There is little that beats a theme park visit for the adventurous and thrill-seeking. Summer is a great time to visit theme parks.
In Norway, over the years, we’ve had a wide range of theme parks, all featuring different attractions designed to tickle bellies full of cotton candy.
But we’re not alone in that here on the mountain. Europe abounds with theme parks of all shapes and sizes.
Even Stangebye has been immersed in roller coasters since he was a kid. There’s nothing quite like visiting a theme park or when the amusement park arrives in town.
-Stangebye says the feeling of freedom, the feeling of flying, the feeling of good powers is what he loves most about rollercoaster rides.
For many people, interest in rollercoasters may wane a bit over the years, but that wasn’t the case for Stangbay. Since opening the Thundercoaster course in Tusenfryd in 2001, he has devoted much of his free time to loops, spins, and speed increases.
– I’ve taken roller coasters in 50 countries, visited over 200 theme parks and taken 735 unique roller coasters.
– Sometimes I’m on pure roller coaster rides, but if I’m on another ride, I usually visit the parks that are there. When I was in Iran, for example, I visited many local amusement parks, but I didn’t go there on a mission.
Rollercoaster rides are something I’ve done with my family and kids and I think it’s a nice thing to do together.
Where most parents probably look forward to back home when they visit theme parks, even Stangebye is quite the opposite.
– Roller coasters are often very unique. They are designed and built specifically for the garden in which they are set up.
Well-designed tracks, yeah, that’s what Stangebye is looking for when he’s sprinting on a roller coaster.
– It’s too bad there. Some are thrown between walls, others are carefully calculated and you notice that they have correctly calculated the cornering design and speed. Then you can make it a fun experience.
Weightlessness is what many people think is cute, or airtime as we call it in the environment.
– How many cars do you drive this year and how many cars do you plan to drive?
– This year I drove a newly opened car in Liseberg and a newly opened car in Tusenfryd. But I was also in Arabia in January and took a total of 17 courses in Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. This summer I will also go to Alicante and visit the Terra Mitica park.
Stangebye is a member of the European Coaster Club.
– There are people we call lovers, who love roller coasters and amusement parks. We are 2,300 members in total, ten percent of whom are active and take part in trips with the club. There are 30 active members in Norway.
– The roller coaster doesn’t have to be the biggest in the world or the fastest in the world. What’s important, he thinks, is that it’s an experience from start to finish.
List of the top ten
1. Tosenfried (Norway): The Storm – Legend of the Dragon
First on roller coaster enthusiasts’ list is the newly opened attraction in Tusenfryd outside Oslo.
– It’s a relatively unique roller coaster. It is a steel track where you sit under the track itself (the so called inverted coaster).
To gain speed, most courses have chain drives that pull you up, then gravity is there to bring you back down and further around the track.
This is not the case with Storm – The Dragon Legend. There is an electromagnet that ensures you boost forward, then backward and last time forward to gain enough speed to complete the course. It is the first of its kind in Europe.
– It is a unique and exciting course where you really feel the adrenaline and the forces of acceleration.
Netavisen has tested it. This is how it went:
Nettavisen was among the first to test the new Tusenfryd roller coaster, which has no equal in Europe.
2. Liseberg (Sweden): Helix
The roller coaster expert considers Liseberg outside Gothenburg a favorite for those who love speed and thrills.
– There is one thing I would like to mention first. The park is one of the few city parks in the world, which gives it a slightly different atmosphere. Go for a walk and have dinner, not everything has to revolve around attractions
The helix, which opened in 2014, is a steel track with two reinforcements, similar to the three Storm – The Dragon Legend in Tusenfryd.
It seems to be a relatively long track with a maximum speed of 100 kilometers per hour.
– This gives you a lot of loops and tornadoes.
3. Liseberg (Sweden): Balder
There are a lot of fun roller coasters in Liseberg, and the Balder wooden roller coaster, which has a top speed of 90 kilometers per hour and a descent angle of 70 degrees, is a real thrill.
This is also one of Stangebye’s biggest favourites.
– It’s insanely smooth. Most wood tracks can get rocky, but this one is incredibly good to drive for being a wood track.
4. Tivoli (Denmark): roller coaster
Roller coaster lovers will then highlight the old Rutschebanen located on Copenhagen’s Tivoli, which many Norwegians will likely have something to do with.
– It is one of the oldest roller coasters in the world and is one of the few that has a brake factor in the road. It’s a bit unique because it’s so old, Stangebye says and adds that the fairgrounds are also one of the city’s few parks.
5. Kolmården (Sweden): Wildfire
Kolmården Zoo is located east of Norrköping in Sweden. Not only are there wild animals, there is also a Wildfire roller coaster.
The roller coaster is the fastest wooden roller coaster in Europe, with a maximum speed of 115 kilometers per hour.
– It also has a steep hill of 83 degrees. It’s too steep for a plank trail, Stangebye says.
The roller coaster expert adds that in Europe there are 1,440 tracks in total, but only 40 of them are made of wood, which makes them a little more scenic.
6. Europa-Park (Germany): Blue Fire Megawaster
At Germany’s most famous amusement park, located halfway between Freiburg and Strasbourg, you’ll also find one of Stangebye’s favorite roller coasters.
It is one kilometer long and has a maximum speed of 100 kilometers per hour. The roller coaster specialist says the ride is incredibly comfortable.
7. Holiday Park (Germany): Expedition G-Force
Yes, if you are in Germany, you can consider visiting the Holiday Park, which is located between Frankfurt and Stuttgart. The park includes one of the largest roller coasters in Europe, Expedition GeForce.
Stangebye says the roller coaster is a high-quality track with a top speed of 120 kilometers per hour.
– There’s a lot of airtime, you’re so weightless, and that’s what many think is cool.
8. PortAventura Park (Spain): Shambhala
A little west of Barcelona is the PortAventura Park amusement park. It features one of the fastest roller coasters in Europe.
– It goes at most 134 kilometers per hour, says the roller coaster expert.
9. Djurs Sommerland (Denmark): pirate
Denmark is a country of many amusement parks and roller coasters for young and old.
At Djurs Sommerland, Europe’s largest Summerland (whatever that means), you’ll find a gem of a roller coaster fit for the slightly smaller roller coaster, Piraten.
Rated one of the best roller coasters in the world, the amusement park says on its website, but it receives support from Stangebye.
– It’s not violent, but it’s nice to drive. It is a very comfortable track for kids to ride. It’s not very big, but it does the trick, he says.
10. Phantasialand (Germany): Winja’s Fear & Force
In the German amusement park Phantasialand there are a lot of attractions and roller coasters.
Of the seven that the park has, Winja’s Fear & Force is a favorite among roller coasters.
– he is very funny. There are two parallel tracks, both with slightly different elements. It is a steel track where the karts rotate a bit. Each course has elements of surprise in the dark, he says, without revealing what.
To find out, you almost have to test it yourself.
“Coffee trailblazer. Certified pop culture lover. Infuriatingly humble gamer.”
