Europe Trip 2014 Review

I came back from Europe a few days ago (July 21st, arriving home around midnight July 22nd). This trip was absolutely amazing, visiting places like Paris, Amsterdam (which became my favorite city ever at this point. Not joking), Brussels, and Cologne. We even visited two theme parks, which was great for an European trip! So, let's talk about them (I might talk about the cities too later on)!

PHANTASIALAND: 7/13/2014

1. Black Mamba (B&M Inverted)
2. Talocan (HUSS Top Spin)
3. Chiapas (Intamin Log Flume)
4. Colorado Adventure (Vekoma Mine Train)
5. Black Mamba (2x) (B&M Inverted)
6. Wellenflug (chairswing)
7. Winjas: Fear (Maurer Spinning Coaster)
8. Winjas: Force (Maurer Spinning Coaster)
9. Race for Atlantis (simulator)
10. Maus au Chocolat (2x) (3D shooter)
11. Temple of the Night Hawk (Vekoma Indoor Coaster)
12. Mystery Castle (Intamin Bungee Drop (indoors))

I actually had doubts about this place initially. It looked interesting, but I didn't think it would be absolutely amazing... but it turned out absolutely amazing! This park ended up becoming my favorite park of the trip, as well as one of my favorite theme parks in general. I'm not sure which one I like better: Europa Park or this gorgeous place! The theming in this place was top notch and works for the advantage of all the attractions! Yes, even the chairswing! The ONLY attraction I did not care for was Race for Atlantis, which looks like it is entering its last years. So let's talk about the rides:

Black Mamba: Very forceful, whipping back row experience, LOTS of theming that's used to the coaster's advantage. Definitely one of my favorite B&M Inverts (or inverts in general)! Probably my favorite in the park. Ridden it 3 times!

Talocan: Crypt mega-sized. A lot more theming than Crypt ever hopes to get lol! An amazing HUSS top spin overall!

Chiapas: The new addition for this year. One of my favorite water rides, mainly because of the system they implemented, especially in the backwards transitions. I loved the backwards drop and main drop too! The theming, just like everything else in this amazing place, is just top notch! Amazing water rides!

Colorado Adventure: Hands down, my favorite mine train! This is better than even Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The drop into the tunnel really caught me off guard! Well done experience!

Wellenflug: This is the park's chairswing, and man how they did a good job with even this! The water effect is really what makes this ride interesting. It almost felt like my feet could touch the water, though I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to, as in not the design of the ride (I'm 6'1''). You're just supposed to get the feeling, and they do it great! Definitely adds to the front gate of the park. One of the more unique chairswings I've been on! I think this type of ride will work great in SeaWorld Orlando in the Waterfront right by the bay.

Winjas: This one caught me by surprise! Didn't expect another spinning coaster to top EuroMir at Europa Park as my favorite spinning coaster! This was truly amazing, the layout, the tech, the fact that it's in an indoor play area, etc. One of my overall favorites in the park, and I actually think this could work in a park like Universal (maybe their own version of Space Fantasy from Universal Studios Japan) or Busch Gardens Tampa (replace Sand Serpant and the old Pirates 4D building with this)!

