5th September - 12th September -Efteling, Toverland, Movie Park Germany and Phantasialand

[Disney_park_fanatic]

Brief introduction of my history with visits to other theme parks

For a theme park enthusiast that has mainly experienced British theme parks such as Thorpe Park, Alton towers, Drayton Manor, Paultons park, Oakwood and lastly Blackpool pleasure Beach (If you count this as a theme Park is very questionable but you can be the judge of that.) I wanted to explore internationally with two main theme Parks in mind. So, I dipped my toe overseas to visit the well-known ‘money maker' Corporation of childhood, which of course is the Disney Parks such as Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Florida. While also visiting Florida's Universal Studios, Tampa's Busch Gardens and Florida's SeaWorld. As a sucker for Childhood fantasy and wonder of animation and Film and Stereotypical culture of America you can say I was hooked on the American Parks for their extraordinary attention to detail, hospitality, atmosphere and their interpretation of making a thrilling experience with Theme parks-goers. Plus, as a Disney/ Film Nerd (Universal Studios Nod here) it’s always going to be a bias opinion but that’s just me. However, Disney are not all that Superior and show their faults too... (*cough * Disneyland Paris *cough* but that’s another review in its self one day maybe.)
So last year in 2017 I got to experience the wonder of Germany's Europa Park which was a new page turner for a new theme park experience. Which will be a review itself someday. But with the hype from Europa I was ready to explore other well known European Theme Parks which I have heard so much of in previous meet socials and were greatly well received with members. So, in September Aaron and myself went to the Netherlands and Germany to visit the following theme parks starting in the Netherlands with Efteling, Toverland and then went down to Cologne for a day then to continue our trip to visit Germany's Movie park and finally to Phantasialand.

Mobius91- I will also be adding my own thoughts of these parks and saving me from fully writing my own trip report I had been to most of these parks before except movie park, but with new rides at Efteling and Toverland I needed to get back to these parks.

6th September- Efteling
We began our holiday with travelling to Stansted Airport to Cologne Airport on the 5th September and stayed overnight at the Hotel NH Waalwijk which is about a 5-minute car journey to Efteling. It was a pleasant and lovely hotel for a 2-night stay.
So, on the 6th September we travelled to Efteling and entered the car park and the entrance to the theme park. It was a (castle of the five senses) uniquely constructed building which sets very well for the park theming of being unique and fantasy/ fairy-tale based park but very European. The attention to detail of this park is incredible and love the fantasy elements such as the rubbish bins which have those European characteristics character designs. It sticks to theme of the park very well with its Fairy tale themes and it shows the passion of the park.

Symbolica-
Symbolic castle is a lovely theme ride experience, visually stunning from the exterior and interior design and little clever effects which intrigue the audience. I thought the preshow was cleverly designed as you go through a unique entrance inside the castle with the guide of Pardoes the Jester Mascot of Efteling. It nice that it is including a variety of languages for the characters to interact with the audience as Efteling are expanding their audience. After the preshow, you have a choice of 3 different interpretations of the ride you get to experience: - Music tour, Hero Tour and Treasure Tour. We did 2 out of the 3 ride interactions which were the music and the hero Tour. I love the fantasy elements to the ride such as the whale effect I won't give too much detail away, but it was definitely unexpected and interactive. It’s a clever design for a trackless dark ride and I think the transitions through to scene to scene are better designed compared to SeaWorld Snooze version of a trackless ride Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin. Definitely a ride which I would recommend a visit. I would say the ride does get a little repetitive if you do all three sections of the ride as most of the scenes are the same until you reach your interactive section of your tour experience. Plus compared to other dark rides, there wasn't another music to drive me throughout the ride to help with the transitions of scenes although thought that was different scenery throughout the ride for the three sections.

Mobius91 – Having avoided everything to do with this ride, I was really looking forward to this ride as I already love the Eftelings other dark rides. I thought the ride was great and was really creative in how the trackless cars interacted with each other and felt a little chaotic.

