Visiting the Wurstelprater Amusement Park in Vienna, Austria.

The Wurstelprater amusement park is located in Wiener Prater, a large public park in Vienna (Wien), Austria.  While there is a lot to see and do in the massive park, Wurstelprater is special because it is the oldest amusement park in the world.  Publicly opened in 1766, it currently features the iconic Wiener Riesenrad (a Ferris wheel), 13 roller coasters, a Madame Tussauds, and plenty of other fun attractions.

 

Prater is open 24/7 year round and some venues, such as food stands and restaurants, still operate in the off season.  From March 15 to October 31 the attractions in the Wurstelprater are typically open from 10:00 am to 1:00 am daily.  There is no cost to enter the park because guests pay per attraction (much like a German Volksfest).  This is beneficial if you only want to ride a few things, but can get expensive quickly.

While we love visiting theme parks and make a habit of doing so regularly, we had a specific goal that resulted in our visit to the Wurstelprater amusement park.  We found out several months ago that the traveling coaster Olympia Looping would be at the park from March to August 2016 as part of their 250 year anniversary celebration.  Mr. Meena has wanted to ride this particular coaster for many years and we’d been trying for a while to figure out where we’d be able to find it once we moved to Germany.  As I’ve mentioned before, Olympia Looping is considered by some to be the most iconic roller coaster in the world and it’s been touring Europe since its debut at Oktoberfest in 1989.  Furthermore, there are rumors that it may either retire or stop traveling after Oktoberfest this year.  We were very excited to have a chance to ride it while we were abroad (and while it’s still operating).

Our trip.

We traveled via train to Vienna in mid-June and spent our first evening there getting settled and exploring the area around our hotel.  The next day we happily got up and took the subway to Prater.  As you would expect, we made a beeline for Olympia Looping upon arrival.

Olympia Looping.

 

After taking in the view for a few moments, we realized things were quiet.  Too quiet.  Even though it was nearing 11am there were no trains going along those colorful tracks.  Fear started to creep up in my mind… maybe the coaster was broken or wouldn’t be opening and this long-awaited ride would have to wait even longer (or possibly not happen at all).  There are no guarantees when you take a trip to ride coasters; there’s so much that can go wrong.

As we turned away with a hopeful “We’ll ride it later,” we heard the first train go up the lift hill.  Rushing back, we bought our tickets and after only doing one test run the operator buckled us in and waved goodbye.  We were off.

Despite the confidence that Mr. Meena, the ride operator, and fans all over the world have in this ride, I was still overwhelmed with nerves about its age.  I tried to distract myself by admiring the beautiful view of Vienna as we ascended, and then suddenly we were picking up speed and going down into the first loop.  Around and around and upside down we went – through all five loops.  It was exhilarating!  It’s amazing how much is packed into that relatively small space.  We only rode it once, since coasters tend to be slower earlier in the day before the grease in the wheels warms up.  Mr. Meena wanted to save our time (and money) for a faster ride later in the day.

Cost: €8.50/person
Rating: 5/5 Vienna sausages.

  Photos (left, right) licensed under CC BY 2.0 and CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, respectively.

Volare.

Relieved that the main goal of our trip had been accomplished, we began a circuit of the park.  Next up was Volare, a flying coaster.  I opted to sit this one out after my painful experience on a similar ride in Canada.  Plus, since this park uses a pay per ride system I decided the best financial decision would be for me to only ride things that were really important to me (unlike Mr. Meena, who is on a mission to ride as many coasters as possible).

Due to either the early hour or notoriety of the ride, Mr. Meena got a whole train to himself – and was quite happy about it.

 

The lift hill for this type of coaster is pretty neat because the train gets pushed upwards by a turnstyle before taking off on its flying course.

via GIPHYCost: €4
Rating: 3/5 Vienna sausages.

Weiner Riesenrad.

Next on our list was the Weiner Riesenrad, since we expected large crowds to show up soon.  The giant Ferris wheel was built in 1897 and is the world famous symbol of the Wurstelprater.  Often people head to the park just to ride it and then leave without seeing anything else (what a shame!).

