Europa Park

Europa Park: 10-10-05

Yes, I know this is a little late but life for me is non-stop.

If you follow this link: http://www.pbase.com/foreseer/europa_park you can see some of the pics I took while visiting. There are not a lot of ??????ride?????? pictures but rather pictures of the sights thru out the park. I have never seen a park so decorated in my life. Disney is ok but this park took me by surprise.

It all started with a 3 hour drive from Bamberg, where my Son is stationed. We arrived at the park about 30 minutes after opening and walked right in. To my amazement was the amount of ??????Halloween?????? d??????cor they had everywhere. You could hear all day the Nightmare before Christmas soundtrack playing in the background along with my favorite song ??????It??????s Halloween??????. I wish I knew where I could get a copy of it, any ideas of who sings it?

We rode every single ride the park offered at least once, except for the boats or rafts, and most were no more than a 10 minute wait. I was surprised at the lack of traditional lifts that most coasters have. They either, spiraled you upwards, or elevated you up and spun you around at the same time. Needles to say this was a pleasure to me. Its nice going somewhere totally different and having a unique experience instead of the same ole thing you get from other parks.

The staff in the entire park was nice, friendly and between my broken German and their broken English / French we communicated very well. The food was great, not like what we have here in the States. We have cookie cutter food while theirs just seemed and tasted fresh made. Soft drinks taste a bit different but I won??????t complain.

I had heard from several people that the Silver Star was no longer good due to the adding of trims. Well, I can??????t say how it was before but I am glad the trims were there as the air time would have ejected us from our train. The entire ride was a blast but I guess what most impressed me was the way they handled the storage bins for guests. The bins were labeled 1-2-3 that match the train and they were opened for you the closed before the train left the station. Then as the next train came in they opened its bins allowing you to only access your stuff and not everyone??????s. That in itself makes you feel more secure.

There were unique rides such as the Dinosaur dark ride. My pictures didn??????t come out great but it was a cool ride to sit back and relax and enjoy some animatronics. The ride reminded me of Disney??????s Haunted Mansion with the way you loaded the cars and the way they turned you about. Now, I know this was not a thrill ride but I think it was a plus for the park but they do need a better entrance as you could walk right past it and not notice it at all.

Yes, even in the chilly air we rode all the water rides and got quite wet. Poseidon was awesome. You can find Bino Maus?????? recreation here: http://www.weeweeslap.com/track_exchange/detail.asp?tid=1520 I thought when I first rode his simulation it was boring but after riding the actual ride he did an awesome job. You have to actually ride it to appreciate it as the close calls and the scenery were fantastic.

All the queue lines were themed to the max. You were not just standing in line but actually had things to look at and at times there were even animatronics to laugh at. It was nothing like here in the states where you??????re lucky to get shade in the queue but they actually made the queues be a part of the ride. Kudos goes out for that. I don??????t like feeling like cattle being rounded up.

Thru out the park there were side shows with puppets, interaction with guests, and some type of characters walking on stilts on all fours. They looked like retards from outer space but they were a blast to watch them act the part and follow people. I??????d say there was a bit of talent there as I could not walk on all fours all day let alone walking on stilts.

We did, however, watch a few people get in trouble. There is a section where you can sling water balloons at each other and they found a way to angle the balloons where they could hit us as we walked by. I got a couple snaps of them before the attendants came out and stopped them. I??????m sorry but with the mist they had going you could not see the balloons until it was too late and I thought it was funny.

Although this is not as detailed as I originally was going to make it I just want to say if you are ever in Europe and are within reach of this park you have to go. I would have to rank this park in my top 3 parks of all time just for the attention they put on details along with a wide variety of attractions. They also get kudos for not having a bunch of carnival attractions permanently located there. It seemed as all their attractions were built just for them.

Do yourself a favor, get a passport, catch a plane, get over there. You won??????t regret it.

Great trip report and pictures! Europa parks sounds and looks really nice.

Thanks

I meant to place a meet and great message here berfore I left for Germany. I know there are many members here that might have been able to go to Europa and meet up. How often does one travel across the big pond?