SFGAmWorld.com
Untitled Document
Park Information
Latest News
Great America
Roller Coasters
Rides
Hurricane Harbor
Water Slides
Water Attractions
Advertisement

Eurotrip Day 1 flight to Munich and Wiener Prater

Let us know how your day at the park was.
Postby FParker185 on October 12th, 2006, 9:09 pm
Day 1, Flight to Munich, drive to Wein and Wiener Prater


After much anticipation and excitement the day of my huge trip had finally arrived. My flight was scheduled to take off at 5:58pm from ORD. So I wake up get ready and head to the airport and get there around 3:30 and get into an enormus line at the United check in counter, and after hassling with easily the crappiest check in machine I have ever used and waited plenty of time for one of the 2 clerks manning these obligitory machines to wander over and set my stuff straight and I had tickets in hand, luggage checked and eager to get into line #2 for security with actually went relatively fast and I head to my gate with about an hour to spare where I grab alittle McD's on the way to the gate. Anyways boarding time was 5:20 and that rolls around and no plane, all this time the gate attendants are begging and pleading with people to go on a different flight as it was horribly overbooked, but I needed to get to Munich at a certain time so I couldnt take them up on their $750 offer. Anyways 5:58 rolls around and still no plane, not good. but alittle after 6 the plane rolls in and all the usual stuff happens and we get into the air around 7:15 (the time the alternate flight took off), but anyways United seat is the most uncomfortable seat I have ever sat in anywhere, my back was hurting before we backed away from the gate and it didnt get any better, twice during the flight we were served disgusting food even by airline standards it was terrible and many bags of some soybean snack mix which most prisoners would refuse to eat, but at least they have the personal entertainment system to keep you sane. About 8 hours later we are on the ground in Munich (only about 45 mins late) where I collect my luggage pass customs and promptly get lost inside the airport for 45 mins looking for the car rental agency. After a visit with an airport info girl who spoke next to no english and a quick lesson on dialing within germany I get ahold of Thrifty Rent a Car and they send someone to pick me up.

I get picked up and get to Thrifty and it turns out they had given my car away as I was rather late at this point, so they find me a car which ended up being about 4 upgrades (free) from my Opel Corsa Manual and I end up with a Citroen C5 with Auto trans (score! as I dont know really how to drive manual), it also had such features as A/C, power windows, power locks, a radio with CD (all which are somewhat rare in Germany actually), and also some nifty computer screen that told me how many mpg I was getting and other info like temp, average speed, radio info and all sorts of other stuff, and with that I'm off in my ride and on my way to my first park, Erlebnispark Strasswalchen and dont ask me how to pronounce that.

So I'm driving along on the Autobahn stopping a few times at the numerous rest stops to use the bathroom (50 euro cents every time) and buy my Vinette (tax sticker for the car needed for driving on the autobahn in Austria (€10), so I near Salzburg which is where Erlebnispark Strasswalchen is near and I printed out about 150 pages of directions which I thought would help alot (more on those later), anyways it says get off on B1, B1 comes along and I get off, and I drive down it, then I drive some more and some more, and further all watching the clock watching it come closer and closer to the possible 4pm closing time (sometimes it's 4 sometimes it's 6 depends on the crowds), anyways I dont see it and decide it's to late and I didnt want to pay like €14 to get into a park for a half hour with only one coaster no matter how unique it is so I turn around and head back to the autobahn in defeat, get back to the autobahn and head towards Wien where after like 10 mins I come across B1 again(it weaves all over the place) with a sign saying Ausfahrt Erlebnispark Strasswalchen, well Crap! Trip is 3 hours old and I've already gotten lost once, missed a park and was running rather late. Anyways I decided to skip the park even with the chance it was open and kept going towards Wien, so I get to the Wien city limits around like 6:30pm and I have the directions and a basic map from the hotels website and I figure it shouldnt be to hard being right near the prater, so I follow my directions and I know I'm on the right road and I knew a turn was coming up and I had memorized the street name when I realized in Vienna most streets dont have a posted name and when the name was posted it was a real small sign in a random place and I knew i was in trouble, so I get like super lost for a little while til I come across the river that runs though town and I go over the bridge slowly and look around and I see an enormus ferris wheel(the Prater) in the distance and I knew my hotel was near that ferris wheel so I get there and I get my bearings and I think I know where I am and for the next 2 hours I drive down basically every street around and eventually inside the prater with little luck, so I admit defeat and go ask at a gas station where Hotel Praterstern is (my second option which I was ever so close to doing was punching out the windshield of my car and going on a mass killing spree all while demanding an answer as to why there are so many unnamed streets) so I get lucky and gas station guy speaks english and he give me what sounds like good directions and I go to follow them which was get onto the circle right behind the gas station and to around to Nordstrasse and I would see the proper street, well that didnt work so well but after about a half hour I decided to just drive down random streets (once I figured out which street was Nordstrasse) and I was ever so close to giving up and I'm on a street barely wider than the car and I finally see it, it was like finding a wad of cash on the ground but there it was a small brown sign on the 3'rd floor of this building saying Mayergasse (street my hotel was on), so I find the hotel and check in and he give me directions to the car park which was like 3 blocks away (got lost again but not to bad) parked the car went back to the hotel got settled and informed the desk clerk I was heading to the Prater and I'd be back late and not to lock me out, at this point it was like 9pm and the prater was about 6 blocks away and was simple to find. But during this whole ordeal I start regreting renting a car and driving around rather than train travel and I realized my directions were completely useless.

