The Geisterschlange

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I’m a little disappointed, being wrong and all, but I was wrong. It happens. Sometimes. In this case, I’ve been wrong since 1991. When I wrote about the German roller coaster, The Thriller, the other morning, it got me thinking about the other German ride I liked. It was a dark ride, with Skeletor on it, taunting people to dare try the ride. But you see that skull face on the front of the ride? That’s not Skeletor. But, as drunk as I was at the time, to me it was Skeletor. I have no idea how I actually found this information, because I was searching for “Skeletor ride.” This ride is the Geisterschlange (Ghost Snake.) For years, it was Germany’s largest travelling ghost train ride. It was built by Mack Rides in 1979, and travelled the country as a festival and fun fair attraction. The ride has three levels with various spooky animatronics throughout. In addition to the not-Skeletor skull, a talking animatronic gorilla also greets visitors, looking like a hairy showman. A little bizarre, yes, but it was a fun, relaxing ride that gave a fellow a few minutes off his feet. Geisterschlange was sold to Skyline Park near Bad Wörishofen, and opened in 2019 as Geisterbahn (Ghost Train.) The gorilla still greets folks at the ride entrance in the amusement park. The not-Skeletor skull still talks smack. Some of the animatronics have been changed, or modified, and a story featuring explorers leading an expedition through the ride was added. So I was wrong about Skeletor, but at least the talking skull itself wasn’t just my drunken imagination. Good times. Good times. Link is to a short video of the ride: