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Phantasialand: General Discussion
- Thread starter Sam
- Start date
Spike
TS Contributor
- Favourite Ride
- Taron
Don't do what we did and chance it with a taxi, you will get ripped off. On the way back we got 2 trains which were fairly easy - Cologne airport to Cologne City station (worth stopping off to see the Cathedral outside the station for an hour) then a train from Cologne to Bruhl, there's a free shuttle bus to the park from this station.
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Matt Creek
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance
Get a train from Cologne Bonn Airport to Cologne HBF
Then get another train from HBF to Bruhl
Then bus or taxi to park/hotel
CSLKenny
TS Member
Over the past few months the park have been refurbishing the theming around the lake in the Fantasy area. The park have now made a blog post about this work:
Zu neuem Leben erweckt: Die Häuser der Wasser-Wuze
The village of Baumbergen is located in the bay of Lake Mondsee, deep in the Fantasy themed area. Here at the enchanting idyllic water lives a special group of fishermen and collectors: the water-Wuze. They spend a relaxed life in harmony with nature, go fishing, gather the fruits of the lush vegetation or simply let their feet dangle in the lake.
You have not seen them yet? No wonder, because the water-Wuze are nocturnal and people very shy. During the day, they sleep and spend soothing hours in their homes, which are located along the paths above the Mondsee and on islands in the lake itself. These houses are quite unusual: with their window eyes and the door-mouth, with their green grass hair and the powerful roots on which they stand, rising like strong arms and legs from the ground, they look really lively. And they are! It is said that when the water-Wuze are out of the house, they socialise with each other, and are happy to walk in the Bay of Mondsee. But do not worry, they are completely harmless and do not move a bit during the day when their inhabitants are resting in them.
Now the wet environment and the general weather over the years have effected the houses. And when the water-Wuze return from fishing in the early dawn of the morning, they are somewhat careless with their damp clothing and also carry a lot of mud from the shores. All this has been detrimental to home comforts. We would like to remedy this situation, and we have taken over the renovation of the sympathetic-looking dwellings, so that the Wuze can still feel comfortable here.
"With the new wooden paneling, the houses of the Water-Wuze are getting new a long-lasting façade," says Annette Pieck, project manager at Phantasialand. "We use very dense, resistant and therefore stable wood - oak, larch and Douglas fir." Exactly the right, high-quality material selection for the local conditions. For additional protection, the beams are specially flamed before installation and final painting. With a gas burner, just like roofers use, the carpenters carefully work the wood, glide with the flames on all sides, until the surface roughened by the sawing finishes and creates a warm and homely patina.
In other respects, the wood is also visually appealing to the houses. Through the elaboration of the characteristic facial forms, they awaken to a whole new life and exude the friendly nature which corresponds to them. But all of the work is done by Annette Pieck and her team. "The atmosphere in Baumbergen is unique and invites you to linger. We do not want to break this mood. And of course we do not wish to awaken the water-Wuze. That is why we are involved here with small teams over a longer period, "explains Annette Pieck. The first houses already shine in rich honey-brown in the midst of the green plant shining in countless greens. At the moment, the first house on Lake Mondsee is undergoing careful changes. For the craftsmen, the swaying island can only be reached by way of an extra bridge.
Further cosmetic work on the "hairstyles" and gardens of the houses will once again increase the quality of life. Until the time has come, the water-Wuze still have to have some patience. But then they will be all the more pleased with their carefully renovated dwellings and they will be able to enjoy the tranquility and security in Baumbergen.
Before shot for comparison:
Zu neuem Leben erweckt: Die Häuser der Wasser-Wuze
The village of Baumbergen is located in the bay of Lake Mondsee, deep in the Fantasy themed area. Here at the enchanting idyllic water lives a special group of fishermen and collectors: the water-Wuze. They spend a relaxed life in harmony with nature, go fishing, gather the fruits of the lush vegetation or simply let their feet dangle in the lake.
You have not seen them yet? No wonder, because the water-Wuze are nocturnal and people very shy. During the day, they sleep and spend soothing hours in their homes, which are located along the paths above the Mondsee and on islands in the lake itself. These houses are quite unusual: with their window eyes and the door-mouth, with their green grass hair and the powerful roots on which they stand, rising like strong arms and legs from the ground, they look really lively. And they are! It is said that when the water-Wuze are out of the house, they socialise with each other, and are happy to walk in the Bay of Mondsee. But do not worry, they are completely harmless and do not move a bit during the day when their inhabitants are resting in them.
Now the wet environment and the general weather over the years have effected the houses. And when the water-Wuze return from fishing in the early dawn of the morning, they are somewhat careless with their damp clothing and also carry a lot of mud from the shores. All this has been detrimental to home comforts. We would like to remedy this situation, and we have taken over the renovation of the sympathetic-looking dwellings, so that the Wuze can still feel comfortable here.
"With the new wooden paneling, the houses of the Water-Wuze are getting new a long-lasting façade," says Annette Pieck, project manager at Phantasialand. "We use very dense, resistant and therefore stable wood - oak, larch and Douglas fir." Exactly the right, high-quality material selection for the local conditions. For additional protection, the beams are specially flamed before installation and final painting. With a gas burner, just like roofers use, the carpenters carefully work the wood, glide with the flames on all sides, until the surface roughened by the sawing finishes and creates a warm and homely patina.
