June 15, 2007
Europa Park
Of the two parks I was able to visit in Germany, this was the first. My day began with getting up around 8:00 am with the goal of arriving at Europa around noon. It was only an hour and a half drive from the place my family and I were staying in Switzerland, but the room still needed to be packed up, the car needed gas, and we needed to get some drinks from a local grocery store. The drive was nice, but it rained the whole time and that made me nervous. As planned we arrived at Europa right around 12:15 giving us five hours and 45 minutes till closing. The first thing that strikes you driving in is the sheer height of Silver Star. As the highest coaster in Europe, it sure does not disappoint. You can see it from miles away. There was almost no traffic going in and it stopped raining. With no wait for parking we drove right in, took our spot, got rain gear and headed off towards the entrance. I was happy the park didn't try to scalp us with $15 parking prices. There was only one ticket booth open, but there was still no line. I was expecting some low wait times.
My first ride of the day was Silver Star, which I wanted to get done early because riding it in the rain was not my favorite idea. We found it quickly and I got in line. There was no wait until the station gates and I could see how big Europa could make the queue if they wanted to. I got in line for the front, waited maybe 10 minutes before getting on the the right center seat. Those B&M buckets are nice. This run was not the best on Silver Star though, because I forgot my glasses strap, which keeps them from coming off. I couldn't see anything, but I could sure feel everything. Going over the first drop was great. I really couldn't breathe until the train reached the top of the first hill, but it didn't bother me. The g's at the bottom of the drop were not too intense, but that's to be expected of a B&M hyper. Even with the trims on there was still great airtime. The helix was fun as was the right left turn combo. The first drop now has some big plastic boards which I guess could be called scream shields.
Lunch was up next followed by me going out on my own to conquer the coasters my family did not want to ride. We at right across from Eurosat and that was my next coaster. I knew it was going to be bad. Well, let me just say then that it was bad. The spiral lift took forever and even the front seat was a big pile of jerky turns and kidney abuse. If it wasn't a credit, I wouldn't have ridden it.
The next coaster I hit up was Matterhorn Blitz. While the theming in the barn that is the station didn't do it for me, as a wild mouse this was perfect. The elevator lift was completely new to me and gave the ride a nice uniqueness. Exiting the lift box at the top and making a right turn you take the longest wild mouse drop I've ever seen and then hit some great lats in the turns before more standard wild mouse elements. Overall I thought Matterhorn Blitz was a great coaster and a great wild mouse. I took the front seat.
While on my search to find Schweizer Bobbahn I stumbled across Euro Mir which I decided would be great to ride. As it spins, I really didn't care which car I was in. I ended up being in car three facing backwards in the station. Unlike the other spiral lift coaster at Europa, this one was not terrible. The spinning did help to break up the monotony and you could always wave at the people sitting across from you. The spinning turns were interesting as were the backwards drops. Again, it's another coaster that I really ended up enjoying.
After Euro Mir it started raining. I took cover under a covered bridge for a while before deciding it had let up enough to start riding coasters again. I found the bobsled and hopped on. There was nobody there. I had three repeat rides in the front seat and then two more with no wait. This coaster was fun, but not in the back cars where it shudders and vibrates like nothing I've ever been on.
Following this was another ride on Silver Star, this one in the back seat. It was also very good back here and the front eight seats helped to block some of the rain.
I met up again with my family and headed off to Pirates in Batavia. This was one funny ride. There were tons of copied Disney effects in here including Mara from Indy, the fire from Pirates of the Caribbean, the spinning people chasing each other from pirates, an animal holding a jail key, the selling of brides, man riding pig, etc. I left the ride still wondering what exactly the point of it was. The coffee cups followed.
I rode the powered coaster next, then the bobsled again, visited the Mack Museum, and rode Silver Star two more times in the eighth row and the front. My front seat ride was the last train of the day.
Ride Count:
Schweizer Bobbahn: 6
Silver Star: 4
Matterhorn Blitz: 1
Eurosat: 1
Euro Mir: 1
Alpenexpress (powered): 1
Look for pictures in the future as well as my Holidaypark TR. Both should be coming in the next few days.