heading towards the newer, thrill filled section, you will first walk past the raft ride (similar to those at about every theme park these days). At Tripsdrill, the ride has a laundry theme--you ride about in a large washtub--and the line goes through a museum of sorts on the history of washing machines.
You'll remember that it was only about 35 when we were there, so a water ride was NOT happening. Here is a photo from afar though:
Further out you can see a classic, old German manor house:
Two rides work their way through the manor house. One is a mousecoaster. Rio LOVES this coaster. I am generally a big fan of the mouse coaster, but this particular one does a number on me, so I no longer ride it. I think coaster enthusiasts would really enjoy it--it has a very "interesting" drop with a twist that really exerts some G-forces and is quite a different movement than anything I have ridden elsewhere.
The flume ride also goes through the manor house. Once again, I have no recent photos--since it was too cold to ride. However, it is so funny and whimsical that I have to share some photos from last spring and show it to you anyway. The ride is meant to be a trip to the Fountain of Youth--which, for some odd reason, you visit by riding around in an old fashioned bathtub.
You ride about in the castle for a bit and then arrive at the fountain of youth. I never did get a good photo of the first side of the fountain that you come to--the side in which many old woman are bathing. There is even a woman being wheeled to the fountain in a wheel barrow by her husband. The women are all bathing topless by the way---so NOT an American themepark--lest you have forgotten for some reason. Here is a photo from Tripdrill's website:
And no need to worry, your view is not limited to saggy breasted women! They are nice and young by the time you get to the other side:
Shortly after this you are on an outside track which runs nearly parallel to the mouse-coaster for about 30 seconds or so--we have actually had three of us on the flume ride and Rio on the mouse-coaster and made plans of where to meet up afterwards while chatting between the rides!
After splashing down, you can head over to one more big attraction -the saw mill themed wooden roller coaster: Mamut.
This is actually one of my favourite roller coasters of all time. It is an extremely smooth ride--remarkably so for a wood coaster, the theming (you are a log going through the mill) is a lot of fun and well done, and the ride itself s not the fastest or the tallest, but it is a KICK! Lots of good "floating" moments, fun hills an banked turns--just good old fashioned fun--not boring but not pushing you to the edge either.
Here's a photo of the kids on about their 4th loop through. They're the last two people in that bunch of people sitting in the front portion:
So, that is it for the thrills. Heading back into the older parts of the park, one of our favourite areas is the silly bikes. About 30 bicycles with a variety of oddly placed pedals (notice where Rio's feet are?), or wheels meant to give you a bumpy ride, etc are there for the taking, There is a figure 8 shaped loop with some wavy areas to ride around on. There is no worker there--it is just a free for all--which works well here and we have never once witnessed people being unsafe, running into others, not stopping after a few laps if there is await, etc. Can you imagine the chaos that would ensue if Disney tried this?!
Near this area are also some smaller rides, two rides only for young children, duck boats and animals to ride around on a track, as well as a slow moving elevated pedal ride themed as butterflies and another slow moving elevated ride, not pedal powered though, in which guests ride in rocking cradles. Or, you can more into the REALLY old section of the park--which we happen to find hysterical--but then again we have rather warped senses of humor.
You can see Adam and Eve (how they fit in with anything else, we have no idea! Well, other than the topless women theme, of course lol). Be careful not to be spit upon by the serpent while you check out the first couple to fall in love (maybe that is the storyline!)
Couples can visit the "love doctor" to find out if they are really meant to be:
You can stop by the "chapel" and see some very early animitronic action--the preacher leans out and waves his arm about and goes on at length coaxing everyone to the wedding--after which the wedding processions moves past (all just dummies on a track--no animitronics) and afterwards head off for a honeymoon ride past farm houses complete with live chickens and goats:
Once you have been married a while, you may want to have a baby. So take your chances pulling one out of the well!
(BABY PHOTOS COMING SOON--they are at work with David on his phone!)
After acquiring your baby in that freaksih manor, lol, you can visit your neighbors. All you have to do is climb the ladders conveniently left outside of their windows, and they will come over and talk to you. This is yet another thing I could never see at a park in the US--climbing ladders, over a concrete surface, no supervision.
We had probably been in the park at least a dozen times before we realized we could go around the corner and INTO the house. This is quite possibly the most bizarre attraction at the park. We find it wildly hysterical--but, again, we are a bit odd in out humor. The interior of the house consists of a dark, twisted hallway. At various points there is a lit button to push. Pushing the button activates an older audioanimatronic behind glass, which you can then watch. There are about 10-12 of these. Most seem to be discussing possible career choices. A couple of our favourites--the oh so 60s and oh so "off" attempt at diversity Daycare Teacher:
The drunken door to door notions salesman (do you see his big, empty bottle on the floor?):
and last, but not least earning plenty of dollars and pounds from the occupying soldiers (so it would seem), a prostitute!
"Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Disney anymore" lol
I told you it was weird! It is also easily avoidable, and actually not noticeable at all (thus are failure to see it for months). We love the humor both intended and unintentional though---t cracks us up every time (and it was WARM in there).
I hope you are encouraged to visit this very unique, very German and utterly quirky theme park if you are ever in the are.
--Hadley
#tripsdrill
The old animatronics and the baby well! That's really quirky stuff...all the more delightful because it's so...strange; so out of the corporate-thinking box.
ReplyDeleteGermany must have a very different interpretation of liability. Otherwise, hard to see how they could possibly have unsupervised ladders over concrete, as you said.
The layout of the park also seems much less dense..the rides and attractions aren't crowded together to maximize space..it's all very spread out...or so it seems from the photos.
So true--both that the liability is not such a concern here in Germany as it is in the US, and also that this park, and many in Europe, is more spread out--you can almost "see" the history as it grew and changed through the years, adding a piece over there, now one here, etc.
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