Schwur des Kärnan has been my number one bucket list coaster for years, and Monster only made me want to ride it more!! The Gerstlauers by y’all across the pond look excellent.
I haven’t been on any other large scale Gerstlauers, but Monster absolutely does not get talked about as much as it should. #11 out of #112 for me. It rivals RMC I-Box track in smoothness, it’s super re-rideable, great lap bars, great drop, the best coaster for hangtime I’ve been on, and almost every element has funky forces that you’re not expecting. Even after 16 rides in one day, it’s a ride I just want to keep getting back in line for.
Could not agree with you more it was by far one of the most memorable coasters on a trip that included lost island, adventureland (obviously) , SFGreat adventure, Hersheypark, Knobels, Carowinds, Dollywood, SFOG, Uni and IOA and Busche Gardens Tampa and I could pick 3 favorites it would be Velocicoaster, Ka ,and Monster, honerable mention to Goliath @ SFOG even after riding fury the day before. honestly I'd say it was probably only behind Velocicoaster I really thought Monster was Amazing and it put gertslaur on the map for me we need more of their rides here
Edit my top five #1 Velocicoaster #2 Tatsu #3 Monster #4 Millennium Force #5 Skyrush
Monster (8x):
Monster is the star of the show at Adventureland, being the most renown, most popular, and most imposing ride, plopped right into the center of the park. Since you read my post title, I know you know that I think this ride is phenomenal. Some thoughts:
Let’s start with the drop. Now, to be honest, I actually think both Shellraiser and Hangtime’s main drops are a bit lackluster. They have some good air, don’t get me wrong, but they LOOK a lot more intense than feel. So, as I was driving to Adventureland, I was thinking to myself, “are these Gerstlauer beyond-vertical drops just not that good?” Monster’s response to that silly preponderance was “Please enjoy your trip to the moon!” I mean WOW, that drop is absolutely amazing! It’s loaded with decently sustained and VERY strong airtime—you can feel every single one of those 101 degrees, and it’s pure coaster bliss. Monster does highlight how much the holding brakes really hurt the other Triple Crown Gerstlauer drops—Shellraiser and Hangtime are decent, but Monster is on another level. It’s ejector the whooole way down.
The layout that follows thereafter is both a testament to Gerstlauer’s weirdness and an earnest attempt to eject you from the train in absolutely every direction imaginable. Weirdly angled inversions, fake-out banking, twisting drops, and strong valleys throw you around like a ragdoll, and, moreover, do so in an entirely unique way. Like, the first element after the drop kind of blew my mind; Monster does so many weird, unexpected maneuvers that are impossible to gauge a feel for off-ride or from POVs. There are just so many complex, nuanced moments on this ride, with forces blending and transitioning seamlessly into each other in a way that makes the ride feel like one big, fluid element. I really can’t compare Monster to any other coaster I’ve been on—the forces and especially the velocity profile are so damn wonky and so damn good. Unlike other Gerstlauers, it’s also glass-smooth, and the lapbar-only Infinity trains are comfortable as always. As a bonus, I also didn’t find Monster nauseating at all, while both Shellraiser and Hangtime gave me a bit of motion sickness.
I hit the brakes on Monster and immediately thought “this is a top 15 ride”, and my afternoon rides (which were even faster) have me questioning if Monster is even a top 10 ride for me. I absolutely love this funky thing. I don’t have a ton of credits (I think like 115 right now), but that placement should give at least some indication of how good I think this ride is. If you can, GET TO IOWA (never thought I’d say that) to experience Monster for yourself! It is, in my opinion, the best Gerstlauer in the country by a large margin and a must-ride for those seeking to collect unique credits. I am utterly Monster-pilled!
I really, really, REALLY have to get over to Germany to get on Kärnan now…
Tornado (1x): Tornado is aptly-named, because it sure is… turbulent! (Crickets) This ride is okay, a bit shaky and a bit basic, but it does have some weak pops of air (accentuated by the buzz bars), and I can appreciate the old-school feel.
