Vienna Prater Amusement Park

If you like Dark Rides then you will love Vienna's Prater Amusement Park. Prater is located in the Austrian capital of Vienna. Prater is similar to New York's Central Park. Prater is a large park with normal park amenities. It also features a variety of restaurants. What sets Prater apart from Central Park though is the Amusement Park which is similar to many European and Asian fun fairs but on a much larger scale.

Prater is like a permanent county fair on steroids. The park has a number of attractions that are large carnival rides along with permanent rides. Some of these large carnival rides though are far larger then what we have in the US. The carnival rides in Europe are giant compared to anything you have seen in the US.

The park itself is free but the rides all cost. The cost vary and there may be a free different deals going on which will allow you to ride a large number of rides for a lower rate. The rides are not owned by one company but different families which makes it hard to create a one price ticket. Most of these families own multiple rides and I did see some combo options available. If you have seen my articles about the Chinese parks you might think it will still be cheap to go to Prater but prices of rides are more then they are in China. A day at Prater can cost you about what it would in the US for a regional park like a Six Flags and less then Disney. However in Europe theme parks tend to be cheap compared to the states so this is actually expensive. But with free admittance you can just go on the rides you want and not spend as much money.

The park has a wide range of rides. There are lots of rides for kids. Since they are individually owned they tend to be better then similar rides elsewhere as families invest in their assets. There are a number of roller coasters as well. One of the best ones to go on is the oldest in the park. It is one of only eight in the entire world that still uses a brakeman. I have been on one other in Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen. For thrills Tivoli has this one beat. However this one has some charm. It includes a small miniature village and has a section where you can get wet. Roller coaster enthusiasts wont want to pass this one up since it is so rare even though it is not big on thrills.

Other roller coasters are usually indoor roller coasters. One that really surprised me and I even was able to go behind the scenes of included a laser maze before you got to ride. I was surprised by this and it made me fell I was getting a better value. There still are some outdoor coasters. I would not consider Prater a roller coaster capital. Its big thing is dark rides.

Prater claims to have the oldest Ghost Train or scary dark ride in the world. Blackpool also makes this claim though. One thing is certain Prater has one of if not the biggest assortment of scary dark rides. These are all usually pretty long attractions and worth the price for each. They also celebrate Halloween each year with a parade and some other holiday events.

They have a number of other dark rides if you are do not want to be scarred. These rides usually are pretty good. Some are great because they are so old. Others are just amazing rides. Eisberg which I think translates to Iceberg had a Polar theme and instead of shooting animals with guns you shoot them with cameras. It is still interactive. The ride is two stories and the track goes into an elevator at one point moving you around the floors. The attraction also has some humorous moments.

They also have a few walk through attractions. One is based on Jack the Ripper and has a horror theme. The other main one is focused on dinosaurs. Prater even has a few water rides. By far the most popular attractions in the park is the large old Ferris Wheel. It is a famous part of the Vienna skyline. The worst thing about the attraction is trying to decide if you want to ride during the day for the view or at night for the view.

Night is a great time to come to Prater. The attractions are all well lit. Many attractions offer mini-light shows. Even if you already came for the day and left if you can it is still worth at least a quick stroll through the park at night.

I was fortunate to get a behind the scenes tour of some of the attractions. Below are a few pictures behind the scenes. Unfortunately with the park operating I was limited to what I could be shown but I was told if I come back I am welcome to visit before the park opens and walk through the attractions. I certainly hope I can get the chance to visit gain for this opportunity. Even if I didn't have a special tour I would love to visit again.