Phantasialand was the park I was looking forward to the most out of all the parks we’d lined up to visit. I’ve heard rave reviews for Taron and F.L.Y. as well as the Rookburgh and Klugheim themed areas, so I was quite excited! Coupled with he fact we were staying in site at the Charles Lindbergh Hotel and were there 2 days, it all lined up to be one of the best park visits I’ve ever done.
We set off from our accommodation with plenty of time to spare but soon hit all the traffic going into Phantasialand and this lost a good 45 minutes, something I’ve never seen at any other park we’ve been to. Even at Thorpe Park, Alton Towers and Chessington, we’ve never been late for a rope drop but there was nothing I could do so we waited in the traffic and eventually got to the car park across the road from the hotel.
This was pleasant at least as we didn’t have to wait in more traffic to get to the main car park, so I’m thankful for that! Once we were parked up, we grabbed our park bags and headed into the hotel to check in as we needed our park tickets. We checked in online and this went through incredibly smoothly and we were in Rookburgh in no time. I’ll review the Charles Lindbergh in a separate blog (same with the Loonsche Land Hotel from Efteling).
Rookburgh really did blow us both away with how beautiful and heavily themed the area was. Nothing look like it was out of place, even down to the details of all the coal bunkers below the area that were filled with props and real stones made to look like coal (at least that’s what I think but I could be wrong).
F.L.Y. was doing circuits above us and since we had been to the hotel first, we got our fast pass tickets for F.L.Y. so we headed there first.
The boarding process is very unique, at least to us, as you have to remove everything from your pockets and take glasses off for the ride. Even this was themed to fit in with the ride which was good to see.
The boarding process is simple and the station is very pretty too. I won’t spoil the ride in any way as I found it fascinating seeing how it worked and the different approach Vekoma has taken to making a new generation flying coaster.
As for the ride experience itself, it was great, but not amazing, purely because of the restraints. Where Galactica has big bulky restraints that are actually quite comfortable and hold you in place nicely, F.L.Y. has opted for a minimalist design, and this is probably the only issue the ride has. When we first rode it, we found the leg parts to be quite uncomfortable and have left Tracy with bruises. We did ride it again on our second day and tried different seating positions but any difference was marginal.
It’s such a shame as the ride looks amazing and rides very well, if a little tame compared with other large rides. I’d say it was about as thrilling as Galactica is, and Galactica spends more time on it’s back than F.L.Y. does, but overall F.L.Y. is much better!
After we left Rookburgh, we headed into the next part of the park, Berlin. This is themed around Berlin from the 1920s and is very pretty too. It has a few calm rides and quite a beautiful and imposing looking Carousel.
We didn’t spend much time here as we were quite hungry and headed off in search of something to eat. Our search literally took us all over the park which helped with orientation too! Though while we were looking for something to eat, we found the entrance to Talocan and I insisted we have a go.
Talocan is the bucket list flat ride for me so I had to have a go! Tracy wasn’t looking forward to it in the slightest, but I knew I was! Talocan is a very heavily themed Huss Top Spin and looks absolutely stunning, and I rarely use that to describe things!
The ride itself was everything I had hoped for, as it was very intense but didn’t make me feel ill at all. Tracy hated it as it’s really not her idea of fun as it goes upside down a lot! I’ve looked forward to this one for a while and I’d readied myself for it to be a bit of a let down as I’d overhyped myself for it, but it stood up to all I hoped it would be, definitely the best flat ride I’ve ever been on!
After Talocan, we continued our search for food and ended up in the Mexican area at La Cantina Tacana for burritos and these were incredibly tasty! Definitely the best burrito I’ve ever had and it wasn’t too expensive either at €15 (around £12.80) for a burrito, nachos on the side, 300ml drink and 3 dips.
After we’d had some dinner, we had a slow wander around to let dinner settle a bit before heading into the ghost train, here it’s called Geister Rikscha. This is another omnimover/Endless Transit System and goes through a lot of Chinese mythological scenes.
The ride system is good and it’s quite long too, but the animatronics and scenes you go passed are looking very tired and could do with a good overhaul. I’d still say it’s worth riding as we walked straight on, but its not worth losing time queung for in its current form unfortunately!
Feng Ju palace was next as this was another gentle ride and as it turns out, is another Vekoma Madhouse attraction. This is another ride that looks a bit older and definitely feels it! The preshow was decent but very cheesy. Almost like watching mortal Kombat, but with 80s technology! The ride part didn’t fare much better either as it also looks a bit tired too. I hope these two attractions get a bit of attention or replaced in the near future as they’re about the only rides we found that didn’t have the same quality or appeal as the others around the park.
Next up was Colorado Adventure, a Vekoma Mine Train coaster. This will be my first ever proper mine train as all the other I’ve ever ridden are powered coasters like Runaway Mine Train at Alton Towers.
We both enjoyed this coaster with Tracy going as far as to say it was better than Big Thunder Mountain, though I can’t comment on that! It was certainly the best mine train I’ve ever done as it was a really long ride and thrilling in places too! I wish it were a little more unhinged and savage in places but it was perfectly fine as it is. It interacts with itself plenty of times, as well as with Chiapas too.
