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Rhein Airtime (Germany Live) Trip reports!

Day One

Park: Fair
Arrived: *
Departed: *
*according to camera
Weather: Good

First up was Alpine Bahn which was a replacement for Eurostar. As you could probably imagine we were abit depressed not seeing Eurostar but this Schwarzkopf Traveling coaster certainly was a excellent replacement.

(insert photo of Alpina)

Next was Hollenblitz which was a amazing spinning coaster with water, fire & Christmas tree effects. If it wasn't for the Schwarzkopf just before it this would have been the best coaster.

(insert photo of Hollen)

After Hollenblitz we decided to stop for a 1/2 Mitre Bratwurst mit Brötchen (German Sausage in a Bread Roll) and Refreshments. During the break Stone Cold had a run in with one of Waitresses. Which was very funny, waitress gave group evils all the time we were there. After that short break we walked over to a Wild Mouse Coaster that had the same layout as Rattlesnake(CWOA). As it was the same layout as earlier on it the day and I had just eaten i decided to sit it out.

(insert photo of Wild Mouse coaster)

Next was a Spinning coaster which was at the otherside of the fair. Walking to it we saw an amazing Ghost Train with Live actors. But we would going to ride the coasters so we didn't stop. The Spinning Coaster was ok not the best and not the worst.

(insert photo Spinning Coaster)

After that some of the group rode the XXL afterburner which was BIG

(insert photo XXL afterburner)

After the afterburner we thought about riding a flat spinning ride but realised its cycles lasted 20mins!

(insert photo of spinny)

Then we went back to Aphina Bahn which was just a fun second time.

(insert Photo of alphina)

After that we walked back to the U-Bahn Stop. On route we saw a Slide with an shocking travelator.

(insert photo of slide)

Other Random picts



Final thought
Park: 9/10 - Fun for families & enthusiasts.
Best ride: Alpine Bahn (9/10)
Worst ride: That Spinning flat ride that went on for 20 minutes(1/10)
 
Mark said:
Harvey said:
Well Mark, as discussed the cat decided to play with the cable today and paid the price! :D

Oh dear god.... did it land on the head?

Our cat went near the cable, sniffed a little and then moved when I yelled at her. She hasn't been near it since...

Nah it sorta just toppled of the mantle piece with it and landed in a bit of a heap, hasn't done it since though - ha!
 
I'm finally back home since I left for the trip.
Absolutely knackered and have just read every post in this topic. And am planning my own PTR.
I have got a few videos although don't expect an amazing video of the whole life as I can only peice together what I've got which I haven't checked yet. :p
 
I might as well start posting my trip report. :p


Day 1 - Movie Park

Having stayed at the Travel-lodge the night before with Slayed, Leighton and Peter we got some extra sleep as we were close to the airport. Once we arose we hopped into the car and were on our way to the airport. We got shoved all the way over in carpark S which meant we had to take the bus the the main building which was surprisingly packed for at five in the morning. We arrived at the meet up point to find everyone else was already there.
We then faffed about and got our wristbands, passes and plane tickets. After this we headed off through security. I was the only one out the whole group who's back got stopped on a random search. After the contents of my perfectly packed rucksack was emptied and shoved back in by the guy without any care we set off to get something to eat. Everyone split here as they wanted different things so I just popped into WHSmith and got a sandwich and a drink.
We then went to our gate and sat there for a bit while we waited to be boarded.

We then got through first (thanks to priority boarding) and walked down to go outside to board our plane.
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The flight took off on time and I got a great view because I got my dibs for a window seat in nice and early. :lol:
Then Slayed, Mushroom, Slayed, Peter and I turned on our DS's to play Mario Kart but Stone Cold started screaming out to staff saying that we were using battery equipment before the sign told us we could. After beating everyone on Balloon Battle (I came second in the races) we switched them off and waited for the plane to land. We then got played a stupid jingle fanfare thing and an announcement played boasting about how well Ryanair keep their flights on time which we all joked about.

