Conny-Land is a weird amusement park located in Switzerland.
Most coaster enthusiasts know this park exclusively for Cobra, the bizarre Pax shuttle coaster,
but that’s just the beginning.
This park has several other one-of-a-kind attractions.
But is it worth visiting?
Find out in this review of Conny-Land.
Switzerland is home to two of the best roller coaster manufacturers in the world in Bolliger
and Mabillard and Intamin.
Yet none of their coasters can be found in their native land.
Even stranger, Switzerland isn’t a particularly strong country for amusement parks.
Conny-Land is the largest theme park in the country, yet it only has one adult roller
coaster and doesn’t even boast two dozen rides.
But what it lacks in quantity, it makes up for in eccentricity.
Conny-Land opened in 1983.
This Swiss park takes up a super thin plot of land.
This causes rides to be packed in tight.
Add in the fact that the park’s two signature attractions- Cobra and Mammut Tree- both run
the length of the park, and you have a lot of kinetic energy as you walk down the midway.
I went in expecting this park to feel more like a carnival, but the park looked better
than expected.
There were plenty of trees and plants around the park.
Then many rides were lightly themed.
There was no synergy between the theming of each ride, but they usually had a decorative
structure or two.
Take the temple station for Cobra, the ornate entrance for the Dino Attack dark ride, and
the detailed backdrop for the Cobralino kiddie coaster just to name a few.
The arrival experience for Conny-Land was a bit different than expected.
Usually I like to purchase admission in advance online, but there was no such option for this
park.
And that may be tied to this next part.
Conny-Land did not seem to accept credit cards.
So make sure you bring plenty of cash.
As of 2021, daily admission for adults cost 31 Swiss Franc.
You have the option to pay in Swiss Franc or Euros, bills only- at the ticket booth.
All change is dispensed in Francs regardless of the currency you use, and that’s probably
a good thing because the parking machine only accepts the native Swiss currency.
I didn’t buy any meals or souvenirs at Conny-Land, so I’m not sure what currency or currencies
were accepted once inside the gate.
I visited on a summer weekday and crowds were minimal.
Almost every ride was a one cycle wait with the exception of three.
Then the two water rides had 15-20 minute waits due to the warm weather.
Then Mammut Tree had a half hour wait all afternoon.
This crazy sky ride is nearly 4-5 minutes in length and operates with just a single
16 person gondola.
If you arrive at park opening, this should be your first stop.
However, this is a park you likely won’t need a full day at.
A half day was sufficient for me.
And if you’re a coaster enthusiast visiting specifically for Cobra, there are two things
you should watch out for.
One, Cobra cannot operate in the rain.
I suspect that may be related to the exposed brake on the scorpion tail element.
Two, Cobra would not open with the park in 2021.
On Cobra’s page on the website, it was noted the coaster would not open until the afternoon.
I’m not sure if this will be continued going forwards or if it happened in past years as
well.
Additionally, Cobra would go down frequently for quick checks.
I believe the ride operator doubled as a mechanic because he would go beneath the track every
few trains for 5-10 minutes.
Others have seen this too, so maybe it’s just the standard operating procedure or maybe
it could be a maintenance intensive coaster given how it opened late every day in 2021.
Cobra is the main reason I visited Conny-Land and it did not disappoint.
This Pax creation is one of the world’s best shuttle coasters.
The trains feature both forwards and backwards seats, but that’s just the beginning.
The ride starts with this terrifying beyond-vertical lift.
Between the jerky process how the catch car engages the train and the steep angle, it’s
intimidating.
And the resultant drop is incredible.
It offers floater airtime with a fantastic freefall sensation.
The bunny hills are tamer than I expected, but the super circular loop pulls some crazy
Gs forwards.
The spike on the far end is the one-of-a-kind scorpion tail, which offers crazy hangtime
as you come mere feet from the edge of the track thanks to a brake.
You then repeat the course in reverse.
You have very little speed, so the vertical loop offers some more hangtime, but the rest
of the ride is a bore.
The ride has some shuffling at points, but it’s tolerable.
I go into more detail in a separate review, but the 2 spikes and vertical loop were fantastic.
The only other coaster is Cobralino, a Gerstlauer kiddy racer that is exclusive to kids.
I don’t even think an adult could fit in the vehicle even if they tried.
There are a few other kiddie rides towards the center of the park plus some play areas.
You have one outdoors and one indoors.
And then there’s also a high ropes course suitable for all ages.
The park has a very limited collection of adult flat rides.
I counted three in total.
There was a set of bumper cars, a swinging ship, and a S&S Space Shot.
The latter is the park’s tallest attraction.
There was zero warning for the launch and some faint airtime at the top.
I was stunned this park didn’t have a single spinning flat ride.
Those are staples at most parks.
For dark rides, there are two.
The straightforward one is Dino Attack.
This ride had a fancy queue line and facade, but an odd ride system.
This Zamperla attraction put guests in cramped 4-person jeeps, but only the front 2 riders
were given guns.
The guns had laser sights and there were plenty of targets to hit, most of which worked.
There were a handful of dinosaurs too.
None reacted to shots, but there were some adjacent to TV screens that activated a brief
cutscene.
Dino Attack is a decent shooting dark ride.
The weird one is Mammut Tree.
At first, this may appear to be an ordinary sky ride.
But the gondola and cable wildly bounces up-and-down.
Then there is an extended show scene inside this giant tree.
I don’t want to spoil what happens in there, but if you want to know, check out my separate
review.
This is a ride unlike any other and it had me laughing start-to-finish.
The park has two water rides.
One is a small log flume called Wildwasserbahn.
The other is Voodoo Island, a hybrid splash battle and river rapids ride.
And this is a rapids ride with a drop no less!
I’ve never seen this ride system elsewhere, but the marriage of ride systems made perfect
sense.
The final notable attraction is a sea lion show.
I skipped this show due to time, but it had a sizable arena and I was able to see the
animals in their habitat afterwards.
So do I recommend Conny-Land?
The park, while small, has something for everyone.
Cobra and Mammut Tree are two funky and highly enjoyable rides, but the lack of depth at
this park makes it less of a priority compared to other European parks.
Conny-Land may be the best park in Switzerland, but you have better parks in the adjacent
countries.
However, Conny-Land can make for an enjoyable half day if you’re in the area.
And if you’re a coaster enthusiast, Cobra is worth the pit stop once you’ve hit the
other major parks nearby.
So those are my thoughts on Conny-Land, Switzerland’s largest amusement park.
What are your thoughts on this quirky park?
Do you hope to visit it someday?
I would love to hear your thoughts on this park down in the comments.
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