Jump to content
  • entries
    43
  • comments
    59
  • views
    14997

Only Teardrops in Denmark - Day 7 - Legoland Billund


Benin

634 views

Day 7 – Legoland Billund

Now here was an interesting one, the Merlin park of the group, a park that is usually a burden to visit in the UK, how would the original fare? Would it be smothered in adverts? Would it be full of low throughput rides? Would we hate it for being part of a massive corporate entity? Answers are found and more…

After once again navigating the emptiness of Denmark and a surprise car park appearing out of nowhere (next door to Billund’s own airport) we had arrived and awaited our entry accompanied by two children and a burdenously annoying theme song.

581880_10152876002450220_774370550_n.jpg

481610_10152876003050220_204299186_n.jpg

486362_10152876003530220_108658138_n.jpg

217357_10152876004190220_205855764_n.jpg

970086_10152876005220220_2040344603_n.jpg

Eventually it opened, and we walked the entire bloody length of the park to arrive at the 2012 Polar Land, and Polar X-Plorer. This was to be the intriguing comparison to Thirteen, purely due to the freefall aspect, how would Zierer’s attempt stand up to Intamin’s extremely good system?

We walked straight through the queue (the cattlepen of death stood on however) and onto the front row of the very comfy trains, and set out on our exploration of the local van-yard behind the park the Artic, and the ride’s surprise appeared. From the first drop to the mountain is actually extremely good and forceful… Grey out forceful in fact. Where did this come from? The first half was such a shock that our entry into the mountain turned into a complete jarring. Unthemed, relatively empty and a broken screen whilst being completely surrounded by the drop system, when the drop itself happened it was ok, but lacked the theatre and quickness that Intamin’s offers. The trundling out finale past some static figures didn’t improve much and eventually you pass the penguin enclosure wondering what happened?

To put it blunty, the drop system is crap in a comparative sense to Intamin’s. The fact that it is hidden and allows for a variation of drops is a real plus point to it, allowing the pre-mentioned theatre and surprise to really take a hold. Maybe Verbolten does this better due to the pure darkness, but Polar fails to use the system to its potential, the trundle out of it making a real mockery of an exciting and impressive first half. The ideal family ride would be the first half of this with the second half of Thirteen it was agreed amongst our group after a second go on the back, where the system is even more blatant than before. A right shame in the end.

6/10

306911_10152876005590220_1666979637_n.jpg

969692_10152876010225220_1230577878_n.jpg

382500_10152876010335220_1438455704_n.jpg

931198_10152876010425220_2016544496_n.jpg

486339_10152876012810220_1300617374_n.jpg

579432_10152876007340220_704108042_n.jpg

Unsure of our next destination, we spotted the Fire Academy next door to Polar Land, without a queue, something rarely seen ever. So we took the advantage and went 2 on 2 once more on it. Perhaps myself and Nicky took it slightly too seriously after the Fussball defeat, but we were back at base long before Mark and Holly had put out the fire. Overall I would say how much fun it was, if slightly tiring in the end. I would love to do this with a full on enthusiast take-over, then it really would get silly.

Next was the Temple, the Laser Raiders of the park, but a Mack Omnimover instead. WHY ARE THE OTHERS MADE BY SALLY CORP? Anyways, it was essentially the same as the others, with the usual array of things that move but with slightly grander sets and a decent finale room.

Wanting more Mack fixings, we went on X-Treme Racers, another Wild Mouse but an actual Mack one, rather than a Maurer clone. Very jolty and rickety throughout this one, but at least tonnes better than the old Jungle Racer in a box.

Completing our Legoland staples, Jungle Racer was actually next, but was a WaveRider this park around. Usual affair here, with waterbombs placed slightly out of reach of the riders, making them absolutely pointless.

