Summer Trip Reports 2012

[AstroDan]

Few thoughts regarding the various parks a few of us are visiting this summer!

Parc Asterix

Not my first visit but enjoyed the day. Zeus reclaimed itself as my no.1 wooden coaster, with rides at the back truly breathtaking. Fast, wild and airtime filled! New coaster Oz'Iris looks the part and has a lovely setting and queueline. Ride wise, it's very innovative and features some great sudden dives, in particular a great first drop. The ride doesn't have much by way of intensity as has become typical of newer B&M coasters however it has given the park a much needed second top drawer coaster.

Parque Warner

Cracking place and for me, the best park in Spain. Aside from poor operations and the fact Stunt Fall was closed, I could not fault it. Area themes, as you may expect from a park built by Warner, is astounding.

Acme Rapids is the best in Europe. Great theme, spinny and soaking. Superman, whilst failing to live up to the hype, was good and had some nice forces in places. Shame about trimmed sections. Much better than Kraken!

Batman sensational. Very intense and full of classic B&M. Rarely do I ride whore these days but myself and Matt couldn't resist seven re rides without leaving the train! Slight ill feeling after ...!

Coaster Express was bouncy, not a lot else to say! Rio Bravo was a great water drop ride with an amazing reverse airtime hill!

One of my favourite parks to date.

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[John]

May as well throw my thoughts in...

DLP

I've never been a massive fan of DLP as I'm not really into dark rides and prioritise thrills over theming. Even so, I really enjoyed the day due in part to getting a fairly good ride count (better than expected) as crowds were moderate. Longest we waited was for Crush's Coaster at just over an hour - thanks to fastpass we didn't wait more than 30 min for anything else.

RC Racer's cycles are way too short, but I guess they have to be to keep queues down, could be a pretty good ride otherwise. I found SMM2 really uncomfortable and I don't rate Crush's at all (I prefer Whirlwind as that one actually spins). RnRC is my #1 coaster there - I'm a sucker for a good light show. I think Indiana Jones is much better than most people make out - parts of it are fairly dull but the loop (and the curved drop leading to it) is great. BTM average during the day but great at night, we were lucky to get on a 2nd time as it was broken down for much of the evening. We also noticed breakdowns on Phantom Manor and Pirates, so not great reliability overall.

Dreams was brilliant, or at least what I saw of it was. Kids on their parent's shoulders FTL.

Asterix

Zeus remains my top wooden coaster by some margin, I'd heard poor reviews from last year but it seems to have returned to top form. Goudurix on the other hand was abysmal, far worse than on my previous visit. OzIris as good as expected, shame it wasn't as wild as initial reports suggested - seems the new wheels have had an impact there. Still, a long ride with an unusual set of elements for a B&M invert, and the first drop is stunning. It's a top 10 contender for me, and I prefer it to Black Mamba

Elsewhere, Menhir Express (log flume) is fantastic, as is Defi de Cesar (mad house) - it would probably be my #1 mad house if I spoke fluent French. There are great flat rides too in Hydre de Lerne and Cheval de Troie.

The only negative would be the large crowds that prevented a good ride count. Zeus was being operated fairly well but still had massive queues due to inherent low capacity

 

[AstroDan]

Parque di Attraciones:

It was like a green Blackpool with worse rides. That said, Abismo was good and Tatantula excellent. The new Mine Train is a good rival to a Mack Youngstar. Intamin SLC was actually alright! Better than a Vekoma at any rate! Frankly I don't have many thoughts on the park.

Rainbow Magicland:

Visited this new park yesterday. It's an hour out of Rome by train/shuttle bus.

The theming in many areas is very good. That said, the build quality of said theming is terrible and some is already showing signs of wear and tear.

Shock is a good coaster. Best X Car I have done. Packs a real punch, especially later in the day! Huntik is a very good dark ride, which feels like Spiderman on a lesser budget. Unique in Europe!

Rapids good, although the last part none of the effects worked on either of our rides. The Spillwater was super with brilliant theming.

