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Cøølest Cøaster Tøur 2
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12-20th July 2003
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Galleries
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Day 1 – Travel, Tivoli Gardens
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Day 4 – Liseberg, Tusenfryd
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Day 7 – Gröna Lund, Travel
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Day 2 – BonBon Land, Bakken
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Day 5 – Tusenfryd
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Day 8 – Särkänniemi
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Day 3 – Tivoli Gardens, Liseberg
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Day 6 – Gröna Lund
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Day 9 – Linnanmäki
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Reports
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John Livesey
One of the best things during the trip was watching small groups of people, from different countries, interacting with each other, even though they had never met before. Justin and I often just stood back and looked at the intense conversations that were taking place between these newly found friends. For me, the trip was worth it just for that.
Personal highlights for me include getting the chance to operate two coasters: ThunderCoaster and Jet Line. I’d never done this before and getting the chance to operate my new #1 was like a dream come true. The special brake-less ERS at Bakken was amazing, as was meeting Hans the ride’s manager; a top bloke. The midnight ERS on Lisebergbanan was wonderful. The look on peoples’ faces when we announced the surprise ERS at TusenFryd will stay with me forever.
Liz Fryer-Kelsey
Personally, I loved the Bakken Woodie best, especially when Hans the ‘no-brake’ man was in charge. The Tivoli woodie was excellent, even though it was quite small. When we sat in the back seat on the last morning during the rain, both Mick and I thought the cars were actually leaving the track as the train sped around the bends.
BonBon Land was fun, particularly the ‘Scream and Screech Slide’, which looked like a predecessor to the Hammerhead Stall we saw at Vekoma, but much, much smaller. We enjoyed the Valhalla Haunted Swing at Tivoli, Viking Expedition at Tusenfryd and Dino World II at Linnanmäki. These were just some of the ‘different’ rides which we found at the parks. Thanks to all who organised the trip for us, also thanks to the parks for treating us so well.
Chris McFarlane
Well what a trip the Coolest Coaster Tour was. One of the best, if not the absolute best coaster trip we have ever done – all good parks, good hotels and not too much time spent on a coach. All of the parks had a good selection of attractions and atmosphere that I could not liken to anything in the UK.
Tivoli was the first park of the trip and there was nothing organised for us for the Saturday evening. This gave us enough time to sample many of the attractions and take in the atmosphere of the park. It is quite easy to see how Disney and others could be inspired by this park.
The Rutschebanen was a good fun Scenic Railway. Tivoli also had one of the best Mack powered coasters, the Odin Express, which seemed to be one of the fastest about. Slangen (Snake) was the park’s other coaster and was very similar to Parc Asterix’s Vol d’Icare which was also good fun.
The following day saw us visit Bakken, which is the oldest operating amusement park in the world. This park didn’t have a pay one-price option, but we were given ride tickets and our trip passes got us on the Rutschebanen, which is the best Scenic I have ever ridden, especially when there was just Club members on and they were running it flat out. The entrance to one of the tunnels would never be seen in the UK especially as you went between a naked woman’s open legs!
BonBon Land is owned by a Danish sweet company and home to a small Zierer called the Hundeprut (which translates to Dog Fart – seriously!). The ride travels through a kennel and past a large dog with its leg cocked and some “mess” on the floor. There are also sound effects! This was quite a nicely themed park and I would have liked to have spent more time at.
Shortly after arriving at Liseberg we made our way to the Lisebergbanan – which was a good fun Schwarzkopf coaster. It is built on the side of a hill, is really quiet and smooth and a real queue eater!
We headed out to TusenFryd for a surprise 30 minutes evening ERS. ThunderCoaster, what a ride – loaded with air time and no let up from leaving the lift hill until arriving back at the brakes. The second drop was the highlight of the ride for me. The only problem with it is the lap bars, they are metal with no padding.
Gröna Lund was home to the Schwarzkopf Jet Line coaster, again very smooth and quiet like the Lisebergbanan. The park converterd their viewing tower to an excellent Giant Drop a few years ago, and also have a S&S Combo Tower.
