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Phantasialand: General Discussion

monkeyboy said:
Which is the better of the 2 hotels?


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I’ve stayed in both, matamba twice and ling bao once. As lots of people have said above, it really depends what you are going for.

Matamba is a lot more family friendly. More in the way of areas where kids can play, and you will see a lot of kids running about. Ling bao is very classy, upmarket and posh. I don’t think I saw a single child in the hotel on my stay, it’s got a very fancy feel.

Ling bao is my favourite, it has the better bars (dragon bar, when it’s open), it’s got the swimming pool and spa and the rooms and the beds are a lot “comfier”. But that leads me to my next point, bed arrangements:

Ling bao and matamba both have family rooms, and you are most likely going to be put in a family room even if you aren’t coming with your family, unless you upgrade to a superior or a suite in the ling bao. In every family room the ling bao has one double bed (with two separate single duvets) and one bunk bed. This compares to matamba which will give you two double beds (with a double duvet) in the matamba. So it’s something to consider when booking your room. I imagine Charles Lindbergh will be twin beds from the looks of it (but don’t hold me to that).

Both hotels do amazing buffet breakfasts and also buffet dinners, but I prefer the buffet in ling bao. Both hotels also have an a-la-carte restaurant too, and they are both good quality.

For me, it’s got to be ling bao, better atmosphere, tranquility, swimming pool and at christmas the lights around the hotel gardens are so beautiful you will literally never want to go home. Matamba is much more upbeat, vibrant and friendly, a bit like the Africa area in the park, and if you stay in a park view room you can get some great views of black mamba going around. But I definitely think ling bao has to be my favourite of the two hotels, but it is a lot posher.

Just one final thing to add, you will definitely feel how much “classier” ling bao is than matamba if you stay in both. At breakfast in the ling bao they take you to your table and bring you coffee/tea, and as soon as you are done with a plate they remove it immediately- amazing efficient service. In matamba the service at breakfast is much more laid back, you have to go and make your own tea and coffee and you often end up with a stack of dirty plates. Just one of the reasons for the price difference and difference in ratings and atmosphere between the two hotels.

@Ian I visited in January just gone, matamba guests can no longer use the ling bao pool and sauna facilities, I believe. But they are entitled to make bookings at the mandala spa and use the ling baos restaurants and bars.
 
I've only stayed in Ling Bao, but I did go over to Matamba for dinner, and I thought it was pretty good. Though in fairness, I had drunk three cocktails in the space of an hour at Ling Bao, so I can't remember too much about it... :p The outside area at Ling Bao is stunning, with the covered pagoda being an excellent place to relax with a drink. Or, in my case, three! :p
 
Both hotels are great, but oddly hushed. The Dragon Bar is also often closed at Ling Bao - a great shame.

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TPJames said:
Ling bao and matamba both have family rooms, and you are most likely going to be put in a family room even if you aren’t coming with your family, unless you upgrade to a superior or a suite in the ling bao. In every family room the ling bao has one double bed (with two separate single duvets) and one bunk bed. This compares to matamba which will give you two double beds (with a double duvet) in the matamba. So it’s something to consider when booking your room. I imagine Charles Lindbergh will be twin beds from the looks of it (but don’t hold me to that).
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at Matamba we booked a standard park view room I think and had a double bed, with bunk beds in a separate area (like AT Moon Voyager rooms).
 
AstroDan said:
Both hotels are great, but oddly hushed. The Dragon Bar is also often closed at Ling Bao - a great shame.

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Every time I’ve visited the dragon bar has been open, that bar is honestly incredible, my favourite bar on the planet and the view is stunning, the cocktails are amazing too!

But I have heard a lot of the time it is closed randomly, and they don’t post a schedule online of opening times, so that’s a great shame.
 
Whether the Dragon Bar opens is decided I believe by how many guests are in the hotel and park that day apparently hence the inconsistent opening times sadly.
 
Does anyone know which hotel will be the cheapest to stay in once Charles thingumajig opens because I'm planning to visit over the next two years for the first time (not this year because i don't know when FLY will open and also because of the virus sort of).
 
