Spike
TS Contributor
- Favourite Ride
- Taron
Well, I have returned from my first visit to Phantasialand and thought I’d share my views on the park, rides etc
My first impressions of the park was that it was a huge maze designed to confuse and amaze you – rides entrances situated half way across the park which was interesting at first but over our 5 days we managed to know our way around the park quite well.
The park itself is stunning, a real smorgasbord of rides, attractions and shows all clever stacked and slotted amongst themselves. It is such an impressive array of odd, thrilling, mind blowing rides and coasters.
What continued to surprise me was the ingenuity of the installations and how they utilised the space they have to fit in some wonderful and sometimes bizarre rides.
So, I shall start with...
Berlin
I was impressed with the clean cut look of the area it was a really nice entrance area to the park and had some little gems hidden amongst it that were not all noticeable to the eye, it was like finding a tenner in your wallet when you came across a new hidden ride/attraction.
Maus au Chocolat
Speaking of gems, what a little one this was, thoroughly enjoyed this ride as did friends I went with. It’s just nestled in the back and could be missed if you weren’t looking on a map for it. I loved the whole theming of the ride, the 4D integration was brilliant and the shooting part wasn’t as arm breaking as others I have ridden. One of our group was born in Germany was able to explain the story on one of our runs. It’s a great family attraction and a resounding thumbs up.
Das verruckte Hotel Tartuff
A fun house?! In a modern themepark!? Again, it was hidden and a great nostalgia trip from old school fun houses. I’d like to see more parks make a brave choice to install something so creative as this.
Eis Cafe
FIT! Gorgeous Ice Cream, pictures say it all really.
Mexico
Another well themed area with a stunning water ride as it’s centre piece. Attention to detail was second to none and really provided a strong immersive area. Colorado seems a bit bolted on but I cannot blame them as they are so limited on space. Speaking of which..
Colorado Adventure
I have heard nothing but good reviews about this ride and all of them were true. As this was my first ever Vekoma mine train I had nothing to compare to, only the hype. It is a crazy ass coaster which took us all by surprise. The layout is fantastic and provides a meaty coaster experience, you have no idea where you’re going or where you are and it’s intense in places. This was one of the rides which suffered from the aforementioned ‘where the hell is the entrance?’ lol
Talocan
The ride which is just as much fun to watch as it was to ride? Well, it was great to watch. Now, I am not the greatest with flat rides but I had to try it and holy crap its intense! It reduced one of our group to tears as it was just too much for them and it really hammered the G’s. I would ride it again but it’s a ‘once a trip’ ride for me. Superb theming to boot.
Chiapas – DIE Wasserbahn
What. A. Ride! Easily one of the best rides on our trip, achingly well themed and so cleverly incorporated into its surroundings. I’m sorry Valhalla but it knocks you off the number one spot as my best water ride. The technology in the ride is impressive, backwards, sideways, near vertical, it has it all! My only gripe was the cattle pen queue underground was very monotonous, other than that a stellar water ride and – RAVE ROOM!!!
China Town
Another accurate representation and themed beauty with some interesting rides shall we say lol
Feng Ju Palace
I will go straight out and say that it wasn’t as good as Hex but was very, erm, interesting. It’s definitely better than Kassandra and The Haunting but that really isn’t saying much. Interesting batching show and I kind of got the jist of the story but it did feel like they were trying too hard to fit the theme to the ride type. Either way it was a solid Mad House.
Geister Rikscha (Political Correctness – The Ride)
Haha! Erm, yeah. I’m not sure what this was. It certainly provided topics for discussion and not up to Phantasia’s standards. I guess it’s an old install and one that really needs a complete over haul to keep it up to the high standards of the park. It is a great canvass for them to re-do and make very special. Despite its bizarre qualities, we still rode it 4 times.
