Holiday Park Review, Germany's Plopsa-Owned Theme Park | More Than Just Expedition GeForce?

Holiday Park in Germany is known almost exclusively amongst enthusiasts for Expedition GeForce, an award-winning Intamin mega coaster. But this Plopsa owned park is beautiful. There's a lot of greenery outdoors and an entire indoor section. And while the park only has 3 coasters, it has some notable non-coasters to fill out the lineup.
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[@limonscore]

I live 20 minutes away from Holiday Park. Finally the park get's some love beside Expedition Geforce

[@CanobieCoaster]

It's a solid park.

[@gemmachaos]

Apparently they are considering a clone of Ride to Happiness for this park. That would give this park two world class rides, but as you say, what they really need is a family coaster to bridge the gap. I think a Heidi clone would make a lot more sense here.

[@CanobieCoaster]

Selfishly I want Ride to Happiness 2.0, but I agree a family coaster would be better.

[@lennynero635]

@@CanobieCoaster Me too. In this case it is okay to be selfish.

[@Veri183]

Pre-Covid it was totally possible to run into Werner Stengel (yes, THE Werner Stengel) at the exit of Expedition GeeForce, as he would come to visit and ride his finest work from time to time. In an interview in 2020 he said that he would also wait at the exit and watch people getting off the ride to see, if they smile, if they're happy. He also said that GeeForce is probably the coaster he enjoys the most, as he was involved in the development from the very start, knows the terrain from A to B, etc. Originally the plan was to build a completely different coaster, however, the concept he had been working on was never realized. The project became Expedition GeeForce later on. The famous "Stengel Drop" was basically the result of a terrain issue. In the interview Stengel said they were not able to let the drop go straight down, as the track layout then would have exceeded the parks limits and the person owning the property right next to the park wouldn't allow them or sell their property. So Stengel twisted the first drop to the side and there you go: Probably the sickest first drop ever for a rollercoaster. I remember thinking "What a crazy idea for a first drop!" when I saw GeeForce for the first time. Learning that it was just created out of a necessity makes it even more unique, imho.

[@CanobieCoaster]

That's really cool to hear! I knew it was his favorite coaster.

[@michaeltaylor1603]

Love the unique "quirkiness" of the park. Yes! I love a park with shade as well. Would have loved to been a fly on the wall when they talked to Intamin. When it was time to pay, they simply whipped out some sacks of gold pieces!

[@CanobieCoaster]

I still don't know how they afforded GeForce.

[@Stubwood_on_YT]

I may be going here on Saturday and I really hope I’m able to go. Naturally, I’m most excited for Expedition G-Force but the park as a whole looks good. Lets hope it’s not too busy when I go! Great review, gave me all the information I needed!

[@CanobieCoaster]

They do have the skip-the-line pass if the park is mobbed. Hope you enjoy it!

[@jonas-pn4ym]

We went to visit Holiday Park last year only to be extremely disappointed by Geforce being closed due to technical problems. The mechanics were doing their best but it didn't look good. About 40min before the park closed we almost lost all our hope and were getting ready to leave when suddenly they started sending out trains for testing. They actually opened it for the last 30 minutes and we got 4 rides. Huge respect for the Staff for doing their best so we and the others that day wouldn't have to miss out on their star attraction!

[@Blasulz1234]

oh that put a smile on my face

[@CanobieCoaster]

I'm glad they got it open for you!

[@warriorseamonkey1693]

That junior coaster looks really cool.

[@CanobieCoaster]

It does look cool.

[@JoshB333]

With the new coaster this will be a cute park 💪🏻

[@CanobieCoaster]

I'm excited to see what they get.

[@maxhagenauer24]

A drop tower, sky rocket 2, and of corse, Expedition GeForce. This is the reason you go here, for that insane Intamin. Filled with so many positive and negative Gs, it's truly amazing. And Sky Screams themeing looks awesome, I love that horror.

[@CanobieCoaster]

I could come here and only ride GeForce because of how good that ride is, but that's doing a disservice to the rest of the park.

[@33sam]

Great review with one of my top roller coasters I want to ride. Do you know if flat rides like Finnegan’s Flyer at BGW or the pendulum rides have airtime like the drop towers?