Droomvlucht - Now if you have experience Elfenfarht In Europa think of that but times that to 11. I actually adore the score to this ride as it flows beautifully with the scene transitions and I love the small models constructions of the castle that show the atmosphere of this fantasy secret garden / Fairy Kingdom. The speed of the ride helps blend to scene to scene without it being tiring and boring. There is a lot of animatronics (which we will hear a lot on this review for Efteling) in this ride but fits very well with the theme and keeps the ride alive. Plus, the attention to detail in this ride is incredible, the entrance of the ride is very Secluded and makes you curious to explore and take on you journey, like the Ride 'Peter pan's flight when you are flying over England it gave me that feel of wonder.

Villa Volta- Villa Volta's Madhouse sadly doesn't compare to the champion of Madhouses in my opinion which is Alton Towers 'Hex' with its creepy but haunting backstory of the Towers and beautiful score. It still 10 times better than the Feng Ju Palace at Phantasialand. I found Volta not as thrilling as hex but at least has a story that you can kind of understand with the preshow explaining the story. But again, the music not as haunting as hex but drives the madhouse to life.

Vogel Rok- Now this ride is my little guilty pleasure ride for the whole park. I love the speed and sharp turns and the theming of this ride. The score fits perfectly for this ride. When the ride builds up the intensity with the sharp turns with the speed of the ride, the music emphasises this throughout the ride which gives you a smile on your face. I particular like one section of the ride which was just unexpected and gave me that intense thrill. For an indoor coaster it’s better than Thorpe's 'X' and 10 times better than Phantasialand's Temple of the Night Hawk.

Carnival Festival - Oh what a Cringeworthy, Highly Racist and Very Bad Stereotypical interpretations of the Different Cultures. I feel it’s an adaptation of its just as annoying version of Disney’s ‘It’s a small World’ with an obnoxious and annoying Musical score suited to the Countries Theme. I should really hate this ride as I can't stand 'It's a small World' ride, with its annoying and patronising score and animatronics that grinds on you every time you hear it. Oh, but I Love this Ride. It's just get funnier with every Politically incorrect animatronics thinking it can't get worse than that...oh but how wrong I was it does. I feel the ride entrance hides the ride well as I was taken sneakily through side entrance and it’s not as obnoxious and obvious like It's the small world entrance and also its very quiet and subtle. But didn't click until I heard the obnoxious music getting louder and louder. Until I realised my fate. Its Enjoyable and would recommend it to anyone for a giggle and you will be humming the score just as you would as it's a small world.

Raveleijn- Now I knew about the show's music before seeing the show first and it’s so beautiful and haunting and theatrical I was already hyped. Sadly, the build-up of hype kind of ruined the experience but it was a good show. I like the storyline which even in Dutch was very easy to relate and understandable. I enjoyed the very Talented Horse Riders with Stunts, Jousting, Falconry with the crows and storytelling. Sadly, as was told the Dragon should have been hidden but sadly the dragon was plain in sight which took away the suspense of if appearing. It was an enjoyable show and reminded me of Europa’s ‘The Dark Prince’ show with Similar storytelling and Stuns and sword fighting. Sadly, Europa's was better maybe because the hype was too much from other comments about the show. But both equally recommendable.

Aquanura- Now I had seen this on YouTube many times and in person, it’s just as enjoyable, theatrical and as grand as a Disney Firework display and especially as loud as a firework show when the water fountains make when shooting off and splash back. I love the blend of musical scores with perfect timing with fire and water fountains sequences that change to fit the musical score with the grand finishing score of Spookslot. Sadly, didn’t get a chance to experience Spookslot but I know the music very well from House of Mouse Hansel and Gretel animation. I also didn’t get to visit Bob or Fata Morgana due to reinventions. Shame I didn't get to experience the night time show as I know how stunning it is with colour which you can see under the water even in the day. But would recommend a stay till the end before leaving the park.

Fairy-tale Forest (Sprookjesbos)- Before heading over to the Main coasters, we took a stroll to the fairy Tale Forest. Now I love this section of the park. Like Europa it has the Fairy-tales you know and love with Familiar stories such as the women that created Snow. But this beats Europa version as it has so many more stories from different cultures. They are also expanding their fairy tale section with reinventions and updating new stories to the area. I saw the famous and oldest character animatronic design of long neck to the updated Pinocchio and Red Riding Hood. The attention to detail for this fantasy forest is amazing, well thought off and lovely touches of being attentive to other countries as they have written the story in different languages, so you learn the story of different cultural fairy tales.

