A lesser-known park, Freizeit-Land Geiselwind, is located in a small town of 2,000 residents northwest of Nuremberg. This grid-like park is set up like a permanent fair, filled with European classics and a pretty large collection of different portable coasters, including the only Zierer spinning coaster model. There are no highly-themed areas, but they do attempt to break up the park into 6 themed lands: Forbidden Kingdoms, Land der Piraten (Land of Pirates), Verruckter Farm (Crazy Farm), Drachenbucht (Dragon Bay), Freizet-Land (Leisure Country), and Safari. A nice wooded area lines the backside, so Geiselwind looks to have plenty of land to expand if they wanted.
Notable Attractions:
Goldhupfer – Nautic Jets: The Nautic Jets feature a flying jump into the water on a boat. The ride uses a cable system to then automatically reset itself. You don’t get wet apart from a few drops, thanks to the design of the boats.
Cobra: Is this the most painful roller coaster ever? Could be. It’s so bad that it’s good!
Piraten Spinner: The only spinning Zierer Roller Coaster in the world. A family coaster that is very fun for everyone.
Blauer Enzian: A MACK Rides powered family coaster, it’s probably the highest quality attraction at the park.
Draken Hohle: This portable coaster model has found a permanent home here. It was added in 2019 for the park’s 50th anniversary.
Tickets: Approx. €45
We’d start off our day on Goldhopper, the classic Nautic Jets. I’ve always wanted to go on one of these, and it did not disappoint. They’re a blast and many of the smaller parks around Europe seem to have them.
Next, we head to the ‘Forbidden Kingdoms’ at the back of the park; that’s where you’ll find one of the more infamous coasters out there, Cobra. An “Interpark” model, they made just under ten of these, and you can see that it’s going to have an insane amount of positive G’s and not a lot of comfort; why they didn’t sell more? This little ride packs a punch, literally, and even does two laps, so if you think you made it out alive the first time, you do have to go around again.
It’s fun. It’s painful. It’s not a coaster that you’ll not necessarily want to go on again, but one of those that I’m glad I finally got the experience to ride because of its odd configuration and peculiar layout. It’s got to be one of the shortest coasters with an inversion, the sidewinder, Immelman-like element at 33 feet. It’s parks like this one, that are located off the beaten path, where you’ll find these unusual models.
If themed trash cans are your thing, you’ve got to come here. Ride after ride, attraction after attraction, they line every pathway here. There’s also the first ‘bouncy cushion(?)’ that we’ve seen on our trip. Many other parks have these large jumping areas and they’re a fun side stop.
The spinning Zierer, Piraten Spinner, looks like it was made in a backyard, but again, it has that charm that makes it an awesome ride. I’d do it again and again. It’s just a fun, janky ride and that’s what makes this place special.
We hopped on the Blauer Enzian (Blue Gentian), a MACK-powered coaster. It’s probably the highest quality attraction at the park, and another ride used previously in the fair circuit, like almost every coaster here.
We’d finish off with Draken Hohle (Dragon Cave), another fun, backyard-looking Zierer, and again, the only model of this kind in the world. A great indoor-outdoor ride, it came from Movie Park Germany and was built in the 80’s. It looks like nothing has changed about its vehicles since the 80s either, so that’s a big plus. It’s always fun to go on older rides that take you back to a time period that you didn’t live through but hear stories about.
Watch The Video Version for Added Visuals:
Days Recommended: Half Day
Freizeit-Land Geiselwind is a half-day-or-less stop that will introduce you to some different types of attractions, and for those who are into the older rides, it’s a pleasant surprise. If you count how many different coasters you’ve been on, you can get 7 credits here quite easily, and half of them are quite special and rare. Be aware that some family coaster models rotate the hours that they operate, so you may have to stick around a bit longer than you originally expected. This is not a park that I need to go back to before any major new additions, but they do add coasters quite frequently, so if you’re ever nearby it’s worth a stop at this fun little place!
It’s off to Nuremberg for the fair which opened the next afternoon. It gave us a little bit of time to take a breather, consume some much-needed food and beverage, as well as ride a couple of the more popular traveling fair rides.
Back in the car and we head to Schloss Thurn next, which is a park with some activities, rides, and shows thrown in.