We next went to Särkänniemi, home of the new Intamin inverted coaster called Tornado. The ride is very smooth, and is unusual in that it features an underground station. When we arrived at the park, they took us straight to the top of the viewing tower and into the five star restaurant for dinner. After this we were taken via the exit ramp for a go on Tornado, ahead of our ERS on it later in the evening.
The final park of the trip was Linnanmaki home to another Scenic Railway that was the same as the one at Bakken and celebrated its 50th birthday this year. New for this year was the Premier Rides Liquid coaster, which was quite a good ride and very wet indeed, mainly due to some screens to stop water splashing over the neighbouring road and path.
Justin Garvanovic
This trip was the biggest and most complex we had ever undertaken. We knew the parks were all superb, but would enough people agree and want to come? We didn’t need to worry.
It was called the “best coaster trip ever” by some of those in attendance that had been on many trips before. The reason for its success, in my opinion, was simple. The parks. Without exception they were just stunning, and their generosity was second to none. It must have been good; we did it again two years later.
Day by Day Reports
Day 1
The trip started well, with everyone arriving at Heathrow on time. Flight departed on time and arrived early. The flight was smooth apart from one pop of “airtime” to which the whole group greeted with a loud cheer!
Upon arriving at Copenhagen all luggage apart from Pjotr’s arrived safely. We think that his luggage is on its way to Hawaii – Six Flags, we understand, are running the luggage service over here!
We’ve now checked into the hotel which is only 100m from Tivoli Gardens! We are leaving for our first coaster session in just 23 minutes! Below is an image of all of us on the plane… check back soon for more news and photos.
What a park! We met with Andreas (member of the Tivoli team and an ECC member) and quickly obtained our unlimited ride wristbands.
It’s easy to see how Walt Disney came up with the design and ideas for Disneyland. Tivoli really do need to put a huge board outside their entrance saying word to the effect that Disney copied their ideas and not the other way round.
There were some surprisingly good rides here. The Rutschebanen (wooden scenic railway) had a peculiar way of queueing for the front seat. Basically, you had to wait at the back end of the platform and as the train was pulling up near the loading gates you had to jump in and cling on for dear life – great fun!
Other rides worthy of mention are the Mine Train – possibly the fastest Mine Train I’ve experienced and the park’s new ride, a Zeirer floorless flying carpet.
The day was rounded off with a great fireworks display launched from the main building. That’s it for now, it’s 1am local time. Tune in tomorrow for more photos and news!
Day 2
The group made their way to Bakken this morning for an ERS on their scenic railway along with a brief history talk with Ole Jensen, the Park’s administration manager. The park made us feel really welcome by providing sparkling wine in the middle of the scenic railway whilst the “talk” was taking place. We also got to see the house, in the middle of the ride, where Hans, the ride manager, lives for the season!
During the meeting the park was presented with a “services to gravity” Newton award. These are given by the Club to parks or people that have made outstanding contributions to the coaster world.
After the ERS the group had lunch together (the lunch included caviar no less!) before enjoying an hour of free time at the park.
At 14:00 we boarded the coach for our “mystery destination”. The ended up being a small, but quite strange park called BonBon Land. The reason for the visit here was the brilliantly named “Dog Fart” Coaster. When we were planning the trip, we were told by Lisa Scheinin (who incidently is on this trip) all about this coaster. Of course we didn’t believe her but upon visiting the web site our initial scepticism was turned into disbelief.
The ride itself is a custom Vekoma roller skater but extensively themed round a farting dog (surpringly enough). The ride even has sound effects…
The rest of the park was just as mad and included a self-operated ski-jump cross boat type ride. It’s hard to describe the ride but you’d never see anything like it in the UK!
After 2 hours of much fun we re-boarded the coach back to Bakken. Upon arriving we had a ride takeover of their insane Mine Train coaster. For such a small footprint the ride had high-G’s, airtime and much, much more. It proved to be a popular ride all evening with spotaneous ride takeovers happening frequently.
The icing on the cake was without a doubt a mini-ERS at the end of the night on the Rutschebanen. Earlier we’d spoken to Hans, the ride’s manager and he promised us that he’d give us all a special ride on the coaster once most of the public had left the park. He wasn’t lying! The ride absolutely flew round the track offering unbelievable airtime and lateral G forces. It has to be said that Hans is the nicest man in Denmark and he became an honourary member due to the fact that he couldn’t do enough for us during our visit. Also, he’s the only member to have a rollercoaster as his mailing address! Everyone is back at the hotel and ready for our second visit to Tivoli tomorrow morning. An ERS on their scenic beckons… Tune in for more from this trip tomorrow!
