Lengendia - Saturday 8th July 2023

The day before had been a long one at Energylandia so we had made the decision to have a bit of a lay-in and aim to get to the park for about midday giving us 4 and a bit hours to do the 3 coasters at the park and anything else we wanted to do. As we were staying in Katowice we made the decision to walk to the park, not too long of a walk took us about 40mins and there were very good footpath routes the whole way.

We arrived at the park at the time expected, we noticed it didn’t seem too busy but maybe it was hard to tell from the entrance, we took a slow walk to the back of the park where Lech was located, it still seemed quiet which we found off for a Saturday and also noted that Diabelska Pętla didn’t seem to be running yet, we would have to check back later, cause Lech was first.

Lech would be my 200th credit, I really lucked out with that lining up by accident. The areas that Lech was built in seemed to have been well designed and themed, which became more apparent in the queue, it was designed to look like a small castle and though it was not running on this day also had a preshow room to explain the story a bit behind the myth of Lech (I looked it up when I got home very interesting). We walked right up to the air gates and as no one was there we went back row. 

Lech is a Vekoma Bermuda Blitz model and as far as I’m aware the only of its kind. The trains are the same as those found on their launch models like the ones at Energylandia so I had the same tiny issue with the restraints but the ops were great and helped everyone. 

What to say about this ride, it's not just unique in model type but as an experience, there are similar rides but I can’t say I’ve ridden anything like it. If you look on google maps you can see this coaster has a surprisingly small footprint, but it is not held back by this. It is very intense, not many rides can I claim to grey out (I think 4 and all while dehydrated, and tiredness might have been a factor today) but the reverse sidewinder after the first drop caused me to nearly fully grey out and the odd thing is the ride immediately “rescues” you from it which I’ve never experienced before. It flicks you back in the other direction and I instantly was back to normal. The rest of the layout is compact, thrilling, and intense too. This was such a worthy 200th I loved it. 

Speaking of dehydration we wanted to avoid that, so we decided to stop at the restaurant next to Lech for drinks and a small amount of food, very cute restaurant and I could see it being packed on a busy day. 

Now Lech was done we wanted to get a lay of the land and check on the other coasters cause we saw neither operating from the top of the lift hill. So we did a full loop of the park and as we feared neither Diabelska Pętla nor Dream Hunters Society we open at this time and seemed like Dream Hunters Society was doing maintenance/testing. On any other day this would have been annoying and disappointing but frankly after the day before we were actually a little thankful for the more relaxed day. 

So as we were back round Lech way we decided to take some photos of the ride, a lot of photos of the ride, it’s pretty photogenic even with an awkward sun position. And hey while we were at it Lech again, got roughly middle this time, still great. 

So I had heard the name Bazyliszek thrown around with Lech when people spoke about this park, we hadn’t seen it but had seen an area inside a building so quick look at the map to check it was there and we headed round. Now if you ever end up at Legendia and want to ride Bazyliszek keep in mind most of the queue has been cannibalised for more seating space for the restaurant also in the building as well as a arcade. Even with the signs pointing you towards the entrance and the walls looking like queue theming, you will question if you are heading the right way about halfway to the ride. It’s a little odd rather than redoing the queue area to make a proper shorter queue and a sitting/arcade area it's all contained in the queue. Oh well, you will eventually get to the load platform, I promise you.

As for the ride itself, it is a trackless dark ride by ETF Ride Systems that is a shooter, think Popcorns Revenge at Walibi Belgium or the same ride system as Symbloica at Eftling. The ride mixes screen and physical sets with targets in both to make for a combined experience. Frankly, this ride is a hidden gem tucked away at the park the ride is highly themed and well-designed and even with the language barrier the basic story came across well and the ride was still fun. Jason won by the way, wish I had noted the scores to make a scoreboard page, something for future Kate to do…

What next but ice cream! The Ice Cream was located at the front of the park around the corner from Bazyliszek. We spent a good while sitting and relaxing at the table just talking and looking at photos, and I snapped a picture of their “main street” entrance area. And we stayed until they started to set up a speaker system near where we were sitting so decided it was time for another and final ride on Lech, we tried for the front but the crowds had picked up a tiny bit, we had to actually wait to board this time, and someone was already in the front row so picked the second row. 

And with that, we decided it was time to head to the airport. Short day at Legendia but Lech and Bazyliszek were great.

Our day at Legendia was rather bare, especially when you compare it to the day before, and as I said before I would have been annoyed if it had been any other day but it worked. We would have liked to have done more but the lack of lockers in the park and a desire not to get soaked before a flight ruled out the water rides which both did look fun. As we were leaving we did notice Dream Hunter Society had finally opened but Diabelska Pętla hadn’t, and it was just too late for us to do it. So 1 out of 3 credits isn’t great but we didn’t mind. 

The park as a whole is definitely aimed towards a younger audience with Lech actually being the odd thing out at the park, but this isn’t the first park like this Plopsaland De Panne is very much the same (and I’m pretty sure they are associated in some way as a Plopsaland annual pass can get you a discount here). The park shows its age, it feels like a fun fair in most areas, only the areas they have put a lot of effort into theming feel different.

I have heard rumours that the park isn’t doing well on attendance and financially, and what we saw seemed to give some weight to the rumour. The park was empty when we got there at midday on a Saturday, and I don’t know if things are different to what I’m used to in England but I felt like this should be the busy day. The crowds did pick up a little by the time we were leaving but not a lot enough for Lech to have a queue but not a long one, it seemed to be struggling with Energylandia down the road. The place also didn’t feel well kept in some areas things standing not operating or the remains of a removed ride, rides not opening till 4pm on a day the park opened at 10am. Nothing against the park they were trying, the staff were really trying but I can see why people think there's a chance this park might go under, especially with the value of the land it sits on likely going up in value in a growing city. 

The park opened in 1959 so is turning 65 next year, it would be sad to see such a historic park close its doors, but I don’t think it has enough to draw the crowds in we only went cause we were in Poland for Energylandia and knew of Lech. This park has two stand-out attractions Lech and Bazyliszek, and if they could somehow add things with the same appeal they could be a park that draws in more of a crowd. But if the park does see a sad end I hope both of them are saved and relocated elsewhere. 

Guess we have to wait and see what the future holds for Legendia. 

Landmark Credit - Kate’s 200th - Lech

Credit Counts at the end of the day:

Kate - 200 Jason - 79