Race for Atlantis: Out of all the rides in the park, this was the one I least cared for. I wasn't much of a fan of this ride. 1. The screen is outdated! I don't think I've ever seen an outdated screen like this, but the first thing that came to my mind was the old Back to the Future ride in its last years. I don't remember riding it though (if I did, I was really young). The screen here has definitely seen better days. This ride apparently opened in 1994, so it is 20 years old! 2. The ride just isn't that interesting. Universal had better ideas with their simulators: in The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, J Jonah Jameson sends us on a mission to make a headline with Spider-Man fighting the Sinister Syndicate; in The Simpsons Ride you are the guest of Krustyland's newest ride along with the Simpsons while Sideshow Bob tries to kill you; in Transformers you are helping EVAC protect the AllSpark from the Decepticons; even Despicable Me had a more interesting storyline where Gru recruits the audience as Minions. Here, you are in, as the name implies, a "race for atlantis." At least, that's what I believe, as I didn't understand the story that much, and it was in English. Judging by my experience with good simulators, that's not a good sign for this. Plus Atlantis looks more like Asgard from Thor than an underwater city (except for the mermaids/King at the end). 3. The theming isn't as top notch in this ride as the rest of the park. Really, around the station is decent, but that's it. 4. Not only is the screen outdated, but the system is too. I know the way it moves into the screen is similar to that of the Simpsons Ride, whose system was there since 1991 when it was Back to the Future. But in 2008, they at least updated the system a bit, complete with a new cover for the vehicles. Again, this ride opened 3 years later, so without updating, I would hate to see BTTF today if they chose to leave it open (of course, they would refurbish it, and around this time get rid of it, because the ride goes into 2015, next year. But I digress). It would probably be worse than this. Also, in the Simpsons/BTTF, there was noise in the story when the vehicle goes up to the screen. Here, when the car goes to the screen, you hear nothing but the effects of gears moving... and it sounds awkward and outdated. This ride is definitely my least favorite in the park, and really needs an update on both the screen and system, at LEAST.

Maus au Chocolat: Very fun shooter ride. The only other 3D shooter ride I've been on was Toy Story Midway Mania at Disney's Hollywood Studios. This ride has such an amazing concept. Even if the theme is simple like shooting mice as they destroy the kitchen, that theme was executed well and in a fun way! I've ridden it twice! Oh and my high score was 174,700! While the high score in this ride's history was actually displayed at around 790,000. I don't know how I could get to that score, but I'm very happy with mine! :D

Temple of the Night Hawk: Pitch black indoor coaster. I could see nothing, but I know the ride is similar to Space Mountain's model (I believe it's the same type). And they also had the soundtrack from Disney's 2000 film "Dinosaur" playing. :P This ride was fun, but I would have liked some more visuals instead of just pitch black lol

Mystery Castle: I've heard of this drop tower before, along with Black Mamba. This is the only Intamin Bungee Drop tower I've heard of. So I finally rode it, and WOW! The queue and ride system reminded me of Dr. Doom's Fearfall. The fact that it's indoors allows for an abundance of surprises, such as lightning effects on the top! I was absolutely blown away by this ride. This was what Dr. Doom should have been (I do like Dr. Doom for what it is, but this ride was even better). Another one of my favorites in the park!

If you are a theming lover, you are going to drool over this park. If you are a thrill ride lover, you're still going to absolutely love this place. They manage to make everything better with the theming, even something simple like a chairswing. I give this park an A++. If you go to Europe (especially in Germany) and like parks, you really should come to this place! It's not only one of my favorite parks in Europe, but one of my favorite parks in general! :)

HEIDE PARK: 7/14/2014

1. Krake (B&M Dive Machine)
2. Flug der Damonen (B&M Wing Coaster)
3. Scream (Intamin Gyro Drop)
4. Colossos (Intamin Wooden Coaster)
5. Desert Race (Intamin Accelerator)

HEIDE PARK: 7/15/2014

1. Big Loop (Vekoma MK1200)
2. Schweizer Bobbahn (MACK Bobsled)
3. Limit (Vekoma SLC)
4. Mountain Rafting (River Rapids)
5. Indy-Blitz (Zierer Force)
6. Colossos (Intamin Wooden Coaster) (2nd time)
7. Flug der Damonen (B&M Wing Coaster) (2nd time)

Much like Phantasialand, my thoughts changed with this place. I initially thought I would have liked it better than Phantasialand, but as you can see Phantasialand beat this park. That's not to say that this place isn't great though. The theming isn't as nice though as Phantasialand, and I think this park could have been a tad cleaner. The rides here are awesome though. Now, combine these rides with some of the uniqueness of Phantasialand, and you got yourself one of, if not the best park in the world. So now, let's talk about Heide Park:

Krake: I have followed the construction of this coaster before in my blog, and I am proud to ride it as my 2nd Dive Machine. Not as good as the other one I've ridden (SheiKra), but a fun ride nonetheless. The drop into the mouth was epic, and the airtime was awesome! I just wish it was as long as SheiKra.