Neil Bradbury
Tivoli Gardens is really beautiful. Everyone is so friendly. I was really expecting the prices of food and drink to be phenominal, however, it isnt that bad. The atmosphere Last night was really good.Today we have had an excellent day at the Bakken: Again a beautiful old traditinal park and the the park manager couldn’t have been a better host if he tried. Great park, I hope the rest of the Scandinavian parks are of this high quality. Thanks to Justin and John for making even the first two days so memorable.
Mark Riley
I always regarded Kennywood as the king of the ‘night-parks’. Not anymore. Tivoli is incredible by day – but by night it’s a whole new other world. Its one of those experiences that you can’t describe in words – so I won’t try. Just make sure you get there. Let’s hope this is a taste of things to come.
Tony & Paula Pycroft
Two excellent parks so far. Tivoli at night is very beautiful. If the rest of the parks are as good as these it will be a very special trip.
Lesley Valentine
Tivoli was lovely. Especially the flowers, lights and trees. Odin Express was excellent.
Oz
Tivoli is a park with a brilliant atmosphere and a great, my first, scenic railway. Bakken is real nice place, especially their scenic railway. It’s amazing they can ride that track without upstop wheels!!! Their welcome was excellent as well!
Pjotr Everts
The two Scenics are really great, though I prefer the one in Bakken. This one has two double-downs which create some very nice airtime.
Liz, Mick and Crystal
We’ve ridden 4 new coasters, so far. The two old woodies were great. The Tivoli woodie is built in a very small area.
Lisa Scheinin
Bakken is a treasure trove. Rutschebanen is absolutely awesome (great tunnel, even has a monster in it) and the MINE Train is a hoot. And to top it off we had caviar with lunch!!!
Derek Shaw (from US)
Bakken is a fantastic place! It’s refreshing to go to a traditional park that is so steeped in history and doesn’t have annoying announcements. Great coasters, great people, great hospitality, great fun. As the Brits would say, it’s brilliant!!
Tim Herre (from Germany)
I love those Danish Parks! Bakken and Tivoli are kind of my home parks – from Hamburg, where I live, it’s a shorter drive to Copenhagen than, for example, to Europa Park in Germany! So I have been there very often, and it was a pleasure to see my ECC friends falling in love with those magic places immediately!
Stephen Knight
Tivoli is an amazing park, very beautiful at night. The Rutschebanen is an excellent coaster. Amazingly smooth. It’s also run very efficiently. Bakken is also a great park, and again its Rutschebanen is a great ride. The Mine Train is the maddest Mine Train I’ve been on!
Jeff Graham
Bakken brought two great surprises, one was the wine we were served inside the wooden coaster structure by the park and the other was the great Mine Train they have there with a wonderful first drop and lots of curves.
John Livesey
I’m knackered already.
Day 3
After checking out of our hotel the group made their way to Tivoli for our second visit of the trip. We had an ERS on the Rutchebanen for one hour and the damp weather certainly didn’t seem to affect everyone’s spirits. Once again the ride-ops were complete stars and allowed us to ride the coaster with minimal braking. The general opinion was that the airtime from the 5th drop in the back seat of the coaster was fantastic. Justin assured the group that ThunderCoaster’s airtime is three times better. Cool!
A TV crew were present during the ERS and several members were interviewed for Danish TV. The members concerned are now asking for their own personal transport and other “perks” due to the newly found movie star status!
After the ERS we had an hour long presentation given by Andreas & Stine (who were fantastic hosts during the two days) and one of the Park’s research staff about the history and future of Tivoli. It most enjoyable. At the end of the talk Justin made a presentation to the Park for their services to gravity and “for inspiring the next generation,” including Disney.
A brief period of free time was followed by a superb lunch in the Hard Rock cafe. John, Justin and Jeff & Leslie Graham took part in a press interview for a large Danish newspaper which also included taking the reporters back on the scenic railway to allow them to experience the Club atmosphere…
The coach picked us up at 15:00 to start the journey to Liseberg. We experienced the Malmo bridge which boasts the second largest span for a road bridge.
