free of any special features, but these can be found in the supporting structure of the ride, especially the supports of the two loops.

After climbing up the access ramp to the station and clearing the station, the long train can finally be loaded. After the employees have checked it off, it leaves the station in a slight right turn and shortly after climbs up the lift hill. After reaching the starting height of 30m, the train goes over a small straight line for a few meters and then turns left with full effort. With 80 km/h the train shoots through the valley into the first loop, which is passed quite forcefully. In a wide upright right turn the train takes momentum again to pass the second loop. This is also followed by a right-hand bend in the valley, but this time a classic corkscrew is waiting for you, which you pass through with a lot of momentum. In the following left-hand bend you take up some altitude again, which is immediately reduced in a downward helix after a change of direction. Below the lift the last change of direction into the bend before the brakes follows.

Tornado lives up to its SLC name, although the manufacturer is different from the often spurned Vekoma rides. The layout of Tornado is simply boring and doesn’t offer much on too much space except for the three inversions. Although the contact with the restraint is minimal, the vibrations of this ride can be felt up to the last meter, which is partly due to the too bulky trains. In addition there is a relatively lengthy dispatching process, where one wonders how the Spaniards intend to operate the ride with two trains at all, and whether the second train is even available. Especially if you want to take pictures from outside you should take a lot of time into account, especially on quieter days when hardly any guests enters this cul-de-sac.

Tranquilidad

Zeppelin, La Jungla and The Walking Dead Experience

Almost as quiet as the area around Tornado is the theme area Tranquilidad, although admittedly the bear tends to tap-dance over here. This area is mainly home to quieter rides such as the Zeppelin monorail or the raft ride La Jungla, which is particularly impressive because of its old charm. But also a simulator or the Star Flyer can be found here. Friends of good horror mazes got their money’s worth with El Viejo Caserón, which was replaced this year by The Walking Dead Experience, whereby the jumbled up scenes fell victim to a consistent leitmotif and thus the charm of the building, which has existed since 1989, was somewhat affected.

Fantasia

With Fantasia, however, this theme area offers a really nicely designed dark ride based on the model of Disney’s It’s a small World. The boat trip through our oh so happy and small world starts here in space, because it shows the view of extraterrestrials on this planet. Past small scenes, which are equipped with really cute puppets, you will go through the different countries of our world, accompanied by a kitschy soundtrack, which you will hardly notice. This is also the biggest criticism of the otherwise very popular ride, because apart from the rather low capacity, the ride is simply not kitschy enough. You only have to adjust the music and the lighting of the scenes a little bit and you would have one of the best dark rides ever. In its current state, however, the ravages of time seem to have taken their toll on the ride.

Pictures Parque de Atracciones de Madrid

Conclusion Parque de Atracciones de Madrid

The Parque de Atracciones de Madrid is a good park with a charm all of its own, which was certainly much more pronounced in the days of the Tivoli principle, i.e. until 2011. The park offers many beautiful corners, but also unfortunately many unattractive and unused areas, especially in the theme area Tranquilidad. Despite this, the park seems to be following the right strategy, as the Nickelodeon Land and Naturaleza themed areas are truly impressive since the last update. The Parque de Atracciones de Madrid itself offers a nice portfolio of rides, but it doesn’t invite me to stay there for long. At least I would not say no to another visit in the late afternoon until the evening hours during the next visit of the city of Madrid.

 

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Parque de Atracciones de Madrid

The charm of the old amusement park

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Bakken

The amusement park Bakken or Dyrehavsbakken is located at Jægersborg Dyrehave on the outskirts of the Danish capital Copenhagen. Similar to Vienna’s Wurstelprater, the amusement park, which is divided into plots and fed by various showmen, makes up only a very small area of the actual park grounds, which mainly function as a wildlife park and thus had its origins as a hunting ground. Historically speaking, the amusement park opened in 1583 is relevant as it is the oldest amusement park in the world. The easiest way to reach the amusement park is by taking the suburban train line C from Copenhagen Central Station to the terminal station Klampenborg, followed by a 10 minute walk.

