Phantasialand

Phantasialand

Kaiserplatz in the Berlin themed area
Location	Brühl, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Coordinates	50°48′00″N 6°52′46″E / 50.80000°N 6.87944°E / 50.80000; 6.87944
Opened	April 30, 1967; 56 years ago (1967-04-30)
Operated by	Schmidt-Löffelhardt GmbH & Co. KG
Attendance	2 million[1]
Area	28 hectares (69 acres)
Attractions
Total	32
Roller coasters	8
Water rides	4
Website	Official website

Phantasialand is a theme park in Brühl, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany that attracts approximately 2 million visitors annually.^[1] It was opened in 1967 by Gottlieb Löffelhardt and Richard Schmidt. Although starting as a family-oriented park, it has added thrill rides, especially in recent years. Following the example of Europa-Park,^[2] it has also decided to attract business customers, calling spring the slogan "Business to Pleasure".^[3]

Phantasialand is known for its high theming detail. It introduces new attractions more often compared to other German theme parks, to compensate for its small area; and is regularly voted one of the world's best theme parks.^[4][5][6]

Among its thrill rides is Taron, the world's second fastest multi-launch coaster; Black Mamba, a Bolliger & Mabillard inverted coaster; and a themed Mine Train roller coaster called Colorado Adventure, which runs between some of the mountains in the park's Wild West section, and was opened by Michael Jackson. The most recent addition was F.L.Y., a Vekoma launched flying coaster.

History

Phantasialand opened in 1967.^{[further explanation needed]}

On 1 May 2001, a fire destroyed two roller coasters, a theatre and parts of the Westernstadt. It was the result of a cable fire in the Grand-Canyon-Bahn caused by faulty wiring.^[7] The blaze covered about 38 million Deutsche Mark (US$17 million) in damage^[8] and 54 people were injured.^[9] Phantasialand reopened the park about two weeks later and invested about €2 million in fire safety, equipping every building with sprinkler systems.

Phantasialand is also home to "Mystery Castle", an indoor Intamin Ride Trade Bungee Drop featuring a walk through a haunted castle. Next to the castle is "River Quest", a rapid river ride which features a lift, built by Hafema in 2002. It replaced the attractions destroyed by the fire one year before.

In 2002, Winja's Fear and Force, two indoor spinning coasters built by Maurer Söhne, were built along with a new area called Wuze Town.

New for 2006 was an African-themed B&M inverted roller coaster called Black Mamba.

A four-star on-site hotel called Hotel Ling Bao, which is Chinese themed, opened in 2004. The hotel's roof tiles were imported from China, and every room door was hand-engraved. The hotel has two restaurants; one of them - the LU CHI - is renowned for its Euro-Asiatic cuisine,^[10] a bar, a pool with sauna, garden area, spa and its own entrance to the park. A second (three-star) hotel called "Matamba" opened in August 2008 in the Deep in Africa section.

Phantasialand opened another ride for 2007 called Talocan, a Suspended Top Spin by Huss Maschinenfabrik. It is located in the Mexican section of the park. In 2008 a splash battle ride, Wakobato, opened in the lake in the old fairytale forest. The attraction is highly debated amongst residents living next to the park, who complain about noise pollution.

In 2010 Phantasialand opened five new attractions for children in Wuze Town: Baumberger Irrgarten (Maze), Die fröhliche Bienchenjagd (Jump Around by Zamperla), Wolke's Luftpost (Magic Bikes by Zamperla), Der lustige Papagei (Crazy Bus by Zamperla), and Würmling Express (Monorail). The Berlin part of the park has also been reworked, with many Berlin-themed houses, fountains and a tribune for shows. Also new in 2010 was the show 'Sieben' (seven) by Jan Rouven.

In 2011 Phantasialand opened two new attractions: Maus au Chocolat, an ETF dark ride^[11] in Alt Berlin and a chair-swing on the Kaisersplatz. The old shop in Berlin was replaced with a funhouse-style attraction called "Verrücktes Hotel Tartüff", built by the park's engineers and opened in 2012.^[12]

For the 2013 season, Phantasialand built a new log flume-style attraction to replace their two previous water attractions. It is embedded in a large area of canyons and mountains, as a miniature model on display in the park had already revealed during construction. Chiapas: DIE Wasserbahn opened on 1 April 2014.^[13]

After the winter season 2013–14, Silver City (a western theme town) and the dark ride Silbermine were removed to allow construction on the park's 2016 launched roller coaster, Taron, and the new themed area Klugheim, which was to become a part of the Mystery area. Another roller coaster, Raik, is located in the Klugheim area, and is more family-oriented than the likes of Taron. The coaster is a Vekoma family boomerang model attraction.^[14]

Also in 2016, Race for Atlantis was removed to make way for a new themed area called Rookburgh with a rollercoaster named F.L.Y., the world's first launched flying roller coaster and the longest flying roller coaster in the world.^[15] Rookburgh and F.L.Y. opened to the public on Thursday, September 17, 2020.

