James F
Hyper Poster
This month has presented quite the opportunity for travel with 3 bank holiday weekends. Thanks to the Royal Coronation of King Charles III, I could have 5 days off work for the price of 2, plus my mum and stepdad had invited me to go on holiday with them and while I would usually reject such an offer, this time they had an ace up their sleeve.
Here I am again, it's been a while since my last visit to Liseberg, almost 6 years in fact. Since my last visit the park has received two roller coasters, a dark ride, a few flats and a hotel.
Meanwhile if you returned back to a UK park in that amount of time you would be lucky to have one of those investments.
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While I had no plans of returning here this year, once I knew It was on the cards I was excited by the prospect. Liseberg is one of the best parks in Europe in my mind, while it might not be very big, it has the best of everything.
From the rides, the shows, the food, the atmosphere, even the game stalls are great.
Luna: Review
The first ride of the day was the park's latest coaster 'Luna'. Vekoma are the kings of selling coaster models. I have only just noted that I have already ridden 5 of these and I don't have a high credit count to speak of.
Luna is probably the best of these, mostly due to the location and the fantastic views you get as you ascend the backwards lift hill.
I only had one ride in the backrow as the ride broke down in the afternoon, but it's a solid family coaster which even has a nice pop of airtime.
Now it's time for a familiar favourite. Helix became my number one coaster when I first rode it in 2017, it has since kept onto that title for several years until I experienced Hyperion last year, which similar to Helix was a coaster I had middling expectations of, but I was ultimately blown away.
This past year I have had the opportunity to ride some incredible coasters such as Kondaa, Toutatis, Ride to Happiness, Untamed and Zadra, but none of them had beaten Helix in my mind.
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But what if it was just nostalgia? or just the fact when I first rode I expected Helix to ride like Blue Fire meets Cheetah Hunt and it was so much better.
The truth is, Helix still holds up 100%.
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While it didn't reclaim it's crown, it sits firmly as my second favourite. Helix is the ultimate coaster for variety. You want airtime? you got it, You want positive G's? feel the helix of helix. You want inversions? you have 7.
The sequencing of elements is one of the key aspects that makes Helix so amazing. I love how it just drops you out of the station, no faffing. Even the pre-launch section is made more interesting thanks to all the trees and landscaping.
The way the coaster interacts with the hillside and other coasters truly makes it feel like a no limits coaster come to life.
This coaster has so many elements that it's hard to pick a favourite, but going over the second airtime hill with that awesome view of Gothenburg is one of the best experiences on a coaster you can have.
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I'm so glad this coaster held up for me, certainly makes me want to return to Liseberg sooner than later.
Valkyria: Review
Valkyria was another new credit for me. As expected from B&M it was very smooth and graceful. I think it's another brilliant addition to the park, while some enthusiasts might not find dive coasters very interesting I think they add a sense of theatre that other coasters lack.
Out of the Dive Coasters I have ridden Valkyria is my second favourite, while it's not on the same level as Sheikra (which is still one of my favourite coasters)
Valkyria is the best one I have experienced in Europe due to it's more satisfying length and scale.
Balder has a bit of an interesting history with me, when I first rode it back in 2017 I was left disappointed. With the ride receiving such high praise especially in it's early years I expected it to be one of my favourite coasters,
it was the main reason I wanted to go to Liseberg and Helix was seen as more of a side dish, so it was quite a surprise for it to be the other way around.
Balder was .. well a bit boring when I rode it 6 years ago.
It had airtime, but it was mild, the pacing was poor and the turns felt extremely dull and repetitive. While still a "good" coaster it was definitely not the world class coaster I expected.
I did remember it making my top 20 at the time, but that was only because my credit count was about 130 at that point.
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With this in mind, I thought it would be a great ride for me old mam. While she has always liked coasters, in more recent years she prefers the less intense kind. I believe that her current favourite was Silver Star.
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So I thought to myself Balder is similar to Silver Star in that it does airtime hill after airtime hill and not much else. This would be perfect as she usually complains that wooden coasters are too rough and rickety.
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Based on my rides in 2017, the ride had floater airtime similar to Silver Star, which surely would make it an ideal ride for her.
She hated it.
Hated it.
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I couldn't stop myself from laughing, I felt a little bad, but I did not expect that reaction.
The thing is, Balder had changed.
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For me, it had changed for the better. I could feel the ejector airtime in droves and even the pacing had significantly improved, but this made for a more intense experience which was bad news for my mum.
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So I think it's safe to say this cancels out her enjoying rides like Untamed or Hyperion, but there still hope for Shambhala right? not that she'd trust me again.
Liseberg is underrated for how pretty it is.
After that intense ride on Balder my mum and stepdad had enough
Next it was time for a ride on Lisebergbanan, I would call this a great family coaster but perhaps it's more thrilling than that? just a great coaster all in all. Lovely interaction with the hillside and other rides and there is also a pop of airtime towards the back.
With everyone reunited we went for one last final ride on Helix. I had never got a night ride on my last visit, so for me this was a must. It was a perfect way to wrap our day up, One of the best night rides I have had even though it wasn't that dark.
My phone's camera is rubbish at night, but you get the idea. All in all we had a great day at Liseberg and had a pleasant weekend away in Gothenberg (there is a lot of beautiful places to walk - if that's your thing)
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I don't have much planned for the rest of the year, except for Europa Park in October, but if I can do it cheaply I hope to squeeze in one more trip before the year is out.
