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[2024] Europa-Park General Discussion

venny said:
Whilst one may not agree with certain political opinions, I think we have to be pragmatic in separating the enjoyment of an attraction and the owner’s political opinions,
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I’m not sure if this is so easy with a family run business like EP. I would suspect Michael Mack has far more power and influence in decision making on a whole range of things than your average executive at say Merlin or Six Flags because of the nature of the ownership of the park.
 
venny said:
Whilst one may not agree with certain political opinions, I think we have to be pragmatic in separating the enjoyment of an attraction and the owner’s political opinions, even if it may not be the wisest business decision to express them on certain platforms.

Other than the proliferation of VR, I’m not sure I can name too much which has reduced the charm of the park. Maybe the removal of the stream next to Spices (but I understand that was a decision necessitated by traffic flow). What type of elements do you think are ding cham-wise?
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Just want to clarify here, I am not planning to boycott Europa Park or attempting to 'cancel' Michael Mack. But as @AT86 alludes to, due to the very public image of the family, displaying a level of pride/visibility/shameless showboating almost unheard of in the industry and currently expanding into others, it's sort-of fascinating to watch the park's manager personally test the goodwill of his followers online.

I was probably going a bit overboard in my last post: Pirates, Madame Freundrich's Dinosaur thingy and Ireland are all charming. Rulantica doesn't really work for me, still, but a waterpark was always going to be a challenge. But the animation style of MackMedia is too sterile for my tastes, and naturally features more and more across the resort over the last decade. 'Happy Family' and its sequel are deeply average, lacking the wit or visual invention of Pixar (to use perhaps the highest watermark), but also many independent animation studios making a dent on streaming services. Incidentally, the politics and family dynamic of both are also low-key conservative by contemporary standards, which is perhaps beginning to make sense...

Mack often outclass Disney at their own game when it comes to running a theme park, but they've got a long way to go when it comes to creativity throughout their other platforms. Trickier still when the public face of the park is promoting unpleasant rhetoric.

Ah, life in Rust was so much easier when the biggest controversy was a foul-mouthed animatronic.
 
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Agreed, I think that was my point with Twitter; whilst I think it’s bizarre to cancel people like that, it equally would appear a little more astute for MM to be less partisan on a public platform. In any case, I don’t believe anyone wants to be thinking about politics at a theme park.

I’m not sure I agree on MackMedia/Animation. I wouldn’t really put them in the same bracket as the big animation houses (even if that’s where they may aspire to be). I think it’s actually quite extraordinary for a park outside of Disney/Universal to have its own set of custom-made 3D films, even if they’re not on par with say a Pixar short.

I’ll admit that I was disappointed in the film for Voletarium though, both in its execution and naked plagiarism of Soarin’.
 
Jambo said:
Sticking with the beer theme…

Anyone been to the Roland Koch Lodge African Bar in Bell Rock? The sign on the ground floor has always said closed on my visits, which makes me want to go even more.

J
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I have been in a few times.

First time I’d hired it for my wedding guests. It’s got one hell of a wine cellar at the back of it.

Second time was when one of the bar staff took it upon himself to open it at weekends, it was his thing apparently.

Best thing about the lodge or ammo lite is the Molton Brown in the toilets.

I do find it odd that Roland’s lodge is never open though. It’s a lovely little bar.
 
They still have staff shortages and opening a tiny bar seating 20 people just isn't high on the priority list, not when other hotels are in a far worse position in terms of bar capacity
 
Yes, the priority has got to be getting Buena Vista and Bar Colosseo open again on a regular basis. Especially the former, as El Circo just cannot cope when it is the only bar open for El Andaluz/Alcazar/Santa Isabel.
 
A few thoughts re: Europa-Park after our recent 4 day experience.

Positives
  • It was great to see the park basically back to normal. Even very small outlets, such as Pastaria de Enzo and Kassandra Snack were open on all or most of the days during our visit. These outlets have always been closed on quiet days, but since Covid I had not seen them open at all. The Irish pub, Is Huset and many others were all open. Work was taking place on the Magellan Lounge, so I expect this to be back soon!
  • Ride close was also back to what you would expect. The park hit it exactly right every day of our visit. Currently close seems to be either 7/7.30/8pm.
  • It was great to see the outdoor show back at Colosseo for the first time since 2019!
  • The park was immaculate.
  • There was loads of entertainment, this seems to be back to normal. Great to see the geese, too!
  • Seeing construction for a major new coaster/area is amazing. It's been such a while!

Issues
  • It's fair to say there have been some pretty noticeable price increased on certain products. Beer is now firmly in the quite expensive category (up about €1 a pint since 2019) and food on park has all gone up by a euro or two. Phantasialand was easily 10 to 20% less expensive than Europa-Park for food/beverage - e.g. Caipirinha at EP is €10.40. The same drink at Phantasialand is €8.00. Soft drinks are a rip off - EP now charging €4 for a 50cl drink.
  • The resort need to get more hotel bars open. El Circo simply cannot cope with being the only bar across El Andaluz/Santa Isabel/Alcazar. Equally, Bar Colosseo relieves capacity so much and is needed - especially during holiday periods.
  • Rulantica VIBES could do with a little... more!
  • We did not prebook Hyggedal as it wasn't an option as a ResortPass holder. On arrival at Rulantica were were advised to go straight there and pay at the Hyggedal Welcome Desk. We were refused entry as they were full... didn't seem busy whatsoever, mind!
 