Africa
Nestled deep and hidden within the park, just off the Mexican turning is ‘The Ride That Bites’ You can almost hardly see it or hear it. There’s an occasional whisp of screams to your left or right as it sneaks about its surroundings...
Black Mamba
A ride that splits enthusiasts and causes controversy whenever the comparison is made – Is it better than Nemesis? *cue some hate* for me, no, it’s not and I don’t think it comes close to be honest. Sure, it’s great Intense B&M invert with a crazy layout but for me it tries a little too hard. Nemesis’ beauty is that it’s a relentless 50sec adrenaline shot to the heart, Mamba for me felt a bit lacklustre after the inversions as it just seems to pad out the ride with a series of pointless turns which add no value to the ride and almost detract away from the first 2/3’s thrill. It’s still miles better than Inferno, but it’s just not a Nemmy beater for me. Fantastic station and dispatch music, I could have spent an afternoon just in the station watching and hearing that and the theming is world class for it. A great coaster but it doesn’t hold a candle to Nemesis for me I’m afraid.
Fantasy
This area is so unique it’s untrue; you walk through the passage into a crazy Steampunk fairytale hybrid land with such a quirky vibe and theme. It was a joy to be in and balanced crazy with quiet and calm.
Winjas – Fear und Force
Another example of “How can we fit so much in with a small foot print” these coasters a crazy as hell and so unique. I couldn’t honestly separate them, the tilt track of Fear was so weird but then so was the see-saw of Force. They were both super fun and so clever in their designs. My only issue was that these coasters have one of thee best theme music to any ride and it was played so quietly I could hardly hear it.
Temple of the Night Hawk – (Dark Lift Hill – The Ride)
Sticks out like a saw thumb comes to mind. This coaster has no place in being in Phantasia and it’s just rather dull really. Once was enough but if they’re looking for development space then I’d start here. Nothing to see here! Or at least give it some cool lighting effects, c’mon Phantasia!
Wakobato
Nice little Splash battle, quite long but no real instances to battle or get splashed. Nice for a filler transport ride in a nice secluded area of the park.
Mystery
River Quest
What in god’s name was this ‘rapids’ lmao! I have never seen or ridden such a thing, was it a rapids, was it log flume, was it a lift, was it a bath!!? The answer is all of these things haha! Mind bogglingly crazy contraption. Our first ride I have never been so wet on a water ride before. The first drop after the elevator we were just engulfed in – what can only be described as – a tidal wave of water which shot from the CENTRE of the boat like a geyser! Before we had chance to digest what had happened we were enveloped in a whirl pool and going down steep drops! Ingenious use of space but my word, insanity!
Mystery Castle
Another unique and totally insane ride. I adore my drop towers but this hybrid mash-up was very unusual indeed. I would love to get in the mind of a Phantasia ride developer and see how they come up with these rides and how they execute them. This was a loud, crazy one way ticket upwards before dropping you for the hell of it. Great fun but far, far too short. 1 ½ shot drops really doesn’t do it justice.
Kulgheim!
Hands down the best themed area I’ve been to in any park. It is beyond words how amazing and integrated this area is, it beggars belief. It even has its own opening music! We queued this morning and when Klugheim opened the place erupted with the story of Kulgheim, Taron & Raik just before the coasters opened.
The attention to detail is outstanding, from the food to the toilets, to coaster and the effects. It’s just a MUST SEE!
TARON!!
I’m so, so, so sorry Roland but my dear Wodan has been knocked off the number one spot by this monster of a coaster. It is without doubt the best coaster I have ever ridden. It is just everything I look for in a coaster and is only missing an inversion or two to make it the perfect coaster for me. As it stands though it is utterly phenomenal!
It has everything – speed, g-forces a plenty and madness! If you like airtime (it’s not high on my list usually) this dishes it out in droves and not just any airtime – serious ejector airtime! There are at least 3 instances during the ride where you are nearly thrown from the train. The first launch is a nice Blue Fire esq launch with maybe a bit more of a punch and a powerful launch soundtrack – BASS! The second is just sheer madness and fires you across the area in a chasm and out through another soundtrack which is great to watch from off ride.
