The Rhinekirmes is a massive funfair in Dusseldorf along the banks of the Rhine River. After being
paused for a few years due to covid-19, the fair made a triumphant return in 2022 with some of the
wildest flat rides out there, some large traveling roller coasters, and an incredible energy.
So in this video, I will rank the fair’s top 15 rides and attraction at the 2022 event.
Before starting the countdown, I want to note that I couldn’t experience every ride. I had limited
time at the fair and there’s no pay-one-price wristband, so I had to be strategic which rides I
experienced. I experienced all the adult coasters and what I perceived to be the best flats.
The one flat I skipped that likely would have made the list was Konga. I love KMG XXLs,
but there were two superior frisbee rides at this fair I chose to ride instead.
I also had ridden some of the rides at this fair at other carnivals in Germany.
Those rides were eligible to make this list. 15) Dr. Archibald Master of Time- This dark
ride has one of the most impressive and eye-catching facades out there.
The experience starts with a cool pre-show. Then the main ride is a tracked dark ride where riders
don VR headsets to take them to wild settings such as outer space, a volcano, and underwater.
The visuals are decent enough, but not world class. Some monsters attack you along the way,
but the VR is mostly to immerse you in the area. Then the experience ends with a fun house
and the decorations match the final setting from the VR. I really liked the cohesion.
14) Rio Rapidos- This spinning rapids ride looks like it’ll soak you, but you actually come off
dry. This ride doesn’t have any notable drops. But you do spin like a top throughout the first half.
Think of this more like a spinning ride than a water ride and it’s a solid attraction.
13) Hollenblitz- This is a weird, one-of-a-kind spinning coaster. Most of the ride is indoors
except the ride’s largest drop. This ride doesn’t offer much in terms of airtime or laterals,
but the cars spin for a large chunk of the experience. You won’t spin super fast,
but it’s a consistent rotation. And when paired with the abundance of lights indoors,
you can come off this ride pretty dizzy. 12) Bayern Tower- This Funtime star flyer is
massive, standing 90 meters or 295 feet tall, making it the tallest ride at the fair. From
the top, you get stunning views of the fair and surrounding city. The one critique I have with
the program is that it spends more time than I would have liked spinning near the ground.
I would have thought you’d want to maximize your time in the air to fully take in the sights.
11) Wild Wasserbahn 2- This is a fun log flume. Despite being portable, you start with some
nicely-lit dark ride scenes. Then you have two drops. The first is backwards with some zip.
The second is taken forwards, but it’s noticeably taller and gives a little pop of airtime.
10) Predator- This Moser transformer runs a crazy cycle that was over 6 minutes in duration.
The motion is repetitive, but it’s downright thrilling so it didn’t get old. As the claw
starts to invert, you get floater airtime at the halfway point, then you stay out of your
seat as you invert. And while you’re getting that hangtime, the claw is spinning super fast so you
get crazy positive Gs simultaneously. It’s super weird to get hangtime and positives together,
but that makes this attraction standout. 9) Hangover- This Funtime drop tower stands
26 stories tall and it runs a weird cycle. You start by rising halfway up the tower.
After spinning around for a minute, you suddenly fall back down to the ground.
This is a pretty short drop since you hit the brakes fast, but it still has a little zip. Then
you slowly rise to the top, spinning along the way. So everyone gets a top notch view.
Once the vehicle stops spinning, you slowly rise to the top and suddenly drop back down. This drop
offers a great stomach dropping sensation and good floater airtime because of its size and power.
And the ride puts on quite the show at ground level with all the lights and music.
8) Gladiator- This Mondial turbine stands 20 stories tall and it’s a twist on your standard
booster, literally. The gondola is able to rotate 360 degrees along with the usual flipping.
The early revolutions offer super sustained floater airtime as you fling through the air.
The middle revolutions with more speed offer shorter but still solid airtime.
Then you miss out on the negative Gs when the ride reaches its max speed,
but your vehicle instead gets a flip with each pass along with great positives,
which is a fair tradeoff. I liked the mix of sensations along with the neat views of the fair.
7) Alpina Bahn- This Schwarzkopf coaster foregoes inversions in favor of swooping drops and helixes.
The first drop has insane laterals in the back and this pullout, like many on the ride,
has solid positives. Then there’s a large camelback with solid floater airtime.
