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What is it that everyone who's visited likes so much about Europa Park?

Matt N

Matt N

TS Member
Favourite Ride
Shambhala (PortAventura Park)
Hi guys. Sorry if a thread like this already exists, but I was just going to ask; what is it that everyone who's visited likes so much about Europa Park? Only asking because I've seen it hyped up so much over the years by people on here and other enthusiasts on other sites, and it's made me really want to go! So much so that my parents have offered to take me there for my 18th birthday in 2021. But I was just wondering what you all like so much about Europa.

I reckon that if I was to visit Europa, I would potentially find a new favourite theme park. What I love in a park is a balance between theming, atmosphere and thrills, and Europa really looks to provide that from what I've even of it.
 
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It's the quality, care and attention that goes into it... 3 important things that some parks tend to forget...

I mean, look at what they did with the retheme for the Old 99 attraction for best example of it... The perks of the place basically being a showroom for the Mack catalogue...
 
Europa-Park has what is known as a 'quality without a name'. Very few theme parks manage to acheive this and it was a concpet seen in Walt Disney's Disneyland. It is hard to truly describe the true quality of Europa-Park, words rarely do it justice. It is a timeless place that you have to see and experience to really appreciate.

The fact that they have managed to achieve this is a testament to the Mack family.
 
bluesonichd said:
o_O Having visited for this new year for the first time I still have no clue :expressionless:
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I must admit, on my first ever visit I was a tad underwhelmed. Maybe my expectations were too high? Or perhaps it was because I was rushing around trying to do all the attractions and not taking it all in. I remember thinking the themeing and operations were world class, but the rides and coasters were a let down. I even said Phantasialand was better, which is a silly comparison in retrospect.

It was on my second visit a year or so later when I realised why it's easily the best park in the world. Tbh it's a lot to do with the German common sense culture makes it great. They're not owned by a huge corporate clean shirt squad like Disney or Merlin, so the rules are far more relaxed. For example Euro Mir stalled twice in the space of a few hours recently, both occasions it was lifted off the track, the ride tested, and reopened. Anywhere else that would be closed for a few days as a 'safety precaution'.

But what it comes down to is that the staff and management simply want you to have a great time and come back again. There is no fastrack available - everyone is treated equally and it's simply not needed due to how fast the staff work to get queues moving swiftly.

I used to regularly visit Port Aventura but I won't step foot in that dump anymore. Shambhala will run 1 train and the lazy staff will dispatch it every 5 minutes or so. Silver Stars queue will be spilling out of the entrance but will always be on 3 trains with staff working their socks off to get you on as quick as possible.

Europa Park just get it.
 
One thing I will certainly say about Europa from my non-visitor's perspective is that the theming at the park looks amazing! Also, as much as some of you say that the coasters aren't brilliant, I'd say that Europa's "big 3" so to speak (Blue Fire, Silver Star and Wodan) look amazing! Wodan looks simply relentless, Blue Fire looks like a really fun ride and if Mako at SeaWorld Orlando is anything to go by, then Silver Star could quite potentially become my number 1 coaster when I ride it in 2021! And Europa are apparently supposed to be building a new coaster by 2021, so the coaster lineup might be even better by then!

In terms of my level of excitement for each of Europa's big 3, I'd say that this is the order I'd say I'm excited for each coaster in, with 1 being the most excited and 3 being the least excited:
  1. Silver Star
  2. Wodan
  3. Blue Fire
Although having said that, I'm excited about Europa as a whole!
 
Silver Star is well up there with Mako and Shambhala, actually better in my opinion.

Wodan is now one of my favourite coasters, I was initially disappointed in the lack of any airtime but it makes up for it in being one of the most relentlessly mental coasters ever.

Blue Fire could be a lot better, but the launch is good and the last inversion is superb.
 
It's not so much about the rides at Europa Park in my opinion... It's about the atmosphere.

Everything is perfected, it's basically like the Mack family watched Jurassic Park and can remember only one phrase, "Spared No Expense" and use that as gospel for every single project they take on.

It is also a completely different experience to the UK parks, it is all very chilled out and relaxing. No one seems in a rush, however, the plethora of bars probably helps that.