It takes my number one spot because the thing I love about Wodan is that it is just a crazy ground hugging speed machine – Taron does this better and for longer and has launches to boot. I cannot recommend this coaster enough and it’s worth a trip the Phantasia to ride this uniquely stunning beast of a machine.
Oh, and the launch noises of the LSM’s! Best coaster noise ever as well!
Launches (Sorry for portrait, it’s been so long since I recorded rides I forgot how to camera)
Off-Ride Video
Raik
It’s a nice junior boomerang and my first Vekoma one as well. It’s a fun little coaster which does what it says on the tin
Rutmore’s Tavern (A must eat on park)
This was the best on park place we ate all week, its wonderful food and provided one of the highlights that you would not get in any park in the UK – Underselling!
We went to order a platter of meats and cheeses for 4 which was 48 Euros when the waitress told us not to order it and that the 2 person version for 24 Euros would suffice. The 48 euro one came on a 1 ½ meter plate and the previous day a group of 10 could not finish it...
It comes with a ton of bread as well
It was something I’ve never seen before in a park – underselling. We ate there 3 more times during the week and it was gorgeous food everytime...
The Veal and multiple spud dishes
There is only one issue with this restaurant though - flies Although they can almost be forgiven as it does essentially add to the medieval theme lol
And if you’ve read through this much, some more wouldn’t hurt eh?
Operations
In a word – outstanding! In the whole 5 days we were there I never once felt bored in a queue. Monday-Thursday was Schools week it appears but Phantasia just stepped up the mark – Chiapas, Taron, Mamba all banging out 2,000+ capacities per hour I worked out. Taron was launching a train every 30-40 seconds. The biggest queues of the week were for Chiapas (30-50mins) River Quest (50-60mins) and Taron (30-90mins) the heat being the main factor in the queues and the obvious shiny new of Taron. Quick passes are so cleverly placed you hardly notice them being used or sold, they are a class example of how fast track/ quick passes should work - take note Merlin!!
Staff & Hotel
We were at Ling Bao and it was a lovely hotel but not in the same league as Europa hotels sadly. The staff were amazing throughout our trip and catered wonderfully to us as guests. The Dragon Bar is a lovely little hide away and we spent a long night there until 3am with a 170 Euro bar bill to boot
Synopsis
A wonderful 5 days and a real eye opener to what else is around and can be done with a small park. we all fell in love with the place and everything about it. Taron was the major hit for all even to the point where one of our group (not a coaster enthusiast) decided to spend an afternoon whoring single rider on his own gaining 10+ rides on the beast. I cannot recommend it highly enough and the park, if you've not been then you must take a trip. It is so easy to access and costs are pretty good - 350 Euros got us 5 days on park, quick passes, 1 nights buffet meal B&B which is pretty darn good.
Highlights
Taron, Taron & TARON!
Amazing food & cocktails
Superb operations & staff
German BARNES! everywhere!
Lowlights
The heat!! 35 degrees on one of the days - 30+ all week
The ridiculous prices of bottled coke and water
The only piece of branded Taron merch was a notebook, they had nothing else for Taron
Speaking of which, merch shot
and finally, my updated top 10 coaster list
1.) Taron - Phantasialand
2.) Wodan - Europa Park
3.) Nemesis - Alton Towers
4.) Smiler - Alton Towers
5.) Shambhala - Portaventura
6.) Blue Fire - Europa Park
7.) Black Mamba - Phantasialand
8.) Dragon Khan - Portaventura
9.) Colossus - Thorpe Park
10.) The Swarm - Thorpe Park
Top 5 Parks
1.) Europa Park (Sorry Phantasia, still doesn't topple Roland)
2.) Phantasialand
3.) Alton Towers
4.) Portaventura
5.) Thorpe Park
Cheers for reading and even bigger thanks if you read through it all lmao
My first impressions of the park was that it was a huge maze designed to confuse and amaze you – rides entrances situated half way across the park which was interesting at first but over our 5 days we managed to know our way around the park quite well.
