Expedition GeForce at Holiday Park in Germany is almost unanimously considered to be one
of the best steel roller coasters in the world.
This Intamin junior hyper coaster has quite the reputation.
Pretty much everyone comes off this coaster raving about the airtime.
So did it deliver?
Oh yes.
Oh yes it did.
Expedition GeForce truly is one of the best coasters in the world.
This coaster is an airtime machine.
And it’s sort of crazy this coaster even exists.
In the year 2000, Holiday Park was a relatively unknown family park with only one roller coaster,
a Vekoma steel looping coaster called Super Wirbel.
But Holiday Park stunned the roller coaster community for their 30th anniversary by opening
Expedition GeForce for the 2001 season.
A pseudo hyper coaster is not the ride you’d expect a park to go with for their second
roller coaster.
It was a really bold move by Holiday Park, but it seems to have worked out for them.
Expedition GeForce has been a perennial contender for the best steel roller coaster in the world,
racking up countless awards along the way.
Expedition GeForce has many things going for it along with the legendary airtime.
One of the most important things are the trains.
Expedition GeForce still runs the old Intamin hyper coaster trains with the original t-bar
restraints.
These are the restraints that Six Flags New England’s Superman used to have or the restraints
you’ll currently find on Millennium Force or Top Thrill Dragster.
These minimalistic restraints make you feel very exposed and really allow you to experience
the ride’s crazy airtime.
Another underrated aspect about Expedition GeForce is the coaster’s setting.
The coaster winds its way through the woods and comes perilously close to countless trees
along the way.
I honestly can’t think of a hyper coaster in the US with a similar setting.
This coaster’s wooded setting reminds me more of the setting you’d find on a mine
train or a wooden roller coaster.
Now my experience with Expedition GeForce is probably going to be a lot different than
most.
I actually visited Holiday Park on a day when the park was closed to the public.
They were only open for the roller coaster club I visited with.
And Expedition GeForce hadn’t run in about a week, so there were some fears that the
coaster may be running a bit slow and not up to its full potential.
Well, let me tell you.
The ride warmed up fast.
Others who had ridden Expedition GeForce in the past said it was running as good as ever
after the first few laps.
Expedition GeForce begins with a 174 foot tall (or 53 meter tall) cable lift hill.
The lift gives a great view of the park and surrounding forest, but you don’t have much
time to take in the view.
As you’re being thrown over that amazing first drop in no time.
And that first drop truly is one of the best drops on any coaster.
There are a few first drops I prefer overall.
Namely the ones on El Toro, Iron Rattler, or a B&M giga.
But the drop on Expedition GeForce may be the most intense drop I’ve ever experienced.
You see, Expedition GeForce doesn’t have a straight first drop like most mega coasters.
Expedition GeForce has a twisting first drop at a perilously steep 82 degree angle.
The end result is pure insanity.
You get a very strong pop of ejector airtime cresting this hill, but at the same time you
are violently whipped to the left.
I can’t think of another moment of lateral Gs accompanied by an ejector airtime pop as
strong as the one on Expedition GeForce.
At the bottom of the first drop, you may notice the track subtly banks back to the left to
straighten itself out.
That’s how sharply you are twisted to the right on the first drop.
The ride has to course correct itself at the bottom.
That’s followed by the first camelback.
And the ejector airtime was outstanding.
It’s not only among the strongest ejector airtime I’ve ever experienced, but it’s
also among the most sustained.
You are held out of your seat for a good 3-4 seconds.
It felt equal in comparable to the airtime on El Toro’s two camelbacks or the 4th hill
on Six Flags New England’s Superman.
Intamin really is the master of sustained ejector airtime and Expedition GeForce may
be their best example of this.
Because you get airtime like this on every single camelback and bunny hill.
That’s followed by the first of several overbanks.
The overbanks on GeForce are not super forceful, but they do whip you through them.
They feel similar to the overbanked turn on Six Flags New England’s Superman.
These overbanks aren’t bad by any means, but they feel very ordinary compared to the
airtime hills on GeForce.
I just couldn’t wait to get to the next airtime hill.
And I didn’t have to wait long since the second camelback, or third hill, delivered
sustained ejector airtime equal in strength to the prior hill.
That’s followed by two more overbanks.
Again, this is the only lull on Expedition GeForce, but I’m willing to forgive it.
While the overbanks aren’t super forceful, the sense of speed is quite good since you’re
whizzing by trees for these turns.
You then fly over this S-hill that offers a quick pop of ejector airtime combined with
powerful laterals.
It felt similar to the S-hill on the Superman
clones at Six Flags America or Six Flags Darien Lake.
Expedition GeForce then flies around another turn and lines itself up for the finale- 4
consecutive bunny hills.
Going into the return run, I figured these hills would give quick pops of ejector airtime
like the smaller hills you find on a RMC.
But boy was I wrong.
These bunny hills offered even more sustained ejector airtime.
The strength of the ejector airtime was comparable to the camelbacks earlier in the ride and
while it couldn’t be sustained for quite as long due to the hills being significantly
smaller, you are completely out-of-your-seat for the duration of the hill.
In fact, you barely have time to return to your seat before the next hill.
One other neat thing about the return run is that the first two bunny hills have a wicked
headchopper with one of the camelbacks earlier in the ride.
So you’re not only getting otherworldly airtime, but you also think you’re going
to be decapitated.
It really is an exciting finale.
Expedition GeForce is relentless and is the best coaster in the world to experience sustained
ejector airtime.
I think the airtime on Skyrush may be a pinch stronger, but the t-bar restraints on Expedition
GeForce are significantly more comfortable.
That being said, you will still feel the airtime the next day.
Again these are the same restraints as Millennium Force and I never hear anyone say anything
negative about the restraints.
The airtime on Expedition GeForce really is that strong.
So what would I rate Expedition GeForce?
Without question, this coaster gets a 10 out of 10.
When you’re the best in the world at sustained ejector airtime, how can I not give GeForce
a perfect score.
You have one of the best first drops in the world and seven of the best airtime hills
in the world.
And it goes without saying that this coaster is immaculately smooth as well.
For that reason, Expedition GeForce is a top 5 roller coaster for me.
And that’s no small feat when you’ve ridden over 1000 coasters.
In terms of seat selection, I recommend the back.
The airtime felt a bit stronger back there on the camelbacks and you also get to experience
the drop at its craziest.
However, definitely try the front as well since the sense of speed is superior up there.
So those are my thoughts on Expedition GeForce.
What are your thoughts on Expedition GeForce?
Have you ridden this world-class coaster or is it on your bucket list?
I would love to hear your comments down below.
If you enjoyed this review, I’d appreciate it if you gave this video a like and considered
subscribing since there will be a lot more amusement park and roller coaster videos here
at Canobie Coaster.
Thanks for listening!