Having just returned from my first Phantasialand visit, I thought I'd share a few thoughts -
Flying from Manchester to Cologne is quick and easy, and the onward travel to the park is quite straightforward via public transport. Thanks to the wonders of Ryanair and the non-EU passport queue, I'd missed the desired train by about 5 minutes, so I used Bolt to arrange what transpired to be the fastest taxi driver in Germany
Getting started
The rides
Maus au Chocolat
This is brilliantly silly, although it goes on for a little bit too long. I scored 129k which I thought wasn't too bad, until it displayed someone's hiscore of 700k something!
I noticed the empty seat next to me appeared to clock up a score, and I was unable to splat any of the mice on the lower portion of the screen, so the system isn't perfect, but it's arguably the most accurate shooter style ride I've done
Black Mamba
Excellent, really enjoyed the ride - good pacing throughout and perfect intensity for me. The first of a few curiosities throughout the visit arose here, they were waiting quite a while (several minutes) between dispatches for no obvious reason. Just sort of standing around before sending a train after checking restraints etc. In my few minutes of observation, I think I prefer the Galactica tunnel to Black Mamba's brake run.
Colorado Adventure
Talk about ejector! I only rode this once, so I'm not sure if its always like this or due to the larger bloke next to me, the lap bar was very very loose on me. The section in the dark was unexpectedly good for a mine train
Feng Ju Palace
The preshow is hilarious for all the wrong reasons, and just when you think it's finished, there's yet another fight. And who's getting married today?
The madhouse itself seemed to be having a bit of difficulty once in the upside-down position, and I'm assuming something is meant to project onto the ceiling (formerly the floor), but it didn't seem to work properly. The fact its covered in dirt and what appears to be some kind of oil didn't help the immersion.
Much like Hex, it seemed to struggle to locate the parked position
Geister Rikscha
Far, far too long and I cannot describe any of the scenes, they were downright bizarre. One of the faces on the animatronics was unintentionally terrifying, I think it was actually decaying.
The ride system heavily reminds me of the Dawn of Time ride from the 90s/early 2000s at the Blackpool Tower
Mystery Castle
Having read some pretty poor reviews of this over the years, I was really pleasantly surprised! The operators were excellent, and the ride cycle was quite good. At some point in the early evening, they changed the cycle to a much longer one. The air in the room was extremely cold, which complemented the sensation
Raik
My first boomerang. Not sure I liked the feeling of coming backwards, it felt a bit too slow which made me a bit nauseous. As it was coming to a stop in the station, I was quite relieved it was over to be honest, so you can imagine my disappointment as it began a second lap!
F.L.Y
Visually, it's incredible, and Rookburgh is a picture perfect scene in every direction. The loading procedure for this is utterly bizarre, and feels very over the top. I wear glasses, so I asked the operator if it was permitted - he said it's fine with a strap. Not entirely sure how they think my phone could teleport out a zipped pocket, but nevertheless, I put it in the locker. The operator at the metal detector confirmed my glasses were strapped, along with the operator on the platform.
In the absence of any queue, I had to wait quite a while once clicked into the restraint, whilst they sourced some more people to fill the train. I found the position really uncomfortable to be waiting in, and I really didn't like the position once 'flying' either. There's just something about the design of the restraint I didn't get along with, which did dampen what should otherwise be a great coaster
Taron
The main reason why I visited - Taron is incredible, and I'd happily travel purely to ride it. The queue was advertised at 5 minutes most of the day, but using single rider, I was batched into a gate immediately each time
I couldn't see any cause, but they were seriously stacking the trains on this repeatedly. There were 3 or 4 trains in use, and based on the queue, they could've easily got away with 2 trains with quicker dispatches
It did gain a queue advertised at 25 minutes as darkness fell, but it was actually only about 10 mins.
That was the only queueing I did all day, everything else was walk on (despite the advertised times varying from 5-20 mins)
Chiapas
I observed this from the ground, given the extremely cold day. I only witnessed two boats with guests on, and they got absolutely drowned, which confirmed I'd made the sensible choice!