969415_10152876005725220_1926471750_n.jpg

944240_10152876006040220_1388577542_n.jpg

971171_10152876006225220_1461741912_n.jpg

923110_10152876006465220_1240445175_n.jpg

984253_10152876006660220_1355219827_n.jpg

969755_10152876006705220_1357728291_n.jpg

294128_10152876006815220_86270037_n.jpg

400690_10152876007050220_1966110983_n.jpg

942399_10152876007255220_1705109739_n.jpg

We then realised we had missed the Ice Pilots Academy back in Polar Land, and knowing that it would have a low throughput, we ran back and went on it before we strayed too far away. It was to be my first experience of a KUKA Robo-Arm ride of any form, having not been on Potterland yet, and the aspect of designing your ride (Read as, press the buttons randomly) was an intriguing idea. We started off slow (Speed 2), picked our moves and on we went to an extremely random and fun experience. So we headed back around and hit up Speed 5 and went X-Treme (as Lego would put it). The differences are quite telling, the transitions are faster and the motions wilder, but still not beyond the realms of too intense for the core audience of the park. A real surprise but with only 20 people max a go, it’s no surprise why these things are so rare, even if they are incredibly random and good fun. When all 5 in one section are going it is a mesmerising experience to say the least.

294105_10152876007475220_1632067971_n.jpg

423921_10152876007910220_1999670310_n.jpg

946866_10152876007685220_276693944_n.jpg

320342_10152876008005220_160107434_n.jpg

968894_10152876008930220_20783967_n.jpg

391601_10152876010145220_2016146793_n.jpg

We had a quick look at the Penguins whilst in the area as well.

942544_10152876011305220_1733234379_n.jpg

931424_10152876011950220_1455563063_n.jpg

988807_10152876011780220_1913887403_n.jpg

576731_10152876012560220_542539489_n.jpg

Back on park, it was time to return to the Legoland staples, and the Dragon coaster, which also returned us onto the path of the Mack. Strangely, this is a powered coaster, which automatically means a single train. WHY LEGOLAND? It still however retains the traditional dark ride section which felt longer and larger than our Windsor counterpart. In addition, the powered system of the ride came into play well on the transition from dark ride to coaster, providing a decent launch into the outdoor layout. It would be better if a second train were to appear on this. Maybe it does? Either way a decent coaster helped by the crazy ride host who singled out Mark and his Viking hat being Swedish and from Djurs.

935400_10152876013430220_272435170_n.jpg

968804_10152876013625220_1814396945_n.jpg

431048_10152876060695220_242232348_n.jpg

307082_10152876060440220_1410149566_n.jpg

941199_10152876059905220_278856466_n.jpg

Upon exiting we realised that the stunt show was about to take place, so we took our seats and were allowed to enjoy an action heavy, dialogue-less romp around the mini-castle set, featuring (unsurprisingly) lots of people landing in water. It was a simple story to follow, but very entertaining, owing to the simple stunt gags they used and the old ‘suspension of disbelief’. I would certainly say that people should catch this (and the pre-show entertainment) if they’re ever at the park.

983930_10152876013880220_1057665703_n.jpg

576596_10152876014725220_2104128531_n.jpg

401086_10152876014975220_246357703_n.jpg

426579_10152876015165220_1965718352_n.jpg

934601_10152876015245220_1589188329_n.jpg

971079_10152876016175220_461202188_n.jpg

391397_10152876016355220_236813184_n.jpg

943243_10152876017590220_207214625_n.jpg

Next door to the show was Viking River Splash, an Intamin version of the ride which is accentuated by the massive lift and drop combo. It’s similar to the other versions, with some scenes practically cloned in but a very different (and dizzy) layout allows it to give its own version of events. The lift and drop is a brilliant finale to have on it as well, and we all fully enjoyed our go on it.

946890_10152876019305220_935353550_n.jpg

We broke for lunch at a Fish and Chips place, where you got (as a basic meal) 3 pieces of cod and a tonne of chips. Denmark <3

After lunch we faffed about what to do next and we elected upon the Pirate Boats, which ended up being a surprise dark ride (and you’ll never guess the ride it was ripping off). It was actually good if very dark at times due to the way in which the lighting was timed to go off between boats, either way I like dark rides that appear from nowhere and this one is no exception, even the duck enjoyed it.