Get to the Prater and all I see are Euro Spectacular rides with spectacular lighting packages and some coasters as far as the eye can see, in a somewhat Knoebelsesque setting and I could count the number of people there on one hand (all but one or 2 rides I rode were solo rides) and I knew all that trouble I just went though was worth it. A quick background of the Prater...

Wiener Prater is a city park, there is a ferris wheel there the Risenrad which was built shortly after WW1 and during WW2 it was bombed by the germans as part of a demoralizing tatic after the war the wheel which sustained extreme damage was rebuilt but only half the cars on the wheel were able to be saved. Anyways the wheel is surrounded by a rather large city park which the city allows ride operators to set up their ride and operate there, so technically it's not an amusement park but there are plenty of rides. Also there is no admission and no wristband, you pay cash at each ride and they hand you a chip which once you take your seat they check your restraint and take the chip, ride costs range between €2 and €10 (most spectaculars are €3 or €4 and €1=$1.27)

So I arrive there around 9:30pm and I end up riding a few flat rides and 3 of the coasters there, those being Volare, Super 8'er Bahn and Dizzy Mouse another of the 15 or so crappy Reverchon Spinning Mice i've ridden. For Flats I believe I started off with Extasy a Soriorni & Moser Energy Storm one of 2 that carry the Extasy theme and the only one with the themeing intact and it was spectacular, any use of naked women on swings in artwork gets the Mike Parker seal of approval (I have lots of pics if I can find a place to put all my pics), then lets see I also hit up Circus Hoppla the Moser Hoppla which was damn good (think Ranger but with flipping seats that are able to lock at the operators desire), Superman 2 S&M's last Super Loop On Top which was the only one they made with both arms hinged so it was able to get freaky (also got pics of that), then the Star Flyer which freaked me out quite alot as my chair was not as stable as I thought it would be and 4 flimsy chains holding up my scary torquing chair at nearly 200 feet in the air is a bit unnerving, but was fun, also I hit up another random ride or 2 before heading towards their beautiful breakdance, it really looked stunning spectacular lighting, huge video screen with green and black wavy lines happening to the blasting sound system and of course lots of bright colors, so I paid my €2 I believe it was and took a seat, now before tonight I never really cared much for Breakdances, however I know in Euorpe each owner that has one takes extreme pride in it and all look spectacular so I made it a point to ride every one I see. So I'm in the seat and the op waits for a few more people to show up but it was the only ride running more than just a few people every cycle, in fact they got damn near a half load, so off we go and I start getting the usual breakdance ride which is alot of nothing when the ride starting making a noise, we were going relatively fast but the distinct noise of a huge DC motor accelerating could be heard til it was deafening and this thing let loose, I mean we were hauling, I was spinning so fast I couldnt focus on anything, and we got a good long ride. So after that my newly highly nauseous self made a B-line for the exit(rides were starting to close up anyways it was after 11) and I walked back to the hotel stopping at a street vendor on the way to get my first german meal, and I had forgotten german customs since my last trip but it brought back all my memories, but I go and order a Bratwurst now here in the US brats are normally served on buns, in Germany they are not, so I end up with a paper plate with a cut up brat on it with a puddle of mustard, a generous slice of Rye bread and a 1.5 inch long plastic fork, it was a "oh yeah, that's right" moment, however that bratwurst was nothing short of spectacular and even the rye bread which I normally dont like was fairly decent so I ate it.

Anyways I get back to my hotel and go back to my room for a thorough inspection (I have pics of every hotel room but one, but again need hosting space), I found it was a pretty standard Hotel room, a bed, a small TV mounted on the wall, and just enough floorspace inbetween to walk and set a small suitcase, then behind door #1 was a toilet and shower in a small room, and door #2 was a closet which really you couldnt hang your socks in much less any article of clothing, but it was only one night so closet was irrelavant. I showered up, set my alarm, watched some CNN and went to bed.