Once arrived at the park, if you visit Bakken not only because of the numerous rustic restaurants and bars, you should buy a wristband. Most of the times, this is read out by a handheld device but also by stationary scanning stations and allows one 10 rides on each of the numerous attractions in Bakken.

Mine Train Ulven

If you have walked from Klampenborg Station the first attraction you will come across is the Intamin Minetrain called Mine Train Ulven. After the train has left the station with a full jolt due to the friction wheels, which are probably controlled by a trapezoidal trajectory of speed, a small drop is made to enter the lift. Once at the top, the track disappears in front of you and an incredibly steep first drop follows. Just as fast as it’s going down here, the steep curve goes up again and a left leading downward helix is attached. A little more leisurely we go through a constantly tapering Bavarian curve until we pass the station. A right turn above the first track meters leads the train into a downward helix below the lift hill. Parallel to the lift you pass two smaller hills before you enter the last downhill helix after a 270° turn. This is followed by the entry into the brake and the return to the station.

Mine Train Ulven surprises with its very strong start, but gets a little lost in the middle part of the layout until it goes into the fast end of the ride. As one of the few layouts of this kind from the manufacturer, the layout convinces above all by the comparatively intensive riding style, only the curves could have been a little more pronounced and less optimized.

Crazy Theatre

Next to a 5D cinema, or rather exactly above it, there is the Crazy Theatre, an interactive theatre of the manufacturer Alterface in which the film Desperados is shown. Here you sit on a mechanical horse, which moves back and forth, and aim a pistol at various targets. At first, smaller practice scenes are shown, followed by a longer film scene. The interaction of the individual components is quite fun and can convince by the good quality of the film.

Spøgelsestoget

A few metres further on is the ghost train Spøgelsestoget. This is a quite old ghost train. As the inside of the ride is pitch dark, the ride is quite tense. The effects are all shown to their best advantage – also the newer ones fit very well into the ambience – and frighten you several times with bravura. So Spøgelsestoget is a real highlight in Bakken and therefore should not be missed by anyone.

Polyppen and Vikingeskibet Dragen

Less cramped than most other rides in Bakken are the Schwarzkopf Monster Polyppen, which offered a good and balanced ride, and the boat swing Vikingeskibet Dragen made by Zierer. Here you sit, as on the Kalbfleisch-Boat Swings, back to back or in opposite rows to each other, but in comparison you have much more play to the bars and therefore a more exciting ride. Interestingly, the ship is not driven from below but at the side of the saber.

Racing

Since the 80’s the roller coaster Racing is located in Bakken, a Zierer Flitzer, which was previously on the road under the Bremen showman Robrahn at the German fairs during the early 70’s. With its age of 44 years it is the second oldest roller coaster in Bakken and is mostly still in its original condition.

After the obligatory lift ride, you make a series of right-hand bends that are continuously rejuvenating and always ascending and descending in the style of Bavarian curves, until shortly afterwards a major fall occurs and you pass the station at ground level. A bigger right turn leads you into the rear part of the layout and after a narrow turn you make the first change of direction. This is immediately repeated after a downward helix and the last right turn follows.

It is very interesting how much the original gondolas influence the ride, as although the installation is identical in construction to High Explosive of the showman Vorlop, the high gondola walls of the mine cars take a big part of the fun. At least, the little speedsters make the ride very funny, which is why I had the most rides here during my visit.

Taarn Gyset

The Taarn Gyset is a Double Shot Tower from S&S located in Bakken, which is characterized by its low height and the nevertheless extraordinarily pronounced airtime, triggered by the second shot down. The ride is quite funny, but sadly also a rather short one.