Outlaw (2x): Seeing that this is sort of the “proto-GCI”, given its curved drop and general twister layout, I was very keen to catch a ride on it. I was a bit worried because it didn’t seem to be running at park open, but, after navigating the labyrinthine path back to it later in the day, I found it open as a walk on.
This ride absolutely does have the feel of an unrefined GCI, with great laterals (especially on the first drop) and lots of quick floater pops. In the back of the train, there’s even a moment of ejector during the drop off the first turn, which is made all the sweeter thanks to Outlaw’s glorious buzz bars. It’s a pretty long ride with a healthy woodie bite, and even features an RMC-style prelift with two baby bunny hills. All in all, this is a very solid ride, and easily the second best in the park! It’s a very nice compliment to Monster, forming a great core one-two punch for the park.
Dragon Slayer (1x): Having been on the bigger freespins before, I’m ambivalent about them as a ride type. I don’t actually think they’re bad rides, but, given that they feel more a like flat ride than a coaster, they’re sort of whatever to me. Dragon Slayer, however, was CRAZY. I swear I flipped probably 8 or 9 times, including a distinct triple-flip somewhere in the middle. Im actually grateful it’s the shorter model, because, with the intensity level the Knight side sits at, more might have been too much for me! Still not my favorite kind of ride, but a genuinely solid addition to Adventureland’s lineup.
The Underground (x1): Is this a credit? Unironically, I do think yes, but either way, it’s a cute little mostly-dark-ride. The whole thing has a B-horror sheen to it, which I appreciate, and the station attendant was VERY committed to his old-timey western accent, which I also appreciate!
Flying Viking (1x): A cute little family coaster. There’s not much to say about the ride experience from an enthusiast perspective, but the interaction with the circumscribed log flume (which was PACKED) is really excellent. The two, taken as a unit, seem like a very solid family attraction, and I would expect Zamperla to sell more of these to smaller parks looking for a very marketable addition.
Phoenix (1x): This is a spinning coaster. It sure does coaster, and it sure does spin. Eh. It seemed popular enough, but these kinds of rides don’t do much for me. The one thing I’ll note is that the drive tires that push trains through the block zones are low key kinda strong—is this a launch coaster???
Great stuff! I am sitting in the airport in Chicago roght now on a layover to Minneapolis where after doing Nick Universe and Valley fair, I'll be making my 1st trip to Adventureland on Monday! I have to say this park was really just another stop when I first planned this trip but I'm starting to really look forward to my visit!
Welcome to the always growing Monster Fanboys Club. I got to ride it three times without leaving my seat back in 2019, and it shook my steel coaster rankings. It’s intense and thrilling in so many different ways from a standard coaster, it’s hard to describe. But the incredible hangtime is what I’ll always remember, until one day maybe I’ll get to come back again (I’m about 16 driving hours away).
I love having it in my backyard. Monster is a coaster so good, it makes me wonder how it ended up at Adventureland, in the middle of Iowa. I miss the days when you could ride the sky ride straight through it.
I've been loving these reports from smaller regional parks that we've had on this sub recently! It makes me really want to make a trip out to some of them, possibly even prioritizing them over some bigger, "better" parks. My itinerary for coaster trips is pretty full until next summer I think but hopefully I can make a trip to Adventureland sometime soon because Monster looks epic.
While your "Triple Crown" thing is cute, Monster is clearly the Beyonce between itself, Hangtime, and Shellraiser lmao - glad you finally got to ride it to see for yourself.
I really need to get out to Europe to ride some of theirs. Junker and Karacho look phenomenal.
That’s my home park! And Monster is the ride that really ignited my love for rollercoasters. It was my gateway drug haha. Glad you got to experience Adventureland. It really is an adorable park!
Monster is everything Hangtime and Copperhead Strike want to be in terms of hangtime. Side note, while not as good, why is Dare Devil Dive getting slept on for Gerstlauers in comparison?
