Photo TR: Chuck Does It Scandi Style

Where is that red-ponchoed guy... anyway, Chuck?



Awesome parks, even in the rain - the buffet at the LegoLand park was cool. And plentiful. And quite good.

And that river falls "tour" at Somerland Syd was..... oh well, it's too bad a lot of the guys on tour didn't actually do the ride, hmm? It made eventually getting (sort of) soaked kind of worth it, in a twisted non-pc kinda way, lol!

The rain on these tours really makes us work our butts off with what we can do in such weather, especially when the coasters are still available, lol. Damn we're good TPR Tourists!

Another great ongoing TR, Chuck.
Thanks in advance for more more more!

(Edit to add the LegoLand boat cave tour was pretty fun, too. All them pirrrates and swabbies an' lefties and.... it was cool.)

Chapter 6: During the Deluge, Part 2--Farup Sommerland & Tivoli Friheden

We achieved new levels of wetness (and not in the fun way) at our next stop. This was a another two-park day, starting with Farup Sommerland.

Farup is like the coolest summer camp ever: rustic setting and buildings, plenty of chances for bodily injury, which don't involve a machete-wielding maniac in a hockey mask (I think that's an upcharge); and, of course, rides (never had rides at my old summer camp). Seriously, Farup is a beautiful, nicely maintained park that isn't afraid to run most of its attractions in the pouring rain.

Imagine that.

There's a good assortment of stuff here, including an obstacle course over leech-infested waters (not kidding here), speed boats (which aren't an upcharge), and these coasters:

Lynet--I think Gerstlauer is on the way to becoming my favorite ride manufacturer. First, Fulch at Hansa, and now this launcher at Farup. This little ride packs a wallop, with some nice airtime hills and a few surprises for first-time riders. ERT on this sucker was great (even in the rain).

Falken--GCI recently did some retracking work on this S&S woodie, but couldn't quite solve all its problems. Robb summed this ride up perfectly: "Fun-fun-fun, shuffle-shuffle-shuffle, fun-fun-fun, shuffle-shuffle-shuffle." I think the former cancels out the latter, for the most part--I enjoyed Falken (especially when the "Sword of Power" came into play).

Mine Expressen--You know, Vekoma makes a pretty dang good kiddie coaster. This one was a little better than average.

Flagermusen--This is a rather painful spinning mouse that doesn't really spin. But at least it's themed to bats. Bats are cool.

Next up was a brief stop at a aomewhat more "urban" park, Tivoli Friheden. This is a nice, family-oriented place that, nevertheless, had one of the most intense attractions anywhere--the SCAD freefall tower. The coasters were an oddball bunch:

Cobra--This is the "off-brand" inverted that derailed shortly after debuting last year. Well, it's back together now. It's better than your average Vekoma SLC, but still not very good.

Orkanens Oje--This is a standard Pinfari looper. You'll wonder how much chewing gum and baling wire is needed to hold it together.

Tyfonen--Another nonspinning spinner. Ho hum.

Dragen--A Wacky Worm with dragon trains. OK for what it is.

Friheden has a pretty good dark ride--a hotel full of serial killers! It's a bit beat up, but most of the gags work and the opening "elevator" gag is great. Plus, while there, you can "eat the American Way" at "Mr. Big's."

Here's a look at a soaking wet day. The picture quality isn't the greatest, but the staff at both parks were--thanks for a great day!

Hello again, Druids! We at DruidWear would like you to keep this in mind:

Stonehenge--cold and gray.
DruidWear products--hot and sassy!

We now return you to Farup Sommerland.

Just because you're a Druid, doesn't mean you can't look stylish.

DruidWear--look hot at your next Solstice festival!

And now, Tivoli Friheden.

DruidWear would like to announce it's new line of formal attire: DruidTux! Yes, tuxedo versions of those classic robes we all know and love, available for sale or rental!

And what do you have to wear under your DruidTux? Not a damn thing!

We now return you to Friheden.

[ginzoWhy do I still have a donkey title???]

Great memories. I remember a hot Danish chick ride operator on the kiddie coaster at Tivoli Friheden telling me, as I struggled to fit into the restraint, "This coaster; it is for children!"

Chapter 7: After the Deluge--Djurs Sommerland and Tivoli Karolinelund

Well, I had just about all my clothes rung out by the time we rolled on to our next two parks. My sweatshirt required a whole extra day to finish drying, though. At least we didn't have to dress like Klansman or Druids when we visited Djurs Sommerlund.

Djurs was one of the most anticipated parks of the tour. Like Farup, it's has the vibe of an enormous summer camp, complete with elaborate playgrounds, plenty of chances for bodily injury, and three well-themed areas: to the Wild West (what, again?), the jungles of Africa, and, aye, pirates.

And how many summer camps come with Intamin goodness? The park has only three coasters, but one is plenty when it's . . .

Piraten--This is the first Intamin megalite I've ever ridden, and it delivers nearly as much of a punch as its larger cousins, like Expedition GeForce. Arr, thar be plenty of airtime despite yer being lashed to the rigging like yer ridin' out a typhoon! And he who don't fancy the pyrate themein' be a poor excuse fer a lubber, sez I! [Pirate Mode disengaged.]

Thor's Hammer--This is a slighly disappointing Gerstlauer Bobsled. It just isn't in the same league as Tripsdrill's, but the station is nicely themed, if you're into big, hairy guys with hammers.

Karlo's Taxi--It's a Wacky Worm. Karlo must be some sort of freak.

The flume and rapids rides are pretty good (nicely themed), and Chico and Poachers is a very odd combination of Disney's Jungle Cruise and Phantasialand's Hollywood Tour.

Tivoli Karolinelund is another small, urban park--more of a credit stop, actually. But it seems to have a good local following (a bunch of high-school jazz bands were performing while we were there), and it makes for nice evening out. There's a good dark ride and interesting selection of flats, but the coasters aren't particularly special:

Boomerang--The name says it all--standard-issue Vekoma (not the best, not the worst).

Looping TL59--This was probably the roughest Pinfari of the trip.

Caterpillar--Once again, it's our old friend the Wacky Worm. The TPR takeover of this thing was actually pretty hilarious.

Here's a look at an enjoyable, dry day.

Hello--Angus McNasty here, and I could rip your face off before you even knew I was in the room! That's why you need to defend yourself the McNasty way!

Here's lesson #1: Always carry a ball of yarn. When you're confronted by a cat, just toss the yarn, allowing it to unroll. The cat will instantly become confused, then playful. Then you run like hell!

Stay safe!

Back to Djurs Sommerland.

Let's face it, when you lack teeth and claws, you're just not going to last long in the cat world. And your world will be "Cat World" one day. It's only a matter of time.

So, here's another way you can appease, er, defend yourself from your feline overlords.

Lesson #2: Always carry a can of Fancy Feast. When confronted by aa gang of aggressive cats:

1. Pull can from pocket.
2. Grasp pull ring with index finger.
3. Pull ring, open can.
4. Check that ring! Make sure it's on the index finger. If so, discard it.
5. Throw can of Fancy Feast at feline attackers.
6. Run like hell the other way as they feast!

Simple, isn't it? Back to Djurs Sommerland!

So, to review, what are the two things you need to defend yourself from an aggressive cat?

1. Yarn
2. Food

Yeah, you can't really defend yourself--you can only make the cat happy and hope for the best.

And you heard it here first at the Angus McNasty School of Self-Defense. Good luck, meat bag!

Enjoy this look at Tivoli Karolinelund.