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Europa in August - crowds, queues and voyeurism!

Britford

TS Member
I'm currently planning a trip to Europa park in august for 5 days but have some questions...enjoy!


1 - what are the queues going to be like?

Now, I know that EP has some of the best throughputs in the world but what about the other rides? (flats, darkrides, random outdoor track rides for "all the family" etc)
Also, are there any problem queues? For example, I heard that Matterhorn blitz is quite bad, how bad is it and are there any more (even the worthless baby rides in the Arthur building) that I should know about?


2 - The ethics of eating German sausage in the back seat...

There is a bobsled coaster at EP, if I am a single rider and go on it, will I have to sit on the lap of a strange man?


3 - Since it will be august, will there be anything extra going off?

If yes, then what?


4 - what the hell is a meso mix?

I was talking to someone who, upon hearing that I was going to EP, told me to try a meso mix...then ran off like he had just lit a firework, how scared should I be?


5 - what are the cultural rules of seat sharing in Germany?

For example in the UK, its generally considered weird to join a row already occupied by another person unless told to by ride staff. What it like for EP, specifically, the free-for-all that is Silver Star's station?


6 - I think I saw some of those Asian style hole in the ground toilets in a vlog at one point...how does one even approach those things

I think it was on a ship near one of the water coasters, are there any others I should know about?


7 - which onsite hotels have views of the park itself

Preferably with one of those tiny balcony things with the railing right in front of the window.


8 - What is there to do in the hotels after park close?

Apart from the mechanical bull.

8.5 - are you allowed in the other hotels?

If I stay in hotel bell rock (for example) will I be allowed to walk around Castillo Alcazar (for example) ?


9 - What's with the viewing window in the shower of bell rocks standard rooms)

And can it be blocked from INSIDE the shower?


10 - do they have full English breakfast?

Or dinner for that matter!


11 - how feasible is it to make a daytrip to tripsdrill (from EP) via public transport?

And is the nude log flume still open?
 
Well, I will answer what I can, and wait for an expert to fill in the gaps...

1 - what are the queues going to be like?
Better than anything you have ever seen in the UK.
Except Matterhorn blitz.

2 - The ethics of eating German sausage in the back seat...
I don't think the Bobsled even has a single rider queue...? You can get a car to yourself no problem. But you never know, you might make a new friend in the queue and change your mind...

4 - what the hell is a meso mix?
Full fat Coke mixed with Fanta. Far greater than the sum of it's parts. You will never want another soft drink again. (Also makes a great mixer with rum).

5 - what are the cultural rules of seat sharing in Germany?
I'm no expert, but I've never been glared at for filling an empty seat yet.

6 - I think I saw some of those Asian style hole in the ground toilets in a vlog at one point...how does one even approach those things
What? Good god no! EP doesn't even have the old school "German Shelf" toilets. You can crap like you always do at home!

7 - which onsite hotels have views of the park itself
The "Iberian" hotels are best for views of the park, but it depends what side of the building you are on.

8 - What is there to do in the hotels after park close?
Drink like you have never drunk before! :D

8.5 - are you allowed in the other hotels?
Yup, you don't even have to be staying in an EP hotel. You can walk in to any of the hotels and their bars and get right on it! (You will have to reserve a spot in their eateries though).

9 - What's with the viewing window in the shower of bell rocks standard rooms)
Those rooms are intended for couples TBH. The shutter is on the outside of the shower, in the room itself. They are far less bothered about such things over there.
Not recommended if you are sharing a room with a "joker".

10 - do they have full English breakfast?
I don't think I've ever been sober enough to eat breakfast in a hotel. Seems to be continental cold meats though. You won't find bacon, or a proper cup of tea, in Germany. Don't waste your time searching. [Waits to be corrected].

11 - how feasible is it to make a daytrip to tripsdrill (from EP) via public transport?
I seem to remember Tripsdrill being a considerable drive from EP, plus it is in the middle of nowhere. No idea if you can even get there without a car.
 
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I’m glad you are looking at visiting! I can answer a selection of these questioms for you.

1. On the busiest days in August you could expect queues on the major rides to hit 60-90 minutes, though this would be a VERY busy day. I have been there on a 50,000 guest day and queues for Blue Fire/Wodan didn’t exceed 60 minutes much. The Matterhorn Blitz queue can be quite slow, along with Pegasus, Schweizer Bobbahn and Poseidon at times, so it is generally recommended to get in the park at 9am and do Greece and Switzerland before 10:30am, as crowds don’t get there until later on. Other rides with slow moving queues are generally children’s rides, so this is due to a lower throughput and family faff rather than queues being too long. No queues are ever ‘unbearable’ though like you may think.

2. No. There is no batching and the ride operators want to get the train out ASAP. I have seen lots of single riders taking a car to themselves, and this is fine. It can be a tight squeez anyway.

3. Unsure, though I think there will be Imperio at Hotel Colosseo - a performance skills, pyro and projection mapping show on the fountain area and colosseum structure, definitely worth seeing. There will be a lot of entertainment in the park though. Regular shows (some productions on multiple times a day) and lots of roaming ents.

