Fun at Prater Amusement Park: A Funfair in Vienna
One of our favourite places for a fun night out in Vienna is Prater Amusement Park. Prater is an amusement park and funfair with a long, interesting history. It is a great place to visit for a night out, with bars and funfair rides. It’s especially nice on warm afternoons or for a dog walk when it’s mostly closed.
On my first trip to Vienna, we spotted the famous Ferris wheel as the train arrived. Since then, we have visited the theme park multiple times, including for a special celebration.
About Prater – Wurstelprater
The Wurstelprater is an amusement park and section of the Wiener Prater in the second district of Vienna, Leopoldstadt. Emperor Joseph II created the park. The land had previously been used as imperial hunting grounds. In 1766, it opened to the public. Afterwards, the first snack bars, stalls, and bowling alleys opened on the grounds, and the Wurstelprater was born.
Prater Amusement Park Funfair Rides & Attractions
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The theme park has plenty of rides to enjoy, from child-friendly to more adrenaline-fuelled options. Some rides can be booked in advance on the GetYourGuide website.
Wiener Riesenrad – Ferris Wheel
The Wiener Riesenrad is a 64.35-metre-high Ferris wheel at the entrance of the Prater amusement park. The Riesenrad is one of Vienna’s most popular tourist attractions.
It was originally built in 1897 under the supervision of English engineer Lieutenant Walter Bassett. Between 1920 and 1985, this Ferris wheel was the tallest in the world, until the Technostar in Japan surpassed it.
Tickets & Museum
We arrived disorganised, purchased tickets online while finishing a beer outside, and proceeded to the entrance. Once through ticket control, we were treated to an exhibition of models related to the city and park’s history.
The ride
Next to the main entrance, we joined the queue to board the next available big wheel gondola. Thankfully, on this winter evening, the wait wasn’t too long. The wheel rotated slowly as people got on and off, letting you see all of Prater.
Ferris Wheel Views
The views from the Ferris wheel were excellent and showed the scale of the park. When we spotted the Prater Turm in action, we decided on our next ride. It was high and fast, and after about 20 minutes, we had completed the full rotation and exited via the souvenir section, back into the park.
The Clown
The Clown ride had an instant draw to us, and away we went. It looked like a traditional ghost train, but it had glasses to wear during the ride. Once kitted out in the headset, the ride gave us quite an experience, with virtual-reality clowns trying to scare us. The highlight was ending up on the clown’s dinner table with them, trying to chop us up to eat. This was a standout ride, and I highly recommend it if you like a shock or two.
Prater Turm Ride
If you like heights or want an adrenaline rush, then look no further than Prater Turm. From below, this looked higher than we had imagined. In fact, it is 117 metres high and towers over the park. On entry, they guided us to our seats and strapped us in with our legs dangling.
The ride soon started rotating and rising. This was thrilling, and dangling our legs added to the fun. The ride rotated quickly and offered some splendid views. Sadly, they didn’t allow cameras and phones on the ride for understandable safety reasons.
The Flower Wheel For Fantastic Views
The Flower Wheel is a brightly lit wheel that towers above the Wiener Riesenrad. You can see it from most of the park. The ride is slow, but it goes high enough for some splendid views. We opted to try to see the sunset from the ride.
This ride is the best option for taking photos from above and of the Vienna skyline. This is because of its height, and it has no windows to ruin photographs. As the ride loads, it slowly takes you to the top in stages, then gives you a few spins.
Insider: An Indoor Roller-Coaster
Insider is an indoor roller coaster that zigzags at speed in the dark with a laser show as you progress. After paying, the tunnel to the entrance sets the tone for the ride. It then leads you through a maze of mirrors, which is fun to navigate.
Once through the maze, you reach the ride and get strapped in, ready for liftoff. The ride then took you into a dark room with strobes and laser lights and then ascended. The roller coaster then messes with your senses in the dark, at speed, and with noticeable g-forces.
