As Dan has mentioned, we visited Rulantica last week on a day where tickets were sold out. I've been following it since the day that it was announced and my expactations have varied rather a lot over time, and just before going I had a mix of exitement and worry. Was it going to be so busy that it was hell? Would we get all of the slides done? Would we get bored easily?
We entered Rulantica at about 3.30pm whilst it was still light but it soon got dark and this is when Rulantica really comes to life. The lighting is nothing less than stunning and creates such an incredible atmosphere. And in most parts the theming is very impressive. Skog Lagoon is my favourite area; this is a nice peaceful pool surrounded by trees where you can enjoy a lovely drink of your choice.
One thing that really took me by surprise was the wave pool. I didn't think it would be all that and was expecting linear waves, however waves were coming diagonally across the pool from both directions causing what can only be described as chaotic fun!
Of the slides, the bowl slide was my favourite and it has a very thrilling drop in to the bowl. The racing slides, drop slides and wall/wave slide were all great fun as well. The family rafting slide was a disappointment. Vildstrom, the outdoor wild river, was a real highlight with some crazy drops straight in to corners! The small slides on Skip Strand were probably more fun than they should have been.
Snorri's Sage, the lazy river, was nice and relaxing and well themed but lacked some sort of water effects or waves. Hopefully these can be added over time.
Food was fine, I had a really nice pasta which was freshly prepared in front of me. The pizzas looked good as well, although the burger place looked more average.
The floors were quite slippy in places so you did have to be careful when walking around. Navigation also proved to be a slight issue for us on a couple of occasions, especially when trying to find the wave pool upon our arrival!
You can clearly see where they ran out of time/money. The walls of the stairs up to the slides in Rangnakor and Vinterhal, which are out of view when in the main water park, are only partly themed and are largely just plain black. It's not too much of a problem although I am sure that this is something they will want to address.
Overally I was very impressed with Rulantica and we had an absolutely brilliant time. Despite it being at capacity it did not feel too full at all, and only two of the slides got queues of 30 minutes. My only regret is that we didn't have longer in Rulantica!
I cannot wait to return in the summer.
