Alpina Bahn is one of the most notable traveling coasters in the world.
This Schwarzkopf coaster often travels the German fair circuit
and I’ve been lucky enough to have ridden this coaster at two separate fairs.
But is this elusive coaster worth seeking out? Find out in this review of Alpina Bahn.
This coaster was built by Schwarzkopf for Oscar Bruch and it premiered back in 1983. At the time,
it was the world’s largest traveling roller coaster until Olympia Looping debuted in 1989.
The coaster had a bit of an identity crisis in its early years.
It was known as Himalaya Bahn for its first few years. Then it was named Achterbahn, which is
the German word for roller coaster, in 1987. The ride was then renamed Alpina Bahn in 1998 and the
coaster has retained that name ever since. This coaster’s presentation is great for
a portable coaster. The purple track and green supports look fine by day,
but the ride really comes alive at night with the rainbow lights on the first few elements.
And then I love this ride’s entrance. You have this classic chalet with some characters.
As with most European fairs, you won’t find a pay-one-price option. You need to pay per
ride. I think it cost roughly 6 or 7 Euros per ride if I remember correctly as of 2022.
I’ve experienced this coaster at both the Dusseldorf Rhinekirmes and Munich’s Oktoberfest.
Both fairs have been absolutely packed. Despite this, Alpina Bahn has been a near walk-on.
That’s because of how efficiently this coaster is operated.
The ride can run up to 5 trains, each seating 20 riders. This not only benefits the consumer who
can board quickly, but it allows the operators to maximize their throughput and revenue.
You won’t see any stacking here. The trains will be in near constant motion.
Part of that is because the ride is honestly overstaffed. Part of that is because the
simple lap bars are easy to check. You won’t find any extra seatbelts here.
The received new trains from Gerstlauer a few years ago and if you’ve ridden Hersheypark’s
Sooperdooperlooper in recent years, you’ll be very familiar with these trains. They
feel like the classic Schwarzkopf ones right down to the minimalistic lap bar.
I was a bit nervous the crew wouldn’t allow me to wait for a specific seat, but they had
no issues as long as you don’t slow down boarding for others. Since you’re paying per ride, you want
the best seat. And I think that’s easily the back row. You get the best airtime and laterals there.
Once dispatched, you climb up the curved 89 foot or 27 meter tall lift. The views are obviously
dependent on the fair, but I’m willing to bet you’ll get a great view of midway to your side.
At the top, you have a small little dip. But then you rise up and approach the main drop, an 85 foot
or 26 meter tall twisting plunge. While you won’t get any airtime here, the back is in for a treat.
They get some crazy laterals halfway down the drop. If you don’t hold on, you will be viciously
flung sideways. Then everyone gets blasted with strong positives on the valley. This coaster
pulls a max of 4.8 Gs. Not sure where it occurs though since there are several forceful valleys.
The next hill is a giant camelback. Those up front get some weak floater airtime,
but it’s even better in back. You get stronger floater airtime that’s far more sustained as well.
It feels weird, but very nice, to get sustained airtime on a Schwarzkopf.
The pullout is super compact and rapidly blasts riders with positives.
Then you twist upwards and subtly bank to the right, getting some laterals. You then traverse
another sizable drop. And if you’re in the back, this one gives a weak pop of airtime. The
resultant valley offers another dose of positive Gs and then you twist upwards into a mid-course
brake run. The turn into this element is super sharp, so you get some strong laterals up front.
The second half kicks things off with a relatively shallow s-drop,
but the pullout again has nice positives. You then rise up into yet another s-drop
that rides nearly identically to the prior one. You then sharply twist upwards into another
mid-course. This transition gives a strong lateral jolt for all.
Next is a small dip that doesn’t do too much, but it shortly leads into a banked drop. It had
great laterals as I expected, but it also gives a little pop of airtime for those in the back.
You then twist into this awesome s-hill. The front gets nice floater airtime,
but those in back get some ejector airtime as you’re yanked down the drop.
This moment seemingly comes out of nowhere after the repetitive twists and turns.
This hill leads into a final helix that has some good positive Gs and then you hit the
final brakes, ending the 2986 foot or 910 meter long coaster. It really is impressive
to see a coaster this long at a carnival. This ride is fairly well paced since it holds its
speed well and has engaging elements, but what about the smoothness. Wouldn’t a ride that has
been assembled and disassembled this many times be rough? Not at all! This ride is super smooth.
I could ride it all day, but that would burn a massive hole in my wallet.
So what would I rate Alpina Bahn? I would give this traveling Schwarzkopf an 8 out of 10.
This is a great coaster for a fair and a good coaster overall. The ride is a smooth and very
forceful coaster start to finish. The positives on the pullouts and transitions prevent dead spots.
Then the ride pops in a few surprising and satisfying moments of laterals and airtime
for variety. Just make sure to ride this in back for the best experience.
This is one of my favorite traveling coasters without a doubt and it’s a must ride if you see
it at a fair. The two I know it routinely visits are the Dusseldorf Rhinekirmes in the summer
and Munich Oktoberfest in the fall.
So those are my thoughts on Alpina Bahn, the traveling German roller coaster. Have you
ridden this coaster? How do you think it stacks up to the other portable coasters out there?
Let me know down in the comments. If you enjoyed this review, I’d appreciate it if
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roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!