Parques Reunidos is a diverse theme park chain. They have a wide variety of parks. Some are large.
Some are old-school. And some are smaller and more kid-oriented. After this past year, I have now
visited all their theme parks, so in this video, I want to rank all 17 of their theme parks.
Ok that’s a lie. I can’t fairly rank Castle Park in Riverside,
California. I technically have been in the parking lot, but the park closed early. But based on
their smaller ride lineup and lack of theming, I suspect it would have placed in the bottom spot
anyway. But I can fairly rank everything else. 16) Idlewild in Ligoneer, Pennsylvania- This
should be one of the best children’s parks in the world. The park has a beautiful setting in
the woods, some charming areas, and plenty of rides that can accommodate the whole family.
But this park’s operations are dreadful. I have encountered multiple major ride closures in each
visit. And the rides that are open often just have one car on the course at once,
resulting in pitiful throughputs. Multiple rides can easily get hour waits. If these issues were
resolved, this park would move up a few spots. The employees are super friendly though. And
their lineup has a lot of unique things. They have a one-of-a-kind Vekoma wild mouse with
a forceful layout, a pseudo dark ride in Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, and a long walkthrough with
all sorts of displays in the Storybook Forest. 15) Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster, Pennsylvania-
This is a beautiful park in the heart of Amish Country. It’s another kid-oriented one. I think
Idlewild has the more diverse and interesting attraction lineup, but the rides here have
less downtime and far shorter lines, making the experience more enjoyable. This park has
two notable family coasters in Merlin’s Mayhem and Kingdom Coaster that are fun for all ages.
Then this park has a few fun spinning rides, some smaller water rides, and a boatload of
transportation rides to see this park’s beauty. 14) Attractiepark Slagharen in Netherlands- This
is a small western themed park. This park only has two or three coasters (depending what you count),
but one of them is the unique Gerstlauer infinity coaster in Gold Rush. This coaster has a fun swing
launch and a diverse mix of forces. Then there’s a unique dark ride in Wild West Adventure.
This has some big environments and uses a river rapids ride system. For traditional water rides,
there are a few basic ones. Then this park has a decent flat ride lineup, with the standout being
the punchy Free Fall drop tower. There were two cons with my visit. One, the employees were not
the friendliest. Two, the food was downright awful. Just look at this burger. Look at it!
13) BonBon-Land in Denmark- This may be one of the weirdest themed parks in the world. The park is
filled with these colorful and irreverent animals. Some statues and rides could use a repaint,
but I still enjoyed this park’s wacky visuals. For rides, this park has a few coasters. None are
standouts for their ride experience. There’s the infamous Dog Fart Coaster, a Gerstlauer
spinner in Hankatten that spins a ton with an off-balanced car, and the prototype Gerstlauer
Eurofighter in Vild-Svinet. This ride is short, but the beyond vertical drop at the start has
great airtime. Then there are some cool water rides. Vandrotten is a themed flume. And Soloven
rides more like a dark ride as you pass these characters. The flats here are fairly limited,
but there are two drop towers. Cobratarnet has an intense drop. Kragtraeerne has an unnerving
tilt towards the end. And there’s also the Svend Svingarm giant frisbee from Zamperla.
I’d love to see this park get some TLC and a big new coaster so it could move up this list.
12) Adventureland in Altoona, Iowa- I admittedly need to revisit this park since they’ve added
multiple new coasters and a flume since I was last there. During my visit, the one standout
ride was Monster. This Gerstlauer Infinity coaster has an epic beyond vertical drop at the start and
a dynamic layout with all sorts of ways to get you out of your seat. But the coaster lineup
thins out mightily after that. The remaining ones are just ok. The flat rides are solid between the
mix of spinning rides and a few tall towers like Space Shot and Storm Chaser. And I do like this
park’s charm, as the entry area very clearly was inspired by Disney. This park has a better
ride lineup than the two parks ahead of it, but I give those parks the edge for their theming.
11) Belantis in Germany- This park does some things really well. The themed areas look
grand. And their headlining attractions are quite good. I love Fluch des Pharao. This is a unique
water ride in a pyramid combining elements of a log flume, river rapids ride, water slide,
and dark ride into one cool experience. Huracan is a Gerstlauer Eurofighter with an exciting
layout. Just make sure to ride in the front row for the most tolerable experience. Drachenritt is
a delightful Gerstlauer bobsled traveling through a castle and over the water. And Gotterflug is
a Gerstlauer Sky Roller that’s exceedingly easy to flip given its location on a hill.
Now for the negatives. The attraction lineup is relatively limited in terms of quantity.
