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[2024] Europa-Park General Discussion

Burbs said:
You're going to EP. It's time to change that! The cocktails there are stunning and a big part of what I look forward to on a trip to Europa these days. I'm sure others will back me up on this.

Anyway, I'm sure a stranger on the internet isn't going to sway your opinion, but if you aren't going to have any, at least recommend your parents to have some!
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Generally I would agree from my experience. But a word of caution: In a German forum some people complained that recently cocktails contained mostly ice and were not up to earlier standards. This may be one of the consequences of the problem to find enough competent people to work in the restaurants etc. I was in the park last week and at the Scandinavian ice parlor there was one woman who barely understood German and was generally totally lost. Since the park is currently desperately trying to fill the vacant spots with whoever they find, searching from Paris to Kirgistan (!), you may find some difficulties for the time being. I must say, if I would get a cocktail for 10 Euro which contained mostly ice, I would politely complain.

Matt N said:
Out of interest, does every EP booking see you get sent a fun little personalised greeting video by the park a few days prior?

My mum got sent one today containing video of staff "readying the park for our visit", and even Roland Mack himself gave us a smile and wave! It was quite a fun little video, and I thought it was a nice touch!
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Yes, you always get one if you booked in the hotels there, I love them. In winter they differ a bit, else they are the same template, but I find them very professionally made, and they increase the anticipation of the stay. The blond woman that gives Roland Mack the signal is the director of all the hotels, Michaela Doll-Lämmer, by the way.
 
Gurkensalat said:
Generally I would agree from my experience. But a word of caution: In a German forum some people complained that recently cocktails contained mostly ice and were not up to earlier standards. This may be one of the consequences of the problem to find enough competent people to work in the restaurants etc.
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How perculiar. I was there 2 weeks ago and had no such issues (we had a multitude of drinks in 3 different bars over the course of our stay) - they were as good as ever. Perhaps these folk had a one-off bad experience?

My only issue with the bars this time around was the lack of them open. Having Buena Vista only open once in a blue moon and Bar Colosseo being shut meant that the likes of El Circo and Spirit of St Louis were often at capacity and couldn't even accommodate a group of 3 later on in the evening... and this was off-peak! I'm aware the weather wouldn't have helped much as the outdoor areas were all shut off, but still, the fact that Andaluz, Alcazar and Santa Isabel only share the (relatively small) Bar El Circo, it's no wonder.
 
It's important to remember that some cocktails are poured over ice. My favourite, Caipirinha, is largely crushed ice.

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Burbs said:
My only issue with the bars this time around was the lack of them open. Having Buena Vista only open once in a blue moon and Bar Colosseo being shut meant that the likes of El Circo and Spirit of St Louis were often at capacity and couldn't even accommodate a group of 3 later on in the evening... and this was off-peak! I'm aware the weather wouldn't have helped much as the outdoor areas were all shut off, but still, the fact that Andaluz, Alcazar and Santa Isabel only share the (relatively small) Bar El Circo, it's no wonder.
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This is something I am somewhat concerned about when visiting in a couple of weeks. Hotel bars have always been a highlight of a visit to EP, yet capacity seems to be way down on where it should be.

The website currently suggests that Bar Buena Vista is completely closed, and El Circo is only open Monday to Thursday. I cannot believe that both are going to be completely closed this Friday, Saturday and Sunday!? Could be an error but they have been updating the website relatively frequently with hotel bar and restaurant opening times.
 
El Circo was open daily last season, with Buena V Fri/Sat only.

In October, we managed to visit them all.

Hopefully as we ramp up to summer, we'll see more.

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So finally after two years of cancellations we made it to Europa Park and I can safely say it totally lives up to the hype. I don't believe I'll view any other theme park the same again and that includes Disney Parks. This place is next level on every front, I joined queues which in any other theme park would easily top 2-3 hours not in Europa-Park, I heard of there phenomenal operations but until you see it for yourself you won't believe it. The place is spotlessly clean and the attention to detail is mind boggling. We stayed in El Andaluz and considering it's one of the budget hotels we were amazed how nice it was. Plenty of choice at breakfast and good quality to. Every staff member had time for us even if they didn't speak English. We had our evening meals in Silver lake saloon, Colosseo and Bell Rock and every meal was delicious with a huge variety. The fact the EP Express runs for hotel guests until midnight is brilliant and the fact you can press a buzzer and it will come and collect you is service above and beyond. Like I said I'm not sure how I feel about entering a Uk theme park again now, Alton Towers will always have a place in my heart but after seeing how Europa-Park cares for EVERYTHING queueing 90 minutes for Rita or Thirteen I'm not sure is going to fill me with much joy even though I enjoy both. It's just seeing how it can be done leaves me a little sad at the state of our parks :(.
 
