After a long day at Farup Sommerland we drove back to Silkeborg and we got up early again the next morning to go to Djurs Sommerland. This only took us 45-60 minutes in the car.
Djurs Sommerland
After noticing entrances more and more this summer as i have photographed them, i noticed that Djurs was the only one that didn't have its name on the front. Tbh it wasn't much of an entrance and i think that is something they could put some thought into in the future.
We got there at about 9:40 and like Farup we were let in the park at 9:45, but made to wait a little further on until 10.
As soon as the ropes were released we rushed over to Juvelen Djurs Sommerland's new 2013 coaster
Juvelen is an Intamin Motorbike coaster, but uses quadbikes for its theme. The station and part of the queue line is a big jungle style temple which is excellently themed interiorly and exteriorly.
The first launch, although not intense gets more powerful further and further along the launch track. Between the first and second launch the coaster is good, but nothing amazing with a few nice twists and turns here and there. The second launch is faster and more powerful and sends you flying fast into a turn followed by a sequence of out of control twists that are feel rapid and thrilling. The ride then ends with two hills which really ruin its pacing.
Juvelen is an exceptionally good family coaster and not many family coaster can rival it, but where it falls short is the inconsistency of the pacing with some parts being great, some good and some dull. However the section after the second launch is insanely awesome. All in all it is a great addition to the park and is a must ride for all enthusiasts. Much better than the Vekoma Booster Bikes IMO.
8/10
After we went round for a second go on Juvelen, we went to ride Thor's Hammer which was roughly in the same area.
Eurgh!!!! Just look at that water :roll:
Thor's hammer was one of the earliest gerstlauer bobsleds and has the same layout as G'sengte Sau at Tripsdrill. I am a big fan of these coasters, not only because some of them are really good, but for the fact Gerstlauer actually made a better version of a wild mouse, rather than just jumping on the bandwagon with manufacturers like Mack and Maurer.
I have to admit, Thor's Hammer was probably my least favourite of the ones i have been on. Even though it is the same as G'sengte Sau, i felt that just had a bit more umph
. It was still a good ride though and definitely preferable to a wild mouse.
7/10
We then made our way into the originally named Piratland (yes i can spell, but that's how they spell it
).
Easily the most anticipated coaster of the whole trip was the Intamin Mega-lite Piraten.
Piraten was my first Intamin Mega-lite and i was very excited to ride and compare it to the Intamin Mega coasters i had ridden as they are in my top band of coasters. The trains are short to provide a more flexible and better paced ride for all passengers.
The ride is basically just lots of great ejector airtime, which is absolutely no bad thing and is probably my favourite coaster feature. My favourite section of the ride was the middle section, when piraten speeds through 3 twisted airtime hills which give an awesome feeling of ejector and lateral forces. The whole ride amazing and is well worthy of being in my top 5 coasters.
The only thing that puts Piraten, ever so slightly below EGF and Goliath is the small matter of size. It just kind of lacks that amazing first drop and opening airtime hill. The first section is still really good, but no where near as crazy as its middle and final sections. However, if the whole layout was elevated higher and extended a bit, i would say that it would be better than the two i mentioned above. Despite this, i still loved Piraten and it was easily the best new coaster of my year (so far).
10/10
After our ride on Piraten, we saw the queue had got quite a lot larger, so we made our way over too Skatteon. This is the parks quite new Mack Water Coaster. As you can see the queue for this ride was pretty massive and way out of the entrance.
As we got to the actual entrance the ride decided to break down
:roll: .
In the end we decided to exit Piratland and went to have some lunch over near our next ride,
This log flume has the same layout as the one at Farup, except this time we were prepared for the abrupt stopping at the bottom of the drops. I'm a sucker for three drop log flumes, so i definitely liked this one. Good fun ride.
7/10
As the queue was short (unlike everything else in the park), we had a second go, before heading to the rapids.
If i'm honest i'm starting to get sick of European rapids rides as a lot of them seem to do everything in their power to stop the actual rapids getting you wet. There are some excpetions, but this was just another 'meh' rapids. Though there is a little surprise at the end that amused me.
5/10
It had started drizzle on and off now, but nothing too major. We made our way through the very nicely themed western area to what i think is the jungle area where Thor's Hammer and Juvelen are.
The queue for Thor was pretty big and tbh i couldn't be bothered to wait in it so we just left it. Juvelen also had a massive queue, but i was planning on having a last go on that at the very end of the day.
Thankfully Skatteon had opened and the queue was about half the length it was earlier, probably because of the dark clouds in the sky.
I have to say, i was impressed. The ride kind of combines the two sections of Poseidon and rolls them into one. The curved drop and incline section was executed much smoother than Poseidon and was much more enjoyable. Skatteon had a very good final drop with some nice airtime and then a camelback into the water. It was a really good ride and probably the best new water ride of the trip.
8/10
Me and my Dad had another two rides on the awesome Piraten in the light rain which seemed to make the ride run faster.
I then convinced my Mum to have a go on the Water Coaster which she loved thankfully
.
After a little while i realised i still had the topple tower to go on, which was probably the biggest flat ride at Djurs. The thing about these rides is that they look cool, but ride pretty dull. The cycle was short and uneventful, so all in all not very good.
5/10
It was now time for a last two rides on Piraten and thankfully this area had quietened significantly since this morning so the queue was 15 minutes max. I can't express how great the ride is. Definitely my favourite coaster in Scandinavia, although Helix could give it a run for its money when that opens next year.
Finally, we went to have a last ride on Juvelen where we waited about 45 mins which isn't too bad for a new coaster on a busy day. We rode near the front this time, but i can't say there is much difference between the front and the back.
Sorry the pictures of the ride aren't the best, but it is a hard ride to photograph.
Unfortunately, it was now time to leave.
Right lets end with the Farup vs Djurs battle of the best Sommerland
On theming Djurs Sommerland wins, mainly for the excellent effort they put into theming Juvelen. I feel it did not have as nicer surroundings as Farup and wasn't as well landcaped, but was still good. I am partial to woodland parks though. I think Djurs had a better ride selection than Farup and was more efficient. For other little special things though Farup takes the cake. I do think Djurs Sommerland is a really good park and the fact it has Piraten is major plus, but i really loved Farup as a park and even though it is tough, i am going to have to say Farup just edges out Djurs. Both parks though win the award for friendliest and most cheerful staff.
Thank you for reading my Djurs Sommerland Report. Next up the original Legoland in Billund.