 

We thought we would be clever by purchasing our tickets online in advance, only to find out that since our electronic ticket didn’t have a bar code we had to go over to the ticket counter and have it exchanged for a real one.   Fortunately the park was still quite empty at this time so it didn’t matter, but I would have been pretty upset otherwise since we were then unable to skip the line.

Tip: there is a “free” restroom in the queuing area (as opposed to the stand alone ones in the rest of the park where you have to pay), so if you plan on taking a ride on the Ferris wheel then you could strategically plan to use the bathroom there.

 

Tip 2: When you are about to enter the cart head to the right for more views of the countryside and to the left for a better look at the city.  Although, our cart was empty enough that we could move around during the ride with relative ease.

The wheel can turn at up to 2.7 km/hr and while you’ll often see the ride advertised as 20 minutes long a more realistic ride time is about 15 minutes.  Some of the carts had small windows that were open (where I happily placed myself in order to have clearer photos) but they can get rather warm.  Even though I’m not usually a huge fan of Ferris wheels I did enjoy this ride, especially since I was able to stand up and I felt quite safe.  The main downsides were the relatively high cost and being trapped with the other passengers (I’m not really a people person).  Also, the height could be intimidating for some.

 

You can also rent out the carts for dinner or parties.

Cost: €9.50/person
Rating: 4/5 Vienna sausages.

Dizzy Mouse.

This is a fairly ordinary mouse track coaster that spins the cart in circles at different points in the ride.  As we got into the car we encountered a rather impatient operator that actually instructed me not to wear my seat belt (he didn’t want to wait while I fumbled with it).  This was a first for me and made me rather unhappy.  Sure, there was still a lap bar in place but I prefer to make use of all safety measures that are available.

 

The coaster was fun and spins very intensely in some parts – and I’m all for more spinning.

Cost: €4/person
Rating: 3/5 Vienna sausages.

Next Mr. Meena rode the Super Roller Coaster while I hydrated.  It cost €4.5 and he gave it 2/5 Vienna sausages.

Darkride Insider.

We then had a great time riding this indoor coaster, which is one of the attractions that’s open all year.  The line queue gives you the option to go through a mirror labyrinth as part of the fun and we somehow got completely lost.  I think the main problem was that there was no one else there so we didn’t have anyone to lead us.  After wandering around in circles I finally walked towards a door that had a “DO NOT ENTER: LASERS” sign on it and realized that we were actually supposed to enter – the “lasers” were just part of the theming.  By the time we got to the ride operator it was obvious that he was wondering if something had happened to us.  We jumped in the train and set off on another spinning ride complete with disco music and, of course, a laser show.  The ride was great; I would have gone on several more times if it wasn’t pay per ride.

Cost: €4.50/person
Rating: 4/5 Vienna sausages.

Story time.

As we continued our circuit of the park we went past a little mine train coaster called Manitu’s Train that looked rather abandoned.  It was small with a circular track and tunnel.  Mr. Meena paid the operator and put himself in last seat on the train, even though he was the only one on it.  I was sitting about 10 feet away watching when all of a sudden the train lurches backwards and starts flying around the track.  Mr. Meena had no idea he was about to go that fast or in that direction and he laughed so hard that the conductor started laughing too.  I’m not sure how many times the little train is supposed to go around the track but I can tell you that Mr. Meena must have gone around 10 times or so, with the operator calling out “Another! Another!”

 

What a lovely surprise that ride was.

Cost: €2.50
Rating: 4/5 Vienna sausages.

Mr. Meena then rode a normal mouse coaster, Wild Mouse, which cost €4 and he rated as 2/5 Vienna sausages.  He also found a kiddie coaster named The Race to ride for €2.5 and gave it 1/5 Vienna sausages.

Maskerade.

Our third spinning ride of the day was the most unique one.  First I was surprised when we were transported upwards by a vertical lift hill, and then I was a little bit creeped out as we went through the eerily quiet room.  The coaster starts indoors and goes past some rather strange objects, including a unicorn and disco ball (if my memory serves me correctly), before rushing outside, turning, and then reentering the same room.  But there was no music playing so you were spinning through this ride in nearly complete silence, just looking around at the objects placed near the track.  It was a very smooth ride, however, and I would have liked to have another go on it.