Parts of the park feel empty or unfinished. Then the park had some weird music choices,
which didn’t compliment the great visuals of each area. If this park improved these three areas,
it would rocket up this list. 10) Story Land in Glen,
New Hampshire- This is one of the best children’s parks in the world. This park has colorful lands,
enchanting musical scores, and super friendly employees. The atmosphere is truly top notch.
It’s a delight walking through each area and taking in the details. And more kids,
there are all sorts of play areas along the way. Then the rides here are designed to accommodate
kids and adults alike. Roar-O-Saurus is a standout roller coaster. This Gravity Group
wood coaster is tiny, but it surprisingly offers nearly a dozen pops of ejector airtime. I love
this park’s water rides. Dr. Gesyer’s Remarkable Raft Ride is a unique rapids ride using a series
of themed sprayers and geysers to get you wet. And Bamboo Chutes is an adorable log flume on a
hill. Then there are all sorts of transportation rides. The flat rides are quite limited though.
9) Bobbejaanland in Belgium- This is a solid park in many areas. The coaster lineup is decent. Fury
is a unique Gerstlauer Infinity coaster with a short, but exciting layout. And you can vote
whether to experience it forwards or backwards. Typhoon is an early Gerstlauer Eurofighter with
a nice drop and 4 good inversions. The coaster lineup drops off after that. This
park has an excellent set of water rides. There’s an interesting river rapids ride,
an outdoor log flume, and an indoor log flume. And there’s one of the most politically incorrect
dark rides in the world in El Paso Special. The flat ride lineup at this park is fairly limited,
but the other ride types make up for it. The park has a solid atmosphere with snippets of theming
and the lake in the center. I just wish their operations were better. Many rides here have low
capacities and several rides will close early. 8) Lake Compounce in Bristol, Connecticut- This is
America’s oldest amusement park and it has an absolute charm to it. Employees are friendly,
rides are well presented, and I love the park’s natural beauty. There’s a lake off to the side
and a mountain on the back edge of the park. Their best ride actually runs along that mountain and
that’s none other than Boulder Dash. This CCI wood coaster is epic and jam-packed with airtime. The
only other really good coaster is Phobia Phear Coaster, a Premier Sky Rocket II with multiple
launches and an exciting sequence atop the tower. But this park has some good non-coasters. There’s
a fun shooting dark ride in Ghost Hunt, some thrilling flat rides, and two solid water
rides including Thunder Rapids. The operations here are not the best though between some ride
closures and low capacity headlining attractions. 7) Parque de Atracciones de Madrid in Spain- This
is one of two parks this company has in Spain’s capital city. This is the older of the two. The
park is beautiful with nice landscaping. Then the ride lineup is enjoyable as well. There are some
unique coasters here. There’s the only Maurer extended SkyLoop in Abismo and this ride is
very intense. Tornado is a rare Intamin inverted coaster with three snappy inversions. Tarantula
is a Maurer spinning coaster on a hillside with some oddly large drops for the genre. The flat
ride lineup here is decent as well. The tallest two offer great views. There’s a Star Flyer and
also the punchy Lanzadera drop tower. This park has some nice water rides too for those
hot summer days. There’s also a knockoff Jungle Cruise named Jungla and a yearround haunt themed
to the Walking Dead. The operations here are frustrating though. If you go on a quiet day,
the minimum rider requirements on their headlining coasters make it so you can’t ride.
If you go on a busy day, the low capacities of the big coasters result in long lines.
6) Movie Park Germany in Germany- This is one of the better themed parks in the chain. There
are a handful of immersive attractions. Most notably two of their water rides. Excalibur
is a river rapids ride that’s light on the water effects, but it features large set pieces. Then
Area 51 is a lengthy dark ride with two drops for some thrills. There also are some highly themed
coasters. Van Helsing’s Factory is an indoor Gerstlauer bobsled with great monster theming
and some wicked laterals. Movie Park Studio Tour is a unique Intamin launch coaster with
some screens and physical props. Then Star Trek Operation Enterprise has an amazing queue line
before going outdoors for an action-packed layout. This is the park’s best coaster,
but it’s not as good as the headliners at the other parks on this list. And this park has some
truly awful coasters in Bandit and Iron Claw that can cause major discomfort. The flat ride lineup
here doesn’t have too much for adults, but the High Fall drop tower is an absolute rush. But like
a few other parks on this list, the operations are not the best between frequent one train
operations and weird ride hours. 5) TusenFryd in Norway- This park
has a neat setting on a hill and the backdrop is gorgeous between the woods and mountains. Then the
ride lineup is well-rounded. There are a trio of nice coasters. Storm is an intense launched
inverted coaster from Gerstlauer. It’s shaky, but the dive loops are fun and the bunny hill
has very strong ejector airtime. Speed Monster isn’t the most intense Intamin launch coaster,
but it has a unique Norwegian Loop and some fun airtime moments. Thundercoaster is a rare Vekoma
wood coaster with good airtime, but you need to endure some rough turns at the start. For water
rides, this park has a neat river rapids ride in Ragnarok, a small water coaster in SuperSplash,
and a classic log flume. For flat rides, this park has a nice mix including a large Zamperla
frisbee with sweet airtime. And there’s a Thor themed dark ride literally inside
an actual cave. Operations here are ok, but that is better than the past few parks on this list.
