Wiener Prater is a massive amusement park in the heart of Vienna, Austria.
This park feels like a carnival on steroids.
The park is comprised of several different attractions from multiple operators.
And for this reason, the park frequently cycles through its attractions.
During my visit in 2021, the park featured 14 different roller coasters, some of the
world’s best flat rides, and several dark rides, so in this video, I will countdown
the top 30 rides and attractions I personally experienced.
Before starting this countdown, I want to note that I couldn’t ride everything.
Between time and the fact there is no pay-one-price wristband, there were a few flats and dark
rides I had to skip.
But I rode all the coasters adults were permitted to ride and what I perceived to be the top
non-coasters.
30) Zug des Manitu- This indoor powered coaster is small in size, but it has some character.
The ride starts by going backwards before switching directions and navigating the layout
3 times going forwards.
There really aren’t any drops, but some of the tight turns offer some laterals and
more importantly, the ride is very well-themed.
The building has a nice western facade and you have a tunnel guarded by Native Americans.
29) Blumenrad- This 148 foot or 45 meter tall Ferris Wheel is located at the far end of
Wiener Prater, so it offers stunning views of the entire amusement area and city.
I did want to try the historic giant Ferris wheel, but unfortunately, that one closed
early.
While this one lacked the history, it was similarly tall and likely offered a similar
view.
28) Space Shot- This is an average S&S space shot.
You have a moderately forceful launch, a little floater airtime at the top, and a view comparable
to the prior Ferris wheel.
You just don’t have as much time to appreciate it.
27) Hochschaubahn- Wiener Prater’s oldest adult coaster is this 1950 scenic railway.
While this coaster has a few drops, it honestly feels more like a dark ride.
The coaster crawls- and I mean crawls- through the layout.
There are zero thrills to be had.
However, you pass through a few different caves and past these charming miniatures along
the route to compensate.
26) Geister Bahn- This was the worst of the dark rides I experienced, but it still had
some redeeming qualities.
The sets were dated, but the scares came super close to the vehicle.
While their timing wasn’t perfect, the proximity compensated.
25) Super 8er Bahn- This Pinfari creation was bigger than I expected.
This ride is 69 feet or 21 meters tall and features 2559 feet or 780 meters of track.
There were some large sweeping drops and the pullouts had decent positive Gs, but some
of the valleys and turns were pretty shaky, especially further back in the train, so you
need to brace yourself.
24) Roller Ball- This is an odd attraction.
This 4th dimension coaster looks impressive off-ride, but every single raven turn is trimmed.
This neuters the ride’s speed and swinging.
Whereas the other 4D coasters flip riders, this one has too little speed to do anything
but rock riders back and forth.
I do like the super free restraints and the ride offers some neat views, but it’s severely
deficient on thrills and I go into more detail in a separate review.
23) Wilde Maus- This Maurer wild mouse is a decent.
The initial hairpin turns have zero braking, so you get some strong laterals.
Then a few of the final bunny hills offer tiny pops of airtime.
This layout isn’t ground-breaking, but it’s run as fast as a wild mouse can.
22) Dizzy Mouse- This Reverchon spinning wild mouse is a fun one.
I was granted a solo ride, so the second half had some great spinning due to my unbalanced
car.
The first half had some good laterals on the hairpin turns and the initial 2 drops were
tummy-tickling.
21) Boomerang- This Vekoma boomerang features a unique train from Schafer.
This one features metal lap bars.
While it’s nice not having to worry about headbanging, these lap bars have zero padding
so I think it’s a wash.
The layout is the usual boomerang.
The drops give a weak freefalling sensation and then you have 3 very forceful inversions
taken both forwards and backwards.
20) Aqua Gaudi- This log flume features a compact layout stacked on top of each other.
And along the way, there are three drops.
The largest is just ok, but the most notable is one of the smaller plunges that features
a speed hill.
But unlike most flumes with this feature, you have a splashdown in between the initial
plunge and the speed hill.
19) Wildwasserbahn- This river rapids feels more like a water slide.
