Aerial Antics: Parque Warner Madrid

I was excited to find that our next park finally had some bird's eye images, especially since Parque Warner Madrid has intrigued me since it first opened in 2002.

Previously known as Warner Brothers Movie World Madrid, the park was first managed by Six Flags, until they dropped out after only two years.  The park's design and theming was quite above the level that Six Flags was producing at the time, creating a unique property.

When Six Flags dropped out of the game, the park's investors self-managed the property until 2007 when Parques Reunidos took over management duties.

The theme park opened with a complete selection of attractions, including several coasters and thrill rides.  It has been steadily expanded, though, and above we see one of those recent additions.  "Roadrunner Beep Beep," as the ride's name translates, is one of Mack Ride's YoungStar coasters which was added to the Cartoon Village section.

These models look like great family rides, larger than your average roller-skater, but not a towering thrill ride.  I'm looking forward to a North American park adding one.

The park's river rapids ride is themed as an ACME Factory Tour, complete with plenty of special effects along the path that feature numerous Looney Tunes characters.

The park's Movie World Studios section is home to Stunt Fall, one of the few Vekoma Giant Inverted Boomerang coasters on the planet.

Next to it is one of the park's more recent additions, a splash battle themed to Yogi Bear.  Riders hop in boats that leave Jellystone Park in order to head to the beaches of Polynesia, where Yogi and Boo Boo are vacationing.

The Movie World Studios section is also home to a large Police Academy stunt show, housed in the outdoor theater in the left of the above image.  Across the street, on the right, is a great looking Vekoma Mad House named the Haunted Hotel.  Think of the Houdini rides at Great Adventure and Six Flags New England, but with the theming kicked up a notch.

Two of the park's largest steel coasters are located in the DC Superheros World, above is Batman: The Escape, a clone of the popular B&M inverted ride.  Like most rides in the park, the queue employs some above average theming, including a trip through Arkham Asylum.

Designing Superman: Ride of Steel must have been fun, considering pretty much anything was possibly layout-wise, since the ride is located in a big open area.  The coaster is one of the biggest Floorless rides that B&M have created, and features 7 inversions.

As far as park icons go, the Riddler's Revenge (a 300 ft. S&S tower) catches pretty much everyone's eye.  Notice the name is recycled from Magic Mountain's stand-up ride, Parque Warner Madrid also has Batman Knight Flight, but it's a simulator, not a floorless ride like at Six Flags Worlds of Adventure.

Our final section, known as the Old West Territory, is home to a large wooden coaster named... Coaster Express.  It has a bit of a weird name now since it was previously called Wild Wild West, but later changed (along with the name of the whole area).

The ride was designed by RCCA, I believe this last coaster built.  It runs with trains provided by Intamin, an interesting combination.

Old West Territory is also home to the park's elaborate log flume, named Rio Bravo.  The ride features two turn tables that allow for a backwards drop and hill, along with scenes of a deserted Mine town, an encounter with the natives, and finally a large drop down the mountain.

To take your own aerial tour of the park, here is a link to Bing's aerials.  For some additional great photos of the park, check out the Theme Park Guy's contribution.