We arrived in Gothenburg an hour ahead of schedule thanks to the driving skills of Tomas, our coach driver. After checking into our 4-star hotel we then made our way to Liseberg, home of the Schwarzkopf steel classic, Lisebergbanan.
The park itself is different to Bakken and Tivoli, but is still beautiful.
Our ERS tonight was from 23:15 to 00:15 on the Lisebergbanan where at first we had 66 seats available for 51 people! The atmosphere during the session really was something special and the ride ops entered into the spirit by allowing us two consecutive rides without stopping in the station!
The ride is fantastic: smooth, quiet and full of high G forces. I would say that the second seat from the front is without doubt the best on the train. The brakes at the end of the ride are typical Schwarzkopf, i.e. short, sharp and very severe. Oscar Abbenhuis (our Dutch representative) was fighting a running battle with the coaster. Every time he forgot to brace himself, he would score one for Anton. Oscar ended up losing 6-5!
Most people are back at the hotel now (time: 0040) and we have a lie-in tomorrow (Tues) as we are not due back at Liseberg until 11:00.
Keith Johnson (USA)
This is one of the most magical trips that I’ve taken in a long time….great coasters, great people, and of course great food. What more could a coaster nut like me ask for?
Mark Riley (England)
If anyone thought Scenic Railways were all nice and gentle – we have news for you. Last night at Bakken, Hans (manic brake man) turned the Rutchebanen from a great ride into a ridiculous riot. Talk about airtime! (On a ride with no under track wheels!!!). The Intamin runaway train was also an unexpected thrill with a superb first drop. Great stuff.
Majkel van Eekeren (The Netherlands)
Although the weather has changed a bit, it didn’t spoil the day. The ERS on Rutschebanen was tremendous. To be honest, the brakeman wasn’t doing his job well, he didn’t brake, but that made the coaster much faster. Sitting at the back it made my bottom hurt, but lots of fun. I’m looking forward to Liseberg.
Derek Cromarty (UK)
Having a good time – wish you were here!
Tim Tipler (UK)
Hi James and Janet, and mum and dad, have a good time, phone soon.
Jane Valentine (UK)
Sue Barlow – wish you were here!
Oscar Abbenhuis (the Netherlands)
Bonbonland was quite a strange park and has the best theming ever. 
Rutschebanen at night in Bakken and run by “the Master” was extremely good! Today the ERS at Rutschebanen in Tivoli was very good as well. It rained a bit, but you couldn’t tell whether it was the rain or the brakeman not braking that made it run real fast. The backseat did hurt your bottom, but is the price you pay for an excellent ride. 
Pjotr Everts (the Netherlands)
The vintage woodies here rule!
Liz, Mick and Crystal Fryer-Kelsey(UK)
Riding the Bakken woodie was awesome, when Hans the brakeman was in charge, the airtime was amazing and the coaster was flying. The Tivoli woody in the rain was also flying today, the back seat airtime was painful! At BonBon Land Mick and Tony rode a funny ride, possibly called Rock and Roll, which looked like a mini forerunner to the Hammerhead Stall we saw at the Vekoma secret test site last year. Carl would have loved ‘Extreme’ at Bakken, a real spin n spew.
Derek Shaw (USA)
The Dog Fart Coaster at Bon Bon Land lived up to its name-including the sound effects. What a fun, but strange little park. Even got a spin on the Butterfly inclined ride – it is a coaster as far as I am concerned – another checkoff! Bakken, like Tivoli, is another gem with another gem of a scenic railway – what a fun ride (especially during ERS when we were running brakeless, or nearly. Tivoli, although soggy today, continued to be charming and delightful. It was fun to hook up with my nephew’s wife, Sidsel. (They live in Copenhagen.) I think she may become another coaster enthusiast – she and I both rode as much as we could during ERS on the Rutschebanen. Long live the parks in Copenhagen! Onward to Sweden!