I could happily go to Europa Park and not ride a single ride. That being said, doing all the none ride stuff could still probably fill 1 - 1 1/2 days.

There is so much substance to Europa Park that after Rulantica opens it will easily be a 6, even 7 day trip to take in absolutely everything without dawdling too much.
 
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It's been said before but Europa is one of the few, if any, theme park/resort/whatever places outside of yer Disneys and Universals where you could spend a day on the park without going on any rides and not wonder what the point was. When the water park opens you won't even need to ever go in the park itself for that. Arguably you could almost do that now. You could easily spend days in the restaurants and bars and spas and so on
 
I visited for the first time in October (I've written a trip report for my full opinion) and was just blown away by the place. The scope and scale of the place is outstanding as is the overall quality and variation of the rides and coasters they have on site. The ride throughputs are stunning with queues on silver star and others just not stopping.

You feel like a valued guest whenever you spoke with any staff member as well.
 
Europa isn’t the best at any one thing. But it’s the whole package; the love and care, some great rides and attractions, lots of places to get genuinely great food and drinks, the atmosphere. There’s nowhere like it.

And there’s so much to do. Even with three days, you’re not likely to get everything done unless you rush (which isn’t advised at EP as you’d miss out on the atmosphere). When Rulantica opens, I think you could justify a whole week there.

That’s not to say Europa is perfect. For example, I’ve found the restaurant service there to be fairly poor (during my last visit I had to ask for a large glass of Merlot four times before it was brought to me, and when I went with a friend with allergies a few years ago they kept giving her wrong info). And the merchandise quality has been getting lower in recent years. But these are more nitpicks than anything. I’ve only been back a few days and I can’t wait to go again. And again after that.
 
It is free of the baggage and the pedestal of a Disney or Universal park and it just a down to earth, really lovely place. I stayed away from the online hype when I first went, but had seen glimpses of it and wanted to save everything as a surprise. I'd definitely recommend doing the same if it's your first time going, I'm sure you'll love it!

The park was so huge, it was just fun to get lost and not know what to go on next. Incredible coasters, a beautiful park to spend time in. So much great food (totally unlike UK parks) and phenomenal hotels.

What I would say is don't go expecting it to be the most fashionable park in the world. The offering is absolutely 'world class', but a lot is actually very understated and charming. Its quite unique that almost every attraction they've ever opened has been kept, while the park has grown bigger and bigger.

It means you do get some really bizarre ones too, which I loved to be honest. I kind of feel people who dismiss these parts as 'dated' are being pretty humorless.

Like one ride I enjoyed was the weird underwater shooter that we just stumbled into by accident, a really "low budget" thing but such a fun surprise. I feel Geisterschloss especially would have been a huge classic, without all the random generic effects added over the years that turned it into a bit of a mess.

So not every attraction is super fantastic, but its history all adds so much character to the place, there's so much to do that everyone will love something anyway.
 
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Having visited Europa for the first time last year, I can safely say that it is without doubt the best theme park I have ever been to.

As others have touched upon, they just seem to do everything so well. I spent two full days on park and none of the rides appeared to have any downtime, ride throughputs were like nothing I had experienced before and everything looked clean and perfectly well maintained. Least I forget that the selection of rides really is outstanding. Wodan, Blue Fire and Silver Star are three top quality coasters and the uniqueness of rides like Euro-Mir and Arthur really are something worth experiencing. The selection of dark and water rides is top class too and helps manage the queues and crowds. I'm not really one for shows and park entertainment but this is another area which Europa most definitely have covered. If like me, you like a Beer, Europa also has a few great places to sample some wonderful amber nectar!

I look forward to what the future brings for Europa and I hope to get out there again once Rulantica is complete and the Scandinavia area has been resurrected. The fire last year was a sad time indeed and it was a shame that Piraten in Batavia was completely demolished in it but the way Europa have dealt with the situation has been impeccable and I have no doubt that the new area will be as stunning as the original. I also look forward to getting on the Can Can coaster as I never got to experience Euro-Mir. I didn't get to stay in one of the on site hotels on my sole trip last year but this is something that I hope to do in the future as all of the hotels look fantastic.

Europa is simply a must visit park.
 
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