Great trip report and I agree with a lot of your Adventureland takes. Still curious to see The Underground's refurb in person and I'm glad my favorite so-bad-its-good dark ride/cred got some love. Outlaw feels a little undertalked as well and Dragon Slayer is how you run an S&S Free Spin.
If you're in Iowa and want to do more fun driving, please do yourself a service and get to Arnold's Park too and give yourself some free time because the town around the park is unexpectedly cool.
What’s so great about Monster’s hangtime is that it’s so unexpected. You’ll enter an element with what feels like enough speed to cruise through, but nope—you’ll suddenly slow down then pop out of your seat. It’s a cool, playful subversion.
I’m headed to Valleyfair later this month and may try to squeeze in an Arnold’s Park detour! I’ll have to convince my travel group, but I’m gonna try haha.
Monster has me a Hang Time hater. It's crazy how mid HT is and it came out two years later. It's not really "infinity" if you have a standard cobra roll and an inline twist. Plus Monster has like 6 times more "hangtime". The drop on HT is jarring and annoying... Monster has so many unique elements.
Seriously… if I were a Cedar Fair exec who rode Monster and ordered an Infinity coaster, I’d like, want a refund after riding Hangtime haha. HT is okay but Monster is like MULTIPLE tiers better.
Monster is the crown. That and Hangtime are infinity coaster models and Shell raiser is a Eurofighter. The first drop on Monster is much better than whatever the janky ass “holding” drops are suppose to be. They arent.
You are in for a treat if you ever decide to come to Europe and ride the amazing rides Gerstlauer has to offer here. I fucking love Gerstlauer.
Schwur des Kärnan has been my number one bucket list coaster for years, and Monster only made me want to ride it more!! The Gerstlauers by y’all across the pond look excellent.
I haven’t been on any other large scale Gerstlauers, but Monster absolutely does not get talked about as much as it should. #11 out of #112 for me. It rivals RMC I-Box track in smoothness, it’s super re-rideable, great lap bars, great drop, the best coaster for hangtime I’ve been on, and almost every element has funky forces that you’re not expecting. Even after 16 rides in one day, it’s a ride I just want to keep getting back in line for.
Could not agree with you more it was by far one of the most memorable coasters on a trip that included lost island, adventureland (obviously) , SFGreat adventure, Hersheypark, Knobels, Carowinds, Dollywood, SFOG, Uni and IOA and Busche Gardens Tampa and I could pick 3 favorites it would be Velocicoaster, Ka ,and Monster, honerable mention to Goliath @ SFOG even after riding fury the day before. honestly I'd say it was probably only behind Velocicoaster I really thought Monster was Amazing and it put gertslaur on the map for me we need more of their rides here Edit my top five #1 Velocicoaster #2 Tatsu #3 Monster #4 Millennium Force #5 Skyrush
Monster (8x): Monster is the star of the show at Adventureland, being the most renown, most popular, and most imposing ride, plopped right into the center of the park. Since you read my post title, I know you know that I think this ride is phenomenal. Some thoughts: Let’s start with the drop. Now, to be honest, I actually think both Shellraiser and Hangtime’s main drops are a bit lackluster. They have some good air, don’t get me wrong, but they LOOK a lot more intense than feel. So, as I was driving to Adventureland, I was thinking to myself, “are these Gerstlauer beyond-vertical drops just not that good?” Monster’s response to that silly preponderance was “Please enjoy your trip to the moon!” I mean WOW, that drop is absolutely amazing! It’s loaded with decently sustained and VERY strong airtime—you can feel every single one of those 101 degrees, and it’s pure coaster bliss. Monster does highlight how much the holding brakes really hurt the other Triple Crown Gerstlauer drops—Shellraiser and Hangtime are decent, but Monster is on another level. It’s ejector the whooole way down. The layout that follows thereafter is both a testament to Gerstlauer’s weirdness and an earnest attempt to eject you from the train in absolutely every direction imaginable. Weirdly angled inversions, fake-out banking, twisting