Richard Bannister

I was quite surprised by how well I remembered Legoland Billund given that four years and something approaching three hundred parks had passed between my visits. The two roller coasters and the powered ride were just the same as I remembered them, among the best of their breed. Power Builder was still a lot of fun, albeit a little hard on the shoulders; though perhaps that's just me getting older.

The one significant new ride for me this time was the Viking River Splash, an Intamin rapids ride that opened in 2006. The highlight of this was certainly the eight metre drop at the end; one is not accustomed to seeing such a large splash on a rapids ride. Luck favoured me for once allowing me to remain completely dry; those at the other side of my boat were not so lucky. The new attraction this year was also a water ride, though I decided not to ride Pirates Splash Battle; that'd have been tempting fate a little too much!

There are some parks in this world that every self respecting enthusiast plans to visit some day. There are also parks in this world that sensible enthusiasts mark down as places they have no desire to ever go to. It is impossible to place Sommerland Syd anywhere other than the latter category; though it does have two adult coasters in it they are both rides that only a true credit whore would ever make the effort for.

Kaemperutschebanen (#1233) is an Interpark-built version of the standard large figure eight layout as used by most of the Italian manufacturers. The engineering of this design seemed a little bit suspect, not least at the bottom of each drop where riders were treated with an impact that was certainly not comfortable. Having said that, this was only the second model to be built, so presumably the later versions were more refined. The other coaster is the only Vekoma Invertigo outside of the United States, and in defiance of popular opinion I actually rather like these. Tornado (#1234) can be thought of as a standard boomerang coaster, albeit one fitted with inverted face-to-face seating. It is this feature that is the highlight for me, as it is a lot of fun to watch the facial expressions of your fellow passengers as the ride is in progress.

And that, pretty much, sums up the park. There are a small number of flat rides, a karting track, and a few very odd self-operated attractions, such as the inverting bicycle ride pictured above. However, there simply isn't enough to hold ones interest for more than an hour or two, unless of course you want to marathon ride a coaster. There simply isn't enough there for longer visits; let the reader beware.