Martin
TS Member
Scandinavia seems an odd place to find a successful amusement park, with 9 month long winters making half the region resemble something out of an Ice Age film and relatively small and sparse populations, and yet it is home to some of the most unique, and best, rides and parks in Europe, if not the world. Particularly in the last decade or so, there has been somewhat of a boom for the industry in this chilly part of the world, with a B&M floorless, Mack launch and several Intamins of various descriptions just some of the rides Scandinavian parks have added to their rosters in recent years, alongside more historical highlights such as a classic, one of a kind Schwarzkopf, a pre-war wooden coaster, and even a century old scenic railway. And now with a jaw dropping RMC opening this summer, it seemed the perfect time for some TSTers to fly over for a road trip.
Over an intense week we would visit four parks, over 20 rollercoasters, and take in some of the most incredible scenery anywhere in the world. Starting at Tusenfryd a short drive from Oslo in Norway, we would journey south across the border to Gothenburg and Liseberg, already a firm favourite amongst many enthusiasts, and then east to Kolmarden Zoo, before finishing up in the beautiful city of Stockholm and the improbable Grona Lund. Every park in the trip left a lasting impression, not only because of the rides, but because of how well presented and looked after they were, and because of the absolutely brilliant way we were treated, every park went above and beyond to welcome us and before going any further I would like to thank them for that, as well as thanking (BigAl)ex Machin for his massive efforts organising everything, (or at least most things, but more on that later...
)
What made this trip doubly interesting on a personal level is not only would these parks be my first foreign parks outside Disneyland Paris - The Averagest Place On Earth (tm), the only thing resembling a modern wooden coaster I had been on before was Antelope at Gulliver's World, and each park on our itinerary featured one. Each one unique and very different from the last. What would I think of them, and how would they compare to the ancient woodies of Blackpool Pleasure Beach, my only real experience of wood until now?
DAY 1+2: "I can see your nipples!"
DAY 3: "Are my full beams on?"
TBC
Over an intense week we would visit four parks, over 20 rollercoasters, and take in some of the most incredible scenery anywhere in the world. Starting at Tusenfryd a short drive from Oslo in Norway, we would journey south across the border to Gothenburg and Liseberg, already a firm favourite amongst many enthusiasts, and then east to Kolmarden Zoo, before finishing up in the beautiful city of Stockholm and the improbable Grona Lund. Every park in the trip left a lasting impression, not only because of the rides, but because of how well presented and looked after they were, and because of the absolutely brilliant way we were treated, every park went above and beyond to welcome us and before going any further I would like to thank them for that, as well as thanking (BigAl)ex Machin for his massive efforts organising everything, (or at least most things, but more on that later...
)What made this trip doubly interesting on a personal level is not only would these parks be my first foreign parks outside Disneyland Paris - The Averagest Place On Earth (tm), the only thing resembling a modern wooden coaster I had been on before was Antelope at Gulliver's World, and each park on our itinerary featured one. Each one unique and very different from the last. What would I think of them, and how would they compare to the ancient woodies of Blackpool Pleasure Beach, my only real experience of wood until now?
DAY 1+2: "I can see your nipples!"
Departing from Manchester, we landed at the soon to be closed Rygge airport and made the short journey via minibus to our accommodation for the first night, the aptly named and very nice Moss Hotel in the pleasant town of, erm, Moss, about an hour from Oslo, where we made the quite disorientating discovery that in summer, it never really gets dark in this part of the world; 2am in Norway in July looks a lot like 9pm in England in July.
Next morning, our minibus returned to take us to Tusenfryd, a relatively small park in a breathtaking location and proud owners of some rather interesting rides. How many other parks can boast of a dark ride in an actual cave in the side of a mountain? Without wishing to put down the park, it's safe to say this was the park that for myself and others was the least exciting, this isn't the park's fault of course, it can't help that awaiting us later in the trip was a brand new RMC and a Mack launch regarded as arguably the best coaster in the world, but what Tusenfryd punched well above its weight and was so much more than just a warm up act, holding its own against the other parks on the trip, even if it lacks a headline ride on the same scale as Helix and Wildfire.