Theme areas

Name	Theme		Dragon	Opening date
Berlin (with Rookburgh)	Historic Berlin with the nostalgic flair of the early 20th century; Boulevard with the Kaiserplatz; Industrial quarter "Rookburgh" in steampunk design		Drago	1970
Mexico	Plaza Mariachi with Mexican buildings; Rockwork of Chiapas; Aztec and Maya cultures		Quetzal	1973
China Town	Traditional Chinese buildings and gardens		Wang	1981
Mystery (with Klugheim)	Medieval village "Klugheim" with Nordic symbolism in a mystical dark atmosphere;  Basalt Mountains; gloomy castle complexes		Schneck	1998
Fantasy (with Wuze Town)	Playful, child-friendly fantasy world around the Wuze people in Wuze Town and Baumbergen at the "Mondsee" (moon lake)		Phenie	2002
Deep in Africa	Savannah and rainforest landscape with West African adobe buildings		Kroka	2006

Roller coasters

Coaster	Picture	Opened	Manufacturer	Area	Description
Black Mamba		2006	Bolliger & Mabillard	Deep in Africa	An inverted roller coaster
Colorado Adventure		1996	Vekoma	Mexico	A mine train
Crazy Bats		1988	Vekoma	Fantasy	An indoor steel roller coaster with an additional virtual reality experience
F.L.Y.		2020	Vekoma	Berlin (Rookburgh)	A launched flying roller coaster
Raik		2016	Vekoma	Mystery (Klugheim)	A steel family boomerang
Taron		2016	Intamin	Mystery (Klugheim)	A multilaunch steel roller coaster
Winja's Fear & Force		2002	Maurer Söhne	Fantasy (Wuze Town)	Duelling spinning roller coasters

Water rides

Ride	Picture	Opened	Manufacturer	Area	Description
Chiapas		2014	Intamin	Mexico	A log flume
River Quest		2002	Hafema	Mystery	A rapids ride
Wakobato		2009	Preston & Barbieri	Fantasy	A boat ride
Wözl's Wassertreter		2003	Phantasialand	Fantasy	Pedalos

Thrill rides

Ride	Picture	Opened	Manufacturer	Area	Description
Mystery Castle		1998	Intamin	Mystery	Enclosed drop tower
Talocan		2007	HUSS	Mexico	Suspended top spin
Wellenflug		2011	Zierer	Berlin	Chair swing

Dark rides

Ride	Picture	Opened	Manufacturer	Area	Theme
Geister Rikscha		1981	Schwarzkopf GmbH (System) Heimo (Theming)	China Town	Chinese mythology
Maus au Chocolat		2011	ETF Ride Systems Alterface	Berlin	Cake factory with a plague of mice

Other attractions

Ride	Picture	Opened	Manufacturer	Area	Description
Avoras		2024	Kinderland Emsland Spielgeräte	Fantasy	Playground
Bolles Flugschule		2010	Preston & Barbieri	Berlin	Red Baron
Bolles Riesenrad		2010	Preston & Barbieri	Berlin	Ferris wheel
Bumper Klumpen		2003	Preston & Barbieri	Fantasy	Bumper cars
Das verrückte Hotel Tartüff		2012	Hofmann GmbH	Berlin	Funhouse
Der lustige Papagei		2010	Zamperla	Fantasy	Crazy Bus
Deep in Africa - Adventure Trail		2022	Phantasialand	Deep in Africa	Walk-Through
Die fröhliche Bienchenjagd		2010	Zamperla	Fantasy	Jump Around
Feng Ju Palace		2002	Vekoma	China Town	Madhouse
Octowuzy		2003	?	Fantasy	Water playground
Pferdekarussell		1998	Preston & Barbieri	Berlin	Merry-go-round
Tikal		2011	Zierer	Mexico	Family drop tower
Tittle Tattle Tree		2002	Vekoma	Fantasy	Para Tower
Wabi's Krabbelinsel		2003	?	Fantasy	Indoor playground
Wirtl's Erlebnishöhle		2003	?	Fantasy	Indoor playground
Wirtl's Taubenturm		2007	Heege	Fantasy	Lifting tower
Wolke's Luftpost		2010	Zamperla	Fantasy	Magic Bikes
Wözl's Duck Washer		2003	Preston & Barbieri	Fantasy	Teacups
Wupi's Wabi Wipper		2003	?	Fantasy	Children's drop tower
Würmling Express		2010	Preston & Barbieri	Fantasy	Monorail

Removed attractions

Due to its particularly small area Phantasialand is known to remove attractions more frequently than other theme parks to gain space for new attractions.