Vilde Mus

The Vilde Mus roller coaster, which will open in 2012, is, as the name suggests, the newer standard model of the Wild Mouse from Mack Rides. Although there was no actual rush, many children preferred to claim an entire car for themselves, which artificially created the longest queue in the park. Interestingly, the ride itself resembles much older rides like the remaining side of the Speedy Bob from the Belgian Bobbejaanland.

Hurlumhej

With Hurlumhej there is a little treasure in Bakken that is really worth experiencing. In the history of the origin of the complex, obviously, a lot of Hansen Rum was drunk, that is why a giant bottle adorns the front of this amazing walkthrough. In the interior, one then comes across to a perfect symbiosis of the Crooked House and a Fun House, whereby the elements of the Crooked House are more distinctly present. Due to the more than elaborate arrangement in the style of an old ship, one actually gets a little seasick and therefore leaves the amusement complex by staggering a little. If each walkthrough would be like Hurlumhej, then every installation would be worth a visit, as such a perfectly arranged scenerey is something one unfortunately does not find very often. Even bigger installations as the Hotel Tartüff of the theme park Phantasialand do not surprise as much as this one, especially as one really does not oftenly come across to a crooked house nowadays.

Extreme

After I already had the pleasure to do a Speed Flip in the Funland Amusement Park on Hayling Island I was very curious to see how the Moser Rides product would show up here. In contrast to the traveling ride in England, Extreme has a very strange ride program where you basically go full throttle at the beginning of the ride and then slowly reduce the speed until the end. In addition to the modest ride cycle, which does not show the potential of this machine, the ride also offers very minimal restraints onky, which are unfortunately a bit too uncomfortable.

Mariehønen

In a small alley leading to the amusement park’s car park is Mariehønen, a small Tivoli ride from the manufacturer Zierer. The ride on the smallest roller coaster in Bakken is a very solid one, but becomes noteworthy by a break on the lift hill after the second round, as this is where you take a little stop to wave to the outside visitors. After the children have now waved extensively, the friction wheels start to work under full load, which doesn’t sound very nice with regard to the engines, and you now complete the last laps.

Vandrutschebanen

The Vandrutschebanen log flume is an interesting ride with a surprisingly long course with two downhill runs. The entry takes place on a small turntable whereupon the boat is released into the channel. On the way to the lift you spend some time in the current canal before you quickly go up. During the following shot run, which leads to about half of the starting height, one is already well moistened. Now one spends some time bobbing criss-cross through the layout just before it goes down quite fast on a long straight line and after another curve the second lift hill follows. At the top of the hill you will find the narrowest curve ever built into a log flume which could not be ridden without additional equipment. Compared to a Mack Rides installation, where two turntables would be used, the boats of this Reverchon whitewater ride are pushed through the curve by a lateral driver using a turntable. The boat will corner like crazy at the canal before it is pushed into the second shot. When you reach the bottom you will be completely soaked by the spray. If you are not laughed at by a little boy, who is doing a lap on the Svanebanen – a monorail above the water ride – it is a wonderfully refreshing fun in Bakken.

Safari

The Safari interactive dark ride is small, but very attractive. Armed with pistols and in small jeeps, the tour takes you through Bakken’s green hell, past numerous animatronics on two levels. Although you don’t trigger any effects and only try to get the highest possible score, the ride is very nicely arranged.

Rutschebanen

Not quite as old as the roller coaster of the same name from the nearby amusement park Tivoli Gardens, the Rutschebanen presents itself to its passengers at only 83 years of age. The technology and trains, on the other hand, are much younger and were purchased during the modernization, which also made the accompanying brake service personnel redundant. The Dutch company KumbaK did its best to maintain an authentic ride feeling without taking too much care of the wooden structure. They installed brake modules on the track where the brakeman would probably have braked, although I doubt that the train would have sneaked into the station like that. The trains are now similar to the wooden coaster Stampida from the Spanish Port Aventura, but consist of cars for two people each.

