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Movie Park Germany

Makes sense for a family style coaster since it'll probably be attached to a Nickelodeon IP.

Probably won't charge over for it though.
 
Sounds like a decent addition to their line up, hopefully FLY will be open so can visit them both when they open next year.
 
The high reception of Van Helsing’s Factory makes me optimistic that this could be something quite special in terms of an overall experience, and with Intamin at the helm, I’m sure the ride hardware will be top-notch too! So it’s a huge thumbs up from me!

Also, I’m not necessarily sure it’ll end up being a Nickelodeon IP, as isn’t this replacing a boat ride themed to Ice Age, which definitely isn’t a Nickelodeon IP?
 
Matt N said:
Also, I’m not necessarily sure it’ll end up being a Nickelodeon IP, as isn’t this replacing a boat ride themed to Ice Age, which definitely isn’t a Nickelodeon IP?
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I'm not that familiar with the park, but if the Ice Age ride is next to the land occupied by the other Nick stuff, then wouldn't count as an expansion to their Nickelodeon Land?
 
Ted said:
I'm not that familiar with the park, but if the Ice Age ride is next to the land occupied by the other Nick stuff, then wouldn't count as an expansion to their Nickelodeon Land?
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Possibly; I’ve never actually been, so take my above statement with a pinch of salt!
 
It's located behind Nick Land with access from that area, much like the rapids.

I have two concerns regarding this project.

1. The budget. Van Helsing is undoubtedly one of the pinnacle, indoor themed coasters in Europe. But let's not forget that was installed back when the park was splashing money to make excellent theming and all-round products. Their newer products, be it from the ground-up ala Star Trek, or re-themes such as Area 51 and Excalibur, have all suffered from poor quality which is likely down to budget. The theming is cheap and in many places bland. I can't see that notion suddenly being overturned for this project. Intamin aren't going to be doing this on the lower price bracket, so there's the risk a big portion goes on the ride itself and the theming is totally compromised. Plus, see the below point.

2. The ride itself. The reviews for Objectif Mars aren't favourable if that's what they're going for. What Movie Park needs is a solid, high capacity family coaster (given it'll be located next to two of the worst throughput coasters in the park), not something that churns out 900 at best and offers a mediocre, unforgettable blast through crap, 2D theming.

Obviously I'd love to be proven wrong, but I'm not going to lend a shred of optimism based on recent investments compared to what has been installed years and years ago.
 
This is a different ride model to Objectif Mars; this is a Multi Dimensional Coaster, which is more comparable to Thirteen and Inferno (at Cinecitta World), and I’ve heard descriptions that make this ride sound a bit like a European Gringotts.

Objectif Mars, on the other hand, is a Family Spinning Coaster, according to Intamin’s website.

Also, I thought Area 51 and Excalibur were getting reviewed really positively and had fantastic theming, and they’re fairly recent examples?
 
Irrespective of model type, it's still going to be costly, and Movie Park hasn't been able to demonstrate delivery of products that don't look cheap and tacky compared to the rest of the park. They certainly won't be able to match the ambition and scale of Gringotts, that's a given, but I'm not holding my breath on them suddenly pulling out the most remarkable indoor coaster in Europe.

As much as I'd love them to do so.
 
Personally I thought they'd done a really good job with the Operation Enterprise queue and tour through the enterprise after beaming onboard. Just the actual coaster itself was a bit short.
I enjoyed Area 51 as well.

Definitely agree with how excellent Van Helsing was, more parks should be building coasters like that.

What with them working on a retheme of MP-xpress so it's no longer themed to being a bin there certainly working on improving the overall feel of the park.
 
The trouble with MPG's recent rethemes is that they clearly haven't actually spent enough money on them. Take the rapids for instance - the queue line looks fine but once you get onto the ride there's a huge hole in the roof where a large animatronic has been ripped out and once outside the ride has barely been touched and now looks really run down (it was looking tired when I first visited in 2012). The vekoma junior used to have elaborate rockwork theming but it was all ripped out when the area became Nick land (compare old photos of the ride on rcdb with more recent ones).