Mobius91 – make sure you see the water lily section, it by far my favourite part as it is hilarious.

Baron 1898- The ride back story is actually written in English throughout the preshow and great touches of history of mining. With the preshow entrance you will see *Spoilers* Dozens of hanging clothes of the miners and setting of a miners environment. The storyline is very clear and understandable which is nice because they are introducing other languages into their rides such as English because they want to attract to other audiences. Now when on the ride there is a haunting musical score with the 3 ghostly maidens that are very cleverly shown as light projections that warn you before making your way towards the drop. Baron is a good experience ride, better than Oblivion I think personally for a drop coaster. It’s not the best ride of the park but its enjoyable enough.

Mobius91- The music around the outside queue as most of the music at this park is infectious but I still love it.

De Vliegende Hollander- The ride experience for this ride for me felt intense, a sense of Claustrophobia and has the atmosphere of being in the middle of the ocean with its special effects such as fog while in pitch black surroundings and thunder and lightning features. Its such great theming and I love the Queue line of being In Port as it’s so brilliantly constructed as it feels like a town/port dock in a movie. I like the ride gave you that sense of uncertainty while you are floating through the darkness going into the unknown with just a lamp light at the front of your boat to guide you while still be secluded in the dark. The transitions are clever to give that boat journey experience through the rough seas with thunder and lighting effects. I also like that the track has its sharp turns and thrills too. Then sadly the ride stops becoming interesting with its splash landing and its slow speed towards the ride entrance while feeling you are in a middle of the ocean. Very good ride I found it better than Baron because of its design and its clever theatre moments. It’s a great start with twist dark ride experience just sadly as much as I enjoy the speed of the acceleration and sharp twists and turns it’s still a boring ending to a great experience ride. But I did go on this ride more times than Baron so it’s still a ride I enjoy.

Mobius91 – Best way to describe this is phenomenal dark ride, crap coaster.

Joris en de Draak - This Duelling Wooden Coaster is intense but doesn't have the intensity as Wodan which is one of my favourite wooden coasters I have experience in Europe. It has the sharp turning and jolts you would aspect from a wooden and air time too. I can't comment on differences tracks for ice and fire as they both went into a blur but still a thrilling coaster experience.

Mobius91 – its and good family GCI, there is nothing bad with it but nothing spectacular.

Python- Now this ride is nothing special I’m afraid and I understand that this ride is special to them and they will not touch which is a shame. It’s just a boring coaster, it has its speed and air time but it’s very small and nothing compared to other coasters that are out there.

Piraña- Sadly my Rapids experience for Piraña is very cloudy compared to the rest of the park. But what I do remember that the theme design was Aztec and it was a ride that can get you wet. I remember the Aztec fountain firing water at you which you dread as its open space for people to pay to drench people. But speed of the rapids was just typical rapid experience.

Conclusion
I think this park uses it space very cleverly with a clear divide of thrill rides in one section of the park with the child and smaller thrill rides with Symbolica the centre of divide. Plus, it cleverly gives Fairy-tale Forest its secluded area hidden within its own allocated area. For people who just wish to explore with their children and explore the park. My favourite rides for this park was De Vliegende Hollander, Carnival Festival and Vogel Rok. Although it’s not a ride I adore but the fountain show Aquanura. It pulled on my heart strings due to the musical scores and the water fountains and fire presentations. It’s something I could watch all day and would love to see different scores used for the climate ending which I have seen on YouTube so would to come back and see this at night in the dark with the colour show but also to a different ride musical scores.

We then moved on to our next park Toverland...

 

[Disney_park_fanatic]

Toverland

On the 7th we travelled to Toverland. The day didn’t have a lot of visitors and It was very dead in the park but that was great for us as we want on rides as much as we liked without queuing and just back on rides straight after you finish. The Park Had a new entrance I was informed next to the Port Laguna. Even though it’s a small Park I felt that the park was tugging on my Guilty Pleasure strings. As a theme park I thought it was better than Efteling for the thrilling ride experience plus it reminded me of a smaller version of Busch Gardens (Tampa) with its theming. I love the Indoor section with little thrill rides and also indoor play area for children and choices of food take out stalls. Plus, the theming for Avalon and other walk through areas are really well themed.