Burbs said:
My only issue with the bars this time around was the lack of them open. Having Buena Vista only open once in a blue moon and Bar Colosseo being shut meant that the likes of El Circo and Spirit of St Louis were often at capacity and couldn't even accommodate a group of 3 later on in the evening... and this was off-peak! I'm aware the weather wouldn't have helped much as the outdoor areas were all shut off, but still, the fact that Andaluz, Alcazar and Santa Isabel only share the (relatively small) Bar El Circo, it's no wonder.
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It was the same issue and only real problem when I went in October. It wouldn’t be so much of an issue in the summer as there’s so much room outside the hotels, but when it’s cold you find the bars are pretty small when you’ve only got bell rock and El circo open. One night we gave up trying to get a drink as the bars were just too busy, and of course some were shut.
 
Out of interest, did the indoor queue of Blue Fire always have EP adverts running in it?

On my recent visit, I noticed that there wasn’t really any ride-specific theming as such in there, with it more being a general Europa Park advertising hall showing a montage of EP and Rulantica footage.

With the way in which sponsors have been integrated within some of Europa’s other attractions (for instance, the Mercedes Benz Hall and the F1 propaganda that Silver Star’s queue runs through), I was wondering; was the generic Europa Park footage running in there an abrupt replacement for something Gazprom-related, as I’m aware that the ride was formerly sponsored by Gazprom, and the deal got terminated with very little time to go before the main season began?
 
Exactly as you describe it. Until March it was sponsered by Nordstream 2 with heavy connections to Gazprom, and on the LED screens was shown a film about natural gas and the east sea where the pipeline is. I think they planned to cut the movie differently in order to excise everything Ex-Sponsor-related, but maybe it is not feasible. I would love to have more Island-themed pictured shown there, perhaps next year?
 
It wouldn't surprise me at all to see something Yullbe related in there next season, moving it from the football dome. They're absolutely obsessed with it at present, and that's probably an ideal companion to the permanent attraction up at Kronosar/Rulantica, with the pro stuff up there and Yullbe Go down at Blue Fire.
 
It would probably make more people do it if they walk past people doing it whilst queuing for blue fire.

Also does blue fire even need all that queue line inside? It’s got a massive queue line outside, but they often seem to open the indoor bits more than the large extensions outside.
 
djtruefitt said:
It would probably make more people do it if they walk past people doing it whilst queuing for blue fire.

Also does blue fire even need all that queue line inside? It’s got a massive queue line outside, but they often seem to open the indoor bits more than the large extensions outside.
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The indoor queue is more tolerable than the out and back queue outside.

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Out of interest, does Wodan have a different control system to other GCIs?

I only ask because I noticed that when entering the station, it seemed to do a lot less faffing about than Wicker Man does before parking (Wodan just rolls in, sets itself once and stops, whereas WM seems to stop and start a number of times before parking), and it also enters and leaves more quickly than WM as well. As well as that, the lift hill is also notably faster, as well as less jolty at the start (WM does that weird thing where it jolts back and forth as it engages with the lift hill, whereas Wodan doesn't).

Was a different control system to other GCIs one of EP's ways of throttling the maximum possible throughput out of Wodan? I did notice that its throughput averaged out at around 1,250pph, compared to roughly 1,050pph or so on Wicker Man.
 
I know when Wicker Man opened it went in the station much quicker and didn’t do the shuffle as much as it does now, but that also lead to all those problems when it opened and a huge amount of downtime. So I guess they got GCI back to fiddle with it and that’s why we have the shuffle now. The lifthill on wicker man is also cause of the weird angle I believe? Which is why you go back and force a bit as you go up.

I bet Mack probably did fiddle with it as well to get the best throughput
 
There is some Mack tech in there for sure. Not sure however how much it differs to standard GCIs.
Certainly trademark Mack things like an operating chair with joysticks in the control cabin, and Restraints and airgates open automatically upon parking so fewer buttons for staff to press. Just close airgates, lock restraints once everyone is seated and then after the station ops have done their quick checks push both joysticks to dispatch. Altogether in EP’s typical quick and efficient style.
 
I think both of them have modified control systems because they can both run 3 trains. 2 is the standard for GCI.

But I don't think the modifications were the same. I remember they were both talked about during construction but I forget the details of why they differed.
 
There was talk recently about O’Mackeys being open or not, as it was shut last season. Well on the EP instagram today they’ve posted a few bits from the bar, and at the end it says it’s open Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Do least it’s back open even if it’s only for the weekends.
 
djtruefitt said:
There was talk recently about O’Mackeys being open or not, as it was shut last season. Well on the EP instagram today they’ve posted a few bits from the bar, and at the end it says it’s open Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Do least it’s back open even if it’s only for the weekends.
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Good. Although my next trip has Monday, Tuesday and Thursday on park.



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