• ℹ️ Heads up...

    This is a popular topic that is fast moving Guest - before posting, please ensure that you check out the first post in the topic for a quick reminder of guidelines, and importantly a summary of the known facts and information so far. Thanks.

  • ⚠️ Online Safety Act Changes

    We've made some changes to the forum as a result of the Online Safety Act. Please check the post in guest services for further information.

Parc Astérix: General Discussion

AstroDan said:
This is incorrect and I assume is lost in translation.

Buses operate from Roissypole (Charles de Gaulle) from 9am in the morning and they run back from Astérix until the last one leaves one hour after ride close. Should you be later than this, or wish to go to the hotel(s) after the park closes for a drink - Uber will pick up at the park or hotels and is usually reasonably priced given the distance.
Click to expand...
I second @AstroDan here after a recent trip.

The website has been worded/translated incorrectly and the last bus leaves an hour after park closing time. I think they may have meant return journeys start from half an hour before close?

I checked the signage at the bus stop to make sure I didn't miss that last bus.

Parc Asterix is a very easy park to get to by public transport as you wouldn't need to leave Charles De Gaulle Airport (apart from the park) to get there.
 
Visited Parc Asterix today and managed to get on their new Cétautomatix coaster! It's got some lovely theming, smooth, quirky and just good family fun :) I'd be surprised if it made anyone's Top 10 but worth a ride all the same. Tonnerre 2 Zeus however has just beaten Energylandias Viking for coasters that require the most intense physical therapy after riding. Please do not ride if you have osteoporosis, travel sickness or a hernia 🤷🏻‍♀️😂 Oh, that Toutatis is a bit of alright isn't it?
20250819_120743-01.jpeg
 
Martin said:
Does this include the 1AM close nights?
Click to expand...
I can imagine that this will include the 1am close nights.

BooMT said:
Visited Parc Asterix today and managed to get on their new Cétautomatix coaster! It's got some lovely theming, smooth, quirky and just good family fun :) I'd be surprised if it made anyone's Top 10 but worth a ride all the same. Tonnerre 2 Zeus however has just beaten Energylandias Viking for coasters that require the most intense physical therapy after riding. Please do not ride if you have osteoporosis, travel sickness or a hernia 🤷🏻‍♀️😂 Oh, that Toutatis is a bit of alright isn't it?
20250819_120743-01.jpeg
Click to expand...
Genuinely curious, how did you find Goudurix in comparison to Tonnerre 2 Zeus? I thought Goudurix was 10x worse but some people find Zeus worse.
 
I was surprised by how rough Tonnerre 2 Zeus was when I visited recently. The Timberline trains are meant to make coasters smoother, by functioning more like a modern steel coaster train:

But it doesn't seem to be working. The Voyage switched to Timberline trains to try and make the ride smoother and lower maintenance, but they've switched back to the PTC trains. When I rode Zeus a few weeks ago it certainly didn't feel like a ride that had been recently re-tracked.
 
owenstreet7 said:
I can imagine that this will include the 1am close nights.


Genuinely curious, how did you find Goudurix in comparison to Tonnerre 2 Zeus? I thought Goudurix was 10x worse but some people find Zeus worse.
Click to expand...
T2Z far surpassed anything I've ridden for discomfort so far 😂 that isn't to say Goudrix isn't also horrid!

Funcone said:
I was surprised by how rough Tonnerre 2 Zeus was when I visited recently. The Timberline trains are meant to make coasters smoother, by functioning more like a modern steel coaster train:

But it doesn't seem to be working. The Voyage switched to Timberline trains to try and make the ride smoother and lower maintenance, but they've switched back to the PTC trains. When I rode Zeus a few weeks ago it certainly didn't feel like a ride that had been recently re-tracked.
Click to expand...
I really didn't like the trains/restraint system. They were pretty cool... and then the ride started 😂
 
I don't think The Voyage ever operated for the public with Timberliners.

Think for me the Timberliners seem to work well on the family coasters (Switchback, Wood Express, Kentucky Flyer, Timber) than they do on high thrill coasters (Tonnere 2 Zeus, Hades 360).
 
Last edited:
BooMT said:
Tonnerre 2 Zeus however has just beaten Energylandias Viking for coasters that require the most intense physical therapy after riding. Please do not ride if you have osteoporosis, travel sickness or a hernia 🤷🏻‍♀️😂 Oh, that Toutatis is a bit of alright isn't it?
Click to expand...
Does it still have the backwards end car? That required a lie down after riding it.
 
