Richard Bannister

We'd not planned on visiting Movie Park Germany this year, but it was added to the list after a translation error (ours) caused the accidental purchase of season passes at Bobbejaanland. This came with free admission to a number of other parks owned by Parques Reunidos, which we decided to make the most of. This turned out to be a happy accident, as the new-for-2011 Van Helsing's Factory (#1639) turned out to be one of the best new coasters I've been on for some time. It is a relatively small ride, but fully enclosed with some wonderful theming. I'm going to avoid spoilers other than to say there are some very intense turns in the middle of the layout that cannot be seen ahead of time, and these are particularly good fun with a pair of screaming girls in your car!

On a side note, and with apologies to anyone this might offend, I've got to say that the words "Van Helsing" sound particularly entertaining to me when spoken in a German accent. I'd encourage the reader to try this out for themselves!

Our second stop was at the oddly named Vicky the Ride (#1640), a custom spinning coaster from Gerstlauer. In contrast to the rather dull Maurer version of a few weeks ago, this machine spins with incredible intensity, to the point of causing blurred vision. The experience is brilliant, and one that cannot be repeated quickly due to the forces inflicted. We followed this up with a ride on the imaginatively named Coaster. I'd forgotten how good this, er, coaster is; I've a feeling that it would rank higher in the various theme park polls if more enthusiasts had been to try it.

I've visited quite a few German fairs over the years, with the aim of riding all the major travelling roller coasters in the country. Tracking down the few remaining on the list has been a hobby for a while, hence the three hour drive to pick up Feuer & Eis, a powered coaster that was manufactured in 1976. In all honesty it is not one of the finer attractions on the fair circuit, but I'm glad to have tried it for myself to prove that. It was looking particularly shabby this evening due to a waterfall effect on the front being out of action, but even without that problem it was still a fairly rough ride, with track that felt every minute of its thirty-five years.

The fair at Bad Wimpfen was a small one, with only a handful of other attractions. Most of these were of the spinning variety, but there was also a giant wheel, positioned perfectly to take a good overhead photo of the entire fairground. It also proved surprisingly entertaining, due to the presence of a woman in the next car who had a clear problem with heights. She wasn't exactly young, making me wonder what she was doing on a ferris wheel in the first place; she was certainly old enough to know better!