Lisa Scheinin (USA)
Anyone who thinks scenic railways are tame hasn’t ridden the ones at Bakken or Tivoli with the ECC. Amazing how much air time you get when the brakeman doesn’t use the brakes. The back seat of the Rutschebanen at Tivoli is not to be believed. We are talking launch pad here. As for Bonbon Land, the Dog Fart Switchback is a hoot and a half. The theming is unbelievable; you would NEVER see that in the USA. And it turns out that I’m the only one who actually likes Dog Fart sweets (John: no you’re not, I thought they were OK too!), which is the very sour, salty licorice candy that the Bonbon candy company makes. Well, if it was the inspiration for the coaster, it can’t be all bad. Dog Farts rule!!!
Jeff Graham (USA)
Another amazing stop was pulled out by the friendly Danes when they gave us an impromptu ride session at night on the scenic at Bakken being driven, but NOT braked by smiling Hans. There was airtime in places that had nothing during the day. It was truly unbelieveable. Painful steel unpadded lap bar bruises rule!
John Livesey (UK)
I’m still knackered.
Day 4
After a great night’s sleep, everyone boarded the coach at 10:30 for the short drive to Liseberg for a 3 hour visit to catch up on any rides that were missed last night. Before we left for the park we all posed for a group photo outside the hotel with the Liseberg “bunny.” Just for Kev’ Winkley, John Livesey’s legs have been censored from the photo!
One of this morning’s missions was to get Tim Herre (German member) soaked to the skin. A few of us, including Tim, rode the park’s excellent rapids twice in succession. Tim managed to come off the ride virtually scot free and proclaimed himself the “Rapids God”! To remedy this situation we took him on the Log Flume and forced him to sit on the front seat. Needless to say he came of soaked and it was mission accomplished!
The park was very busy from early on due to the fact that there was an under-15 football tournament taking place in Gothenburg. Teams from all around the World were taking part which meant that there were lots of groups of children in the park.
We’re now on the coach on the way up to our hotel near Tusenfryd.
After much fretting for Justin and John the group arrived at Tusenfryd at around 18:45 under the pretence that we were there just to take photos of ThunderCoaster before tomorrow’s ERS. Linda (TusenFryd’s Boss) met the group off the coach and greeted everyone personally. From this point on we knew we were in for a special time at the park. After everyone had got off the coach we gathered round to hear that the park was giving us a “surprise” 30 minute ERS on ThunderCoaster. This, of course, was greeted by a huge cheer!
The ride was flying as it had had all day to warm up and we were constantly clocking 51 or 52 second laps. We had the red train on for those that have ridden it before…
Many of the members were so impressed with the ride that it has become their new number one coaster. The second drop can only be described as the best drop on a wooden coaster period.
The park had also arranged for us to have a presentation at our hotel about the design and build process of ThunderCoaster. This was all at their own expense and just goes to show what our visit meant to them. Morten (ThunderCoaster‘s “daddy”) gave the presentation and stayed with us during the evening meal. He is such a top bloke and couldn’t do enough for us.
Neil Bradbury – UK
Liseburg was a fantastic park. I like urban parks; they are usually very pretty – Liseburg was no exception. Ride wise, the Lisebergbanan was typical Schzwarzkopf – fast, smooth and thrilling. The ERS we had at night time was incredible; whizzing through the trees without much noise from the coaster (plenty from the riders though!) was really eerie.
Into Norway we were very nicely supprised by Justin and John, who had arranged an ERS session on ThunderCoaster that night. This is coastering at its most powerful – fast, furious, intense. Allot and Lomax have beaten CCI at their own game. This is the future of European wood coastering. All the staff at Tusenfryd were really pleased to see us. Nice people.
I’m knackered.
Kevin O’Donovan – UK
Liesberg park is built on a side of a hill, it uses the terrain to great effect with a S&S free fall, shot and drop, big wheel, observation tower and the Lisebergbanan all at the top of the hill giving great views across the park. Tusenfryd all uses similar terrain with ThunderCoaster giving a great second drop.
Robert-Paul van Hardeveld – the Netherlands
Well, I know this is a coaster club, and the coasters I’ve run sofar are very great, but I would also like to say something about the Gästen Hotel at Liseberg. It’s wonderfully themed. And I’m glad I did it, although I normally don’t like this kind of attractions. That, together with ThunderCoaster, Lisebergbanan, Hans (the manager of Rutschebanen in Bakken) and the other members make this week to an incredible one!