Tusenfryd is located in the Norwegian countryside, so although being beautiful, it's also very hilly, so be prepared. A good portion of the park is at the bottom of a very steep path and the entrance, taking a leaf out of Liseberg's book, is up an escalator, providing one of the best entrances to any park in the world, as the first two inversions and airtime hill of the park's intamin launch coaster Speed Monster wrap around it. Food is very good and well priced and the park is very clean, it's clear that management take a lot of pride in the park despite their limited resources. If only parks in Britain felt the same. The park also did their very best to welcome us so I would like to once again thank them for their efforts.
On a blisteringly warm day which set the tone for the rest of the trip, we were grateful for the three water rides on offer. While the traditional flume ride was disappointing, the Mack SuperSplash, despite being a "Poundshop ASS" and making a comical noise every time a boat went through the dip after the lift, was enjoyable and I look forward to riding its bigger cousin at Europa. However, the new rapids ride, Ragnarok, was excellent. Taking the European approach of opening before it's finished, it will only improve, but the theming that is there is a great start and the ride itself is very good; it's varied, fun, you don't get too wet and the drop even has airtime, genuine airtime, on a rapids, amazing.
On the coaster front, Tusenfryd is home to Speed Monster; an Intamin Rocket built during the Scramble For Accelerators that took place in the mid 2000s, Thundercoaster; one of only three Vekoma wooden coasters, and Loopen, an extremely rare Vekoma MK-1200 Whirlwind. There is also Western Expressen, a Vekoma rollerskater and a children's coaster that consists of nothing more than an oval. It's a decent line up, certainly it compares favourably against the British parks it'd be competing against if it was here.
Speed Monster is not the fastest Intamin out there, and although it's only about 10mph slower than Rita and takes a similar time to reach its top speed, the launch is noticeably unnoticeable. The opening element, the first 'Norwegian loop' however, is anything but, a really great double inversion made better by its location. The following dive down the side of a hill is sadly much smaller and weaker than it seemed in videos, but the airtime hill through the Norwegian loop makes up for it. The following two s-hills have some airtime, but the biggest thrill they provide is from the squeak the trains make traversing them. The corkscrew inversion provides a strong finale and a final sharp turn into the brakes ensures the ride ends on a high. While not a bad ride, it could do with being more forceful, and perhaps it would have been better to break up the two s-hills by putting the third inversion between them, but for a fairly small park it's a great addition to the line up and visually it's stunning.
Next door to Speed Monster is Loopen, a cute little old Vekoma with a curved station and two inversions. As usual with these things, the cars and restraints are uncomfortable, but surprisingly the ride itself is pretty smooth except comically violent bumps either side of the second inversion. As a nerd, it's always good to hear the old Corkscrew lift hill noise too. If you've seen the POV posted by CF a few years ago, you'll notice the Nicki Minaj song 'Starships' playing loudly in the station, audible on the video for most of the ride. The same song came on just before my only ride on Loopen, giving a weird sense of de ja vu.
Thundercoaster is, in my opinion, the best coaster at Tusenfryd, but this is not an opinion shared by the group. It's loud, it's rough, it throws you around and smells of burning, yet despite this (or because of this), it's nothing but fun. On a technical level, it's not great, there's a few points that could have been designed better, and it's far from comfortable, but that doesn't at all take away from the ride. From the very steep first air hill to the bunny hops at the end, there's constant airtime, and despite the pain, it made me laugh all the way around. It's not for everyone, but I really enjoyed it. We only had time for one re-ride at Tusenfryd, and although I'd have liked another go on Speed Monster, I definitely made the right decision to go back on this. That said, an RMC conversion of this could be mind blowing.
