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Phantasialand Improvements for 2018

CSLKennyNI

Giga Poster
Continuing the discussion from a few posts above about the future of Geister Rikscha and China Town I've written up some thoughts. As a fan of the area its going to be a great shame to see it go but I'm intrigued to see what comes next.

Especially since this will not be just like Klugheim and Rookburgh where they could just flatten everything and build something completely new there. There's the China car park entrance, public pathways, Feng Ju Palace, Colorado Adventure and Hotel Ling Bao to think about (and complicate things). The site cannot be easily hidden and secluded like the previous ones (I'm sure the rooftop Dragon Bar in Hotel Ling Bao will see an increase in customers ).

Given the 3 year cycle - Chiapas planned for 2013, Klugheim 2016 and Rookburgh 2019 - this is almost certainly a 2022 project. Can't see them thinking Chiapas would have had a longer marketing pull than the world's first launched flying coaster.

Dark Ride?
I do really hope that this will be a new dark ride, and hopefully with a Klugheim size budget so they can create something truly spectacular.
I can't see many alternatives to a dark ride. We haven't had one since Maus in 2011, and since then we have lost a dark ride (Silbermine) without a similar replacement. Recently we've had our fill of coasters and a major water ride so what else is there to add. A modern (non-interactive) family dark ride is something the park sorely lacks in my opinion.
Also can't see many other uses for the underground hall that Geister is housed in.

However it probably best to not get ahead of ourselves. Until we see what exactly they are doing or how they are rebuilding the area it is pretty much impossible to know what is coming for sure.*
*Except for two things which are pretty much guaranteed and I'd bet on now: IMAscore and Universal Rocks will be involved.:D

Also depending on how they repurpose and utilise the site (for instance will there be a new stage for shows/live entertainment or will that be completely gone?) perhaps they could additionally squeeze in a small flat ride or kiddie coaster (the only coaster type I think they are truly missing after F.L.Y.). Unlikely probably but not impossible I'd imagine.
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What is going?
So the rumours allege that most of China Town is going. The old food stalls and China Snack opposite Geister are extremely outdated looking and let the area down imo. They are attached to the last remaining section of the former Silbermine dark ride hall. This hall was used as a workshop during the construction of Klugheim. They use it for storage these days but it is largely empty.
Altogether this site is prime for redevelopment/reuse.
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Geister Rikscha's removal is a given and long rumoured. The park have made it clear they are pursuing a strategy of modernising the entire park and replacing old rides with modern 'e-ticket attractions'. Also considering the park's lack of expansion space at the moment they really have no other option.
After 37 years of operation it is time for it to go.
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As well as giving the park the opportunity to modernise and redevelop the area, removing a significant portion of the China square (the acrobatics stage etc.) is most likely needed to actually remove Geister - given that it runs underneath the square. They'll have to open up the underground hall to take stuff out, and then re-use the hall/install a new dark ride.
Overall I've marked on this map what I expect will be the demolition/construction site.
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Obviously they cannot cut off access from the China car park entrance and Hotel Ling Bao so that pathway along the front of the Mandschau restaurant towards River Quest and Mystery Castle will have to remain open.
As expected, Feng Ju Palace, is said to be remaining - although I'd expect a modernisation/refurbishment of the attraction as part of this project (Similar to how River Quest was improved during Klugheim) - so for access part of the path space in front of it will have to stay open.

New Gateway
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I'd also expect this to be when we see the currently closed Klugheim to China gateway opened up. It will be particularly useful as an alternative route for guests when the China to Colorado street is closed off. The new gate was built during the construction of Klugheim, presumably in preparation for the China project. It is in the corner between Feng Ju Palace and China Snack and despite not actually be use yet it is featured (circled in red) as a wide pathway on the new park map (introduced when Taron opened). Removing the outdoor seating area for China Snack would free up the space in front of the gate allowing its use as a major pathway.
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River Quest
Another step towards transforming the China area; removing the entrance to River Quest from it. The new entrance from Klugheim will definitely be finished as part of this project. Hopefully for next year.

Mandschu Restaurant
The poster of this rumour claims to not know for certain if Mandschu will survive the demolition work. Given that it is out of the out of the way from everything else and inbetween the China Entrance and River Quest I think it will probably stay but just receive a full refurbishment and a new and improved menu (similar to what happened with Hotel Ling Bao's restaurants this year).