Day 5
This morning brought the pinnacle of the trip so far, the ThunderCoaster ERS.
Several Scandinavian members joined us for the day and it was great to see them. The park’s management greeted us at the gate and then walked us to ThunderCoaster‘s main entrance. Before the ERS started the whole group was invited to walk up the lift hill. The views from up there were stunning and everyone thoroughly enjoyed it.
Then the main ERS started with two trains. I’m sure everyone must have clocked up around 10 rides during the session. The atmosphere was fantastic! The media was present during the ERS and several members were interviewed for the press.
At 10:30 the ride session ended and the group then decided to take over the adjoining kiddie area… As you can see by the photos below I’m sure the members of the public must have thought we were all mad!!!
Lunch was at 13:00 and consisted of a fantastic buffet. There aren’t many places where the park owner and her team would walk round serving coffee either! Even Justin was roped into serving the sugar – how sweet…
A “Best use of Gravity” Newton award was presented to Linda for ThunderCoaster. Other gifts were given to Jan-Ketil (who is a God!) and Morten for their assistance during the trip. All three of the team received a rapturous and very long standing ovation at the end of the meal. Quite deservedly so, too!
Whilst lunch was taking place Keith Johnson and John Livesey had to do a live radio interview for the largest radio station in Norway. The interviewer was so impressed with the Club that he requested a ride with some members after lunch! He had only ridden ThunderCoaster once before so it was something of an accolade… He quickly adopted the “hands up” riding position and seemed to enjoy every minute of it. Maybe a new member in the making?
At the end of the lunch we were told that we were going to have one last exclusive ride on ThunderCoaster before leaving for our overnight stop between Oslo and Stockholm. Again this was just typical of how well the park treated us during our visit. Words cannot describe how accommodating they were. It’s a fantastic park that is run by fantastic people.
We’re now on the coach on our way to Orebro. Tune in tomorrow for our first visit to Gronalund.
Mark Riley (UK)
TusenFryd. What more can be said about this amazing place? Not only did they give us two great exclusive ride sessions, lunch, lift walk etc. but Morten also gave the group an insightful presentation during Tuesday evening that went far into Wednesday morning.
Hotel Gasten is amazing. The theming is second to none. (And produced by Leicester based company Farmer Studios).
Quote of the trip. Justin to Emma Wilson. “Emma. Spread your legs.” And she’s a married woman – does this man have no shame???
Keith Johnson (US)
I can honestly say that Liseberg Park is by far on of the best parks that I’ve visited. What park has a place where you can dance the Mambo while you can ride a coaster? I had my ups and downs plus I could cut a rug with some of the best dancers in Sweden.
Tusenfryd is a world class park with a world class coaster.
Mechthild Namyslo, Germany
ThunderCoaster is brilliant. Great trip so far.
Norman & Jane valentine (UK)
We wanted to stay at Tusenfryd – it’s a bloody good coaster
Tony & Paula Pycroft (UK)
As always Europe’s best wooden coaster is ThunderCoaster at Tusenfryd. It’s airtime heaven – simply the best!!. The staff at Tusenfryd must also be some of the best anywhere, especially Morten who gave us a great talk on the development of the ride and park. ThunderCoaster is one of the most addictive coasters ever you do not want to get off.
Chris & Claire Mcfarlane (UK)
So far a damn good trip, Tivoli, Bakken, Liseberg and TusenFryd very nice and enjoyable parks with good selections of attractions. Highlights so far include the Mine Train and Rutschebanen at Bakken, the Rutschebanen and the Monsoon at Tivoli. BonBon Land was a most unique park with some strangely named rides and sweets!, were else would you find a coaster called the Dog Fart and a Huss Condor called The Dump!
ThunderCoaster at TusenFryd was an excellent wood coaster, LOADED with airtime and nice friendly staff. So far a very enjoyable trip, nice hotels, parks and rides, shame about the expensive beer though.
Oscar Abbenhuis (the Netherlands)
Excellent trip. Liseberg is a nice park with a couple of great rides. Lisebergbanan is a great ride especially at night. Hotel Gasten at Liseberg is the best haunted walkthrough I’ve done so far. ThunderCoaster at Tusenfryd is my new number one wooden coaster!!! So far I have had 69 goes on 14 different coasters.