Food
I bought an egg & cheese sandwich from the kiosk near F.L.Y's exit, which was enjoyable and filling, but at €14 something for a sandwich and coffee, that's the bare minimum. Although I was served immediately, the food is cooked to order, so took ages. The coffee was laughably small, and there's no lid provided. There's an absence of any tables to sit at, only a bench opposite. Suddenly, it became clear why the more experienced guests had brought their own food in.
Return travel
The shuttle bus was easy to locate immediately outside the Berlin entrance. The timetable is merely a suggestion, it seems. Although there's supposed to be a €5 charge, nobody actually asked me to pay, so hopefully there's no warrant out for my arrest!
PL's website advises the bus can't currently access Brühl station due to construction. Whilst it's true there's definitely construction, the driver didn't appear to have the memo and drove in anyway, with the mirror arm missing one of the hoardings by microscopic distance as he turned us around in a narrow space. I made the straightforward journey to Cologne to spend the evening in a hotel. The DB Navigator app makes easy work of planning and purchasing journeys, something I'd hope the UK rail system will perhaps take inspiration from
Given the current storm, I was expecting the return flight to be delayed. Despite the odds, and despite some minor technical issues on the ground, we departed relatively on time (they'd initially waited for an engineer, but gave up waiting). For the last 10 mins or so in the air, the wind was causing some pretty extreme movements, and a couple of sudden drops provided some nice airtime. I suspect I may have enjoyed that substantially more than my fellow passengers!
In summary...
A brilliant way to get away when many other parks are closed, and I'd happily visit again next year - especially if there's no queues again. Most staff I encountered were extremely polite, and the language barrier was easily overcome. At €34 it's a bargain really, although I do think full price is a bit too much.
Flying from Manchester to Cologne is quick and easy, and the onward travel to the park is quite straightforward via public transport. Thanks to the wonders of Ryanair and the non-EU passport queue, I'd missed the desired train by about 5 minutes, so I used Bolt to arrange what transpired to be the fastest taxi driver in Germany
Getting started
- I paid €34 online as part of Wintertraum
- PL specifically instruct you to print your ticket on A4 paper, but the turnstile easily read my phone screen
- It was immediately obvious the park was quite empty, thankfully far quieter than expected!
- I went to Guest Services to purchase access to a locker. It costs €5, and you're provided with a paper wristband with an RFID tag. You can open and close the locker as many times as you like
- Navigating the park is straightforward, the signage is a little weak but generally points you in the right direction. The app is capable of providing navigation, but it's a bit of a clumsy UI, and you can probably find what you're looking for easier by simply walking around
The rides
Maus au Chocolat
This is brilliantly silly, although it goes on for a little bit too long. I scored 129k which I thought wasn't too bad, until it displayed someone's hiscore of 700k something!
I noticed the empty seat next to me appeared to clock up a score, and I was unable to splat any of the mice on the lower portion of the screen, so the system isn't perfect, but it's arguably the most accurate shooter style ride I've done
Black Mamba
Excellent, really enjoyed the ride - good pacing throughout and perfect intensity for me. The first of a few curiosities throughout the visit arose here, they were waiting quite a while (several minutes) between dispatches for no obvious reason. Just sort of standing around before sending a train after checking restraints etc. In my few minutes of observation, I think I prefer the Galactica tunnel to Black Mamba's brake run.
Colorado Adventure
Talk about ejector! I only rode this once, so I'm not sure if its always like this or due to the larger bloke next to me, the lap bar was very very loose on me. The section in the dark was unexpectedly good for a mine train
Feng Ju Palace
The preshow is hilarious for all the wrong reasons, and just when you think it's finished, there's yet another fight. And who's getting married today?
The madhouse itself seemed to be having a bit of difficulty once in the upside-down position, and I'm assuming something is meant to project onto the ceiling (formerly the floor), but it didn't seem to work properly. The fact its covered in dirt and what appears to be some kind of oil didn't help the immersion.