Next: Day 2 Vienna Prater and drive to Freizeit-Land Geiselwind
Favorite Wood Coasters: The Voyage, Ravine Flyer II, Thunderhead, Balder
Favorite Steel: Steel Vengeance, Expedition GeForce, Olympia Looping
Parks visited: 222, Coasters Ridden: Steel: 822, Wood: 178, Total: 1000
FParker185

User avatar
 
Posts: 4500
Joined: February 5th, 2004, 12:04 am
Location: Joliet, IL

Postby w00dland on October 13th, 2006, 7:48 pm
Wow man, Germany sounds really cool. Just the fact that the fairs sound better than some of the parks I've been too really makes me want to go there. I can't wait for the rest and hopefully some pics.
Top 5 wood-5-Goliath 4-Ravine Flyer II 3-Phoenix 2-Voyage 1-El Toro
Top 5 Steel- 5-Velocicoaster 4- Maverick 3- Fury 325 2-Steel Vengeance 1-X2
Coaster Count: 444
w00dland
Moderator

User avatar
 
Posts: 4630
Joined: January 29th, 2004, 2:36 pm
Location: Winter Haven, FL

Postby FParker185 on September 14th, 2007, 6:17 pm
was at this point in my trip exactly one year ago at this very moment :)
Favorite Wood Coasters: The Voyage, Ravine Flyer II, Thunderhead, Balder
Favorite Steel: Steel Vengeance, Expedition GeForce, Olympia Looping
Parks visited: 222, Coasters Ridden: Steel: 822, Wood: 178, Total: 1000
FParker185

User avatar
 
Posts: 4500
Joined: February 5th, 2004, 12:04 am
Location: Joliet, IL

Postby Iggy ACE on September 16th, 2007, 7:08 pm
Damn, I thought you went again till I looked at the date! :evil:

Iggy
Waiting to fill this space with something stupid to say!
Iggy ACE

User avatar
 
Posts: 360
Joined: January 15th, 2004, 12:22 pm
Location: Munster, IN. "IT'S PLAYTIME"

Postby FParker185 on February 4th, 2015, 12:25 am
Eurotrip 2015 is in the formative stages ;)
Favorite Wood Coasters: The Voyage, Ravine Flyer II, Thunderhead, Balder
Favorite Steel: Steel Vengeance, Expedition GeForce, Olympia Looping
Parks visited: 222, Coasters Ridden: Steel: 822, Wood: 178, Total: 1000
FParker185

User avatar
 
Posts: 4500
Joined: February 5th, 2004, 12:04 am
Location: Joliet, IL

Postby areeba on February 7th, 2015, 7:15 am
I like this update,
Thanks for this :D
areeba

 
Posts: 1
Joined: February 7th, 2015, 7:14 am

Postby FParker185 on February 7th, 2015, 4:43 pm
BTW, I seen you like trip reports for parks other than SFGAm, if you look at my posts or go way back in trip reports back to like Oct-Dec 2006, I got detailed trip reports for all 17 or so days, not many pics though.
Favorite Wood Coasters: The Voyage, Ravine Flyer II, Thunderhead, Balder
Favorite Steel: Steel Vengeance, Expedition GeForce, Olympia Looping
Parks visited: 222, Coasters Ridden: Steel: 822, Wood: 178, Total: 1000
FParker185

User avatar
 
Posts: 4500
Joined: February 5th, 2004, 12:04 am
Location: Joliet, IL

Postby Coaster Justin on February 12th, 2015, 12:19 am
FParker185 wrote:Eurotrip 2015 is in the formative stages ;)



Are you gonna do it solo or with ACE?
http://www.aceonline.org/Events/details.aspx?event=1868
926 Coasters around the World! Countdown to 1000!

http://sfgamworld.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=15272

Runner Up of the 2017 SFGAmWorld Elimination Thread
Coaster Justin

User avatar
 
Posts: 2115
Joined: October 12th, 2007, 12:07 pm
Location: Park City, IL

Postby FParker185 on February 12th, 2015, 10:55 pm
Seeing as ACE isn't doing a trip to Europe, I'll be doing it solo. The the ACE UK trip is kinda tempting, I can get a way better value on my own trips.
Favorite Wood Coasters: The Voyage, Ravine Flyer II, Thunderhead, Balder
Favorite Steel: Steel Vengeance, Expedition GeForce, Olympia Looping
Parks visited: 222, Coasters Ridden: Steel: 822, Wood: 178, Total: 1000
FParker185

User avatar
 
Posts: 4500
Joined: February 5th, 2004, 12:04 am
Location: Joliet, IL


Return to Trip Reports

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests

Privacy Policy About Us Copyright Disclaimer E-Mail SFGAmWorld
COPYRIGHT - SFGAmWorld.com
All content and images on this site are Copyright 2001 - SFGAmWorld.com and may not be used without permission.
This is NOT the official site of Six Flags Great America, SFGAmWorld.com is not affilated or endorsed by Six Flags Great America.
SFGAmWorld.com does not make any guarantee on the accuracy of the information on this website and cannot be held responsible by the use of this information.
SIX FLAGS and all related indicia are trademarks of Six Flags Theme Parks Inc. ®, TM and © . The official Six Flags site can be found at SixFlags.com
BATMAN, SUPERMAN and all related characters and elements are trademarks of © DC Comics.
LOONEY TUNES and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.©
The Wiggles Pty Ltd. SCOOBY-DOO and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © Hanna-Barbera.