Gardaland in Italy is one of the most visited theme parks in Europe, and this year it is offering new experiences over a 218 day season.

We were invited to spend a day exploring the superb 200,000 m² theme park including dive coaster Oblivion: The Black Hole and wing coaster Raptor, the new San Andreas 4-D Experience, a refurbished dark ride I Corsari, and other new additions such as Peppa Pig Land.

Our visit began with live show Welcome to Gardaland featuring park mascot Prezzemolo and his friends. Performed above the entrance and culminating in a shower of confetti and streamers, it's a wonderful way to start the day.

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Upon entering the theme park we headed straight for the biggest roller coasters for some early rides with no queue times, Oblivion: The Black Hole was first followed by Raptor, which were added to the park in 2015 and 2011.

Oblivion: The Black Hole is a brilliant dive coaster, the first in Italy, and features a fantastic pre-ride experience through a series of immersive and interactive corridors and rooms. We took our front row seats and began a climb of almost 140ft for the 155ft vertical drop into the ground. The ride and everything around it looks spectacular. After the intense first drop the ride weaves through a series of manoeuvres at up to 62mph, including an immelmann, airtime hill, 270° helix and finally a heartline roll.

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Raptor at is one of the best themed wing coasters in the world and we had a great back row ride. Although the exterior queue line looks like a series of caged cattle pens, once inside, the attraction is again really well done. The eye-catching coaster trains rise 108ft into the sky then descend into a tightly packed course of inversions (a corkscrew, zero-g roll and inline twist) reaching speeds of up to 56mph. What sets this ride apart are the number of effective head and leg chopper moments, as the train passes through objects like the twisted metal of a watch tower and through the trunk of a tree.

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We continued our visit with 3 more roller coasters, family runaway train Mammut, thrilling inverted coaster Blue Tornado and classic looping coaster Shaman. All of them were beyond our expectations - long, fast and fun rides!

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At this point we decided to check out the park's indoor attractions, starting off with the new San Andreas 4-D Experience, which is packed with special effects to accompany a 15 minute version of this blockbuster movie (that is presented in 3D) including moving seats and a very effective cloud of mist filling the auditorium.

Ramses: Il Risveglio is a typical laser gun battle ride set within a highly themed complex of burial chambers and tombs that are occupied by mummies and cyborgs. 

We then escaped a passing thunderstorm inside the Magic House, with 2 pre-ride sections leading up to an effectively done 'madhouse' attraction which gives the illusion of repeatedly rolling upside down within a quirky room.

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We were so impressed with I Corsari: la Vendetta del Fantasma (The Phantom's Revenge) which has been upgraded for 2018. After boarding a huge pirate ship you go beneath the deck and down into the caverns below to the ride dock. A voyage filled with ghost pirates and sea monsters awaits! The combination of projection mapping, big detailed sets, lighting and sound is superb. Gardaland has done an exceptional job breathing new life into a legendary attraction.

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We returned to the space-themed area for another ride on Oblivion: The Black Hole, and while we were there took in some wonderful views of the park and Lake Garda on the Flying Island UFO-themed ride, and then got an adrenaline rush on the Space Vertigo tower drop ride.

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Gardaland features 3 water rides, the incredible Fuga da Atlantide with high speed coaster-like drop sections, impressively themed Jungle Rapids and classic log flume Colorado Boat. Each of them get you just the right amount of wet, so very fun!

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Gardaland offers plenty for families with younger children as well, including the new Peppa Pig Land with 3 attractions, an extensive Fantasy Kingdom and the Kung Fu Panda Academy featuring spinning coaster Kung Fu Panda Master.

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The theme park is beautifully themed throughout, so aside from all the great rides and attractions there are so many scenic areas to enjoy. There is also an excellent range of places to eat and drink, and we particularly enjoyed our chimichanga and beer at Mexican-themed restaurant and bar Hacienda Miguel. We waited no more than 5 minutes for any attraction all day, so it was an absolute pleasure to visit Gardaland on a midweek day outside of the school holidays.

Buy your tickets now: Gardaland Tickets

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On our trip to Lake Garda we stayed at Garda Relais located just a 5 minute drive from Gardaland. It's a new hotel that's perfect for couples and families with modern rooms, free WiFi, free parking and free breakfast. It's also only 20 minutes from Verona Airport where flights are available from across Europe.

Book your hotel stay: Garda Relais

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