Another stop at Phantasialand, Brühl
After how much fun the kids had last year, we once again decided to make a trip to Phantasialand at the very beginning of our summer holiday. We booked two nights at Campingplatz Heider Bergsee, which is located just a tram ride away from Cologne and only a ten-minute drive from Phantasialand, a park widely recognized as one of the best theme parks in all of Europe. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at this campsite last year, and remembered the delicious food and beer from the onsite restaurant, Zum Seehaus. This time, we planned on spending a relaxing evening by the lake followed by a full day at Phantasialand. The campsite did not disappoint in any way. In fact, we had a more spacious pitch this year with very quick and easy access to the lake.
This site still remains one of the friendliest campsites we have ever stayed at. The facilities continue to be well maintained and clean. Showers are available at a cost of 50 cents for 2 minutes, operated conveniently by a coin machine.
The restaurant, Zum Seehaus, still offers frozen steins to collect for a draught of beer from Augustiner Bräu, Munich's oldest private brewery, and we made sure to visit on both nights while the kids enjoyed playing in the park nearby. Although we chose not to eat from the restaurant this year, the menu still looked incredibly delicious, and the terrace remained packed.
Once again, we prebooked our tickets for Phantasia Land online to ensure a smooth and hassle-free entry. The park opened at 9am, though most of the attractions didn’t start operating until 10am. Having visited before, we found the park much easier to navigate this time and already had a clear idea of which rides we wanted to experience first. Phantasia Land is divided into six distinct themed areas: Berlin, China Town, Deep in Africa, Fantasy, Mexico, and Mystery, each offering its own unique attractions and dining options.
Upon arrival, we grabbed a map from the entrance and headed straight to the Berlin section to start ticking off the first rides on our list. By mid-afternoon, around 3pm, we had managed to enjoy all the attractions suitable for the kids. In fact, the longest wait we encountered was a mere ten minutes for the Colorado Adventure rollercoaster. The highlight of the day for Esme was definitely The Wellenflug, a swing ride soaring above a beautiful fountain display. She also braved her first family coaster, Raik, a boomerang rollercoaster that speeds through narrow canyons, though this one didn’t quite go as smoothly as hoped, so we soon retreated to some of our favourite rides in Fantasy Land to put her at ease. Sam particularly enjoyed Das verrückte Hotel Tartüff, a quirky and entertaining funhouse, as well as Maus au Chocolat, a ride that cleverly combines elements from the Disney Parks Ratatouille and Toy Story Midway Mania attractions. A new find for us was the Feng Ju Palace, an intriguing and disorienting experience featuring swaying rooms. This ride is inspired by Chinese mythology and tells the story of prince Akang, whose bride Hsiautsai is taken away by the demon Yanluowang, who also wishes to marry her. Visitors are invited to the wedding table where this battle unfolds, and the disorientation begins!
As with our last visit, we found the food and drink prices at the park very reasonable. We each treated ourselves to ice creams from Eis-Café Annie Himmelreich, which cost 2 euros for a single scoop. Oh, and also a helping of churros! Before heading home, we made a detour to Mystery Land for dinner, enjoying some delicious Flammkuchen. Our meal started with two traditional toppings: one with crème fraîche, bacon, and onions, and another topped with tomato and cheese. We didn’t realise just how much the kids loved Flammkuchen, so after quickly devouring the first two, we ended up ordering two more to satisfy their enthusiastic appetites..
