Coaster reviews

Theming Capacity Fun

I'm not a water ride person, but this one is really fun. And it's definitely a cred so even better! Such lovely theming all the way round, it really is very pretty. 2 good drops too, rides very smooth, and just a light sprinkle away from the front row which is a win for me. Boats are very comfortable with just a seat belt so feels very open. Excellent throughput as well with the dual loading station. Obviously as a coaster it's just got the drops but as an experience attraction it's really very good indeed

First Drop Inversions Intensity Discomfort

The prototype wing coaster, and a great ride as well. I really enjoy the straight first drop, some good whip as you go down on the back. The layout is creative as well with some snappy intense turns, nice inversions and a great final roll with some awesome near misses. It's decently themed too, nothing world beating but fun nonetheless. Unfortunately the seat belts on this are much shorter than on other B&Ms so the bar had to be implanted into my thighs, would understand if they were all like it but I don't have any such problems on the Swarm. Still, an excellent ride and my favourite coaster at Gardaland

First Drop Location Fun Too short Theming

A good fun example of a dive machine. Excellent drop, with some great whip at the back and hangtime at the front. The rest of the layout is fun, with the immellmann, floater hill and the roll, but it does feel short, Valkyria at Liseberg is definitely the more complete layout. Views from the top are just gorgeous as well, such a pretty location for a park. There's clearly been an attempt at theming but it all looks a bit dilapidated now, also the themed indoor queue isn't in use which is a shame. Still, a good fun ride

Theming Rattle

All of the stars are for how unbelievably well themed this little kids coaster is, it's mad how elaborate they made it. The ride itself is really shaky though, very strange for such a new coaster. But then it has a spinning propeller on the zero car which is awesome, so some wins and some losses!

Theming Fun Rattle Too short

Very short, even for a kids coaster, and very janky as these Tivolis tend to be. Nicely themed though and the final hill is bizarrely pretty fun. 3 lap special too

First Drop Theming Fun Rattle Layout

Really the usual standard Tivoli, quite hilariously janky and a basic figure of 8 layout, with some funky theming. However the first drop in the back row, with just 1 click on the lap bar, is utterly ridiculous, you lift right out of your seat as it pulls you down to the right. Completely unexpected, quite terrifying and great fun

Pace Smoothness Too short

This is the shorter Boomerang layout, and probably the weaker one out of them, however still fun and it does feel fast up against the landscaping. Very nicely themed too in the Lost Kingdom area

First Drop Fun Layout Theming

Cobra is just pure fun, Gerstlauer really do a good job fusing a wild mouse with a more varied layout with their Bobsled models. Nice snappy first drop that's quite floaty, before the wild mouse section that really is pretty wild, absolutely no trimming so it flies through the turns, Then there's the double helixes, a run of airtime hills which are again floaty, before a final helix. Such a simple layout but just super enjoyable. The ride runs nice and smooth as well, probably the smoothest Gerstlauer in the country in all honesty. Unfortunately, being one of Paultons' older rides, it's completely unthemed, and it does stand out like a sore thumb amongst the other gorgeous immersive areas of the park. So hopefully in the future they can integrate Cobra and Edge into a new themed land (perhaps the viking area rumoured for 2026). But the ride itself is excellent and another great family coaster offering at the park

Lap Bar Comfort Intensity

Another of Paultons' excellent family coasters, this time the suspended variety. Vekoma do a great job with these and Pterosaur is no exception, the layout is fun with some floaty moments, and the nice intense final helix into the station. First drop is good in the back too, not as whippy as the longer model but you still get a nice bit of pull off the lift. Speaking of, there's no doubt that the longer version provides a more complete ride experience, but this baby model still gives a fun ride. It's really nicely themed as well, the queue aside as that's just a cattle pen, lots of dinosaurs around and plenty of good landscaping. Great trains on these too, really minimal lap bar and really comfortable. An ideal family coaster really

Theming Intensity Layout Too short

Storm Chaser is a really excellent coaster, in one of the most immersive themed areas going in Tornado Springs. It really dominates the area with the track running above the main pathways, and forms such a cohesive theme that's just really well thought through. The main queue building looks great with lots of props and atmospheric lighting, and the great soundtrack playing throughout. The station is equally detailed with loads of great theming, and the trains are great as well. Nice and comfortable when you get in, quite a bulky lap bar but then it does need to service it's 1m height restriction, so it's understandable. Then off you go up the lift, lovely views of the park from the top. From then on, the ride experience well outperforms it's family status, there's some great moments of intensity, in particular the helix really pulls some good g's. You can get some serious spinning too if the cars are weighted well, although on some other rides you barely spin at all. Runs nice and smooth as well which is important at a family park. Only quibble is it is a short layout, could do with maybe an extra few turns and an airtime hill, but it's still an excellent ride and one of the best family coasters going. It's certainly the best themed!

