Mirabilandia

Savio, Italy

“Italy’s greatest coaster destination”

When talking about Italian amusement parks, coaster enthusiasts always think of two places: Gardaland and Mirabilandia. Despite Gardaland’s larger popularity among foreign tourists, Mirabilandia is often considered as the country’s number one coaster destination. This park near Ravenna is mostly known because of its coasters, but it also offers many water rides, flat rides and a good amount of children’s attractions. The park is at its very best during hot summer days.

ROLLER COASTERS

Intamin Fanboys versus Team B&M… it’s one of the fan community’s biggest clashes. And I’m sure they won’t agree about the best coaster at Mirabilandia, as the park offers two thrilling eye-catchers. One of them is iSpeed, an Intamin Blitz Coaster that opened its gates in 2009. This bright red coaster is sometimes referred to as the European Maverick. And although I definitely prefer the original Maverick at Cedar Point, it’s easy to see where iSpeed got this nickname. The ride has a powerful launch, snappy transitions and it keeps its speed until the final brake run. In my opinion, iSpeed would’ve been even better if it included an extra inversion, but the current version is also incredibly good. Intamin fanboys should definitely plan a visit to Mirabilandia.

B&M fanboys also have a good reason to visit the park. Mirabilandia has been home to the world-famous Katun since 2000 and the ride remains just as amazing as I remembered. Just like many other B&M Inverted Coasters, some parts may be a little shaky – especially if you’re seated towards the rear of the train – but this doesn’t bother me at all. Katun is one of the greatest roller coasters in Europe and its wonderful Mayan theming makes it even more breathtaking. By the way… I’m Team B&M and I definitely prefer Katun over iSpeed. Be sure to stay until late, because night rides on Katun are literally unforgettable.

The park’s newest ride is called Desmo Race and this is a duelling Spike Coaster by Maurer Rides. It’s set within a brand-new area themed to Ducati and it looks pretty good. Unfortunately, Desmo Race hasn’t operated much since its official opening in the summer of 2019. During today’s visit, both tracks kept running test cycles all day long, but it didn’t look as if the rides would be opening any time soon. I really hope that Mirabilandia and Maurer can fix these issues soon.

ANYTHING ELSE?

Mirabilandia features a post-apocalyptic shooter dark ride and I really looked forward to riding it. Unfortunately, Reset was closed due to the coronavirus. Since it wasn’t possible to hide from the scorching Italian sun in an air-conditioned dark ride, we made our way to the water rides. The most soaking one is undoubtedly Divertical, a new-generation water coaster produced by Intamin. I’ve ridden a similar attraction at Energylandia, but the one at Mirabilandia turned out to be a lot wetter. Be sure to skip it with cooler weather, as it literally felt like taking a shower. The rapid river and the log flume (with a funny automobile theme, including a car wash) are less soaking, but they still offer a nice way to cool down.

WORTH A VISIT?

It’s impossible to answer no to this question, knowing that Mirabilandia is home to iSpeed and Katun. These both coasters justify every penny you spent on your Italian trip; they’re just amazing. Luckily, these aren’t the only reasons to put Mirabilandia on your to do list. The park looks pretty good, there are a ton of decent family rides and (handsome) locals seem to take their shirts off as soon as they enter the park. Oh yes, walking through this park on a hot summer day certainly is a feast for the eyes!

PHOTO GALLERY

Are you Team B&M or Team Intamin? Is Katun the best B&M Inverted Coaster in Europe or do you prefer Nemesis and/or Black Mamba? And are those half-naked Italians Mirabilandia’s main attraction? Share your opinion in the comments section at the bottom of this page.