Maison Houdini, the mad house, had terrible capacity but with a real underground setting via real lifts, it was unique.

Most other rides were average at best, with some, like the Mine Train, utterly boring. Cagliostro, the indoor Maurer Spinner was appalling. Devoid of ANY theming. Horrific bordering on offensive

So a park of mixed emotion. Not amazing but some decent things scattered about. Friendly staff and great merch, too!

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[Dylan]

Glad you enjoyed Parque Warner, it's a lovely park with some stunning scenery, although a lot of it has faded to pastel shades.
The Gotham area is fantastic, and Batman is a great ride (although no Superman IMHO)

 

[AstroDan]

Mirabilandia

One of the most "looked forward to" parks of the trip.

Although home to some of the best coasters in Europe, the park itself was more a cross between a "theme park" and a more landscaped park like Holiday Park. The theming was mixed, but none of it was outstanding. However, for now I will cut to the chase.

iSpeed is the Intamin Blitz coaster which gets rave reviews from all who ride it. We first rode at around 11am and it was very disappointing. Quite slow and lacking in many areas. However, as a group we'd already realised that so many rides improve massively through the day - so we rode iSpeed later on. In fact, through the day and our use of the Q Bot facility, I managed 12 rides on this coaster. By the time I had ridden for the last time, late in the evening, I was of the view that iSpeed is genuinely one of the best coasters in Europe. Although the ride doesn't maintain the exhilaration for the entire time you're on board (the last section pales after what has gone before) - the 30 seconds or so from launch to the MCBR are some of the best of any coaster I have ever had the experience of riding. Some incredible pacing, fast twists and airtime hills (the restraints however limit this) - the first inversion is sensational. And, for someone who has always approached Intamin with caution, I am delighted to say that I have finally found an Intamin which ticks most boxes - launch, drops, inversions, airtime, force - what's not to love?

Katun was similar. Slower at the start of the day, it picked up by the end. Overall, I would say that the ride was *slightly* underwhelming given the massive reputation that this ride carries. This is consistently voted the next best Invert globally to Nemesis, so having ridden the likes of Montu, Oz'Iris, Monster, Batman etc. the competition was always going to be serious. However, Katun is a fantastic ride. It's not my favourite invert, but it's damn good. The speed is incredible and the length of the ride is fantastic. The final helix ensures excitement to the very end, which is something that iSpeed lacked.

Divertical was pretty good. Very tall, and a great drop. The theming is a bit shoddy and it looks at odds with the rest of the park, but I did enjoy it and rode several times. It's not TOO wet in most seats, either. It kept breaking down, which didn't help. Mack will be watching these closely...

Most other rides were largely forgettable - although Master Thai was slightly better than expected with some pretty violent and sudden turns and drops! The Rapids and Log Flume here were very poor, and I didn't think much to the cheap end Wild Mouse nor the appalling Mack Powered coaster. The Stunt Show was very good, though. The interactive Mack Dark Ride "Reset" was actually really good - some great theming and a unique take on such a ride! Loved it.

With this park, it's ALL about iSpeed and Katun. It doesn't really have enough of a resort-y feel to keep you there for longer than a day. Operations were very mixed - good on iSpeed but poor on Katun and some of the other rides.

 

[AstroDan]

Gardaland

Visiting Gardaland was always going to be interesting. Having visited all the UK Merlin parks, and Heide-Park (in 2011) - I was most interested to see the impact of Merlin on this park. Would cost cutting be obvious (for example, at Heide-Park, an entire plaza with a Mack Tea Cups ride in the middle was closed off), would fastrack be oversold (which cannot be said for any of the other parks on this trip) and would upselling be evident? What would the condition of the park be? Would it be in good working order?

Shall I get the negatives out of the way first?

The use of fastrack in this park was to the detriment of the queue lines. On several examples, up to 50% of capacity was being used for fastrack systems. The fastrack tickets were priced similar to Alton Towers (around €15 for say 6 rides), but their sale was clearly higher. The worst example was on the Intamin water ride Fuga di Atlantide. Here, two boats would load at once. One boat was used for fastrack, and one for the main queue. As a result, a main queue which should only be around 25 minutes, turns out to be around 50 minutes because of fastrack. It was also being sold at ride entrances. Other rides tended to have around 1/4 to 1/3 of capacities for fastrack. As a result, whilst we didn't wait more than 50 minutes for any ride, queues were exaggerated by the selling of fastrack. Secondly, upselling in this park was like none I had ever seen. Upon every purchase, there was attempts made. Here is a typical conversation:

Me: "Hello"
Cashier (pointing at different items on the till) "Thank you. Would you like this, this or this?"
Me: "No, thanks"
Cashier (pointing again) "We have these at €1.00, would you like one"
Me: "No. I only want the CD".
Cashier: "OK, that is €6.90 please".

OK, so now the negatives are out of the way. My thoughts on Gardaland?

I thought it was a fantastic theme park! It did not, aside from the above problems, feel like a typical Merlin park. The park was in an excellent state of repair, boasted loads of shows which the others simply do not do, and had a full range of both family and thrill rides. It was also open from 10:00am until 11:00pm! The park also had a mascot, Prezzemolo, who was ever present allowing for consistent marketing across the park. Again, the UK Merlin parks seem to think mascots are below them nowadays.

Upon walking to the main plaza, the following track was playing (and there is also an opening ceremony) - click here to watch. I suppose the UK parks think this sort of thing is below them? There are more entertainments staff in that clip than you ever see at Alton Towers. And Gardaland gets barely any more guests than AT plus it's far cheaper to get in. Alas.

Anyway, the park itself wasn't split into "theme areas" on the whole, although rides were themed. Some were themed less than others - presumably a left over from days of other ownership (i.e. the forgettable Blue Tornado SLC). However, the kiddie area with the amazing Prezzemolo Tree House was great! Almost like a Disney park style centrepiece. The mad house which lay underground was average, but, like Rainbow Magic Land, a unique way of housing such an attraction.

Raptor, the new Wing Rider for 2011, was a very solid ride experience. Although track and train it's weaker than Swarm, I actually preferred it - especially on front row. This is due to the constant interaction with the surroundings which is nearly all lost on Swarm. Some beautiful theming and landscaping and a cracking station. I really enjoyed my 4 rides on Raptor.

Mammut, the Vekoma Mine Train, is a real beacon of excellence for Merlin. The ride is themed from head to toe, start to finish. Running three trains, it has a very good capacity and is the perfect family ride. My second favourite Mine Train behind Colorado Adventure at Phantasialand.

I Corsari is a Pirate themed boat ride and is absolutely top quality. Long, interesting and detailed - it's probably the second best I have been on behind Pirates of the Carribean. Considering I hadn't even heard of this ride beforehand...

Sequoia Adventure, the S&S Screaming Squirrel was appalling. The Vekoma Loop Screw next door though had the new Vekoma Vest Restraints and was smooth! Enjoyed that one.

The parks rapids ride wasn't as good as expected, but the theming was superb across the board. Not wet enough for a location which regularly hits 30C+ in summer. Similar story for Fuga di Atlantide - a brilliantly themed Intamin water ride, but lacking in water spray and wetness. Cue mass splashing of everyone on the boat!

The Interative Dark Ride, Rameses, was good. The audio and theming excellent. It did lack animatronics though, which was a shame.

The park had flower beds everywhere. They clearly take a LOT of pride in their appearance, the entrance plaza was also immaculate.

Overall - this was one of the top parks of the trip, and as long as Merlin don't try and bleed the place for all its worth, with the overselling on fastrack and the upselling at the tills, then it has a great future.

Can't wait to go back to this park!

 

[Mankey]

Interesting! Sounds great! Gardaland's always been one of those parks that I've not really looked at. I would have thought Rainbow Magic Land would have rated higher, how strange.

Shall have to visit some time in the future!

 

[John]

I've started so I'll carry on...

Magicland

Looking at the park map the day before visiting the park looked a lot smaller than I'd imagined it. There isn't really a whole lot to do there, and we ended up leaving several hours before the 11pm closing time.

