Gesengte Sau is the newest permanent roller coaster at Wiener Prater. This is the largest
Gerstlauer bobsled, which if you’re not familiar with the model is a more dynamic
wild mouse coaster. The ride is super compact, but it features a convoluted and layered layout that
keeps you guessing until the very end. But how good are the elements?
Find out in this review of Gesengte Sau. This coaster’s presentation is sweet.
The purplish/pink track looks nice and the mess of track is hard to follow.
You also have this tall barn and some audio around the attraction to give it some character. The
one thing that confuses me though is the theme. The ride features these sleek looking automobiles.
Yet the few thematic elements during the ride are barnyard themed. It would have made more sense to
me if the cars were tractors, but this is a minor critique and maybe I just missed a plot detail.
Like all rides at Wiener Prater, the only option to experience Gesengte Sau is pay
per ride. And I believe it cost roughly 6 Euros. You purchase a ride ticket from a self-service
kiosk and then enter the queue line. This ride had one of the longest lines at Wiener Prater,
hovering around 15-20 minutes at worst, which was still perfectly reasonable.
Gesgente Sau operates with several 4 person cars simultaneously.
And as capacity dictates, the operator can add or remove additional cars in just a minute or two.
This is much different than what you see at a US park where maintenance would need to be called
and it’s a much lengthier process. I didn’t think the row would matter
much with single car vehicles, but I found the airtime marginally better in the back.
Once dispatched, you round a corner. There are some screens with barnyard animals,
smoke, and alarms. I’m not quite sure what’s going on,
but it’s a cute little dark ride scenes before proceeding to the coaster.
You then ascend the 79 foot or 24 meter tall lift. Once at the top, you start with
a short series of hairpin turns. These tight turns give some solid laterals per usual.
You then head down one of the ride’s largest drops. It’s pretty steep and zippy.
And if you’re in the back row, you’ll get an itty bitty pop of airtime. You then shoot through the
barn structure, twist upwards to the right, and go through the first of a few mid-course brake runs.
This one didn’t do anything to the ride’s speed. You then navigate another series of hairpin turns.
You have some extra speed through these portion, so the laterals are a little more pronounced.
This leads into back-to-back banked drops. Neither drop itself is that noteworthy,
but the pullout from the second is super tight and delivers a good burst of positive Gs. You then
shoot upwards into another mid-course brake run. This one does take some speed off the car though.
You round another hairpin turn, getting another nice dose of laterals,
before zooming down another sizable drop that also shoots through the barn. And it
rides similarly to the first one, giving a faint pop of air if you’re in that back row.
But I do like how the barn is filled with smoke this time.
After rising upwards, you cross the length of the ride navigating a series of banked turns.
They’re pretty slow, but I do like the visuals of the one hugging the barn
and the headchoppers from the supports. You then cruise through another mid-course
brake run and at this point, the ride is basically over. The coaster just doesn’t have enough speed
to do anything worthwhile. You turn to the side and coast over two bunny hills. But with
so little speed, you get no airtime. After the final mid-course brake run,
you gently bank to ground level and meekly round one last turn into the final brakes.
So what would I rate Gesengte Sau? I would give this Gerstlauer bobsled a 6 out of 10. This
ride has a solid start between the funky dark ride bit, initial hairpin turns, and two sizable drops.
But the ride dies towards the end. The coaster is better than your average wild mouse,
but it is one of the weakest Gerstlauer bobsleds I’ve ridden despite its size. It’s
still a fun ride and one of the better coasters at Wiener Prater because of its unique layout.
So those are my thoughts on Gesengte Sau at Wiener Prater. What are your thoughts on this
supersized wild mouse coaster? Do you agree it’s one of the better coasters at this Austrian park?
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!