22nd July, 2006 in Phantasialand: Starring 7 Britons and 2 Germans:
-
- Andy- "schwarze Mamba"
- Chris- soaked
- Greg- in his mid-twenties
- James- spending much time in bathrooms
- Lorenz- Cilit Bang
- Paul- bringing rain from the island
- Phil- Frankenstein
- Robert- one of "those"
- Ute- avoiding water
On 22nd July, some minutes after midnight, Lorenz and I started our journey to Phantasialand.
After discussing several movies and the rides in PHL, we stopped at a parking site.
Having slept about 4,5 hours, we continued our drive; since it was 7 o'clock when we got at PHL, we drove into the centre of Brühl
and failed at finding an open public restroom.. fortunately, the hotel PhantAsia had one
..
We spent the remaining time sleeping and reading on the not-so-empty main parking site
before we bought our tickets and a magazine about the park (3 Euro).
We didn't know that the main gate would be opened at 8.30 if there were many visitors but it was a nice surprise.
So Lorenz and I took our first photos of the day in Alt-Berlin, waiting for the rest of the park to be opened at 9 o'clock.
Alt-Berlin
The little snake at Neptune's fountain...
...and its bigger brother
We had intended to do a small photo tour and then go on Colorado Adventure but the queue went up to the entrance there.
So we went to Temple of the Nighthawk where the waiting time was 20 minutes.
I had never waited so long there before...
After that, we entered Wuze Town and had one ride with Winja's Fear and one with Force.
We had a nice spinning effect and Lorenz seemd to really like it
.
While waiting for the Fear's train, we noticed a woman being sent out directly from the station
because she had forgotten to put her bag into one of the lockers.
Fortunately, the queue wasn't so big then [10-15 minutes] so that she didn't lose so much waiting time.
Around 11, there was a young man in a red T-shirt walking up to me.
Was that Phil? Well, when he started waving, I knew he was
..
After getting to know ourselves, we went on the Winja's again- unfortunately, the spinning effect was almost non-existent then.
On our way to the Hollywood Tour, we went inside the Temple of the Nighthawk.
The queue and the temperature inside the building had decreased since our first visit there.
When it was our turn, our train stood in the station for over 5 minutes before it finally went up the first lift.
The ride on the Hollywood Tour was a premiere for most of us.
I myself like it- especially the "underwater" scene, "the Birds" and "Frankenstein".
That's a giant spider... and nothing else.. 
The Birds
James cooling his head in front of Atlantis
The thirsty throats filled with coke, the group was eager to be biten by the Black Mamba.
Although the queues in the park were giant elsewhere, we didn't have to wait more than 10 minutes.
After the ride, the usual comparison between Nemesis and BlackMamba began *
g*-
the discussion ended in a peaceful tie..
Although it had been very hot and sticky in the morning, it started to rain around 12.30.
To escape the freak of nature, we took a ride with GeisterRikscha.
Phil and Andy recorded parts of the ride, whereas the others were occupied with looking and taking photos.
There is one question left which we couldn't answer: Is there actually a story behind the ride?
Or is it just a trip to ancient China and its myths?
Maybe someone knows the answer..?!
Boring?!
"I hate visitors..grr..."
After that, the rain paused so that we could move on.
On our way, we noticed some decoration for the AsiaNights.
Phil confused me by saying something about ordering "grey pee" then.
When I saw that he had bought a crêpe, I felt more relaxed again.
But Germans are not better- they pronounce that word a bit like "crap".
So both languages are a bit nasty when it comes to describing this wonderful dish
...
By the way: In which stores do you get "Banella"? I would like to try it.
The ominous dragon in daylight
After this snack, we went to the entrance of Colorado Adventure.
There was absolutely no need to be afraid of going on a roller coaster after eating crêpe since the queue moved forwards so slowly.
I think we had to wait there for 30 minutes at least- time enough to discuss whether ThorpePark is good or bad
.
Sometime the queue was finished and we were allowed to go on the train, "the best mine train", to quote Andy.
We had a look for Mystery Castle and RiverQuest then, but the queues were far too long
[people were waiting on the drawbridge of Mystery Castle!].