The thing that I realised is that our passports were only checked once on the whole outward journey and even when they did check they barely took a glance at them. :p
Düsseldorf airport was extremely clean and the floor was like a mirror it was so shiny.
Everyone faffed about while Slayed sorted out the hire cars.
We went outside and had to exchange one of the cars because it didn't have a boot cover. I then hopped in Slayeds jeep and we were on our way to Movie Park.

We arrived in Movie Park and could see the rides faintly in the distance, we then parked in the overflow carpark (a giant field) and waited there for all the cars to turn up. We then went on a 15 minute trek to get to the parks entrance.

Once there Slayed went off to sort our tickets off while the rest took photos of the entrance.
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Once inside the park we were greeted by a giant fountain with a big movie park sign rotating in the centre.
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We then walked over to Jimmy Neutrons coaster to find that the queue was 90 minutes so we quickly decided to skip it for now. We then headed back over to go to Bandit. On the way we passed through the main street,
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And past NYC Transformer.
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It was then we started to realise how boring the rides were to take pictures off as they were all tucked away and had things in front of them.

We saw High Fall in the distance but when we got there found out that it had just closed.
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We finally arrived at the entrance of Bandit where we met up with Costar. We then went into the queue where we got our taste of the Germans 'free for all' system in the station where there are no barriers and everyone just crams into the station and you have to grab any seat you could.
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After having our backs broken in 4 and covered in bruises we hastily agreed that it was the worst wooden coaster we had ever ridden.


We then had the clever idea to go straight on an SLC called 'MP Xpress'
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The queue was as bland as the rides themeing as they made everyone walk through a shipment container for some odd reason. :?
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We were then getting worried as so far on the trip the park had been packed and the rides were turning out to be ****.

We then had a look at 'Side Kick'.
I usually hate these kinds of rides but decided to do this at I hadn't done one with a floor before.

BIG MISTAKE!!!

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It was one of the sickest most foul things in creation. The head restraints tried to crack your head open and impale you at the same time. And it spun like crazy. It also didn't help at the end when it suddenly spun twice as fast and swung higher.
I think it was just myself and Mark that didn't like it, everyone else seemed to love it for some odd reason. :?

We then decided it was time for lunch, so we all headed off to the German 'Subway'. This place was vile as most of their equipment had broken and there were flies everywhere laying eggs! :shock:

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We then did ghost chasers which was a re-themed wild mouse (previously called 'Mad Manor') It was rough as usual but it didn't help that the trims and brake runs were switched off so we fly round the corners jarring our sides on the cars.
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The next re-themed ride was 'Mission to Mars'. It was a basic and boring coaster but it was a credit after all. ;)
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We then pwned the Slush Puppy shop until they ran out, and caused the men to shout at us angrily in German.

