The Grand Rail Trip of 2022 - PART 3
Updated: Jan 27, 2024
It was an epic adventure spanning four countries, two Theme Parks, one Grand Slam Tennis Tournament and over 1,000 miles of Train Track. This is the amazing story of what happened along the way!
Phantasialand
My first foray into German Theme Parks of the trip, and it certainly didn't disappoint!
A City Tram ride of around 30 minutes from a stop just 5 minutes walk from my Hotel would take me to the suburban station of Bruhl Mitte, located in the south. Then it was all aboard the Phantasialand shuttle bus through the town to this amazing, compact and innovative park just off a residential street.
On entering through the turnstiles, I was completely blown away by the architecture of the Main Street promenade, themed around 1920s Berlin, with old-style cafes, shops and even a Theatre. There was also a classic Carousel at one end and a Chair Swing surrounded with fountains the other. All the while, whimsical authentic German music evoking nostalgia was blaring out.
The atmosphere was charming, and already it had made me emotional how beautiful this park was and the attention that had been put into every detail.
As the park itself opened roughly half an hour before the rides, there was time to explore the areas, including Mexico with a giant water ride called Chiapas, a fully-immersive Steampunk Themed area with the First-In-The-World Launch Flying Coaster called... FLY!, and Nordic Warrior Land Klugheim in the face of Taron, regarded as one of the best rides in the entire world!
Stunning ambition in engineering and ride layout coupled with astonishing theming around every corner made this an experience far beyond that I've experienced in UK Parks.
With Chiapas, in the Mexican-themed area, you were taken through a series of caves, sometimes backwards, and plunged down hills (one of which, at 53 degrees, is the steepest of any log flume in the world) and under bridges. It creatively uses turntables to switch directions and even to link to a separate track! The atmosphere is enhanced by the catchy musical score of the Budapest Film Music Orchestra, altogether making this the best water ride I've ridden!
Due to residential concerns, Phantasialand are restricted by height, so resort to innovative solutions. Taron, on its ominous black track, has no inversions but relies on 2 powerful launches, near-misses with the Rockwork, lateral forces through changes in direction and a series of airtime hills to provide constant exhilaration. During the ride, the train crosses under or over its own track a staggering 116 times, the most in the world. |t was definitely my number 1 coaster at the time for its sheer ambition of layout, speed and execution. At the second launch, you are taken from the bottom of a canyon, up the side of a rock-face at nearly 73mph - certainly not for the faint-hearted!
Another record-breaking extreme ride opening in 2020 is the world's first (and so far only) flying launch coaster, in moody red in the Steampunk-themed area called Rookburgh. On boarding the ride, you are presented with a seat facing you, and once you are secure, the ride is in motion. The clever piece of engineering is that the ride pivots into the flying position as you go around the corner, and also eases onto the launch mechanism you are fired from seconds later!
You whiz around a pretty compact world over railings and around buildings, with steam and music effects all around. This also features a second launch, this time shooting you upwards rather than the horizontal first launch. It's hard to believe it's the longest Flying Coaster in the world, as much of the layout is hidden off-ride, but the queue line provides some spectacular views!
There's many more rides I could talk about for their ingenuity - a rapids ride even features an elevator! Suffice to say, it was a fabulous couple of days of true escapism. I even managed to enjoy a tasty meal in China Town, and take in an extraordinary stunt show with bikes, trampolines and acrobats falling off tall structures, and an Ice Show with the dancers literally flying through the air!
What a dream to visit this astonishing place and I'll certainly return in the not-too-distant future!
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