First Drop Rattle Disappointing!

The vertical lift is by far the best bit of the ride, very very cool. The drop is good, but very rattly, as is the airtime hill that doesn't give any airtime. You don't get very wet at all, unless you sit on the right side of the boat for some reason. Then it's a long, slow and boring meander back to the station. Also the water smells quite spectacularly like sewerage so it's a good job the splash is moderate!

Location Too short Discomfort Pointless

This ride is just pointless, literally does nothing at all other than rattle around. Really short ride as well. Think they'd have been better off with a standard wild mouse!

Location Pointless

Easily the most boring Mack powered coaster I've done. Lovely location but absolutely nothing to the layout whatsoever

Theming Fun Too short

It's a short ride, but really quite enjoyable. Some nice space theming, and the first part is really dark so it takes you by surprise. Nice sense of speed even if it's actually really slow. Decent fun

Nice surprise! Fun Intensity

Really was expecting to hate my first ZacSpin, but I really quite enjoyed Kirnu. Didn't find it too uncomfortable at all, and it actually runs pretty smooth. It's very short but it's an intense experience, and you get a pretty good dose of ejector at the end as it flips you round. Bit of a sleeper hit for me!

Fun Hangtime Rattle Harness

What a bizarre ride Ukko is. The best bit by far is the lift and the hangtime at the top, that's very odd but good fun. Then it obviously just does its roll and drops you back down, so very short but quite snappy. The lap bar isn't comfortable though, and it does have a bit of a judder. The sort of ride that's fun cos it's weird rather than cos it's good

Fun Smoothness Capacity

Very smooth, very enjoyable Maurer spinner. Its not a wild one, the spinning is pretty tame, but it's a fun layout with some nice moments, and it interacts wonderfully with some of the parks other rides. Capacity obviously isn't great with the small cars but they were dispatching it well

Location Fun Dead spots

This one's all about the history, I love these old wooden coasters, and the fact that it's retained its brakeman really retains all of that. The actual coaster is fun, rather bland and little airtime apart from the second double down and hill which slap for absolutely no reason. Found it a little over-braked, particularly compared to the wild ride you get on Tivoli Gardens' old woodie. But it's a classic and I always enjoy a classic!

Airtimes Pace Masterpiece

My 100th coaster! And wow, what an incredible ride it is too. Taiga is absolutely in the elite echelons, this layout is just spectacular. First launch is nice and snappy, straight into the first inversion which is super floaty at the front, and a bit more whippy at the back. The following turns are taken at great speed and are nice and intense, had a little bit of grey out on those later in the day. Then we get to possibly the best sequence of elements I've experienced on a coaster. The second launch is awesome, straight into the top hat. Great airtime on the front up into it, and on the drop down at the back. Next is the stall, just wow, amazing pacing, whips you into it and then you hang, feels longer than it looks for sure. You then drop into a crazy speed hill that dumps you out of your seat, before the awesome immellmann. The ride then has some nice whippy turns, a couple of real snaps that throw you around, before a taron esque s-bend which then drops hard to the left, absolutely awesome moment. The last roll is really fun as well, and then you fly into the brakes! Taiga is relentless in its excellence, no bad moments at all in this layout. Front row is probably my preference but I do love the back as well. I did notice the red train had a bit of a vibration, the orange train was glossy smooth though and it didn't detract from the ride. They're gorgeous trains too, love the detail and the lighting. Super comfy of course being Intamins new gen ones. Just an incredible ride, super rerideable, and very deserving of all the accolades it gets

First Drop Layout Duration Capacity

Sometimes you have a lap round on a ride and something just works out to elevate it to elite standards. Well the spin that I experienced on Dragons Fury exceeded anything I've ever felt on a conventional spinning coaster. It seems to be that if it's just 2 of you in a car, and you ascend the lift facing backwards, it just flings you round down the drop, and then doesn't stop around the entire layout. Absolutely mental. Also does help if the 2 people in question are on the heavy side! Even without accidental beast mode though, it's an excellent ride with a really good layout, very much underappreciated I think, and certainly the best spinning coaster in the country. The capacity does suck though so I'd recommend an off peak weekday to stack up on rides!

