Photo (and video) TR: Hansa - Heide, June 3rd-5th

Let me start by saying what a great trip it was! Weather was on our (me + friend) side and excluding Saturday, the crowds were minimal. I had had both parks on my bucket list for a long time and now I finally got to visit them. So far I’ve seen many enthusiasts do these two in a combo, and now I understand why. Hansa and Heide really compliment each other: Hansa has over the top theming but as a park it’s smaller and more original, as Heide is a bigger park with more larger rides and it feels a bit more company-owned somehow. I liked both parks equally, though, but for different reasons.

Friday: Hansa Park

We stayed the first two nights in Hamburg and took a train to Hansa Park. We were happy to discover that crowds were non-existent and basically everything was a walk-on! Of course we headed to the biggest beast first:

Schwur des Kärnan

Wow! You know the feeling when a coaster makes it into your top-10 even before you even SEE the train in station? Because that’s what Kärnan made me feel. I was completely in awe of the queue and loading, and I’d like to talk about it, but it would spoil so much that I’ll just encourage everyone to try it yourselves! Ride itself was as great, although some roughness occurred in a couple of spots. Now I’m not complaining, but if this was as smooth as Expedition GeForce, Kärnan would have surpassed it, but instead Kärnan is now at number 3 in my top-10. Height, speed, fast turns, airtime, dark ride portions, kick-ass soundtrack and a very cool station… Kärnan has it all. GO RIDE IT!

Fluch von Novgorod

Fluch is very much alike with Kärnan but with super impressive theming that continues even after the ride is over! Ride was way smoother than I expected, but as this was (and still is) my first Euro-Fighter, I really don’t have any comparison. Launch took us both by surprise every time and was fun! Airtime and OTSR really don’t mix, but everything else was top notch. With its immersive theming and fun ride Fluch made it into number 10 for me. The music that plays with every dispatch is still playing in my head!

Classic Nessie was my credit #80. You can’t really go wrong with Schwarzkopf, right? Loop was surprisingly strong and sitting in the back gave almost ejector air when leaving the MCBR. Rasender Roland and Schlange von Midgard were fun family rides but the theming with Schlange… Hansa really likes to theme their rides nicely! Crazy Mine was a bit too violent for both of us, but like others it had no nice theming that it made it up for the poor ride experience. Aside from Rio Dorado which spun us like crazy, the other water rides were a bit disappointing though. We didn’t get wet in either and they were a bit boring, especially Super Splash which didn’t seem to do anything at all.

The bouncy hill and climbing courses were extremely fun! I had no idea what we were up to when we climbed an innocent looking treehouse They really aren’t kidding with the size restriction sign! (There’s a test hole next to the entrance to test if you can squeeze through). The swinging bell felt a bit weird as you could see the huge bell above you at all times, but the swinging felt like any other pendulum ride to me. But as this is Hansa, they have added fire and water effects because why not? Fire effects were also in the beyond-awesome special effects show that they have! Fire, lasers, smoke, lights, all synched to music blasting from the speakers. We both enjoyed it thoroughly! During the day we fueled ourselves with Italian pasta and ridiculously cheap (compared to Finland) waffles and ice cream. Yum!

Even though Kärnan broke down in the evening, we could rack up about four rides on it and five on Fluch. All in all Hansa Park was very interesting visit and I definitely recommend it to everyone! They have nailed it with Fluch and Kärnan.

Saturday and Sunday: Heide Park

We stayed the other two nights at Heide’s Abenteuer Hotel. This was my first visit in a park’s own hotel, and I fell in love with the concept of staying right next to a park! Even though our windows weren’t facing the park, the proximity and level of luxury really made the deal for me. Their buffets (dinner and breakfast) were more than satisfactory and I liked that they had a theme going in the hotel as well. Staying in the hotel also gives you a 30min ERT on Krake and/or Flug der Dämonen, as well as a headstart compared to GP because the hotel’s entrance to the park is located further than the main gate. Saturday was packed and all the queues were about an hour and we were prepared to buy Platinum Fast Passes for Sunday, but came Sunday and crowds were light again with Krake topping the queue times at 45minutes and everything else under 30 minutes! That’s 70 euros saved.

Flug der Dämonen

This was by far our favorite from Heide Park and we ended up racking about 10 rides in total in two days! The magic seat for us was 6R (last row in the right). In general left side felt weaker or floatier, while right side felt more intense and out of control. The first drop felt so wrong and awesome every time and the prezel loop has some funky grooves going on! It’s also silky smooth, which made Flug take the number 5 spot for me in my top 10.

Colossos

It’s so big it looks unreal. The lift is just massive and the hills just keep going and going. The train also makes funny sounds while passing the airtime hills. Roar of upstop wheels = sweet Intamin airtime. And airtime it provided. First drop and two following hills give you plenty of time to wonder if gravity will ever catch you back again. Surprisingly the turnaround provided the most positive Gs. Helix after MCBR was very rough though, but other than that it ran smoothly.

Krake

I was excited to ride my first dive machine. Being a B&M it was flawless, but somehow it just didn’t connect with me. The drop was fun and gave good airtime, especially in the back, but maybe it just suffers from being so low and short. As I said there’s nothing wrong with it, it’s super smooth and comfortable, but maybe I’m just looking for some more intensity IDK. I’ll have to ride a bigger DM to find out. At the end of the day I ended up enjoying more just watching the beautiful beast roll rather than riding it. I mean come on, the track shaping is sexy af right?