Might have been mentioned before but was reading that the next major coaster is coming in 2028- which will be large indoor launched coaster (will apparently include some outdoor sections as well) plus likly to inc a drop track. Sounds like another Intamin coaster to me. Think there is some redevelopment work of that left area(s) taking place in 2026-2027 which will see some kind of new indoor attraction from Alterface and some new kids/family flats and new outdoor event/show arena.
 
I didn't even know the La Rue de Paris area would be closing until AstroDan mentioned it during our August trip and whilst we were properly browsing the area. I'm still gutted they closed Transdemonium, it was such a bizarre experience and I would've loved to have re-ridden it before closure. And now as I finally read up about it, I learn about the area's intended purpose, there was a dark ride before Transdemonium guests never got to ride and [spluttering noises of frustration and disbelief staring at 20 open tabs across 2 monitors]??

Well, fine, AuDHD! I guess I'll sideline my entire day before my night shift to write about Parc Asterix' content, La Rue de Paris, the dark rides and the future investments.

Firstly, Dimensions Parc has a long article, Disappearance of the Rue de Paris at the Parc Astérix, published on 8th September 2025.
EN: First of all, let us answer the question that everyone is asking: why this unrelated area with Asterix? The reason is simple: at its origin in 1989, the Asterix Park was intended to be entertaining, but also cultural. The same idea was found in many leisure park projects of the time (Futuroscope, Mirapolis, Euro Disneyland...), perhaps this was the only way to get them accepted by elected officials a little snob.
Click to expand...
To add further context, After Euro Disneyland's Paris location was announced in 1985, several major French leisure projects* were proposed and opened to spite Euro Disneyland's success. Three of these were the theme parks known as Mirapolis, Zygofolis and Big Bang Smurf. Parc Asterix happened to be in development at the same time and independently from Euro Disney and, too, was looped into this corral because why wouldn't it be? Said parks all opened 3-5 years prior to Disneyland Paris, and with the French zeitgeist and intellects raging against Disneyization, the government and industries were gunning for an acceptable balance of entertainment, history and culture within the parks.

The irony in all this being visits to Disneyland directly inspired Mirapolis' creator Anne Fourcade in 1980 and Asterix co-creator Albert Uderzo to want to create theme parks in France, both prior to Euro Disneyland even becoming a topic. However Mirapolis, built in 14 months and opening in May 1987 as 'France's only theme park' just outside Paris, would have officials make the same F&B 'American fare' mistake that Disneyland Paris would and realise no-one actually cared about the cultural aspect (Washington Post article, 23rd August, 1987). Zygofolis near Nice, similarly rushed and opening in July 1987, would encounter non-stop issues and even got bought by then-Alton Towers CEO Paul Bloomfield in 1989. Both parks would close in October 1991, 6 months before Disneyland Paris. Big Bang Smurf suffered the worst fate of all, for it became... Walygator!

*Whilst Futuroscope was developed around a similar time (1983-1987) as a major French leisure project, opening 10 days after Mirapolis in May 1987, it interestingly isn't mentioned in the same context. It's not as if the French public didn't know Futuroscope was a thing, because Tour de France popped by in 1986 and 1987 to give it loads of media coverage and the then French Prime Minister inaugurated the park, but I digress.

Dimension Parcs' article is an interesting read covering the different sections and what was going on there. (I am so annoyed that we completely missed seeing the Notre Dame construction vignette because there were light beams that triggered organ sounds, argh!) I recommend dipping into Gassot & Associes' galleries too for sketches and construction work, Clicky Gallery 1 and Clicky Gallery 2. There's also spacemtfan's first comment on r/rollercoasters' [Parc Asterix] Does anyone know why this is here? topic which covers near enough the same beats as Dimensions Parc's article but with a few extra details.

To focus on Parc Asterix's first dark ride, Apocalypse, the Transdemonium creator Jean-Marc Toussaint was on a PuissanceParks podcast a few years ago discussing the original dark ride with Winter 1989-1990 site visit photos.

r/rollercoasters: First public images of [Apocalypse, Parc Asterix], the dark ride that was to open with the park in 1989 and finally never opened to the public - spacemtfan

