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MestnyiGeroi

MestnyiGeroi

Giga Poster
I've never done a trip report before, and I don't plan on doing a proper one now (with photos and amusing anecdotes and the like). I thought I might do this more as a series of brief check-ins, just to record quick impressions of each park right after the fact.

If anyone wants to respond to anything I say along the way -- great! If anyone wants to offer tips along the way -- awesome!

Here is my insanely packed schedule:

July 3/4 -- Flying NYC to Berlin, then driving to Copenhagen.

July 5 -- Bakken

July 6 -- Tivoli

July 7 -- BonBon-Land

July 8 -- Farup Sommerland

July 9 -- Djurs Sommerland

July 10 -- Hansa

July 11 -- Heide

July 12 -- Walibi Holland

July 13, 14 -- Efteling

July 15 -- Bobbejaanland

July 16 -- Toverland

July 17 -- Movie Park Germany, Rheinkirmes

July 18, 19 -- Phantasialand

July 20 -- Holiday Park

July 21 -- Tripsdrill (and Schwaben?)

July 22, 23 -- Europa Park

July 24 -- Skyline Park

July 25 -- Plohn (and Belantis?)

July 25 -- Fly out of Berlin



Thanks to those who answered questions during the long planning stages!

And if anyone is going to be in the area of one of these parks and would like to join me, you can let me know on this forum.
 
When you go to Bakken the beach next to the train station (10 min walk from Bakken) is lovely.

Also make sure you find time to chill out, that's a pretty packed schedule, look after yourself!
 
HeartlineCoaster said:
Not insane enough for my liking!;)
Is it too late for me to throw in a curveball and say:
Do Bakken and Tivoli in a day.
Do Farup and Djurs in a day.
Open up 2 days to do Liseberg from Copenhagen.

Looks like a good final lineup regardless. Have fun.
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My original plans had me starting in Sweden, but for logistical and financial reasons, I dropped that country. I’ll get there soon enough.

My schedule is pretty relentless for over three weeks. I was hoping that one way I can sustain that is by devoting full days to parks, even several that aren’t normally full-day parks. That’s my relaxation time, my breathing space.
 
TPSou said:
When you go to Bakken the beach next to the train station (10 min walk from Bakken) is lovely.

Also make sure you find time to chill out, that's a pretty packed schedule, look after yourself!
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I did check out this beach, Bellevue Beach, which has a stark beauty to it right out of a French painting. The odd lifeguard towers give the scene the surreal feel of an art exhibit (designed by Arne Jacobsen). Also, the nearby deer park is beautiful and interesting.

P.S. I’d thank you for the beach recommendation, but tbh I forgot about it and just decided to check out the beach (and deer park) spontaneously. Then I saw your message afterward and realized I was lucky I “took your advice.” Thanks, nonetheless!
 
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BAKKEN is the European Knoebels. From the free admission to the locals with dogs, and mostly in the general feel of an old-time amusement park.

Compared to U.S. parks, Bakken literally has at least ten times the number of restaurants, cafes, and food stands.

Bakken is the land of speedy lift hills.

Tornado is wild, especially that famous lift hill and first drop, but each time I was flung over that hill I felt like I was receiving a skilled, sharp karate chop to both collar bones.

The surprise winners for me were the Mine Train Ulven — wilder than any other mine train at least, if this is a Mine train — and Rutschebanen, especially with those two double dips that are crazy if you sit in the back with room.
 
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Great first report @MestnyiGeroi! Out of interest, before your trip really gets started, what would you say are your most anticipated coaster and park of the trip?

Looks like an insane holiday, though; can't wait for your thoughts on some of the other parks!
 
Matt N said:
Great first report @MestnyiGeroi! Out of interest, before your trip really gets started, what would you say are your most anticipated coaster and park of the trip?
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Those are hard questions, as I’m looking forward to it all, especially the surprises, but OK:

Most anticipated coaster:
1. Expedition GeForce
2. Kärnan

Most anticipated park:
1. Phantasialand
2. Europa Park
 
Wow. I’m already very behind with my park reactions! Late night fun and early morning starts have made even quick check-ins hard. I’ll start to catch now while I’m having lunch at Heide.