As for the new coaster, I'm expecting a relatively tame affair due to the combination of it being indoors and the stop-start nature of the ride to allow for the backwards launch. The ride will probably rely heavily on how well they theme it, or they could just do a VHF and stick a couple of unbanked corners on it and it'll be fine.
 
Agree with the sentiments of others. I still haven’t managed to visit yet, but I’ve always kept half an eye on this park. It does seem like the bar is set very high with Van Helsing and they’ve yet to meet, let alone exceed it in terms of package.

A comparison of budgets would be interesting. VH clearly had a considerable budget on it, but Gerst bobsleds aren’t exactly high-end hardware with a hefty price tag, suggesting to me there was plenty of budget left for theming. Comparatively, Star Trek is from Mack, who aren’t exactly a cheap brand and now Intamin who again don’t really come cheap. Are they splashing out more on the hardware these days but saving on theming to compensate?.. I’ve heard a few people pass comment on the fact Star Trek is a bit cheaply done.

I’m by no means complaining about buying higher quality hardware if you can (always a bit of a gamble with Intamin, mind you), but there needs to be budget there to balance across theming if that’s the direction they’re going for, rather than a Six Flags Special.
 
With it being indoors I can imagine a lot of darker blank sections rather than whole massive themed scenes, or I used a lot of screen use, I never did Ice Age so don’t really know how big the ride or building will turn out to be. But we will see! Reports seem to suggest it will be themed to Hollywood, unless that’s just the marketing for it.

Area 51 is really good and I enjoyed it, but looking at old POVs you can see the whole ride,station, theming, etc were already there, they basically just gave it some new music and a lick of paint. Excalibur on the other hand, not sure where that budget went other than the queue line. The actual ride is depressing with his tired and worn out it looks.
 
More info on the theme of this new coaster coming in 2021 from Blooloop.

I can’t work out if I think this is a good idea or not, on the one hand at least it’s a change for a new indoor ride not to be IP based. On the other hand a behind the scenes Hollywood Tour (whilst matching the theme of the park) does seem a bit 1990s. Other theme parks have been consciously moving away from this kind of thing lately.

Leisure Expert Group, a leading experience design company, is working on a new studio tour-themed coaster at Movie Park Germany.
Leisure Expert Group, alongside Intamin, P&P Projects, IMAscore and Wiebe Damstra, is working on a new project at Movie Park Germany. The new Multi Dimension Coaster will open next year, as the park celebrates its 25th anniversary, and will take visitors on a Hollywood studio tour, with exciting sets and scenes as well as a matching preshow.
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https://blooloop.com/news/leisure-expert-group-movie-park-germany/
 
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Urgh.

Movie Park needs to solve its problems before adding more rides like this.
 
I must admit this is sounding like a really intriguing project; I’m interested to see how it shapes up!
AstroDan said:
Urgh.

Movie Park needs to solve its problems before adding more rides like this.
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What are those problems, out of interest?
 
The place is just bland. It has a serious lack of capital to spend on improving the park. The operations are mediocre at best. Areas are scruffy or tired. The only genuinely impressive attraction is Van Helsing's Factory, which is one of the best indoor coasters in Europe - even if it's a little short. The SLC? The woodie? The wild mouse? Forgettable or downright offensive. Star Trek? Just sort of OK.

It's very much a "second tier" park in Germany, although that is not necessarily a bad thing. However, MPG lacks much of the charm that you'd find at most of the "second tier" parks in Germany like Tripsdrill or Hansa-Park.
 
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Every time I read a flood of positivity about Van Helsing I can't help but wonder if people went on a different ride to the one I remember.
 
When I was planning my German/Dutch trip just gone, I went straight from Cologne to Hamburg and only was it too late I remembered this park existed on the way (as it's near Dusseldorf/Dortmund). I'd like to eventually visit one day, but it's not worth it over a revisit to Europa or Phantasia.
 
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