Energylandia - Friday 7th July 2023
Though our flight had arrived late the night before we were up bright and early to catch the coach from Katowice to Energylandia. The weather had predicted a hot and sunny day with maybe some clouds, and the morning gave us a lot of hope. The coach was picked up from the coach station for the city a short walk from our hotel, the journey took around an hour to get to the park and as we got close we started to see the wheel, Hyperion, and Zadra in the distance we were getting excited for the day ahead.
The coach dropped us off right at the entrance to the park, the rollers were still down and people were gathered outside ready to enter, I took this opportunity to take a photo of the main entrance before we joined the queue. The park is very reminiscent of more well-known parks like Disney, which make a fanfare of the opening of the park with their mascots out and music playing, making for a very welcoming and exciting atmosphere. We were let into the park about 10mins before opening and then held just a little way in for the exact opening time.
We made a B-Line for the back of the park so Zadra was first, we weren’t too clear on where we were going but it was fairly well signposted and following the crowd worked, especially for finding the only tunnel to the other side of the park (there's a road that runs through the centre of the park so the expansions called for a tunnel). I had heard that Zadra’s queue if open to its full length can be a LONG walk, however, we lucked out that the (what I believe to be) shortcut gate was open.
Once we approached the station you arrive at the locker area and I will say their locker system is very well planned out, most of the lockers are double door in the queue so you access one side before boarding and the other after unload (very similar to Velocicoaster) and are usually located not long before boarding. The lockers are paid but for access all day it cost me less than £7 so very worth it, you get a printed wristband with a barcode on it, you approach one of the machines in the bank of lockers and it opens a door for you. When you return to the other side you do the same. Only a few weren’t double sided and those you could open and close multiple times.
Once we were de-stuffed at the lockers we head upstairs to discover basically no one up there, so sure we waited for the front, we were on the third train that we saw. A first for me the front row is given goggles to protect their eyes (and look super cool while riding). The experience itself is phenomenal, there is a very good reason this is in a lot of people's top 5 rides and some have it as their number 1. Even at the very start of the day before it had warmed up, it kept its insane pace throughout the course, element after element till you hit the break run, we especially enjoyed the length of the upsidedown stall. This was Jason’s first RMC he really enjoyed it and it was up in his top 5 right away however to quote him “I like it but I think it’s too smooth”. Right, so we definitely need to get a ride on it once it’s warmed up.
As the park wasn’t too busy and I had been silly and not had a drink all morning we took a quick drink break in the area just outside the Zadra gift shop, just to make sure no headaches would occur cause we had a LOT more credits to get. We took some time to really take in the theme and design of the area, something we would end up doing a lot.
Next up was Draken, a kiddie coaster with no queue so we got the ride to ourselves, though we learnt from Blue Flyer at Blackpool and took a row each. I kinda wish we had someone to film us on there as two adults on a kiddie coaster with Zadra looming in the background would have made for a funny video. The ride is a very standard kiddie ride, nothing special but not a bad place to watch Zadra from. Two Credits down.
Frida is the other coaster in the Smoczy Gród area of the park, a Vekoma Family Steel Coaster (remember that as you might start to notice the same thing we did), fun colours and looked fairly tame. We were both caught a little off guard by this ride, it picks up more speed than you might originally think, so we had a right laugh at the speed and just all-around enjoyment of this ride. Works as a nice step up from Draken in the area.
Speeding through those credits next up Abyssus, which is located in the park’s Aqualantis land, a water-themed zone that took inspiration from the mythical city of Atlantis. The area is very pretty and really shows what the park is going for in the newer areas between this and Smoczy Gród they really wanted their new lands to have this high-themed design to them.
Again little to no queue for Abyssus and as the front row was taken we opted for the back row, I haven’t had much experience with the Vekoma launch coaster restraints before, a little reminiscent of other manufacturers just with a vest attached. However, I think due to the handle design I find (and Jason to a point) it is very difficult to lower all the way yourself as with other rides, I needed (and would continue to need) the operator to push it the last inch or so till it was fully in place. Small gripe but otherwise they are very comfortable.
The ride experience was fantastic, it was longer than either of us thought and the way it interacted with its surroundings and the station made for some cool moments alongside the big elements. When we rode the water below it was drained so all water effects were turned off, so didn’t get the full theming experience, I don't think this took anything away from our experience but if we had previously ridden it with them it may have. Overall a very good ride.
Up next was the other coaster in the Aqualantis area of the park, Light Explorers. If you want a true idea of how much of a quiet day for the park it was (water park less so, looked rammed) we walked right onto the front row then sat in the vehicle for about 5 mins for more people to arrive and board… Yeah not a busy day. This was the first Vekoma family boomerang of the day, this one weaves its way over water, past the boat ride and semi-close to Abyssus and seems like it would be fairly thrilling for younger guests, a nice middle step between the kiddie coasters and the big thrills of the park.
Time to cross back over to the other side of the park and our first stop was the first one you encounter on the other side of the park, Formula.
Formula is another Vekoma launch coaster this time themed to F1 racing with the design being the Ferrari F1 Team. There was a little bit of a queue we maybe waited like 10mins before boarding and managed the front row (people ahead of us went for the middle so lucked out). This was a shorter layout to Abyssus and frankly, I preferred Abyssus whereas Jason just about preferred this, so it’s here nor there it's all down to preference, they are both good launch coasters. This has a pretty fun launch right into an inversion and does keep the thrills coming. The ride ops on this ride were probably the best we experience all day (not that any weren’t good) they were quick on loading and checking so the two train ops were smooth.
Now we had a different milestone this holiday, it would be Jason's 69th Credit and he wanted it to be a good one so we went with Hyperion. He loves hypers, fast coasters, and airtime so seemed like a good fit for a milestone (still trying to figure out what is likely to be his 100th/if I can work it to be something in particular). So we had been warned about Zadra’s queue but no one warned us about Hyperion’s, I don’t know if normally it has another door open but the walk all the way to the top of the ramped area to then have to go back down all those flights of stairs just to discover a 5min queue was interesting. Again the queue for the front wasn’t the worst so we joined, maybe a 15min wait at most.
Hyperion being a 4-wide Intamin Hyper was different, the trains were reminiscent of the B&M hyper trains while still being Intamin trains. The middle two seats being raised was odd and I’m not going to pretend to fully know the reason behind this, this was another ride where the front row was given goggles to wear.
On to the actual experience, it’s a bloody good one, up there with some of the best B&M hypers it’s fast with amazing inversions, banked elements, and plenty of airtime to go around. The restraints are the usual lap bar only so you have freedom of movement on your upper body, which Jason is a fan of he was flying around and having an absolute blast. As we got off the ride Jason mention not being sure of which he preferred, Hyperion or Zadra, so we knew we needed at least one more ride on each to try to settle it.
Now we were approaching midday and it was warm and sunny so we thought this would be the best time to tackle Speed so that we would be fully dry by the end of the day. And our luck says that it came over cloudy the moment we joined the queue. Speed is an Intamin water coaster with a vertical lift, the first section out of the station on its way to the lift is very calm, log flume like almost, this changes around the bend as you approach the lift which takes you up to over 50m in the air, and then you complete the track with two splashdown elements. The track layout itself is okay but could do with some more exciting elements but did get you pretty wet, wetter than we were expecting or really wanted to be. Fun but be prepared every row gets wet down to the design of the vehicles.
Just around the corner from Speed was Happy Loops, a fairground kiddie ride that spins. Jason doesn’t like spinning but off-ride most cars weren’t spinning that much and it was a credit so we queued up. We were very obviously the only ones in the queue without children but wasn’t the first time nor would it be the last. Unfortunately, at boarding, we were split up to fill two gaps, and Jason chose poorly. I did not notice when we split up but the vehicle he was getting into was unbalanced compared to mine, three adults and 1 very small child. So the man who is not a fan of spinning ended up in a vehicle that spun a lot. It was an okay kiddie ride, the kids on our train seemed to be having fun bar one hit its head, Jason was not having fun.