Mobius91 – this park has always been one of my favourites, it is just very well presented and is cheerful and happy all of the time (the complete opposite of most merlin theme parks).

Dwervelwind- I actually adore this ride. The musical score while having Europa's Blue fire nods to it is brilliant as its builds within the rides speeds and spins and emphasises the air time felling you experience within the ride. We went on this ride a number of times due to lack of people. We tried to get the maximum of the spins and speeds with trying different seating arrangements to get the best of the ride. When you do the spin is Phenomenal.

Mobius91 – this is a fun ride that goes from being good to great due the on-board audio easily my second favourite in the park (it was number one until…)

Fenix- This is an absolutely joy of a ride with fantastic theming indoor of the Castle of Merlin and outdoor with the Avalon surroundings alongside the River for Merlin's Quest. This Ride is intense, and the speed is exhilarating with Twist and turns that you would endure for a thrill seeker. While looking down the beautiful scenery of Avalon with it Hobbiton style restaurant and Merlin's castle and the river you swoop over seeing it lead to the Merlin Quest Dark ride. It’s very Crisp and clean and seemed Untouched and pleasant with a sense of fantasy. As the wings of the phoenix each side has its intensity and speed.

Mobius91 – having been on the flug der dämonen (Heidi park) and swarm I have only been on a few wing coasters and have not rated them very highly (possibly due to the vest restraint), but this is a coaster that I really enjoy as is easily better than the other two I have ridden. The new non-tightening vest is comfortable and the speed and forces on this ride are far superior with some decent air time and a great zero- g roll, maybe it is a little short, but it is really re-rideable.

Merlin's Quest- This ride experience at the start is lacking excitement and creativity but has a payoff inside the Merlin Cave of enhancement. The ride takes you across the river under the great construction of the Fenix Coaster is slow and grows dull very quickly. But once you enter the entrance to Merlin 's quest the theme again is very Mystical and adorable with fog effects, Screen Interaction with Merlin as you travel through the two Scene transitions sections in the cave. But it’s very short lived as its scenes are very short and back out to long, dull journey back to the docking station.

Mobius91- I agree with the comments above but the indoor section is great and for their first ride with a proper dark ride scene it’s quite impressive.

Booster Bike- I didn't enjoy this ride. I found it very uncomfortable with the seating arrangements due to my size of my legs but that a personal problem. I found the ride very boring with a launch that really didn't do much to increase the ride experience.

Maximus' Blitz Bahn- It’s a great little indoor thrill ride which is basically a powered toboggan ride which can hold up to two people at a time. But I do like the theming of an inventors’ home. The ride is can be thrilling when extend the speed and it’s a good little ride to past the time.

Expedition Zork- A typical indoor/ outdoor Log flume ride with unique changes to a standard Log flume you would experience at a cheap fair. As it changes directions backwards and forwards. But it’s a small thrill experience and you will get wet.

Troy- This is a rough and intense Wooden which gets better and gets better every time you ride it. At the start of riding Troy I found the intensity and the roughness of the ride just a bit too much and felt insecure in my seat But after riding about 2/3 times in a row due to the lack of capacity of guests, it throws a punch after it throwing sharp turns and sharp drops with maximum speed that give you plenty of air time and those butterfly feelings. The Structure of the ride is incredibly stunning to look at when you pace through the ride and love the nods to the Roman theme with the Trojan Horse.

Mobius91 – it’s a good ride but not a patch on Wodan.

Djengu River - I do enjoy this Rapids ride experience with very fast pacing river journey with scenery from the water falls in the back ground while going around the Magische Vallei surroundings. I found the speed fast enough that you will get the odd soak now and then.

Mobius91 – Although it’s not the most exciting rapids and isn’t particularly threatening, I for some reason really enjoy it.

Conclusion
Now I do prefer this park to Efteling. I think the reason I prefer this park is just that I think the spread of the rides are equally placed. As it’s not just in the corner of the park and also has different thrill experiences with I think are better. I like the theming of Park Especially Magical Valley and Avalon and little touches I think are really well detailed. For example, the restaurant in the Avalon area was like I was in Hobbiton or what I would expect to see, plus the Restaurant’s interior was just as good as the exterior. Structure to rides are very well thought off and also, I like the child friendly touches such as the indoor area with rides that appeal to all ages. Best rides in this park for me were Troy, Dwervelwind and Fenix.