Asien (Asia)
This project is obviously more than just a new dark ride in Geister's place, they'll be rebuilding, modernising and re-imagining the area - perhaps even with a slightly new theme if it is true that the area will no longer be 'China Town' but 'Asien' (Asia).
Hotel Ling Bao (originally opened under the name Hotel PhantASIA) has always had a more Asian theme/influence rather than being specifically Chinese like the park area. A big deal has made out of the newly refurbished Bamboo restaurant this year and how it now offers food from four different countries (China, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam), to give guests a culinary trip around Asia. Bringing the park's themed area into line with this wider Asian theme would certainly open up many new possibilities for food, theming and rides in the park itself.

Access and Colorado Adventure
The only possible access route from the main road for this construction site would be the path where the entrance of Colorado Adventure currently is, and the simplest way to directly get at Geister Rikscha's building is through the Colorado queueline. There really is no other way.

Therefore this pathway will have to be completely closed off and the Colorado queueline flattened. Since the park are not going to have the coaster shut for any length of time Colorado Adventure will have to get a new queueline and entrance accessible from the other side. And if Geister is being demolished this January that would mean a new queue for Colorado must be coming for the 2019 season.

The current queueline and entrance are lacking anyway and are in serious need of work/replacing so it would be "killing two birds with one stone" so to speak. The entrance could do with a more prominent location from a main pathway, rather than being isolated on that rubbish pathway around the back. Like how River Quest will be getting a new entrance and Chiapas received a new prominent themed entrance portal last year to help people find it.

Behind the wooden wall in the corridor to the steps which take you up into Colorado's station is Geister's final scene (you can even hear it through the wooden wall). That section of GR's building has to remain given that CA's maintenance shed is built on top of it. With Geister removed they they could knock through the wall and in that section of the building (the final scene, GR's exit and part of its queueline) they could create a new queueline for CA. The new entrance would then be beside Colorado's exit at the current exit of GR. I'm sure other possibilities exist, perhaps utilising part of the Silbermine hall opposite and connecting it up somehow. Depends on how things will be rebuilt around there.
The 3 month off season I'm sure would be enough time to create a new queueline.

New theming for Colorado?
It has been long speculated that the redevelopment of China would include the long awaited refurbishment of Colorado Adventure and the area surrounding it - which is still Wild West in places, old and outdated and in some spots a bit lacking.
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The Chiapas model (used to announce and advertise the ride) showed extensive new mine theming for Colorado to fully bring it into the Mexico area however it didn't and still hasn't ever materialised. Was it just a case of budget constraints and other priorities (River Quest + Mamba)?
Or was it because they changed their plans? Perhaps (as it is rather cut off from the main Mexico area) it could be rethemed and intergrated into the new 'Asia' themed area. There have been a few suggestions of a Himalayan/Tibet retheme, especially given those Himalayan prayer flags that appeared on the China street this year.
Although with a general Asia theme there could be any number of options for that area. Tikal could be easily made to fit with a new name and some small changes/a repaint.

It would be interesting to see something completely different and new done with it.
Although personally I'm not too keen on the possibility of losing the iconic 'Colorado Adventure' name, and losing the interaction with Chiapas - given the clash of themes it would have to be enclosed. I'd probably rather they just complete the Mexico area and create a good transition between it and China/Asia.
Either way just as with River Quest the new theming would probably come in phases over the next years.

I certainly can't see a removal being on the cards in the near future: Colorado is still really popular, has an insanely high capacity and they have invested quite a bit in it in recent years. Many believe (or rather hope) it may be the only old PHL ride that survives long term.

Silverado Theatre
No matter what theme it may have we can probably expect improvements around the Colorado Adventure area, and one of the biggest eyesores in that area (and the park in general) is the Silverado Theatre, home to the stunt show 'Jump' which has been running since 2012 (far longer than any other park show).
The theatre is definitely something they'll be planning on tackling at some point. At the back it is a plain unthemed ugly warehouse and the front features Wild Western theming and old rockwork that doesn't fit with the new realistic and modern image the park is striving to create.
Interestingly the sides of Hotel Matamba that neighbour the theatre are plain concrete walls (as seen below) - to accommodate a new taller building on that site perhaps?
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Will it be demolished and replaced by a new modern theatre? Of course they could simply just refurbish and theme it.

Or making use of the large empty space behind Silverado they could build a new larger purpose built Fantissima theatre (the park's successful dinner show). Manuela Loffelhardt (park owner + show director) in a recent interview on YouTube spoke/complained about how restricted they are, especially height wise, with what they can do in the current venue inside the Temple of the Nighthawk building.
It would be perfectly situated between the hotels and pave the way for the removal of Temple of the Nighthawk and Hollywood Tour as the next project after China/Geister.