4. Mezzo Mix is a European fizzy drink. It’s basically coke mixed with fanta, and is quite nice, however I don’t get the hype about it. There are much better (alcoholic) drinks to try at EP though. ;)

5. No rules really. Some rides have single rider queues (Blue Fire, Wodan, Arthur for definite, and maybe a few more though I can’t remember off the top of my head). Arthur’s SRQ is particularly efficient, which will be useful for you in August!

6. I have no idea what you’re talking about. The toilets at EP are great, clean and most are very well themed.

7. I have never stayed in them, however Santa Isabel, El Andaluz and Castillo Alcazar are located nearest to the park, with Bell Rock and Colosseo a bit further away. Of course, it is dependant on where in the hotel you are staying as to if you will get any view of the park.

8. BARS. There are a lot of really nice bars and restaurants, which will sometimes have entertainment, for example a small acoustic band playing/singing around the restaurants.

8.5. You can walk around all the hotels and I thoroughly recommend you do so! :)

9. Never stayed on resort so I have no idea.

10. Copy answer 9.

11. I have never visited Tripsdrill, so I can’t answer that unfortunately!

Hope this helps. :)
 
I found the vlog with the german shelf toilet in, its the Theme Park Worldwide vlog from July 2017 (part 1) at exactly the one hour mark!

I have never even been and I already know more hidden areas than you, honestly guys keep up!
 
The dodgy toilet you refer to is on top of the Santa Marian, in between the Magellan Lounge and monorail station exit. It’s a single toilet in a wooden hut. It’s an exception to the otherwise ‘normal’ toilets.
 
Sounds like that must be there as theming then...?

I've been lucky to never encounter a squat toilet in my life. And I plan to keep it that way! Have heard some horror stories about them, especialy from ladies.

And let's not even start on the parts of the world where plumbing cannot cope with paper, so you have to throw the used bog roll in an open bin next to the bog!

I've had to endure the "German shelf" bogs a few times, though oddly enough, usually in the Netherlands rather than Germany itself. I think I found one at Holiday Park once.

Mind you, Canadian bogs are pretty bad as well. Huge bowl filled with water almost to the top, and very weak flushes. Certainly not suited to their diet!

I once stumbled upon a whole website for toilets of the world. I'll try and find it, then stick it in the "weird websites" topic...
 
To clarify:

1) The longest queues in August will be thewater rides, Arthur, Wodan and Blue Fire. Matterhorn Blitz is very well operated, it just has an inherently lower capacity (it will get around 800/hour; ride it first thing). Check out Voletarium around lunch time.

6) There is one hole-in-the-floor toilet and it is as such purely to fit the theme. It is located on the ship deck of the Santa Marian, above the Atlantica shop near the ride's exit.

10) They don't have a Full English. It's Germany. But you will get streaky bacon, chipolata style sausage, fried and scrambled egg, hash brown, Black Forest Meat Loaf and much, much more. A massive cold meats/cheese selection, too.

11) A day trip to Tripsdrill would be hard. Public transport is slow between EP and TD as they are both rural and there's a fair distance between them.

:)
 
12 - how do I know what type of standard room we will get?

I was looking at the 360 views of the standard rooms and the double rooms seem to only have a double bed, now I'm going with my mom so you can see how that would be an issue...how do I make sure we get an appropriate room?
 
12 - how do I know what type of standard room we will get?

I was looking at the 360 views of the standard rooms and the double rooms seem to only have a double bed, now I'm going with my mom so you can see how that would be an issue...how do I make sure we get an appropriate room?

The search option on the booking site will show the room type allocated to you in the pictures. You'll normally get a double bed and bunk beds if there is good availability. If you're only getting the room showing a double bed for your dates, then you are best contacting the park to see if they can allocate you one with bunk bed. See below for examples on two different dates:

Allocated with bunk beds:
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Allocated without (note there is only one room available):
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In any case, if this is a make or break requirement it is worth contacting Europa-Park to be sure you'll get the separate beds.
 
Remember though...

Doubles at EP are actually two singles pushed together! Each has its own quilt.

This is quite common in Germany.
 
Good point. I bloody hate that though. You can't cuddle with seperate duvets!

Oh well....that MUST be a part of a worldwide population reduction program...that`s germanys part, along with selling condoms that will NOT burst under any circumstances...yep, I totally believe that...
 
I think most points I was going to answer have already been covered. I would add relating to point 10 that the selection of cooked breakfast items is unusually comprehensive by German hotel standards and close enough for British tastes, though I imagine it's aimed more at the higher proportion of American visitors (hence the skinny bacon they have). If you like your tea, you'll need to take your own teabags as English Breakfast bags are about the only type not provided in the buffets (and can be hard to come by in Germany generally), but everything else you'll want to make it is provided (teapots, a hot water urn, milk from the cereal section etc.).
 
It all depends how much you plan on buying, eating and drinking! I would say £100 per day is too much though yes (unless you wish to purchase an item of Camp David clothing on each day). Roughly £50 per day should be fine!

:)
 
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