Flug der Damonen: At last, I have ridden my first B&M Wing Coaster, and it was an awesome experience. It felt incredibly intense, and I loved the "twist n' dive" element, as well as some of the other inversions, like the dive loop. Definitely my second favorite ride in the park and a great first Wing Coaster. That's also another reason why I got excited with Thunderbird at Holiday World. Now that I know how a Wing Coaster is like, I can visualize the experience I may have a bit. Not entirely though, since Flug had no keyholes nor launch. Nevertheless, I can't wait to go on more. Next week, I will be riding my second B&M Wing Coaster: Wild Eagle at Dollywood. Other options for the future (2015 on) include GateKeeper at Cedar Point (I'm going to have to go there one day), Thunderbird at Holiday World, and X-Flight at SFGAm.

Scream: This is the same design as Drop Tower at Kings Dominion (Intamin Gyro Drop), and this ride is taller (338 ft tall) than Drop Tower (305 ft tall). I believe this is the tallest Gyro Drop in the world. And it certainly delivers! Awesome drop tower!

Colossos: An Intamin Plug n' Play Wooden Coaster, and the tallest wooden coaster in the world (now that Son of Beast is gone). You can guess where this is on my list. It is just awesome, and probably my favorite ride in Heide Park! The airtime was phenomenal, the first drop was awesome, and this ride might be my favorite of the whole trip.

Desert Race: One of the weaker Intamin Accelerators I've been on, but still a fun ride. Definitely not my favorite in the park.

Big Loop: Decent looper. Reminds me of Carolina Cyclone (I know they are made by different manufacturers. Arrow for CC, Vekoma for Big Loop). Good ride, but not the best.

Schweizer Bobbahn: Fun bobsled ride IMO. And we got Mom on this one (she can't handle drops).

Limit: I admit I was kind of nervous about this one. These rides (Vekoma SLCs) have a reputation of being rough and painful. I have been lucky with Vekoma so far, riding their Florida coasters, Nighthawk (Carowinds), and two of their boomerangs which had new restraints (Carolina Cobra at Carowinds and Sidewinder at Hersheypark). All of those were fine, but as far as I know, Limit had the older restraints. So what do I think of this ride? The answer may surprise you, but here it goes... it really is not that bad. First off, it had nice cushions on the restraints by the side of your head which prevented any headbanging. Second, while it was shaky, it made a bit of the experience for me. I like shaky rides, as long as they don't give headaches. This shakiness was acceptable. In fact, I'd say the bobsleds were shakier than this. This ride was actually pretty fun! Now is it my favorite in the park? Nope. Is it my favorite invert? Nope (I still prefer B&M Inverts :) ). Is this ride worth it? Yes it certainly is.

Mountain Rafting: Pretty crappy rapids ride. This rapids is so tame and uneventful that it doesn't even have seatbelts. The SFGAdv one is better, and that one wasn't that great either. :/ My least favorite river rapids hands down and my least favorite in the park. This seemed more like an unthemed boat ride than a river rapids like the VEHICLES portray.

Indy-Blitz: Nice kiddie coaster that sends you through the course twice. It's a fun ride for those who don't like drops.

So overall, I thought Heide Park was a nice park. Now if you prefer theming, you probably won't like this place. If you prefer thrills, you probably will love it. The theming isn't nearly as powerful as Phantasialand, but it has some cool thrill rides. I'd also recommend this place if you go to Europe. I give this park a B+. Pretty cool place! :)

Want to know the best part though. This trip isn't done yet. We may be done with Europe, but in the next two weeks, I will be venturing up north to Dollywood and Carowinds. So I will post a review on that as soon as I come back (since Band Camp is coming up on August 10th).