After the train has left the station, the route takes a left turn towards the cable lift. Here the train hooks up and is therefore carried up the wonderfully sloping and crooked lift hill very quickly. Once arrived at the top, one can enjoy the view in a small turn until it immediately goes down. Only at a nice speed one drives through the valley and quickly climbs up the other half of the lift. Up here, one passes another turn at a leisurely pace, but then the train rushes over a double shot. With clearly pronounced forces, one completes the following valley. A camelback follows before one makes the next turn at a higher level. Now parallel to the station you repeat the same game again, on the following meters you are not allowed to turn right according to the signs and disappear into the tunnel of a woman. Here you go down once more and over another hill before returning to the station.

Rutschebanen has an absolutely great layout, but unfortunately the wrong trains or better said the wrong restraints for this. Unlike Stampida, where I find the trains quite good, the restraints over here do not sit on the pelvis, but on the stomach. Due to the double shots, the bar is so unpleasantly tightened that one wishes the old trains back. Whereby the ride is actually exactly like Grand National from Pleasure Beach Blackpool, thus quite compatible for a wooden roller coaster of this age.

Tornado

The rotating gondola roller coaster Tornado, however, is not very well tolerated by people with balance problems. For all the others, a ride on the roller coaster  in Bakken might be enough to cause some really serious problems in the first place, because the true madness from the house of Intamin is not infamous for nothing.

It is not for nothing that the ride begins with the advice to press your head against the headrest, because after a curve the car enters the lift slightly turning. Due to the sudden acceleration, the rotation becomes more pronounced before the chain reaches an insane speed on the straight lift top. With full force you are now thrown down the first steep curve, mostly underlaid with a loud crackling of the passengers. Turning wildly, one now completes a harmless turn on the hall floor and leaves the hall in an upward curve. Next, a horseshoe-shaped curve combination and a jagged S-curve combination is completed relatively quickly before the descent gets steep and fast once more. Below the hall ceiling you pass a block brake without a noticeable reduction of speed, after which it goes downhill again in a steep curve. Since there have been enough harmless changes of direction so far, the following one is done much more abruptly, but in return the following curve is not as tight. A last steep turn initiates the return to the station and beats everyone up again with full force. Shortly afterwards the brakes are reached and you can finally take a deep breath.

Tornado is by far the most intense roller coaster in Europe or better said in the whole world, because what you experience here reminds you of bodily harm, it’s even more fun to get your nose broken by a stranger in the Hamburg S-Bahn, because you only notice it afterwards. But Tornado could be a quite good roller coaster, if you had left out the steep turns or if the average speed of the layout hadn’t been set so high from the beginning by the insane lift hill. I spent a total of two rides on this ride and that’s enough for me for the next years, as Tornado is simply the craziest roller coaster I’ve ever ridden so far in my life.

Sky Roller

Also crazy, but in a positive sense, is the Gerstlauer Sky Roller, where you can interactively influence the ride by adjusting the position of the wings on the seats. As often seen on similar machines of the manufacturer, you have to show the audience what you can get out of the machine or in other words how to adjust the wings to create a rollover. In contrast to the Götterflug from the amusement park Belantis you are unfortunately not supported by the wind during the ride and therefore you have a more even ride which does not automatically make the world appear in circles. A positive aspect of the Sky Roller is the much better capacity compared to the supposedly more exciting Sky Fly. Also, the first revision of the ride is now much more sophisticated and technically simpler, but this means that the gondolas no longer run completely over each other.

Pictures Bakken

Conclusion Bakken

The amusement park Bakken is, as also the Prater in Vienna, a great place to have some hours of good fun. Due to the low international share of visitors, the public is much more pleasant than in the Tivoli and generally enjoys themselves away from the rides in the park’s countless restaurants and bars, creating a thoroughly pleasant atmosphere on the grounds.

