Park Profile Family park extends olive branch to older kids BAYERN PARK
A general view of the park showing Freischütz and Wlldwasserrafting
Like many outdoor attractions in Europe, Bayern Park in Germany had a challenging 2012 due to the weather. Yet the last few years have seen a steady attendance increase thanks to new additions like an ABC water ride and last season’s Freischütz launch coaster from Maurer Söhne. Owen Ralph visits Bavaria to discover how the former animal park has widened both its range of attractions and its target market
A
lfons Hochhholzer realised his dream of opening a park in 1985. The original Vistaler Wildpark, as it was known at the time, was located by the woods that now sit at the back of the property.
It was in 1991 that Hochhholzer transformed the animal park into an amusement park and, given its location – about 120km north east of Munich – Bayern (Bavaria) Park seemed as good a name as any. New attractions added that season included a Wiegand Toboggan (Rodelbahn), train ride, pig ride, bumper boats, electric cars, a slide, play area and more. Over the decade and a half that followed, a steady stream of new attractions were added including electric motorbikes, a horse ride, dragon ride, frog ride, Reverchon log flume, scenic round boat ride, two Zierer Tivoli coasters (one large, the other small and frog-themed), a second Wiegand Toboggan, Huss Airboat, Heege Tower, wave swinger and swinging ship. Star Shuttle, a Heege Butterfly ride, is a low-tech alternative to the park’s selection of rollercoasters, whilst other attractions that use little or no power include slides, jumping pillows and various other playground features. Twelve attractions feature no age restriction whatsoever and nearly everything else in the park can be ridden by those aged five and under. Sill managed by the founding family, Silke Holzner (Alfons’ niece) has been the helm as managing director since the sudden death in 2009 of Josef Hochhholzer (Alfons’ son). The park is relatively light on theming but includes some nice landscaping and several typical Bavarian buildings including a Baroque church and a house that is home to Mrs Hochhholzer Snr (Alfons’ widow).
Upping the ante Bavarian theming! 48
The year 2007 was bittersweet for the Hochhholzer family as Alfons passed away before the start of the
season, but then Bayern Park launched Wildwasserrafting, a large River Splash ride from ABC Engineering, together with a children’s railroad. Featuring 600-metres of water channels and a spiralling decent that really put the circular rafts into a spin, Wildwasserrafting also set a new standard for the level of theming in the park, something which has continued with the introduction of Freischütz. “People like water attractions,” says Holzner, “so we decided to make a very good one with Wildwasserrafting. “It was a good investment because we managed to increase our attendance from 250,000 to 320,000 guests a year.” After the addition in 2010 of a play hall called
Burg Fellbach, Bayern Park upped the ante in 2011 with Freischütz, Maurer Söhne’s first Flying Launch Coaster. The 480-metre-long ride take full advantage of the park’s steep hillside, with it highest point of 24-metres actually 35-metres higher than the station. The LSM launch – from 0 to 80km/h in two seconds – is followed by a top hat, loop, half pipe, heartroll, inclined loop, trench, another heartroll and then an overbanked turn before the two-car, 12- seater train races back through the station. There’s no let up – and no braking – until the train come to a standstill at the end of the ride.
“I guess we were a little surprised when Bayern
Park started talking to us about a ride on this scale,” admits Maurer Söhne sales manager Hermann Bockhorni. “Then again, we already knew that Silke was a bit of a rollercoaster junkie, and we were pleased to design a custom layout that suits the park.” “We wanted a launch coaster,” says Holzner,
“because it is the first in Bavaria. There are many coasters with a chain lift, but this is something new; the nearest launch coaster is at Europa-Park. I personally like the coaster because of the action. It’s
NOVEMBER 2012
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