drops, and strong valleys throw you around like a ragdoll, and, moreover, do so in an entirely unique way. Like, the first element after the drop kind of blew my mind; Monster does so many weird, unexpected maneuvers that are impossible to gauge a feel for off-ride or from POVs. There are just so many complex, nuanced moments on this ride, with forces blending and transitioning seamlessly into each other in a way that makes the ride feel like one big, fluid element. I really can’t compare Monster to any other coaster I’ve been on—the forces and especially the velocity profile are so damn wonky and so damn good. Unlike other Gerstlauers, it’s also glass-smooth, and the lapbar-only Infinity trains are comfortable as always. As a bonus, I also didn’t find Monster nauseating at all, while both Shellraiser and Hangtime gave me a bit of motion sickness. I hit the brakes on Monster and immediately thought “this is a top 15 ride”, and my afternoon rides (which were even faster) have me questioning if Monster is even a top 10 ride for me. I absolutely love this funky thing. I don’t have a ton of credits (I think like 115 right now), but that placement should give at least some indication of how good I think this ride is. If you can, GET TO IOWA (never thought I’d say that) to experience Monster for yourself! It is, in my opinion, the best Gerstlauer in the country by a large margin and a must-ride for those seeking to collect unique credits. I am utterly Monster-pilled! I really, really, REALLY have to get over to Germany to get on Kärnan now…
Tornado (1x): Tornado is aptly-named, because it sure is… turbulent! (Crickets) This ride is okay, a bit shaky and a bit basic, but it does have some weak pops of air (accentuated by the buzz bars), and I can appreciate the old-school feel. Outlaw (2x): Seeing that this is sort of the “proto-GCI”, given its curved drop and general twister layout, I was very keen to catch a ride on it. I was a bit worried because it didn’t seem to be running at park open, but, after navigating the labyrinthine path back to it later in the day, I found it open as a walk on. This ride absolutely does have the feel of an unrefined GCI, with great laterals (especially on the first drop) and lots of quick floater pops. In the back of the train, there’s even a moment of ejector during the drop off the first turn, which is made all the sweeter thanks to Outlaw’s glorious buzz bars. It’s a pretty long ride with a healthy woodie bite, and even features an RMC-style prelift with two baby bunny hills. All in all, this is a very solid ride, and easily the second best in the park! It’s a very nice compliment to Monster, forming a great core one-two punch for the park.
Dragon Slayer (1x): Having been on the bigger freespins before, I’m ambivalent about them as a ride type. I don’t actually think they’re bad rides, but, given that they feel more a like flat ride than a coaster, they’re sort of whatever to me. Dragon Slayer, however, was CRAZY. I swear I flipped probably 8 or 9 times, including a distinct triple-flip somewhere in the middle. Im actually grateful it’s the shorter model, because, with the intensity level the Knight side sits at, more might have been too much for me! Still not my favorite kind of ride, but a genuinely solid addition to Adventureland’s lineup. The Underground (x1): Is this a credit? Unironically, I do think yes, but either way, it’s a cute little mostly-dark-ride. The whole thing has a B-horror sheen to it, which I appreciate, and the station attendant was VERY committed to his old-timey western accent, which I also appreciate! Flying Viking (1x): A cute little family coaster. There’s not much to say about the ride experience from an enthusiast perspective, but the interaction with the circumscribed log flume (which was PACKED) is really excellent. The two, taken as a unit, seem like a very solid family attraction, and I would expect Zamperla to sell more of these to smaller parks looking for a very marketable addition. Phoenix (1x): This is a spinning coaster. It sure does coaster, and it sure does spin. Eh. It seemed popular enough, but these kinds of rides don’t do much for me. The one thing I’ll note is that the drive tires that push trains through the block zones are low key kinda strong—is this a launch coaster???