Big Loop and Limit were both smoother, faster and more intense than I expected and I actually enjoyed both of them. Until we rode them the second time… Our first try on Limit was all the way in the back which had me worried, but I actually hurt my head only once (in the helix after Immelmann), but the second time in the middle gave me some serious deep tissue massage in the neck. And thus I now, after riding my first SLC, understand the headbanging people talk about. Big Loop however wasn’t that bad, only the exit of the second loop was rough.

Scream really shows that in drop towers it’s the drop that counts. As I’ve ridden Kingi (at Linnanmäki) countless times, I’ve gotten used to its dropping and braking distances. Scream however has VERY different distances. It feels like it’ll never catch on the brakes and when it does, you can really feel the G’s! I was literally shaking when we got off due to adrenaline (doesn’t happen too often) which only implied another ride immediately after! Bobbahn (#90 for me) was fun and surprisingly long, but the shaking and vibrating really show that smoothness is the key nowadays in rollercoasters. HUSS-land provided us with plenty of spin-n-puke, but sadly all the ride cycles felt kinda short except the Topspin which ran two cycles in a row. Theming was great though, all the rides looked very nice.

Desert Race felt a bit forgettable unfortunately, but it could be because we only ended up riding it once. Log flume had ridiculous lines so we opted for the rafting instead. I always feel rafting rides have more theming than log flumes anyway, and they tend to have more surprises along the way. This was the case at Heide Park as well. The larger monorail was also a fun way to explore the park around the lake. Oh the lake… The lake in the middle of the park is so beautiful I can’t really describe it. It’s just so serene and surrounded with huge rollercoasters, what more could you want? If I could stay in one spot, it’d be right there in the new kiddie area, from where you get to see all the big coasters giving the most beautiful backdrop to a lake ever.

During the two days we ate some more waffles and ice cream, some chicken nuggets and a total of three buffets (I may have gained a pound or two… but hey it’s a holiday, you’re supposed to pamper yourself amirite?).

To sum it all up: Hansa-Heide was a great combo and I recommend both parks to everyone. One day at Hansa and two days at Heide provided us with just the right amount of rides in both. Total of 14 new credits were acquired, three of which made it into my top-10, so I’d say this was a very successful trip! But not only credit-wise, but as a full experience as well

Before we get to the photos, here's also a bonus video I made from the trip:

Magnificent Kärnan

Enter the queue

This element rides better than it looks, IMO

But the height is impressive even from the ground

That's airtime right there

Schlange von Midgard is smaller than Kärnan, but has nice theming too

Money shot

But first, let me take a selfie

Fluch von Novgorod: more green track greatness

Sideways floater before RMC

Outside portion

Another shameless selfie

Cheap but tasty!

Surprise sea creatures

What's that there?

It's a Schwartzkopf!

Nice interaction

Fun and beautiful!

Nessie also shows your speed in the loop

Nessie and Rasender Roland

Aerial shot of Hansa Park

Water rides have their theming too

The climb in the treehouse is followed by this rope bridge

Bye bye Kärnan! Hopefully we get to see each other soon!

Menacing drop of Krake

Such suspense

Nice splash

We see you Scream and Flug der Dämonen!

One final shot of Krake's immelmann

Scream up and close

Countdown: 5....4....0

Flug der Dämonen

Beautiful

Magnificent

You get to choose left or right, but to get front or last row, you have to have a bit of luck

Coasters and more coasters

Flug about to curse or absolve its passengers

Vests didn't lock, providing a comfortable ride

So smooth

Getting artsy

Nearby is Bobbahn as well

Tangled mess of white track and green supports

Minimal crowds on Sunday? Yes please!

My first SLC...

Classic Vekoma

That monorail is just photobombing right there

More yummies!

Holy *@&k that's tall!

Last shameless selfie, I promise!

Beautiful scenery and a MACK powered

More beautiful scenery

Our buffet table was "captured" for us

HUSS land provided all the spin'n'puke one can handle

Lastly a beautiful shot of Heide. Bye bye!

Great report! I would love to visit this park some day! Especially for Karnan! I'm sure that coaster is BEYOND AMAZING!

Nice report! Looks like you had a great time, with both crowds and weather on your side.

what a wonderful park. .thanks for all the pics!

Nice report, and great photos!! Hoping to make it out to these two parks at some point in the next few years!!

Nice photo trip report. How easy is it to get to the parks, and how easy is it to get from one to the other? Also, if you could only do one, which one would you choose?

Karnan is a great ride! One of my favorites from TPR's latest Europe trip.

Nice photo trip report. How easy is it to get to the parks, and how easy is it to get from one to the other? Also, if you could only do one, which one would you choose?

Thanks! Hansa Park's closest train station Sierksdorf is a short walk (less than 1km) away from the park entrance, but Heide's (Wolterdingen) was further, about 2km walk. You can check dbahn.com and Google Maps for more details. I wouldn't say it was difficult, but it isn't as easy as Scandinavian parks (most of which are inside a city). Train schedules can be a bit tricky, since you have to transfer. Hamburg served as a good base for Hansa, but if you're going to visit Heide for more than 1 day, I'd definitely recommend staying in Abenteuerhotel.

If I had to choose either, I'd probably go with Hansa due to its originality and supreme theming! But it's pretty much a "quality vs quantity" thing.