Attraction Review: Movie Park Studio Tour

OK so firstly let me apologise for taking six weeks to getting around to finally writing this but hey, that's how life works unfortunately. So, Movie Park Studio Tour then, the Intamin multi-dimensional coaster and brand new for 2021 attraction to open at my beloved Movie Park Germany in Bottrop. As I wasn't actually expecting to be back at Movie Park as recently as I was, I actually hadn't paid too much attention to Movie Park Studio Tour, to the point where I remember asking as we boarded the trains "wait, who even manufactured this thing?" I really was going in blind, which in my opinion is the best way to do these things as you get a 'purer' reaction to the thing as opposed to one that's tainted with pre-conceptions and biases. 

Before I get into this review properly, there's a few things you need to understand about Movie Park and their rides first. The first is that even with their newer attractions like Star Trek and Van Helsing's Factory (new for me means built in the last decade), everything had a slightly 'retro' feel. For me, their attractions are how theme park enthusiasts would build movie themed rides on a budget, there's just something really wholesome and home-grown about everything they create, even things that have large IPs attached. It kind of feels like really good cosplay - you know the standard is excellent but you can also tell there's something slightly unofficial feeling about it that you can't quite put your finger on. 


The second thing you need to know is that they're batshit crazy. It's the reason I love the place so much, if you go in blind to any of their attractions there's no way you're ever going to accurately predict everything they will throw at you because it's all so bloody out of the box. And it's for this reason I was particularly excited to ride Movie Park Studio Tour, even though I knew little to nothing about it. And consider this your warning - there will be spoilers ahead!

Built upon the location of what was an Ice Age themed boat ride the first time I went to the park and a Wrong Turn themed horror maze the last time I visited, Movie Park Studio Tour takes the idea of multi-dimensional and runs with it. This is not a ride that is all about the coaster elements, nor is it all about the theming. It's about as close to a perfectly balanced themed coaster one can get. It's the perfect 'flagship' attraction for the park, we literally get to, to nick Universal Studios' old slogan, ride the movies, and it's a blast from start to finish. 

The setup is exactly what you would expect it might be - a big movie director is creating his newest feature film and we get to have starring roles! What is the storyline of the film? Who knows! Why are we on a rollercoaster train? Who cares! We board the train in a typical 'Hollywood' themed station with classic Hollywood iconography and begin on a tour backstage through the studios, and proceed to make stops on various film sets including: a disaster movie set where a tornado blows the roof off a house and we're launched backwards, a close-up monster movie set where we come face to face with definitely-not-Kong, get lost in a prop closet that included some sneakily hidden Gremlins props as a throwback to the old dark ride, and my favourite part, a Fast & Furious style racing movie where we race sports cars out of the studio building in a fun little launch. 

And that word 'fun' is optimal here - the whole thing is fun. Fun, fun, fun. It is the PERFECT family attraction for Movie Park Germany that showcases their brand expertly. The coaster itself isn't big and scary like maybe Star Trek would be for younger riders, but the backwards sections and launches ensure it isn't dull either. The many show scenes add an extra layer of excitement to an already fun experience and there's a bunch of great movie easter eggs for film nerds like me to get excited about. My one beef was that we were maybe going just a tiny bit too fast in the not-Kong scene to really appreciate the scale and detail of the set, but that's me really digging for something 'negative' to say.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE! So, remember I said I had no idea about anything this ride really did? OK so, a lot of the effects are screen-based. The pre-show is a recording, the visuals we see in the queueline corridors are screens and a fair few of the big show scene effects are screen based. They're blended well though and whilst yes, we would all prefer less screens, that would mean Movie Park Germany wouldn't have been able to change the entire attraction to a horror theme for their Halloween Festival. Yes, you read that right. After dark, the team take about 20 minutes to switch all of the screens over to a spooky overlay and fill the queueline with horror actors. What...the hell?!


Where once we were blown away by a tornado, we were now escaping from a hoard of zombies. The wholesome clacker board mascot has now turned into a ravenous beast who...from what I can gather decapitates the director?! This is Europe remember so they don't shy away from madness like this. The corridor screens from earlier were now showcasing extremely grisly and gory scenes of bodies in various states of...disrepair and we even see another train of riders being savaged by zombies. The whole thing is absolutely mad, completely unexpected and like nothing I've ever seen in a theme park before. It was really excellent and a great example of 'little' things Movie Park Germany do with their attractions to give them that bit of elevation beyond your average regional theme park. 

So, is Movie Park Studio Tour the hottest new coaster in Europe? No. Is it totally fun and a fantastic addition to the park both from attraction line-up and an iconic branded ride experience perspective? Absolutely. It's completely nuts in a way only Movie Park Germany can pull off and I would love to see more parks follow suit with multi-dimensional attractions that can be adapted for different content/seasonal overlays. 

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Have you ridden Movie Park Studio Tour? What did you think? Did you know about the horror version of the ride? Let me know in the comments, I'd love to have a chat!

Talk later xoxo,

1 comments

  1. Great review!
    I also enjoyed this ride a lot - It is a well-themed, fun experience for the whole family.
    Also tried the "horror version" of this ride which is also great. I think it's fascinating how quick and easily the experience of this attraction can be changed completely!

    There should be more attractions like this.

    Greetings from Germany

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