Star Trek Operation Enterprise is a Mack multi-launch coaster at Movie Park Germany.
This coaster features a short but diverse layout and more theming than you’d expect for
a thrill coaster. But is the ride a worthy top attraction for this movie themed park?
Find out in this review of Star Trek Operation Enterprise.
Movie Park Germany had always excelled at theming, but they were sorely lacking a signature thrill
coaster. That was rectified for the park’s 20th birthday in 2017 when the park added Star Trek
Operation Enterprise, a Mack multi-launch coaster on the site of the park’s former film museum.
This coaster makes quite the first impression. The big black coaster is brilliantly placed behind
the park’s entry fountain, hyping guests for their day. Ironically,
this and the queue line for the Area 51 water ride are the two best places to watch this coaster.
That’s because the ride is blocked by the show-buildings for other attractions
on the other sides. Heck this ride’s own entrance blocks the attraction as well.
You can’t even see any coaster track from the ride’s dedicated plaza.
But Federation Plaza looks great. You have the famous Star Trek theme booming through the area
and you enter Starfleet Academy to ride this attraction. And this attraction is a dream
come true for Star Trek fans. The ride is themed to Star Trek: The Next Generation
series that ran from 1987 to 1994. The queue line is broken into a few different areas.
The first section consists of a series of switchbacks features props from the TV series
and a giant monitor with information on the cast. Both the standby and Speedy Pass lines
are held at the end of this room. Then 1-2 train’s worth of people are sent into the
deserted bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise. The detail in this room is astounding.
Prior to covid-19, this room used to house a pre-show. I saw it back in 2019
and it was really well done. The Borg have captured the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise.
The only way to rescue them is to send a series of Starfleet Cadets (aka guests) to rescue them.
The way this attraction set the tone for the main experience reminded me of a Disney ride.
The final section of the queue leads to the station,
where you can select any row that you please. And I strongly recommend the back.
This allows you to fully ascend the twisting spike and get pulled down the top hat.
The front has the unobstructed view, but I can’t think of any elements that are superior up there.
In both my visits to Movie Park Germany, this coaster has run just one train. The ride can
run multiple, but Parques Reunidos likes to run just one train to save on maintenance whenever
possible across their parks. Fortunately lines haven’t been more than 15-20 minutes thanks to how
quickly the crew checks the restraints. If you’ve ridden any of the other new
generation Mack coasters, you’ll be familiar with these trains. You have raised seats with
a super comfortable lap bar that comes from overhead. The lap bar can come down tightly,
but it doesn’t inhibit my ability to experience the airtime and hangtime this coaster provides.
Those trains also look fantastic. They’re sleek and designed
to look like a starship. They compliment the futuristic looking station perfectly,
as the latter are accented by bright LED lights. After the trains are checked, a door raises to
reveal a switch track. An alarm goes off and the trains move forward onto the switch track.
You then slide over to the launch track, all while the alarm still blares and the music intensifies.
During this process, you have some visuals to appreciate including a warning that you’re
entering an area with variable gravity. A second door then opens, revealing the
coaster’s layout. After a brief pause, you roll forwards into launch one.
Mack launch coasters are not known for their power and the first one on Star Trek is laughably bad.
You barely accelerate at all. You gain enough speed to rise up half the top hat,
which gives some hangtime for those up front. You then roll backwards into the second launch,
which is considerably better. While this LSM launch still has a modest acceleration,
the sudden kick did cause me to bend forwards over the lap bar.
After rocketing through the building, you get blasted with positives and then ascend
the best element on the ride, the 130 foot or 40 meter tall twisted vertical spike.
Since you can’t see this element coming, the 360 degree rotation while climbing vertically really
catches you off-guard. You need to be in the back car to get the full rotation. You also get more
weightlessness back there since you climb higher. You levitate out of your seat for a few seconds
while also getting some laterals from the twist. I wish there were more twisted spikes out there.
You then zip through the building and hit launch 3. And to be honest, it doesn’t even
feel like you accelerate any further. Really that backwards launch is the only satisfying one.
You then head into a top hat. Everyone gets a weak pop of airtime over the top, but those in the back
get launched out of their seat even further for some sustained ejector airtime on the descent.
It’s not as intense as an Intamin top hat, but it’s still solid airtime.
Next is the double roll. This element starts as an Immelmann
and it’s followed by a barrel roll dive drop sort of like the ones on RMCs.
The two rolls occur quite slowly, so you get some fantastic hangtime. Those in back also get some
whip exiting the element as the train accelerates towards the ground on the second inversion.
You then careen through this banked hill, giving a weak bit of sideways airtime. The pullout then
takes place through a brief tunnel and you shoot up into a rapid fire sequence of airtime hills.
You have a double down followed by a little bunny hill. Those in back get two decent pops on the
double down while those up front get milder airtime. The subsequent bunny hill delivers
in all rows, delivering something toeing on the edge of very strong floater or weak ejector.
Star Trek then wraps around a low turn that rises into the final element, a zero-G roll.
This inversion blends great hangtime with some decent laterals. It’s a good way to
end the coaster. You then hit the brake run, ending the 2360 foot or 720 meter long coaster.
And the ride feels longer than that since you have the multi-pass launch before the main layout.
This ride’s pacing is solid minus 2 of the launches being duds, but what about the
smoothness? This coaster, like many from Mack, is very smooth. I could ride this coaster all day.
So what would I rate Star Trek Operation Enterprise? I would give this coaster an
8 out of 10. This is a good coaster and easily the best thrill coaster at Movie Park Germany.
While the launches could be better, the rest of the layout offers a nice mix of
hangtime filled inversions and airtime. I especially love that twisted vertical spike,
but all 3 inversions are top notch too. Then these elements are paired with some wonderful theming.
I hope the pre-show returns in the future because it does add to the experience even on
repeat rides, but the visuals and sound build a really nice atmosphere prior to boarding.
Star Trek fans will be in love making their way through this ride’s area and queue line.
So those are my thoughts on Star Trek Operation Enterprise. What are your thoughts on this Mack
launch coaster? Do you agree it’s the best attraction at Movie Park Germany?
Let me know your thoughts down below. If you enjoyed this review, I’d appreciate it if you
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more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!