Aerial Antics: Belantis

Germany's Belantis theme park is one that I don't hear much about, but the somewhat new park features a bunch of rides and attractions that are neat to check out from a sky view.  Shall we?

What a grand entrance!  Visitors start their day at Belantis through this portal.  The park first opened in 2003 and has been expanded since, though much of the park's boundaries still have that new look due to slowly growing in landscaping.  That's because the park was built on a former lignite mine (also known as brown coal) - so every tree had to be planted in order for there to be any at all!

This coaster, known as Drachenritt, is of the Gerslauer bobsled variety and I must say it looks like an awful lot of fun.  There's plenty of twisty sections up top, and then after that some wicked looking helices and plenty of air-time hops as well.  Plus castle theming on top!

Special theming was given to the park's log flume in the form of a giant pyramid that the boats seemingly plunge down the side of.  There's also a crazy looking whirlpool section out front after the drop that dips boats down into a tunnel.

One of Belantis' themed sections is an Indian village, complete with teepees and all.  The hedge maze I believe is actually part of the neighboring European themed area.  A giant frisbee ride anchors the far end of the section, though I'm not sure how that ties into the Indian theming.

This is one of Gerstlauer's Sky Roller flat rides, a contraption that lets riders pilot their own aerial vehicle which includes some serious looping action.  The choice is that of the riders, however, so they can have a gentle non-looping trip as well if they choose.  The wild version of the ride can be perfected, just take a look at this video to see what I mean.  I cannot imagine how sick I would be from that!

The park's most recent coaster addition is Huracan, a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter built for the 2010 season.  If you noticed a pattern here of ride manufacturers, there certainly is one - Belantis seems to have a very good working relationship with Gerstlauer!

Huracan features a vertical lift and beyond vertical drop, followed by several inversions including a large cobra roll and a pair of interlocking corkscrews.  The bright red track and supports really make the coaster stand out among the landscape, that's for sure!

To check out more of Belantis on Google's aerials, follow this link.