September 4, 2024, 4:56 PM ·
When composing my thoughts about Phantasialand, I was trying to think about other theme park experiences I’ve had that would compare to the German park. Phantasialand has a world-class collection of thrill rides and attractions but does so across a minuscule footprint at just 69 acres, about half the size of Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The density of rides in such a small space requires some serious planning and engineering, and while there are a few spots that felt crowded, your feet will appreciate not having to walk miles between rides. Also, having walked around the park over a day and a half, I would have guessed it was opened no more than 25-30 years ago, but the park actually opened in 1967, making it older than many popular North American parks. While Rookburg, the land where Hotel Charles Lindbergh and F.L.Y. are located, was opened in 2023, the rest of the park feels just as new and fresh.
F.L.Y. is the newest coaster in the park, and the Vekoma flying coaster is nothing short of a masterpiece of engineering. Vekoma has really upped their game over the past 5-8 years, and F.L.Y. has set an impressively high bar in flying coaster design.Since we were staying in the Hotel Charles Lindbergh, we did not go through the regular queue, but the story and theming of the coaster is evident from the moment you walk through the portal into Rookburg. It’s the start of the aviation age in the early 1900’s, and guests are invited to take their own test flight. As you walk around Rookburg, F.L.Y.’s tracks are literally everywhere twisting and turning along the walls of the land, under the pathways, and literally through the Hotel Charles Lindbergh.The coaster is just a marvel to look at and to try to decipher how the trains traverse the twisted course. Like many of the European theme parks we visited, Phantasialand understands that guests are liable to have small bags and/or loose articles, so they have locker banks beneath the station, which is also where the Quick Pass line merges with the standby line (waits averaged in the 45-60 minute range throughout our time in the park across two summer weekdays). Guests are given RFID wristbands that you tap on a locker to open, and then place your items inside. Once off the ride, the exit is on the other side of the lockers, where you tap the number where you stored your stuff, and it opens so you can retrieve them. In order to keep guests from walking off with the wristbands, guests have to hand the band to an employee in order to open the exit turnstile. Also, the wristbands are color coded so ride ops can differentiate between single riders, guests queuing for the front row, and everyone else.Once you’ve stored your items, you walk up to the boarding area. F.L.Y. has one of the most unique loading processes I’ve seen and is not like any other flying roller coasters I’ve ridden. There are only two guests per row (unlike the four on B&Ms and older Vekoma flyers), but you don’t actually cross a row to get into your seat. The seats face guests waiting to board, with the track horizontally behind the train. As with other flying coasters, the seats are a bit awkward to get into, and the tricky part with F.L.Y. is to make sure your lower legs are in the ankle restraints, so they click and lock into position. The upper body restraint is very similar to current generation Vekoma inverted trains, with a robust lap bar that secures your waist and a soft-padded vest that contours to your upper body.
Once the riders are locked and secure, the train moves sideways out of the station and through a darkened corridor with some digital signs, lights, and posters before the track makes a quarter-turn and seats rotate to place the seats into the flying position. The transition to moving sideways to the flying position is so clever and seamless that I didn’t realize we were speeding through the launch because I was so awe-struck by the maneuver. The first launch is pretty powerful, but very smooth as the train is flung up the wall on the far side of Rookburg. The rest of the course is a blur of near miss elements, flips, dives, a second launch, and a surprising amount of airtime.Compared to Manta at SeaWorld Orlando and Tatsu at Six Flags Magic Mountain (the two best flying coasters I’ve ridden), F.L.Y. may lack the intensity and positive g’s of those standard bearers (though my wife and son found it quite intense), but the theming and airtime really make this a complete coaster. The use of walls, trenches, and even the Hotel Charles Lindbergh help to make F.L.Y. my new top flying roller coaster.F.L.Y., Phantasialand’s newest roller coaster, is just the tip of the iceberg for thrill-seekers. Taron is an Intamin multi-launch coaster that, like F.L.Y., utilizes terrain and theming elements to create an incredible experience. Located in the Klugheim section of the park, Taron utilizes its relatively small footprint to its advantage by going over and under itself a record 116 times, according to the park. Klugheim is