The park has 2 great rides in Shock and Huntik (though on my first ride the movement of the car failed which took a lot away from the ride). The rapids and spillwater are good, though effects were broken on both. This was reflected around the park, with much of the theming already looking tired despite being relatively new.

At the back of the park is a fairly poor kids area, which featured a totally unthemed Big Apple coaster and a few other rides, one of which (a water ride) was SBNO. I got the impression that the park had run out of money before completion, and attractions were either left unfinished or completed on the cheap. The cancellation of the direct bus from Rome, leaving only a tiny bus from the local station, coupled with reports of low visitor numbers suggests that the park may be struggling.

Mirabilandia

Worth a visit for it's 2 top biggest coasters: Katun and iSpeed are both amazing rides that are now in my top 10 (which I guess they should be, given that they're top 10 on Mitch Hawker too). Divertical is also great fun, rows 2 and 3 being the wettest due to the unusual split boat design.

Their other coasters range from average to poor. There were no trim brakes on the wild mouse (Pakal) which led to a hilariously terrifying ride. Max Adventures Master Thai was equally poorly designed, and rather more fun for it. The other two coasters (a jr coaster and a powered coaster) were entirely forgettable.

The water rides were poor on the whole. The car themed -\ ) log flume and the rapids were dull, and the splash battle felt rather ghetto. The best water ride (other than Divertical) was probably the water chute ride (similar to Tidal Wave, but with a figure 8 layout and nicer boats) but that was still pretty standard.

You'd be forgiven for thinking the park was owned by Algida (Wall's ice cream) as their logo is everywhere - most prominently on the park's ferris wheel. It's also plastered on staff uniforms and all over the park monorail.

On the whole, the park is fairly pleasant. Some rides are themed (but not all) and the landscaping is very good overall. There was enough to do to justify the opening times, even with Q-bot, as Katun and iSpeed warranted multiple rides, they're on opposite sides of the park though, which is a little annoying if you want to keep switching between the two.

Movieland, Caneva aquapark and Gardaland to follow...

 

[AstroDan]

Canevaworld: Movieland Studios and Caneva Aqua Park

Movieland Studios Park

This was probably the smallest park destination of the whole trip. We arrived at Movieland and were greeted by a budget version of the entrances of Parque Warner, Disney's Hollywood Studios and Movie Park Germany. That said, the park were making efforts, since there was an opening show. This was basic but I guess better than a punch on the nose.

Attraction highlights here included Magma 5, a quality jeep ride through a range of SFX. Think Studio Tram Tour at WDS in Paris but better. It was really good when the bridge collapsed! The throughput was a nightmare though, with just one jeep at some stages and, given it was a 5 minute ride experience...

Hollywood Tower, the 1st gen Intamin drop, I did not enjoy. It felt unsafe and I detested the pull out onto your back. It is no wonder Intamin gave up on this ridiculously over complex looking ride system!

The Schwarzkopf coaster was largely forgettable.

The standout attraction had to be U-571 - a Submarine simulator ride. This combined a range of fantastic special effects and genuine stress amongst riders. Claustrophobic, effective and WET! This was a gem of an attraction and frankly makes a visit to the park worthwhile on its own! The pre-show includes walking through a U Boat hangar, with bombers overhead, lights flickering, and bombs going off in the water. Upon entry into the U Boat, you walk hurriedly into the main chamber, and sit on a very uncomfortable seat. The hatch is closed and your captain begins steering the vessel. Cue: Attacks from torpedoes in a very dark environment. Water ends up coming in, riders literally collapse into the walls and are unable to get up. Water literally pouring in. VERY stressful, very effective!

The Terminator "5D" attraction was also pretty good, combining lots of special effects, including fire and more.

Caneva Aqua Park was reasonable, but very busy. Queues for some of the attractions were over 1 hour which, for a water park, is awful. That said, we had a good relax in the wave pool and lazy river. Some enjoyed the slides, which seemed to go down well. It did feel like a cheap end Typhoon Lagoon. I think I prefer PortAventura's water park.

