Our seven day trip to Krakow was originally built around the idea of wanting to visit Energylandia. We are coaster fans but not particularly big fans of other types of theme park ride so this one was high on our list as it has the highest number of rollercoasters in Europe.
We debated getting the bus or the train from Krakow. There is a dedicated bus that leaves from Krakow Glowny bus station once a day however it also only comes back once a day and we didn’t want to be restricted by time or traffic so decided on the train.
Take the train to Zator Amusement park (Zator Park Rozrywki) rather than Zator itself as its a faster walk from the new purpose built station. The train we got on at Krakow Glowny was heading to Oswiecim (Auschwitz) and all the stops are clearly shown on screens throughout the train as well as being announced. You can find out more about how to book your train tickets here.
Once your arrive at Zator Park Station there is a little amusement park style train that transports visitors directly to the gates. There was limited space on this so it seemed quicker to walk rather than wait for the next one. The walk took about 15 minutes alongside a busy road however once you had crossed it to walk on the same side as the park there was a wide path to walk on (we had read elsewhere that pedestrians had to walk on a grass verge so this area has clearly been recently improved to make it safer). The walk takes you alongside the park so you get a good look at some of the rides close up, including Hyperion which towers above the car park.
We arrived just in time to see the opening “ceremony” where characters appear on the balcony above the entrance and music plays to signal that the park is now open. We had pre-booked our park tickets online (around £40 per person) so were able to walk straight through the turnstile and find somewhere to wait for the rope drop. If you dont have tickets, there are numerous ticket windows that you can buy from with minimal queuing,
We had already decided based on previous research that we were going to be heading to Zadra first as that is right at the back of the park. For a Monday in term time we were hoping that the park would not get too busy.
It is a good long walk to the back of the park, perhaps 20 minutes and were a little confused by some of the signage but the crowd had thinned out by then and it seemed like we would get some decent early rides in.
The way some of the queue lines are set up here – mainly on the bigger rides – is that towards the end of the queue, the line splits off into two or three smaller queues (and usually one for fast tracks). There are turnstiles with screens above and when the ride is ready to load the screens flash up how many people can go through each turnstiles and everyone sorts themselves out into their groups. This seemed to work pretty well from what we saw. We found that people were very friendly and shouted us to the front as a two if their group was too large to go through the turnstile at that time.
Zadra was amazing, easily the best ride I have ever been on. Having not yet ridden Hyperia at Thorpe Park I have not been on any ride that doesn’t have neck/shoulder restraints so I was quite nervous about what a large fast ride would feel like with only a lap bar. On Zadra the seat is very deep so you are sat low enough to feel protected by the seat around you. The lap bar comes forward and grips around your knees and you have handles next to your knees to hold on to which we definitely needed to do! Also. We got three rides in quick succession at the start of the day.
Our aim for the day was the ride the thirteen coasters, which we did with the exception Mayan (also known as Orange Infusion as its the same ride as Infusion at Blackpool Pleasure Beach). Infusion is by far the worst ride I have ever been on and I didn’t feel the need to repeat it in different paintwork!
Highlights were Abyssus (we did this three times) and Formula, both coasters with launch elements. The smaller coasters such as Light Explorers, RMF Dragon and Frida were all great fun.
The theming here was excellent, particular in the Sweet Valley zone which looks like a village made out of sweets. Random theme music plays at various times throughout the day which I found myself singing for days afterwards! We had an ice lolly in Sweet Valley, at one of the many food and drinks stands throughout the park. There is plenty of seating around the park. As well as the thrill rides there is an area dedicated to smaller children too so definitely something for all ages.
There are a lot of different food options but as people needing gluten free food we do sometimes find that we are stuck with ‘just fries’ in some theme parks, unless there is a jacket potato option which is much more likely in the UK. Luckily we had done our research and thanks to one singular review on the Find Me Gluten Free website we headed to the Formula restaurant. Upstairs is a canteen style area with a choice of hot meals. Gluten free pasta is available with a choice of three different sauces. We had to wait around twenty minute, which is a small price to pay for the knowledge that it is being freshly cooked. We opted for a creamy chicken flavour for around £8 each which was well worth it compared to what is on offer in most UK parks these days!
We managed to get on Hyperion with around a fifteen minute queue and most that was spent walking. You have to walk all the way up to the top of higher area and back down the other side – lucky part of that was closed off so we got a bit of a short cut.
We usually travel light to theme parks so we just had a jacket each and our phones which so far we had just kept in zipped pockets on the rides. On Hyperion there is a very strict policy of not taking anything at all on the ride, and there are metal detectors that you have to walk through before entering the last part of the the queue. We were asked to put our phones away in one of the lockers which we hadn’t so far used.
The ride attendant showed us how the system worked. Basically you buy a wrist band for a couple of pounds. Scan it on one of the scan points and a locker will open for you. Place your stuff inside and you’re good to go. Once off the ride you access the lockers from the opposite side of the wall. Again scan your wristband and the locker you selected will open. Very simple and effective – I would love to see this in a UK theme park. For a couple of pounds each we used this system for the rest of the day as the weather had got a little warmer so we were pleased to be free of our coats!
So, the ride itself. I have to say we didn’t love it. It felt very strange not to have a shoulder restraint so I was really nervous going up the lift hill ahead of the drop. It was actually fine, the ride is so fast that you are pinned back in your seat and at no point did I feel like I would fall out. The track runs alongside the road on one side and the car park on the other which makes it feel a bit like you are in some strange exhibition! We were In seats 11 and 12 so closer to the back and I would say the ride was pretty rough. My daughter said she felt her head was banging on the headrest constantly no matter how she tried to position herself and she had a headache afterwards.
I have heard reports of this from Thorpe Park’s Hyperia as well and I understand they have had some modifications that have helped with this so could be what is needed here, or possibly we were just unlucky on the day. Loved the drop though and would 100% ride again if it was a little smoother.
We ended our day where we started – on Zadra, after our longest queue of the day, probably around 45 minutes.
We managed a quick souvenir shop where we acquired two hoodies and a fridge magnet and then it was back to the train station. The train was on time, busy but we got a seat.
We had great day at what we found to be a very efficiently run park. All the staff we encountered were friendly, patient and helpful even taking into account our lack of Polish language skills.
There is also a water park within the theme park the cost of which is included in the main ticket price. We visited in late April so the weather was not quite warm enough to plan this in, but we will definitely be returning to try this out as one day is nowhere enough time to see it all. There is lots of reasonably priced accommodation right on the doorstep of the park which would be ideal for a short break to make the most of everything the park has to offer.
compass and coaster 
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