Well we got there in good time, in fact probably too early. Not only was the park not open but with the exception of the main supermarket none of the shops were open either. So we hung about, and waited and waited and waited. Then a coffee place opened up and we ordered smoothies with cream on top. More on that later.
The park itself is pretty compact, they've done a really good job fitting the wheel in.
Then the park opened but at the exclusive use of a small class of school kids who were taken from ride to ride in small groups. Being on the receiving end of this privilege I fully appreciate why the public sometimes get a bit miffed when they see our club doing the same thing. Unfortunately I couldn't exactly vent at a group of 4-year olds so I bit my lip until it bled. When we finally got in we had to endure the giggles of the park staff who were a little bit bemused at two adults wanting to enter the park, but there was no issue letting us ride once we'd got passed that.
El Huracan is the kiddy coaster and is often the case circles the entire park, one nice touch is the circle around a spin ride. The brake run gives a quick peek behind the scenes, no theming there just maintenance.
Having seen all there is in Perimagico (easily done in around a quarter of an hour, once they let you in) we then headed back into Mexico City. Along the way we passed this strange piece of art, at least I guess that's what it is. From afar it looks like lego skyscrapers. Our driver did tell us what it represents but I've since forgotten what.
More street graffiti along the way
A little piece of England in Mexico City. Sir Winston Churchill's is an English themed restaurant. I guess for Briton's visiting Mexico who don't like Mexican food, this is the safest place to eat. However we merely drove past it.Soon after we arrived at park number 2, La Feria Chapultapec. This park used to be owned by the government and is located in the Bosque de Chapultapec, the city's main park, home to many galleries museums and this little nugget of entertainment of the thrill-seeking kind.
When we arrived it was the new ride that welcomed us. Montana Infinitum used to be based in the UK under the guise "Magnum Force" being sponsored by an ice cream. In Mexico it's sponsored by a communications company.We had a little difficulty getting into the park. We bought a ticket but couldn't enter with my backpack. When we tried checking it into the cloakroom the woman wouldn't accept it, and I couldn't quite understand why. It wasn't ticking or leaking anything radioactive. With the aid of a rather bored, but armed, park guard we figured out that to check the bag in we needed to buy another ticket from the ticket booth, so going back there and showing her the bag meant we got the cloakroom ticket, which meant the bag could be checked in. Why don't they teach you this stuff in Spanish class? Much more useful than the rubbish they usually teach you like how to tell a doctor your mouse is sick. So now you know how it works you needn't feel so stoopid!
The park itself certainly looked very colourful but also very empty. Nice! The big wooden coaster in the background is Montana Rusa.
It's one of only three mobius wooden racing coasters in the world (if you start on the left-hand side you'll return on the right and vice versa). Having ridden the other two in Blackpool and Kennywood getting this one would complete the set!
The first ride however we chose to do was Cascabel, the Schwarzkopf Shuttle Loop. I'd ridden quite a few of these around the world and they're fun rides. With the park as empty as it was they weren't launching the train until a sufficient number of people had boarded the train so we may have had to hang about. As it happens I was just about to board when my stomach decided it wanted to do something else. So I had to beat a hasty retreat and sprint out of the station, across the empty park and into the toilets. I don't know what the locals would have thought ofa) seeing someone leg it from a station
b) seeing someone sprint across the park (I don't run that often so its not the most athletic looking technique)
c) hearing someone letting out a loud sigh of relief having made it to the toilet in time
That aside I did make it back pride intact and made it onto the ride, which was pretty good actually. Not the best launch in the world though; the one at Knottsberry Farm is still my favourite.
Coasters aside the park has quite a good selection of kiddy friendly spin rides. There's a clear division between the extreme coasters for the teens and adults and these gentle rides for the children.
Having said that you wouldn't want to put your children in one of these unless you hated them.
The slide was particularly amusing in that it wasn't slippy enough to make it over the steps so if a kid got stuck the operator would descend the slide and kick them over the edge.
We thought we'd give the wooden coaster a go, admittedly we'd not seen it running but when we got near the station we were told it wasn't running and had been down for some time. Arse!
A little disappointing not to get to ride it but it gave us a reason to come back one day and the good thing about being positive like that is that you don't have to commit to any particular day, I don't see it being anytime soon though. That's just me bringing back the pessimism.
The park has a upcharged haunted walkthrough but we didn't fancy checking it out.
Opposite it was the spinning mouse, which used to be situated where the new Schwarzkopf now is. It's now been delegated to the back of the park between the wooden coaster and the main road that bisects the park.
The ride was having issues with constant e-stops and restarts. Having been ejected from the queue when it was almost our turn we decided to stock up on some water and hang about on the off chance that if it reopened again we could get in first. A plan which took some time but did happen, and it broke down on us again too. Rather than evacuating us, we did get to complete the circuit after being stuck for 10 minutes in the heat, fortunately I'd sat on my cap rather than having left it in the station so was able to wear that whilst the engineers sorted it out.
After our failure the engineers I guess had had enough for the day and left the ride out of action for the remainder of our day there, so we were quite fortunate we got to ride it. It makes me wonder if they stuck with it because two tourists were in the queue.
The water splash would have offered some respite from the sun but I was worried that it would wash off the sun cream so gave it a miss. I''m also not a fan of those plastic screens that deflect the water back into the boat.
Some icey themed attraction under the wooden coaster that was also closed. I'm pretty certain that panda should be leaning on something, an over-sized bottle of a well-known fizzy drink perhaps? I'm guessing the park wanted the creature statue for their attraction just not the corporate sponsorship that came with it.
Homeboy hiphop greenfly in the house!
This is not a coaster but that is a dog in spandex.
Onto the other Schwarzkopf now. Being fairly new and perhaps more intense than the other rides in the park there's a pre-ride routine to endure before they'll let you ride.
You have to stand on the markers, those that don't get tazered.
You're made to look at the signs, which indicate how to ride. No hunchbacks or sunbathers are allowed to ride. Only green people who appreciate handlebars allowed.
The ride itself is great if a little intense, particularly in the heat. The ride ops thought we'd appreciate riding in the back, which was a nice gesture but wow was it hard to ride there. The forces are really strong in the rear....of the train I mean.
Still its a great ride and has relocated very well.Having finished with the park we chose to walk back to the hotel through the Bosque (well to be honest I was up for the walk, poor Jeppe wasn't so keen to do all of it on foot).