Dark ride Thor's Hammer is literally built inside a cave carved out of a cliff, and despite the heat outside, we were able to walk on with practically no queue. While the transit system and physical theming are excellent, the ride over relies heavily on 3D screens to tell the story, and I didn't think much of the ending. It's a decent dark ride but nothing special, but obviously a park like this isn't going to be able to open a Forbidden Journey so it has to be judged with that in mind, and they did well with what they had. Not being able to speak Norwegian and not having much knowledge of Norse mythology didn't help either, which is my fault, not the ride's. Of course, many bonus points are won for the location too.
There are a few other rides on offer, most notably Spin Spider, a Zamperla giant swing, and by god do they mean giant, swinging up to a terrifying 180 feet, the same height as Oblivion's drop. It took a while to get going, but once it did, it was absolutely incredible.
If I had one complaint about Tusenfryd, it would have to be that operations are often pretty slow. Queues were pretty small all day so it didn't really exactly ruin anything, but it could be improved, an extra staff member on some of the rides would make a huge difference. Apart from that though I was very impressed with the park.
While it's not a place to travel all that way for on its own, it was an excellent way to start the trip and if you're considering a similar trip to this or find yourself in this part of the world (and I hope one day you do) in some other capacity, it's well worth looking into.
Next morning, our minibus returned to take us to Tusenfryd, a relatively small park in a breathtaking location and proud owners of some rather interesting rides. How many other parks can boast of a dark ride in an actual cave in the side of a mountain? Without wishing to put down the park, it's safe to say this was the park that for myself and others was the least exciting, this isn't the park's fault of course, it can't help that awaiting us later in the trip was a brand new RMC and a Mack launch regarded as arguably the best coaster in the world, but what Tusenfryd punched well above its weight and was so much more than just a warm up act, holding its own against the other parks on the trip, even if it lacks a headline ride on the same scale as Helix and Wildfire.
Tusenfryd is located in the Norwegian countryside, so although being beautiful, it's also very hilly, so be prepared. A good portion of the park is at the bottom of a very steep path and the entrance, taking a leaf out of Liseberg's book, is up an escalator, providing one of the best entrances to any park in the world, as the first two inversions and airtime hill of the park's intamin launch coaster Speed Monster wrap around it. Food is very good and well priced and the park is very clean, it's clear that management take a lot of pride in the park despite their limited resources. If only parks in Britain felt the same. The park also did their very best to welcome us so I would like to once again thank them for their efforts.
On a blisteringly warm day which set the tone for the rest of the trip, we were grateful for the three water rides on offer. While the traditional flume ride was disappointing, the Mack SuperSplash, despite being a "Poundshop ASS" and making a comical noise every time a boat went through the dip after the lift, was enjoyable and I look forward to riding its bigger cousin at Europa. However, the new rapids ride, Ragnarok, was excellent. Taking the European approach of opening before it's finished, it will only improve, but the theming that is there is a great start and the ride itself is very good; it's varied, fun, you don't get too wet and the drop even has airtime, genuine airtime, on a rapids, amazing.
On the coaster front, Tusenfryd is home to Speed Monster; an Intamin Rocket built during the Scramble For Accelerators that took place in the mid 2000s, Thundercoaster; one of only three Vekoma wooden coasters, and Loopen, an extremely rare Vekoma MK-1200 Whirlwind. There is also Western Expressen, a Vekoma rollerskater and a children's coaster that consists of nothing more than an oval. It's a decent line up, certainly it compares favourably against the British parks it'd be competing against if it was here.
Speed Monster is not the fastest Intamin out there, and although it's only about 10mph slower than Rita and takes a similar time to reach its top speed, the launch is noticeably unnoticeable. The opening element, the first 'Norwegian loop' however, is anything but, a really great double inversion made better by its location. The following dive down the side of a hill is sadly much smaller and weaker than it seemed in videos, but the airtime hill through the Norwegian loop makes up for it. The following two s-hills have some airtime, but the biggest thrill they provide is from the squeak the trains make traversing them. The corkscrew inversion provides a strong finale and a final sharp turn into the brakes ensures the ride ends on a high. While not a bad ride, it could do with being more forceful, and perhaps it would have been better to break up the two s-hills by putting the third inversion between them, but for a fairly small park it's a great addition to the line up and visually it's stunning.