We then faffed about deciding what to do next as some wanted to do the log flume, while others wanted to do the splash battle.
We decided in the end to go and queue up for the Jimmy Neutrons coaster again. Luckily the queue had now gone down to only half an hour.
It was really smooth and the restraints were really cool and left you open.
We all decided the layout was too short and slow but we would love to see the restraints on over coasters like Vampire.
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We then went back to the entrance and went down the long and winding paths through the trees until we came to the Bermuda Triangle ride which was in it's own corner of the park hidden away.
All 16 members squished into one boat and as soon as we came of the turntable the boat stopped as it was too heavy. All the members on the outside pushed the boat along and we trundled our way over to the first lift hill that went up inside the volcano. Inside was a big drop in the dark. Then the boat went round the corner before being hauled up onto another conveyor that was flat. We then realised that it was a launch after the boat speed up to a stupidly fast speed. We then all braced ourselfs for another drop only to be greeted with a two foot 'splash' back into the water. :lol:
The next part of the ride was all aliens and going through the place where all the ships and planes that had disappeared are taken. We were then going down a hallway and seeing humans getting exterminated and experimented on. Then the boat stopped and went round on a turntable. Most the boat turned round to see where the drop was. (It then took our picture which explains why half the boat is looking behind them). Once again there was no drop and it just pulled us backwards onto another turntable. We then went up to the roof level again before being plunged through thick smoke outside on the final drop. Where it took our photo again which came out really well on the whole group. (I'll scan it in later).
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We then headed over to view the only English showing of Shrek 4D. I wasn't too fussed as I already have the film on DVD but decided to go and view the effects. The pre-show was a nice touch and added to the attraction.
And the seats in the main theatre tried to throw you across the other side as they suddenly turned into mechanical bulls. The 4D effects weren't as 'in your face' as Pirates 4D is but the effects were used correctly and tastefully unlike they do at Thorpe where they seize every oppertunity to spray water at you and turn your seat into a deadly electric chair. :p
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We then headed back to the 'Crazy Wave' ride which only about half the members did. It was my first time riding one and it was a bigger version with an airtime hill in the middle. It wasn't bad to begin with, but towards the end of the cycle everyone's balls were hurting due to the restraints getting tighter everytime the thing flew down the airtime hill, and the disk starting jolting as it went over the joins in the track which were pretty painful.

With that as our last ride of the day we headed out and trekked back to the overflow carpark to be greeted with a nice big juicy five Euro charge that the park doesn't tell you about until you leave.
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We then headed off to the hotel while some people caught up with their sleep.
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Slayeds car arrived first which also held myself, Leighton, Peter and Harvey.
We arrived first and we told by the staff to park in the underground car park. The entry slope was extremely steep and after a few attempts to go around the concrete pillars that were only a couple of meters apart, we were about to give up when another car came in behind us so we got stuck. Slayed slowly edged his way round but we heard the dreaded 'CRUNCH' as the hire car hit the post which scratched the paintwork. Once we had finally parked we tried to rub away the dust and clear it up. Before heading upstairs to meet with everyone else. (Which took a while because the satnavs were sending them round in circles). While Slayed was sorting out the rooms Everyone was grabbing handfuls of the free sweets before Stone Cold came along and emptied the whole tray into his rucksack. :lol:
After we had dumped our bags in our rooms we all met outside, ready to make our way to the German Fair. :D
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Here we go! Last day!

18th July – Europa Park

And so the last day of the trip was upon us – Europa Park!

We left early for about a 1.5 hour drive (I think), and had to stop for petrol (and croissants :p ) on the way, meaning that Slayeds car was the last to turn up at the park. Everyone else was there ready and waiting for us.

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There was little faff getting tickets and we were soon through the gates, heading straight to Silver Star, which had a 20-30 minute queue or so. I enjoyed the queue line, looking at all the McLaren Formula 1 stuff (I’m a bit of a F1 fan, and McLaren are my favourite team) and it seemed to go quite quick.

I think I got a 2nd row ride? Either way the view was nice, but that was about all. The ride didn’t strike me as much as any other B&M has done. I found it very smooth and comfortable ride, but that was about as all it was good for. It gave bits of floater airtime over some of the hills, but nothing extreme. I think its funny how a B&M Sitdown like Dragon Khan has a better first drop than Silver Star.

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Next up was Eurostat, the indoor dark ride credit. It had a 15 minutes queue or so, which looked very long but moved quite quick. The best bit about this ride was the lift hill, with the funky music. The ride itself was terrible, with huge lateral G spikes around almost every corner.

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Next up came Schweizer Bobbahn, the bobsled coaster. Nothing special about this ride. The themeing was quite good, and eh…it’s a bobsled, speaks for itself doesn’t it?

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We had a small break next with people running off to get snacks for 5 minutes, but there were plenty more credits to get, so it was onto Matterhorn Blitz. Standard Mack Wild Mouse coaster and layout, but the lifts were rather funky. I loved the way they rocked from side to side on the way up. The queue line themeing was random but decent as you got into the station building, you could tell that Europa had at least put some effort in.