In other respects, the wood is also visually appealing to the houses. Through the elaboration of the characteristic facial forms, they awaken to a whole new life and exude the friendly nature which corresponds to them. But all of the work is done by Annette Pieck and her team. "The atmosphere in Baumbergen is unique and invites you to linger. We do not want to break this mood. And of course we do not wish to awaken the water-Wuze. That is why we are involved here with small teams over a longer period, "explains Annette Pieck. The first houses already shine in rich honey-brown in the midst of the green plant shining in countless greens. At the moment, the first house on Lake Mondsee is undergoing careful changes. For the craftsmen, the swaying island can only be reached by way of an extra bridge.
Further cosmetic work on the "hairstyles" and gardens of the houses will once again increase the quality of life. Until the time has come, the water-Wuze still have to have some patience. But then they will be all the more pleased with their carefully renovated dwellings and they will be able to enjoy the tranquility and security in Baumbergen.
- From the Phantafriends forum, a picture of the first completed house. The park have also added a whole load of new theming.
Before shot for comparison:
JAMMY_Jaunts
TS Member
If this is a new-gen Vekoma Flyer, I'm extremely intrigued as to how this turns out! 
CSLKenny
TS Member
The rumour has been for a while that it will the new prototype flying coaster Vekoma has been working on at their test site Vlodrop for the past year. Those who have seen the testing speculated it could be for a dark ride coaster like Arthur in Europa or the Mummy - the cars are on a pivot so you can load and view scenes sitting normally.
No limits rotation test:
Considering the location will it is likely to be mostly, if not completely enclosed. Shall be interesting to see what happens!
No limits rotation test:
Considering the location will it is likely to be mostly, if not completely enclosed. Shall be interesting to see what happens!
Ted
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Kondaa
Surprised to hear it's Vekoma wanting to do a launch flying coaster and not B&M. Especially considering the former has not done a new flying coaster full stop for about 16 years now. If it is from Vekoma then hopefully they've improved their flying coasters since then, but it makes me wonder if B&M would go down the same route if that's the case.
Ian
TS Team
- Favourite Ride
- Dizz, Bobby’s Yarn Land
Personally I'd prefer a B&M simply for their proven track record. However, I'm by no means against a Vekoma. It's about time they got a look-in with more major parks again, as they're clearly trying hard to up the quality and shake their old image.
A few thoughts which come to mind.
I'd be interested to know how fast we're talking launch wise. Flying trains are pretty hefty due to all the gear they carry. LIM technology has moved on considerably, but if it were a B&M I imagine it'd take considerable power to get the craft up to a significant speed.
Given the area too, they're going to have to pack at least 3688ft of track into it to break the length record. That's around 900ft more than Air/Galactica. We're probably talking something in the rough region of The Smiler length (around 150ft longer than the longest flyer). Mamba would be over 1000 shorter but occupies a similar size area to this. Surely this would be an incredible challenge to pack bulky B&M track in?
Given the length of the track, and the speed you'd reasonably expect a flyer to achieve (Tatsu is currently the fastest, at 62mph, and note that PL haven't claimed that this will be the fastest, something you'd expect they to want to shout about) , this presumably means we would see a MCBR or other form of block during the layout? Presumably this should mean at least 3 craft even with a single inline station (awaits correction from throughput god @John).
I'm wondering if to pack in so much track, presumably at a fairly low height or enclosed as Kenny suggests given proximity to housing, we could be seeing smaller vechicles capable of tighter maneuvers. Perhaps only 2 across seating or only 4-5 rows of 4? This would lighten the train for a launch. If it was a dark coaster you could easily increase the number of blocks with show scenes, possibly allowing more trains to compensate.
Either way, very interested to watch this develop
I seem to remember hearing that this was discussed as one of the original concepts for B&Ms design, as it meant you could achieve the flying position without needing to hoist a craft with extensive lifting gear...
A few thoughts which come to mind.
I'd be interested to know how fast we're talking launch wise. Flying trains are pretty hefty due to all the gear they carry. LIM technology has moved on considerably, but if it were a B&M I imagine it'd take considerable power to get the craft up to a significant speed.
Given the area too, they're going to have to pack at least 3688ft of track into it to break the length record. That's around 900ft more than Air/Galactica. We're probably talking something in the rough region of The Smiler length (around 150ft longer than the longest flyer). Mamba would be over 1000 shorter but occupies a similar size area to this. Surely this would be an incredible challenge to pack bulky B&M track in?
Given the length of the track, and the speed you'd reasonably expect a flyer to achieve (Tatsu is currently the fastest, at 62mph, and note that PL haven't claimed that this will be the fastest, something you'd expect they to want to shout about) , this presumably means we would see a MCBR or other form of block during the layout? Presumably this should mean at least 3 craft even with a single inline station (awaits correction from throughput god @John
).I'm wondering if to pack in so much track, presumably at a fairly low height or enclosed as Kenny suggests given proximity to housing, we could be seeing smaller vechicles capable of tighter maneuvers. Perhaps only 2 across seating or only 4-5 rows of 4? This would lighten the train for a launch. If it was a dark coaster you could easily increase the number of blocks with show scenes, possibly allowing more trains to compensate.
Either way, very interested to watch this develop
I seem to remember hearing that this was discussed as one of the original concepts for B&Ms design, as it meant you could achieve the flying position without needing to hoist a craft with extensive lifting gear...
Skyscraper
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Nemesis