Next door to Speed Monster is Loopen, a cute little old Vekoma with a curved station and two inversions. As usual with these things, the cars and restraints are uncomfortable, but surprisingly the ride itself is pretty smooth except comically violent bumps either side of the second inversion. As a nerd, it's always good to hear the old Corkscrew lift hill noise too. If you've seen the POV posted by CF a few years ago, you'll notice the Nicki Minaj song 'Starships' playing loudly in the station, audible on the video for most of the ride. The same song came on just before my only ride on Loopen, giving a weird sense of de ja vu.
Thundercoaster is, in my opinion, the best coaster at Tusenfryd, but this is not an opinion shared by the group. It's loud, it's rough, it throws you around and smells of burning, yet despite this (or because of this), it's nothing but fun. On a technical level, it's not great, there's a few points that could have been designed better, and it's far from comfortable, but that doesn't at all take away from the ride. From the very steep first air hill to the bunny hops at the end, there's constant airtime, and despite the pain, it made me laugh all the way around. It's not for everyone, but I really enjoyed it. We only had time for one re-ride at Tusenfryd, and although I'd have liked another go on Speed Monster, I definitely made the right decision to go back on this. That said, an RMC conversion of this could be mind blowing.
Dark ride Thor's Hammer is literally built inside a cave carved out of a cliff, and despite the heat outside, we were able to walk on with practically no queue. While the transit system and physical theming are excellent, the ride over relies heavily on 3D screens to tell the story, and I didn't think much of the ending. It's a decent dark ride but nothing special, but obviously a park like this isn't going to be able to open a Forbidden Journey so it has to be judged with that in mind, and they did well with what they had. Not being able to speak Norwegian and not having much knowledge of Norse mythology didn't help either, which is my fault, not the ride's. Of course, many bonus points are won for the location too.
There are a few other rides on offer, most notably Spin Spider, a Zamperla giant swing, and by god do they mean giant, swinging up to a terrifying 180 feet, the same height as Oblivion's drop. It took a while to get going, but once it did, it was absolutely incredible.
If I had one complaint about Tusenfryd, it would have to be that operations are often pretty slow. Queues were pretty small all day so it didn't really exactly ruin anything, but it could be improved, an extra staff member on some of the rides would make a huge difference. Apart from that though I was very impressed with the park.
While it's not a place to travel all that way for on its own, it was an excellent way to start the trip and if you're considering a similar trip to this or find yourself in this part of the world (and I hope one day you do) in some other capacity, it's well worth looking into.
DAY 3: "Are my full beams on?"
Leaving the surprisingly delightful Tusenfryd, one last, long drive in the TowersStreet partybus took us across the border into Sweden and to our boxes, or as their owner would prefer me to call them, our hotel rooms, for the night. After an arduous morning discovering the Swedish really love putting yogurt on cereal, it was thankfully only a short walk to collect the hire cars that would provide our transport for the majority of the remainder of the trip, followed by a short drive to today's destination, arguably Scandinavia's biggest, most well known amusement park, the incredible Liseberg.
Built on a hill in the middle of Gothenburg, it's at first shocking to a British guest that a park could exist like this, but really, it makes more sense than building them on the grounds of a manor out in the sticks. Even better is that Liseberg is owned by the city council. Remember that next time local elections roll around. Steadily building over nearly a century, 'Lisa's Mountain' (Is that not the sweetest name for an amusement park ever) has assembled not only an interesting history, but also very impressive collection of rides and coasters. You could spend days here and not get bored, there's plenty for everyone. Not only that, but the park looks great, and as usual out there, is very well ran and very well looked after by staff who clearly really care. There seems to be separate 'sections' of the park that feel very different but they all come together very well, they all feel great and they add up to, spoiler alert, what is my favourite park so far (roll on Phantasia and Europa later this year).