The video is in french, but here are the bullet points:
  • The ride was extremely small in footprint and used a carnival dark ride ride system from Reverchon. Two passengers per car lead to a theorical hourly capacity of 100 pph. To give you an idea, a "low capacity" wild mouse roller coaster is 400 to 500 pph easily. At a park that received over a million guests in 1989, this was a huge problem.
  • Apocalypse story consisted of a ride-through the various fears of the year 1000, in caves filled with demons and lost souls. There was a massive 8-10 feet statue of a face made with rats and human heads in a pool.
  • Beside the capacity, the other major issue, that spelled its end: extremely flammable theming. The props and paints were rated separately to the highest standards for flame retardant grade.... But, when they applied the paint to the props and scenery, shockingly, the chemical reaction made them so flammable that as they joke in the video, just looking at it would cause it to catch fire and go up in smoke. They tried applying extra varnishes and paints, but it never was solved.
Now for my take on this mess, the park quickly gave up and concentrated on adding capacity quickly to the rides and restaurants. A dark ride close to Apocalypse and that reused part of its space as its exit was built in 2003, the already removed Trans Demonium. Trans Demonium's creator is Jean-Marc Toussaint, the bald guy in the video above and he tried bringing back as many of the original ideas to the ride. Alas, the very obscure storyline, a prototype ride system that didn't work well and other issues lead to Trans Demonium closure after the 2018 season.
If you visit Parc Asterix in 2024 and want to see where Apocalypse stood, when you're near Goudurix, walk over toward the medieval area. You'll see twisted castle towers and a large purple demon mouth. The demon mouth was Apocalypse entrance and in its space, Asterix had a "secret bar" during its last halloween event in half of the space. The other half became the stuntmen's training room for the performers working at Main Basse Sur la Joconde. By 2027, all of that will be gone, removed for a new Asterix focused area and rides.
Click to expand...
I watched the podcast with the auto-English (US) dub reluctantly on to see if there was anything else worth mentioning:

From 11:16, one of the presenters asks about what he thought looked like a car wash inside a dragon's mouth (stay with me on this second tangent, lol). Toussaint explained it was a classic ghost train scare effect, where swinging strings get thrown in your face, but on Apocalypse it had caused synchronisation issues with the ride car. Still, they were thinking about doing something similar for Transdemonium. He mentions they were working with an English company (I presume he means Farmer Studios), and there had just been a 'terrible accident in England' involving a similar effect. He couldn't recall where but he says he 'wouldn't have been surprised if it was at Blackpool Pleasure Beach'. The dark ride's effect deployed, funnily enough, in the dark just before a car full of laughing riders came through and string got stuck in someone's braces. A traumatising experience that I will not try to find proof of.

And at 15:05, we see the original park map, the press kit (which I would love to get my hands on) and two other documents where Apocalypse is directly mentioned.

Transdemonium: the fall in the misunderstood attraction of the Asterix Park is a fantastic article by Dimension Parcs (18 January 2020) about both the dark rides, why Transdemonium didn't work for visitors and potential overhauls.

-deep breath- Finally, I get to Dimension Parcs' The future of Asterix Park: new attractions, new hotels and much more by 2031 article (29 April 2024) which delves into the 2024 Public Inquiry and summarises all the really important information. Which spacemtfan then also summarises below. Please, uh, note the major change to the rollercoaster line up in Phase 2 (2028-2031)
r/rollercoasters: [Parc Asterix] Does anybody know why this is here? - spacemtfan's second comment

[...] Dimension Parcs in France did an incredible job going through a 1000 pages document that lists all the upcoming changes coming to Parc Asterix. What is coming and going? I'll go through it year by year here, with a spoiler tag

- Late 2024-early 2025: The Paris streets are starting to get removed. The medieval covered area, the plaza in between the two covered area, the old Paris covered area and the carousel in that area are all getting torn down.

- 2025: Its not in the study, but a concept art showing a Gerstlauer spinning coaster appeared on the construction walls surrounding the old Nationale 7 car ride site.

- Late 2025: Main Basse sur la Joconde (world's best stunt show, with Waterworld as its only rival) and two permanent haunted houses will get torn down.

- 2026: New Zamperla Windstarz, new family freefalls (12 meters tall), water play area and a permanent halloween haunt coming to the greek area in 2026. They are also building a new 400 seats sitdown table service restaurant and a massive 300 rooms hotel will open late 2026 behind the soon to be fully removed Rue de Paris.

- 2027: Start of the new London area that's replacing the Paris streets. First new attraction to open there will be a new Alterface Action League interactive ride.

- 2028: Completion of the London Area with the headliner attraction: indoor Intamin Multi-Dimensional coaster with a freefall track and similar things with Uncharted at Port Aventura. Joining that massive ride is a 1000 seats theater, 3 kiddie rides, 2 permanent haunts, restaurants and stores. It will all be covered as the park hopes to open that area during christmas and as close as possible to year-round. To that end, a new "show restaurant" will be built in the hotel zone behind the parks in 2028 as well.

- Not detailed, but within a 2030-2034 horizon: replacement of the Viking Area (goodbye Goudurix!), new massive hotel in that area and other new attractions.
Click to expand...
I think that's enough internet for today... She says, knowing full well she has even more research to get done at work o_O
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top