So there's a massive dose of speculation. (Can't wait to see what I've got wrong haha)

Even if the rumours that China and Geister will be removed at the end of this season are not true, it will probably all happen then the following year.
Unless a replacement theatre for Fantissima magically appears soon (with how construction is progressing it doesn't seem likely Rookburgh will have space for one) Temple of the Nighthawk and Hollywood Tour are most likely going to be around a little while longer. The rumour of Geister Rikscha being the next attraction to be removed has been around for a while so this new demolition project rumour only furthers the expectation that it will be next.
 
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VikingsAf

Mega Poster
I really like your toughts.
What do you think about both the China entrance and the entrance from Ling Bao being moved temporaly?
China entrance could be moved a bit up to where MC queue starts now and the Hotel guest entry could be right in between Matamba and Ling Bao, coming out at the unused plaza there.
I think this is possible going forward from your speculations that both the queue for MC and CA will be redesigned. This gives them the opportunity to use the entire space of China to work with.
But... What with FYP (or is it FJP)? Maybe they will close it durning the works and give it some retheming indeed, or they make it reachable trough the new Klugheim-China gate, because otherwise this one isn't used...
I think it will go like this:
2019
We see GR closed so they can start to prepare everything
(offseason) Some retracking on Mystery castle queue (altough I don't have an idea how, maybe they'll start the queue right in front of the bridge)
FLY OPENS
2020
(offseason) retracking on CA queue, maybe retheming it aswell
Entirety of China is being closed down
Some magic happening
Announcement of the new darkride and a "thrill" ride comparable in size to wellenflug (or am I being to optimistic?)
2021
Crazy darkride opens... Bigger than symbolica or any of the Universal dark rides
 

Ethan

Strata Poster
Which is true to an extent, although whoever told you that is just trying to spare your feelings.
But I think it's difficult to deny that having more space allows for much more, whether it be more scenes, bigger sets etc.
 

VikingsAf

Mega Poster
You're being too optimistic. The hall in which GR is in is minuscule in comparison to the show buildings of Universal dark rides.
With big I ofcourse don't mean size, but rather experience :D But what you say about "More scenes" is ofcourse true :)

Knowing phanta and what their latest projects were. It wouldn't amaze me if it's a one-of-a-kind thing or the best/greatest in something... (River quest is the highest, Talocan is the biggest, Chiapas is the talles and steepest, Taron and Raik have 6 "records") But also in the past there have been some other records (TotN the longest indoor coaster)
 

Lofty

CF Legend
If they do in fact create a dark ride, I highly doubt that it will be as huge as any of the bigger Universal rides such as Gringotts and Men In Black, but, we can absolutely guarantee that if Maus is anything to go by, a dark ride at Phanta will just be excellent.
 

CSLKennyNI

Giga Poster
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Image put together by Sandman on Themepark.nl showing the space Geister Rikscha takes up in the above ground building and underneath the square.

Especially if they already starting work next year, I think they'll definitely expand Geister's hall to have more space.

Mandschu Restaurant
The poster of this rumour claims to not know for certain if Mandschu will survive the demolition work. Given that it is out of the out of the way from everything else and inbetween the China Entrance and River Quest I think it will probably stay but just receive a full refurbishment and a new and improved menu (similar to what happened with Hotel Ling Bao's restaurants this year).
Someone recently mentioned on PhantaFriends.de the park actually own some unused land behind Mandschu.

I actually remember reading about that before and seeing a map which marked the extent of the land the park actually own including this space - however I can't seem to find that map now on PhantaFriends.
I believe it is only a few rows of parking but since they try to maximise the potential of all the space available to them; it raises the possibility that they may demolish Mandschu and utilise this land as well.
The restaurant also takes up a lot of space. Having never eaten there I've no clue as to how popular it is these days but I went inside to have a look around a couple days back and it was rather empty inside.
So it is possible the park may find it to be more space efficient to replace it with a new smaller or more compact (over 2 floors) restaurant in the new/rebuilt area.
Clearing the Mandschu site and the space behind would open up quite a large bit of land for use.
For instance I could see them digging down there and expanding the underground Geister hall to have more space for a dark ride. *They could also expand the hall underneath the current station and final scenes of Geister, the current Colorado queue, Silbermine hall and the street, or maybe even dig down a little deeper. After the massive hole they dug for Rookburgh anything is probably possible.
Of course they will never have the room for a huge dark ride the scale of which Universal and Disney build - like everything at PHL it will be compact but hopefully more than make up for it by being spectacular.