 

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Bakken

Leisure culture Vienna style

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Wiener Prater

The Wiener Prater is a very spacious park area in the middle of the Austrian capital with a variety of sports facilities, a planetarium, the Liliputbahn and the amusement park Wurstelprater, which is typically called Prater. Similar to the Dyrehavsbakken on the outskirts of the Danish capital Copenhagen, the Prater is divided into plots and is fed by various showmen, so that the park itself partly resembles a folk festival. But on the other hand, the showmen are responsible for the design of the Prater themselves, so as a result, there were some very nice corners in the Prater.

Wiener Riesenrad

From the station Praterstern, it is only a few metres up to the Wiener Prater. One enters this place at the Riesenradplatz at the foot of the Wiener Riesenrad, the famous landmark of the city and the Prater. Built in the year 1897 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the throne of Emperor Franz Joseph I, the approximately 65 m high wheel is the oldest Ferris wheel in the world and was the highest Ferris wheel in the world between 1920 and 1985.

After paying the not exactly low entrance fee, we go to a small exhibition in which miniatures about the history of Vienna and the Prater are shown in reconstructed wagons. The mirrored walls are interesting, whereby the room seems to be endless. In the outer area of the complex, there is the stairway to the station. From here, one has a wonderful view to the framework structure of the Ferris wheel and to the engine of it. During the trip in the large capacity gondolas, one has a wonderful view to the wheel and the Prater itself, as also to the skyline of the city of Vienna.

Super 8er Bahn

From the Ferris wheel you have a perfect view of the Aqua Gaudi white water ride, a new log flume from Reverchon, as well as the Prater’s largest roller coaster, the Super 8er Bahn, an FC80 built in 1997 by Pinfari.

After climbing the lifthill, the first descent is started uniformly, followed by an uphill turn to the left, whereupon our route remains somewhat airy. From here, we go downhill and uphill again at high speed for a short time, whereupon we pass a block brake. After another right-hand bend in Bavarian style the track goes steeply downhill. At full speed you now pass under the lift hill, which makes you realize very quickly why the catwalk at the lift was partly interrupted. After a small ascent, you immediately return to the ground in a downward helix. On a straight stretch you gain some height before turning left towards the ground. One turn later, you quickly pass a Bayernkurve just before the brakes start.

Fortunately, the Super 8 track does not have any cars with shoulder restraints, as they were often used on the manufacturer’s larger installations, hence the ride characteristics are quite good. Just like the Alpina train, which is a similarly compact layout, it has the urge to move its passengers a few centimetres back and forth in the car. In this respect, I don’t even want to imagine what an ordeal a ride in the RC70 must be, which has two loops in addition to the high speed and the compact design. Nevertheless, the Super 8er Bahn is a good roller coaster with a decent track length.

Dizzy Mouse

Belonging to the same operator, the Reverchon Spinning Coaster Dizzy Mouse is located in the immediate vicinity of the two larger rides and the Ferris wheel. In addition to the proven layout, the Reverchon Spinning Coaster Dizzy Mouse has a cat-shaped tunnel. As with all rides of this type, the rotation was quite present, although unfortunately somewhat expandable.

Insider

Interestingly enough, there is another spinning coaster in the immediate vicinity, but this time a Compact Spinning Coaster by Maurer Söhne. The layout of this roller coaster is often found as a copy in Chinese amusement parks, but also in Germany a layout was on tour as a spinning mouse in 2000. The one here in the Prater, however, came from the Japanese amusement park Tokyo Dome City. If you enter the Insider, you first have to find your way to the station, which here consists of a labyrinth and a laser game.

The layout of this roller coaster corresponds to the layout of a Wild Mouse from the same company, as you can find it here in the Prater with very good ride characteristics, only that the ride has a not such steep gradient. Due to the well lubricated cars, the first hairpin bend of this coaster will make you spin like never before on any spinning coaster. Combined with the music and the suitable background illuminations by lasers, the result is in the end a really successful ride, even if the entrance fee seems to be a little too high compared to the other installations in the Wiener Prater.