The park itself is stunning, a real smorgasbord of rides, attractions and shows all clever stacked and slotted amongst themselves. It is such an impressive array of odd, thrilling, mind blowing rides and coasters.
What continued to surprise me was the ingenuity of the installations and how they utilised the space they have to fit in some wonderful and sometimes bizarre rides.
So, I shall start with...
Berlin
I was impressed with the clean cut look of the area it was a really nice entrance area to the park and had some little gems hidden amongst it that were not all noticeable to the eye, it was like finding a tenner in your wallet when you came across a new hidden ride/attraction.
Maus au Chocolat
Speaking of gems, what a little one this was, thoroughly enjoyed this ride as did friends I went with. It’s just nestled in the back and could be missed if you weren’t looking on a map for it. I loved the whole theming of the ride, the 4D integration was brilliant and the shooting part wasn’t as arm breaking as others I have ridden. One of our group was born in Germany was able to explain the story on one of our runs. It’s a great family attraction and a resounding thumbs up.
Das verruckte Hotel Tartuff
A fun house?! In a modern themepark!? Again, it was hidden and a great nostalgia trip from old school fun houses. I’d like to see more parks make a brave choice to install something so creative as this.
Eis Cafe
FIT! Gorgeous Ice Cream, pictures say it all really.
Mexico
Another well themed area with a stunning water ride as it’s centre piece. Attention to detail was second to none and really provided a strong immersive area. Colorado seems a bit bolted on but I cannot blame them as they are so limited on space. Speaking of which..
Colorado Adventure
I have heard nothing but good reviews about this ride and all of them were true. As this was my first ever Vekoma mine train I had nothing to compare to, only the hype. It is a crazy ass coaster which took us all by surprise. The layout is fantastic and provides a meaty coaster experience, you have no idea where you’re going or where you are and it’s intense in places. This was one of the rides which suffered from the aforementioned ‘where the hell is the entrance?’ lol
Talocan
The ride which is just as much fun to watch as it was to ride? Well, it was great to watch. Now, I am not the greatest with flat rides but I had to try it and holy crap its intense! It reduced one of our group to tears as it was just too much for them and it really hammered the G’s. I would ride it again but it’s a ‘once a trip’ ride for me. Superb theming to boot.
Chiapas – DIE Wasserbahn
What. A. Ride! Easily one of the best rides on our trip, achingly well themed and so cleverly incorporated into its surroundings. I’m sorry Valhalla but it knocks you off the number one spot as my best water ride. The technology in the ride is impressive, backwards, sideways, near vertical, it has it all! My only gripe was the cattle pen queue underground was very monotonous, other than that a stellar water ride and – RAVE ROOM!!!
China Town
Another accurate representation and themed beauty with some interesting rides shall we say lol
Feng Ju Palace
I will go straight out and say that it wasn’t as good as Hex but was very, erm, interesting. It’s definitely better than Kassandra and The Haunting but that really isn’t saying much. Interesting batching show and I kind of got the jist of the story but it did feel like they were trying too hard to fit the theme to the ride type. Either way it was a solid Mad House.
Geister Rikscha (Political Correctness – The Ride)
Haha! Erm, yeah. I’m not sure what this was. It certainly provided topics for discussion and not up to Phantasia’s standards. I guess it’s an old install and one that really needs a complete over haul to keep it up to the high standards of the park. It is a great canvass for them to re-do and make very special. Despite its bizarre qualities, we still rode it 4 times.
Africa
Nestled deep and hidden within the park, just off the Mexican turning is ‘The Ride That Bites’ You can almost hardly see it or hear it. There’s an occasional whisp of screams to your left or right as it sneaks about its surroundings...