Of course this raises issues for the park entrance from the China Car Park and the entrance for guests from Hotel Ling Bao. Can't see them sending people down to the Mystery entrance as it wouldn't cope with 2 times the crowds. But I'm sure they'll find a solution. As @VikingsAf suggested they could perhaps temporarily or even permanently relocate the entrance. Behind the Mandschu site where the current Mystery Castle entrance could work I guess.
 
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Phantasiastisch

Mega Poster
If they expand the space, I can see a big darkride fitting in this area. I'm sure the level of theming and storytelling will be of high standards.

I'm curious what they're all planning to do with it. The Silbermine hall and the mainstreet, getting demolished, maybe the Mandschu restaurant as well. This opens up a lot of possibilities.

The demolishing of the first hall of Colorado Adventure, a bigger square where Mexico, China Town and Mystery meet each other (particularly where the Silbermine hall and food stalls are standing) and the moving of the China Town square towards the hotel and current queueline of CA, is what I hope is gonna happen.

Same about FJP. Still hoping for a retheming into Mystery. I just don't like FJP, a Chinese building standing in the middle of Klugheim /Mystery. Still hoping that the new entrance gate next to FJP is made for this and my wish is still possible. Haha. Just my opinion.
 
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CSLKennyNI

Giga Poster
Continuing the changes and improvements in the Berlin themed area this year, and ahead of the addition of Rookburgh next year, Phantasialand & IMAscore have produced a new soundtrack for the area.
https://magazin.phantasialand.de/ein-neuer-soundtrack-fuer-berlin/

A New Soundtrack For Berlin

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The art of making the right notes.
The playful tones of oboes and clarinets dance through Berlin, past the crazy Hotel Tartüff with its bright red awnings. At the pretty 1920s houses, the sounds of trumpets blazed up like the water fountains on Wellenflug. As sweet as the scent of the flowers on Kaiserplatz, violins, cellos and double basses play around this world that seems to have fallen completely out of time. A whole symphony orchestra plays here - and makes the Berlin of the 1920s as lively and impressive as never before!

"The soundtrack for Berlin should emphasize the size and the beauty of this themed area again," says Michael Laß, sound engineer at Phantasialand. "Berlin is the central point of the Phantasialand and also a reception portal for many of our guests. We want them to feel immediately like in another world and forget about everyday life. "And that's why the new music is as diverse as Berlin itself: sometimes as relaxed as the little break in Lilli's Café, sometimes as playful as the themed artists in their handmade costumes and then again as impressive as the original houses.

IMAscore has been producing music and sounds since 2009 for more than 3,000 projects. Among them are TV campaigns for blockbuster movie stars such as "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" and "Avengers: Infinity War" and trailers for video games like "Final Fantasy XV". However, the company specialises in soundtracks for theme parks. The close cooperation with the Phantasialand has started with the unique soundtrack for Chiapas - which was specially composed by IMAscore and recorded by the Budapest Film Orchestra. For Klugheim, too, an unmistakable composition was created in coordination with the Phantasialand.

"You do not often have the opportunity to write such detailed music," says Xaver Willebrand of IMAscore. With its demands on the new music for Berlin, the Phantasialand once again posed a great challenge to the sound experts from Paderborn. They had to sound the character of Berlin. "We are always driven to the limit - or even beyond. That makes the Phantasialand itself with the design of its theme worlds and attractions. Of course, we also want to support this standard musically. "

In Phantasialand music is an essential part of the atmosphere. In order to properly stage the light-hearted ease in Berlin, a realistic orchestral sound was particularly important. Every instrument of a classical symphony orchestra can be heard in the street Berlin. For this, IMAscore has set each individual note or recorded it on a Midi keyboard.
"We basically compose like classical composers," explains Xaver Hillebrand. "Just not with sheet music and pen, but digital. That means that the music for Berlin has been re-composed note by note and can not be found anywhere else. "

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Whether the work of the sound experts was actually successful, sound engineer Michael Laß was only able to determine in the middle of Berlin itself. In the dry recording studio it was impossible to tell if the music was the right one to pick up and amplify the mood.
"I got the music from IMAscore and thought in the recording studio: that's way too powerful and too epic. And then I listened to it on the Kaiserplatz and found out that this great, epic piece fits wonderfully to the atmosphere of the big epic Kaiserplatz. And he's even more dignified and intense with the new music. "
The right tone was thus hit. Now it was time to adapt him to the challenges in Berlin. Because the new soundtrack had to prevail, for example, against the water fountains of the wave flight, but was not allowed to bother. And between the house facades in the street Berlin another volume was needed again. In a total of six zones with different sound systems, Michael Laß has sounded the work composed exclusively for the Phantasialand - for an overall experience that only exists in Phantasialand.