Maskerade

Since two spinning coasters are not enough, visitors can not only spin side by side and back to back sitting, but also with visual contact, as it is usual on a Gerstlauer Spinning Coaster. Maskerade is the name of the half-finished ride with vertical lift inside a hall. Besides this element, it can just about offer a drop with a trivial exit from the hall and a descending and ascending helix respectively.

Masquerade is scrap metal, nothing more than a waste of steel and therefore by far the worst installation ever built by Gerstlauer. Even with a bit of design in the interior, the ride would hardly be better, maybe just a bit more presentable; so the fare charged is just outrageous. As far as one does not need a ride, I recommend to avoid the installation and instead take a ride with the Prater Tower right in front of it, as there, the ascent alone takes as long as the whole ride on Maskerade and can offer a some added value with the view over Vienna.

Der Zug des Manitu

A special ride is Der Zug des Manitu from CAM Baby Kart, a small powered coaster, which first goes backwards for half a lap before the rest of the ride continues forwards. The track itself describes actually only two ovals laid over each other, but the responsible engineer must have had a good bend in the optics, because every supposed straight line turns out to be quite curvy. Due to the ride operator, the trip proved to be specially fun and hardly wanted to end. Thus, the best price-performance ratio at the Wiener Prater is definitely to be found here.

Volare

Often, the Wiener Prater is the first port of call for new concepts, mostly for flat rides, such as the prototypes of all Flying Coasters of the Italian manufacturer Zamperla called Volare. This type of roller coaster doesn’t have the best reputation among roller coaster lovers, but the ride still seems too tempting not to test.

The entrance is similar to a HUSS Fly Away, so you climb a ladder as far as you can, then lie on your belly, grab the handles in front of you and look straight ahead. When all passengers are in this position, the car moves forward and is closed by a mechanism, so you ride the roller coaster like the toppings on a sandwich. After a short straight line you turn into the spiral lift, where the car is picked up surprisingly gently. Very quickly the ride goes uphill, at the top you can enjoy the view and then there is a small downhill slope. With full momentum it goes now into a strongly banked hairpin bend where the passengers are shaken back and forth. A heart-line roll follows, where, due to the great game in the car, you take off strangely and land gently again. A hardly describable feeling, which is repeated one floor below in the other direction of travel. After another block you pass some gentle turns before you hit the brakes. Back at the station the car is opened from below and you can leave the car backwards.

Volare is a roller coaster that I really liked, except for the first hairpin bend. The smoothness of the cars was surprisingly pronounced for a Zamperla roller coaster; the ride feeling was ok, and because of the rolls, as well as the smoother turns in the course of the ride, it was somehow funny. If you think of Volare as a wild mouse among the Flying Coasters, the ride definitely has its reason for being and is by no means as bad as it is often said.

Tornado

Right next door is the Funtime Tornado, a thoroughly interesting ride, which attracts attention from far away due to its imposing structure. Suspended from the lightning are steel cables at the end of which a gondola has been attached. The strongly eccentrically designed lightning is now set in motion, the gondola starts to follow this movement due to its inertia and swings up some meters in altitude.  Even if this swinging movement is already quite interesting, there is still a motor at the gondola that makes it roll over as desired. Thereby, a rather funny way of riding is created, similar to the ride Rocket from the same company, only that in this case, the rollovers are not initiated laterally. It is really a pity that the Tornado was sometimes barely sold, as the ride is first class. The fare is, despite the low capacity, comparatively cheap and the total length of the ride consisted of two complete cycles.

Black Mamba

Another piece of jewellery from the Funtime company is the Chaos Pendulum Black Mamba, where simple shapes were obviously avoided as far as possible during construction. The curved arms are as striking as the construction of the boom. While the trajectory of the tornado still describes a simple 8, the driving sequence of the Black Mamba is less easy to describe. By turning the two arms, the driving sequence varies constantly between very intensive and quieter passages, so that a monotonous ride never occurs, as it often does on propellers from other manufacturers. Because of the fare, which is rather cheap, a ride is an absolute must; after all, there are not very many rides of this type and this motion sequence.

