Introduction
September 2002 saw the Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain visit Germany for a brief tour of three parks.
A little bonus came in the form of a travelling fairground that just happened to be in the first town that we were staying in! Hasselt played host to a deceptively large fair that was dispersed in several sections over the town centre, and there we rode the Wild Mouse, a standard Reverchon spinning mouse, and a Big Apple junior coaster that just happened to be my 200th coaster. Oh well, you can't win 'em all. I also took advantage of the Move It and Afterburner spin rides, as well as the ghost train. Now this ghost train was something, erm, different! Looking like a typical transportable ghost train, it takes you up a spiral to the first floor. Coming out on a balcony, the train then stops....and the track tilts to one side tipping you over the edge of the building! It carries on inside, then stops again by an electric chair scene, whereupon a couple of actors spring up out of the darkness in front of the train and scare everyone witless! The final surprise is the impossibly steep (although small) drop at the very end, where at the top just before you go over there is a roller effect - what appears to be a medieval torture device descends, spinning wildly. These effects are very common, but this thing was literally centimetres above the heads of the passengers - I've never seen any piece of machinery come that close before! Everyone ducks of course. A great little ghost train!
| Day | Park | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phantasialand | Brühl |
| 2 | Holiday Park | Hassloch |
| 3 | Europa Park | Rust |