"With the new soundtrack, Berlin is unmistakable and unique, like everything here in Phantasialand. The music suits our Berlin - and nothing else. "
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"Without the music, much would collapse like a house of cards," says Michael Laß. "Because that's the secret of Phantasialand: to create an interaction of everything. Without a bombastic scenery and musical support, even the greatest roller coaster remains a roller coaster. And that's not the case with us. We have Mexico, Klugheim and Berlin - and these are worlds created by us. "
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To the swinging tones of flutes and oboes ladies in old-fashioned bathing dresses romp in the center of Berlin. The wonderful fragrance from the waffle bakery mixes with the soft sounds of the string instruments. And the cozy terraces on Kaiserplatz invite you to enjoy the atmosphere in peace and quiet. Anyone who closes their eyes here and listens to the sublime sound of the symphony orchestra has finally arrived in Berlin in the 1920s.
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Ethan

Strata Poster
Love it. This park feels like a living thing, always changing it seems! I seriously can't wait for the day that all of the old, dated attractions have been replaced, it's going to be a completely different park.
 

Ethan

Strata Poster
Double post, but I just stumbled across this video on Youtube. I can't understand a word of it, but it has some beautiful shots of the park (taken this year) which might be worth a watch for some of you!

 

Phantasiastisch

Mega Poster
Phantasialand posted this short video on YouTube about the 8 world records which contains some nice footage.

It's funny that they also put the outdated Temple of the Nighthawk on this list.

 

CSLKennyNI

Giga Poster
Just a month after the introduction of a new soundtrack for the Berlin area, Phantasialand and IMAscore are now testing new music for Wuze Tal (the outdoor part of the Fantasy Area). As well as new music the 15 minutes long test soundtrack also includes whimsical remixes of the Tittle Tattle Tree and Temple of Nighthawk soundtracks.

It has been known for a while now that Phantasialand eventually want all music in the park to be unique soundtracks especially made them, and to no longer be dependent on any licensed music.
We already saw the start of this in 2015 when River Quest, Mystery Castle, Talocan and Temple of Nighthawk received new IMAscore soundtracks.

Now with Berlin and Fantasy being sorted that leaves China Town and Colorado Adventure (the coaster and its surrounding area) as the only places without their own unique soundtracks.

Can't be a coincidence that the next major project is likely to be the redevelopment of China Town and hopefully a refurbishment of Colorado Adventure; as part of which they will almost certainly receive new music.

Fantissima
Rather unexpectedly another construction site started a couple of weeks ago in Phantasialand.
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In the corner where the Hollywood Tour and Temple of Nighthawk they are creating a new entrance for the Fantissima theatre which is in the same building. Previously they opened the large gate for fire engines between Wuze Town and Temple/Hollywood building for Fantissima guests to enter.
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Now they have dug up the ground in front of Fantissima and knocked through the wall behind the building to the street.
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They appear to be creating a separate proper gateway and ramp (which is not as steep as the old route) down to the theatre entrance. So when the show's 2018/19 season begins at the end of this month guests will have a far more pleasant and comfortable experience upon arriving.

The back wall of Wuze Town has also been repainted to help refresh the look of the area.
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More evidence, if any was even needed, that Temple of Nighthawk and Hollywood Tour are not being demolished just yet.
 
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MrRC

Mega Poster
My guess is, they re-locating the access to Fantissima outside the park, if u drive by the fire / emergency gate. On the left is a new passage.
(sorry no image)
 

VikingsAf

Mega Poster
So I just went to Phantasialand this weekend and gave TotNH another chance (Winja's was closed in the morning, so that was a good opportunity) and after me the queue went up to 30 minutes :eek: But that doesn't matter.
What I wanted to say is that I think the ride itself was actually still realy smooth (I rode front row, so maybe that has something to do with it) and it could be a good coaster to implement VR with. It has a high capacity, long ride, not in the center of the park (Center of the park would be realy bad capacity wise) and so on.

I'm not a fan of VR rides, but there are many people who realy do like that (families). This can be a small investment to fill the gap between FLY and the next big addition.
Also I still find that Hollywood tour has still some kind of charming feel to it (even tough I don't know many of those films), so the building doesn't need buldozing per se.

What are your toughts on this? Does this sound like something Phantasialand would do?
 

CSLKennyNI

Giga Poster
No chance.
Phantasialand's creative team have said they will never do anything with VR as it does not fit the park's concept of immersing guests into different unique worlds with physical theming.

I don't think we will see any changes to Temple of the Nighthawk until it is removed (presumably in 3-4 years time for the next project after China).
 
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