Liseberg, Sweden 3rd August 2023

Liseberg, Gothenburg 3rd August 2023

I booked a city break in Gothenburg with a friend so a visit to Liseburg was a must. Firstly, Gothenburg is a beautiful city which is well worth a visit in its own right, but for me, Liseberg was the prime reason for going. My theme park visiting has dropped recently generally due to the poor operations and value that can be found at most of the UK theme parks these days, most are not worth visiting unless you pick a quiet day or pay an extortionate amount for fast track.

Having seen many videos of Helix and the other rides there I was hoping Liseberg would not be a disappointment. I needn't have worried; Liseberg is fantastic in every respect.

1. The park is beautiful, set on a wooded hill and canal side valley the designers have used this to great advantage with two of the biggest coasters using the terrain perfectly, and the theming / landscaping throughout being top notch.

2. Virtual queue: Free to all. When your time slot is due you can literally walk onto the rides. There is also the option for the standby queues and these move. The balance between virtual queue and standby is just right.

3. Operations – it was incredibly busy on the day I went, but the longest I waited for anything was 25 minutes and that was exceptional. As an example, for Balder there were 4 people checking each train and they were dispatching without stacking. For the log flume using a dual station, logs were dispatched roughly once every 10 seconds. Pretty much any of the UK theme parks I have been to in the last couple of years could learn from this.

4. Friendly, efficient staff. I actually felt like a valued customer, despite the crowd level.

5. The rides: Truly here there is something for everyone.

Helix: The main focus for my visit after drooling over several videos and it exceeded my expectations. Seriously, probably the most perfectly paced steel coaster I have ridden. From the drop out of the station the pace never lets up, the launches whilst not being the most powerful do their job well but the use of the terrain elevates this coaster into something special as you alternate between feeling very high up, and then diving round curved drops picking up immense speed as you go. The proximity to the trees enhances the feeling of speed, and with a couple of ejector airtime moments thrown in amongst the loops its just so much fun. The ride starts at the top of the hill and uses that height to perfection. Over the day I rode the front, the back and the middle and all delivered. Absolutely outstanding.

Balder: the Intamin prefab woodie. Another coaster which effortlessly sailed into my all time top 5. I’ve heard some criticisms that the layout is a bit repetitive but for me this was not an issue. This coaster feels completely out of control, with more moments of ejector air time than I have ever experienced on a coaster. I know when I am loving a coaster when I laugh all the way round; I had three rides on this and it had the same effect every time. After the first initial drop none of those that follow are particularly big meaning that the coaster retains it’s feeling of manic speed right to the end.

Lisebergbanan: Another coaster which uses the terrain perfectly, this Schwarzkopf designed ride favours long tilted spirals over big drops. For a family ride this was surprisingly fast, loads of fun and seemed to go on for ages. This was proving very popular with all ages and had the longest line of the day. I managed two slots on the virtual queue which avoided this but it would have been worth the wait.

Valkyria: I took advantage of being in the park early so was able to get on this as a walk on after the first ride on Balder. The only other B and M dive Machine I have done is Oblivion at Alton. This one isn’t as big a drop but felt so much higher given that the whole drop was above ground. The combination of the floorless cars and the fact that (unlike Oblivion) it actually does something after the drop made this far more satisfying. I intended to have another go later in the day but when the lines got longer I chose to use the time for Balder and Helix instead.

Water Rides: Flumeride – great to ride a proper log flume again, they’ve all but disappeared in the UK unless you want a travelling model. Logs dispatched roughly every ten seconds which meant the long queue shifted even with people also using the virtual queue lane. This used the terrain well, intertwined with the coasters with the two big drops at the end.

Kallerado – the rapids ride. Since the incident at Drayton Manor it would appear that all UK rapids rides have been neutered to the point where the only chance of getting wet is if you ride during a rainstorm. Not the case here – we are not talking the same level as Popeye and Bluto but enough jeopardy to make it interesting. Sometimes the simple tricks are the best, the random water jets at different points created a lot of laughter in our boat. Well themed and lots of fun.

Other rides included an S and S screaming swing, nicely placed on the edge of a cliff, a superb polyp ride themed to a jukebox and Cadillacs, an gyro swing (Loki) as well as an excellent selection of other flat rides. The big wheel gave a lovely view of the park too. I didn’t ride Atmosfear, the drop tower as I am a couple of CM taller than the recommended max height and after a fairly unnerving ride on Power Tower when it was in London I decided to give it a miss. The same went for Mechanica, their Zierer star shape. I’ve squeezed into one before but it was very uncomfortable. I also didn’t ride Luna, their new vekoma family boomerang. It looked fun but not worth the standby wait and the slot I was given for the virtual queue would have been too late.

One nice moment was when I passed one of the stages where a band was playing and the dancefloor was full of mostly older couples dancing together. It really gave a sense of this people come for a good time, even if rides aren't their thing. The closest comparison I can think of is Copenhagen’s Tivoli Gardens. Liseberg is more of an amusement park than Tivoli, but the combination of rides, restaurants and performance spaces gives it as similar feel.

Overall, as you can tell I was so impressed. I intend to return, possibly choosing later in August when the Swedes are back at school, and also would love to stay till it gets dark as apparently it is beautiful. A wonderful treat to find a park that really seemed to understand that to make the most money, don’t cut back, instead make sure that people are having the best time they can.

Thanks for the report. It's nice hearing about some of the parks that aren't discussed as often.

Extortionate. I am so using that.

Looked at some POVs. Helix looks rad, wish we would see more of that model in the US. Balder reminds me of Phoenix. If you just look at a video online it looks boring and slow but then you ride it and it's completely out of control. It's almost like the airtime hills have a boost mode.

Thanks for sharing.