[@CanobieCoaster]

It feels different on pendulum rides.

[@33sam]

@juiceboxer100 thank you for the reply 🙏🏼

[@TinyEpics]

Nice review! Just a tip: it’s pronounced Maya-land… just like you would say “Maya” referring to the ancient Mayan culture. Not Ma-ha :-)

[@CanobieCoaster]

Thanks!

[@frankdeutscher7334]

Thanks to the takeover by Plopsa, the park has definitely gained in attractiveness. I even claim that without Plopsa the holiday park might not even exist anymore, since the owner at the time, Wolfgang Schneider, had hardly any investment power left. And now things are going better than ever. The park is particularly busy on the weekends and in summer and attracts many families to the park. I really like the location and its atmosphere, because the park basically offers something for every target group... the themed areas are now really good too. And when the new themed area with the new attraction comes along, the water park and the hotel, then we have a really worthwhile resort in the holiday park that presents itself in the best possible way. Especially in the warm summer evenings, the park can unfold its unique flair ..... a really underestimated park, but certainly not for much longer :)

[@CanobieCoaster]

I'm glad how the park looked in my recent visit.

[@Merlin5342]

Somehow it should be mentioned GeForce has two Trains and both got used until 2019. And with getting back into normal operation after limitations caused by covid, it might be possible that GeForce also will use 2 Train Operation again.

[@CanobieCoaster]

Hopefully! All footage I've seen through the years has only shown one.

[@Merlin5342]

@@CanobieCoaster For some reason thats true. But for sure it exsisted and should return this year, at least for crowded days.

[@mitchellries256]

It would be cool to see the park get an indoor waterpark and futuristic section later on. With what they have now, I am just not sure it's worth my time when there are other parks in Germany I could spend a full day at.

[@CanobieCoaster]

GeForce alone makes it a must for coaster enthusiasts.

[@RetroSasZ]

plopsas ownership is a big advantage. the previous owner bought this cheap chines spare parts for Expedition G-Force and the lift cable snapped, the train got derailed, but luckily no one was harmed!

[@CanobieCoaster]

I remember seeing footage of that.

[@lennynero635]

Do you know that for a fact? If so, could you provide any sources? No trying to bother you, not at all but I am always shocked to hear something like this and I would like to dig deeper into this (If I remeber correctly, the owners of Terra Mitica in Spain tinkered with the restraints on their Zac Spin coaster which led to a casualty).

[@RetroSasZ]

@@lennynero635 here is a video of the evacuation kzbin.info/www/bejne/rWaXlH6vjL-Uqqs the information i have about the cheap chinese parts are from a big coaster forum, they said they where in an sort of citizen unite and got this information from the prosecutor. I just repeat what i have heard ^^ sorry there are no more informations about the cheap part rumore, but it sounds plausible. i try to find something out and let you know ;)

[@lennynero635]

@@RetroSasZ Thanks for the effort. The video about the evacuation I know. I always attributed the broken axle to poor maintenance and Intamin engineering problems but not due to subpar replacement parts.

[@maartenkruijff4293]

To be honest, during my last visit in Nov last year I was shocked at how derelict the area around GeForce and the coaster itself was. Yes Plopsa puts a lot of attention to the kids areas but the adult areas get no love! Including One of the best coasters ever in GeForce. Running only 1 train, because they never bothered to fix the 2nd train that is now rusting away under a tarp in the transfer track

[@CanobieCoaster]

I wish this ride had 2 trains.

[@euhm]

@@CanobieCoaster When I was there about 3 years ago, Ex G was running 2 trains... I was able to marathon the ride. I did about 8-10 rides on G-Force and did all the other rides multiple times as well. And I only got in the park at 13.30h. If you ride G-force back to back about 3 times in the back, you will have bruises on the top of your legs. The ejector airtime is that intense.

[@maartenkruijff4293]

@@euhm had the same in nov of last year! Park was dead so we were able to stay seated in the 2nd to last row and I had purple bruises on my upper legs as well🤣🤣

[@Merlin5342]

@@CanobieCoaster It has 2 trains, but due to covid, they only used one train for 2020 and 2021. As it now goes back to normal operation, the second train also should be back this year.

