PowerLand in Kauhava, Finland has over 40 different rides and attractions.
This amusement park’s interesting ride lineup includes 7 different roller coasters, some
intense flat rides, and a few dark rides.
I spent a full day at this park and was able to ride almost every major attraction at this
park.
The two exceptions were the Fiesta star flyer and Typhoon frisbee that were closed, possibly
due to staffing.
So in this video, I will rank my top 15 favorite rides and attractions at PowerLand.
15) Piovra- This Soriani and Moser polyp ride is a dizzying experience.
The bounces create a small tummy-tickling sensation and while it’s not the fastest
version of this ride type, the three axes of spinning work together to throw off the
equilibrium of riders.
14) Real Snacks Jetski- This Zierer wild water rondell is a relatively rare water whip.
These rides are most commonly found at the Legoland parks and they offer a neat ride
experience.
It’s rare to experience an attraction standing up like this and when you steer your vehicle
outwards, you skim over the waves and get some mild laterals.
13) Dragon Tower (Observation Mode)- PowerLand’s Moser Rides drop tower is unique in that in
runs two different programs.
It operates both as a traditional drop tower and as an observation tower.
There are two separate entrances in the queue line for both modes.
If there’s demand for both, the park alternates cycles, but from what I saw, the drop tower
mode is far more popular.
While I too prefer the drop side, the observation side offers extended views of both PowerLand
and the entire PowerPark resort since you spin both on the ascent and descent.
12) Joyride- This L&T systems family coaster is a super compact ride and it offers some
mild forces due to the tight turns and relatively long trains.
The back row has some good whip down the first drop while the other turns offer better force
towards the front of the train as you’re pushed into them.
And the coaster is shockingly smooth despite its appearance.
This is probably the park’s best family coaster and it’s enjoyable for all ages.
11) Neo’s Twister- This Fabbri spinning wild mouse is more comfortable than the other
versions I’ve ridden from Fabbri.
This one makes some questionable noises, particularly on the hairpin turns, but those hairpin turns
do offer some nice laterals.
While the drops aren’t anything special, you spin for a majority of the layout unlike
the more common Zamperla or Reverchon spinners.
10) Cobra- This Vekoma boomernag is one of the best out there.
It’s one of the newer ones, as it was built in 2005.
And it also features Vekoma’s newer generation MK1211 trains.
These trains do still feature over-the-shoulder restraints as opposed to lap bars or vests,
but the superior trackwork eliminated all headbanging.
That allowed me to appreciate the solid initial plunge and forceful blitz of inversions- both
forwards and backwards.
The other cool thing about this boomerang is that the station fills with smoke when
you pass through it.
This makes the forceful inversions even more disorienting.
9) Fun-House- This construction themed fun house has two stories of gags.
A majority of them are floor gags ranging from rollers to spinners, but you also have
some visual effects such as these technicolored lightsabers dangling from the ceiling and
an effective vortex tunnel.
And the ride finishes with a spiral slide as well.
There are better fun houses in Europe, but this is far superior to most fun houses I’m
accustomed to in the United States.
8) Kwai River- This Interlink flume ride has some interesting quirks.
The most notable is the initial drop sequence.
After the initial plunge, rather than hitting a splashdown, you skim down this straightaway
and then you whip around this unbanked turn.
And this turn offers some great laterals since you have no restraints or seat dividers.
You then continue down another small drop before finally hitting a splashdown.
I can’t think of another flume that does this.
The second drop is more conventional, but it’s fairly tall and offers a tiny pop of
airtime.
The ride isn’t a soaker, which is probably a good thing considering Finland’s climate.
And then outside of the drops, there isn’t too much to look at, but those drops carry
the ride.
7) Devil’s Mine Hotel- This Gosetto interactive shooting dark ride has a really cool Western
facade that even includes an animatronic.
Then the ride itself has some quirks.
Unlike most shooting dark rides where you can shoot to your heart’s content, you have
a limited number of shots you’re allowed to take on this one.
So it requires some strategy when you fire.
Rather than having 2D cutouts like a lot of regional parks, this dark ride had animatronics.
They didn’t have too much movement, but it added a lot to the experience.
The ride wasn’t in the best condition between the screechy vehicles and some targets being
out, but it was still a nice change of pace from the other rides.
6) Booster- Produced by Fabbri, this giant thrill ride offers some good Gs on the downswings
and some well-timed flips as you fly over the top.
This one wasn’t as fast as the other Boosters I’ve ridden, but it’s always a rush being
sent head-over-heels when you’re over 100 feet in the air.
5) Pegasus- This Technical Park creation is the park’s most intense ride.
This flat ride is the lovechild of a top scan and an evolution.
The ride cycle is pulsed.
The ride slowly meanders for most of it, but it has these two wild bursts where you flip
and rock uncontrollably.
I have no clue what the ride was doing to my body since it was a disorienting blur of
sustained hangtime, abrupt rocking, and positive Gs.
I’ve never seen this type of ride elsewhere but I’d love to see more.
4) Dragon Tower (Drop Mode)- This Moser Rides drop tower stands 246 foot or 75 meter tall.
It offers an amazing view of both the park and PowerPark resort since you spin on the
way up.
This is the same ride system as Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s Mach Tower, which gets a
lot of flack in the coaster community, but I actually enjoy that ride and the drop feels
similar on this one.
You float the whole way down.
3) Thunderbird- This Great Coasters International wood coaster has less turns than other GCIs.
Instead, it’s a more straight-forward double out-and-back layout with a sea of airtime
hills.
While the ride has some decent airtime moments in the first half, it fizzles out in the second
half and sadly has no airtime on the return run.
The ride is fairly smooth outside of the pullout from the first drop and it is the best wood
coaster in all of Finland.
2) Pitts Special- This Gerstlauer Infinity coaster offers a confusing ride experience.
The first drop and subsequent pullout are great.
You go from some decent ejector airtime to crushing positive Gs in an instant.
And there’s also a speed hill in the first half that delivers some great ejector airtime.
However, this coaster has some of the worst pacing on the planet.
Almost every element seems like its too tall or elongated, so it feels like you’ll valley
on most elements.
And as a result, the ride offers barely any positive Gs or airtime outside of the moments
I highlighted.
1) Junker- This Gerstlauer Infinity coaster is everything I wish Pitts Special was.
This ride is intense start to finish.
The initial launch is one of the most powerful out there.
This LSM launch packs a wallop and pins you to the back of your seat.
Then the layout includes a several hills delivering great ejector airtime, most notably the top
hat.
And you also have three inversions featuring near-misses and copious amounts of hangtime.
And as a bonus, you’re usually getting extreme laterals on those hills and inversions at
the same time.
Combine that with many compact valleys that pile on the positive Gs and you have one of
the most underrated launch coasters in the world.
So those are my top 15 favorite rides and attractions at PowerLand.
Junker is the one truly elite ride, but the rest of the supporting cast of coasters and
non-coasters offer plenty of interesting experiences.
What are your thoughts on any of the rides I mentioned?
I would love to hear your thoughts down in the comments.
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Thanks for watching!