Had club sandwich at Spirit of St Louis last night. Price has not changed but portion of chips is substantially reduced compared to 2019 and before. Though I shouldn’t complain as I never used to able to finish them 😂

Service was great though on both nights I’ve had there so far. Much more bar staff than last year and very attentive, which is much better than last year when we were completely forgotten about!!
 
I got charged €14 for a “large” Balthasar Rum in El Circo at Christmas. It was 40cl, so not even a standard UK double. I think it’s the most expensive alcohol I’ve ever had per cl. Considering they used the same rum in the cocktails that are cheaper, it seemed pretty bizarre and rather outrageous.

It’s great to hear park ops are pretty much back to normal now. I’ve been longing for Magellan to reopen for years now.

Out of interest where was said Caiprinha purchased from? I know there’s a bit of variation between park and hotel prices, but even in the hotels it’s not long ago that those sort of cocktails were hovering around the €8 mark, so quite a considerable jump!
 
venny said:
I got charged €14 for a “large” Balthasar Rum in El Circo at Christmas. It was 40cl, so not even a standard UK double. I think it’s the most expensive alcohol I’ve ever had per cl. Considering they used the same rum in the cocktails that are cheaper, it seemed pretty bizarre and rather outrageous.

It’s great to hear park ops are pretty much back to normal now. I’ve been longing for Magellan to reopen for years now.

Out of interest where was said Caiprinha purchased from? I know there’s a bit of variation between park and hotel prices, but even in the hotels it’s not long ago that those sort of cocktails were hovering around the €8 mark, so quite a considerable jump!
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Caipirinha has been €9.80 or €9.90 for 15 years. Cocktails haven't gone up much.

Standard Cocktails are €10.40 now. Some slightly less some slightly more.

The likes of Cosmopolitan and Magarita are €9.xx

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk
 
Alsty said:
In a slightly bizarre incident, a fight broke out in the Colosseo hotel today between youths. They used pepper spray which caused injuries to over 20 other people.

The article below is translated from the German newspaper, linked at the end.

More than 20 injured by irritant gas in the Europa Park in Rust

By BZ editors & Mark Alexander

Thu Jul 28, 2022 @ 6:34pm

A dispute in the Europa-Park-Hotel Colosseo escalated on Thursday afternoon. Pepper spray was used, according to police. Now is determined against young people for dangerous bodily harm.

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Emergency crews tended to the injured at the scene. Photo: Adrian Hofmann

A dispute among young people triggered a large-scale operation at the Europa-Park Hotel Colosseo on Thursday afternoon. According to the police, several young people clashed in the hotel around 5 p.m. Pepper spray is said to have been used during the dispute in the hotel lobby, injuring two people involved. According to the police, 25 other people who had nothing to do with the argument were injured because the irritant gas was distributed in the air.

According to police spokesman Yannik Hilger, the injuries were minor. They were mostly treated on site by helpers from the rescue service and the fire brigade.

The hotel lobby was temporarily cleared

According to the police, the lobby area of the Hotel Colosseo had to be cleared for a short time. The rooms were then aired. There were no major restrictions on hotel operations, says the police spokesman. The operation of the amusement park in general was also not restricted by the incident. Due to the large number of emergency services, there were temporary traffic obstructions, but not major closures.

Investigations into dangerous bodily harm

Around 7 p.m., the police announced in a press release that regular operations could be resumed. The large-scale operation in Rust ended in the early evening.

According to the police, it has not yet been finally clarified why the dispute broke out. Now it's about the background of the fact. The names of the youths are known to the police officers. They are now being investigated for dangerous bodily harm.


Link (German)
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Rather shockingly only weeks after this incident - there has been a pepper spray attack inside Rulantica now too. The attacker was a man in their 20s who spoke French. The police are still looking for him. 6 people were injured; however only 1 needed to be taken to hospital while the others could be treated onsite.

https://www.heidelberg24.de/baden-w...te-reizgas-attacke-rulantica-zr-91728299.html
 
Something that cropped up at Spirit of St Louis bar on the Monday night of my recent visit, when paying up, was asked how much tip we were going to leave.

Don’t get me wrong I don’t mind leaving a tip of sorts, previously when paying by cash usually round up to nearest €5 or €10 but I don’t like to feel pressured into doing so.

Having said that the service on all nights was pretty much spot in. Plenty of staff on hand and with it being nice weather, plenty of space available to sit. Unlike last year when we were completely forgotten about time and time again with only a couple of staff members run off their feet.

In the end given that the total bill was €96 rounded it up to €100, which is about the price of a beer at the moment 😂 (only kidding, also included the club sandwich each, which whilst same price as last year, is seemingly reduced in portion size to previous years.
 
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