We decided while we were tackling one spinning ride best to get both out of the way so we headed for Viking, which I had spotted its location from the top of the lift on Speed. On route, we spotted churros and ice cream and noted to come back in a bit for a food and drink break.
Viking, what to say about Viking… it spins, acts like a wild mouse, is damn rough, and neither of us would ride it again. Jason would rather fight an actual Viking than ride it again. But got the credit so that works.
Now the original plan was right to food but Boomerang was right next door so quickly do that then food.
Boomerang had a small queue and had to wait for two trains before boarding. The people in front of us went to the back so we went to the front. As we were waiting to board two young boys approached the second-row gate, didn’t think anything of it at first but once the air gates opened they tried to jump in front of us to take the front row, a hand in front of them blocking their way and a quick no stopped them but a little annoying but probably was our only bad queuing experience of the day and a minor one at that. Most people were polite and kind.
From the name you might have guessed this is a Vekoma family boomerang, it really should have had a better name, especially with a bat in the logo Bat-erang is right there. Different layout from Light Explorers but is still a good boomerang with a spike through a building element. A fun mid-thrill coaster.
Okay now the craving for food was getting high so we made the snack pitstop, Jason got churros and I got ice cream and they did not skimp on either large portions for the both of us. Jason was expecting a couple but I think it was something like 7 or 8 full churros nearly too many. The sugar boost and drinks were needed and we took a quick break just to reset a little before the rest of the day.
Refuelled and ready to go we hit up Dragon Rollercoaster which is a Vekoma suspended family coaster, not an SLC, Vekoma’s more comfortable suspended coaster. The two other versions of this model I had ridden were fairly tame but from Formula, Speed, and the park in general this one looked a bit more thrilling so was excited to check it out. We opted for the back row, as the front was taken, and this was the right choice we were dragged over the top of the lift hill and through the whole course, its a very thrilling for this model of ride and features a drop into a dragons mouth what's not to love? Probably my most surprising experience of the day, not what I was expecting and for the right reasons.
Now it was time for the dreaded SLC, not that I’d heard much about this one but it’s an SLC I’ll be more surprised if it was smooth than anything. Up to this point, Jason had enjoyed the two SLCs he had done and was starting to think people just didn’t like it a little rough. Mayan proved him wrong. We were either front or second row frankly I can’t remember as I was more focused on trying to prevent a headache. It’s a classic rough SLC, with terrible transitions and just shaky to all hell. I finally found an SLC Jason did not like, he understands their hate now, to quote him “It had some very cool near misses it just did them terribly, probably would have been more fun if it hit the other track.”
After the pain of an SLC we thought it was about time to do something we knew we would enjoy. So quick photo break then time for a second ride on Zadra, this time we were towards the back of the train. It had warmed up but maybe not fully however was running two trains. Jason got a better idea of why people love RMCs as it was hauling its way to a point but there was still a potential need for a third ride. We would be back later.
Kiddie coasters time, so we headed for Circus Coaster. Here’s probably where I should explain how I was introduced to credit counting, I was introduced via the wonderful world of the internet, I believe Reddit. How I was introduced was that powered coasters are not credits, I know not everyone counts this way but I saw it as logical as a way to cut off between stuff like dark rides and coasters. Jason however has counted historic ones but still isn’t sure if he will going forward, it’s up to him, doesn’t really matter how you count just that you are having fun in my books. So this was meant to be a potential credit for Jason and not me. As we approached it was closing for the day, which was odd as there were hours left in the operating day at this point. Oh well just move on to the next.
Mars, a kiddie credit, a really themed kiddie credit, a not-so-smooth kiddie credit. Honestly, I was really worried about my phone I left it in my pocket cause kiddie credit but the amount I was being thrown around in the seat it kept hitting the middle bar of the lap bar. Neat little ride but not smooth if you aren't wedged in.