Crystal Fryer-Kelsey (UK)
ThunderCoaster was ‘blinding’.
Mick Fryer-Kelsey (UK)
Words cannot describe ThunderCoaster, it was fantastic, so much airtime it was almost like a stand-up roller coaster.
Liz Fryer-Kelsey (UK)
ThunderCoaster was too awesome for me, I enjoyed watching everyone else enjoying the airtime.
Emma Wilson (UK)
There are many things you could say about the brilliant ThunderCoaster – but “Waaaaaaaaaahhh Hoooooooo!” would sum it up!!!! Fantastic!
Mark Wilson (UK)
Ditto above. PS Sorry to all the members on the trip for the wife!!!! She is quiet when she sleeps! (honest).
Lisa Scheinin from US
ThunderCoaster is my new #1 coaster! Never before have I ridden a coaster where I was standing more than sitting. The air time is sustained and unbelievable. Everybody out there, run, walk or crawl to Oslo, but get there!!!!
Derek (Pennsylvania, USA)
I’ve died and gone to heaven, I mean Norway! ThunderCoaster is FANTASTIC! INCREDIBLE! and needs to be moved closer to the States! Tusenfryd is a gem of a park with a phenomenal coaster as part of the plan. Drop what you’re doing, get a plane ticket and head for Oslo – you won’t be disappointed! TOP SHELF RIDE!
Tim Herre (from Hamburg)
Top coaster, top staff and no ugly girls anywhere: I LUUUURVE NORWAY!!!
Ralf Lindhorst (from Hamburg)
Everything has been said about ThunderCoaster and it all is true, this is an unbelievable ride. This second drop has got to be one of the best drops on any wooden coaster so far, if not the best. So, can we take it home? PLEEEAAAASE! Another question I would like to throw in is if we all will ever find a proper way to thank Morten, Jan-Ketil and Linda for their efforts and absolutely outstanding hospitality???
Oh, by the way, the King of Rapids (Mr. Herre) is still dry. But our trip is not quite over yet so YOU better watch out because IT WILL GET YOU FOR SURE!!!
Marc Whitcombe (from Brighton)
The ThunderCoaster was absoluterly brilliant!!! The second drop is great where you feel weightless for a noticable amount of time, and it’s non stop excitement as you go through fast turns and great humps. A top ride, unmissable.
Stephen Knight
ThunderCoaster, well what can I say! An absolutely amazing roller coaster, definitely my number one. The second drop has got to be one of the best drops on any coaster. Tusenfryd is a nice park, similar to Oakwood in many ways, and with very friendly staff!
Jeff Graham (USA)
The hospitality extended by Tusenfryd was amazing!! ThunderCoaster (a top five woodie) was as wild and as full of airtime as they say and it gave out plenty of ‘free souvenirs’. I got painful bruises on top of bruises, but it was all good fun The park was beautiful and a pleasant time was had strolling the hills and paths of the park.
John Livesey (UK)
I’m no longer knackered but bloody bruised instead! ThunderCoaster is my new #1, sorry Grand National…
Day 6
After setting off from Orebro the group made their way to Stockholm, home of Gronalund. Peter Osbeck (one of the managers from the park) met us and distributed wristbands and rain ponchos. It was raining when we arrived but fortunately it stopped as we stepped off the coach. Looks as though the reverse psychology of the rain coats worked!
The park was busy all day but most members managed to ride a few of the attractions. An optional tour of the city was available on the coach. James Lawrence took the tour hoping to find some porn but came back empty handed!
The group returned to the hotel at 8pm an set camp in the bar. Some of the hard-core drinkers managed to stay up until 3am… not a good plan when we were leaving at 8:45 that morning.
The group made their way to Gronalund for a 9:30 history tour of the park given by Andreas Andersson (one of the park’s PR people and an ECC member). The talk was very interesting and well received by everyone.
At 10:00am the two hour ERS started on Jet Line, Fritt Fall (a 240 ft Giant Drop) and Katapult (S&S combined space shot and turbo drop). Justin and John had to do a radio interview on Fritt Fall with someone who had never experienced such a ride before! Her final comments were not printable here and it was a live interview!
