Flamingo Land

10/30/2013
When I first visited Flamingo Land in 2004 I actually found the park not that special and actually rather bleak. Over years however, many things have changed. Not only did the range of attractions mature a lot over time, the whole appearance of the park has greatly improved. What also helps is that access to the park is free during the Halloween period for anyone who appears dressed up at the gate. Enough reason for Hellen to dig up some costumes from the suitcase.

We start in the Metropolis area where we find some children's attractions such as the Flying Clowns, the Pink Elephants and the small Runaway Mine Train. We also have a view of Velocity, the Vekoma Motorbike coaster much like the Motorbike Launch Coaster of Chimelong Paradise and our Booster Bike in Toverland. Behind Velocity we see Hero in the distance too.

But first we turn right into the Dino-Stone Park section, completely themed in dino style. As far as that is possible with a giant whirligig that is. Pterodactyl towers high above the other attractions. Today however it is too cold in our opinion to turn laps in the wind some 45 meters above ground. Instead, I slide in the queue for Twistosaurus (#838), the spinning roller coaster that Flamingo Land added to their collection earlier this year. The Twistosuarus turns out to be a fairly tame dinosaur that doesn't spin quite that hard.

In the following theme area Splosh! we find Zooom! (#839) Although the real fast suspended rollercoasters are slowly disappearing, Zamperla puts down another version every now and then, albeit a much less exciting variant. This Zooom! is fun, decorated in airplane style including the runway where one gets on and off the ride. This way the coaster resambles Dream Catcher in Bobbejaanland.

Next to this roller coaster is Flip Flop, a Gyro Swing and this one looks too nice not to give it a try. The ride is quite alright.

Mumbo Jumbo we still know from the previous visit in 2009. You can say about S&S what you like but they certainly build innovative rollercoasters. Despite the low capacity and thus long queues I can't resist to catch a ride. The same actually applies to Kumali. Not that this is a particular unique layout, the Dutch Vekoma has sold over 40 of these SLC's, but Kumali is certainly one of the nicest ones.

Less enjoyable unfortunately is Hero (#840), a flying roller coaster by Zamperla. This coaster is identical to Time Warp of Canada's Wonderland and just as unpleasant. The mechanism of loading and unloading in the station looks genius, the spiral lift is also very clever but the turns and heartline rolls are so brutal, almost painful to go through. And then Hero is only three months old.

We have to get to the ferry from Hull to Hook of Holland today and so we have to leave the park on time. This time I have to say Flamingo Land didn't dissapoint at all and I'm anxious to see what new rides are planned for the years to come. If they are anything like what we've seen lately they will certainly see me again.


From the car park you already have a nice overview of the park. The accompanying zoo is more hidden at the back.


The Dino-Stone Park theme area.


Pterodactyl looks a little too chilly for me today.


The first roller coaster that we encounter is Runaway Mine Train.




This Twistosaurus is just a bit too small. Either that or we are a bit too big.


Zooom! is just a nice relaxing ride.Good to see that there is still being invested in this type of roller coaster.


Ready for take-off.


Flip Flop is less childish than the name might suggest.


Mumbo Jumbo madness. A lot of track per square meter.


It's a bit scary as you enter the 112 degrees drop down.


Kumali is a positive outlier when it comes to this type of roller coaster.


Today unfortunately skipped. Velocity is a great coaster though.


Until next time Flamingo Land.
Until next time Flamingo Land.