Since the rain came down again, we went on SilberMine.
This ride is my favourite dark ride in Phantasialand since it does not look tacky but does have some kind of story behind.
Greg: "Should we go on it?" Paul: "Naw.." Andy: "Why go on it when I can film it?!"
Remember it, Chris?
Our search for a Bratwurst afterwards was a bit complicated.
Ironically, we didn't find a food stall with Bratwurst in the Western area, but in the Chinese section- globalization, huh
.
We kind of played "guess the age"- all of us were wrong, but it was a compliment for everyone
.
The bigger part of the group went to see Beat of the Bronx at 14.45.
Lorenz and I went to see Casa Magnetica instead.
Having seen this show in 2005, I wonder why it was shortened.
Last year, the person on the chair had to be toppled "away from the wall"
so that he or she sat in the room like on "The Wild Bunch" (that's Movie Park, Phil!).
This year, the show seemed to be compressed into 10 minutes of entertainment.
But the thing I really hate in Casa Magnetica- the moderator cracking a bottle on the table to get everyone's attention- is still there
.
Since the show was shortened, Robert, Andy and I waited for the rest to leave the Silverado Theatre.
Having confessed that he was one of "those", Robert got stung by a very aggressive wasp
.
Colorado Adventure- photographed from the staircase leading to the Silverado Theatre
Not being allowed to go on BlackMamba, I joined Andy and Greg watching the roller coaster from the path.
Since I felt a bit weary, I came into contact with the bench next to the golden statue.
But the queue for BlackMamba was quite short so that we didn't stay long in Deep in Africa.
Small Andy, big Mamba
Gimme a smile, Chris!
The rain came down once more and we sought shelter near the Buddha in the Chinese area.
After that, we went into the PhantAsia hotel and had a first look at the rooms.
I must confess that they made me envious at once (although the sinks are quite strange).
The windows offer a wonderful view of the park, the pool looks gorgeous and the whole room looks clean and pretty.
But I have to criticise the fact that the hotel's survey was in German only.
[James might also criticise the tv programmes
..]
Later, we had a drink in the bar on the ground floor to avoid walking in the rain.
Strangely, the roof was leaky- or is that intended to create an original Chinese feeling?
However, we all had big drinks to devour and many things to discuss.
I hope I didn't scare Phil and Robert too much with my stories about "that" man and his lawn-mower...
At about 17.30, the group went to RiverQuest again and this time, they even went on it
.
Wet like they were, they wanted to go on MysteryCastle to dry (?!).
Well, I didn't want to be the person who used the seat of Chris afterwards
..
Wet, what else...
Fun in the sun (more or less)
Wet guy
Wet hug
Having dried too much, it was time for the two log flumes.
To do something everyone wanted to do, we had a ride with the FengJuPalace then.
The pre-show was interrupted when the first animatronic began to move.
I think this was due to the fact that it was 18.35 and that the last rides should be made by 18.45..
The last station of the day was Black Mamba.
Hey there!
We don't want to be wet- we want to be soaked!
Black Mamba, yellow building, green leaf
Clash of cultures?
James tries to adapt to the "Country of the poets and thinkers"
Andy has bought some stuff in the Kilamba Shop
We want to see it, Andy!
All rides closed, we went to the hotel again to say good bye
.
10 minutes late, Lorenz and I started our trip back home;
due to the low traffic on the motorway, we only needed 2,5 hours instead of 3 hours.
Because of the Deutsche Bahn and a cancellation of his train, Lorenz needed two more hours to get home..
Last but not least: Learning German with Andy and Ute:
Guten Appetit= Enjoy your meal
SCHLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND= abbreviation for Deutschland/Germany, especially used at football games
Schwarze Mamba= translation of Black Mamba
Richtungs- und Geschwindigkeitsänderungen= warning notices at RiverQuest- if you can pronounce them, you're really good!
Well, that's it from my part.
Please be lenient towards my grammar and spelling mistakes- writing a trip report in a foreign language is a bit complicated.
It was a wonderful day and I really hope that we can all meet some time again
.
Thank you, guys!
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