[@m.hoffman2889]

rumors say they get the S&S Axis for their Tomorrowand expansion

[@CanobieCoaster]

That would be sweet.

[@HugeRMCFanBoY-bx3od]

I hate having to walk through the exit maybe its just me but it feels super unfair to the people already waiting in the line (especially if the coaster is running just one train)

[@CanobieCoaster]

Yeah it is awkward with the set-up.

[@robertannable9584]

Canobie...My dude!! You ever go to Whalom Park as a kid? What the hell ever happened to that place?? I remember they had one large scale wooden coaster... That's all I remember though.

[@ElectriKong-]

Well it closed down 22 years ago. It also had kiddie coaster from a manufacturer that has not manufactured any roller coasters that are in operation today. It also had 2 other coasters that operated before the second World War. And that's about the extent of the information one can obtain about that park from the RCDB.

[@CanobieCoaster]

I didn't go there since my parents hated that park.

[@sleepyrobot6129]

Imo 42 euros is not cheap for a park that , for older kids, doesn't have that much too offer.

[@CanobieCoaster]

You can take advantage of the evening discount.

[@frederikhein4195]

I visited Holiday Park in 2019 and still think this is the worst theme park I‘ve been to so far (though I’ve only been to 5 different one‘s, including Europapark and Phantasialand). Not because the rides are bad but because the ride collection is horribly out of balance. Especially with the recently rises prices I‘m not planning another visit until the park adds a major attraction. I also really dislike the re-theming plopsa did. It just doesn’t fit with the natural beauty of the place, disrupting it with the artificial colors. This may also have to do with my personal attitude to the studio100 kids shows that the park is getting themed to. Many of these shows ran for decades until studio100 bought the rights and rebooted them. These childhood classics like Biene Maja or Heidi were my favorite shows as a kid and the new versions are just bad knock-offs. Studio100 ruined them one by one. I just can’t enjoy the atmosphere of a park being constantly reminded that these are the ruins of my childhood favorites as well as how naturally beautiful the park once was. The Burg Falkenstein darkride closed in 2022 to be re-themed to the smurfs, thereby another classic is getting erased. There still are some very good reasons to visit Holidaypark, the best one of cause being Expedition GeForce, to this day my favorite roller coaster. This is a true masterpiece!

[@CanobieCoaster]

I agree the lineup is a bit weird, but I still enjoy the park. I didn't mind the new theming that was added since it looked good.

[@StamfordBridge]

I liked some of the theming, the indoor section, and that gory dark ride, but the insultingly incompetent operations on ExGeForce left a bitter taste in my mouth. The ride ops were so slow and idiotic in their job as the queue got longer and longer all day. The dispatches for the one train were, at best, TWELVE minutes apart. The fast pass entered from the opposing side and were never made to wait, so the same people would cut in front of the waiting people for seats every other train. Everyone in the station was sitting on the floor, forced to listen to a bad commercial pop station and watch all the incompetence in slow motion. Some of the worst operations I’ve ever seen.

[@StamfordBridge]

P.S. The set-up also means I would NOT want a fast pass, because it forcibly makes the user into an a****le to everyone else. No, thank you.

[@CanobieCoaster]

The GeForce crew had average dispatches when I was there. I agree the set-up of Fastpass makes you feel like a jerk. I hate whenever it's routed up the exit. Sure you get on fast, but I prefer when it's at the merge point so you don't directly take someone else's seat.

[@Merlin5342]

@@CanobieCoaster would be so much better. Cycles with express pass are terrible, because everyone else has to wait for them to choose a seat. But thats a problem with every express pass entrance there.

[@Adrians_films]

Overall holiday world is better

[@CanobieCoaster]

I prefer that park too.

[@StamfordBridge]

Ha. 1000X better.

[@theintamindude]

HW >>>>>>> HP Although EGF > Voyage imo.

[@idansheffer56]

I know this roller coast is amazing but I would not spend so much money and time for one roller coaster in a very mediocre park! There are much better ones in Germany which offer more than one standout ride...

[@CanobieCoaster]

I agree Germany has better parks, but I wouldn't call Holiday Park mediocre.

[@idansheffer56]

@@CanobieCoaster Typical middle quality park with one good coaster