Movie Park Germany
On the 9th September we travelled to Germany's Movie Park. Now Once we got there we were shown into another car park alternative due to the Friday being a potential busy day. The walk from the car park to the park was about 5-10 minute walk.

Mobius91- I knew a little about the park going in but didn’t expect much.

Excalibur- This was an unexpected delightful ride and it had one of the biggest queues from visitors. The ride is very heavily theme on Sword on the stone which was fantastic. It’s give you a sense of wonder and excitement on this ride interactive screen showing Merlin as your guide throughout the castle. Also, the Merlin interaction continues on the ride while your rapid seats is ascending up the lift hill. There are screens on the walls on opposite sides throughout the stretch of the lift hill where merlin talk to you from screen to screen following you to guide to find Excalibur. Brilliant attention to detail using that interaction which I didn't expect at this Movie park. The theming continues with you traveling into a crystal cave into the outdoors with Stunning theming of Statues and water fountain effect to get you wet, through a woodland atmosphere then Forbidden forest theme and then straight through the dragon monster coiled around the rapids. The ride is throwing you into every theme it can give you and it’s a big payoff especially the ending. You enter a Cave which surrounds you in darkness where you feel intense and unaware and of what you are expecting considering you been through so much scenery. But the payoff is great with a light affect and voice over of Merlin showing you the purpose of your Journey. It’s a really good ride to experience.

Mobius91 – I thought this ride was actually really good I enjoyed most of the theming and the new effects. It was a little out of place on the far side of Nickelodeon land and the entrance is well hidden.

Star Trek operation Enterprise- The enjoyment of the ride starts with the preshow and the queue show room with props designs from the series. I am not a Star Trek fan or know much of Star Trek series, but I understand the idea of the preshow and understood the memorabilia of the props shown in the queue line. For Trekkie Fans I think they will really appreciate the experience. The preshow is very interactive and entertaining. It includes a variety of references of the Star Trek show and has plenty of fan service for Star Trek Fans. I love those fan services moments as its very memorable and creates atmosphere to the ride experience. The crew members made the experience enjoyable with their humour, enthusiasm and their charisma. It was a shame it was in German but again it was very understandable. However, they do add subtitles in English for the backstory video. I love the (Spoiler Alert) transporter scene and captain's Deck interaction. The ride itself was cleverly designed and was full of little surprises for thrills. As the ride starts, you are guided into a room where you are transported onto the track. It takes unexpected twist with 3 launches. The ride speed helps the build up of intensity with the fast turns and has great air time with its vertical drop while going back up into a half pike and speeds through an interior building with green lights effects and then has some air time hills. This is a ride I would recommend and it’s the best ride at the Movie Park. A great creation from Mack.

Mobius91- Although I don’t really watch Star trek I have quite acquired a bit of knowledge though my parents, I thought the pre-show and the sets to be really cool and a nice addition to the ride. the station is clever to hide the shuttle launch and creates a nice surprise for the unprepared. But I feel the launches could have been a little bit quicker so that some of the elements could have been a little bit punchier, but overall a good ride but not fantastic.

MP Express- This ride is just a painful experience. It’s Just as bad as infusion from Blackpool pleasure beach. The seating arrangement is annoying as it doesn't give you head space as you can't lean forward unless you wish to be stuck and in pain the whole ride experience. It shakes and jolts you as you speed through the track while also going through loops making it an unpleasant experience. Also, you could make a drinking game of how many times you shout 'ow’ while you go around the track. its hurts so much! Unless you like this kind of rides, I would avoid this ride.

Mobius91- Worse than infusion but not as bad as condor (walibi Holland)

Van Helsing- Now the exterior and interior of the ride has a false interpretation of the ride experience. It appears to be a thrilling scary experience ride. But the most scary and unexpected part of the ride was at the end of the ride with the hidden Vampire Bat animatronic that pops out of nowhere with sound effects as if to say we know it wasn't scary but here is an extra thrill. The track takes you through van helsing’s weaponry collection and sends you through a twist turning track with 2 lift hills and at good enough speed. Only little scare I had was going up the second lift hill where animatronics are hidden under the Rubble of scrap and it was unexpected but it wasn’t scary. The ending is just you see a vampire bat impaled and the ride finishes. it has light effects and atmosphere music that suited the ride and the darkness surrounds the ride to hide the track. It’s an ok ride. Nothing special.