The middle section is a series of nice turns and banked drops,
but the finale surprises you with this awesome s-hill that gives a really nice pop of airtime.
This ride has been disassembled and moved many times, but it’s still super smooth and
a lot of fun, and I have an entire review if you want to learn more.
6) Ghost Rider- This Huss attraction takes their usual breakdance, but the cars are
able to rock side-to-side and fully invert. The ride starts with a fast and forceful
rotation before the vehicles start to rock. You invert very quickly, causing some crazy whip,
especially when the inversions were synchronized with you being jerked across the platform.
The one downside with this attraction was that the operators would sometimes run it full tilt
for 3-4 minutes. Other times they’d run it in 1 minute bursts, loading people in between runs.
5) Shake- If you’re familiar with Tivoli’s Tik Tak, take that ride and make it way more intense.
This Mondial flat ride is basically a break dance where the cars can also rock and flip.
Unlike the prior ride where you rotate sideways, you flip forwards and backwards on this one.
This is a disorienting experience combining forceful spinning with sudden inversions. I
would sometimes get 1-2 rapid flips. Other times, I would stall upside-down while being shot across
the platform. I never knew where my body would go next, and I certainly wasn’t complaining!
4) Infinity- This is the world’s tallest frisbee, standing 62 meters or 203 feet tall.
And it feels every bit that tall. You get some incredible visuals on this ride.
You also have a thrilling program. You just keep swinging higher and higher until you fully invert.
That full revolution is super slow, so it offers insane hangtime. Then the half swings leading up
to it offered weak floater airtime and the swings beyond that offered great sustained floater.
And every single downswing contrasted those negative forces with strong positives.
I have a separate review on this ride, but it’s a must if you love pendulum rides.
3) King- Would you believe Infinity wasn’t even the best frisbee at this fair? That honor goes to
this Technical Park Street Fighter. This ride ran a longer, more forceful, and more varied cycle.
The half swings offered decent floater and then the larger swings offered far better and more
sustained airtime. Eventually you start inverting, getting ridiculous hangtime over the top. And the
positive forces on the downswings were among the strongest of any frisbee and tried to rip my legs
off. Halfway through the ride, the seats unlock and can rock, which adds a whole new dimension.
You get insane whip as you’re yanked in every which direction,
getting subjected to strong positive forces in weird orientations. It was especially incredible
when you’d get popped out of your seat and then immediately flung towards the ground in
a similar maneuver to a Chance Zipper. I came off this ride barely able to walk straight.
2) Wilde Maus XXL- This is now my new favorite traveling coaster. I never thought a wild mouse
could be this crazy. This ride used to be your standard Mack wild mouse, but it was
transformed into Wilde Maus XXL in 2012. The ride’s height was doubled and two sizable and
zippy drops were placed at the start. You then navigate the old layout with way more speed.
And there are zero brakes. So you get some of the wildest and most violent laterals on the planet.
Then the hills towards the end are way more thrilling with the added speed.
I was getting powerful ejector airtime on several of them! And it’s not just the ride itself that’s
nuts, this ride also has a queue line that’s essentially a fun house with these spinning
and shaking platforms. Check out my review, but this is a genuinely amazing coaster.
1) Skater- This Mondial top scan was my favorite flat ride for a while. It was dethroned by Wiener
Prater’s Black Mamba last year, but Skater came back with a vengeance in 2022. This ride left me
breathless. This ride ran very fast, so I got very strong and sustained laterals for the entire ride.
Then the ride also produced intense positives that felt like they’d rip my legs off.
And the ride also offered the variety I crave with the aerial maneuvers.
Sometimes I was wildly thrown over the top, getting sustained airtime. Other times I’d
be flipping rapidly. And it was possible to get the airtime and flips simultaneously.
Sometimes, I would be suspended upside-down for seconds at a time
getting glorious hangtime. All these sensations make this ride unbelievable and I have an entire
review on this ride you can check out. In short, the ones in North America run nothing like this.
So those are the top 15 rides and attractions I experienced at the 2022 Rhinekirmes Fair in
Germany. What are your favorite rides at this fair? Were there any good ones I missed? Let
me know down in the comments. If you enjoyed this countdown, 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!