Black Mamba
A ride that splits enthusiasts and causes controversy whenever the comparison is made – Is it better than Nemesis? *cue some hate* for me, no, it’s not and I don’t think it comes close to be honest. Sure, it’s great Intense B&M invert with a crazy layout but for me it tries a little too hard. Nemesis’ beauty is that it’s a relentless 50sec adrenaline shot to the heart, Mamba for me felt a bit lacklustre after the inversions as it just seems to pad out the ride with a series of pointless turns which add no value to the ride and almost detract away from the first 2/3’s thrill. It’s still miles better than Inferno, but it’s just not a Nemmy beater for me. Fantastic station and dispatch music, I could have spent an afternoon just in the station watching and hearing that and the theming is world class for it. A great coaster but it doesn’t hold a candle to Nemesis for me I’m afraid.
Fantasy
This area is so unique it’s untrue; you walk through the passage into a crazy Steampunk fairytale hybrid land with such a quirky vibe and theme. It was a joy to be in and balanced crazy with quiet and calm.
Winjas – Fear und Force
Another example of “How can we fit so much in with a small foot print” these coasters a crazy as hell and so unique. I couldn’t honestly separate them, the tilt track of Fear was so weird but then so was the see-saw of Force. They were both super fun and so clever in their designs. My only issue was that these coasters have one of thee best theme music to any ride and it was played so quietly I could hardly hear it.
Temple of the Night Hawk – (Dark Lift Hill – The Ride)
Sticks out like a saw thumb comes to mind. This coaster has no place in being in Phantasia and it’s just rather dull really. Once was enough but if they’re looking for development space then I’d start here. Nothing to see here! Or at least give it some cool lighting effects, c’mon Phantasia!
Wakobato
Nice little Splash battle, quite long but no real instances to battle or get splashed. Nice for a filler transport ride in a nice secluded area of the park.
Mystery
River Quest
What in god’s name was this ‘rapids’ lmao! I have never seen or ridden such a thing, was it a rapids, was it log flume, was it a lift, was it a bath!!? The answer is all of these things haha! Mind bogglingly crazy contraption. Our first ride I have never been so wet on a water ride before. The first drop after the elevator we were just engulfed in – what can only be described as – a tidal wave of water which shot from the CENTRE of the boat like a geyser! Before we had chance to digest what had happened we were enveloped in a whirl pool and going down steep drops! Ingenious use of space but my word, insanity!
Mystery Castle
Another unique and totally insane ride. I adore my drop towers but this hybrid mash-up was very unusual indeed. I would love to get in the mind of a Phantasia ride developer and see how they come up with these rides and how they execute them. This was a loud, crazy one way ticket upwards before dropping you for the hell of it. Great fun but far, far too short. 1 ½ shot drops really doesn’t do it justice.
Kulgheim!
Hands down the best themed area I’ve been to in any park. It is beyond words how amazing and integrated this area is, it beggars belief. It even has its own opening music! We queued this morning and when Klugheim opened the place erupted with the story of Kulgheim, Taron & Raik just before the coasters opened.
The attention to detail is outstanding, from the food to the toilets, to coaster and the effects. It’s just a MUST SEE!
TARON!!
I’m so, so, so sorry Roland but my dear Wodan has been knocked off the number one spot by this monster of a coaster. It is without doubt the best coaster I have ever ridden. It is just everything I look for in a coaster and is only missing an inversion or two to make it the perfect coaster for me. As it stands though it is utterly phenomenal!
It has everything – speed, g-forces a plenty and madness! If you like airtime (it’s not high on my list usually) this dishes it out in droves and not just any airtime – serious ejector airtime! There are at least 3 instances during the ride where you are nearly thrown from the train. The first launch is a nice Blue Fire esq launch with maybe a bit more of a punch and a powerful launch soundtrack – BASS! The second is just sheer madness and fires you across the area in a chasm and out through another soundtrack which is great to watch from off ride.