Mobius91- I enjoyed it one of the better gerstlauer bobs.

The lost Temple- I like this ride experience for a dark ride. It's a tone down version of King Kong's ride in universal studios with downgrading visual effects. But the queue ride is visually ok. As you go through archaeology surroundings such as dinosaur bones floating above you as go through the queue and come across digging caution sites. You watch an interactive screen with 3 different people in different languages German, English and French. You get an idea what the storyline is, and you get visited by a crew member. she guides you on your journey like an open tram / jeep and you feel like you are travelling through the dinosaur landscape while being attacked by dinosaurs. It’s an ok dark ride experience but as I have been on a superior version at universal studios, it lacks precise visual effects as it’s out of focus and has very little effects.

Side Kick- It gives you little butterfly feelings when you reach the maximum height it reaches. It’s not as intense and doesn't have the height limit to reach the maximum thrill ride experience.

Ghost chasers- I regretted going on this ride once I thought it would be a good idea to queue for it. It just a child friendly coaster in the Nickelodeon section of the park. it's a ride I would associate with being at Blackpool Pleasure resort. As it’s just as painful and uncomfortable when riding.

Mobius91 - a wild mouse cred nothing special

Conclusion
Movie park is like a downgraded version of a universal studios designed by someone who thought to get a guide book for commercial success for dummies with a Blackpool resort thrown in the mix with its Nickelodeon land. It's not the best theme park but has a couple of hidden gems of ride experiences. I first entered the park to a universal style street with Oscars advertised and old fashion Hollywood sets with iconic movie music playing on the speakers. Then on the left side is the Nickelodeon land. Compared to the other parks we have experienced on this trip I would say that this was the worse park of the week. It didn't interest me enough and the rides were not the best. I do enjoy Enterprise and Merlin River Quest as they were the best rides at the park.

 

[Disney_park_fanatic]

Phantasialand

On the 10th September we travelled to Phantasialand. We got to experience one hour of the village area of Klugheim where we got to experience Taron and Raik numerous of times and we got to experience this extra treat twice of the 3 days we spend at Phantasialand. We stayed at the African themed Hotel called Hotel Matamba which was brilliantly detailed to the theme. We made our way to the theme park by going through the Chinese theme Hotel, Hotel Ling Bao. Again, it was beautifully designed and the outside scenery it just as lovely.

Taron- This is a brilliant coaster for acceleration. It’s a double launch coaster with maximum speed of 70-72mph. Its starts the ride with the first launch while its goes through a twisty design track with very sharp turns with Air Humps and then slightly curve tracks, then once we go through the twisty track it drops into the faster second launch. It gives you exhilarating thills and the acceleration is fantastic, I feel the sharp turns of the track does give great thills and the hills give good air time. I feel it’s like Icon how the design can't make its mind. For example, at the end and the middle of the ride it turns from corner to corner trying to add a few twists and turns. But has a longer space for the track compared to icon's limited space for the design of the coaster.

Mobius91 – When I first experienced this coaster in 2016 I can away disappointed as it promised a lot and didn’t quite deliver, with too many dead spots and trims on potential ejector air time (it was having issues with overheating wheels at the time as well). Since then I feel some of the transitions are possibly a little more snappier and a little more air time, but I still feel like there are too many dead spots where I am waiting for something to happen, I also thing an inversion or two similar to Icon would help give a little bit of variety. I not saying it’s a bad ride, but it could have been phenomenal with some slight changes.

Raik- This family boomerang ride is very short and sweet. It gives great thrills due to the speed in comparison to other boomerangs and it does well to fit into the tight space next to Taron. It fits in nicely and even helps hide river quest, possibly the best family boomerang.

River quest- this is a ride that could go either way in terms of wetness. It has great theming of the surrounding the castle. But the ride experience is memorable and thrilling, its clever on how it adds the rapid boat onto the track with a lift which send you down a fast slope where you will get soaked on if you are unfortunately in the wrong place on the boat. It has a whirlpool water effect while going around the centre on the ride and there a couple of intense falls where you can go backwards and forwards with the slopes where you rapidly fall at heavy speed which soaks you. Also, a waterfall section where you dread for rest of your dryness.