Much like Hex, it seemed to struggle to locate the parked position
Geister Rikscha
Far, far too long and I cannot describe any of the scenes, they were downright bizarre. One of the faces on the animatronics was unintentionally terrifying, I think it was actually decaying.
The ride system heavily reminds me of the Dawn of Time ride from the 90s/early 2000s at the Blackpool Tower
Mystery Castle
Having read some pretty poor reviews of this over the years, I was really pleasantly surprised! The operators were excellent, and the ride cycle was quite good. At some point in the early evening, they changed the cycle to a much longer one. The air in the room was extremely cold, which complemented the sensation
Raik
My first boomerang. Not sure I liked the feeling of coming backwards, it felt a bit too slow which made me a bit nauseous. As it was coming to a stop in the station, I was quite relieved it was over to be honest, so you can imagine my disappointment as it began a second lap!
F.L.Y
Visually, it's incredible, and Rookburgh is a picture perfect scene in every direction. The loading procedure for this is utterly bizarre, and feels very over the top. I wear glasses, so I asked the operator if it was permitted - he said it's fine with a strap. Not entirely sure how they think my phone could teleport out a zipped pocket, but nevertheless, I put it in the locker. The operator at the metal detector confirmed my glasses were strapped, along with the operator on the platform.
In the absence of any queue, I had to wait quite a while once clicked into the restraint, whilst they sourced some more people to fill the train. I found the position really uncomfortable to be waiting in, and I really didn't like the position once 'flying' either. There's just something about the design of the restraint I didn't get along with, which did dampen what should otherwise be a great coaster
Taron
The main reason why I visited - Taron is incredible, and I'd happily travel purely to ride it. The queue was advertised at 5 minutes most of the day, but using single rider, I was batched into a gate immediately each time
I couldn't see any cause, but they were seriously stacking the trains on this repeatedly. There were 3 or 4 trains in use, and based on the queue, they could've easily got away with 2 trains with quicker dispatches
It did gain a queue advertised at 25 minutes as darkness fell, but it was actually only about 10 mins.
That was the only queueing I did all day, everything else was walk on (despite the advertised times varying from 5-20 mins)
Chiapas
I observed this from the ground, given the extremely cold day. I only witnessed two boats with guests on, and they got absolutely drowned, which confirmed I'd made the sensible choice!
Food
I bought an egg & cheese sandwich from the kiosk near F.L.Y's exit, which was enjoyable and filling, but at €14 something for a sandwich and coffee, that's the bare minimum. Although I was served immediately, the food is cooked to order, so took ages. The coffee was laughably small, and there's no lid provided. There's an absence of any tables to sit at, only a bench opposite. Suddenly, it became clear why the more experienced guests had brought their own food in.
Return travel
The shuttle bus was easy to locate immediately outside the Berlin entrance. The timetable is merely a suggestion, it seems. Although there's supposed to be a €5 charge, nobody actually asked me to pay, so hopefully there's no warrant out for my arrest!
PL's website advises the bus can't currently access Brühl station due to construction. Whilst it's true there's definitely construction, the driver didn't appear to have the memo and drove in anyway, with the mirror arm missing one of the hoardings by microscopic distance as he turned us around in a narrow space. I made the straightforward journey to Cologne to spend the evening in a hotel. The DB Navigator app makes easy work of planning and purchasing journeys, something I'd hope the UK rail system will perhaps take inspiration from
Given the current storm, I was expecting the return flight to be delayed. Despite the odds, and despite some minor technical issues on the ground, we departed relatively on time (they'd initially waited for an engineer, but gave up waiting). For the last 10 mins or so in the air, the wind was causing some pretty extreme movements, and a couple of sudden drops provided some nice airtime. I suspect I may have enjoyed that substantially more than my fellow passengers!
In summary...
A brilliant way to get away when many other parks are closed, and I'd happily visit again next year - especially if there's no queues again. Most staff I encountered were extremely polite, and the language barrier was easily overcome. At €34 it's a bargain really, although I do think full price is a bit too much.