TIVOLI GARDENS is a really special place. Daemonen is not special, quite forgettable, but Rutschebanen was a real highlight coaster of the trip so far. The six wild drops would make it a great ride no matter what, but add in the history and the great theming and the insanely lax operations, and you’ve got a standout coaster. Rode it fifteen times, right up to closing. And Vertigo is probably the wildest flat ride I can remember doing.

BON BON-LAND has been the only disappointment of the trip so far. I mean, the park is perfectly fine, with no standout coaster but it’s nice enough. But I put this park on my itinerary because of all the reports I’ve heard over the years about this park’s weirdness. Yes, there is some unusual theming on some of the rides, to be sure, but the weirdness is much exaggerated. In fact, this was the most generic-feeling park I’ve encountered on this trip so far.
 
FÅRUP SOMMERLAND is themed to and located in the forest. This gives the park a great natural charm. The park includes so many lovely touches — like an incredible obstacle course through the woods — and the staff were amazingly jovial and friendly.

The supposed standout coaster here was not my standout; another one was. Lynet is number two on most Danish coaster lists for the country, and it’s a great ride, but it didn’t wow me probably because it doesn’t feel very unique. Orkanen is smooth as silk and has a couple of good elements. But my shock favorite in this park was Falken. I’d heard this was a rough woodie, and yes on one turn and for the final helix the train goes into convulsions, but the rest of the ride is a series of great drops with great airtime. My kind of coaster, and we marathoned it into the teens, aided by an op who, at the end of the day, kept sending us round and round, even well after closing time.

I loved Fårup.
 
Finding it hard to keep up, even with minimal reports!

DJURS SOMMERLAND — Both Danish Sommerlands have amazingly friendly and spirited ops, which stands in amusing contrast to the German parks that followed, where the baseline op stance seemed to be that of fed-up schoolmarms scolding the naughty guests/pupils.

Juvelen is a fun, Cheetah-Hunt-esque coaster, and Thor’s Hammer is surprisingly fun, too — especially the section of rolling hills through buildings.

The real star here is Piraten, which is one of the best coasters of the trip so far. I love powerful drops, and this has plenty, with the best being a drop into a mist-filled shed. Got 15 rides until the park closed.
 
HANSA — Very crowded day with ridiculously limited hours. I found it hard to like the park just for this insulting set-up alone. The park’s interests matter; the guests’ enjoyment doesn’t.

Still, despite this, I had to love this park. The medieval theming is so well done on several rides. Kärnan is the best-themed thrill ride I’ve ever experienced (not yet been on Taron). In fact, with the incredible theming, and with that great first drop, I actually liked the indoor parts of this coaster more than the outdoor section. The outside ride has a huge rattle, and it focuses on twists whereas I’m more about the drops. Still, the ride is great fun — I’m just explaining why it’s not a top ten coaster for me. But it certainly has the most elaborate backstory ever — complete with a faux historian being interviewed and explaining the complex historical background. Loved it!
 
HEIDE — Heide Park doesn’t have the charm of Hansa, but I thoroughly enjoyed my day. The highlight for me was Colossos, which I rode in the morning and thought was nice, but a bit tame. Then I marathoned it in the evening and I was loving the airtime drops, especially in the back of the train. This was a real highlight of the trip so far.

Another surprise was how much I enjoyed Krake. I got serious room on both my rides on it, and this led to great airtime on the drop and the rest of the elements throughout. Pity that the ride is so short, as otherwise it would be among my favorite dive coasters.
 
WALIBI HOLLAND — OK, first the negatives. The park has that corporate chain feel (yes, I know they were once owned by Six Flags), and so it’s quite lacking in charm, save for a few pockets of theming.

For my visit, there were untold busloads of teenage schoolkids in the park. They were everywhere, and they behaved as all hordes of unsupervised children at parks do: they were rowdy and loud, and they drew on walls and threw their trash everywhere. I watched one group just throw about a dozen items of trash from the train, as if that were the normal way of disposing of garbage. On some ride queues and paths, I was just wading through trash left everywhere. I pity the clean-up crew.