Our next visit was Mystery Castle as the queue was short and we had no idea what the ride was like. I was expecting something like Feng Ju palace or the ghost train but was pleased to find a ride I had actually heard about, though a very long time ago!
This is a drop tower ride that is entirely enclosed and unlike any other drop tower I’ve ridden (besides Apocalypse) as it features multiple towers. The ride can seat 48 people all in.
Once we’d got ourselves sat down and our restraints were checked, the ride begins and it starts off very slow. There’s a sudden jerk as the gondola is taken up about 10 feet, before it’s catapulted into the air and left to freefall back down. The ride then slowly returns to the start and I felt myself asking the question, is that it? The answer came very swiftly as we were hurled skyward once more and this time it’s right to the top of the tower where a little show plays out as you’re held near the roof before being dropped back down to the floor once again.
All this is done on near darkness with only the odd strobe effect lighting things up and I would go as far as to say this is the best drop tower ride I’ve ever ridden. It was excellent, comfortable and thrilling whilst being pleasant and an absolute joy to ride. Definitely worth a visit for this attraction alone! I’d say it was my favourite flat ride if it wasn’t for Talocan!
Taron was next on the agenda and we knew the queue would be lengthy so we headed into the queue for about an hour wait. We both knew it would be worth the wait so didn’t mind much at all. The queue did keep moving so it wasn’t too bad.
As for the ride itself, I remember getting off and thinking it was excellent but missing something, and I think that was partially my fault as I think I’d overhyped it in my head. The launches were great, especially the second one in the deepest part of the ride, the trench reverberates sound and the train make a right noise as it flies through.
The whole ride was very comfortable, the trains were very open and roomy and the lap bar restraints kept you planted but not stapled in. It was smooth as glass and even managed to have 2 transitions that will wake you up as they are very jarring without being rough though!
We did 2 rides on Taron over the two days we were there and the second ride was much better. Expections were lowered a little and it now sits very comfortably as a highly rated coaster, if not quite as high as I would have liked! It currently sits at number 5 on my list but it is more likely number 4 as it really does fight with The Smiler as to which I prefer! Loved it much more after the second ride so maybe more rides will increase this?
After Taron we headed over to the Africa section of the park and had a go on Deep Into Africa, which is a very lengthy walkthrough/climbing frame designed for all ages. There were great interactions with Black Mamba, and the attraction had water features, stepping stones, rope bridges, climbing frames that were very tight, and finished off with a slide back out of the attraction.
On paper it wasn’t much to write home about, but having done it, both of us had a right laugh and enjoyed it. It was simple but effective and I wish I’d taken more time in the attraction as it gives some phenomenal views of Black Mamba!
Speaking of Black Mamba, this was our next ride. This is the parks B&M inverted coaster and is quite similar to Nemesis. Not only is it the same model, but it looks to have been built to the same specifications as Nemesis in that it’s all very low to the ground and claustrophobic too. Just like Nemesis though it packs a punch, and rides very well. I’d even say it rides better than what Nemesis did and I’ve gone as far as to say it’s number 7 in my overall rankings, just behind Taron and Stealth!
It would be very easy to miss Black Mamba as it’s quite hidden away, only the lift hill and loop are easy to spot and the entrance is very subtle too, but make sure to head to this and give it a go as it’s another excellent coaster!
At this time in the first day we were starting to wind down and had 1 more attraction left in us which was Maus Au Chocolat. This is in the 1920s Berlin area and going into it, we had absolutely no idea what the attraction was about. The queue line takes you through a bakery’s stores and then through its production line a little bit before showing you a video giving some story to the ride.
Keen eyed riders will pickup exactly what’s coming, and I hoped I was right in thinking it would be an interactive dark ride, and sure enough as we got to the station, we found vehicles equipped with guns!
What we didn’t expect was how charming and brilliant the ride would be. Though it’s all screen based and requires the use of 3D glasses, the experience is excellent. The premise is that you’ve been brought in to help with a rodent infestation but can’t use traditional methods incase it contaminates the baked goods so a new method is needed.
This is where the weird shaped guns come into play as they’re shaped to look like icing bags and the idea is that you’re using icing to fight the mice, I think I recalled saying let’s ice some mice and maybe that should be the tagline!
Though this is all screen based, it doesn’t take away from it in my opinion. It does make it feel less of a ride and more of a video game but that’s fine by me! In-between the screens, there are some nice scenes and set pieces that make it feel more like a ride again, and the queue line is well themed too. Arguably the best shooting ride I’ve ever done but easily missed as its front fascia blend sin so well!
Once we’d finished with Maus Au Chocolat, we had a wander around the gift shop to see what merchandise was like. I’d heard that it wasn’t that great at Phantasialand but we did decently well here. There are the usual T Shirts and such but there was loads of different kitchen things with the Maus Au Chocolat logo on it and plenty of different things themed to the parks dragons (I’ll touch on this later). The merchandise for F.L.Y was very lacking though, especially considering the amount of effort put into making the ride as special as what it is!
