Holiday Park is in Haßloch, Germany and it is home to what some consider the best roller coaster in the world. Our drive up to the park felt akin to the approach of Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana where there was very little except fields and fields of farm land. As an overall note, Lex and I were shocked at how much farmland there was on our drives. It was insanely gorgeous to drive through and the lack of major traffic made it all the more pleasant.
Anyway, we arrived and parked our car approximately 3 hours before park closing. This allowed us to qualify for the discounted admission ticket, which we were very happy to pay for. The entry is Antlantean, which I do not quite understand, but I don’t really mind either because it looked nice.
It was a Monday in October, so while the Halloween events weren’t necessarily happening, the scenic was on full display.
I love parks that feel “grown in” and Holiday Park was no exception. There was a “homey” feeling to the park and it caters really well to the family demographic.
Of course, there is another attraction that caters to thrill seekers from across the globe. Expedition GeForce, built by Intamin in 2001, is deservedly on 99.9% of roller coaster nerds’ “must-ride” list.
At 17 years young, Expedition GeForce has had plenty of time to grow into it’s environment.
At this point, I was ecstatic. There are very few coasters that have gained the notoriety that Expedition GeForce has among enthusiasts.
Who doesn’t love air hills in the woods?
Since it was such a slow crowd day, the ride was only running a one-train operation. We still only had to wait maybe 3-4 cycles, so it just helped build anticipation.
Easily the most iconic part of Expedition GeForce is the insane first drop. It lived up to all expectations.
So what did we think? Expedition GeForce is a Top 10 Coaster in all aspects. Unlike it’s older sister in Sandusky, Ohio, this ride takes all of its elements at great pace. Pretty much every air hill is filled with ejector airtime and the overbank turns are wonderful. The trains feature the excellent T-lab bars that enthusiasts know and love, which adds to the overall experience immensely.
Expedition GeForce completely dominates this park. The only “complaint” about this ride is it’s location. You will soon read about how much we loved Holiday Park and it’s excellent grasp on their family demographic, but this monster almost feels misplaced. I put the word “complaint” in quotes because it’s more of an observation. Part of me wishes this ride was somewhere where millions of guests can enjoy it each year. On the other hand, it makes getting a lap on this ride that much more exclusive.
Regardless, Expedition GeForce is worth the trip. If you care to keep reading about our day at Holiday Park, please do, but if you came to see if Expedition GeForce is worth it, the answer is a resounding yes.
Here is one last picture of some of the delicious layout.
Next up was one of my favorite round rides on the market right now, a Gerstlauer Sky Fly.
I think they are a perfect family thrill ride because it can be as tame or as insane as you want it to be. Each vehicle is equipped with grab bars on the two wings, which guests can strategically use to flip their vehicle over. What if you don’t want to? Then you don’t have to do anything except enjoy the views.
The next credit on the list was the second Premier Ride Sky Rocket II model on the market, Sky Scream.
This was also my first lap on one of these coasters. They have been a hot commodity over the past 6-7 years with 9 installations world-wide.
The unique layout in such a small footprint is intriguing to park operators looking to get the most out of their land and money.
We walked into Sky Scream expecting some lackluster “haunted” queue and boy were we wrong. It went from 0-100 real fast and was extra terrifying because we were the only ones in the line. I’m almost positive we were running by the time we actually arrived in the station. Lexie was furious because she needs to mentally prep herself for those things, which I obviously thought was hilarious.
Personally, I had lower expectations for this ride, but I was very happy with the ride experience. The launches are smooth and the layout is novel enough to me that I really enjoyed Sky Scream. Lex and I are going to have to venture down to Tampa one of these weekends and take a lap on Tigris, which is the newest installation of this model.
At the very back of the park is Holiday Park’s Star Flyer attraction, Lighthouse Tower.
Lighthouse Tower is part of the Beach area of the park. Lexie hates these Starflyer attractions, so I make sure we try to take a spin on them if available.
Heading back to the front of the park, there is a reminder of a former coaster that used to thrill guests at Holiday Park, Super Wirbel.
As we made our way back to the front of the park, we crossed paths with an omnimover dark ride.
While this picture is awful, Lexie’s reaction explains this attraction nicely. Falkenstein Castle is now officially the weirdest dark ride we have ever been on and is yet another reason to visit Holiday Park. I don’t want to give any spoilers away, but here is a video in case you want to see for yourself.
Holiday Park is appropriately Bavarian with much of the theming around main guest thoroughfare.
Roaring Rapids is the park’s spinning river rapids ride. It was not exactly warm out and this is not a coaster credit, so Lex and I opted to continue on our way.
Annubis Free Fall Tower is Holiday Park’s Intamin Giant Drop. The view at the top shows miles and miles of German farmland.
This indoor area is something I want to give Holiday Park a huge shout out for. I was blown away by this space. There was some excellent theming and at least a half dozen attractions for families and children.
Lex and I were really happy that there was a coaster to get us into this area, otherwise we might have missed it. To me, an indoor area like this can be a huge asset to any climate-dictated theme park out there. Sure, it’s not going to keep your teenagers in the park if it starts to rain or snow, but it sure will keep a percentage of families.
The kid’s have a soft play area to get rid of some of their energy, while parents can watch and relax.
Mia’s Elv Flight is easily the best themed Zamperla Windstarz attraction I’ve ever seen.
Lex and I did one more final loop around the park before getting back on the road. Here is a picture of the park’s log flume, Wickie Splash. I was impressed by the quality of the theming, which seems to be a common observation of mine at European parks.
I’ll end this report on the only real action shot of Expedition GeForce that I was able to take that day.
As a coaster enthusiast, Holiday Park was only on the radar because of Expedition GeForce. There is no sugar coating it, but there is just nothing else at the park that would have convinced us to visit in the thrills department. However, Holiday Park is a prime example of a park that you visit for one attraction, but end up staying for hours. If I had to compare it to a park in the USA, I would probably say Lake Compounce. Every time I’d visit Lake Compounce, I’d be dead set on just riding Boulder Dash. Once I was in the park, I would end up looping around the park multiple times taking in all the other attractions. My point is, Holiday Park is an excellent family park that is extremely clean and offers a variety of fun attractions.
Expedition GeForce lives up to the hype. It is an airtime machine while still offering the typical overbank turns that everyone knows so well. If you are considering going to Holiday Park, but aren’t sure if it fits into your itinerary, my vote is to do it. Purchase the 3-hour before closing discounted admission and enjoy this fun, clean, beautiful German park.
For more information on Holiday Park, visit their website at www.holidaypark.de/en,
I am a huge travel and roller coaster enthusiast. I have ridden 504 unique coasters across the world and do not plan on stopping anytime soon. I graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and am now working with a creative firm in Orlando, Florida. 