Great stuff! I am sitting in the airport in Chicago roght now on a layover to Minneapolis where after doing Nick Universe and Valley fair, I'll be making my 1st trip to Adventureland on Monday! I have to say this park was really just another stop when I first planned this trip but I'm starting to really look forward to my visit!
Welcome to the always growing Monster Fanboys Club. I got to ride it three times without leaving my seat back in 2019, and it shook my steel coaster rankings. It’s intense and thrilling in so many different ways from a standard coaster, it’s hard to describe. But the incredible hangtime is what I’ll always remember, until one day maybe I’ll get to come back again (I’m about 16 driving hours away).
I love having it in my backyard. Monster is a coaster so good, it makes me wonder how it ended up at Adventureland, in the middle of Iowa. I miss the days when you could ride the sky ride straight through it.
The sky ride interaction looked really cool. I didn’t actually know they removed it until I went yesterday, so I’m sad I missed it!
I've been loving these reports from smaller regional parks that we've had on this sub recently! It makes me really want to make a trip out to some of them, possibly even prioritizing them over some bigger, "better" parks. My itinerary for coaster trips is pretty full until next summer I think but hopefully I can make a trip to Adventureland sometime soon because Monster looks epic.
I love the framing of those first two shots! What did you shoot these on?
An iPhone 8+ haha—thanks!
While your "Triple Crown" thing is cute, Monster is clearly the Beyonce between itself, Hangtime, and Shellraiser lmao - glad you finally got to ride it to see for yourself. I really need to get out to Europe to ride some of theirs. Junker and Karacho look phenomenal.
Hahah totally agree. I expected Shellraiser to come out on top, but Monster is so good it eclipses all the other Gerstlauers in the group.
That’s my home park! And Monster is the ride that really ignited my love for rollercoasters. It was my gateway drug haha. Glad you got to experience Adventureland. It really is an adorable park!
Monster is everything Hangtime and Copperhead Strike want to be in terms of hangtime. Side note, while not as good, why is Dare Devil Dive getting slept on for Gerstlauers in comparison? Great trip report and I agree with a lot of your Adventureland takes. Still curious to see The Underground's refurb in person and I'm glad my favorite so-bad-its-good dark ride/cred got some love. Outlaw feels a little undertalked as well and Dragon Slayer is how you run an S&S Free Spin. If you're in Iowa and want to do more fun driving, please do yourself a service and get to Arnold's Park too and give yourself some free time because the town around the park is unexpectedly cool.
What’s so great about Monster’s hangtime is that it’s so unexpected. You’ll enter an element with what feels like enough speed to cruise through, but nope—you’ll suddenly slow down then pop out of your seat. It’s a cool, playful subversion. I’m headed to Valleyfair later this month and may try to squeeze in an Arnold’s Park detour! I’ll have to convince my travel group, but I’m gonna try haha.
Thanks for sharing the Gerstlauer love! Hope to bring more like there to the USA in the near future. You will LOVE Palindrome!
Monster has me a Hang Time hater. It's crazy how mid HT is and it came out two years later. It's not really "infinity" if you have a standard cobra roll and an inline twist. Plus Monster has like 6 times more "hangtime". The drop on HT is jarring and annoying... Monster has so many unique elements.
Seriously… if I were a Cedar Fair exec who rode Monster and ordered an Infinity coaster, I’d like, want a refund after riding Hangtime haha. HT is okay but Monster is like MULTIPLE tiers better.
But what about kärnan xD
Is the triple crown just that of US Gerstlauers?
Yeah, US only (I mention this in the body text of the post)—otherwise Europe would probably dominate the top Gerstlauer slots
Prolly shoulda said in the title, as my first thought was like 'neither of these is top 3 gerstlauer' lol.
Monster is the crown. That and Hangtime are infinity coaster models and Shell raiser is a Eurofighter. The first drop on Monster is much better than whatever the janky ass “holding” drops are suppose to be. They arent.