Mobius91 – I was very unlucky with this ride and I might still be a bit moist to this day, but this a great unique rapids due to the vertical footprint the ride occupies, I would have had another go, but its throughput is dire and was permanently at 45mins on quite days.

Temple of the Night Hawk- this is a long and boring coaster with no imagination for theming as it 'tries' to be jungle themed, but they have just thrown as much greenery they could find. It's a slow and dull coaster considering the coaster is a lot bigger than Vogel Rok and designed to be in an inside show building. There are no twist and turns, no sharp drops and the speed remains the same throughout the ride. It you want a casual ride experience this is it. I wouldn't recommend the ride. But I am glad to hear that they are looking at getting rid of this ride and reconstructing a new ride experience.

Feng Ju Palace-This is an Awkward ride experience because you just don't what to say about this ride. The story to this Madhouse is just all over the place with I think just throwing a madhouse in the china section because 'why not' it fits with the area. The wedding is basically the madhouse theme, whose wedding it is about? I have no idea. As you see in the preshow (Spoilers) it ends on a random villain that steals a hero's love interest cliché. Very lack of animatronics movements and lightening affects are just hilariously bad * wrist movements*. Its dull and very confusing and just awful.

Hollywood Tour- I'm glad this ride is retiring soon and will be put out of its misery. I made my way on the Hollywood tour on my own ' Thanks Aaron', to the emptiest queue line of 1...me. Signs were very clear at the start that this has passed its time. I entered onto the large boat for one and on my way to worst Hollywood tour ride experience ever. While the boat drops into an eerie cave surrounding you Start with the silly attempt of adaptation of Jaws with a fisherman with two sharks appearing in the water but still I got a tiny fright and I’m ashamed off and then you start onto the next scene. It’s a giant spider wrapped in left over carpet Animatronic in the centre of the track you have to go through with a film crew recording the scene. Then you enter an Egyptian theme, A horror movie scene, under the sea scene, A pathetic Tarzan and jane scene, a lower Budget wizard of oz scene which is terribly bad considering I have seen the Hollywood tour in Disney World Florida and then finally an old tired Animatronic of King Kong. The Animatronic looked tired and old and have passed their prime when you know it would have been impressive in earlier years but now it’s sad and dusty animatronics with no life in them.

Mobius91 – no regrets missing this ride this time plus I got to go on a wuzeball hunt while waiting (it never opened)

Winja's Fear & Force- I do enjoy both these little Coaster track designs. It tightly packed two coasters over lapping each other but has enough turns and speed to emphasis the enjoyment of the ride. I like how you uplifted onto the tracks for both starting points of the coasters and both coasters end with the odd little Air bumps, but I feel it is unnecessary to have them. I feel the fear coaster was lot better than the force coaster due to the number of mini drops. I feel force is just a simple track design that goes corner to corner of the track with nothing exciting in between. Also, I would have liked that seating could spin more. Although it does have the occasionally spin it’s not like Dwervelwind and I think that could impact both of the coasters experience.

Mystery Castle- I thought this was a unique style for a drop tower ride experience. I didn't like how eerie the castle queue is as you walk in the castle and go through the scenery of lifeless animatronics as you travel down to the queue boarding point. This is where you meet an Einstein animatronic that is interacting with the audience. When the doors open you are surrounding with a blue tint of light enough to show you the sitting arrangement for the drop tower. The intensity to this ride is helped by the tower lifting you into darkness and anticipation of coming back down. It’s a good ride to experience but Tower of terror is a lot better theatrically.

Mobius91 – I hate drop towers I normally will avoid them at all costs, but this is one that is worth doing. We did manage both versions of the ride, misery was just as abrupt as usual, and the full cycle being great with a little extra suspense.

Geister Rikscha- This dark ride has just as many animatronics like Efteling rides and goes into different scenery of Chinese inspired characters from Skeletons, Dragons and grim reapers and other Chinese style characters. It like a terrible version of the haunted mansion. It even has the singing heads from the haunted mansion. But it does have a change a scenery with a ghostly shipwreck ruin with animatronic skeleton of crew members inside and many others. It’s an ok ride if you wish to sit down and just chill for a while but nothing great about it.