Extasy

The Extasy, an Energy Storm ride from the Italian manufacturer Soriani and Moser, is a little more monotonous. The ride is similar to a Tivoli Orbiter, except that the gondolas are not lifted up to the vertical, but even beyond it, which makes an overhead ride possible. In addition, the shoulder restraints make it a little bit variable, so that changes of direction and longer hanging phases can be realised. Everything is used properly, so that an exciting and varied ride is offered. Because of the noticeable lateral forces, which you actually only feel on the ground level, you can get a little nauseous. In addition to the rapid driving style, the ride is accompanied by suitable music and various light effects, so that here, there is always an outstanding atmosphere.

Boomerang

Friends of upside down rides without shoulder restraints will find what they are looking for at the Boomerang from Vekoma. In 2007 the old train, which now runs on the Speed Snake at Fort Fun Abenteuerland, was replaced by a much more open version of the SAT, resulting in a much freer riding experience. The comfort is also reflected in the entry and exit, which is still simple in contrast to the almost identical trains of the test track. The ride itself is extremely smooth and exciting due to the unusual freedom inside the Cobra Roll. A tunnel during the exit of the element or its re-entry completes the ride.

Megablitz

The Megablitz is another Vekoma installation in the Wiener Prater, one of the rare MK-700 installations, similar to Evolution from Bobbejaanland in Belgium and Halvar from Plopsa Coo. With its two-seater cars and the curvy layout the layout resembles a Jet Star from Schwarzkopf.

After a left-hand bend, the track immediately goes up the lifthill. At the top, you make a quick right turn at a lofty height before leaning slightly to the side, which leads to an almost straight and surprisingly steep descent. One now crosses the valley in a very powerful way, whereupon one quickly rises again towards the sky. Instead of taking a breather, you immediately get back into the bend and follow a steep downward helix until you reach ground level again. A change of direction now leads you upwards in a wide left turn and you pass a block brake. With a proper momentum the train now races in a steep curve towards the ground and follows the helix already completed in the opposite direction of travel to a higher level. On a slightly downhill straight, you pick up speed again just before you drive towards the final brake in a wide downward helix, which tapers further and further and changes into an upward helix after reaching the ground level. If you feel like doing another lap, you can simply sit down for a reduced price, the rest of the group gets out.

The Megablitz is definitely and without any objections the best roller coaster of the Wiener Prater. What Vekoma has designed here is an absolute fun machine without equal and one of the best coasters of the manufacturer. Although the ride’s footprint is not necessarily huge, the ride seems to be almost endless, which is further supported by the heavily used clearance gauge. The built up speed allows great forces with a good pressure within the curves and valleys of the layout. Accordingly, a ride is an absolute must here as well.

Miscellaneous

Although we were in Vienna for two days, we unfortunately did not manage to visit the Wiener Prater during daytime, whereby the Hochschaubahn, which we simply did not find in the first evening due to its hidden location a little aside from the actual hustle and bustle at the back of the roller coaster Maskerade, had closed. Also the children’s roller coaster The Race was closed, like most of the children’s rides already closed, as well as the Autobergbahn, which is not a roller coaster at best.

Pictures Wiener Prater

Conclusion Wiener Prater

The Wiener Prater is a really great park that partly resembles the amusement park Pleasure Beach Blackpool due to its narrow arrangement. The mix of old and new businesses and its design is as much charming as the English seaside park. Unfortunately, a visit to the Prater quickly costs a lot of money, although the fare of most of the rides is generally cheaper than on a German funfair, as there are much too many interesting attractions, among which there are still a lot of interesting walkthroughs, dark rides, ghost trains, bumper cars (pardon Autodrome) and go-kart tracks. It’s just an incredibly great mix, which you should let affect you more often.

 

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Wiener Prater