4) Mirabilandia in Italy- This park is dominated by its top two. There are two excellent coasters
here and this is why the park is in the top 4. iSpeed is an Intamin launch coaster that feels
like a greatest hits compilation between the airtime, transitions, and inversions. Katun is
a large B&M invert with forceful and snappy inversions. There’s a large drop-off after
that though. This park has a handful of water rides. These are decent and refreshing on hot
summer days. There’s an intriguing dark ride in Reset. The physical sets were impressive,
but the lack of audio and broken targets hurt the ride. Then the flats here are passable. I thought
the park’s overall presentation was solid, just not as good as the park’s around it on this list.
3) Motiongate Dubai in the United Arab Emirates- This is the chain’s best themed park. This
movie-themed park has some nicely themed lands. The most notable is the giant Dreamworks indoor
area. This has a much of mini lands themed to different properties. There are all sorts of
details and the rides fit each area nicely. Then the ride lineup is good as well. There
are several dark rides here, all of which are at minimum good and some are great. Many are
trackless as a bonus. The coaster lineup is solid. There are two good launch coasters in
Capitol Bullet Train and Madagascar Mad Pursuit, plus some fun supporting coasters. If this park
got a truly world-class coaster, it could jump even higher. The flat rides here are limited,
but there is a cool Zombieland themed drop tower. I missed the Cloudy with Chance of Meatballs
rapids ride in my visit since it was down for a refurb, but I’ve heard good things about that ride
as well. This park usually has light crowds, making it easy to do everything in a day.
2) Parque Warner Madrid in Spain- This park was once owned by Six Flags. It still feels
like one of their parks since you have the familiar Looney Tunes and DC Comics IPs,
but the theming is a step above. This applies to both the midways and a few nicely themed rides.
The ride lineup here is good too. It starts with the coaster lineup. Batman Gotham City Escape is
one of the world’s best coasters. This Intamin multi-launch coaster has a beautiful blend of
strong airtime and hangtime-filled inversions. Then this park also has two forceful B&M loopers.
One is the best floorless coaster in Superman. The other is a familiar Batman the Ride clone
in Shadows of Arkham. Then there’s the ultra intense Vekoma giant inverted boomerang in
Stunt Fall. This park also has two excellent water rides. Rio Bravo is a large and well-themed flume.
Then Rapidos Acme is a soaking river rapids ride with Looney Tunes themed sprayers. This
park also has some fun dark rides and a few solid flats to round out the ride offerings. Then they
have two can’t miss shows. By day, there’s the Police Academy car stunt show. By night,
there’s the Aquaman Nighttime Spectacular with daring acrobatics over the water. The biggest con
with this park is the operations. Many rides have slow dispatches and/or run with limited trains.
1) Kennywood in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania- This is a really unique park blending old and new. This
park has all sorts of historic rides, several of which are now one-of-a-kind. But they also add
modern thrillers to keep up with the times. This park has the best coaster lineup in the chain.
Phantom’s Revenge is an incredible hyper coaster. It uses the terrain beautifully and has some wild
airtime. Steel Curtain has the most inversions of any coaster in the United States and has a
dynamic layout. Sky Rocket is a Premier launch coaster with a great start. Then this park has
a trio of very well maintained wood coasters that all put a smile on my face. Complimenting
this are multiple good dark rides, a refreshing water ride in Raging Rapids, and a deep flat ride
lineup. There are modern pendulums chalk full of airtime like Black Widow or SwingShot. Then
there are feisty classics like Kangaroo or Turtle. For food, the potato patch fries are excellent.
I also love this park’s classic atmosphere and I personally find the operations good.
Crews work quickly to dispatch trains. The only cons are that some rides can be on one train and
Steel Curtain is notoriously unreliable. So that is how I rank all the theme parks
in the Parques Reunidos chain. What is your favorite park in the chain or thoughts on any
of the ones I mentioned? Let me know down in the comments. If you enjoyed this countdown, I would
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!