We were extremely lucky and thankful to receive behind the scenes tours of coasters Helix and Lisebergbanan, an absolute delight that I can't thank the park enough for. Loved the Helix operator's control throne - want operating your new rollercoaster to feel like operating the Death Star? Buy a Mack. An unbelievable start which set the tone for the rest of the day. Thank you Liseberg.
Liseberg is a park I've wanted to go for many years, I remember falling in love with Lisebergbanan after coming across a POV of it ages and ages ago, and Balder also being there made it an even more enticing proposition. The addition of Helix two years ago made Liseberg a must-visit and I'm delighted I finally managed it. I mean, if you're reading this and the thought of a terrain hugging, multi-launching, multi-inverting, multi-airtiming Mack doesn't interest you, chances are you're reading this by mistake.
With the amount of rides on offer this would be a very boring report if I talked about all of them, so I'll go through my highlights and talk about the coasters a bit more, because that's what most people will be interested in.
The big flats are all worth going on, Mechanica, the giant Star Shape is a beast and the S&S swing is of course a massive 'Rush' (not sorry). The new flat, AeroSpin, I didn't think much of unfortunately as while the views are great I couldn't get my seat to invert, a lot of effort for very little. The Zamperla Discovery, Spin Rock was great fun of course, but nothing compares to Jukebox, the unassuming Polyp is possibly the most fun ride I've ever been on. Högspänningen is the same type of ride as Windy Castle at Paultons, a 'kids' ride that those who attended South meet will remember reduced me to lying on my back. Fortunately there wasn't a repeat of that this time but these rides are great fun if you get them up to speed. And last but not least of course, there is Atmosphere. Atmosphere is mess your pants scary going up, but the drop really is surprisingly gentle, so even if you're not a fan of drop towers normally, it's an experience not to be missed.
A highlight of Liseberg for me was the rapids ride, not only is it well themed, I loved how it starts slow and soft and gets progressively faster and more intense, introducing more and more elements as it goes on. Probably my favourite rapids ride. The flume ride is also good, and very unique. After reaching the top up the hill and passing through Lisebergbanan there is a drop, followed immediately by a tiny drop, before a final big drop back down to the ground, very good fun.
Gasten Ghost Hotel is a top class scare maze. I really don't like the rule about going through in a conga line, but unlike the boring Terror Of The Towers, it didn't ruin the experience because everything about this attraction is so well done, the sinking room is an absolute masterpiece. Make sure not to miss the bar/restaurant by the exit, great service, great food, really well themed, 'interactivity' and offers a stunning vista of the hill and the rides on it.
Balder
Balder was interesting for me, as Intamin's approach to this wooden coaster was exactly the opposite of Vekoma's approach to Thunder Coaster the day before. Balder seeks to be a much more refined, engineered coaster, but would that make it better than the raw, more traditional Thunder Coaster? In a word, no. Although Balder has its highlights with its many headchoppers, stunning first drop and sometimes outrageous airtime, everything between is just so much of a non-event. Massive dead spots lead to corners that are far too wide and overly banked, making them absolutely, unforgivably boring. One or two slower turns to help pacing or if the ride was rough to give a breather, but every turn being this soft, on a ride this smooth and with such powerful hills? It's so stupid. I'm not convinced a wooden coaster should be velvet smooth either. Unbank the turns so there's some good old fashioned laterals and this would be an amazing coaster, but as it is, it's just a very good one at most. A shame.
Helix
Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod
Kanonen
Kanonen is sooo cute. It's a tiny Intamin accelerator that also opened during the boom these coasters enjoyed in the mid 00's, but what makes this one unique is how small it is, pretty much the whole ride is squeezed on top of a toilet block, with the exception of a cute little attempt at a top hat that the trains barely navigate. This is followed by a loop so tight you really won't want to put your head forward in the front rows of any car that isn't the front. The rest of the layout is compact and fun, the only negative being the ending barrel roll, thanks to the godawful Intamin restraints. I seem to remember the launch actually being more forceful than Speed Monster, despite being slower, and although not a favourite ride, I did rather enjoy Kanonen.