579530_10152876021450220_1123260525_n.jpg

942376_10152876021860220_567164535_n.jpg

484884_10152876022660220_1027405682_n.jpg

431835_10152876022770220_390176887_n.jpg

935321_10152876023080220_2066246976_n.jpg

200059_10152876023305220_465767702_n.jpg

The final coaster of the day was Timber Ride, another Zierer coaster, which was well landscaped and themed but that was about it. We wondered over to the 4D Cinema to see when the Chima show was on, and had ages, so we elected for the Atlantis attraction.

About the only Merlin thing in the park (no, serious), this is a walk-through Sea-Life with crap pre-show (we and the Danish family with us walked out) and a very well themed experience, with lots of buttons that activated bubbles in various figures. There were also Spider-Crabs, everyone loves them right?

988940_10152876023850220_428077388_n.jpg

379609_10152876054355220_512170466_n.jpg

931255_10152876024730220_2116452691_n.jpg

581742_10152876025085220_1118009290_n.jpg

264544_10152876025375220_1475725997_n.jpg

264539_10152876025940220_1467001877_n.jpg

575354_10152876026115220_878570103_n.jpg

574495_10152876026280220_167208908_n.jpg

378069_10152876026620220_854987516_n.jpg

581091_10152876027430220_583792981_n.jpg

968946_10152876029525220_1012340656_n.jpg

423827_10152876029615220_1016226732_n.jpg

We then decided to do Mini-Land, which was the usual high standard you’d expect of a Lego park. We also did the Observation Tower, Lego Top to faff around and get some decent overall views of the park.

969436_10152876030320220_989295157_n.jpg

942346_10152876030460220_1656952489_n.jpg

582023_10152876031375220_441274620_n.jpg

945483_10152876034330220_1631203590_n.jpg

983885_10152876034855220_1053937958_n.jpg

988460_10152876035825220_247079871_n.jpg

941295_10152876051300220_198558108_n.jpg

295066_10152876053570220_881090732_n.jpg

292913_10152876053305220_922979434_n.jpg

252288_10152876052685220_173427961_n.jpg

485487_10152876052315220_414242757_n.jpg

581817_10152876051190220_546983430_n.jpg

934739_10152876050985220_1125693869_n.jpg

431141_10152876050425220_1366615768_n.jpg

941586_10152876050125220_1208030997_n.jpg

988969_10152876049245220_1550367673_n.jpg

969264_10152876048590220_1154316364_n.jpg

968834_10152876047885220_60620376_n.jpg

253199_10152876042315220_142320868_n.jpg

423830_10152876045645220_2138829756_n.jpg

Way too many photos to choose from on this one

We ended up back in the Western area and decided to go on Mine Train, which is literally a train going through a mine. It had a mini dark ride section with a non Lego figure within (the HORROR) and was rather pointless if I’m honest. Lego Canoe was done by myself and Nicky, and was a rather boring Log Flume that went past a few animal figures with a singular drop. I might have fallen asleep mid-ride.

After the faff it was time for Legends of Chima 4D, new for 2013 and a tie into the new range. I have no idea what was going on and it was even in English. It centred around a tour of the land and featured very basic 3D and 4D effects, and the two main characters were friends, then enemies. It made no sense. Then Mark said he thought they were fighting of Cheese rather than Chi, which made it funnier, but still no sense was made. To be young and naïve again.

581858_10152876057985220_1114364217_n.jpg

574734_10152876057655220_1564663165_n.jpg

581258_10152876057505220_841956685_n.jpg

401852_10152876057280220_1111416609_n.jpg

923147_10152876058085220_1576487232_n.jpg

960243_10152876055110220_932056268_n.jpg

After that we had done pretty much everything we wanted to on park, so a few re-rides on Dragon, Temple, Ice Pilots and Polar X-Plorer were done. Overall Legoland Billund is a very nice park, and the least Merlin of the group, which can only be considered a good thing. We really enjoyed our day there but I sense it’d be absolute hell when packed solid and some of those cattlepen extensions were in use.

984191_10152876062725220_23746410_n.jpg

0 Comments


Recommended Comments

There are no comments to display.

Guest
Add a comment...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...