You start with a giant, rotating elevator lift.
You then proceed down a trough.
This one didn’t spin all that fast and it took a while to build up speed, but the final
plunge into the water delivered a surprising pop of airtime because of its abruptness and
lack of restraints.
And that final splash is a soaker if you enter the pool going backwards.
18) Volare- This is a slightly modified Zamperla Volare, but this flying coaster rides fairly
similarly to the other ones out there.
Most enthusiasts hate these rides and while I will admit this one is a little shakier
than the other Volares, I still enjoy this ride.
Maybe I’m just the right height to avoid headbanging, but that allows me to enjoy the
zippy initial plunge, the forceful turns, and the hangtime filled barrel rolls.
17) Hotel Psycho- This was a pretty good dark ride.
Like Geister Bahn, this one had several scenes that got super close to you, but the animatronics
and effects were more modern.
I also liked how the vehicles could rotate and how the ride used multi-directional sound
to heighten the frights.
16) Maskerade- This is a bizarre Gerstlauer spinning coaster.
It starts with a weird photo shoot in a room full of masks.
You then head up a short elevator lift; this ride is just 33 feet or 10 meters tall.
After a short but solid outdoor drop, you navigate a forceful helix in the dark.
There isn’t much to this layout, but I got a severely unbalanced ride so I was spinning
pretty wildly for the entire coaster section.
15) Discovery- This Zamperla looping frisbee is a fun and forceful flat.
You get some airtime on the partial swings, but that’s just the appetizer.
The downswings deliver crushing positive Gs and the full rotations occur so slowly that
you get some delightful hangtime.
14) Break Dance- This Huss creation is one of the best run versions of this popular flat.
The ride had booming music, dizzying lights, and fog to amplify the ride’s intensity.
And this was a very fast break dance to begin with.
The spinning was very forceful when the cars and base’s rotation would synch up and I
was being wildly whipped about.
13) Iceberg- This is a quirky shooting dark ride.
Themed to a polar expedition, riders are given cameras that serve as your blasters.
All of the targets seemed to work and there were a few animatronics peppered in.
Now for the weird.
This is a multi-level trackless dark ride.
It probably didn’t need to be this sophisticated, but it’s still cool.
But even weirder were the music choices.
The soundtrack included songs such as I Like to Move It, I’m Too Sexy, and Who Let the
Dogs Out.
12) Insider- This indoor Maurer spinning coaster is a multi-sensory experience.
The queue line features a fun mirror maze and then the main layout is overwhelming.
You have electric dance music and lasers flying everywhere.
It felt like something out of a dream.
The layout on this one is similar to the standard Maurer wild mouse, but since I was in an unbalanced
car, I got some wild spinning.
Combine that with those aforementioned effects and this wrecked my equilibrium.
Just brace yourself for the abrupt brakes and some of the sudden turns you can’t see
coming.
11) Gesengte Sau- This Gerstlauer bobsled has a super compact and twisted layout that’s
near impossible to memorize.
It’s not quite as forceful as the more sprawling bobsleds in Germany, but the hairpin turns
still offered good laterals, a few of the helixes and banked turns offered decent positive
Gs, and the two big drops offered weak floater airtime.
And this layout is paired with a show scene before the main lift and a catchy clucking
tune that plays throughout.
10) Prater Tower- This 384 foot or 117 meter tall Funtime star flyer offers some of the
best views of any attraction.
You can see the entire amusement park plus Vienna’s impressive skyline.
This is among the tamest star flyers though, as it rotates much slower, but that may have
been deliberate so you can better appreciate the sights.
This one only builds up speed at the every end as you’re descending back down the tower.
9) Megablitz- The best roller coaster at Wiener Prater is this weird Vekoma creation.
It feels more like a Schwarzkopf coaster.
You have two steep drops at the start and then three super forceful helixes.
This ride pulls nearly 5 Gs and it caused me to start greying out.
Add in some fairly smooth trackwork and it’s no surprise why this is the park’s best
coaster.