Lisebergbanan
Lisebergbananananananarama has an interesting history. After demolishing their old scenic railway after discovering it was literally sinking into the ground, the park sought out a new coaster, and after already settling on a design, the legendary Anton Schwarzkopf walked up to the manager's office with some blue prints, declared his plan his best ever ride, and Lisebergbanan was born. After waiting years to ride this I had a lot of expectations and the ride did not let me down. It's easily one of the most fun rollercoasters I've ever been on. The part near the start where it whips up and around the play area is surprisingly fast, the triple drops and great fun, the airtime hill is actually brilliant, love the helix near the end, and of course, the highlight of the whole thing being BROMS! Start to finish a perfect family coaster even after all these years.
There's been a lot written about Liseberg on here as it's already a favourite with a lot of people, including Rob's excellent practially PhD worthy effort on Helix, so there sadly isn't much I can add beyond my own opinions on the rides and the feel of the place. Sadly we didn't get to stick around for the religious experience that is supposedly Helix at night but I will return one day soon. I arrived expecting a great park with great rides and that is exactly what I found, and I left with a new number one coaster. An absolutely brilliant day.
Leaving that night, my first proper driving experience on the wrong side was faintly terrifying with a sat nav that thought I was somewhere off road being eaten by wolves, but fortunately we eventually made it too our much roomier hotel without any moose strikes, ready to rest before finishing the long drive to the reason behind this trip, Kolmarden Zoo and their much anticipated new RMC behemoth Wildfire, but with rumours rife that evening that RMC had ordered it closed, would we even get to ride?
Find out next time...
Built on a hill in the middle of Gothenburg, it's at first shocking to a British guest that a park could exist like this, but really, it makes more sense than building them on the grounds of a manor out in the sticks. Even better is that Liseberg is owned by the city council. Remember that next time local elections roll around. Steadily building over nearly a century, 'Lisa's Mountain' (Is that not the sweetest name for an amusement park ever) has assembled not only an interesting history, but also very impressive collection of rides and coasters. You could spend days here and not get bored, there's plenty for everyone. Not only that, but the park looks great, and as usual out there, is very well ran and very well looked after by staff who clearly really care. There seems to be separate 'sections' of the park that feel very different but they all come together very well, they all feel great and they add up to, spoiler alert, what is my favourite park so far (roll on Phantasia and Europa later this year).
We were extremely lucky and thankful to receive behind the scenes tours of coasters Helix and Lisebergbanan, an absolute delight that I can't thank the park enough for. Loved the Helix operator's control throne - want operating your new rollercoaster to feel like operating the Death Star? Buy a Mack. An unbelievable start which set the tone for the rest of the day. Thank you Liseberg.
Liseberg is a park I've wanted to go for many years, I remember falling in love with Lisebergbanan after coming across a POV of it ages and ages ago, and Balder also being there made it an even more enticing proposition. The addition of Helix two years ago made Liseberg a must-visit and I'm delighted I finally managed it. I mean, if you're reading this and the thought of a terrain hugging, multi-launching, multi-inverting, multi-airtiming Mack doesn't interest you, chances are you're reading this by mistake.
With the amount of rides on offer this would be a very boring report if I talked about all of them, so I'll go through my highlights and talk about the coasters a bit more, because that's what most people will be interested in.
The big flats are all worth going on, Mechanica, the giant Star Shape is a beast and the S&S swing is of course a massive 'Rush' (not sorry). The new flat, AeroSpin, I didn't think much of unfortunately as while the views are great I couldn't get my seat to invert, a lot of effort for very little. The Zamperla Discovery, Spin Rock was great fun of course, but nothing compares to Jukebox, the unassuming Polyp is possibly the most fun ride I've ever been on. Högspänningen is the same type of ride as Windy Castle at Paultons, a 'kids' ride that those who attended South meet will remember reduced me to lying on my back. Fortunately there wasn't a repeat of that this time but these rides are great fun if you get them up to speed. And last but not least of course, there is Atmosphere. Atmosphere is mess your pants scary going up, but the drop really is surprisingly gentle, so even if you're not a fan of drop towers normally, it's an experience not to be missed.
