Walk.with.me #9: Phantasialand (Part 1) - Riding TARON, the world's fastest & longest multi-launch rollercoaster!
The shrill jangle of my alarm jarred me out of my sleep. My brain neurons fought amongst one another, each trying to send his own important message through.
Sleep in more! Rusty’s 18th birthday! Phantasialand!!
Fortunately, my body runs like clockwork in the morning..I hopped outta bed, freshened up, then allowed my feet to take me downstairs to wish Rusty a happy birthday while my hands gathered up the snacks we prepared the night before into a backpack.
Mr. Rain had been up and about before us!
At 08:20, we stepped out the front door onto rainwater-slicked driveway stones. Only a light drizzle pattered down on us though. Mr. Rain must be on a toilet break!
ON-THE-GO Breakfast at. . . .
Mcdonald's! We paused our drive to order five McMuffins Chicken & Bacon (€2.29 each). This is my all-time favourite McD's breakfast item in Germany. It has egg, bacon, cheddar cheese, and breaded chicken with tomato sauce and mustard. The combination is rather tantalising, and reduces my urge to rant about German McD’s lack of hash browns on its breakfast menu. I'm just kidding. . . WHYYY!!! isn’t that weird? I thought I was in Potato Country!!
We hurried to the car with our baggy of McMuffins as the big hippopotami decided to bounce on the rain clouds above.
Safely sheltered in our car, we made our way back onto the Autobahn (highway). In less than a minute, our windscreen was bombarded by big raindrops going SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! Looks like the season-pass holders will choose to stay home today and go to the amusement park on a sunnier day, I thought cheerfully. :)
Mr. Rain must have finally gotten the memo that it was Rusty’s birthday!
As we approached Phantasialand, the rain cleared up completely!
We drove to the parking area (€5 for a day) at Hotel Ling Bao, a Chinese-themed hotel located near one of the entrances to Phantasialand. Look how empty the parking area was!
From there it was a 1-minute walk to the ticket booth. We waited for a mere 3 minutes for the group ahead of us to be served, then it was our turn!
We got two adult tickets (€46.50 each) and a free ticket for the birthday boy!
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By 09:40, we were in at the Chinatown section of Phantasialand! It’s only fitting that the entrance to Hotel Ling Bao opens up into Chinatown. ;)
This Pavillon watches over the stage where an Asian Artistic Show airs several times during the afternoon.
Time for a ride!
After admiring the Chinese-style buildings, we made a beeline to 'Klugheim' ('Clever Home') in the Mystery section to check out the park’s hottest rollercoaster: TARON! The terrain changed drastically from very oriental to the raw material surfaces of wood and stone.
On the way, my little bro did some time at the 'Klugheim' pillory. Unfortunately, I had no rotten eggs or cabbages to throw at him. =P
Finally, we reached the heart of the volcanic bowl and beheld the HQ that would spew us out onto the spaghetti-like tracks of TARON!
Equipped with the fastest LSM launch system in the world, TARON holds the current world record as the world’s fastest multi-launch roller coaster. The recent addition to the theme park is also the longest of its kind, boasting 116 track crossovers. As many as 4 cars can operate at any one time on its 1,400m track! This capacity is wonderful because it can be used to better manage both crowd and waiting times. :)
Since rides only open at 10:00, we had a 20-minute wait ahead of us. The empty roller cars of TARON roared past all the time. The spirits in the snaking queue ahead and behind us was high!
When the gate finally opened, everyone in the queue had to trek along a winding path that stretched out at least 200m through the tracks. When the queue in front of us finally stopped moving, we found ourselves very close to the boarding area. Yoohoo!
In five minutes, we were on the ride!
No pictures of the ride itself, because my phone is too precious to lose! ;)
TARON is an awesome rollercoaster for anyone! It was fast enough (116 km/h), yet lasted a good 1 min 40 sec thanks to its snaking track. The second booster launch that happened in the middle of the ride was unexpected and totally thrilling!
There were also narrow misses incorporated along the track where it looked like a rider might hit the faux rock surfaces of the volcanic bowl as the rollercoaster twisted and turned through it! The Mann sat in front of me, and I counted two moments during which I cringed on his behalf, thinking his head or arm might get grazed!
Fortunately, the track always twisted a little more so he survived the ordeal unscathed! ;)
When we got off the ride, my blood danced through my body. I was raring to go for a second round! However, The Mann's belly felt a little queasy, so we stopped to have an imaginary beer at the nearby Rutmor's Tavern instead.
Have you been on a roller coaster before?
