u/Sharean

I've been to Vienna a couple of times before but this was the first time where I was able to dedicate a whole day to Prater. We visited at the end of March and stayed at the Sparks by Hilton hotel which was just across the road. Unfortunately, it was really cold with a light drizzle, so naturally not every ride was open - especially, since it was a Monday.

If you're looking for a place to have breakfast, I recommend the cafe "Ponykarussell" on site. It's a lovely cafe with great food.

Among the rides that were closed were the indoor drop tower "Spectacolo", the log flume "AquaGaudi" and the kiddie coaster "Race". "Rollerball" hat technical issues both Monday and Tuesday and didn't operate either.

Before talking about the coasters, I'd like to mention a few of the flat and dark rides. I'll add the ticket price (as of March 2026) for every ride I've been on.

--- Flat rides ---

Black Mamba - €5.-

This chaos pendulum is my favourite thrill ride at Prater and might be one of my favourite flat rides of all time. It operates similar to a booster but has two rotating arms. The feeling when those arms align is amazing - it feels like several seconds of ejector airtime while you're suspended upside down.

Tornado - €5.-

It's a weird looking swing with some controlled flips (both forwards and backwards). I liked it, it's fun but can become a bit repetitive towards the end of the cycle.

Drop tower - €6.-

Offers a great view. Other than that, it's your standard drop tower (80m) - the drop felt a bit slower compared to other models of this type I have ridden.

--- Dark Rides ---

Blue Planet Urgewalt der Giganten - €5.-

A walkthrough experience with 3 simulators in between. It's a bit dated and the first "elevator" is kind of bad. But I enjoyed the rest of it, especially the final section which has really cool visuals.

The Clown VR - €6.-

Very disappointing VR ride. The visuals are low-res and it doesn't do too much to tell a story or create a creepy atmosphere. The table scene is cool but the rest was a dud.

Skull Rock - The Pirate - €6.-

That might have been the best ghost train I've been on. It's pitch black inside, so you often don't see the scares/animatronics coming. It has great set design and a tense atmosphere. I can't recommend this enough.

Hotel Psycho - €6.-

It's from the same people who made The Pirate but is straight up horror themed. It's a bit older and you can see that in the animatronics. Nonetheless it was still a tense and satisfying experience.

--- Coasters ---

Wiener Looping - €10.-

Obviously the headlining attraction. The drop/double down is pretty good including ejector airtime and I love the hangtime of the Finnish loop. Unfortunately, the dive loop lacks some whip and the final helix is just ok. Overall, it's a very short ride that doesn't justify the price tag in my opinion. Especially since they've increased it to €10.- I rode it once in the morning and once at night, although I have to add that the second row was blocked by dummies throughout the whole day as it was quite cold. Don't get me wrong, it's good ride but I like Helios a lot better. 8/10

Gesengte Sau - €7.50

Great theming, good ride length and really smooth: It's a very fun Bobsled that I would have ridden several times if not for the expensive entry fee. Side note: We weren't allowed to wait for the next train to ride front row despite us being the only people in the station. 7/10

Megablitz - €5.-

I recommend the last row for some airtime during the drops. It tracks surprisingly well for its age and can get quite intense in the helices. Fun ride! 6/10

Boomerang - €7.-

It's not too rough and the lap bars definitely helped avoiding headbanging. The bars are not padded but, personally, I didn't have any issues with them as they seemed to fit me perfectly. I rode last row and was pleasantly surprised. The tunnel is a nice touch. Still expensive, though. 6/10

Hochschaubahn - €4.50

A piece of history. Very slow and rattly but I enjoyed the ride and the theming it had. Don't miss this if only for its historic value. 3/10

Insider - €6.-

The maze in the queue is awesome. I liked the pumping soundtrack and the lasers during the ride but it can't hide the fact that it's just your average spinning wild mouse. Fun but a one-time thing. 4/10

Maskerade - €5.-

The building looks amazing, unfortunately there's barely any theming inside. Maskerade is very short but in an unbalanced car you can spin quite a lot. 3/10

Zug des Manitu - €3.50

A powered kiddie train. I was the only person on it as my gf sat this one out (zen ride) but the operator was still hyping me up lap after lap. At some point I thought he would never let me leave; I ended up doing 5 or so laps. The rattle adds to the feeling of riding a train. I actually had more fun on it than I should have had. 2/10

Dizzy Mouse - €5.50

Riding by myself I got the car to spin out of control. I think those Reverchon mice can be quite fun for what they are. I loved the cat-tunnel at the end as well. 4/10

Wilde Maus - €5.-

Standard wild mouse by Maurer. The laterals were insane on this one, though. 3/10

Volare - €6.-

I had to do it. It was my first Zamperla flyer and I'm a bit conflicted about it. The first turn is really rough but after that, I managed to secure myself enough to avoid any further headbanging. The ride experience itself is certainly unique but also rather boring. It lacks forces, I think. Overall, I wouldn't recommend riding this, I didn't like it, and yet I've ridden worse coasters. 2/10