Cost: €5/per person
Rating: 3/5 Vienna sausages.

Toboggan.

This is the oldest wooden slide in the world, and it’s at the oldest amusement park in the world – talk about historical!  It opened in 1913 and was rebuilt to be exactly the same after a fire in 1947.  We were unexpectedly intimidated by it.  We stood to the side debating about whether we should go on it before ultimately deciding we would regret it if we didn’t.  I was more than a little terrified.

We hesitantly approached the ticket area, where an older man with long hair and a tie dye shirt gave us instructions on exactly how everything worked.  First we had to use a conveyor belt (why, I’m not exactly sure) to go up to the central part of the structure.

 

This belt was on an incline and continuously moving, and neither myself nor the ticket man was sure that we could handle it.  But with his guidance and some surfer-like stances, we both hopped on and made it to the stairs, where we grabbed burlap sacks and headed up.    At the top we paused briefly to take in the amazing view of the park, since more people were coming up after us.  It was time to slide down a length of 100 meters.

 

I sat down on the very smooth slide and could barely get situated in my sack before I was gone.  As instructed, I sat up straight with my hands between my knees and absolutely under no circumstances touched the walls of the slide or attempted to brake.  That was hard, though, because the slide was quite narrow and I was going WAY TOO FAST.  I couldn’t really see much due to the high sides but I really had to focus on not falling over so that was okay with me.  Somewhere towards the end of the ride I eventually lost my balance and smacked against the wall with my left side but managed to recover.  Not the case with Mr. Meena, though, who showed up at the bottom of the slide flat on his back.  This is not a ride for people without balance (or bravery).  We ended up with matching elbow scars.

In the end I would say the experience was worth it; I’ve certainly never done anything else like it.  But I probably wouldn’t do it again.

Cost: €3/per person
Rating: 2/5 Vienna sausages.

Mr. Meena quickly rode the Megablitz coaster while I rubbed my bleeding elbow.  It cost €4.50 and he rated it 3/5 Vienna sausages.

Boomerang.

This is your standard Vekoma Boomerang coaster with bright colors and a tunnel added for fun. There are many of these models around the world, but this is the first one we’ve seen that has only a lap bar restraint instead of normal over the shoulder restrains, giving you much more upper body freedom during the ride.

 

I waited, still nursing my elbow and enjoying the music from the nearby drop tower.  Mr. Meena was in the front row and was the only one who put his hands up in the air (which might have been because doing so was actually against the rules… shhh).

 

Cost: €6
Rating: 4/5 Vienna sausages.

At this point it had been a few hours since we’d arrived to the park and the temperature was rather hot, so it was time to return to Olympia Looping.  This is when we learned that the faster those trains go the harder the shoulder restraints push down on you during the inversions.  My harness pushed down so forcefully that I was in a lot of pain and had a hard time breathing.  So instead of riding it several more times like we had planned to, we decided to call it a day and head back to our hotel.  I would give our last ride only a 3/5, unfortunately.

Our day at the Wurstelprater amusement park only touched on a few of the many attractions that are available.  You can browse through the many other rides on the parks website here.   In fact, I would encourage you to glance at it if you want a laugh, because some of the ride descriptions are quite funny (for example one of their haunted rides is described as “afraidcastling”).

Even though there were a few rides I wanted to go on but didn’t get to (and I few I wished to re-ride), I was happy with our day.  We were in the park for about six hours and spent €114 on rides and €10 on water, snacks, and ice cream (about $138 total).  Overall it wasn’t much more expensive than the entrance fee to a typical theme park, but we could have easily spent twice that – especially if I had wanted to ride everything with Mr. Meena.   He also missed out on two of the coasters, since we couldn’t find one and the other was only for small children.  Regardless, riding 11 coasters in one day is still pretty wonderful for him.

Have you been to Prater?  Which ride from this post did you like the most?

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Visiting the oldest theme park in the world in Vienna, Austria (tips included). Click To Tweet

This post is linked up with Weekend Wanderlust, Wanderful Wednesday, and Whatever the Weather.