After barely any sleep, because while staying in an unmanned hotel seems fine on principle (and has been in other parts of Europe), in reality it's an open invitation for 1 guest and 99 non-guests to descend upon the place in a dozen cars with no number plates and party all night without any consequences. I was surprised that no one else staying made a fuss, though the sheer numbers were likely very physically intimidating. And it shouldn't be their job.
With music, singing, stomping and door slamming driving me to the point of contacting the 'staff' in the middle of the night, it was interesting to receive the response that 'there's nothing they can do, some people are just assholes.' An interesting philosophy that leads to the place no longer serving its single function as a place to sleep and the thought that perhaps one day they'll return the next morning to a smoking pile of rubble with that same attitude.
But we're not here for hotelforce.
Day 2 - Fantasiana
I've always loved Fantasiana. 10 years ago it felt like Austria's best kept secret. 4 years ago it was my favourite park in 3 weeks of Eurodemption. In a region that's mostly filled with overpriced filler, all the attractions here punched well above their weight, from log flumes to drop towers to Pax coasters.
It's now my third visit here and I still believe they can do no wrong. Though we mourn the loss of Wild Train, Helios is a more than worthy replacement.
The new look of the entrance is rather enticing, with this over the top of it. They've opened up the ticketing plaza, added an Efteling style roof over turnstyles and stopped routing guests through the little indoor diorama section that used to start any visit here. Was glad to see that it still lives on through the back of the gift shop.
I guess we can talk about Helios first, it was the reason for the visit after all. Very nicely presented was the first impression, it's a lovely fit with the direction the park has been going since Russian cred on some grass.
Seagulls, fountains, interaction, all that good stuff.
Queue is tiny, a switchback in a shed, a little winding outdoor pathway and then the final building housing the man himself. he's quite intimidating, looming over you with a good soundtrack playing. There is also some narrative, but it's drowned out by the music. Not that I would have personally understood it.
Seems Mack are taking on Vekoma's recent game of crazy inversions through the station. Love to see it.
Not sure if they own a second car or if it's just maintenance bay, they were only running one, which was fine for even the weekend crowds.
The ride begins by heading through the transfer shed with a closed shutter on the far side. Projections of magic horses galloping on this shutter imply that we're off on some wild chariot ride.
The excitement is maintained on a very swift lift hill before plunging into a wicked twisted first drop.
This element follows and is the standout of the ride, a nice sustained ejection at a weird angle that hits hard.
It then lurches down again at speed, in a solid moment of airtime.
Into the first inversion, a quick turnaround with another funky sideways bit and the second inversion. The latter gives some good hang as you flow down into it.
Then it's up a slightly stilted hill and into the station building, the first moment for me where the ride feels like it's holding back a little.
The station roll itself is pretty crazy though.
We then enter the notably weaker final third of the ride. This element is a lot more visual than effective in most seats. It's followed by a quick slither and turn into the brakes without any real final punch.
In fact the best conclusion to the ride is the little jingle that hits a couple of times on the onboard speakers as you pull into the station. It's a great character builder and gets into your head after a few laps.
After getting our fill of that, we headed out to revisit the rest of the park.
Knightsride Tower remains one of their finest attractions. Queue is always great to see this old face and then it's such a well themed drop tower when it comes to pure suspense. Rising up each section, tension building, back poke, game over. Love it.
Sindbad was feeling a little dated on the day, main highlight still being the big stone face waffling and dribbling in the queueline. It's a nice take on ghost train style scares in a more adventurous theme and the rotation and elevation changes are rather fun.
Sadly the 2nd greatest 4D cinema in the world has moved on to a worse film. Lifechanging German turtle Pandadroom has become something about a little prince that I didn't understand, and was mildly entertaining at best.
This new family top spin Wild Swing thing is amazing. One of the ART guys hyped it up to me at IAAPA several years back and I finally got to see and feel what it was all about.
The park have already made it their own by giving it a themed preshow containing a big fairy animatronic, to add to the magic.
The ride sequence is just played to perfection. It'll kick you around, it'll give you a tingle or two. Onboard sound is a delight again and the views off outside the park from the top were spectacular.
I'm not much of a flat ride guy, but I'll do more of these and when I come across them for sure.
Mami Wata remains a personal favourite. As one of the first ride soundtrack CDs I owned in this hobby it always hits different hearing it in situ. Takes me back to the good old days. Good theming, fun drops and tricks, not too wet, love it.
Park has donkey game.
No hats though, the man with a gun in his pants stole it.
Can't forget about old mate Fridolin. Some of the best fun you'll have on a 30ft coaster. These guys know it all about getting the most out of the hardware.
While looking for the diorama building that used to be the entrance, managed to find this animatronic stage show that I never knew existed. It went on for an absolute age and this tree was losing his mind in the best way possible throughout. I'm reckoning it's on par with Danse Macabre.
Think that concludes the park roundup, did I mention it was a lovely place?
Some closing thoughts on Helios then, as we spent the closing hours of the day getting to know it better. It's a lot of fun, but not quite the knockout I wanted it to be.
Just a few weeks out from Lost Gravity it's noticeably weaker and not as well paced. From memory I'd probably put it above Dynamite though, for a bit more length and variety.
As mentioned, the primary issue is a common one, fizzling out towards the end. Leading with your best elements and then not being able to back them up by the end is a bit of a downer, particularly in a shorter ride experience.
I also found it to be fairly significantly affected by wing position. The left wins on the first drop for chucking you out of the side, though the weird folding in on yourself in the right has its own unique charm.
The big stonker hill is amplified most in the right.
The second inversion hand is amplified most in the right.
The crazy near miss sensation through the station is amplified most in the right.
The last wonky hill that doesn't do much does actually hit in the right, which in turn makes the 'good part' of the ride just that little bit longer.
While it's satisfying to find that magic seat, I generally prefer a balanced experience so that you're not obsessing over it in batching.
Very solid investment though, minor nitpicks from a jaded fool. That's where the fun is, right?
Selfishly I hope the park stay under the radar, maintain their current size and profit margins.
Bigger isn't always better.
Well, off to ride something 400ft tall. See you in about 6 weeks.
