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Phantasialand: General Discussion

hogofwar said:
I was lucky with my first ride being perfect, but unfortunately my second (and last ride) had the VR rotated by 45 degrees or so. Tried to get the attention of attendant but no luck. I just ended up taking off my headset for most of it.
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Yeah mine was literally backwards when I first sat down, thankfully a staff member noticed me looking around behind me! I think the headset might calibrate as soon as it's woken up and I was messing with it before sitting down.
 
They've introduced a new higher tier of Fast Track that includes FLY:

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Queues seem horrendous for Wintertraum, like a weekend at AT with nearly everything on 60+ min... Even Crazy Bats! Has anyone been?

I'd like to do a Xmas theme park trip next year (as in Winter 26/27) and Phantasialand is top of the list due to the excellent ride availability and great time we had this year. If we went we'd have to do the same thing again and stay in a Suite with guaranteed Fast Track access but even with that i'm wondering if it's going to be too crowded to enjoy.
 
Was heaving the time I went as well, a Saturday and Sunday in the January.

However I've seen people going midweek during the period having the park to themselves almost.

I would advise as amazing an event it is it can get bitterly cold at night so be prepared to wrap up warm.
 
A group of us visited Wintertraum just after new year. It was extremely crowded both days which made navigating the park a little tricky due to the compact nature of the park.

We witnessed the Colorado Adventure queue starting underneath the theatre in Mexico, snaking through a large temporary external queue and then the full length of the path down towards the normal ride entrance. Winjas was running 3 cars per side with a 60 minute queue. We waited 75min for Taron single rider on our second day due to being unwilling to wait 100 in main queue again (it was stated to be 70 at the time but was running at 50% quick pass so barely moved). It's an excellent event with a laser show in Rookburgh, fire/projection show in Mexico and fireworks finale on Alexanderplatz but the extreme crowds definitely detracted from our visit. Avoid weekends and school holidays if at all possible.
 
John said:
A group of us visited Wintertraum just after new year. It was extremely crowded both days which made navigating the park a little tricky due to the compact nature of the park.

We witnessed the Colorado Adventure queue starting underneath the theatre in Mexico, snaking through a large temporary external queue and then the full length of the path down towards the normal ride entrance. Winjas was running 3 cars per side with a 60 minute queue. We waited 75min for Taron single rider on our second day due to being unwilling to wait 100 in main queue again (it was stated to be 70 at the time but was running at 50% quick pass so barely moved). It's an excellent event with a laser show in Rookburgh, fire/projection show in Mexico and fireworks finale on Alexanderplatz but the extreme crowds definitely detracted from our visit. Avoid weekends and school holidays if at all possible.
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To add to this- a lot of the issues that day stemmed from fast track over selling. That Taron SRQ haunts me, and so does the fast track queue that seemed as long as the main queue as soon as it got dark. The queues that day for the toilets (esp the ladies) seemed as long as the rides, crowds as well were unmanageable at parts.

On the flip side I've also been mid week when it's been dead, a few weeks after new years.
At the start of 2024 when I went, I had a zen ride on Black Mamba which was... interesting. This was a day where it started snowing and didn't stop, resulting in Taron, FLY, and other rides closing. Most people left before park close (around midday) due to train, tram, and bus issues but the park helped me and others get back to Köln with their own taxis when everything public transport came to a halt. Previous times I've been post new years were before covid so was a different time.
 
We went December 29/30th not last year but the year before. Despite hearing about horrendous crowds after our visit in January, the park was definitely manageable busy in the Xmas/New Year period. We found the wait times were often overinflated so it really wasn't as bad as it looked. Taron was always posted 40 mins + but in the evening, there was only a 15/20 minute queue both days.
 
Aardvark said:
We went December 29/30th not last year but the year before. Despite hearing about horrendous crowds after our visit in January, the park was definitely manageable busy in the Xmas/New Year period. We found the wait times were often overinflated so it really wasn't as bad as it looked. Taron was always posted 40 mins + but in the evening, there was only a 15/20 minute queue both days.
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This is what I'm hoping for. Quiet in the day, busy in the evening.
 
Wintertraum was previously always mild or dead, with the exception of the week between Christmas Day and New Year’s, making a lot of it's money from corporate buyouts and Christmas parties. The event and atmosphere it offers are great, so it has undoubtedly become increasingly popular organically. However, since 2023, the park have also flooded the market with unusually Merlinesque cheap online ticket offers, unavailable otherwise at Phantasialand, which is historically a notoriously stringy/premium outfit. The event is now an Instagrammable hit, as well as the only time you can get in the park for less. The result is big ole queues.
 
Phantasialand Wintertraum is stunning but unfortunately it has become horribly overcrowded.

It doesn't help that with the park being so small already, that the crowding for the evening show makes much of the park into a congestion zone.

It can be deeply unpleasant. They should also open rides earlier than 11am on busier days (although keep the advertised time at 11) as this would help with crowding at the start of the day where you end up with huge queues waiting outside ride entrances. At one stage, you had guests from Lindbergh trying to exit Rookburgh to start their day whilst day guests were in Berlin trying to get into Rookburgh. At 11, they opened the gate and there was a horrid stampede with guests going in opposite directions.

I have to say I have no immediate desire to return during winter as much as it's stunningly decorated. Europa-Park and Efteling both manage crowds far better and the events are just as good for the most part if not better in some areas.
 
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Just returned from my very first Wintertraum event. Was very impressed with the park decoration, and it was busy, but not too busy. We stayed in Charles Lindbergh. Arrived around midday, after some shenanigans with delayed flights and an hour queue for passport control at Cologne airport.

Checked in and one of our rooms was ready so we went up and chucked all our luggage in there. Noticed that a FLY train was stopped on the first launch (empty). They started doing test runs as we were walking down from the room. Managed to get a walk on straight away as it just reopened as we entered the park. When we came off, the queue was 40 mins. Managed a back row ride on this, and it was crazy!

Did Taron front row in the rain which was a painful experience haha.

Had our first go on Mystery Castle - wtf!! This thing is insane.

Braved Chiapas in the cold (stayed on and did it twice). Got soaked and had to go back to the hotel to dry off.

Did a night ride on Black Mamba and found this way better than the last time I rode it. Thought it was a bit tame originally, but it was hauling in the evening!

Fireworks were decent in the evening. Had a better nights sleep this time around (as last time I couldn't get comfortable in the small cabins).

All in all was a good trip, got to do the majority of the park, probably should have booked an additional night. Also shout out to the thoosies we met at breakfast (think they were from the midlands). Was great chatting coasters over coffee and bacon!
 
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