Airtimes Layout Duration Dead spots

I wasn't really expecting as much from Abyssus as what I got, this is an awesome ride. Super long, loads of great transitions, plenty of airtime moments - the standout being the hill before passing under the station into the batwing, that launches you good - and 2 really decent launches, the second one has some nice force to it. I've put dead spots as a negative but really it's just one dead spot, the big ol' trim on the top hat does kill that element unfortunately, but everything else really feels well thought out and very enjoyable. Its not mega forceful, but it certainly has some moments. Overall though, a really great fun coaster and one that I definitely enjoyed way more than i expected that I would, super comfortable as well with the excellent lap bars and vest. A proper sleeper hit

Fun Rattle Discomfort

Standard large Tivoli model. They're usually fun rides with the mammoth train meaning you take he elements at very odd speeds, but this one is really janky and uncomfortable unfortunately

First Drop Fun Smoothness

This baby GCI really shows that you don't need lots of height and speed to have a great time on a coaster. Typical of any GCI, it uses the speed it does have to deliver a fun and enthralling ride experience on a layout with several moments of nice floaty airtime and some snappy whips side to side. The first drop is decently steep and has some nice pull at the back, even though the trains are only 6 cars long. Would love to see how it would ride with 8 car trains. Id say the back is the best on it but front row is very fun as well. The entire ride is also wonderfully smooth, still a little wooden coaster jostling but so enjoyable, Polpsaland do a great job with the maintenance clearly. Heidi fits excellently into the parks lineup and is overall a fantastic family woodie which I always enjoy getting a good few rides on when I visit the park.

Launch Intensity Layout Rattle

Anubis is a super underrated coaster, this thing is excellent with a really snappy launch which takes you properly by surprise every time. It shoots you off into a fairly short but really fun layout with some excellent moments of airtime on the top hats and several great sections of intensity. For a Gerstlauer that is getting on a bit now, it runs pretty smooth, the back row can be a bit brutal in a few places but the front is much better, and the middle is really smooth, very enjoyable. An excellent coaster, and don't sleep on it when you come to plopsaland!

Masterpiece Layout Ejectors Rattle

Every time I come over to Plopsaland on the Eurotunnel, I wonder if Ride to Happiness will live up to the rides I had previously. And every time, it blows me away. Never before has a ride been so perfect as some of the rides that this coaster gives me. Every single element is just incredible, every hill throws you out of your seat, every inversion throws you around or ejects you down towards the ground. 3 of my favourite inversions of all time are on here, the Jojo roll, the zero g roll, and the ridiculous double twist dive loop. The final run of airtime hills are insane as well, full on ejector every single time. Its mega rerideable as well, thanks to the spinning, you'll have a ride which is elite, but then you'll have a ride where you hit every single element in the perfect way, and it just ascends into the throne of heaven. Then you've got the amazing theming, the incredible on ride soundtrack, and the trains which are so gorgeous and intricate, and have by far the best lap bars in the world, with the auto-lowering meaning you can never be stapled on this ride, they're supremely comfortable. One thing I did notice that has developed rather quickly since my last rides, is a rattle, the valleys and the overbank turn before the final airtime hills really bounce about, it wasn't ever this bad so hopefully it's just a bad set of wheels and they can get it back to how it was. But that doesn't stop the Ride to Happiness being one of the greatest works of art in the world of theme parks, and hats off to Plopsaland and Mack Rides for delivering it with such disdainful perfection

Fun

Somehow I managed to avoid riding a wacky worm until my 99th credit. To be fair, it was alright, not rough, not hideously uncomfortable trains, and some interesting theming. Probably the best of the tiny Energylandia creds

Airtimes Inversions Smoothness Too short Launch

The first new age Vekoma thrill coaster really doesn't disappoint, this is a short, sharp little ride that packs some great punch! Unfortunately the launch isn't much to write home about, was less snappy than I was expecting, but it shoots you off into a great layout with some snappy turns and transitions, good airtime pops, and one particular corkscrew which hit far harder than I was expecting, it was awesome. It probably is a touch short but it's super fun, super smooth and very enjoyable!

Nice surprise! Fun Smoothness

This was a proper sleeper hit at Energylandia, it's great! Super smooth, some good whip on the first drop, some great intensity and decent length too. Really an excellent family coaster, don't underestimate the Dragon!

Fun Smoothness

This boomerang layout is great, good length, some fun moments and good whip. The spike is great on the front too

Pace Smoothness Too short

The shorter Boomerang layout, but it's whippy and takes the turns with good speed. Good fun