Speed Monster is an icon in the German coaster community and beyond. A TV documentary on the construction by the German installer team RCS blew up as...
Speed Monster is an icon in the German coaster community and beyond. A TV documentary on the construction by the German installer team RCS blew up as one of the most classic German memes thanks to the iconic and super funny freak outs of the teams leader, Ronny Schäfer. As an German enthusiast spending some time in Oslo it was clear I had to visit Tusenfryd. Speed Monsters stand-out element, the Norwegian Loop greets you right at the entrance and gets you hyped for the ride. The coaster is located on the hill side and you get great views of the Norwegian woods all around the park. Speed Monster starts off with a punchy, intense and classic hydraulic launch. As hydraulic launches seem to be threatened with extinction, this one is a great example why they need to be protected. Right after that launch, you enter the Norwegian Loop, which is a great element. The valley in between the two inversions pulls high positive G's with Ride Forces giving me up to 4,89g. Then there is a (too) long stretched turn around through the woods, followed by a pretty good airtime hill. After that, we get a fun twisted hill. Funny enough, this is actually followed by the exact same twisted hill again. This is where the ride fades out and is concluded by the final corkscrew. Overall a very fun, intense and beautiful ride that does not have to hide behind more modern iterations of smaller, launched inversion coasters, as the overall ride comfort and trains did age quite well.
Tipp: The park uses an online system for time tickets to some rides that can easily be used in different tabs and browsers to get multiple rerides on the coaster! And never forget: Kranplätze müssen verdichtet sein!!!
What a ride! This coaster is everything i did not expect from Europa-Park as a regular visitor for 20 years now. Getting more and more into coasters I...
What a ride! This coaster is everything i did not expect from Europa-Park as a regular visitor for 20 years now. Getting more and more into coasters I got more and more bored by their lineup, even if I consider Wodan my favourite Woodie. I really hoped they would get a proper thrill-ride and there it is!
There is a lot going on before the ride even starts and it's amazing. Phantasialand is always praised for theming their coasters, but they miss on a good storyline and theming the queue and station. Entering the main Building of the queue truly blew me away. The atmosphere is breathtaking and the special effects gave me goose bumps. The total package really comes close to the likes of VelociCoaster for me.
Now to the ride. It starts off with great effects and a unique beyond-vertical launch, followed by awesome hangtime. The second inversion, a Roll down the station building is also really nice. From there, the part to the second launch is kind of pointless and really janky. I feel kind of confused about parts of the Layout. Considering there are 7 inversions, inversions are not a strength of Voltron. The next Highlight is the second launch and stall, which I found to be quite different from the RMC and Intamin versions I have experienced. I much prefer those though as they offer sustained airtime, while Macks take on a Zero-G-Stall "just" lets you dangle in the comfortable lap bars, so it's up to personal taste I guess. The Stall is followed by the strongest ejector moment of the ride and after a weaker dive-loop, the momentum is killed down with brakes and turn-table. Both launches here are pretty nice though, with the backwards catching me by surprise. The Top-hat much reminded me of Karachos and I really like it, but Voltron is still missing a higher drop for my taste. Following is my favorite part of the ride with great ejector airtime, favorite element of the ride being the banked ejector-hill. The double-up is actually brutal and the mid-course luckily doesn't kill the momentum too much. Following is a nice roll down and helix with great near-miss and positive Gs. Voltrons finally is truly awesome.
However, there is a thing that put me down. It just doesn't ride good. Voltron gave me a headache in 9 out of 10 rides. It didn't feel like a new (or younger then 10yrs) STEEL coaster which was quite disappointing at first. Apparently, there are some smoother and rattlier trains as it is rumoured they are still testing things out with suspension and wheel compartments. Maybe I just got really unlucky. That one out of ten rides however gave me some hopes for that to be true. Still really weird as Voltron has been testing for literal MONTHS prior to opening and the problems should be apparent for anyone riding.
After 10 rides I have to say it still is a great, super intense ride with some of the best ejector I have experienced.
This is why Voltron ranks my top five for now and I’m not sure if it would rank higher if it was smooth.
I hope they change some things up for my next trip in May, maybe I'll give an update if the suspension or the wheels of the trains change for the better.
Strong, intense ride and by far my favourite B&M Invert so far, with the other two being Monster (Gröna Lund) and Black Mamba. Oziris is obviously muc...
Strong, intense ride and by far my favourite B&M Invert so far, with the other two being Monster (Gröna Lund) and Black Mamba. Oziris is obviously much longer than the other two and manages to pull some strong positives while also offering some good airtime. The first drop is one of my favourites too. A nice queue line and theming also add to the experience.
Great ride, with a fantastic layout, offers a ton of airtime and some nice ejector paired with great inversions. Only downside to the ride itself are ...
Great ride, with a fantastic layout, offers a ton of airtime and some nice ejector paired with great inversions. Only downside to the ride itself are the breaks on the top-head that pretty much kill the drop, but the train still manages to gain a lot of speed here and to fly through the rest of the layout with great pacing. The drop might be a little better in the last row unfortunately I only got three rides (rows 1 and 7) in two days at the parks as Toutatis only opened for merely an hour in the afternoon on day two.
Tonnere 2 Zeus is a tough one to rate. Some laps where great, others just hurt. The ride starts off with a disappointing and shaky first drop but surp...
Tonnere 2 Zeus is a tough one to rate. Some laps where great, others just hurt. The ride starts off with a disappointing and shaky first drop but surprises with some fresh elements like the waveturn and offers some intense forces paired with more or less rattle. Backrow (backwards) is a must for me and somehow much smoother, straight (5/5), first and second to last row are also not too bad (4/5), just stay away from the middle rows (3/5).