Time for my first ever wacky worm Frutti Loop Coaster, I’m serious I’ve gotten this far on credits and not got on a wacky worm, at one point this coaster was going to be my joke 200th credit but it didn’t work out oh well. It's the standard affair of a wacky worm, somehow got the front row but after the Blue Flyer incident we try and get a row each on small coasters so Jason was in row 2, there was a photo with my holding the antenna and looking like I’m having a great time.
Last credit of the day! Energus! A Vekoma Family Coaster (starting to see a pattern yet?) different from Frida, a little slower (just a tad) and didn’t take us as much by surprise are Frida's but a great family ride that made a fun but not too thrilling end to the 16 credit day.
Well, credits down, time to get some more rides on Hyperion and Zadra in and take some more photos. We headed for Hyperion from Energus as it was right next door and went for the back row, waited maybe 15 mins and due to a single rider in our row ended up both on the middle seats. Hyperion had warmed up a bit though tried to cool us down a bit with water to the face if either of us had been in the lower seats on the outside we would have got a face full of water on the splash effect, sorry single rider for that unfortunately happening to you.
With a second ride in Jason was having a hard time on ranking Zadra and Hyperion and also sorting out his top 3. We decided to go for a wander for photos then head back to Zadra again. When we got back to Zadra there wasn’t a huge queue but there was a bit, all just on the upper level above the lockers. Probably against our best judgement and at the sacrifice of a last ride on Hyperion we queued for the front again, to get the fully warmed up front row experience.
It was HAULING, properly running at full speed and no letting up, the best ride of the day on it, and further confused Jason on rankings. Unfortunately, due to the time we spent in the Zadra queue, we could not risk a ride on Hyperion as it may have meant we would miss our coach back to Katowice. So we settled for a few more pictures and headed for the coach.
After a pretty full-on day an hour journey on the coach was welcome to unwind. Once we were back in Katowice it was a quick stop at Lidi for drinks and then to the McDonald’s across from our hotel to get takeout to eat in the room. We were dead and happy about it, we had a fantastic day.
We went to Energylandia with some expectations about how good this place was but I think we both can say we were blown away by this place. The park is huge with so much to do and most areas being fairly highly themed. We literally only touched the rollercoasters and barely fit them into a day open 10am to 8pm with only 3 re-rides. There were still so many flat rides, theatres, and shows as well as a whole water park that we did not touch.
This park has done so much in such a little time of being open, the park turns 10 next year and between now and the end of next year have another 3 rollercoasters being built/planned, and they have plans for more lands and hotels. They haven’t slowed down so far and don’t seem to be planning on it. And the rate they are adding coasters they will likely take Coaster Captial of the World from Magic Moutain as they aren’t far behind on most coasters in a single park I believe they are second, and I would be happy to see this park get that title not only to show the American parks they aren't the only ones that can do this sort of thing but also to bring attention to this park from further afield.
Something I did want to mention was what I slightly brought attention to earlier, this park has a lot of duplicate type rides and many many Vekomas. And this is not a bad thing, people seem to often complain when a park tries to add a model they already have or too many of the same manufacturer, this park does both and it does not hurt the park. All instances of the same model are different and have their own experience, and the average person probably won’t notice. As for the whole mostly Vekoma thing, they are all good rides if Vekoma is working with them to give them the best rides possible they should keep doing it, it’s not like all of them are Vekomas there are a few Intamins just seems like Vekoma is offering what they want.
All in all, we had a fantastic time and our only regret is only having 1 day there. We already know we will be coming back in the near-ish future with a plan for multiple days just to make sure we get everything done. Probably wait till their hotels to see what they are like unless the tilt coaster is a super must-do.
Landmark Credit - Jason’s 69th - Hyperion
Credit Counts at the end of the day:
Kate - 199 Jason - 78