It takes my number one spot because the thing I love about Wodan is that it is just a crazy ground hugging speed machine – Taron does this better and for longer and has launches to boot. I cannot recommend this coaster enough and it’s worth a trip the Phantasia to ride this uniquely stunning beast of a machine.
Oh, and the launch noises of the LSM’s! Best coaster noise ever as well!
Launches (Sorry for portrait, it’s been so long since I recorded rides I forgot how to camera)
Off-Ride Video
Raik
It’s a nice junior boomerang and my first Vekoma one as well. It’s a fun little coaster which does what it says on the tin
Rutmore’s Tavern (A must eat on park)
This was the best on park place we ate all week, its wonderful food and provided one of the highlights that you would not get in any park in the UK – Underselling!
We went to order a platter of meats and cheeses for 4 which was 48 Euros when the waitress told us not to order it and that the 2 person version for 24 Euros would suffice. The 48 euro one came on a 1 ½ meter plate and the previous day a group of 10 could not finish it...
It comes with a ton of bread as well
It was something I’ve never seen before in a park – underselling. We ate there 3 more times during the week and it was gorgeous food everytime...
The Veal and multiple spud dishes
There is only one issue with this restaurant though - flies
Although they can almost be forgiven as it does essentially add to the medieval theme lolAnd if you’ve read through this much, some more wouldn’t hurt eh?
Operations
In a word – outstanding! In the whole 5 days we were there I never once felt bored in a queue. Monday-Thursday was Schools week it appears but Phantasia just stepped up the mark – Chiapas, Taron, Mamba all banging out 2,000+ capacities per hour I worked out. Taron was launching a train every 30-40 seconds. The biggest queues of the week were for Chiapas (30-50mins) River Quest (50-60mins) and Taron (30-90mins) the heat being the main factor in the queues and the obvious shiny new of Taron. Quick passes are so cleverly placed you hardly notice them being used or sold, they are a class example of how fast track/ quick passes should work - take note Merlin!!
Staff & Hotel
We were at Ling Bao and it was a lovely hotel but not in the same league as Europa hotels sadly. The staff were amazing throughout our trip and catered wonderfully to us as guests. The Dragon Bar is a lovely little hide away and we spent a long night there until 3am with a 170 Euro bar bill to boot
Synopsis
A wonderful 5 days and a real eye opener to what else is around and can be done with a small park. we all fell in love with the place and everything about it. Taron was the major hit for all even to the point where one of our group (not a coaster enthusiast) decided to spend an afternoon whoring single rider on his own gaining 10+ rides on the beast. I cannot recommend it highly enough and the park, if you've not been then you must take a trip. It is so easy to access and costs are pretty good - 350 Euros got us 5 days on park, quick passes, 1 nights buffet meal B&B which is pretty darn good.
Highlights
Taron, Taron & TARON!
Amazing food & cocktails
Superb operations & staff
German BARNES! everywhere!
Lowlights
The heat!! 35 degrees on one of the days - 30+ all week
The ridiculous prices of bottled coke and water
The only piece of branded Taron merch was a notebook, they had nothing else for Taron
Speaking of which, merch shot
and finally, my updated top 10 coaster list
1.) Taron - Phantasialand
2.) Wodan - Europa Park
3.) Nemesis - Alton Towers
4.) Smiler - Alton Towers
5.) Shambhala - Portaventura
6.) Blue Fire - Europa Park
7.) Black Mamba - Phantasialand
8.) Dragon Khan - Portaventura
9.) Colossus - Thorpe Park
10.) The Swarm - Thorpe Park
Top 5 Parks
1.) Europa Park (Sorry Phantasia, still doesn't topple Roland)
2.) Phantasialand
3.) Alton Towers
4.) Portaventura
5.) Thorpe Park
Cheers for reading and even bigger thanks if you read through it all lmao
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