filled with rocky crags and imposing formations as Taron’s trains speed by at over 70 MPH, but without completing a single inversion.That’s because Taron doesn’t need inversions to deliver an action-packed ride as the proximity to walls, buildings, rocks, and track to accentuate the coaster’s speed while the constantly changing direction and inability to see most than one stretch of track from any point on the ride keeps riders guessing as to what will happen next. A little over halfway through the course, a second booster launch kicks the ride into overdrive and precipitously close to a raging waterfall. The course ends with a couple of quick airtime hills that will try to fling guests out of the train, but the comfortable, yet secure lap bars (the same as Jurassic World VelociCoaster) keep guests safely in their seats.Taron is thrilling and intense without being over the top or intolerable, and the theming of the surroundings make you feel like you flying through an alien terrain. I think both VelociCoaster and Pantheon are a touch better than Taron, but it is an excellent coaster that single-handedly makes Phantasialand worth a visit.Adjacent to Taron in Klugheim is another steel coaster, Raik, which is another Vekoma family shuttle coaster. However, because of Raik’s integration into the land and proximity to Taron, this coaster is far more thrilling and fun than your typical coaster of this type. Like Taron, the Norse theming is very evident, and utilizes some of the same rocks, walls, and ravines that make Taron so unforgettable. The forces on Raik are decided more family friendly with a top speed of about 38 MPH, but the trenches and labyrinth of Taron’s track and supports increase the thrill factor. The main drawback of Raik is that it is a shuttle coaster that appeals to smaller guests, so lines can move a bit slow. However, if you keep an eye on the app, you should be able to find a time during the day when lines are 20 minutes or less (the Phantasialand app wait time estimates were surprisingly accurate).Adjacent to Klugheim, but still in the “Theme World of Mystery,” there are two more attractions: Mystery Castle and River Quest. Mystery Castle is an enclosed bungee/drop tower with a Medieval theme.I was concerned that we wouldn’t get to ride this since we weren’t able to get over to it in our limited park time on our first day and it was listed as “Temporarily Closed” for most of our second day. However, this ride eventually opened in the late afternoon, and we managed to make our way over to Mystery Castle before the line got really long. This attraction is very similar to “Power Tower” attractions you will find around the US, but this one is completely enclosed with carriages mounted to the four-walled tower, so guests are facing towards the center. There are some strobe lights and other effects that are triggered as the carriages are lifted slowly into position. Then riders are shot up towards the top of the tower and then pulled back down. It’s really not that much different than the outdoor versions of this ride, but it was pretty cool to experience this inside and mostly in the dark. River Quest is Phantasialand’s whitewater rapids ride that uses some interesting rafts that are individual wedges that connect to form the circular boat (think Trivial Pursuit pieces). What’s interesting about this design is that the raft flexes a bit as you move along the course, which is a really strange sensation, particularly along the attraction’s signature spiral drop. We had ridden Infinity Falls at Sea World Orlando a few weeks before our trip to Europe, and expected this raft ride to be pretty similar, but it was surprisingly different, mostly because of the raft design. As with most raft rides, how wet you get during the ride can be highly variable – I ended up getting pretty soaked. There is some Medieval theming along the course, but not to the level of Kali River Rapids at DAK or Popeye and Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges at IOA.The other big roller coaster at Phantasialand is Black Mamba, located in “Theme World Deep in Africa.” This compact B&M inverted coaster that opened in 2006 is similar to F.L.Y. and Taron in maximizing the surrounding terrain to make the coaster far better than its statistics would suggest. With just an 85-foot lift hill and a top speed of just under 50 MPH, you’d expect a slow and plodding layout. Instead, Black Mamba uses trenches, tunnels, and other features to accentuate the feeling of speed and thrills. I wish we had a chance to ride Nemesis last spring when we were at Alton Towers, because Black Mamba looks very similar to that iconic terrain-hugging and beloved B&M invert.While there are no other rides in “Theme World Deep in Africa,” the area surrounding Black Mamba is highly themed, and could double as an expansion of Harambe in Disney’s Animal Kingdom.The undulating pathways through the land might be a bit tricky for mobility-challenged guests, but it makes the area feel much larger than it is. The land is adjacent