I go into more detail in a separate review, but this ride caught me by surprise.
8) Tagada- This flat ride is banned back home in America and I can see why.
This ride has zero restraints.
And riders are completely free and encouraged to stand up.
Heck you can jump around while the ride is in motion!
And the motion is pretty forceful too.
The spinning produces some strong centripetal force that will throw you to the outside of
the vehicle.
And the ride also bounces unpredictably.
Add in some loud music and this feels like a drunken dance party.
7) Tornado- This is a one-of-a-kind flat ride from Funtime.
This is a giant swing on a string.
The ride’s immense height and speed offers some good positive Gs on the downswings.
But more impressively, the vehicle has a series of controlled and slow flips that resulted
in some amazing hangtime and visuals simultaneously.
I go into more detail in a separate review, but I wish more of these are built.
6) King Booster- This is the newer of the two boosters at Wiener Prater.
This one is taller- standing nearly 200 feet or 60 meters tall- and you have more axes
of rotation.
The seats both spin and flip.
The rotation was slower and more fluid than expected, but the ride’s sheer height caused
some good positive Gs on the downswings.
And the flips over the top offered some moderate hangtime and airtime.
5) Old Booster- I was surprised I preferred the older Booster, but this one was way more
intense.
This is among the fastest boosters I have ridden.
The ride had extremely forceful and sustained positive Gs for the entire rotation.
It felt like it was going to rip my legs off.
And each rotation was paired with a fast flip.
Add in some great visuals and a long ride cycle, and you have a winner.
4) Free Fall Tower- Vienna- This is a massive drop tower from Funtime.
Standing almost 300 feet or 90 meters tall, this ride offers amazing views.
The vehicle rotates both on the ascent and at the top.
And you’re held at the top for a very long time.
While you can tell when the drop is about to start, the plunge is long and thrilling.
You get a brief stomach dropping sensation initially and then float the whole way down.
3) Extasy- I’m stunned everyone didn’t come off this crazy contraption puking.
Extasy is downright insane.
This enclosed attraction is another with booming music and lights.
And when paired with the motion, it’s one of the most disorienting rides in the world.
This attraction has multiple arms that spin riders in a fast and compact circle that delivers
a combination of great positive Gs and sustained laterals.
Then the arms raise into the air.
When they’re diagonal, you get some weak pops of airtime along with those aforementioned
forces.
But the ride is at its craziest when the arms fully invert you.
Getting sustained laterals and positive Gs while suspended upside-down is an unreal sensation.
Not only does this ride have those crazy forces and an electric atmosphere, but the ride cycle
clocks in at roughly 6 minutes.
2) Speed Wave- I love a well-run Mondial top scan and Speed Wave certainly fits the bill.
This one is extremely fast, so I experienced powerful and sustained laterals for the entire
ride.
At the same time, the vehicle would wildly rock or invert.
Like with Extasy, it’s a sublime sensation getting hangtime while also experiencing positive
and lateral forces.
This top scan only ran in one direction, but it ran for a very long time in that one direction.
1) Black Mamba- This Funtime chaos pendle may be the best flat ride I have ever experienced.
The ride has two rotating arms, which results in a bevy of sensations.
Most rotations caused the gondola to flip.
And you’d get intense positive Gs on the downswings as well.
But that’s not all.
This ride had airtime.
When the two arms synched up, you’d get some very shocking, sustained, and forceful
airtime going over the top.
Keep in mind, you’d usually be flipping at the same time too.
When the two arms were out-of-synch, the motion was reminiscent of a traditional booster which
is still mighty thrilling.
Then the cases in between have varying degrees of floater airtime.
The varied and intense motion is why I loved Black Mamba so much and I talk about it in
a separate review.
So those are the top 30 best rides and attractions I personally experienced at Wiener Prater.
As I mentioned at the start of the video, there were some dark rides I missed, so definitely
let me know how good the ones I skipped were.
And definitely let me know what you’re thoughts are on any of the rides I mentioned 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!