 

[John]

Movieland Studios

The smallest park of the trip, and a last minute addition to the itinerary, largely for the 1st gen Intamin drop tower, which was our first stop after the (fairly rubbish) start of day show. It's an odd experience, with the transition to horizontal being fairly unpleasant, as is the return to the station. Reliability is clearly a problem, as after the first of our group rode it broke down with half the rest of the group waiting in the drop zone. The fact that they were immediately evac'ed suggests this is a fairly frequent occurrence.

Elsewhere, Magma 2(.1) was spectacular, but only warranted a single ride due to horrifically low throughput (running one 30-seat vehicle on a ride lasting well over 10 minutes including loading). The submarine simulator and Terminator attraction were also highlights. Tomb Raider, the Ripsaw/Energizer hybrid, was very weird and bordered on unpleasant at times, but rather fun on the whole. Most other rides were fairly dull.

Caneva Aquapark

My first impressions of the water park were not good as it looked quite dated in places, the lockers are expensive (€5 unlimited entry) and the place was packed. It was, however, my first visit to a major outdoor water park, so I had to try the giant near-vertical slide, which was spectacular if a little uncomfortable at the bottom. Other slides included a 5 lane racing slide, a (2 lane) black hole slide, two sets of multi lane twisty slides (2 lane and 3 lane, of which the 3 lane one was the surprise package of the park), a (2 lane) double drop slide and a (2 lane) slide that ended with a 2m freefall over a waterfall. With most slides being at least 2 lanes, queues moved at a reasonable pace on the whole, the exceptions being, the infamous airtime slide [see here] and the "crazy river" which both had massive queues all day so none of us went on them.

Elsewhere, the lazy river was a complete waste of time but the main wave pool was great fun. On the whole I'd say the theme park and water park combined justify spending a full day there, but I wouldn't go out of my way to return. I'd definitely recommend a visit to anyone going to Gardaland though - from the tall rides at either park you can see the other.

Gardaland

As a Merlin park, I was a little apprehensive about possible negative aspects at this park, especially when we discovered we were visiting during an Italian holiday week and the park was likely to be very busy. As Dan has mentioned there were a few Merlin-isms, most notably over use of fastrack and upselling - staff on photo points had microphones to try to entice customers, which very quickly got rather annoying as they would harass you at the exit to every ride.

As I suspected before riding, I rank Raptor behind Swarm as it's too slow and floaty. The first drop is really good though, and the inline twist better than Swarm's. I didn't really notice the interaction with the scenery, or at least, I never felt like I was going to hit anything which is what I'd been expecting. Not a bad ride by any means, it just didn't particularly impress me, even with my fairly moderate expectations.

The park has 3 vekoma coasters, none of which I found unpleasant. Mammut (Skoda: the ride) is a great family coaster, and was constantly busy all day despite 3 train operation. Easily my 2nd favourite mine train after Colorado Adventure (but as I really don't rate BTM in Paris that's hardly a surprise). Magic Mountain (Fanta: the ride) has the new vest restraints and was running very fast, it felt a completely different ride to Efeling's Python, despite the two being identical. Blue Tornado isn't too bad for an SLC and is quite well presented, aside from the horrible queue. The bonus helix is pretty fun too as you get very close to the hedges underneath.

Sequoia Adventure really was utterly pointless, and the drop tower far too small but there were a few high quality dark rides and there was a wide range of shows, which we didn't really have time for sadly.

I do have a few complaints though: firstly, as a MAP holder I'd expect to get at least some discount off park entry, as with a number of Merlin's other international attractions. Secondly, as mentioned already, fastrack is a big problem, with half the capacity on Fuga da Atlantide and Raptor given over to fastrack (and other rides not far behind). Third, when I tried to get a last ride on Blue Tornado I arrived just as the staff member was closing the gate 5 minutes early, an Italian arriving just after me tried to reason with him, but to no avail. Luckily Mammut was still open (and with a longer queue), but it left a bit of a sour taste at the end of the day.