Pleasure Beach Valhalla said:
Does anyone know which hotel will be the cheapest to stay in once Charles thingumajig opens because I'm planning to visit over the next two years for the first time (not this year because i don't know when FLY will open and also because of the virus sort of).
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A lot of people were believing Lindbergh would be the budget option due to smaller rooms, but I personally believe it could be a higher price point due to novelty factor. If you want the cheapest room on resort, you should book a tower room in the hotel matamba, you can normally get 25% off ish if you book 4 weeks in advance.

If you aren’t bothered about staying on resort but are happy to stay in the local area I can recommend the “Six! boutique hotel” in Brühl which offers a cheaper price + breakfast, you can get to Phantasialand each day by riding the shuttle bus for 3 euros return or a taxi. The other hotel in the area is the “H+ hotel Brühl” which has public transport links to Brühl hbf and the park, but it’s kind of out of the way. I’ve never stayed there but it’s 4* and has very good reviews and offers a much cheaper price than the park hotels. Either of these options can normally be booked on booking.com with free cancellation until the day.
 
If you want to stay on site Matamba is usually the cheapest, especially if you book in advance. €10 more for a park view as well.

The H+ Hotel in Bruhl is fine, decent breakfast, a bar which does food if you're on park til late, as well as the restaurant.
Not too far a walk to Phantasialand (to the Berlin entrance) either if you fancy a stroll in the morning.
 
John_P said:
If you want to stay on site Matamba is usually the cheapest, especially if you book in advance. €10 more for a park view as well.

The H+ Hotel in Bruhl is fine, decent breakfast, a bar which does food if you're on park til late, as well as the restaurant.
Not too far a walk to Phantasialand (to the Berlin entrance) either if you fancy a stroll in the morning.
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Thanks everyone for the advice!
 
I finally returned to Phantasialand yesterday, which was really busy but still got on loads of rides - very well operated. I'd forgotten how great that park is since my first visit 3 years ago. We caught FLY testing briefly when riding Colorado Adventure, and somehow managed a ride on Wuzeball before it broke down, fortunately we were in the right place at the right time. Obviously no photos because, well, Phantasialand.

In my opinion, the new hotel looks no better in real life and the main entrance in Berlin is such a non-event, they really need to sort this out.

Overall a great day! Looking forward to returning next month.
 
Burbs said:
I finally returned to Phantasialand yesterday, which was really busy but still got on loads of rides - very well operated. I'd forgotten how great that park is since my first visit 3 years ago. We caught FLY testing briefly when riding Colorado Adventure, and somehow managed a ride on Wuzeball before it broke down, fortunately we were in the right place at the right time. Obviously no photos because, well, Phantasialand.

In my opinion, the new hotel looks no better in real life and the main entrance in Berlin is such a non-event, they really need to sort this out.

Overall a great day! Looking forward to returning next month.
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I'm glad you enjoyed it @Burbs and everyone still doesn't know when F.L.Y will open!
 
Sod F.L.Y, how was wuzeball? Is it still rougher than Grand National? Is it true you can backwards on it now?

I can't believe you rode it! I once saw it was open but the queue for Wakobato was walk on. By the time we got off, wuzeball was closed again.
 
A few minor changes at PL which I assume are cause of corona which I actually preferred.

Black Mamba you now all enter the station using the front row queue, with the rude host sending you to a row, they are currently only filling one family/group per row. But this does mean the station is so much more organised. As in the past you enter the station near row 4 or 5 and I’ve often seen rows go empty as people can’t get in the station to fill.

Also Colorado now has a batcher who fills the station, which means there isn’t a mass crowd on the platform like previously. They are however filling all rows.

Chiapas were filling one group per row, however the queue moved quickly as that ride just seems to have amazing throughput.

Not sure why but queue was out the door for mystery castle but they were only running three towers (four were working but for some reason one was empty).

And best news of all, the pre show wasn’t being used at all on the mad house, so straight in to the ride! They have circles on the seats and you are meant to keep a gap between you and other groups.

Apart from that the park felt very busy, so there is clearly no restrictions on numbers and it is quite hard to keep away from others (however that felt the same in all the German theme parks we visited), if anything it felt busier than previous visits, however all rides and shows were open (except Hollywood tour which I believe is broke), and operations in General were very good.
 
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