to the Hotel Matamba and also has a few shops and restaurants and a pretty challenging Adventure Trail. It feels a lot bigger than it actually is, so much so that while Zach and I went through the Adventure Trail, we ended up losing track of where we were and ended up wandering around for five minutes trying to find Stefany. This land is probably one more great ride away from being one of the best themed lands in the world.Between “Theme World Deep in Africa” and “Theme World Mystery,” there are two other lands. The first is “Theme World China Town,” which like Africa includes an adjacent hotel, Ling Bao. China Town definitely has the greatest concentration of restaurants of all the themed worlds at Phantasialand but is lacking a major thrill ride.There are two dark rides here, with the first being Geister Rikscha, which is billed as “Europe’s longest underground ghost train,” but is really just a Haunted Mansion knock off. While I appreciate that this attraction upped the scares compared to the Disney classic, there are far too many similarities in effects, scenes, and characters to consider the similarities a coincidence. The other attraction in China Town is Feng Ju Palace, which is a pretty standard Mach Madhouse (like Houdini at SFGAdv), though there is a pretty elaborate pre-show using projections to tell a story of ninjas battling for supremacy and love.The land on this side of the park is “Theme World Mexico.” Unfortunately, one of the rides in this area of the park, Talocan, was closed both days we were in the park. Talocan is a highly themed Top Spin attraction (similar to the Tomb Raider/Crypt attractions at Kings Island and Kings Dominion), so it wasn’t a huge deal that we weren’t able to experience it. The other two rides in Mexico are Colorado Adventure and Chiapas – Die Wasserbahn. Colorado Adventure is a mine train style coaster with three lifts, meaning it’s a pretty long experience. I was pretty surprised by how good this coaster was, considering it’s targeted for families. It reminded me a lot of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad without the mine sections, though the turns here felt faster and more intense than either of the American Disney mine train coasters.However, the best attraction in Mexico has to be Chiapas – Die Wasserbahn. This is the park’s log flume ride, and it is right up there with Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls as my favorite log flume in the world. There’s great theming, a long course (over five minutes) including a backwards section, and the steepest drop on any water ride in the world (according to the park). Like Dudley Do-Right, Chiapas’ has a double drop finale that is the centerpiece of “Theme World Mexico.”“Theme World Berlin” forms the main spine and entrance area to Phantasialand. Berlin is the de facto Main Street of the park but is narrow so guests cannot see the other theme worlds.Given that none of the rides in Phantasialand (save for Mystery Castle) are particularly tall, it’s easy to keep guests entering the park to see the other lands, meaning each land reveals itself as you enter it, which is what I imagine Universal Epic Universe will be like when it opens. At the park entrance, there is a two-level carousel and a couple of small flat rides. As you walk down the main pathway, you will pass restaurants on either side. At the far end of Berlin from the main park entrance there are a number of attractions and show theater, but no icon, just a city square space anchored by a massive rotating swing ride, Wellenflug. This swing seems pretty normal, but is built over a large fountain that dances along as the ride spins to a classical soundtrack.Maus Au Chocolat, like Geister Rikscha, feels like another knock off of a popular Disney dark ride. This highly themed screen-based attraction invites guests to use piping bags to shoot at mice and other targets in various parts of an industrial bakery. It’s Toy Story Mania right down to the pull string on the guns, but I have to admit it was a lot of fun. It wasn’t quite as good as Disney’s version – though the much shorter lines ere are far more appealing for repeat rides to improve your score. I love shooting gallery dark ride attractions, so Maus Au Chocolat appeals to my competitive spirit.Another attraction in Berlin is Das Verruckte Hotel, which is a classic funhouse attraction. This is the kind of attraction that no American theme park operator would dare build because of the liability. Guests walk through a litany of trick-filled rooms with moving, tilted, unstable, and uneven floors. The experience ends with a ride down a long metal slide.Adjacent to the funhouse is a 4-D theater that was playing Pirates 4-D, yes the same movie starring Leslie Nielsen that last played at Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s Globe Theater back in 2013. The 1999 film is dubbed in German but has all the 90’s era 3-D, in-theater effects, and corny slapstick comedy, so understanding what’s being said isn’t really critical. It was fun to see this