After the gift shop we headed back into Rookburgh to check into the Charles Lindbergh, I’ll go though the hotel on a separate blog so look out for that one!
The next morning we were up bright and early for breakfast and into the park for about 9am. We had a little to wait at the Rookburgh gates but eventually we got in and headed to Wellenflug (a Wave Swinger) in the central square. This is a very pretty ride as it has a ring of fountains that surround it and follow the wave motion of the ride, it’s very pretty and well decorated.
Maus Au Chocolat was next as we had a lot fo fun on it the previous evening (even with the hot and lengthy queue), and next up was the Fantasy area and Wuze Town. In Wuze Town you’ll find the Winjas twins and a few flat rides designed for kids, but it’s all indoors and therefore covered from the weather.
Our first stop was the Winjas twins, Fear and Force. I don’t recall which one was which however we found the one you board on the left of the station to be the slightly better one of the two, but not by much. Other than a couple of surprise elements at the very end of the ride, both coasters mirror each other and they are pretty decent. They’re Maurer Spinning coasters, though they don’t spin too much. Apparently the ride controls how much spinning each car gets, but I’ve only read that so I’m not sure if it does or not!
You have to take your bags on these and it can be a bit of a squeeze, especially if you bring as much stuff to parks as what I do, but it was comfortable enough and both are fun, if a little tame.
While we were here we had a go on Tittle Tattle Tree as it was a walk on. This is a tower ride and gives nice views around the Wuze Town area before we headed outside for a go on Crazy Bats.
This was something I was quite looking forward to as it’s an indoor coaster that has VR headsets, something I missed out on on Galactica. I was fully expecting to be ill after the ride though as I’ve done VR before and so long as I’m stationary, I don’t have a problem with it but rapid movement can cause me to feel woozy.
None of that here though! Even though there is a lot of action on the screen and you do move around a lot, it synched up that well with what the coaster was doing that it felt almost natural. I was very impressed with the whole thing! Tracy however, managed halfway up the lift hill before taking hers off!
I’d definitely ride this one again even if the ride itself was very tame and offered very little for those who don’t want to use the VR headsets.
Back outside and straight onto Würmling Express which is a pleasant monorail ride that takes your around the fantasy area of the park and borders the lake. A nice and smooth ride with good views over the area.
After we’d finished in the Fantasy area, we headed back into the gift shop to see if anything had changed and to be fair to Phantasialand, they had stocked the shelves and put out different sizes of the T-shirts on offer which meant I bought even more!
The rest of the day was spent doing rerides and generally wandering around the park, but we did get on Raik, River Quest and Chiapas towards the end of the day.
Raik is a bigger, meaner version of Accelerator or Velociraptor and it does give some impressive forces for the ride type it is. The station is well themed too and the trains were comfy. We both thoroughly enjoyed Raik!
As for thoroughly enjoying rides, River Quest and Chiapas were next and these two are, in my opinion, the current top rides of their type as they are both excellent!
River Quest first, and I’d love to tell you all about it but there are elements that need to confronted on your own so as not to spoil the ride! Needless to say, there is a sizable drop that you can see from the path and it has a lot more in store for you that that! Do be aware though that you will get very wet on both River Quest and Chiapas.
As for Chiapas, this was my favourite of the two water rides, and I think I’d go as far as to say it’s my favourite water ride overall. There is plenty to see and the ride is fairly lengthy, has 3 hills and a decent section of the ride is spent going backwards!
It also has a very intimidating final drop that you can see from almost anywhere in the Mexican area if the park. This drop reaches 53 degrees, the steepest of any log flume in the world and it drops 66ft (20 meters).
There are plenty of scenes set around the ride and it interacts nicely with Colorado Adventure as mentioned earlier. You will get wet on this one as there are parts of the ride that drop water onto you and it’s probably fair to say that the final drop got you the least wet!
After we’d gotten dried and sorted, we finished up the last few things we wanted to do before heading to the car to close out Phantasialand.
If you’ve seen my vlog of our visit, I might come across as a bit underwhelmed by Phantasialand or negative about the park but I can assure you that the park was excellent throughout! There are a few nit picks that I have, such as how incredibly busy it was on the first day, a Friday too, and how traffic was managed on when we arrived.
These small issues were quickly forgotten about though as we made our way through the park and experienced the attractions on offer. The other thing that’s worth noting, as I mentioned earlier was the parks dragons. In the gift shop, they sell a lot of merchandise relating to the dragons of the park. Each area has one relating to it, but I don’t remember seeing anything of them in the park besides the merchandise in the shop. I thought this was a bit of a weird design choice and I’d like to know more about them and what they are all about!
To close out this blog I’ll finish up by saying the park looks beautiful throughout, it has some standout attractions of various types, such as B&M inverted coasters (Black Mamba) and Intamin Log flumes (Chiapas). There wasn’t much of a language barrier either as everyone was multilingual and the park offers signage and leaflets in 4 different languages too.
I don’t think Phantasialand was quite as good as Efteling but it was certainly a close second here. I did prefer the rides at Phantasialand though! Can’t wait to get back and see what the come up with next to follow Taron and F.L.Y!
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