Anac0nda Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 One day at work at Linnanmäki, we decided to do a quick getaway trip to Power Park with a group of four. All of us work as ride-operators (this is my fourth year and I have a total of 7 major rides I can operate). On Thursday we gathered at Linnanmäki and took a few rides on Kingi etc. before beginning our journey. We drove by car 415 km from Helsinki to Power Park (about 6 hours of driving) and slept the night at the nearby city of Seinäjoki. On Friday we visited Power Park, which was open from 11am to 7pm and after closing we drove back home, arriving back in Helsinki about 2am. Like many of our co-workers, we too have a very good sense of humor, especially regarding amusement parks, so you can guess we laughed a LOT during these 36 hours Weather didn't look very promising with signs of thunder and rain but it turned out better: only two little showers and after 3pm clear skies. But because of the forecast everything was a walk-on, which suited us well. The staff was very friendly as were the other customers. You could totally tell we weren't in the capital city-area of Finland. Not saying that people here are rude, but they certainly were more hospitable there. That made the day even better. Anyway, best rides at Power Park are definitely Thunderbird (GCI), Fabbri Booster and Technical Park Pegasus and they all delivered yet again. Thunderbird in the back has awesome airtime and pacing and it seems to gain speed during the course rather than losing it. Booster is just pure insane and one of the few rides to make me nervous. It's not the cycle that gets me rather than the waiting at the top while the other car is being loaded. Pegasus on the other hand is my personal favourite flat ride of all time. Only Flying Fury comes close to it. Pegasus is basically a Top Scan but without the uncomfortable laterals. This one has a vicious cycle as it begins rather slowly but then pauses giving a feeling that the cycle is over. Instead it starts to spin even faster and for a longer time than before! I love it The new ride for this season is a Fun House themed to construction site. It has an interesting concept: it's basically just switchbacks with two routes going next to each other: one with obstacles and the other without. You can easily switch between the two making it very easy if you want to pass something. I did find some flaws though. Every obstacle is timed with a sensor in the beginning of a section, and if you want to revisit some obstacles (which we did a LOT because of the light crowds. I think we spent a total of 20 minutes on one single round!) you'd have to constantly wave your hand in the sensors. Also, the whole house consists of three big halls, and because some of the obstacles are loud, the whole place seemed to echo and amplify all the sounds. I don't want to imagine what it's like in the peak days. The theming was a bit scarce, but I did like it, and some of the obstacles were a ton of fun. I'd say it's a good fun house, all in all. Enough ramble, on with the pics: Here's our merry group. I'm the one with the Daft Punk shirt. Here's the park map And here are the height restrictions We have arrived! Not even the dark clouds could bring us down, we were hyped! This building is the first one at Power Park and houses a pizza buffet upstairs. However we chose to eat at a nearby steakhouse. My minute steak came with two delicious sauces! A credit! The operator was very friendly and let us ride multiple times Girls just wanna have fun There's a shooting dark ride inside. It has a good story but I could only focus on the shooting. Power Park sure knows how to do facades. Pretty park Also, the Vekoma death machine gave a very smooth ride with practically no headbanging at all. My favourite is the backwards cobra in the front seat. So disorientating! Recent water rides -area. There are rumors of a Wild mouse coming in the future. They even dried the seats for us I could totally fit a wild mouse here. The splash ride is called Kwai river, as is the nearby thai-restaurant. Yeah, it gave us a good soaking. Also, the king Thunderbird looms in the background! Such a nice station. Twistyyyy! Clouds started to clear These family rides have been here since the very beginning. Joyride may look small and innocent but actually gives decent speed My favourite, Pegasus. I give it two thumbs and two feet up! The Fun House, which was an arcade until this year. Moving floors, air streams, spinning discs, they had it all! Dat face Imagine this without the bucket for more laughs I don't think this would pass a safety inspection The weather was much better in the afternoon Undershot for us nerds There's just something about Cobra that makes it very pretty to photograph Cobra has a nice station as well. While the brakes are a bit loud, the newer trains are very smooth. Dragon Tower is built by Moser Rides. Compared to Kingi at Linnanmäki this one starts braking earlier and harder IMO. But man you could see far from the top! Dragon Tower also operates as a scenic ride. You could choose "slow down" of "fast down" Dragon Towers station. Only one employee though (Linnanmäki has two) There was also a Fabbri spinning machine of death. Unbalanced, it gives a fun ride, but heed my warning and hold on with both hands and feet. Typhoon gave a couple of good swings but could perhaps have a longer cycle. One last money shot. Thanks for reading Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Power Park's Cobra is the best Vekoma Boomerang I've ever ridden; granted, that's not saying much, but it's a fun and painless experience. I'm a fan of Thunderbird and the park's shooting dark ride, too. The fun house looks like a nice addition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 It's cool to keep seeing this park build and expand while maintaining some nice quality and theming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan P. Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 It looks like a fun little park. Does the drop ride break down often? Im just curious to know if its not just Mach Tower that has the technical issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillerman1 Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 I think the area of Power Park is by far the most northern I have ever been on the globe. I don't think the sun ever went completely down while TPR visited in 2009. I enjoyed this place immensely and the hotel on-site was nice too. Excellent park and PTR. Thank you for sharing. Did you partake in the go-karts? Absolutely can't wait to get back to Finland again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_koppen Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Great photos from a great park! Really hope the Gerstlauer is coming for 2015. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPDave Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Great report! Love the Daft Punk shirt BTW I love Power Park, the hotels were great and the grand prix was one of my more memorable TPR trip moments!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 ^That was a memorable stay at Power Park. The Gran Prix was fun, if (to me, at least) at bit terrifying. The Thunderbird ERT was one of the best such sessions ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreatAdventurer Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 I have that same Daft Punk Shirt! Great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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