Colorado - The ride is very thrilling and intense. The sitting arrangement is a little awkward with the seat being in an odd angle. The ride is very sneaky with the speed as it hits you very suddenly especially if you are at the end of the train. It has many sudden drops and sharp turns and interior caves that create dark sections of the ride which increase the ride thrills and speed, and it whacks a punch when you get around corners that seem slow making you question each corner (assuming you can see them). It’s a ride where I had to hold on because it’s that unexpected even after a few rides. It’s a great thrill-seeking ride and its gets better every single time you ride on it.

Mobius91 – One of the best mine trains you will ever do.

Talocan- Now this is a fantastic ride to watch and experience. The theatre of the ride is brilliant with the musical score and the special fire effects and water fountains that appear very close to the rides when riding. This Top spin ride is very well timed with the music and the effects as you spin forward and backwards for the majority of the ride. Otherwise if you are at the back it does you give that fear of how close you are to the ride wall. It gives you that adrenaline rush to the body and the butterfly feelings throughout the ride. We did both back and front experience and the front is the superior side.

Chiapas- Now this is the best and adorable log flume ride I have experience. I love the cheekiness of the ride and its playful characteristics with the party zone section of the ride with the upbeat and enjoyable music while travelling backwards and animatronic hitting the heads of Skeletons as they shriek in time with the music. This log flume is a very fast paced ride with sudden drops, Aztec and Mexican scenery themes and fog affects that cleverly disguise the track change as it diverts you backwards and into the party section with laser and colour lighting effects. Then it takes you down a backwards drop and then changes track once more for two more Sudden drops with the biggest drop at the end with an air timeto finish the ride. You will get acceptably wet on this ride if you sit at the back and front of the ride but not as soaked as River quest. This is enjoyable experience and a guilty pleasure ride which we did try this a few times throughout the stay.

Mobius91 – I really really like this ride I love the scenery, the brief interaction with the mine train and I love the music. My only complaint about this ride is the restraints as they are some of the most awkward I ever had to use and for one ride I was basically squatting and unable to shift my legs for the whole ride.

Maus Au Chocolat- This ride does feel way to long as it goes through repetitive scene by scene with the aim of the game is to hit as many mice you find with the flavour of chocolate you get when sitting in your seat. Its goes around the track from scene to scene with interactive screens where you aim your chocolate tool at the mice and try to beat your seat buddy with points you receive from hitting the mice. It’s a good game for about three screens worth but it gets tiring and old fast. It’s a ride I would recommend if you want to sit down for a while and want a difference in activity.

Tikal- This not as superior as the poppy ride at Europa in the Arthur section of the park but it’s still just as enjoyable. It gives you cheap little thrills which I do have a little pleasure for and like the little suspense when you drop. While floating around the Colorado and Mexican area we decided to have a little go for a bit of fun.

Black mamba- Now in the African section of the park there is only one ride which is the Black Mamba. This b&m invert was a lot more comfortable compared to the MP Express. Also, it was a lot smoother but still had that intensity and speed. It has many inverts direction changes and sharp turns. It’s a good ride to experience.

Mobius91 – I like this ride and think that it is too harshly judged sometimes but the near misses on the front are without equal. it’s good invert with good forces, yes it does run out of ideas by the end but the environment and pit it travels through is so well themed. Plus, I woke up with it outside the window every morning so I can’t complain.

Conclusion-
I really did enjoy this park. I think this park is the best out of the other 3 theme parks I have been too. I like the attention to detail on the rides and I also like the attention to detail to the hotel as well. Musical scores give great atmosphere and sells the ride. Its feels like a large park wanting to break out of its small, cramped town surroundings. I would warn you of enthusiastic mascots as they are very charismatic and full of personality as I learned on my breakfast experience. When being approached by one that wouldn't leave until it got what it wanted but it also messes around with other guests too. It has great interaction with guests and very child friendly but way to happy at breakfast. The best rides experience in the park I thought were Taron, Chiapas and Talocan. I would recommend this park to anyone wanting to try European parks as its very different to UK theme Parks. I would also recommend Efteling and Toverland as well as they have something different to add compared to the other parks.