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The members of the group that had been to Europa Before didn’t have the Pegasus credit, so we headed over there next, for a decent family ride. Then it was onto Poseidon.

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I was looking forward to this ride, being quite unique and my first water coaster. They played Hans Zimmer music in the queueline, which really suited the ride, and I love his stuff. The rollercoaster section of the ride was quite rough, but fast paced and still enjoyable. The splash was rather poor, with only the spray getting you damp. It was an average coaster, but the atmosphere and area around the coaster probably make it my favourite ride in the park.

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Next up we broke for lunch, but I think everyone went to the same burger bar outside Euro-Mir anyway.

Straight after lunch it was onto Euro-Mir, one of the more random coasters. Like Eurostat, the best bit about this ride was the lift hill, which went on for ages and has kick ass music. I don’t actually remember much more of the ride, since me, Stone Cold, Harvey and I think William? were having a sweet war between the cars, using the sweets nicked from the Ibis hotels. :p The only thing that I do recall was that it was a bloody painful ride!

Onto more credits, for Atlantica Supersplash. It was getting quite hot now, the sun was shining and the queue boiling, so I was looking forward to a good drenching, but got nothing more than a bit of spray. The backwards section is pointless, and its clear that the ride was only built to test Mack’s turntable.

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We were near to the rapids, and rather warm now, so headed over there. On the way we passed the most crappest walkthrough ever, which isn’t even worth describing. I can’t even remember its name.

I was feeling a bit tired after 4 days of Themeparks, and not too great after spending a week of eating nothing but junk food, so I apologise if I came over a bit quiet and anti-social for the next hour or so. :p

The rapids queue was quite long, but fortunately was always moving at walking pace or faster, which made it seem quite short time. Most of the group got in 2 boats, and I got in a boat with William and some randomers. I didn’t think that the rapids were as good as they were hyped up to be – no better than the likes of those at Thorpe or Alton.

Next up came the last credit, Alpenexpress, the powered mine train. I don’t think anyone expected that huge indoor dark section, which was stunning. It was also worth noting that the train only took about 15-20 seconds to dispatch, and that’s no exaduration. The train arrived, gates opened instantly, it took people about 15 seconds to get seated, and the train was dispatched almost instantly, with people still on the exit platform and no restraints being checked. It wasn’t the best health and safety I’ve seen, but didn’t half make the queue move quick!

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Having just been through that dark indoor section on the mine train, it was worth doing the log flume just to experience it again (they both went through the same building)

Having got all the credits, we took a slow walk through the park, back towards Silver Star, for a back row ride this time. It was mildly better, but still nothing special. The best part was holding out sweets on the ride, and watching them float out of your hand over the airtime hills!

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We got the group photo on top of a McLaren F1 car, and mooched around the SilverStar shop and brought some cheap tack (well actually, the SilverStar merchandise was quite cool :p ) With only 30 minutes until we needed to head back to the airport, we got another quick ride on Silver Star.

This is when the fun started.

We drove back north to Baden Airport (via services for fuel) and found the car return area, which was completely full! It ended up with us abandoning the cars in the middle of the car park, unpacking and then grabbing any available slots as they turned up.

We probably had an hour an a bit until our flight was due to leave, and we didn’t need to check in, so there shouldn’t have been a problem. As we entered security, they started to weigh all our hand luggage, of which a lot of people, including me, were over the limit. I was at 11.8kg, 1.8kg over the limit, but Stone Cold was behind me in the queue, showed the woman that he was 4kg under the limit, shouted something at her, and we both ran through! :p Thanks for the help there Rich!

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Then came the problem of getting the GeForce cables through security. Most of us who had the cables went through security first, and as expected, they picked up on them. Mark and Marc were trying to show the staff what they were, and where they came from, and 2 of the security said they are ok to take on the plane. A 3rd security staff was more strict, and in the end the only solution was to check them in to the hold.