During the day there was a torrential downpour that stopped everything for a couple of hours.

OK, the rides:

Condor was indeed the shakiest SLC I’ve ever ridden (and I’ve ridden a lot), but, as with Limit, the restraints are well padded, so the ride is nowhere near as painful as, say, Mind Eraser at Darien Lake.

On Untamed, I got the very first train of the day and the very last train of the evening, a nice little coup I don’t think I’ve ever achieved before.

At first, I thought Untamed was great, but a little lacking in intensity. Then I marathoned it into the evening after it had warmed up (and with tracks wet from rain), especially concentrating on the best seats: the back. The coaster really rose in my estimation, and I’d have to say it’s a top-tier RMC, behind only the likes of SV and LR. And it’s SV that it most reminded me of — not as tall, obviously, but very long with nonstop aggressive and playful inversions and airtime bumps. But I love drops and Untamed’s first drop is better than SV’s, and then it has a yonking drop about halfway through that is sublime. Clearly, this coaster was another highlight of the trip.

P.S. Also, Untamed was my 450th, so a half-milestone.
 
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EFTELING — The Dutch Disney. (OK, so I think the park is technically older than Disneyland.) If you go in expecting another thrill park, you’ll be disappointed. If you go in ready to be charmed, you will be very, very satisfied.

I was told this is a two-day park, and I can see why. However, the hours yesterday were long enough that I could have completed it in one day. Still, I saved the Fairytale Forest on purpose for today, and I’m looking forward to my relaxed return as soon as I finish typing this.

A clear pattern on this trip was trying woodies early in the day and thinking they’re nice, but not intense, and then marathoning them at the end of the day and having my estimation rise greatly. This was the case with Joris.

It just shows how arbitrary it is to rate a coaster after one ride. The Joris I experienced at the start of the day and the Joris I marathoned at the end of the night seem like two very different coasters. Now I really think it’s a great GCI.

Baron and the Vliegender Hollander are just too short — that’s both a criticism and a compliment, as I didn’t want them to end. Oddly, I can say the same even for Vogel Rok, about which I knew nothing in advance.


Finally all caught up!
 
Howie said:
Yay for Untamed love - I think it's amazing and second only to SteVe in the RMC rankings - and Yay for Efteling love too, one of my favourite parks.
Enjoying these updates fella, keep em coming. :)
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Thanks!

Yes, Untamed is amazing. I’d still put Lightning Rod ahead of it, but it’s hard to compare as they’re very different coasters.

And when I said I could have done Efteling in one long day (the park was open yesterday from 10 am — 11 pm (see how it’s done, Hansa?)) — well, maybe I could have — BUT I was clearly underestimating how huge and amazing the Fairytale Forest is. Today I’m just walking around in a charm daze, spending half a day going through it, and I still am not quite done. So glad I can do this in a very relaxed way on an easy second day.

Efteling is amazing.
 
If you haven't done them yet, I recommend checking out some of Efteling's dark rides - Symbolica, Droomvlucht, Fata Morgana and Villa Volta. Defo check out the Ravelijn show too, and stay at the end for the Aquanura show on the lake.
Enjoy!
 
Howie said:
If you haven't done them yet, I recommend checking out some of Efteling's dark rides - Symbolica, Droomvlucht, Fata Morgana and Villa Volta. Defo check out the Ravelijn show too, and stay at the end for the Aquanura show on the lake.
Enjoy!
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I’ve done all of those except for the Raveleijn show — thanks!

EDIT: And waiting in line for Raveleijn now. EDIT: Thanks for the nudge on that.

And I’ve just discovered that you haven’t truly lived until you’ve taken the monorail through the Laaf People Village. (In all seriousness, just when I think there’s nothing left to explore in this park, I realize there’s still a whole little section with endless hidden little things to discover.)
 
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^This is good - the sharing of information. I didn't know about the monorail thingy through the village, will be sure to look out for that next time I go.
It's so easy to get lost in Efteling though, even on my second visit I still kept finding new areas that I hadn't been in before. I love that in a theme park!
 
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