Wild Alps
A surprising ride that took me off guard was the Wild Alps. It’s a circular boat ride through white water. First, a lift takes you up 25 metres, then releases the boat into a waterslide. The ride was fast, the spinning in the white water was epic, and we got a bit wet.
Blue Planet: A Dinosaur Experience
I didn’t have high hopes for the family-friendly Blue Planet experience; however, I left after enjoying myself. Blue Planet transports you back into the world of dinosaurs. Inside, they have some model dinosaurs and their habitats. It also has some interesting features, including lifts, a virtual bus chase from a dinosaur and more.
Dodgem For Fairground Fun
As with all fairgrounds, there are some classic rides like the dodgems. These are excellent fun on your own, with a partner or with a group of friends. The music at the dodgems here is cool if you like dance music.
Hotel Psycho
If you like twists on ghost trains at funfairs, Hotel Psycho is worth trying. It’s a ride that tries to scare you as you pass through various horror-film rooms. The ride is 300 metres long and popular with horror aficionados. My wife loved it.
Gun Shot – A funfair Shooting Range
As fans of shooting targets, we were drawn to “Gun Shot”, a shooting range. You get so many shots when you pay to shoot at targets. This was a rifle and seemed accurate.
What Rides & Attractions Did I Miss?
I love rides, so I would have loved to have tried them all, but these would have been next.
- The Chocolate Museum is ideal for chocoholics.
- The Viennese version of Madame Tussaud’s has many wax models of famous people and other interesting exhibits.
- Liliputbahn is a 3.9 km-long mini railway with steam trains to ride, an excellent attraction for steam-engine fans.
- The Alt Wiener Ghost Train is fun and includes Little Red Riding Hood, Max & Moritz and other popular fairy-tale characters.
Refreshments including Wiener Schnitzel & Austrian Beer
Schweizerhaus
Schweizerhaus is a top-drawer place for a meal out or beers with friends. Schweizerhaus has a beer garden & restaurant with history dating back to the 19th century. They serve delicious beer, including Budweiser and Erdinger.
For food, their menu offers many Viennese dishes. On my night out with friends from Vienna, we had lots of beer, a pork knuckle to share and some bretzels. As a bonus, they are dog-friendly, and Henry had a great time visiting.
Zum Riesenrad – Café Restaurant
Near the Ferris wheel and many other rides is Zum Riesenrad, a pleasant cafe restaurant. We visited a few times with Henry because it has an outdoor seating area and is open during the day.
They serve food; however, we stuck with beer and coffee on our visits. Their default beer is Ottakringer, a nice Viennese beer. Overall, it’s a nice place with views of the funfair.
Christmas Market Food
On my Christmas visits, I enjoyed Viennese schnitzels and some local beer, Stiegl. In addition to Stiegl, I tried the equally delightful Wieselburger Bier. These complemented the tasty, freshly cooked Wiener schnitzel perfectly.
The area near the entrance and Madame Tussauds had an abundance of other street food eateries and rides to watch. It was a vibrant place at Christmas, with seats and blankets to keep warm and people having fun.
Cafe Bar
Cafe Bar is a nice place to sit down and watch the revellers in a busy part of the funfair. They have drink options, including a variety of Austrian beers; I had a bottle of Stiegl.
Is It Dog Friendly?
We visited the park a few times with Henry, our dog, for walkies as we stayed nearby. We found most refreshment places allowed dogs, which is consistent throughout Vienna. The main attraction, Wiener Riesenrad, also allows dogs on board. That is, with the caveat that you use a lead and put a muzzle on the dog. However, when we enjoyed rides, we left him to rest at our dog-friendly accommodation.
The site is magnificent for walkies during the day, and there are many other dogs out. They also give out free poo bags, which seems to be a thing in Austria.
More Information
The amusement park in Vienna has a comprehensive website that covers most bases.
Is Prater in Vienna Worth Visiting?
Prater Amusement Park is one of my favourite places to visit for a night out. For starters, there is a wonderful selection of rides to enjoy. The place also has a fun vibe, complemented by pleasant bars and restaurants. A bonus for me is that you can visit with a dog; thus, it’s a great place for walkies.