movie again, but the park’s print has seen better days – I’m shocked that this hasn’t been digitized to eliminate the dust and scratches on traditional film that distract from the 3-D effects.The final theme world that lies beyond Berlin is Fantasy. This land is the least immersive and cohesive land in Phantasialand with a design and style reminiscent of The Dark Crystal. One section of the land is housed inside a large building, containing a pair of spinning coasters: Winja’s Force and Winja’s Fear. The Mack coasters have different layouts that neither duel nor race but do pass by each other a couple of times as the track circles the building. They both have elevator lifts and an unusual wave track feature that bounces the track up and down as the car passes through a block section. These coasters are pretty fun, but compared to the other attractions at Phantasialand, they really seem out of place, and the cavernous building where they’re located lacked energy when we walked through.Also, in the building is Tittle Tattle Tree, which is a flat ride that takes guests standing in balloons from the floor up to the top of the building.What makes this fun is that there are no restraints, and guests are standing throughout the ride cycle and can watch Winja’s cars zip around. There’s also a kid’s teacup ride (Wozl’s Duck Washer), and a “frog hopper” ride (Wupi’s Wabi Wipper) inside the building as well as a couple of flat rides outside (Wirtl’s Taubenturm, a rope climbing ride and Wolke’s Luftpost, a pedaling spinning attraction).There’s also an elevated train ride that circles around “Theme World Fantasy” called Wurmling Express that gives guests a bird’s eye view of the area and the adjacent lagoon.There are two attractions on Lake Mondsee (Wakobato and Wozl’s Wassertretter), but neither were operating during our visit.The other attraction in Fantasy that we rode was Crazy Bats. This Vekoma indoor roller coaster has been upgraded to use virtual reality headsets. I had low expectations, because most of the VR coasters I’ve ridden have been mediocre with poor synchronization. However, Crazy Bats places guests into a computer animated world that matches almost flawlessly with the movement of the coaster. The animation is crisp and smooth with cute, engaging characters. As you would expect, the load process is a bit slow, but the crew was doing a good job helping boarding guests fit their headsets and secure their restraints while making sure the headsets that were used by the previous train were sanitized and ready for the next group. I was impressed by the overall experience, and I think there might still be a place for VR in limited applications.Phantasialand is a great theme park, but it still has some flaws. The first and most annoying is the prevalence of smoking throughout the park. This is something that we didn’t encounter at Efteling, Legoland, or Liseberg, and we’ve never faced at American parks either. I will say that in general smokers in the park typically refrain from smoking indoors, but queues, pathways, tunnels, and everywhere else that not physically inside a building, you will be breathing it. It was a bit of a shock because American parks have virtually eliminated the habit, but as we moved on to Europa Park, where smoking was even more prevalent (encouraged by cigarette vending machines in the park), it didn’t seem quite as annoying.One of the other flaws is the disparity in theming between different areas of the park. Areas like Rookburg, Mexico, Africa, and Klugheim were intricately themed where other parts of the park were less so. However, one of the biggest negatives I found at Phantasialand were the rather short operating hours. The park was open 9 AM to 7 PM with most of the big attractions not opening until 10 AM. Considering the lines and overall number of attractions in the park, it’s really difficult to experience everything in a single day. Even with some extra time on a second day and Quick Passes for F.L.Y., we were not able to experience everything in the park that we wanted. We were not able to see any of the park’s shows and missed out on a couple of the smaller flat rides, though nothing we hadn’t ridden anywhere else. If we had to actually wait in the normal queue for F.L.Y., it’s almost certain we would have missed out on one of the bigger rides in the park.The minor quibbles aside, Phantasialand is an amazing theme park that has three world class roller coasters and a solid lineup of supporting attractions. It is very close to a major city (Cologne), so it’s a pretty easy park to get to, and the park’s attention to detail takes guests to themed worlds in a very intimate and immersive way. Phantasialand is the kind of theme park Six Flags/Cedar Fair wish they could be and is a place that should not be missed when touring central Europe.Next up – Voltron Nevera Power by RimacPreviously – Liseberg, Legoland Billund, Efteling’s thrill rides, and Efteling’s family attractions, Hotel Charles Lindbergh* * *
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