Part 2 will continue the fun and rides! :)
Thanks for reading my post! If you liked what you read, there's more! Click on the picture below to see my previous post in this story series:
Address:
Phantasialand
Berggeiststraße 31-41
50321 Brühl, Germany
Opens:
1 Jul - 27 Aug 17 (Summer Season): daily 09:00 - 20:00
28 Aug - 5 Nov 17 (Summer Season): daily 09:00 - 18:00
6 Nov - 23 Nov, & 24 Dec 17: Closed
24 Nov - 30 Dec 17 (Winter Season): 11:00 - 20:00
Contact: +49 2232 36600
Really I have never experienced such a big one @foodie.warrior! For sure I will feel very scared and shout out loud like crazy!
Cheers
@prigressivechef
hehe the cheering (or at least breathing out) helps you to have a bit of control over the 'in the air' floaty feeling, in my opinion! So you would do perfectly fine with all that shouting :))
This place looks amazing! thanks for sharing!
Thanks for dropping by @hewetthomestead! We had a really enjoyable day there..but in the USA, the rides are even more thrilling :))
Wow it looks one fun roller coaster, and 1.4 miles sounds like a lot of twisting and turning.
Good thing I wasn't on it lol :D
Great post as usual my friend ;)
hehe Dan the Dane thanks for your sweet comment as usual :)
It was a good amount of twists and turns..not too much, not too little :) 1.4
mileskm though! :) Miles would be 1.5 times as long hehe not that I'd complain!That looks awesome!! I can totally see why someone would get queasy on this ride though! I love roller coasters. In my high school years I worked at a theme park called six flags great adventure (I sold snacks and drinks) but I went to the park all the time bd would ride the same rides over and over. so fun!!
hahah! you got to live my dream student job :) I always longed to do a work & travel with Six Flags, but the cost of return tickets and living expenses that the job cannot offset were big deterrents for me at that time.
I can imagine us two on a rollercoaster! =DD It'd be a ball of fun!! Btw, TARON is awesome, but not scary at all like some of the coasters in the US (e.g. ShieKra the dive coaster in Busch Gardens, Tampa =P)
After about a dozen cotton candies and caramel apples the fun does wear off a teeny bit :) also did I mention I grew up in the same town as six flags? That made it way easier to go at off peak times when there were no lines and just ride the good rides over and over. Now I wonder if my stomach could handle something like that!!! Hah
haha such crazy times! I can't imagine eating a dozen cotton candies and caramel apples even on a workout day!! hahah That's very convenient :) and yes, the best time to go during a nice, sunny day is during off peak times :)
You really dared to take a ride on Taron? :D Damn you're a crazy woman!
Lovely breakfast at Mc Donalds... I bet he will never forget that birthday :P
hehe it's a MUST to ride Taron if you go to Phantasialand :)) I could not possibly miss it and act 'sane' ;))
hehehe Rusty is a huge junk-and-fast-food lover..he has a stash of 60 Milka choc bars beside his bed in the basement right now!! :O I sorta gave up on nagging at him and decided to wait till he grows outta this 'teenage' binge-junking stage..hahah
So you're one of those roller coaster ladies huh :O
Not my kind of entertainment hahaha. Great post as usual!
hehehe I do enjoy roller coasters very much :) I'm not as crazy as one of my elderly lady friends though..she's a retired missionary lady in her mid-70's, and she rode Cheetah Hunt at Busch Gardens Theme Park (another speedster coaster) in Tampa, Florida with me when I visited her!
I loved reading this post. Your imagery is amazing. I couldn't help laughing at the hippopotami bouncing on the rain clouds! I hope your brother enjoyed the ride. Seems quite wild for the normally less crazy European ones.
Aww @stortebeker..I'm so glad at least you got the imagery :)) that's a reference to a child's story actually, so not hundred percent mine..He enjoyed this one a lot..but there was another one later on that he did not enjoy so much hahaha..this is one of the more modern newer ones..I suppose that's why it's a bit 'wilder'..I support this trend and hope it continues ;)
You are so brave! And you even enjoyed it! OMG! I was so happy to hear that the rain stopped and there wasn't a big crowd. The Chinese style buildings are amazing! So pretty and colorful. Imaginary beer? LOL! How did it taste? HAHA! :)
hehe it really was the perfect day to visit a theme park during summer vacation :) Glad you liked the Chinese buildings..as for the beer, well, I was on the other end of the camera, so you'll have to ask the boys about it ;))
HaHa! I bet your brother loved his birthday gift! :)
He did ;)
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I love rollercoasters! My friends and I had season passes to the Six Flags parks in the United States when we were 11 and rode so many. The stony theme on this one looks super cool.
Wow what daring 11 year olds you guys were ;)) It really is pretty cool, isn't it? The thrills aren't as intense as the rides in the US theme parks (my generalisation, I've only been to two Six Flags and Busch Gardens), but the thematic decor is really pretty awesome in Phantasialand :))