Thundercoaster was THE big surprise of my visit at Tusenfryd! While it's a true old-school woody with it's pros and cons, I believe it is criminally ...
Thundercoaster was THE big surprise of my visit at Tusenfryd! While it's a true old-school woody with it's pros and cons, I believe it is criminally underrated and nowhere near as bad as it's reputation. Going in with no expectations, the first ride was a great surprise. At first, Thundercoaster was kind of scary. It is fast-paced, intense, and an overall rough ride experience. After that first ride, Thundercoaster really grew on me! The ride is relentless, has phenomenal pacing and slams you in the final brakes. It certainly has a characteristic oldscool woody rattle and can be slightly uncomfortable in parts, but the new Gravity Group trains prevent you from the worst rattles and I personally enjoy the authentic wooden coaster feel. While Thundercoaster may not offer too much airtime, it compensates with its intensity on the positive G-forces. The ride through the tunnel following the second drop is one of the most intense moments of positive G's of any wooden coaster i've been on. And I haven't even started about the beautiful landscape and the work with the terrain, which make this coaster really stand out. Looking back to my visit in Tusenfryd, I kind of regret getting 8+ rides on SpeedMonster and only 3 on Thundercoaster as the lines where longer. If I were to compare Thundercoaster to another coaster, I would think of Tonnere2Zeus. Both have in common that they are thrilling, well-paced rides with some janky parts and great fun. However, with the retracking Tonnere has a more modern layout and is the better ride.
Cancan is a top tier family coaster. It has one of the nicest queues I’ve seen on any coaster. The theming throughout the ride and the great soundtrac...
Cancan is a top tier family coaster. It has one of the nicest queues I’ve seen on any coaster. The theming throughout the ride and the great soundtrack add to the experience, while the ride itself has a good duration and the layout in the dark is a lot of fun.
The theming in the queue and station is great. Unfortunately, the ride can’t hold up to the expectations built up in the queue. Xpress starts off with...
The theming in the queue and station is great. Unfortunately, the ride can’t hold up to the expectations built up in the queue. Xpress starts off with a surprisingly intense launch followed by the seaserpent-roll making for the rides highlight with only a few rattles. After that there is not too much happening and it’s quite the rough experience overall, with the seats being super uncomfortable too.
Nice theming, the trains look great! That’s about it for the ride. You get two laps tho. Walibi Holland still needs a more interesting family-friendly...
Nice theming, the trains look great! That’s about it for the ride. You get two laps tho. Walibi Holland still needs a more interesting family-friendly coaster in their lineup imo.
I was a big fan of the coaster when i first rode it in 2019 and was now looking forward to experiencing it again. I almost feared my expectations migh...
I was a big fan of the coaster when i first rode it in 2019 and was now looking forward to experiencing it again. I almost feared my expectations might be too high but Karacho didn’t disappoint. The first inversion is a great surprise and offers some nice Hangtime. But this is just the start. Gerstlauer really has some of the punchiest launches and Karacho’s launch is just phenomenal. You are shot straight up the whippy top-heat, followed by the second inversion with more hangtime. Unfortunately, there are some dead spots coming after that great start. The twists and turns in the rides middle third don’t do too much and there even is a note worthy rattle at one point before the mid-course. This is what separates it from a s-tier ride for me. But the finale is once more breath taking, with a snappy diveloop that takes you right through the final roll, followed by the breaks. The theming is very nice too with great train-design and the infamous animatronic right at the exit. To conclude, the beginning and finale of Karacho are truly a masterpiece, with some more boring moments in between.
While I am not a big fan of the model in general, Volldampf is definitely my favourite of the Vekoma Family Boomerangs so far. There is just so much a...
While I am not a big fan of the model in general, Volldampf is definitely my favourite of the Vekoma Family Boomerangs so far. There is just so much attention to detail. Tripsdrill really pushed this small coaster to the maximum with the fantastic theming. Train and station are beautiful and the landscaping (mind the storks!) with the interaction with Hals über Kopf really make it a nice experience. Best thing is the absence of those terrible shinguards they have on e.g. Raik!
Hals über Kopf is a fun New Gen Vekoma Thrillcoaster for the whole family. While first row was super smooth, I have to admit that there is a light sha...
Hals über Kopf is a fun New Gen Vekoma Thrillcoaster for the whole family. While first row was super smooth, I have to admit that there is a light shake at least in the back rows. I did my first three rides in last and second-to-last row and liked it better with every round. But the last ride in the evening and in front row finally convinced me of the rides qualities. The first drop is definitely more intense in the back but all the rest had more punch in the front. My highlights are the zero-g-roll right after the drop and the overbank turn towards the end. I would add Intensity and Airtimes as cons as there is not much of both overall. There are some mildly forceful moments like a helix pulling positives and some moments of floater airtime throughout the ride. To sum it up, it is a very fun ride and perfect fit for a family focused park like Tripsdrill.
As I expected Goudurix to be as bad as those classic SLCs, my first ride in first row was actually a pleasant surprise. The soft cushions for your hea...
As I expected Goudurix to be as bad as those classic SLCs, my first ride in first row was actually a pleasant surprise. The soft cushions for your head help with the headbanging and the variety of intense inversions is quite interesting. Later that day I got a second ride in the back car which was more painful. I would still prefer this over a lot of other older Vekomas, especially the old SLCs. Just go for the front and push your head in the pillow and you will be fine.
Nice, long family ride with some interesting elements. Definitely one of the best in this category in Europe. Somehow my expectations were a little hi...
Nice, long family ride with some interesting elements. Definitely one of the best in this category in Europe. Somehow my expectations were a little higher but for me it can’t quite rival my favourites Cancan Coaster and Big Thunder Mountain as a ride and especially in terms of theming.