Mark (Slayed) and Mark (Mushy) stayed back to check in, whilst the rest of us got through security. The problem for us on the other side of security was that we didn’t know what was going on. The time was creeping up to our departure time and there were no sign of Mark and Mark. With about 10 minutes till departure, I gave Mushy a call and they were just checking in the bag. We all moved to the departure gate, but those of us with cables agreed that we wouldn’t fly until we were all through security.

With about 5 minutes to go, there was an announcement to say our flight was delayed 20 minutes, and our group let up a small cheer! I’ve never been happy to hear that our flight was delayed!

5 minutes after Mark and Mark got to the gate, we were boarding, and Mushy was then having problems getting priority boarding since he had to re-check in or something. We all went through, got on the plane, and saving a seat for Mark.

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The flight home went smoothly, grabbed our bag of GeForce cables from baggage reclaim, said our goodbyes, and all went on our way!

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It was a excellent trip, and can’t wait for CF Euro Live 2, next year, wherever that might be! My Coaster Count has now jumped up to 96, after the addition of 28 new coasters (I count the fair coasters)

It was great to get to know those of you who I haven’t met or talked to properly before. I think all the drivers deserve a big pat on the back for everything they have done to get us all around, as it can’t be easy driving in a strange country. And finally, big thank you to Slayed for organising everything – I’ll have to get you a beer sometime. :p

Ride Count
Silver Star
Eurostat
Schweizer Bobbahn
Matterhorn Blitz
Pegasus
Poseidon
Euro-Mir
Atlantica SuperSplash
Rapids
Alpenexpress
Tiroler Wildwasserbahn
Silver Star
Silver Star
 
Good point Peter, the sweet war on the Euromir lift hill was pro, much better than the actual ride, :D

Good photos too, apart from the one of me asleep, -.-
 
The actual flight went smoothly.... apart from being late that is... after all the hassle and so on. So no actually, not at all smoothly lol
 
Joey said:
The flight home went smoothly
WHAT about the flight went smoothly?

The flight home, for me, is from pushback to the engines shutting down at the destination, ie. all the bits where the plane is actually moving.

So IMO, the flight did go smoothy since there wen't any problems, hassle or any other stuff whilst we were in the air. If you include all the terminal **** that happened before, then no, it didn't go smoothly. :p
 
Was I the only one who had the WORST ear popping I've EVER had and EUGH.

That was the worst flight I've ever been on. Maybe I've just been lucky in the past
 
^Mine didn't pop at all. Going out or coming back. :p

I've finished my video of the 1st day (really pleased with how it's turned out). But... I'm having problems getting it from the project file to a Window Media Player file. I've had a talk with Ian and he said it's most likely me having enough room in my C:Drive.
I've deleted loads of files and programs that I haven't used in ages and have compressed everything to make room but I still get the same error.

Don't know if this will work, but if anyone else uses Sony Vegas for their videos then can you catch me on MSN and I'll send the project file across so you can do it for me. (Should work).
So yeah, no video until it's sorted unfortunately. :(


This is the error I get if any of you want a look.
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k274/ ... serror.jpg
 
Ollie said:
If anyone else uses Sony Vegas for their videos then can you catch me on MSN and I'll send the project file across so you can do it for me. (Should work).

I'm convinced you're low on drive space.

Sending the project file over won't work unless you send over all the video clips and files you used creating the video.

Once it's done make sure you send it to me or another team member and we'll get it on CF!
 
I Finally present to you all this gift. :p


Footage of the first day at Movie Park and the Fair.
[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=S4hBEcXn6fA[/youtube]

Sorry about the lack of footage for Movie Park. Those of you who went will understand how hard it was to get good shots of the rides.


Anyway, I hope you enjoy. :p
 
That Afterburner looks **** massive.

Whoever did that obviously **** themselves afterwards...
 
XXL <3.

Well done on the vid Ollie, long one though! When I eventually get around to mine, they'll prob be a bit shorter :p.
 
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