A highlight of Liseberg for me was the rapids ride, not only is it well themed, I loved how it starts slow and soft and gets progressively faster and more intense, introducing more and more elements as it goes on. Probably my favourite rapids ride. The flume ride is also good, and very unique. After reaching the top up the hill and passing through Lisebergbanan there is a drop, followed immediately by a tiny drop, before a final big drop back down to the ground, very good fun.
Gasten Ghost Hotel is a top class scare maze. I really don't like the rule about going through in a conga line, but unlike the boring Terror Of The Towers, it didn't ruin the experience because everything about this attraction is so well done, the sinking room is an absolute masterpiece. Make sure not to miss the bar/restaurant by the exit, great service, great food, really well themed, 'interactivity' and offers a stunning vista of the hill and the rides on it.
Balder
Balder was interesting for me, as Intamin's approach to this wooden coaster was exactly the opposite of Vekoma's approach to Thunder Coaster the day before. Balder seeks to be a much more refined, engineered coaster, but would that make it better than the raw, more traditional Thunder Coaster? In a word, no. Although Balder has its highlights with its many headchoppers, stunning first drop and sometimes outrageous airtime, everything between is just so much of a non-event. Massive dead spots lead to corners that are far too wide and overly banked, making them absolutely, unforgivably boring. One or two slower turns to help pacing or if the ride was rough to give a breather, but every turn being this soft, on a ride this smooth and with such powerful hills? It's so stupid. I'm not convinced a wooden coaster should be velvet smooth either. Unbank the turns so there's some good old fashioned laterals and this would be an amazing coaster, but as it is, it's just a very good one at most. A shame.
Helix
Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod
Kanonen
Kanonen is sooo cute. It's a tiny Intamin accelerator that also opened during the boom these coasters enjoyed in the mid 00's, but what makes this one unique is how small it is, pretty much the whole ride is squeezed on top of a toilet block, with the exception of a cute little attempt at a top hat that the trains barely navigate. This is followed by a loop so tight you really won't want to put your head forward in the front rows of any car that isn't the front. The rest of the layout is compact and fun, the only negative being the ending barrel roll, thanks to the godawful Intamin restraints. I seem to remember the launch actually being more forceful than Speed Monster, despite being slower, and although not a favourite ride, I did rather enjoy Kanonen.
Lisebergbanan
Lisebergbananananananarama has an interesting history. After demolishing their old scenic railway after discovering it was literally sinking into the ground, the park sought out a new coaster, and after already settling on a design, the legendary Anton Schwarzkopf walked up to the manager's office with some blue prints, declared his plan his best ever ride, and Lisebergbanan was born. After waiting years to ride this I had a lot of expectations and the ride did not let me down. It's easily one of the most fun rollercoasters I've ever been on. The part near the start where it whips up and around the play area is surprisingly fast, the triple drops and great fun, the airtime hill is actually brilliant, love the helix near the end, and of course, the highlight of the whole thing being BROMS! Start to finish a perfect family coaster even after all these years.
There's been a lot written about Liseberg on here as it's already a favourite with a lot of people, including Rob's excellent practially PhD worthy effort on Helix, so there sadly isn't much I can add beyond my own opinions on the rides and the feel of the place. Sadly we didn't get to stick around for the religious experience that is supposedly Helix at night but I will return one day soon. I arrived expecting a great park with great rides and that is exactly what I found, and I left with a new number one coaster. An absolutely brilliant day.
Leaving that night, my first proper driving experience on the wrong side was faintly terrifying with a sat nav that thought I was somewhere off road being eaten by wolves, but fortunately we eventually made it too our much roomier hotel without any moose strikes, ready to rest before finishing the long drive to the reason behind this trip, Kolmarden Zoo and their much anticipated new RMC behemoth Wildfire, but with rumours rife that evening that RMC had ordered it closed, would we even get to ride?
Find out next time...
TBC
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