Heibe Fahrt is the lone roller coaster at Wild-und Freizeitpark Klotten in Germany.
But it may be one of the country’s most underrated coasters.
This is Gerstlauer bobsled is basically a wild mouse on steroids. I expected it to be fun,
but it surpassed those expectations. So in this video, I will be reviewing Heibe Fahrt.
Wild-und Freizeitpark Klotten opened in 1970 exclusively as a zoo.
By 1996, the park decided to diversify their offerings with playgrounds and rides.
But their first major attraction didn’t come until 2004 with Heibe Fahrt. This Gerstlauer bobsled
had a very similar layout to two others that came before it in Germany. The layout is
eerily similar to Belantis’s Drachenritt and Tripsdrill’s G’sengte Sau. However,
this one is a little taller and features an intense high-speed series of s-bends in
between the large helix and bunny hills. Heibe Fahrt has a weird history. The ride
opened in 2004 with that name, which translates to Hot Ride, but for 2005, the coaster was renamed
the Klotticoaster. But the park changed the name back to Heibe Fahrt from the 2006 season onwards.
Even crazier is the story of this coaster’s theming. It was always supposed to be themed.
Heibe Fahrt was part of an ambitious expansion plan that was also to include
a flume ride integrated around the coaster. But in 2004, only the roller coaster opened.
The two rides were originally supposed to be themed to a volcano,
which may explain why Heibe Fahrt originally opened around an unfinished circular structure.
But sometime later, the park decided to swap to a medieval theme.
Zum Rittersturz, which translates to For the Knight’s Fall,
opened in 2012. This ABC Rides flume had a short dark ride section at the start and a
massive final plunge located above Heibe Fahrt’s lift. However, the castle theming was still not
finished when the flume opened. The theming wasn’t finished until the Kunibert’s Abenteuer shooting
dark ride opened in 2020. And the circular castle- while it has a funky shape- looks good.
But back to Heibe Fahrt, the only other theming you’ll see are some shields and
murals in the station. There is no other theming to look at along the ride’s course, but it is
fairly well-landscaped. I especially like the rock walls lined along the course at points.
Like all the Gerstlauer bobsleds, this attraction features 4 person cars reminiscent of most wild
mice. Riders are restrained by simple individual lap bars. Guests lower their own restraints and
the operator typically spot checked them from the operating booth. That’s something you’d
never see at a US park. This allowed Heibe Fahrt to have lightning fast dispatches.
There were only 2 cars on the course and despite visiting on a weekend- albeit a rainy one-
Heibe Fahrt only had a 10-15 minute wait at worst. And from others I know who have
visited Klotten over the years, they’ve never encountered a bad wait for this coaster.
Heibe Fahrt begins with a slow turn out of the station and a lift to the top of the castle.
This brings you to the ride’s highest point of 57.5 feet or 17.5 meters. On the way up,
you get a beautiful view of the mountains nearby since Klotten is located atop a hill.
Once at the top, you have a short straightaway before twisting down and to the right. The
drop offers some decent laterals and then the subsequent turn, which loops around the castle,
offers weak positive Gs. You then rise up into a
short series of hairpin turns. These are the only hairpin turns on the ride, but they’re memorable.
The turns are taken with some solid speed, so they deliver some powerful laterals.
You then pass through a mid-course brake run that doesn’t slow you down one bit before navigating
a 360 degree downwards helix. This fast and compact element delivers great positive Gs
that intensify throughout the element. I believe you exit this helix at the
ride’s max speed of 34 mph or 55 kph and fly over back-to-back speed hills.
These low S-hills feel completely out-of-place on a wild mouse style coaster,
but they’re easily the highlight of the ride. The first one offers some solid floater airtime and
the second one offers slightly better airtime. You then twist into another brake run, getting
some laterals on the way. And like the prior brake run, this one also won’t slow you down.
That makes the unbanked, twisting drop off the brake run quite wild.
It delivers an itty bitty pop of airtime paired with great laterals.
Heibe Fahrt then zooms over four straight bunny hills. Each one gives some decent
floater airtime, although each subsequent hill decreases in strength ever so slightly.
You then rise into another mid-course brake run, barely slowing down,
so you get another quick jolt of laterals on the subsequent drop. This is followed by a small 360
degree upwards helix. It’s not super fast, so it only offers mild force.
Heibe Fahrt then dips into a tunnel, coasts around a mildly forceful turn,
and hops up into the brake run. This ends the 1745 foot or 532 meter long steel coaster.
Because you aren’t really slowed down on the mid-courses, Heibe Fahrt has really good pacing
for a wild mouse coaster. The finale is just ok, but the rest of the ride is a delightful mix of
strong laterals and nice airtime. And then the ride is immaculately smooth. That has never been
an issue on any of the Gerstlauer bobsleds, so it was no surprise this ride tracked well too.
So what would I rate Heibe Fahrt? I would give this Gerstlauer coaster
an 8 out of 10. This is one of the best wild mouse coasters in the world. The diverse layout has the
short but obligatory section of hairpin turns, but I love the incorporation of solid helixes
and a half dozen airtime hills. This is the best ride at Wild-und Freizeitpark Klotten
without a doubt and of the Gerstlauer bobsleds I’ve ridden, this one has the strongest layout.
I may prefer Van Helsing’s Factory for the theming and overall experience though. Heibe Fahrt’s
high speed middle section and abundance of bunny hills make this one stand out.
And of the wild mice coasters I’ve ridden, this is near the top.
I prefer the former Formule 1 coaster at Parc Saint Paul for the insane ejector airtime it
offered, but Heibe Fahrt is right behind it. So those are my thoughts on Heibe Fahrt,
the well-rounded and exciting Gerstlauer bobsled at Wild-und Freizeitpark Klotten.
What are your thoughts on this coaster? Do you agree it is one of the world’s best wild mice?
I would love to hear what you think about this ride down below. If you enjoyed this review, I’d
appreciate it if you gave this video a like and you considered subscribing since there will be a
lot more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!