The ERS on Jet Line was something really special. The group were allowed to climb all over the ride, the brakes were turned off and the trains even went backwards out of the station. A few members even got the opportunity to operate the ride. Without a doubt another great ERS session, possibly the best ERS ever!
At 12:00 the whole group went into the Fun House for a take over. It was great! Everything worked in the Fun House and the slide at the end was really good fun.
Lunch was served from 12:30 which was either a burger or pizza and again was excellent.
At 14:45 Peter Osbeck said goodbye to the group and we made our way to the ferry.
The check-in went smoothly and we’re now sat doing this update in the bar…
The group then made their way into the cabaret bar. Much merriment was enjoyed by all and a real party atmosphere started to develop.
The ferry docked just before 10:00am and the coach was waiting for us at the port. We’re now on our way to Sarkanniemi for the day. Check back tomorrow for the update from today.
Day 7
Day 8
After docking at Helsinki the group made their way to Sarkanniemi, home of their new Intamin inverted coaster, Tornado.
We were met by Risto Rinne (the Park’s operations manager) and we were escorted to the 5-star restaurant at the top of the observation tower. It was a full silver service meal with fine wines and excellent food. It’s without doubt the finest club meal we’ve ever had!
Justin and John were interviewed by a newspaper and a radio company. Kati (from the radio company) then accompanied a small group of us round the park for the rest of the day.
Risto Rinne accepted a small token of our appreciation after the meal. We were then allowed a “preview ride” of Tornado before our one hour ERS later that day.
The group then split up for the rest of the day.
Sarkanniemi is great park with some really good rides. Apart from Tornado they also have a Schwarzkopf Jet Star and a small Vekoma Corkscrew. A number of fair type rides are also in the park including a Huss Frisbee.
At 20:00 the group reconvened for the Tornado ERS. All the usual mayhem prevailed and the ride was well received by most members. Tornado includes an excellent zero-G roll through the station.
We’re now on the coach on the way back to our final hotel. Tune in soon for the last update from the trip…
Day 9
We arrived at the park and were met by Kalle Justander (the managing director of Linnanmaki). He escorted us to a restaurant and found out that the park had laid on a superb breakfast buffet for the group. During the meal he spoke to us about the history of the park and explained that it was owned six children’s charities which benefit from the profits made each year. He then went on to say that we would have not one but four ERSs during the morning. They opened each coaster especially for us, which was amazing!
Justin also made a presentation to the park to celebrate the scenic railway’s 50th anniversary.
The scenic railway is the same layout as the one at Bakken and offered just the same amount of thrills and spills. There was even a lady brakeperson, which as far as we know is a first!
We then moved on to an amazing enclosed coaster. The track is actually located inside a water tower and had to be custom designed to dodge pillars and brick walls. Lisa Scheinin (from the US) had the honour of having the first ride all on her own due to the fact that it was her 700th coaster! The rest of the club formed a guard of honour to celebrate this momentous occasion. The park then allowed us two rides with the lights on so we could see how cleverly the track was placed. Another fantastic piece of engineering from Herr Stengel
The third coaster was a Mack powered coaster which was great fun to ride
The final session was spent on the new water coaster Vonkapatous. To say that this ride is a wet ride is a slight understatement. YOU GET SOAKED!!! As you descend down the final drop you splash down into a pool of water that’s enclosed by two walls. These walls act as great water deflectors and force every single drop of water over the car. It is a FANTASTIC ride and was most enjoyable in the hot sunshine.
At breakfast Mr. Justander announced that we could reconvene at the restaurant for lunch. The food served was top class and as we left the meal the whole group was given a fantastic gift pack containing no less than a book of the history of the park. It’s hard to put into words how generous the park was to us today. As a small token of our appreciation we had a collection to make a donation to the group of charities that own the park. This still didn’t seem enough. The park also had other great rides such as a superb Fun House and a well themed Ghost Train. It’s a shame we had to leave so early as there were still many rides left untried.
We are all now at the airport waiting for our flight home and I think that everyone has had a great time. We’re all tired but it was worth it. All the parks on the trip have been more than fantastic. The generosity has been amazing and we really do appreciate everything they’ve done.
I can assure you that we will be coming back.
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