Here I am again, it's been a while since my last visit to Liseberg, almost 6 years in fact. Since my last visit the park has received two roller coasters, a dark ride, a few flats and a hotel.
Meanwhile if you returned back to a UK park in that amount of time you would be lucky to have one of those investments.
-
While I had no plans of returning here this year, once I knew It was on the cards I was excited by the prospect. Liseberg is one of the best parks in Europe in my mind, while it might not be very big, it has the best of everything.
From the rides, the shows, the food, the atmosphere, even the game stalls are great.
Luna: Review
The first ride of the day was the park's latest coaster 'Luna'. Vekoma are the kings of selling coaster models. I have only just noted that I have already ridden 5 of these and I don't have a high credit count to speak of.
Luna is probably the best of these, mostly due to the location and the fantastic views you get as you ascend the backwards lift hill.
I only had one ride in the backrow as the ride broke down in the afternoon, but it's a solid family coaster which even has a nice pop of airtime.
Now it's time for a familiar favourite. Helix became my number one coaster when I first rode it in 2017, it has since kept onto that title for several years until I experienced Hyperion last year, which similar to Helix was a coaster I had middling expectations of, but I was ultimately blown away.
This past year I have had the opportunity to ride some incredible coasters such as Kondaa, Toutatis, Ride to Happiness, Untamed and Zadra, but none of them had beaten Helix in my mind.
-
But what if it was just nostalgia? or just the fact when I first rode I expected Helix to ride like Blue Fire meets Cheetah Hunt and it was so much better.
The truth is, Helix still holds up 100%.
-
While it didn't reclaim it's crown, it sits firmly as my second favourite. Helix is the ultimate coaster for variety. You want airtime? you got it, You want positive G's? feel the helix of helix. You want inversions? you have 7.
The sequencing of elements is one of the key aspects that makes Helix so amazing. I love how it just drops you out of the station, no faffing. Even the pre-launch section is made more interesting thanks to all the trees and landscaping.
The way the coaster interacts with the hillside and other coasters truly makes it feel like a no limits coaster come to life.
This coaster has so many elements that it's hard to pick a favourite, but going over the second airtime hill with that awesome view of Gothenburg is one of the best experiences on a coaster you can have.
-
I'm so glad this coaster held up for me, certainly makes me want to return to Liseberg sooner than later.
Valkyria: Review
Valkyria was another new credit for me. As expected from B&M it was very smooth and graceful. I think it's another brilliant addition to the park, while some enthusiasts might not find dive coasters very interesting I think they add a sense of theatre that other coasters lack.
Out of the Dive Coasters I have ridden Valkyria is my second favourite, while it's not on the same level as Sheikra (which is still one of my favourite coasters)
Valkyria is the best one I have experienced in Europe due to it's more satisfying length and scale.
Balder has a bit of an interesting history with me, when I first rode it back in 2017 I was left disappointed. With the ride receiving such high praise especially in it's early years I expected it to be one of my favourite coasters,
it was the main reason I wanted to go to Liseberg and Helix was seen as more of a side dish, so it was quite a surprise for it to be the other way around.
Balder was .. well a bit boring when I rode it 6 years ago.
It had airtime, but it was mild, the pacing was poor and the turns felt extremely dull and repetitive. While still a "good" coaster it was definitely not the world class coaster I expected.
I did remember it making my top 20 at the time, but that was only because my credit count was about 130 at that point.
-
With this in mind, I thought it would be a great ride for me old mam. While she has always liked coasters, in more recent years she prefers the less intense kind. I believe that her current favourite was Silver Star.
-
So I thought to myself Balder is similar to Silver Star in that it does airtime hill after airtime hill and not much else. This would be perfect as she usually complains that wooden coasters are too rough and rickety.
-
Based on my rides in 2017, the ride had floater airtime similar to Silver Star, which surely would make it an ideal ride for her.
She hated it.
Hated it.
-
I couldn't stop myself from laughing, I felt a little bad, but I did not expect that reaction.
The thing is, Balder had changed.
-
For me, it had changed for the better. I could feel the ejector airtime in droves and even the pacing had significantly improved, but this made for a more intense experience which was bad news for my mum.
-
So I think it's safe to say this cancels out her enjoying rides like Untamed or Hyperion, but there still hope for Shambhala right? not that she'd trust me again.
Liseberg is underrated for how pretty it is.
After that intense ride on Balder my mum and stepdad had enough
Next it was time for a ride on Lisebergbanan, I would call this a great family coaster but perhaps it's more thrilling than that? just a great coaster all in all. Lovely interaction with the hillside and other rides and there is also a pop of airtime towards the back.
With everyone reunited we went for one last final ride on Helix. I had never got a night ride on my last visit, so for me this was a must. It was a perfect way to wrap our day up, One of the best night rides I have had even though it wasn't that dark.
My phone's camera is rubbish at night, but you get the idea. All in all we had a great day at Liseberg and had a pleasant weekend away in Gothenberg (there is a lot of beautiful places to walk - if that's your thing)
-
I don't have much planned for the rest of the year, except for Europa Park in October, but if I can do it cheaply I hope to squeeze in one more trip before the year is out.
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