Ride	Picture	Opened	Closed	Manufacturer	Description	Theme
Autoscooter		1968	1986	?	Bumper cars	none
Ballonfahrt		1993	2009	Zamperla	Balloon ride	none
Baumberger Irrgarten		2010	2021	Phantasialand	Maze	Maze
Bienchenflug		1979	2009	?	Carousal with bee-looking gondolas	none
Bolles Spieleland/Penaten Kinderparadies/ Ronnies Spieleland		1970s	2010	Phantasialand & Penaten	Playground	none
Bottichfahrt		1971	1993	Phantasialand	Water ride with tub-looking gondolas	none
Bullenreiten		2004	2009	Phantasialand	Mechanic bull	American frontier
Cine 2000		1978	1995	?	180-degree Cinema	none
Condor		1986	2006	HUSS rides	Condor	none
Djembe Musikschule		2006	2020	Phantasialand	Djembe drums	Africa
Crazy Loop		1995	2004	Fabbri Group	Breakdance	1995-1996: none 1997-2004: Mexico
Galaxis-360		1982	1985	?	360-degree Cinema	none
Galaxy		1994	2005 (re-themed to Race for Atlantis)	Simtec & IMAX Corporation	Simulator ride	Science fiction
Gebirgsbahn		1975	2001 (burned down)	Schwarzkopf GmbH	Speed Racer (Roller coaster)	Mountain range
Gondelbahn 1001 Nacht		1970	2009	Phantasialand	Dark ride	Stories from One Thousand and One Nights
Grand-Canyon-Bahn		1978	2001 (burned down)	Schwarzkopf GmbH	Powered roller coaster	Mountain range
Hollywood Tour		1990	2020	Intamin	Fantasy	Hollywood movies
Jumbo		1979	2000	?	Aerial carousal ride with elephant-looking gondolas	none
Käpt'n Blackbeards Piratenflotte		2001	2004	Phantasialand	Model ships navigated by water guns	Pirates
Kinder-Riesenrad		1993	2009	Zamperla	Ferris wheel for kids	none
Klettergarten		2009	2012	Phantasialand	Climbing parcourse	none
Märchenwald		1967	2007	Phantasialand	Fairytale Forest	Fairytales
Oldtimerbahn		1967	1986	Phantasialand	Vintage Car Adventure	none
Phantasialand Jet		1974	2008	Schwarzkopf GmbH	Monorail	1974-1996: none 1997-2008: Mexico
Polyp		1975	1983	Schwarzkopf GmbH	Octopus	none
Ponyreitbahn		1967	1975	Phantasialand	Pony ride	American frontier
Professor Wuzipuh's Clever-Bollen		2003	2016	Phantasialand	Edutainment	Fantasy
Race for Atlantis		2005	2016	Simtec & IMAX Corporation	Simulator ride	Atlantis
Ruderboote		1967	1967	Phantasialand	Rowing boats	none
Schloss Schreckenstein		1972	2008	Phantasialand	Walkthrough	Scary castle
Seeräuberfahrt nach Carthagena		1968	1978 (re-themed to Wikingerbootsfahrt)	Phantasialand	Themed water ride	Pirates
Silbermine		1984	2014	Schwarzkopf GmbH (system) Hofmann (Theming)	Dark Ride	American frontier
Silverado Up 'n' Down / Wamazonen-Flugcenter / Wuzi's Going Up		2004	2015	Phantasialand	Bungee-trampolines	none
Space Center		1988	2001 (re-themed to Temple of the Night Hawk)	Vekoma	Roller Coaster	Space
Spider		1984	1985	Schwarzkopf GmbH	Octopus	none
Stonewash Creek		1974 (together with Wildwash Creek as Wildwasserbahn)	1992: split into two water rides 2011	Mack Rides	Log flume	American frontier
Temple of the Night Hawk		2001	2019 (re-themed to Crazy Bats)	Vekoma	Roller Coaster	Jungle
Tretboote		1967	1968	Phantasialand	Pedal Boats	none
Walzertraum		1993	2009	Mack Rides	Themed water ride	Flowers
Wikingerbootsfahrt		1979	1999	Phantasialand	Themed water ride	Vikings
Wildwash Creek		1974 (together with Stonewash Creek as Wildwasserbahn)	1992: split into two water rides 2011	Mack Rides	Log flume	American frontier
Wosi's Abenteuerpark		2003	2013	?	Indoor playground	none
Yeti		1989	2004	Phantasialand	Animatronic	Yeti

Performance shows

A dinner show called Fantissima is also offered on select evenings, for an additional fee. The show run-time is approximately four hours.^[16]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Phantasialand.

• Phantasialand official website

This page was last edited on 10 March 2024, at 13:28